Pokemon: Mind and Soul [IC / PG / Not Accepting / Co-Hosted by Skaia]

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"Hey. Are we done now? Can we go to bed yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, sleepy head.  We're done now."  He conked her on the head with a light fist.  "But no going to bed yet.  Don't you know what time it is?"  

"You kids sure are something. Hey, I've got to head back to the shop. Be sure to bring the equipment back before the end of the day. And hey if you want to bring more Poke maybe you'll find something else to get your interest." With a wink, she strode off.  Oswald couldn't help but scratch his chin at the last thing the Clerk had said.

"Is she...selling herself?"  He thought allowed.  He shook his head, not continuing that trail of thought.

"Why am I so wet?"

Oswald looked to Naomi, only to shake his head again.  

"We were in the water, remember?  You should dry yourself off before you get a cold."  It was like he was a babysitter.  This wasn't supposed to be part of his investigation.  After a moment to let everyone to dry, he continued.  "Anyways, let's go back real quick to return the stuff we borrowed...don't wanna keep lugging it around with us, now do we?"  He smiled, before taking hold of Naomi's hand.  "C'mon!  It's this way, remember?."  If he didn't drag her around, she'd surely get lost, or caught on another hook.  They returned the gear promptly, and left once again.  

"Is there anything else here for us to do, Kanon?"  He looked at the girl.  "I was kinda wondering what else that clerk lady was offering, but you can take Naomi wherever."  He didn't dare look beside him.  "She's asleep, isn't she?"  

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 0 700

"Well, probably best to get away from whatever that thing is, huh?  My head still feels kind of light." 

"You sure it's not just because you're not used to some swimming?" Not that Kanon was exactly a swimming expert herself. She didn't feel totally normal, but was chalking that up more to diving being quite a bit different from what she was used to, and less to that statue down there. With Nomi awake and about the same, she asked a question that made Kanon audibly groan.

"Why am I so wet?"

"Water does that to people. Even you should know that. Come on, up. We've got stuff to do." Figuring-out-about-that-statue stuff. And returning-diving-equipment stuff. The latter wasn't that difficult. Just a quick trip to the diving shop, changing back into her usual getup, then putting the stuff where she was told. The other stuff involved a bit of asking around. She had something specific in mind, and that required going to a specific place to meet a specific person.

Kanon wanted to know where city hall was, so she could try to get a meeting in with whoever was in charge of this city.

And as luck would have it, he wasn't all that busy right now. "If anyone can get something done about that statue, it should be the mayor, right?" Kanon asked her teammates, before stepping into the office with the man himself. This was that stuff she referred to earlier at the dock. And she hadn't forgotten that it would probably be a good idea to call the professor, but that could wait until after this.

"We figured out why all those Skrelp gather up in a dangerous spot. There's this strange statue under the water that they seem drawn to. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but that's why I wanted to let you know." Leaning over toward Oswald, Kanon whispered "Anything else we should bring up while we're here?"

[Skaia 581]

With Jacklyn in a huff, the girl seemed more annoyed then anything else, and looked confused while Dennis made his own confused statement. As the boy started talking about leaving, the girl folded her arms and just said, "why would you leave? This lighthouse isn't broken or haunted or anything so it's not like there's anything to explore. And this is your place anyway, right?" If anything, Jacklyn was the one that wanted to leave this place quickly. Unfortunately, Ivan was still asleep and they had a ladder and stairs to go down. And Jacklyn had no desire to carry her traveling companion, nor did she think she physically could anyway. So instead, she just stood there, annoyed and impatient, waiting to get going. 

As the boy had apologized to Belle, the girl let out a sigh saying, "jeez was that so hard?" It was then that Belle had asked him to apologize to Jacklyn for his Haunter's attack. The girl looked to the boy, though, she didn't really seem to be expecting anything from it. She didn't quite care about the attack, being perfectly honest, and that he had apologized to Belle was good enough for her. The girl's eyes then looked over to Belle, who seemed to be looking at her. The blunette, however, did seem to be expecting something. From Jacklyn. Looking to her with a "seriously" face, the girl let out a sigh and said. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry for like, throwing you. And stuff." 

[LordCowCow 842]

"Apology accepted, jus' don't do it again. An' you should say sorry ta Jacklyn. Least fer lickin' her face, anyway."

Dennis's face momentarily brightened as Belle accepted his apology. Though the joyful feeling was interlaced with less than happy feelings as the girl demanded his Haunter apologized to the other one.

Still, as he watched the girl casually go back to reading...wait those were his comics. In any case as she read he couldn't bring himself to deny what the girl was asking.

Looking at Jacklyn he winced as she sighed and...said sorry? He didn't expect her to do that. "Um...it's uh....it's fine." He muttered. "A-and, well, it's not....my place. It's just where I live. You know. Like...like yeah." He finished lamely, scratching the side of his nose. There was an awkward silence and the boy nudged his Haunter. The Pokemon gave him a look but Dennis gave a more stern look back.

