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

[Skaia 579]

Jacklyn put her chin in her hand, thinking intensely at Anima's suggestion. Splitting up was a staple on adventures, and the number one to get antics ensued. Not to mention that Jacklyn could hardly contain her excitement to go buying things for a camping adventure. But on the other hand - Jacklyn switched which hand her chin was in - she finally had an adventuring group to go doing things with and had barely been anywhere but a boat with them yet. Splitting up so early seemed like a waste to her. It was then that her train of thought was broken by Anneliese looking at some nearby pokeballs. Whistling she said, "well, I don't have the money for that on me. But they do look pretty cool. Hmmm..." As the girl pondered she then perked up saying, "wait hold up. You said those looked like Leopold's ball right? Can I see it?" At her behest Anneliese showed the Shinx's pokeball which Jacklyn compared to the ones in the case, seeing that it was exactly the same kind of ball. "I see. That's no good Anneliese you shouldn't be using these kinds of balls to catch more pokemon. Because, you see..." The girl paused, as if for dramatic effect, before shouting, "that's Leopold's ball!" She emphatically pointing to the ball in question. 

"My sister told me all about it, you know. There's all kinds of pokeballs that they make these days and they all look different and have different looking effects when you send the pokemon out of them. It's really cool! And since there's so many kinds of pokeballs, don't you think that makes the one the pokemon was originally caught in like, super special? It makes it like its own and makes them unique! Your own personal trainer flair!" Smiling, proud of her own logic, she said, "so, let's find as many different kinds of pokeballs as we can to catch as many different kinds of pokemon as we can!" She wasn't mindful of her voice in this public environment, but settled before saying, "but you know. I heard that they sell special pokeballs if you buy ten of the original kind." She looked between her two companions as if to say, "pretty sweet huh?" 

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Nate found the Pokémon Center without issue thanks to the directions given to him by a rather nice local. The local had also pointed out that, because the town was once a well-known tourist destination, there were signs posted on every corner that pointed towards all of the major places a trainer would need to find. The Pokémon Center was one such destination. All of his newfound knowledge made navigating the streets incredibly easy, and it also inspired the—only a little bit embarrassed—boy to resolve to always read street signs before bothering people for directions.

To some people a mistake such as the one he had made would keep them up at night. Replaying the local awkwardly pointing out the signs in their head, over and over, berating themselves for how stupid they felt.

Nate had forgotten the entire event by the time he got to the front desk.

The woman behind the desk had the bright pink hair Nate had come to associate with Pokémon Center nurses. She turned away from whatever she had been working on behind the desk and flashed a warm smile at the boy. “Hello, and welcome to the Pokémon Center! Would you like to rest your Pokémon?”

Nate nodded and unclipped Peat’s Poké Ball from his belt. “Sure would. My buddy Peat and I just had our first battle,” he said, before setting the Poké Ball on the counter. “We won!” he blurted out before he could think better of it.

Nurse Joy clapped enthusiastically at the news. “That’s wonderful! Your first battle is always sure to be memorable.”

Nate smiled back at her and rubbed the back of his neck. “For sure. But… Well, Peat got banged up pretty bad. Plus he was breathing pretty hard last time he was out, so I figured I’d bring him in and have a professional give him a look. Better safe than sorry, y’know?”

Nurse Joy picked the Poké Ball up off the counter with practiced grace. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile in his direction. “Pokémon are much tougher than we give them credit for. I’m sure your Peat will bounce back before you know it. If you’ll fill this paperwork out for me quickly, I’ll take him to the back and treat any injuries he may have.” She passed him a clipboard with several papers on it.

Nate blinked at the paper. It was… dense. He had seen similar things when his mom had taken him to the doctor as a kid. Check-in, fill out paperwork, return it to the receptionist and wait to be called. It was different having to fill it out himself though. There was a box for his name. One for his trainer ID (which he had memorized as soon as they had issued him his official license, by staring at it in the dark of his room because excitement prevented him from sleeping). The name of his Pokémon. The species of Pokémon. Any prior injuries Peat may have suffered that could be notable to a physician when treating him.

“You won’t always have to fill this out,” Nurse Joy assured him while he stared at that box. “This is just what we do when a foreign trainer visits a Korovan Pokémon center for the very first time. I’ll put this all on file for you and then you won’t ever need to fill it out again during your stay in Korova.”

Nate nodded and said, “it’s no problem either way. As long as you take good care of Peat!”, but in reality it was a huge relief to him. The entire document was very intimidating.

He finished it and passed it back to Nurse Joy, who smiled and tucked it under her arm. “Thank you for your help! I’ll go ahead and get little Peat seen now. We’ll call you as soon as we’re finished. In the meantime, there’s chairs by the door, and trainer magazines on the table!” she said cheerily. 

Nate nodded and wandered over to find a chair to sit in. He was an adult. He was ready for this. Most kids had started their Pokémon journeys at 11, so if they could fill out papers like that at such a young age, he could do it at 16. It was nothing for him to stress about. He had been preparing for this for way longer than most normal trainers. Read books and spent years planning his bag and his training style and every other minute detail. This was nothing.

Nate shook off the lingering feelings of incompetence by throwing himself into bugging the locals while he waited. “Hi! Nice to meet you. My name’s Nate. I was just wondering what kind of Pokémon you all see locally?” he asked every passerby he saw. He noted down every single one they mentioned to him, along with any additional information they offered. Pidgey. Starly. Most of the regional bird species. It was a similar thing with the regional rodents. Rattata like the one he had battled. Patrat. Sentret. A young-looking kid told him about a gigantic fat rat that claimed to have seen that he called “Ratking”. Nate noted that down in quotations with a note beside it that said “...probably Raticate.”, but he kept track of it nonetheless. Wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out for it while they were traveling.

Time passed quickly and before he knew it he had been called back to the front desk. “Your Peat is rested and as healthy as could be!” Nurse Joy said with a smile and offered him his Poké Ball back.

Nate collected it with a nod and felt another weight lift off his shoulders. “Thanks!” he said. He clipped the Poké Ball to his belt and made a mental note to celebrate with Peat once he had the chance.

Nurse Joy nodded and said, “It’s our pleasure to help trainers like you. Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

Nate hesitated and then said, “... Have you ever heard of a Pokémon called Ratking?”

Nurse Joy giggled but shook her head. Nate added another question mark to the listing.

Soon after that the boy would notice that his traveling companions had made it to the Pokémon Center at some point and were seated along the walls. Nate made a combee-line for them. “Hey! You guys made it!” he said a bit too loudly. He stopped in front of them and said, “and looks like you got most of the stuff!” He accepted his coin purse back (Snorlax now had a woefully empty stomach), and then took the supplies offered to him as his portion of the haul. The Poké Balls got clipped to his belt immediately, then the potions and antidotes were carefully stored in a padded side compartment of his backpack that he had labeled “medicine” with a sharpie. “Thanks for picking this up for me,” he told them both. “I really owe you guys one.”

Quinn offered him a granola bar after that. Nate took the granola bar and flashed a victorious smile at the two other trainers. “A victory granola bar sounds amazing right about now,” he said as he unwrapped it. His stomach rumbled noisily at that moment. “That’s crazy though! Seven whole days?” His eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he stared at the ghost girl. “You’re wayyyy tougher than me for sure. I’m convinced there’s some Snorlax DNA somewhere in my family tree ‘cause I gotta have a constant supply of food. I’d do good to make it three days before my stomach started a coup and tried to take me out.” He tore half of the granola bar away in one huge bite after saying that. Nate had no idea if it was because he was hungry or because it was his first meal after becoming a certified trainer, but it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

He sat down beside Belle and pulled out his notebook. “I did a lot of asking around after I got to the Pokémon Center,” he would say excitedly. He waved his notebook around to show both of his companions all of his scribbles. His hand-writing was surprisingly good but the way he shook the notebook around would make it hard for either to see more than a few names before he yanked it away. “Looks like we’ll be mostly seeing rodents and birds. Rattata and Pidgey from Kanto, and most of the other regional birds I think. My non-Kanto knowledge is a little spotty so I can’t say for sure but they SOUND like the names of other regional birds and rats.”