With a long sigh the Haunter floated in front of Jacklyn. "Haaaun. Haun Haun...ter." He said, his tone apologetic. Though the moment Jacklyn wasn't looking he'd stick his tongue out at her before floating off through the floor.

Dennis stood there awkwardly. Glancing from Belle, who was sitting by his stuff, to Ivan, sleeping on the floor. Deciding to slowly, slowly, inch towards where Belle was the boy grew more stiff the closer he got to her. By the time he was next to her he was as stiff as a board. "U-uuuh, so you...like those...things?" he asked, the word comic briefly leaving his memory.

---

"We were in the water, remember?  You should dry yourself off before you get a cold."

"Water does that to people. Even you should know that. Come on, up. We've got stuff to do."

"Ohhhh." Naomi responded with an overly exaggerated nod. "Why was I in the water?" She said to herself in a loud whisper. Seeing the others on the move she, floaties still attached, made her way after them. "Oh, this is the place I got caught at." Naomi said. She turned to Knight, who was bouncing in mid-air, and said "You should stay lower. There's rogue fishing poles all over the place."

Knight seemed to take the warning seriously and started floating at hip level. Glaring up in challenge at the fishing poles they passed by.

Naomi was shocked to find out that they weren't heading for someplace to rest. "Is this like going to get a quest from the king?" Naomi asked as she looked about the town hall in wonderment. "But there aren't any knights...besides you." She added, awkwardly patting Knight's leaves.

The mayor, as it turned out, looked rather familiar. His stomach was larger, his hair more grey, and there were more wrinkles on his face, but the man resembled the ferryman and the ship captain greatly.

"We figured out why all those Skrelp gather up in a dangerous spot. There's this strange statue under the water that they seem drawn to. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but that's why I wanted to let you know."

"Ohoho, is that so? I had an INKling that there was something going on there, ohoho!" The man said, leaning back in his leather chair. "Sounds very FISHy if you ask me, OHOHO!" A laughing fit soon followed which was cut short by a coughing fit which ended with the mayor being red in the face and teary eyed. "Oho no." He muttered. "Well, in any case, that sounds like a job for the Professor, not me! I have to run this city I don't have time to mess around with some kind of historical thingamagic. That kind of stuff is up to the League and, well, what with the Champion gone missing I suppose it just will have to be put on The List."

Naomi tilted her head when Kanon asked for her input. She ended up tilting her head too far to the side and almost fell over. "Uh...wait, what are we doing here again?" The girl asked.

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Eventually, Ivan woke up. He had always been a bit of a heavy sleeper. His head was killing him, and for a moment he forgot where he was or why he was there. All he remembered was being extremely pissed for some reason, and then nothing. "What... what happened?" He clutched his head, glancing over around the place. He saw Jacklyn, who had an expression on her face that didn't fit the girl at all. He turned towards Belle and... him.

"You..." He clenched his fist, hissing with anger. Dennis was standing right there. He was ready to clock the bastard right then and there, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to repeat what had just happened, plus it seemed like the group had made up with the boy while he was knocked out. At this point, he really just wanted to leave this place. He let out a sigh. "...whatever." Ivan said, turning to Jacklyn. "We should probably get going soon." He said, crossing his arms. "My head is killing me..."

[Skaia 581]

Jacklyn's sour mood seemed to give way a bit, sighing as the Haunter made a gesture towards her that she could only assume was apologetic. "It's fine. It didn't really bother me anyway. So, apology accepted." Turning away from the ghost type, the girl then looked to see Ivan was stirring awake. While the boy seemed ill tempered, for reasons she could understand, the girl was glad that he seemed to manage to calm himself down. As he mentioned leaving soon, the girl said, "probably. It's not like there's much else to explore in this lighthouse, and I'm sure there's plenty more to explore in this city." Thinking on it for a moment, the girl seemed to go from being sour to suddenly re-energizing herself at the prospect of exploring their new found location. 

Clapping her hands together she said, "alright! However," pointing her finger at Ivan she said, "don't think you're getting out of this just because you were asleep. Everyone else has , so it's only fair that you do too." Realizing that he probably had no idea what she was talking about she said ,"apologizing. That is. After all, even if he was rude to us, you still shouldn't resort to physical violence! We are pokemon trainers after all, and as such we leave all of that and all of our problem solving to our pokemon! Not our fists!" Shrugging she simply added, "more or less." Turning to the Haunter, she then said, "you should apologize to him too. After all, you also attacked him. So," she looked between the pokemon and Ivan saying, "apologize to each other and shake it on it like men!" Looking to Dennis, a hand postured around her mouth as if to keep the others from hearing without actually lowering her voice, she said, "is Haunter a man?"  

[Mr. Hyde 204]

As Kanon would have it, she lead the trio to the Mayor's office.  Oswald slammed a fist into his hand.  Of course!  If anybody could do something about that weird statue, it would be a figure of authority, like a mayor!  He reprimanded himself, whilst at the same time silently giving props to his teammate.  

"We figured out why all those Skrelp gather up in a dangerous spot. There's this strange statue under the water that they seem drawn to. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but that's why I wanted to let you know."