Nate finished the granola bar and thanked Quinn for sharing. “Isn’t this awesome? You guys think you’re gonna try and catch any of ‘em?” Then, Nate would smile at Belle and nod his head toward her. "Cool shirt by the way."
 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Cheshire Toon

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

There were times, when Anima wondered if some sort of trickster-Pokémon was following her; adjusting events and changing her course, all as some sort of sick joke where a heart-attack is the punchline. Now, as Anneliese held up a six pack of Luxury Balls, was one of those times. “...Absolutely not,” she murmured, almost in a gasp, as she brought a hand to her throat. “That’s- Er… I don’t…” Anima sighed, bringing a hand to her chin as she closed her eyes, and scrunched up her eyebrows. “If I carry the three… Or so…” she trailed off, crossing her arms.

“...Total, I'll have roughly… 2,000 for Pokéballs, Potions, and anything we need for battle,” she’d explain, apologetically, as she looked towards Anneliese. “That’s 1,000 a piece, for both of us, since I said I would cover your Pokéballs. I’m, er… I’m going to leave you here, with Jacklyn, to pick out some Pokeballs for the both of us, but please don’t pick out anything that would go over 2,000 total, alright?” she’d do her best to turn her smile softer, as she adjusted her bag. “For the sake of time, I’m going to go pick out a tent, two sleeping-bags, and any other necessities that I can think of,” she’d explain, adjusting her bag. “Such as snacks for Confi and your Pokemon,” she’d add with a smile, before turning around; and doing what she did best.

Exiting the scene.

Or, well, as far as she could. Travel supplies were still on the first floor, after all; but it would put Anima out of sight of the Pokéball section, and leave them to figure it out. She gave clear enough instructions too, that there was little chance of a mistake happening (she hoped, with Jacklyn there at least); but it also kept her close enough, that if disaster struck, she could… Grab them and leg it? Offer to pay for the damages? She paused idly as she turned a travel-tent’s bag over on the shelf. What was her plan if things went wrong? She furrowed her eyebrows again, as she picked up the tent. That would be a problem for future-Anima.

So instead, she focused on suiting the actions to the words she had spoken before. A tent was top priority, followed by sleeping bags for the two of them; assuming Jacklyn could get her own. Of course, they’d probably want to get an extra backpack to carry the sleeping supplies in - given that she doubted they would all fit in her book-bag - and there were also food to come by… Anima sighed a little as put some of the nicer snacks she had meant to bring for Confi back, picking up a simpler food that was liable to able to be shared between the ghost-type and Jacklyn’s own Leopold, and added it to the stack of items she was doing her best to carry.

Now all she needed to find for now, was a lamp…

[Sethera 290]

Once again, Belle was struck by how oddly Quinn talked. Yet more proof xe was a ghost. Still, she was also relieved by xir answer. The only thing worse than shopping was shopping to prepare for a trip outside. Which was what they had been doing. At least she got a granola bar out of it.

While the others talked, Belle's eyelids sagged, and her head drooped. Today… had been an exhausting day. And it wasn't even over. She mumbled responses to them like: "thanks 'nola bar," "seven days rough," "rats strong," and "better'n rainbow vomit." However, she was not fully engaged in the conversation, and it showed. Eventually, she just leaned her head back against the headrest and fell asleep.

[radio414 909]

Quinn had not been offended by Nathaniel’s assertion. If they had, it would have said something earlier. He was glad, then, that Nathaniel did not take it too seriously, even as Quinn added on a little rider at the end: “Do not forget, no matter how hungry you are, you are still alive. You can always be hungrier. Or thirstier. Or-” They were interrupted by Belladonna slumping over in her seat, still mumbling something about rainbow vomit. “- or sleepier.”

She took a bite of her granola bar, appreciating its bland, nutritive value. If asked, Quinn would probably say something like, “Ghosts subsist on the flavors that are not there. It is a meditative process. Spiritual fare, you understand,” even if, in reality, it was just an appreciation of food in general. What little flavor was there was still enough for zir. It also gave Quinn some time to contemplate Nathaniel’s question.

What sort of Pokémon did they hope to encounter? It was a difficult question, especially since the one Pokémon Quinn had ever gotten to know was floating right next to her, still attached to xir hand. Cassiopeia had been captured by someone else and later given to Quinn, of course. Though Quinn had purchased a set of Poké Balls at the store (and even been rewarded with an extra Premiere Ball for buying everyone’s at once), he had only read about Pokémon catching in books and the SS Rising Sun’s informative pamphlets. The Korova region seemed vast and unknowable to Quinn too. Even if she was a Pokémon Master, with a full Pokédex and a suite of badges to their name, Quinn still would not know what to look for in a Pokémon companion.

But that did not really answer Nathaniel’s question, now did it? Even if it was a non-binding and off-hand remark, they still had to make some sort of decision. Quinn swallowed the granola and said, “It all sounds very exciting. I will not be so naïve as to think that every Pokémon encounter we have is a friendly one, but I hope for such things all the same. I suppose I will accept any Pokémon that is willing to have a wayward soul for a trainer, and they can add to the bond I keep with Cassiopeia that keeps me on this mortal plane.”

With that said, with supplies secured and Nathaniel’s Pokémon brought to full health after a successful battle, there was little else left to do in New Point Landing besides disembark. Quinn stood up and gave Belladonna another good poke in the arm as Cassiopeia tried to pull the woman by the other arm up from her seated napping position. “Let us go, Belladonna. As they say, the early ghost haunts the most,” e said, ignoring both that nobody else said that at all and that it had been already well into the day by the time they had even arrived in town. “We can rest later. Perhaps once we are out of the city and into the wilds, into areas with little light pollution I can read the stars to you and tell you your fate. How does that sound?”

[LordCowCow 842]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Anneliese clapped her hands together and the reached out to grab Jacklyn by her arm. "Oh, my, thank you for telling me, I would never have thought of that. I'm glad to have such a learned adventurer with us." Her eyes sparkled with pure and bright admiration.

When Anima gave Anneliese the money she looked at it in awe. "Goodness I've never seen such a small amount before. Don't worry, I will buy only the best!" And before anything more could be said she had wandered off towards the Pokeballs.

As soon as Anima was out of eyesight the worker made a beeline for the girl. It seemed that she was struggling to make a decision on something but, eventually, she was able to proudly return with what she had gotten.

"At first I was going to use Jacklyn's knowledge and get ten Pokeballs and one of those special balls but, then, I thought 'oh no that's only two different kind of pokeballs that won't do'." She smiled as she presented what she had bought. Which was, in total, 5 pokeballs. "You see, the Pokeball and Heal balls were not very expensive at all. So I got one of each for both of us. And then I was wondering what I could possibly do with the remaining 1000. It would be a waste to get two more of the same I thought. Which was when the kind cashier let me know of a few special balls that they had limited supply of that cost exactly 1000."

She presented the fifth ball, a Dusk Ball, to Anima. "You have a Ghost type, yes? I thought perhaps you might want to catch another Ghost friend and the lovely cashier told me that this worked well at night, isn't that amazing?"

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Nate nodded vigorously throughout Belle’s mumbling. He burst out laughing when she muttered about her new shirt being better than rainbow vomit. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to laugh. Just… wasn’t expecting that. I’d say that’s way better than rainbow vomit for sure.” He tilted his head to the side and rubbed his neck, remembering the time as a child he had eaten so much of a rainbow colored candy called Skiddles that he made himself sick. So many colors… So much puke… He shuddered. Even so many years later just seeing a Skiddle was enough to unsettle his stomach.

He pushed the memory to the back of his mind and focused on the present. “Well you really do look a lot better. You’re not nearly as pale as you were on the boat!” Nate flashed Belle with a  huge smile and two thumbs-up before he realized she had fallen asleep.

“Oh. You musta been REALLY tired. Sorry for talking your ear off. I just get really excited about Pokémon and then I start rambling and—” He cut himself off abruptly. “Right. Sleeping. Gotcha.”

Quinn was fortunately there to pick up the conversation. Nate pulled his legs up into the chair and nodded. “That’s true. My dad used to say something kind of like that. Something about how muscle pain after a workout was a sign that you had gone beyond your limit and pushed the bar further. Something like that.” He propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “Guess being hungry and thirsty just means I’m still alive.” He stared over at Quinn. “You’re awfully wise for being so young. Two years ago I spent most of my time watching old League battles and hitting a sandbag.”

His eyes lit up when Quinn expressed their uncertainty. He pulled his notebook out and started to scribble. “I can help you figure it out. Just gimme a minute to think. You said Cassy is Flying and Ghost…” he started to mutter rapidly under his breath.

Roughly 30 seconds later he ripped out a sheet of paper and handed it to Quinn. On it, Nate had written several names (with shoddily drawn illustrations of what each looked like), as well as the type of the Pokémon and why he thought it would fit on their potential team. There were also notes that made seemingly little sense. There was one beside the line that listed Alolan Rattata that just said “Big teeth, chomp wood?”, and another beside Wattrel that said “RUBBER GLOVES” in all capital letters. That part had also been underlined twice. “Some suggestions. I’m not really an expert or anything, but hopefully this helps,” he said.

He shoved his notebook back into his pocket and hauled his backpack onto his shoulders after that. “If you’re tired, Belle, I can carry your stuff for you. Plus I can set up the tents for all of us tonight too.” Nate was someone who liked to be helpful. His actions were genuine… but he also was extremely excited to get out of the city and encounter new Pokémon. 
 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Cheshire Toon

[Skaia 579]

With her and Anneliese left to the shopping of other assorted items, Jacklyn was smiling looking at all of the wares that the store had to offer. There was any numbers of medicine around, but Jacklyn hardly any idea what they would need a burn heal or antidote for. And she loosely knew what potions were for but all that mattered was not getting injured to have to use them in the first place! As such, the only thing that mattered to Jacklyn at present was getting another member for her team. After all, a pokemon journey was only a real journey when you had a full team to go explore with! And as such, she was sure that she knew just what it was that she had to buy. 

Walking back to her team members as well, a bag in hand, the girl said, "I'm back! And look what I got!" Anneliese had already shown of her own findings to the other two, as she said, "I also bought a bunch of pokeballs. In fact, lookie here!" Showing the bag to everyone else it was clear that there was a large amount in there. "Ten of them to be exact. But, fufufu, if you think that this is it then you're in for a surprise. Because you see," the girl rifled through the bag before pulling out a white pokeball. "It came with this! An eleventh! They're called Premiere balls I think. I don't really know what's all that special about them and like sure it cost me everything to get one of these but it looks different! Which means it has to be special right?" The girl proudly presented her Premiere ball again, before putting it back in her bag. 

"So, how'd shopping go for you Anima?" 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Skaia

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

“...And… That’ll be all, thank you,” Anima smiled, nodding as she finished packing the last of the supplies into the two backpacks. A tent, some sleeping bags, a lantern, some miscellaneous food-stuffs… It was expensive, taking everything she had budgeted out, but there would be opportunities to get more money along the journey. Pokemon Battles resulted in someone taking money from the loser back home, after all; perhaps they could make some money that way? “Er… No thanks,” she’d shake her head lightly, declining a membership-card. “Sorry, I’m, uh… Not local,” she began to state. “And, um…” she trailed off, trying to find another justification--

When her two excuses came up behind her, and gave her the perfect-out from the awkward conversation.

She listened intently to Anneliese as she detailed the journey of getting Pokéballs, a gut reaction of fear overtaking her as she was presented with… Exactly three Pokéballs for herself, and two for the girl who had used her money to purchase them. Still, she couldn’t be mad or disappointed either, given the fact that the girl had thought to get her the extra Pokéball, so she simply smiled softly, and dipped her head slightly. “That was… Very kind of you,” she nodded, reaching out and taking the Pokéballs she had been offered. ”I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for any Pokéballs that might interest you, to return the favor,” she nodded slightly, before turning her attention to Jacklyn.

Jacklyn, all things considered, had done the significantly smarter play; going for quantity over variety, and been rewarded for it with a Premier Ball. “That’s wonderful, Jacklyn,” Anima closed her eyes. As excitable as the girl was, she was at least dependable - even if her logic was hard to understand in the best of conditions. “And, er… I believe they’re given out as a sort of promotion-- Like a sale, you get ten, you get an extra! And to make sure they sell better, the extra looks… Well, premier,” she’d adjust her bag a bit, hand leaving the strap just as a small mouth made from the darkness nip at her hand in annoyance.

And then, it came to her turn. A self-satisfied smile spreading on her face, Anima nodded as she lifted the two backpacks from the floor, smiling. “I managed to find enough sales to get two backpacks, a tent, a lantern, some food-stuffs for all of us and our Pokémon…” Anima trailed off, smile fading a bit. “But, I, er… Was only able to get two sleeping-bags, so… Er… Either you may need to buy one yourself,” she’d look apologetically towards Jacklyn. “Or, er… I could give you mine, and I’ll just try to use the backpack and my bookbag as some makeshift blankets…?” she’d laugh nervously… Still holding out the left Backpack towards Anneliese. “But, er… That aside, this one is yours-- It has the Lantern, the Tent, and your Sleeping-bag in it,” she smiled. “I figured I’d carry the foodstuffs so I could, er…”

To be honest, she had done so to keep Anneliese from potentially losing it; or giving too much to anyone’s Pokémon, lest they run out. Anneliese hadn’t exactly given her a lot to be confident in thus far, and as rude as it was… “Surprise you and your Pokémon with it! Thought it would make even the traveling a little more fun,” she’d stumble through an explanation that made sense to her, and she hoped would make sense to the both of them. They both seemed to like the novelty of adventures, right…?

[LordCowCow 842]

Team BQN (Eventually)

It is theorized that the trio will eventually make their way out of the city. It may take some work as one of the group may not want to leave but at some point in time it was inevitable that they would continue on and enter the first route of the region.

The route itself was rather simple, albeit fairly long, being more or less a single road leading in a mostly straight shot across the way. There was plenty of grass to either side but the ground itself seemed flat and even. Off in the distance to the right and left they could see even taller grass but they also could see a few Pokemon Rangers around that area that would advise against going too deep.

As far as trainers went there were plenty of young boys and girls scattered throughout. Many of whom were either hunting through the grass or battling each other or in some cases pacing in oddly uniform routes back and forth across the route as if waiting for someone to make eye contact with them.

Were any of the group to venture a bit farther out, perhaps in search of a rumored rat, they would in fact find some rats. Though not the kind they may have been hoping for.

They would find a Rattata, injured, running in a panic out of an area of grass. So intent on getting away they didn't even notice the humans that they passed. Going in the direction it came from they would find a couple more Rattata laying unconscious as if they had just been in a fight.

Spoiler

If you still want to do stuff in the city you can but when you leave this is what you'll see.

To make some stuff clear about exploring routes. Unless I specify you can go at your own pace and explore (if you want to really go in depth can ask for info) and battle or catch as you want. You don't have to write out the battles but if you do want to in this case feel free to write both sides. Will update the doc with the route info after posting. Oh but as a note don't try and super level your Pokemon. Essentially let me know if you intend to battle wild and/or trainer Pokemon and I can give some exp/levels as I deem fit.

Also yeah at any point you can go activate the Rattata trigger event thing so keep that in mind for when you wanna get to that.

---

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Anneliese seemed delighted by the Premier Ball. "My, what a pretty looking item. It must be much stronger than a regular Pokeball, no? Perhaps I should have done the same..." She looked over to Anima, a bit of concern in her eyes that she had messed something up.

However Anima HAD said that it was kind of her which must have meant she did something right. "Do not worry I am sure we'll get plenty more soon and then we can both obtain this special ball, after all how hard could it be to get 2000?" She said this, ignoring the fact that it was mostly all that the girl had begun with.

“Or, er… I could give you mine, and I’ll just try to use the backpack and my bookbag as some makeshift blankets…?”

"Oh, no no that won't do. Do not fret, if need be we can share! Surely these....sleeping...bags must be large enough. After all my bed at home can fit at least a dozen people in it."

She took the bag from Anima and promptly almost fell over from its weight. "Oh, goodness. I suppose by the end of this trip I shall be quite strong will I not?"