"Ohoho, is that so? I had an INKling that there was something going on there, ohoho!" The man said, leaning back in his leather chair. "Sounds very FISHy if you ask me, OHOHO!" A laughing fit soon followed which was cut short by a coughing fit which ended with the mayor being red in the face and teary eyed. "Oho no." He muttered. "Well, in any case, that sounds like a job for the Professor, not me! I have to run this city I don't have time to mess around with some kind of historical thingamagic. That kind of stuff is up to the League and, well, what with the Champion gone missing I suppose it just will have to be put on The List."

"Well darn...and the professor is all the way across the shore."  Oswald scratched his head.  They came to another dead end.  "Well then, it looks like we'll have to find the champion.  If he's gone missing, then that can't be anything but trouble!"  Oswald thanked the Mayor for his time, and decided to head outside.  Once in the open, he scratched his chin.  "Maybe I should've asked him about Team Phoenix..but he doesn't seem to knowledgeable of the goings on around here."  Or was he just Ignorant.  Oswald sighed nonetheless.  "We should probably just start trekking forward again.  I'm sure we'll find someone who knows what to do."   

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 700

"Ohoho, is that so? I had an INKling that there was something going on there, ohoho! Sounds very FISHy if you ask me, OHOHO!" It didn't sound like the mayor was taking this very seriously. "Oho no. Well, in any case, that sounds like a job for the Professor, not me! I have to run this city I don't have time to mess around with some kind of historical thingamagic. That kind of stuff is up to the League and, well, what with the Champion gone missing I suppose it just will have to be put on The List."

The List? And the Champion was missing? Kanon's interest was piqued. Was it some sort of to-do list for the Champion to fill out after they turned up? Kanon didn't really get why this sort of thing was outside of the mayor's field, since ensuring everyone's safety was part of running the city, right? Truth be told, Kanon didn't know the first thing about that sort of political stuff.

"Well then, it looks like we'll have to find the champion. If he's gone missing, then that can't be anything but trouble!" Kanon nodded in agreement, following the boy as he left the office and also thanking the mayor for his time. "Maybe I should've asked him about Team Phoenix..but he doesn't seem to knowledgeable of the goings on around here. We should probably just start trekking forward again. I'm sure we'll find someone who knows what to do."

Indeed, a missing Champion was bad news. While Kanon didn't fully understand the scope of trainer stuff like that, even she knew that much. Trekking forward sounded good to Kanon. She wasn't especially eager to stay in this big city, and now that they were on mainland Korova, there was a whole region to explore in front of them. She didn't want to admit it, but Kanon was actually pretty excited to get exploring. As much as Kanon wanted to contact the professor about that statue, it wasn't like she had any means of doing so.

Hopefully someone else would be able to get that taken care of.

"What sort of region do you think Korova will turn out to be?" Kanon asked as she began the trek forward. "I've always wanted to try visiting someplace tropical like Alola, but I get the hunch this isn't quite that sort of region."

[Sethera 290]

Belle was happy. Things seemed to finally be wrapping up peacefully. It had been touch and go for a while back there, but now, everybody was apologizing and everything was fine and dandy. The girl ignored the fact that there still seemed to be some disgruntled feelings on everybody's part. After all, that was to be expected, and it wasn't her goal for everybody to be happy happy joy joy friends either. No, that was more Jacklyn's thing. Belle just wanted peace and quiet, and so long as that criterion was met, she was happy. Or as happy as she could be while stuck on a Pokémon journey of all things.

"U-uuuh, so you...like those...things?" Dennis asked, having inched over to her. Which was kind of odd, but he was odd anyway.

"They're cool," she replied, staring at him in bemusement. Hadn't she made that very clear earlier? Why was he asking her such a silly question?

The girl was distracted when Ivan woke up, and while he had sounded hostile at the start, he seemed to deflate when he realized that things had calmed down. Good. They didn't need another fight. "You're up," she said, and then paused when she realized she wasn't sure what to say afterward, or indeed, if there was anything to say. Shrugging, the bluenette left it at that.

"We should probably get going soon." He crossed his arms. "My head is killing me..."

Jacklyn got excited at that, and Belle could just see a future where she was forced to be dragged along on all sorts of harebrained adventures throughout the city. She had already been dragged here, after all. "Oh goodie." The purple-haired girl then suggested that Ivan and Haunter apologize, which Belle approved of. Nodding her head in agreement, the girl felt like, maybe, just maybe, they could get out of this without a fight. Also they both had gotten out of line there earlier, so it only made sense that they do so.

And then Jacklyn asked something totally out of left field, "is Haunter a man?"

"Wha--?" Belle couldn't help the outburst. "What does that--?" her brain went over the girl's earlier words, and then she sighed. "You're so strange," she grumbled.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Sethera

[LordCowCow 842]

"They're cool,"

"Cool." Dennis repeated. Eyes widening in awe. She thought they were cool? A girl thought comics were cool? Dennis flushed red as he realized he had been staring at her and shifted his gaze towards his feet. "Yeah...they are cool." He said, towards the ground.