Once the group worked everything out they would set out towards the exit of the city. Intent on leaving and heading into the wild for their true adventure. However before they could get out of the city they saw a trio standing by the edge of the route.

If they thought about it they might have recognized them as some of the other trainers that had been aboard the ship when they left.

There were two boys and one girl. To their left was the girl. She was tall and slender. With her hair covering one of her eyes and the other eye gazing at them impassively, as though analyzing them, as they approached. While the girl was tall the boy on the right was even taller. He also seemed brawnier than you would expect from a teenager. Unlike the other girl he had a huge smile on his face and seemed to be barely able to stop himself from stepping forward and greeting them.

The one that did step forward was the middle boy. He was shorter than them both but seemed incredibly confident as he got closer and adjusted his glasses with a smirk. "So I guess you're the ones huh. The first trainers who get the honor of being beaten by us." He looked them up and down and sighed. "Well I guess it's fine to beat some wimps as a warm up."

He hooked a thumb towards himself and stated, "I'm Chad, remember that because I'm going to be this region's Champion. These are Kenta, and Fuyumi, and each one of them are tougher than all of you combined."

The boy, Kenta, waved merrily, "Heya! Nice to meet y-" he glanced at Chad who had hung his head and was shaking it, "uhhhh I mean I'm gonna....beat you! Er, in a Pokemon battle! Right?" He looked at Chad again for clarification.

Fuyumi for her part simply inclined her head briefly and said "Ready."

Anneliese didn't quite seem to get what was happening and then clapped her hands together, "Oh my, are we to Pokemon Battle? How exciting!" Leopold, without any prompting, emerged from his ball to glare at the trio and stand in front of the girl protectively.

Spoiler

Rival battle!! Once you decide to leave town this will be what you see. You can get dialogue from them as you wish or jump right into the battle. We can discuss who battles who but due to certain reasons I will ask that Anima not battle Kenta (though arguments could be made that it might be funny so there's that).

 

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

For her part, Anima was more than made happy by the reply from Anneliese. She had worried that the girl might not like how heavy the backpack was, but… This showed initiative. She too, was a bit annoyed by the weight of the packs; but they were necessary for the journey, and she’d get over it. “That you will be,” she smiled, a small internal voice reminding her that she would too, before nodding. Regardless of any plans the others may have had, she herself was ready to get on the road; to see the world for what it was and get out of town… Especially considering she was now flat broke, save some change.

Still, it seemed they weren’t yet to leave.

When Anima had first seen the teenagers gathered by the route, something in the back of her mind had told her that it meant trouble. It had at least made the comparison of them to a group of Pokémon staunchly guarding their territory… Which by way of the town only having one real exit, had meant they had wandered into it. As they approached, Anima would have been seen adjusting her bag ever so slightly; a small red stream of light emanating from within as she recalled Confi to her Pokeball… For now. 

She had opened her mouth to answer, when the boy in the middle, about her height (but a bit younger), spoke. His words were harsh, the kind of pompous gloating one made before they had even fought; the kind that made her just want to… Walk away. Unfortunately, doing so would have meant getting back on the ship-- And more than that, it would have been bad manners, since they were trainers now right…? “...I believe so,” Anima forced a smile to her face, and as disingenuous as it was, she still nodded towards Anneliese. 

Something about the way Chad had spoken to them-- Not just Anima, but Confi, and the rest of her group had… Annoyed her. She had never really known what to do with an emotion like annoyance; generally, she had just bottled it up, and thrown it out to sea. There weren’t many good, or healthy, outlets for a shut-in who’s only companion was a ghost-type. And yet now… “...If none of you have any objections… I’d like to battle the kid in the middle,” she’d try and force her smile to at least seem more sincere, in hopes that her word choice might strike a chord; a calculated move. One she couldn’t believe she was doing, either, given her normal approach to dealing with people... But this journey was supposed to be all about change, right?

"Hmph, so what, you think because you're old that makes you better huh? I guess at least there's a chance you'll at least last longer than them." he looked at the other two and smirked.

“Eh..?” Anima’d pause, bringing a hand up to rub at her neck. “I just couldn’t remember your name is all, didn’t really seem all that important a thing to remember,” she’d add, glancing away.

He narrowed his eyes, "I just said it, what're you, dumb?" He grumbled. "Fine, I'll beat you so fast that it'll stick this time."

“Sorry, sorry,” Anima gave a slight hand-wave, doing her best not to appear bothered. “I’m not exactly stupid, per-say, you just… Didn’t seem noteworthy enough for me to commit it to memory, but I’m sure you’ll show me otherwise,” she continued, carefully measuring her voice to sound almost patronizing as she reached into her book bag, and pulled out a normal-looking Pokéball. With a click, red-light burst forth from it to release her partner; who with a tiny, almost pitiful-sounding cry let their translucent branches fully extend from the white, dried out body of rock; pink eyes locking on the trainer in front of her. 

[Sethera 290]

"Let us go, Belladonna. As they say, the early ghost haunts the most. We can rest later. Perhaps once we are out of the city and into the wilds, into areas with little light pollution I can read the stars to you and tell you your fate. How does that sound?"

Belle groaned and didn't move. Yes, she could indeed move, and then get her fate read to her by a ghost. Or she could not move and thus not have to worry about any ouija board shenanigans. Yes, that sounded just fine by her.

"If you're tired, Belle, I can carry your stuff for you. Plus I can set up the tents for all of us tonight too."

Even Nate wanted to get moving. But Belle still didn't move. Unfortunately for her, she was outnumbered. Soon enough, the girl was walking down Route 101 looking much like a ghost herself.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with a pair of normies," she muttered under her breath. Weren't ghosts supposed to be more like shut-ins? Hating the daylight, keeping to dark corners, and staying in one spot? Belle wanted to submit a complaint to the PCS Foundation. They definitely gave her the wrong information.

The girl kept on the path, head facing the ground to avoid eye contact with other trainers. "Let's just get through this place," she told the others.

[Cheshire Toon 141]

Nate inhaled as deep as his lungs would allow the second they stepped foot out of the town. The air was different; lighter, cleaner, carrying the smell of grass and dirt and a dozen others that he couldn’t yet identify. “This is it,” he announced, looking over at his companions. “The first real step in our journey. Isn’t this awesome? I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid.”

The voice of his parents sprang unbidden to the forefront of his mind. You’re still a kid, his Mom would say. How can you expect to take care of a Pokémon when you can’t even clean your room without being told? Nate fought off a frown. That had never been a fair comparison. His room was organized in the way that made sense to him, his Mom had just never liked it. But telling her that always just caused his Dad to join in on the conversation. You’ll get all the experience in battling you need from the dojo, if you would actually pay attention during your lessons. Now stop talking back to your mother and go clean your room. Always quick to try and force him to be something that he would never be, that was his Dad. Nate had learned not to argue with them; the topic of him going on a Pokémon journey just left him and his parents tense and awkward and never went anywhere productive. That was why he had to run away. They hadn’t left him any choice. At least that was what he had to tell himself, even if he regretted it the first few nights on the boat.

All of his self-doubt dissipated when he looked out at the first route. Trainers scouring every inch of tall grass for Pokémon, the tiny little creatures darting back and forth, and more than anything the atmosphere of the area. Wild. Untamed. Full of unpredictability and life and Pokémon and people alike just chasing their dreams. It was so different from the droning monotony of his life in Saffron City, and Nate knew he would never get sick of it.

He smiled even wider than he had the moment he stepped off the ship. “C’mon! Let’s go explore!” He whipped out his notebook and flipped it open. “I wanna see if I can find every one of the Pokémon I heard about. Plus I wanna look into this rat-king stuff!”

A sudden idea struck the boy. Nate took Peat’s Poké Ball from his belt and clicked the button to release the bear inside. Peat appeared with a yawn, then looked around in confusion until he spotted his trainer. Nate waved at him. “Have a good nap bud?” he asked. The little bear made a noise somewhere between a growl and a bark, then waddled over to bump into his trainer’s leg. Nate reached down to pat him on the head.