That was when he heard Ivan getting up.

Dennis quivered in place as Ivan looked towards him, certain the man was about to beat him up, and Haunter hovered closer to its trainer. But nothing happened. And the boy practically ignored Dennis to scowl and brood.

His eyes widened as Jacklyn ordered Ivan to apologize. He had had an inkling that she was the boss of the group but that just settled it. It was like a mafia boss and her muscle. But in that case what did that make Belle?

"U-uh, he...doesn't need to....do that." Dennis mumbled in response to Jacklyn telling Ivan to say sorry. "Erm, Haunter's actually a girl." He answered.

He glanced over at the Pokemon, who was waiting for Dennis's command, just as unsure of the situation as Dennis was. When the boy shrugged the Haunter seemed to shrug, or rather moved her hands in a shrug-like gesture, and moved over towards Ivan. She stuck one of her hands out, letting out a "haun, haun haun," that was hard to tell if it was more apologetic or ominous.

---

"Well then, it looks like we'll have to find the champion. If he's gone missing, then that can't be anything but trouble!"

"She." Naomi muttered, unexpectedly correcting the boy, before her vision dulled and her gaze started drifting idly around as they left the building.

"What sort of region do you think Korova will turn out to be?"

"Whaaaa?" Naomi's voice was quiet, her tone rather monotone, despite the prolonged response. "W'dya mean? Isn't that where we're now?" Naomi asked. "It'd be like this...." Naomi raised an arm and pointed off into the distance. "Right?"

"Hey, you losers over there."

BGM

The speaker was a boy around Oswald's age.

He was flanked by A tall, willowy, girl and A muscular, yet still young, boy.

"I recognize you, you were on that boat from the other regions too right?" The leader said. "Looks like you haven't been here long, are all the rest of the groups that far behind? We were just about to head out but what do you say we have ourselves a little battle? Since we're all here for the same thing why don't we find out who's the strongest right now?"

Spoiler

Rivals!

If any dialogue is wanted go ahead. If you want to go into battle stuff that's fine, else just get ready for it, and I'll have them make the first move.

For the record how the pairings will break down is

Leader, Chad, facing Oswald
Girl, Fuyumi, facing Naomi
Boy, Kenta, facing Kanon

 

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 700

"Whaaaa? W'dya mean? Isn't that where we're now? It'd be like this.... Right?"

"Well, this part is anyway." If she'd brought a map of her native Hoenn with her, this would be the part where Kanon pulled that out to explain what she meant. But alas, there was no such map on her person. "Think about it like this. The Hoenn Region where I'm from has a big rainforest in the north, but that's not the whole region. A lot of it is open plains and small islands broken off from the mainland. Even here in Korova, we crossed through that marsh before. What we see right here probably isn't what the whole region's like."

Hopefully that made sense, because that was about the best explanation Kanon could think up. Even if she wanted to go into further detail though, she didn't quite have the time to before she and her group were interrupted by a rather rude boy and his little entourage.

"I recognize you, you were on that boat from the other regions too right? Looks like you haven't been here long, are all the rest of the groups that far behind? We were just about to head out but what do you say we have ourselves a little battle? Since we're all here for the same thing why don't we find out who's the strongest right now?"

"Saying we're all here for the same thing is a bit of a bold assumption," Kanon retorted. All the same, she reached for a poke ball, sending it out and releasing her Inkay from its spherical confines.

[reparoni 161]

 

---

"Eh!?" Ivan said, his face curling into a scowl. That runt was lucky enough that Ivan wasn't beating him into the ground for the stunt he pulled - no way in hell he was going to apologize to him. Ivan crossed his arms, but before he could respond to Jacklyn, he turned to Dennis as he spoke up. For once he said something Ivan could agree with. "Ya heard him." He simply said, ready to turn around and walk out. But then the Haunter made its way towards him, extending its hand out to him. She seemed apologetic, but was a bit hard to actually tell by the ghost's tone. Ivan hesitated at first, thinking about what the Haunter could do to him, before shaking his head. It seemed they were at peace for now, and if the Haunter tried to do anything funny, well... hopefully it knew better.

Ivan accepted the hand-shake from the ghost. "Fine, I'm sorry." He grumbled, turning towards Dennis, before turning his head towards Jacklyn. "He's lucky I have a soft spot for 'mons." He grumbled again, shaking his head before turning towards the exit. "Now that we're all fine and dandy can we get out of here?"

[Skaia 581]

The girl didn't seem at all phased by Belle's comment, instead just smiling as both Ivan and the Haunter seemed to get past their differences. Nodding to herself for a job well done on her part, for what job none could be certain, the girl then looked back to Ivan. "Yeah, we can get going now." Shooting a look over to Belle she said, "of course, you can't go exploring sitting down, so let's get up Belle! And don't steal his comics. That'd be rude." She then looked over to both Dennis and his Haunter saying, "same goes for you two. Don't steal any more snacks. That's also rude." Clapping her hands together before pumping her fist in the air she shouted, "alright gang, let's get ready to get to more adventure!" Giving a wave to Dennis she said, "later." And with that, the girl began to make her way out of the lighthouse.  