“Good to see you’re feeling better. We’re out on the first route now bud. I’m gonna explore a bit and maybe start looking for us some new friends. I thought we could get some training in while I do that? How does that sound?” Nate crouched down so the two were at eye level. Peat slapped his fins against the ground and rumbled happily. “Hehe. I knew you’d be up to it. Awesome! Let’s start with that patch of grass over there! I bet there’s some awesome Pokémon hiding in that bush!”

Boy and Bearble ran off into the tall grass without another warning.

Anyone that followed or looked their way would see Nate and Peat carefully looking through each patch of grass, turning over every single rock they encountered (before carefully returning it to its spot), and at one point Nate even shimmied up the trunk of a tree to check for birds. A Rookidee squawked at him and pecked his hand when he got too close, causing him to fall out of a tree, and Peat roared at the little bird and accidentally blasted it with a swarm of watery-bubbles that pelted its feathery belly. 

Trainer and Pokémon alike broke into a celebratory happy dance after that. Nate could be heard from at least twenty feet away shouting something about “bubble” and “the strongest” and also "didn't see ratking up there". 
 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Cheshire Toon

[Skaia 579]

With the talk of all the camping supplies ready Jacklyn said, "don't worry, if we don't have enough to sleep in then I can take the ground. I'm pretty good at taking dirt naps after all." The girl had in fact slept on the grass several times, typically in a park, both sometimes due to relaxation but as well as more recently a means of "wilderness training" for her upcoming journey. Once it was clear that they were all ready to get going and leave the girl just gave a thumbs up to the two and said, "good job on the shopping, with this, we're all ready to start adventuring! Haha!" With a joyous smile on her face the girl marched out ahead of the other two, completely unaware to their plight with the weight of the pack the two were having behind her. 

It didn't take long until they had made it to the edge of the city, ready to properly make their way into the first true step of their adventure. Just as they were, though, they were intercepted by a familiar looking trio. Sizing all three of them up and thinking on it for a moment, Jacklyn couldn't help but feel a bizarre sense of deja vu and familiarity, but she just attributed it to having seen them on the boat and just looking the type. As the man proclaimed himself the future champion, Jacklyn huffed and said, "is that right?" Before she could go and challenge him, however, Anima stepped up. "O-oh...well I- I kind of wanted to..." He looked like the leader of the bunch after all, and as the leader of her own group it was Jacklyn's duty to square off against him. However, as the two engaged in smack talk with each other, prompting an "oooooh" from Jacklyn, she had decided to leave the battle to her companion. "Alright Anima, take him down!" 

After saying so Jacklyn then shuffled to the side, looking for a different person to battle. Getting close to the girl of the group, Jacklyn sized her up once again. The girl grimaced at what she had seen though. Her tall and slender figure. Hair covering one eye. A cold gaze mixed with a decisive one word sentence as the only thing she said. Jacklyn knew it for sure. This girl...was cool. Standing on guard, as if against her natural enemy she said, "well, it looks like it's me and you! So I'll show you how I'm gonna be champ!" The girl then grabbed her pokeball, tossing it out saying, "come on, let's get 'em Rus!"

[radio414 909]

The only thing left to do before beginning their journey proper was for Quinn to actually send their letter, but it turned out the Pokémon Center had a mailbox within its premises, so that was hardly an issue at all. Pretty soon, the three were on their way out of New Point Landing and onto Route One-Oh-One. Quinn knew the weird shape routes could take, herself growing up in the shadow of Mount Coronet and intimately aware of just how easy it was to get lost there, so it was nice to see that the world had deemed they start with an easy one instead. Nathaniel took to it like a phantasm to a new linen sheet, going this way and that, taking in whatever new sight he could. Belladonna, meanwhile, muttered something that Quinn barely caught, and even then…

“Pardon me, Belladonna,” Quinn said from just behind the woman. “You said a word I do not think I recognize. What is a ‘normies?’”

Belladonna shook her head. “If you don’t know what that is, it means you’re a normie.”

It was an odd answer, to be sure, in a self-referential sort of way, but despite everyone telling him he was an old soul (even when they were alive), Quinn was still younger than Belladonna by a significant amount, so she assumed it was simply something people older than xem just suddenly knew at some point. It was that or a piece of knowledge stripped away from you when losing one’s mortality. Quinn knew it still had some of those gaps, so maybe?

Without Nathaniel having run off, Belladonna trudged forward wordlessly, and Quinn continued to follow behind. Cassiopeia, for her part, followed behind the two of them, forming a veritable conga line cutting a swath through the generally already-swathed route. But it was not long before e found emself bored of that, and, after an attempt or two at more exaggerated motions such as swinging her arms back and forth and kicking his legs out like a proper march, they began searching for any excuse to go elsewhere. Cassiopeia was nuzzling against hir back too. One more reason, then.

It was the sight of trainers on patrol that finally got Quinn going. “Oh! Yes! I called dibs! Cassiopeia, follow me!” Not that Cassiopeia needed to be told twice, of course, or even told at all as Quinn seized the balloon by her little string arms and the two went along side by side.

The battle itself, though, left something to be desired. While their opponent’s Pidgey certainly put up a valiant effort, her trainer realized too late that Gust was a flying-type move and was more likely to buffet Cassiopeia than some simple Tackles. Even besides Cassiopeia’s Ghost-type resilience to such efforts, the balloon had no trouble keeping the air around her Gusting and active to avoid a significant amount of damage that way as well. Victory was practically assured from the outset, to go into any further detail would be rude to the losers.

Something else, then. She had just purchased these Poké balls, should they not put a few to use? Before Quinn could even wander into some tall grass to see what it could find, a Rattata jumped out! But it was not the sort to engage in a battle as Quinn (and Cassiopeia, immediately throwing herself in between her trainer and the rat) might expect. The Rattata kept moving without a thought for itself or anything in its way. Suddenly, it was fortuitous that Cassiopeia was now in front of Quinn. If the Rattata was running away from something, both Quinn and Cassiopeia had to be ready.

Unlike the Rattata, neither of them felt any fear. What was the worst thing a predatory Pokémon could do to Quinn, kill him?

Even still, Quinn was not prepared for the pack of Rattata left unconscious further into the brush. Xe even let out a small “Oh!” as ze discovered the clearing with all sorts and sizes of Rattata strewn about. Quinn knelt down and poked one in the stomach. It was still breathing, so that was good. Cassiopeia drifted down and stroked another Rattata’s fur. It was good to see she was taking this as well as she could too. But still, “Who, dear creature,” Quinn asked, “or what, could have done this to all of you?”

[LordCowCow 842]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

BGM

It was uncertain if Chad was more angry, annoyed, or incredulous, at Anima's taunting but as the trio spread out, to give each battle room to take place without interfering with each others, he took out his Pokeball with a smug smirk on his face nonetheless. "I thought maybe an adult would have something stronger than that, looks like you're just another stepping stone after all."

He sent out his Pokemon, a male Nidoran, who let out what could maybe be described as a battle cry as it pawed at the ground. Raring to battle. "Let's show her why she should be more careful who she fights, Leer!" The Nidoran narrowed its eyes and gave Anima's Corsola an intense look. Chad was quick to follow it up, "Now go, Peck!" and his Nidoran charged forward with his head lowered, horn atop its head glowing a light blue color.

-----

"come on, let's get 'em Rus!"

Fuyumi glanced at Rus and said, "Fire Type. Hm." She put one hand on her hip, and tossed her ball out with the other hand. An Abra popped out of the ball. "No matter. Hidden Power."

The Abra, from its sitting position, briefly levitated off the ground an inch and thrust its hands forward. A small orb, which seemed to have a frosty sheen to it, launched forward and struck Rus head on. While it seemed to have been a Not Very Effective type, the Abra still had plenty of Special Attack and the Hidden Power still stung.

-----

"So, uh, I guess it's you versus me huh?" Kenta said, awkwardly scratching his nose as he looked at Anneliese.

The girl, for her part, seemed excited. "Oh yes it would appear so. My first battle ever, this is wonderful...Oh!" She picked up Leopold, who was glaring and growling softly at Kenta, even while being held, and said "This is Leopold! I hope we can have a fun battle together!"

Kenta didn't seem to know what to say, but then he laughed, "Ahaha, alright! I guess that's fine by me!" He glanced over at Chad and frowned. "Uh, sorry but I gotta win this one, can't make the team look bad."

Anneliese then got a serious, or rather what she thought was a serious, look on her face. "Oh yes of course. We too shall do our best!" Leopold jumped from the girl's grip and waited for his opponent to show up.

"Alight, come on out, Machop!" The small, humanoid, Pokemon popped up and immediately began to flex its muscle as soon as he spotted Anneliese, as if trying to show off to her in specific. "C'mon, Machop, head in the game, go in for a Low Kick!"

The Machop, almost reluctantly, ceased his activity and went to run towards Leopold.

"Oh my, he looks strong...Uhhh Leopold....right that's it, Tackle!" The command came a bit late, and Kenta's Machop scored a hit on Leopold, kicking the small Pokemon in the chest before he could do anything. Leopold was knocked back a bit but seemed to be determined to keep going as he charged forward and slammed into Machop, pushing the Fighting-Type back in turn.

"So this is a battle, it's so exciting!" Anneliese declared.

Spoiler

So since these are important NPCs I'll for sure need you to ask for input, though as its low level it can be a bit more lax still.

Rival Chad
Nidoran (M): Level: 6. Ability: Rivalry. Moves: Leer, Peck

Rival Fuyumi
Abra: Level 5. Ability: ??? Moves: Hidden Power (Ice)

Rival Kenta
Machop: Level 5, Ability: ??? Moves: Low Kick

---

Team BQN

The Rattata at least seemed to be still strong enough to respond to Quinn, letting out a very low growl. It didn't seem like it was going to attack but it seemed to still be in an aggressive state after whatever it was that happened.

As they continued on through the grass they would eventually come into a small clearing. In the center of said clearing they could spot a small pile of berries. Standing in front of said berries was a Pokemon that none of the group would have seen before. It was a rat similar to the Rattata in the most basic ways. However it was larger, a little over two feet in length, and it had darker fur which began at black at the head and slowly turned grey as it went back, and had a long, white, tail. The fur seemed a bit more matted and patchy than a Rattata and there was a notch in one of its ears.

The wild Pokemon didn't seem to notice the group. It was more focused on the Rattata that was running in its direction. The fierce looking Pokemon let out a growl and charged at it, slamming into it with a full force Tackle that set the Rattata flying. As this happened another Rattata ran in from the other side and grabbed up a berry before running away.

The Rattata that the Pokemon had attacked struggled to get up and started to run. The black rat began to give chase before it noticed the group. At which point it ran back towards the berries and crouched down between the pile and the humans.

Spoiler

Information will be in the doc that will be posted soon after...posting.

 

[Sethera 290]

Belle walked down the path, step by step. Her feet, clad in orange Running Shoes now, pounded on the dirt road. How long had it been since she had trodden the ground outside like this? She couldn't remember.

But she was in no state to dwell on it. Her mind whirled with plans of revenge. Her cousin was powerful, but overconfident. If Belle could get the drop on her, then she might have a chance. She would show Sabrina not to mess with her. If she could just get ahold of pink hair dye… But of course, she would have to get through the Korova region first.

Which would be difficult. Each step caused Belle's stomach to lurch and her lungs to heave. If I had known I'd have to walk so much, I'd have tried to get in shape before this. Oh, who am I kidding? I would have just made plans to avoid this situation altogether.

It was then that she realized something. The sound of twin footfalls, one energetic, the other feather-light, had disappeared. The girl looked up, only for her eyes to confirm what her ears had picked up for a while now.

Belle closed her eyes. Opened them. No, everything was still the same. She was… "Alone," she muttered. Why was that? Did those two tire of her and run ahead? They must have decided that they didn't want her around anymore. She was slow, after all. Gloomy too. Really, it was no wonder nobody liked her. At this moment, Belle forgot her earlier complaint about being stuck with normies. Now she realized that there was something even worse than that.

Solitude.

Belle clenched her hands in her recently purchased shorts. No, she was being stupid. She was not unfamiliar with loneliness. Hadn't she been alone for most of her life?

But this time, her parents weren't here. She didn't have the few friends she had made in Pokémon Unite either. She would even welcome her stuck-up cousin at this point.

"Hello?" she called out. "Nate?" she paused, "Quinn? Are you there?"

No answer.

"H-Hey, I'm sorry I…" slowed you down, "No, whatever. Just come back."

No answer.

She hadn't known either of those two for very long. Just as long as they had been on that cruise. So why did she care if they left or not? She clenched her fists. "No. I don't care. I don't need them." She took a breath. "I'm fine."

And then she looked up, locking eyes with a youngster around her age in the tall grass. Like a pointer dog, he straightened in place, and then bounded across the field. "I'm trying to find more Pokémon. Wait! You look weak! Come on, let's battle!"

The blue-haired girl glared at him. "What are you talking about?" Despite herself, the pinched feeling in her chest melted away.

"Huh? Don't you know the rules? You lock eyes, and you battle!" The boy bounced back to stand about ten yards away, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Come on! Let's go!"

"I—Fine. Yeah. Let's fight."

The boy released a Rattata, pumping a fist. "Great! Let's go!"

Belle took out her own Poké Ball and twisted the top. With a flash of light, a tiny cow with a grassy hide appeared. It turned to look at its trainer, giving a soft low.

"How do I do this again?" the girl muttered to herself.

"Whoa, cool Pokémon, but we won't let that stop us. Rattata, use Tackle!"

"Oh right. It's like a turn-based role-playing game." Belle pointed at the cow. "You," she moved her hand to aim at the charging Rattata. "Use, uh…" She paused. "Crap. I don't know."

The cow looked over its shoulder and gave a plaintive moo. In the next second, the Rattata reached its front, lowering its head and slamming into the grass type. The cow flailed its hooves helplessly and fell backward onto the dirt road.

"Hey, why aren't you doing anything?" the youngster demanded. "You don't want to fight after all?

Belle sighed. "That's not it. I just don't know which moves to use."

The boy stared. "You're kidding, right?" He leaned over, holding his sides as he laughed. "What the heck, you're serious?! Okay, look," he pointed a finger. "That red thing sticking out of your backpack. Isn't that a Pokédex?"

"This?" the blue-haired girl leaned her arm back to grab what he was talking about. "I think so. A sailor gave it to me when I got this Pokémon."

The boy nodded. "Yeah, that's it. I've got one of my own." He dug into his shorts and retrieved a red gadget shaped like an old-fashioned handheld gaming device. "This is mine. Got it all the way from Johto. Yours looks like a Korova-style one. Anyway, point it at your Pokémon. You'll find out what its moves are that way."

"Got it." Belle followed his directions. "Huh, it says…"

♂ Poamoo
Grazing Pokémon
Type: Grass
Height: 2'6"
Weight: 20 lbs
 A gentle Pokémon which takes grass in its mouth only to absorb the moisture and is careful to leave the grass unharmed.
Name: Poamoo
Lv. 5
Original Trainer: Belladonna Morgane
ID No. 235536
Current Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip
Ability: Overgrow
This Pokémon is pretty Docile by nature.
You first met one another on the SS Rising Sun.
It's capable of taking hits!

"Yeah, so whatever moves it lists, those are the moves it knows." The youngster nodded sagely. "You ready then?"

"Huh." Belle studied the Pokédex for a second longer and then stashed it away in her pack. "Yeah."

"All right, it's time to go! Rattata, use Quick Attack!"

"Use Tackle, Poamoo."

The cow attempted to move, but before he could, the Rattata had knocked him off his feet again.

"Too slow! You have to do better than that. Rattata, use Quick Attack again!"

"Huh, looks like Pokémon battles are tougher than I thought. Poamoo, turn around and use Tail Whip."

"Moo," the cow lowed and slowly turned around, tail swishing in the air. When the Rattata arrived, it received a face full of bristles.

"Now, use Tackle backward!" Belle shouted. In her excitement, she completely forgot her exhaustion.

The cow dug his front hooves into the ground, lifting his haunches and slamming backward into his opponent.

"What?! I've never seen a Tackle used that way before…" the youngster muttered.

Belle smirked. "Guess I'm just full of surprises."

"But that won't be enough to take us down. Rattata, use Hyper Fang!"