[Sethera 290]

Belle stared at Dennis blankly. While he really did remind her of herself before, right now he didn't at all. She had never had this much trouble talking to somebody, she just...never wanted to talk to people. But he seemed constantly nervous and on edge, and now he was turning red at that. Was she really that scary? Her expression darkened. Well, other people seemed to think so. Ignoring the thought, and the emotions it brought, the girl watched as Ivan, reluctantly, apologized. He seemed more willing to apologize to the Haunter than Dennis, which Belle didn't really understand, since it was the Haunter who had used Hypnosis on him Still, whatever floated his boat.

"Now that we're all fine and dandy can we get out of here?"

"But I'm not done," Belle looked up, tone flat as usual, and held out the comic book as a demonstration.

"Yeah, we can get going now." Shooting a look over to Belle, Jacklyn said, "of course, you can't go exploring sitting down, so let's get up Belle! And don't steal his comics. That'd be rude."

Belle stared at the ground reluctantly, unwilling to rise just yet. After all, getting up meant moving, which meant exercise, which meant they would have to leave, which meant she couldn't finish the comic book. Finally, she sighed, pressing both hands to the floor as she lifted a leg, setting her foot down on the floor, and then the other one, slowly rising up as she did so. "Ugh, fiiine. Here ya go," she said, giving the comic book back to Dennis.

"Alright gang, let's get ready to get to more adventure!" Giving a wave to Dennis the purple-haired girl said, "later." And with that, the girl headed down the ladder.

"Bye," Belle said. "It was fun. I'm glad I got to read some Gligarman." She really wished she could have stayed longer and read more of his latest exploits, but those were the breaks. She paused, unsure if she should say more. The cartoons always had another step during goodbyes, like a hug, but she was no good at those. Still, a pat on the shoulder wouldn't hurt right? Leaning up a little, she patted the boy awkwardly on the shoulder. Turning to the Haunter, the girl decided that that thing did not deserve a pat. So instead, she said, "Bye," before following Jacklyn, and Ivan if he had already left, down the ladder.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"What sort of region do you think Korova will turn out to be?  I've always wanted to try visiting someplace tropical like Alola, but I get the hunch this isn't quite that sort of region."

Oswald rubbed his chin, contemplating on the question.  

"Well, what's stopping this area from being tropical?  As I recall, we've had to take a boat to get to multiple islands...it'd be strange if it became any less tropical."  

"Hey, you losers over there.  I recognize you, you were on that boat from the other regions too right?" A boy in glasses spoke. "Looks like you haven't been here long, are all the rest of the groups that far behind? We were just about to head out but what do you say we have ourselves a little battle? Since we're all here for the same thing why don't we find out who's the strongest right now?"

Oswald looked around him, Kanon, and Naomi, only to point to himself.

"Are we the losers?"  Oswald smirked, as he rubbed the back of his head.  "Sorry, but I didn't seem to recognize you guys...you wouldn't stand out from a crowd to me."  He sighed, realizing this was how it was going to be with most trainers from the expedition, as it were.  He brought out Archie, who erupted with a cry.  "If you're up to the task, by all means.  Blazing through the region won't get you any experience, like the one's behind us!"  

[LordCowCow 842]

"Fine, I'm sorry."

Dennis cringed at the tone but just gave an awkward nod and a vague mumble in response. The Haunter gave a chilling laugh as their hand passed through Ivan's mid-shake.

"alright gang, let's get ready to get to more adventure!"

The boy flinched as Jacklyn waved, for a moment thinking she was going to hit him. But she was just saying goodbye. "Um. Yeah. L-later." Wait, later? Did she intend to come back? His eyes widened as he analyzed the word choice. And why had he responded like that? They wouldn't see each other again. He was going to stay right here and they...they were going to go on an adventure. A journey. Together. A bunch of friends...

"Bye," Belle said. "It was fun. I'm glad I got to read some Gligarman." 

He blushed as she said this. A cute girl had fun? With him? And she was happy about his comics...He felt something akin to an electric shock as the girl patted him on the shoulder and he was surprised that he didn't pass out on the spot. He wanted to say something but his mouth was dry and his feet were rooted to the spot.

But as she started to leave he lurched forward a step, comic book in hand, "Y-you can take it with...i-if...you want." he said, holding the comic out stiffly. While his Haunter laughed in the background.

Spoiler

Lemme know what y'all hope to do in the city and when you want to move on. Unless you do something that requires it for not it's free reign so mostly as long as you all post that is counted as a full round. (So this is the start of the count but once all three of you post then the last person is where the new "round" would start.)

---

"Huh? Waz going on?" Naomi said, watching in confusion as the girl of the other group moved into a position across from her. "Is this'a battle?" She asked.

"Yes." the girl said.

"Oh...why?"

The girl glanced over at Chad, who shrugged, then back to her. "That's what trainers do." She said bluntly.

"Ooooh....it is?"

"Looks like you've got it easy, Fuyumi." Chad said with a laugh.

The girl, Fuyumi, didn't respond. Instead she simply sent out her Pokemon, a Horsea. Naomi gasped. "Oh, I need to send someone out..." She fumbled around a bit before Princess's Pokeball rolled out and the Rhyhorn came out.

Fuyumi seemed to look quizzically at the choice before stating "I will win." Matter-of-factly.

---

"Saying we're all here for the same thing is a bit of a bold assumption,"

"If you aren't you're even less worth our time. This'll be fast. Kenta, take care of her." Chad said, eyes on Oswald.

The large man stepped out to the side. Facing Kanon. "Hey! I'm Kenta, welcome...er, let's do this! I can't wait to see how tough your Pokemon are." He looked at Inkay and scratched his head. "Kinda...soft looking ain't he?" He said before sending his own Pokemon out. A Geodude. "Now this, this is what tough looks like! Geodude, Tackle!"

---

"Sorry, but I didn't seem to recognize you guys...you wouldn't stand out from a crowd to me. If you're up to the task, by all means.  Blazing through the region won't get you any experience, like the one's behind us!"

Chad adjusted his glasses with a scowl. "If your observation skills are that low it's your problem not mine. I think you'll find that we're getting plenty of experience. If you think you're so strong then it's my job to teach you a lesson."

Looking over the Mareep he nodded to himself and sent out his own Pokemon. A wriggling Bellsprout came out of the ball. "Alright, let's start this with Growth. Let's overpower this guy and move on!"

Spoiler

And so it begins. As always take the battle at your preferred pace. Getting info as you wish. Or just going move for move if that's what you want. Will try and post a bit faster in that case.

Chad: Bellsprout, Level 9. Ability: ??? Moves: Growth

Kenta: Geodude, level 10. Ability: ??? Moves: Tackle

Fuyumi: Horsea, level 10. Ability: ??? Moves:

 

[Sethera 290]

As Belle was about to leave, Dennis lurched forward a step, comic book in hand, "Y-you can take it with...i-if...you want." he said, holding the comic out stiffly. While his Haunter laughed in the background.

The girl blinked. This guy was really generous. It was weird but also kind of...nice. She hadn't met anybody this generous in real life, ever. Only ever in cartoons or video games. "Thank you," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. The smile was gone as soon as it came, however, as she plucked the comic book from his hands. "If we meet again, I'll give it back." She doubted they would, but on the off chance they did, she could. Maybe they could talk more about Gligarman. Or some of the other comics she had seen in his possession.

With one last goodbye and a side eye at the Haunter, the girl left with the others. Going down the stairs was a lot easier than going up the stairs, and the bluenette wasn't nearly as out of breath coming down as she was coming up. Stopping to lean against the wall of the lighthouse anyway, she looked at the others. "Well, whaddaya wanna do?" She yawned. While she would rather just get some shut-eye in as it was getting pretty late, she knew that her companions would probably choose to explore. She looked around. "Should we get something to eat?" She remembered seeing a marketplace located near the harbor, but as late as it was, would it even be open?

[Skaia 581]

Jacklyn took in a deep breath of air as she had finally left the lighthouse. A smile beaming on her face, the girl felt re-energized by the atmosphere of the outdoors. Looking to the rest of the group, she said, "nothing like leaving a stuffing old building or sewer and getting right back into the swing of things right guys?" As Belle seemed to be slouching against the wall, wondering what to do next, the girl put a hand to her chin. Perking up at the idea of getting something to eat, she said, "great idea Belle! After all, adventure isn't just about exploring new places, but exploring new flavors as well!" Something she had heard from a television show once. "And since we're in a new place, there's no doubt new flavors here to try!" 

Pointing forward she said, "alright gang! Our next mission is to find a place to sit down and eat. And also! While we're exploring and getting something to eat, let's all each think of something to do or look for while we're in town." Thinking herself, the girl said, "I need to find a gift shop." Looking to the others she shouted, "onward!" 

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 700

"If you aren't you're even less worth our time. This'll be fast. Kenta, take care of her."

"So you'll just waste your time anyway to prove a point," Kanon sighed under her breath.

"Hey! I'm Kenta, welcome...er, let's do this! I can't wait to see how tough your Pokemon are. Kinda...soft looking ain't he?"

At least Kenta didn't seem like a bad sort. With that, however, it was time to battle. Sentiments on whether he was a good person or not could wait. Kenta sent out his pokemon - a geodude - and the battle got officially underway.

"Now this, this is what tough looks like! Geodude, Tackle!"

"Ursula, reflect it!" With a chirping trill, the Inkay put up a barrier between itself and the geodude, which the latter crashed through on its way to attack Kanon's pokemon. The damage was certainly mitigated, but saying there was none at all would be a lie. With the protective screen up, Kanon reasoned it was probably best to let someone better suited to handle these rocks take over. And who better than her most trusty of companions right now? Kanon held out two poke balls, opening the first one to return Ursula to her spherical shelter, before pressing the button on the other to release her trusty poliwag.