"What?!"

The rat nodded and raised its head, incisors glowing white over the Poamoo's behind. And then it bit down.

"Moo-OO!" The cow let out a pained cry and collapsed on its side.

"Yes!" Belle's opponent grinned and held up two fingers in a peace sign. "We win! Go Rattata! I knew you were top percentage."

"I… lost," the blue-haired girl blinked. At that moment, all of her fatigue came flooding back. She yawned. "Oh well. Win some, lose some. Return—"

"Hey, wait," the boy interrupted. "I'll patch up your Pokémon. Got some Revives on hand in case Rattata goes down during training. It's a bit of a walk back to New Point Landing, and you don't want to miss your friends, right?" He crouched down next to the Poamoo.

"… Okay. And what are you talking about?" Belle approached the boy and collapsed on her butt beside him, leaning her head into her arms and yawning. The boy's Rattata nosed into her side, sniffing inquisitively.

"Your friends. The ones you came with. They went off into the grass. One of them said something about exploring, and the other got ambushed by a Rattata and then walked into the grass. You didn't know?" He took out a small diamond-shaped medicine that he placed into the Poamoo's mouth.

"… No. I did not," the girl grumbled, waving off the rat. Nate and Quinn didn't leave after all. They just went to catch Pokémon. I should've known. Guess I just lost my head back there. Good thing they weren't around for that, or that would have been really embarrassing. She breathed a sigh of relief. Not that I'm happy to have those normies around. I'm just glad that I didn't make a fool of myself. That's all.

The boy massaged the cow's throat, causing him to swallow. "That makes sense. I was wondering why you were calling out like that earlier. Turns out you had your head in the clouds!" He laughed, but continued before she could say anything. "Well, you weren't too bad for a cloudy Swablu. You surprised me once you actually started battling."

"Really? Huh," In her distraction, Belle did not guard her pocket, and the Rattata scooted forward and bit off a chunk of granola bar.

The Poamoo twitched and rose to its hooves weakly. "Yeah, you'll do okay." the boy spritzed a Potion and rubbed it into the cow's coat before climbing back on his feet as well. "Look. Good as new. Hey," he turned to Belle and held out a hand. "My name's Joey. What's yours?"

Belle did not take the hand, placing her own hands over her pocket defensively. "Belle. And get your rat off of me!"

Joey laughed. "Sure, sure. Rattata, come on." He whistled. The rat turned to Joey, munching on granola happily. "Return!" The Rattata never lost its smug look, even as it glowed red and returned to its Poké Ball. "Hey, do you have a Pokégear? If you do, let's exchange phone numbers."

With the rodent menace gone, the girl relaxed. "Nope."

"Too bad," the boy sighed. "Well, maybe I'll see you around. I'm training here in the Korova region, too."

"Maybe," Belle said. Then, when the other turned to leave, she cleared her throat. "Hey. For earlier. Uh, thanks," she mumbled out the last word awkwardly.

"No problem! That was a great battle." With a wave, Joey ran back into the tall grass.

Belle fell onto her back on the dirt road. "What a weirdo." Her mouth twitched into a smile. "He didn't take my money, either. Guess he really did just want to battle." She flopped onto her side, facing her Pokémon. "Hey, you. Go stand right there," she gestured weakly.

With a low moo, the cow obliged, blocking the sun from hitting his trainer's face.

"Thanks'a bunch," the girl's words slurred from exhaustion. "Should name y'something too. Maybe Moo. You sure moo a lot."

"Moo."

"Yeah. Like that."

"Moo."

"Exactly." Belle closed her eyes. "Wake me up… when… s'time to go home."

---

OOC: This time, I didn't post a couple hundred words while low on sleep. Woo! Go me.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Sethera

[Cheshire Toon 141]

The training had gone well. Peat had already started to look a bit stronger--Nate could tell from a glance that the Pokémon had gotten a lot more comfortable in his skin just from the way that he carried himself. The boy was absolutely thrilled with the progress. He was, however, disappointed by the total lack of progress in finding the mysterious Ratking he had heard mentioned. Nate had just decided to take a break and catch up with the rest of his team when he heard the sounds of a battle going on.

He called Peat over to his side and headed in that direction just in time to catch the conclusion of Belle’s battle. His feelings on that were… hard to process. Losses happened. He had almost lost his first battle. On that same hand, he was somewhat angered by her opponent. He wasn’t sure if Belle had been around enough battles to tell but the Rattata she battled had clearly been way more experienced than her and Moo. Nate found himself a bit annoyed at her opponent for challenging someone that was obviously a beginner to such a one-sided battle. The only things that stopped him from running over to say as much were: a, Belle had shown more excitement for her battle than Nate had seen her show the entire boat ride over, and b, the boy that she had battled seemed very nice. In the end he decided to wait until the other trainer left before heading over.

His original plan had been to give Belle a few minutes on her own to process things. Reality was a lot different than that though. He heard rustling grass and looked down to see Peat had bolted away from his side.

Peat waddled across the grass as fast as his little flippers could carry him, his movement awkward but effective on dry land. The little Sea Cub was deceptively fast when he wanted to be. He came to a stop and made a noise somewhat like a purr when he got close to Moo, pressing his wet nose into the Poamoo’s muzzle in what Nate assumed was a greeting. Poamoa returned the nose press and let out a friendly sounding “moo.”, and  Peat responded by rocking back onto his hind legs and clapping his fins together happily, still purring. 

Nate smiled as he jogged the rest of the way over to the pair. “Hey there!” he said loudly, before noticing Belle’s sleeping form and wincing. “Sorry about that,” he said in a much softer voice, but the smile never left his face. “We saw the last little bit of your battle! You looked awesome out there. Peat here got so fired up watching it that he ran off all on his own so he could be the first to congratulate you two on your very first battle,” Nate ruffled the little bear cub’s moss-colored head. Peat rumbled his agreement and clapped his fins against the ground this time, still staring at Poamoo with a toothy approximation of a smile. 

Moo chewed his cud, but he let out another moo that to Nate sounded particularly pleased. Peat seemed to agree with him, if his purring was anything to judge by.

“Think it’s time we woke your trainer up though, pal,” Nate said, walking over to squat beside Belle. He was actually impressed with how thoroughly she had fallen asleep in such a short time, especially considering how uneven the ground was. Moo stared at him with big eyes but stayed in his spot and continued to chew his cud.

“Hey, Belle, rise and shine.”

Belle groaned but didn’t move. “Don’t wanna.”

Nate chuckled. “You can’t just sleep here in the middle of the road. What if a Pokémon comes by and steals all the food out of your bag while you’re sleeping?”

Belle groaned again. “S’what Moo is for.”

Nate blinked. Moo… as in… her starter? He stared at the little cow, who met his gaze lazily while still chewing his cud. That’s cute. “C’mon. Come train with me and Peat. We saw the end of your battle--you guys looked awesome! That guy was just way more experienced than you.” Peat rushed over to him and pushed against his side. Nate grinned. “No way you lose to him next time, not once you have some more practice!”

“Training is for normies.”

Nate scrunched his face up in confusion. What’s a normie? That was what he wanted to ask, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t get a straight answer. Instead he opted to look at Peat and nod. The little bear cub tilted his head in confusion, then, after a moment, realization seemed to dawn on him. He shuffled forward and pressed his wet nose into the side of Belle’s face and nudged her, the same way he had on the boat. 

Belle scrunched her face up in an almost mirror image of Nate, then groaned and turned over to face away from Peat. The cub turned to Nate and whined.

Nate shook his head and laughed. “Man. I really thought that one would wake you up. Don’t worry about it, Peat,” he rubbed his starter’s head fondly. Then he slapped his hands into his thighs and pushed himself to his feet. “Didn’t wanna do this but you’ve left me no choice, Belle. As your friend I can’t just sit by and watch you sleep in the middle of the road in good consciousness.” He reached into the pocket of his bag and pulled out a bar of chocolate.  “If you promise to get up and come train with me, I’ll give you this bar of chocolate I bought for us to make smores at the camp tonight.”