"Bubbles, hit it with a water gun!" And so the pokemon obliged.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"If your observation skills are that low it's your problem not mine. I think you'll find that we're getting plenty of experience. If you think you're so strong then it's my job to teach you a lesson."  The boy nodded to himself, letting loose his own pokemon, a Bellsprout.  Oswald bit his lip a little.  This would be an awkward fight. "Alright, let's start this with Growth. Let's overpower this guy and move on!"

Even so, he believed in Archie.  

"Growth, huh?  You like to assure your own strength.  But what good is it if you can't even move?"  Oswald flung out his hand.  "Archie, use Thunder Wave!  Let's stop him before he can even make a move!"  Archie baa'd, as the circles of electric energy all shot out towards the Bellsprout.  "Now, stick close behind the Thunder Wave!  Follow through with a tackle!"  The Mareep nodded, charging behind the attack that it had already launched.  "Overpowering my clever strategies, and my partner?  That's one tough cookie you're trying to crack!"  

[LordCowCow 842]

Kenta seemed surprised at Kanon's action. "Wait, you switched out? Come on you gotta stick to your guns and fight! That's no way to battle." The Geodude was hit dead on with the water attack and was knocked backwards by the force of the super-effective attack.

Kenta punched one hand with his other, balled into a fist, and adjusted positions to a more wide stance. "C'mon Geodude, you've got this, Rollout, don't let a little water keep you down!" And with that the rock type would curl up and launch itself towards Bubbles. Even if the Pokemon was hit by a water gun the rotation would mitigate some of the damage. All the while Kenta would cheer on his Pokemon, urging it to keep up the attack.

---

"Overpowering my clever strategies, and my partner?  That's one tough cookie you're trying to crack!"  

Chad didn't seem all too impressed by Oswald's moves. He pushed his glasses up and smirked confidently. "Suppose that's a decent move. Unfortunately for you Bellsprout doesn't have to be fast to fight. Now, Bellsprout, vine whip, straight line!" he called out.

The Grass type shot out one of its roots forward, glowing green, through the middle of the circle of electricity and directly on Archie's head as the Mareep charged in to Tackle them.

---

"Princess, go do it." Naomi said. The Rhyhorn snorted and nodded. Lowering her horn and charging towards the much smaller Horsea.

Fuyumi didn't so much as flinch as the large Pokemon barreled towards her. "Smokescreen." The Horsea shot out a cloud of black smoke directly in Princess's path. Causing the Rhyhorn to slow a bit as she got her bearings.

However she still continued forward. "Right." Fuyumi said and the Horsea moved over to the right, only several feet, and let move right past them. "Bubble." A cluster of bubbles came from out of the Horsea. Moving slowly but, being that close, all of them struck Princess. Popping on her rocky hide and causing major damage. Letting out a roar, Princess shook her head back and forth, attempting to clear the smoke from her eyes.

"Give up." Fuyumi said.

"Huh? But we jus'tarted, Princess is fine." Naomi said back, utterly confused by the suggestion.

Spoiler

Chad: Bellsprout, Level 9. Ability: ??? Moves: Growth, Vine Whip

Kenta: Geodude, level 10. Ability: ??? Moves: Tackle, Rollout

Fuyumi: Horsea, level 10. Ability: ??? Moves: Smokescreen, Bubble

 

[yui 577]

Location: Skrelp Harbor
Poké: 700

"Wait, you switched out? Come on you gotta stick to your guns and fight! That's no way to battle."

"I'm more of a pragmatic type," Kanon flatly answered. Kenta's geodude then began to roll forward, prompting Kanon to repeat her water gun order, and for Bubbles to repeat his attack. Probably because the geodude had been spinning, it seemed like some of the attack bounced off relatively harmlessly. And although the geodude did attack successfully, it too had its attack mitigated by the screen Ursula had provided. And once it was right in Bubbles's face?

"Water Gun it again!"

With the geodude right in front of bubbles, spinning though it may have been, there was little to stop the poliwag from spitting out a stream of water that hit the geodude in a weak spot. A critical hit! The geodude's rolling stopped, as it fell over, knocked clean out by the repeated water attacks.

"Whoa, impossible, how'd that little thing get through Geodude's super defenses!"

"You shouldn't underestimate little things." Holding up Bubbles's poke ball in case this fight was now over or about to turn unfavorable for the poliwag, Kanon continued "Is that geodude all you've got, or can you keep fighting?"

[reparoni 161]

 

---

Ivan took in a deep breath as they stepped out of the lighthouse. While it hadn't gone the way he had wanted too, he couldn't say he regretted going there. After all, he had caught the third member of his team, which was shaping up rather nicely. He turned to his other companions, Belle mentioning getting food. "I could go for some food myself." He said, patting his stomach. Jacklyn seemed very excited at the idea of eating food, mention how important it was to taste the flavor of each place. "Then it's settled - we get some food." He said, turning towards the rest of the city. "Plus, it'd be good for our Pokemon to get some rest."

As Jacklyn pointed towards the town, he shook his head at the mention of shopping. Right, they had said they were going to do that. "I guess we can do some quick shopping." He said, crossing his arms as he walked passed Jacklyn. "Before any of that, though, we should find a Pokemon Center." He said without turning towards the other girls, looking around. "Gotta make sure everyone is in good condition for training."

[Skaia 581]

Jacklyn snapped her fingers as Ivan mentioned going to the pokemon center. "Right you are Ivan! Keeping your companions ship shape is paramount for adventuring! Onward!" Pointing in the direction, the girl began her trek through the town of Skrelp Harbor. Though they had a clear destination in mind, Jacklyn had issue doing so. Having barely explored the town before their excursion to the lighthouse, the girl continuously wandered towards each new building with wonder, but with some guiding would keep pace to getting to the pokemon center. Once the healing process was all done, the girl shoved her two pokeballs into the air saying, "woohoo! All ready to go now." 

Looking at the others, "well, we should probably get something to eat. Of course, I already found a place to eat." Pulling out a menu from one of the buildings they had passed by, The Skrelp Flambe, Jacklyn showed them the cover to it. "It's supposed to be a pretty famous place to eat around these parts with loads of dishes you can't find anywhere else," as they were informed by the large blurb on the menu's cover that said just that. Frowning a bit the girl said, "but, I'm not sure if our pokemon will like it there. So we should probably look for a place for them too." Pulling out her two pokeballs she said, "I should probably be fine with just carrots but uh...what do your guys's pokemon eat?" 

[Sethera 290]

Jacklyn seemed to be pleased with the suggestion, which was surprising. Belle had expected something along the lines of, "a great adventurer never stops to eat!" or some nonsense like that. Instead, she shouted out, "great idea Belle! After all, adventure isn't just about exploring new places, but exploring new flavors as well! And since we're in a new place, there's no doubt new flavors here to try!"

Belle froze. That sounded...oddly familiar. She felt as if she had watched something like that, once upon a time. Though she couldn't remember most of what she watched, honestly, having watched quite a bit, but it sounded familiar anyway. Had Jacklyn watched it too?

Ivan agreed, patting his stomach. "I could go for some food myself. Then it's settled - we get some food." He said, turning towards the rest of the city. "Plus, it'd be good for our Pokemon to get some rest." However, there was something that Belle, and Jacklyn in her excitement, had forgotten, that the tanned boy had not. "Before any of that, though, we should find a Pokémon Center. Gotta make sure everyone is in good condition for training."

Jacklyn quickly agreed with that, but Belle couldn't help but frown. She had never used a Pokémon Center before. When Moo had needed to rest, she had just let him rest in his Poké Ball and not used him. Still, a way to quickly heal up injured Pokémon sounded useful. At least it meant they would be prepared if they needed to fight.

Going through Skrelp Harbor, the bluenette noticed that Jacklyn was having...difficulties keeping to task. Every so often she would start drifting toward a building that looked "exciting," and each time would have to be guided back. Belle glanced at Ivan and made a face. "At this rate it'll be dawn by the time we get to the Pokémon Center."

After reaching the Center, Belle greeted the nurse with some trepidation, however the woman seemed perfectly friendly, which caused her to relax somewhat. Handing over her Poké Balls, she watched them glow slightly in the strange machine, curious. It wasn't too long before they were both back in her hands. Gazing at the two of them with furrowed brows, she realized that...she could not tell them apart. This wasn't good.

Closing her eyes, the girl concentrated on the balls. If she could just focus, then maybe...maybe. Even the most inexperienced of psychics can identify which Pokémon is in their own Poké Ball. Putting forth all her effort, she tried...and failed. They both felt exactly the same to her. She frowned. Jacklyn and Ivan don't have any problems sending out their Pokémon. Did that make them psychic? So she was even worse at this psychic business than the two of them? That was a little...depressing. Not that I really wanted to become a great psychic, she shook her head. But it would be quite useful right about now.

The girl sighed and put them away. Well, she would just have to figure it out later. Maybe mark them? For now, she glanced over at Jacklyn, who had already started to babble on about something or another. From the menu she was holding, it was probably about where they were going next. "The Skrelp Flambé, huh?" the bluenette muttered, "sounds fancy." Way above her head, and probably above her allowance too.

"It's supposed to be a pretty famous place to eat around these parts with loads of dishes you can't find anywhere else," Jacklyn frowned, "but, I'm not sure if our pokemon will like it there. So we should probably look for a place for them too." Pulling out her two pokeballs she said, "I should probably be fine with just carrots but uh...what do your guys's pokemon eat?" 

"Eat?" Belle repeated. "Oh yes, that." Her brow wrinkled. Actually...she had not fed Moo once since getting him. He had never really seemed hungry either, though she thought she saw him eat grass once. Or, he was holding it in his mouth anyway. She hadn't really been paying attention. "I think Moo eats grass," she mused. "I just caught a Rattata, not sure what it eats." She did remember hearing once about it needing to gnaw on things, or else its teeth would grow too long, but that didn't help her now. She wanted to know what it was supposed to gnaw on, not that it did.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Sethera