Belle slowly rose to her feet. Nate cheered. “Whoo! Just you wait, this is gonna be so much fun!” he proclaimed. “I read a whole article on the boat about doubles training and how Pokémon can grow twice as fast if you know how it works!” He grinned at Peat and Moo. “You guys ready to evolve? ‘Cause we’re about to get so much training done.”

Suddenly remembering his promise, Nate held out the candy bar to Belle. “Here you go! Try not to eat it too fast though. My mom always said that too much sugar too fast can make you sick to your stomach.”

Belle grabbed the bar but made no move to immediately eat it. She looked at Nate. “I’ll save this for later. I think I’ll need it.”

Nate shrugged. “Suit yourself! Oh, oh, I just remembered! Peat!” He was practically vibrating as he turned to his starter. Peat hurriedly waddled over to his trainer. “Show ‘em that new move that you learned when I fell outta that tree!” It seemed his energy was contagious. Peat started to bounce up and down too, and then, waiting until he was sure Belle and Moo were watching, he shot a barrage of slow-moving bubbles out of his mouth and into the sky. They popped after they had traveled a few feet into the air and caused a thin sheen of moisture to rain down on the duo, like rainwater sucked up by a fan.

Nate looked at Belle and grinned. “Isn’t that cool? See how awesome training is?”

Belle peered up at the few bubbles that hadn’t popped. “Yeah. Sure.” She sounded unenthused.

“You can’t fool me with that whole bored outta your mind act,” Nate said, shaking his head and smiling. “I only caught the tail end of that battle but I saw how excited you were. You like battling just as much as I do!”

Belle yawned. "It's not an act. I just got a little energized. But I used up all my energy and now I'm tired again."

Nate genuinely paused for the first time since he had arrived on the scene. “Really? I guess that makes sense. People always tell me I have too much energy for my own good.” He frowned. That was what both his parents had always told him actually. That he needed to find a productive outlet for his energy and stop spending all his time fantasizing about becoming a champion. They hadn’t really cared much when he was a kid, but the older he got, the more annoyed they seemed to become with his talk of being a champion. 

Nate pushed the thought away and grabbed Belle’s hand. “You can just borrow some of mine in that case! Let’s go train and I’ll help make sure Moo is doing okay if you get too tired to keep an eye on him. Just until you get some energy back!” He started to pull her along with him toward the direction he had seen Quinn run off to some time before. “I’m sure it won’t take long! One or two good battles and you’ll be just as excited as before!”

Belle in the meantime looked very unenthusiastic but allowed herself to be dragged along. Not that Nate noticed--or ever even so much as looked back. He had already started to ramble about all the strategies he had come up with for team battling. 

Several minutes passed with Nate pulling Belle along and talking. “--and then BAM! Peat can blast ‘em with bubble while Moo has them held down with Vine Whip. Or at least if Moo learns Vine Whip. I think he should. He looks… vine-y. So yeah! I’m sure that strategy will work! Another one I read about is--” he cut himself off very suddenly. “Belle?” His voice had lost all of the enthusiasm it had when talking about training, and in fact, seemed more serious than Belle had ever heard it before. “Do you see that?” He gestured toward a patch of grass in front of them. 

Two small forms were motionless in the grass. One was purple and lean, with big, sharp teeth. A Rattata. It looked terribly wounded. The other had a very similar body but it had dark fur, and, for lack of a better word, seemed incredibly fat.

Nate let go of Belle’s hand and rushed forward on his own. Peat shuffled behind him as fast as his fins could carry him. “These guys are hurt. More than if they had just battled a trainer or something. Not unless that trainer was just cruel.” He dropped down into a crouch beside the two and moved his hand toward the chubbier of the pair. It made no move to react; it was clearly not conscious. Nate frowned. “We should do something to help. But I don’t know anything about how to treat hurt Pokémon.” He looked back at Belle. “Do you?”
 

[radio414 909]

There was no specific answer from the Rattata -- Quinn had not suddenly learned how to speak Pokémon, and Cassiopeia’s face betrayed little understanding as well -- but the wild Pokémon’s growling did remind Quinn of just what xe was dealing with. Whether it was because they were still fresh off a trainer battle or because of a new and exciting mystery, Quinn’s heart was pounding out of her chest. He clutched Cassiopeia’s hand tight as they went further into the brush.

More Rattata lay strewn about by the wayside. Quinn stopped to check on a few of them, and every one she checked was alright as far as ze could tell, simply dazed. More than one popped back up and ran off as soon as Quinn laid a hand on them, which was especially startling to Cassiopeia each time it happened. She kept pulling back, yanking Quinn’s hand upwards. It was like her to be so skittish, but it was starting to hurt Quinn’s shoulder. Quinn tried to let go of Cassiopeia and just have her follow along, but then she would wrap herself around Quinn and do the same thing anyway just with added rope burn. They never learned anything new anyway, so Quinn eventually gave up on the fallen Rattata and kept looking for the source of all this carnage.

They came to a copse then, the center of which was a small pile of berries that more rats were fighting over. One of the rats was more than twice the size of all the others, though, and was different enough besides that Quinn was sure it was at least a regional variant if not a full-blown new Pokémon. Hir Pokédex -- one of Sinnoh’s Rotom-shaped models even if Quinn never found a Rotom to possess it -- was immediately in zir hand, and a quick scan revealed the answer:

Ratffian, the street rat Pokémon! the robotic voice of the Pokédex chimed. Due to its fierce appearance this Pokemon tends to be shunned by others, causing it to take things by force to get by. At the sound of its name, the Ratffian immediately stopped chasing another Rattata away from the berries and put itself between its hoard and Quinn. Like the previous Rattata, the Ratffian also growled at them, but it was a different kind of growl -- a hostile kind.

Quinn, though, was undeterred. “Well, are you not just the most fearsome creature?” they said, getting on their knees and offering the back of their hand out (ignoring Cassiopeia’s protestations). “You have amassed this bounty all by yourself, have you? It does take quite the Pokémon to manage all that, though I wonder if you think you will be able to keep this all forever?” Even as Quinn spoke, another Rattata darted out from the brush, snagged a berry from the pile, and ran off.

“You do not need to do this,” Quinn said, crawling closer. “Not that you necessarily need to come with me, of course, but someday you will end up with an empty pile and will once again have to resort to- Oh!”

He had gotten too close, and the Ratffian lunged right into her stomach, knocking them flat on their butt and sending Cassiopeia into a frenzy. She charged forward and hit the Ratffian with an Astonish, yelling out a “Bloon!” that got the rat to leap back and give Quinn time to pull emself to xir feet.

Battle! Wild Ratffian!

“Thank you, Cassiopeia,” Quinn said. Cassiopeia was still streaking around the air and could not acknowledge the compliment. “Cassiopeia,” Quinn said again, and the Drifloon’s only response was to bunch up, shrinking and compressing herself down to avoid another errant lunge from the Ratffian. “Cassiopeia! We just had a battle and you were not this antsy. Get back here and we can battle like we have practiced.”

That finally returned Cassiopeia to her senses. But as she retreated back to Quinn’s side, the Ratffian surrounded itself with a dark aura, and it started moving much faster than normal, chasing after the balloon with a speed Quinn had not seen before, even from the Ratffian’s previous Tackles. It almost certainly hurt more than a tackle as well. Cassiopeia could handle a Tackle much better than she did that hit.

Quinn narrowed her eyes. He had only read about one move being able to strike a retreating Pokémon like that: Pursuit. And if she had their type chart memorized, it was a small miracle Cassiopeia was still conscious. As it was, she was airborne, but only just. “Hold on,” Quinn said. “I have- I think I just bought-” They pulled a potion out of xir bag and immediately sprayed it wherever Cassiopeia looked most hurt. Almost as soon as she had done so, the Ratffian came in again and batted Cassiopeia out of range of the potion with its tail.

Cassiopeia shuddered from the Tail Whip, but the move did no real damage to her. “Minimize again, Cassiopeia,” Quinn called out. “I do not have enough Potions to have you take too many more hits like that.” Cassiopeia did exactly that, and another Tail Whip from the Ratffian brushed through space the Drifloon had taken up just moments before.

“Gust!” Quinn said, and though it seemed the small balloon had no more air left to give, she still managed to send a blast of air straight at the Ratffian, blowing it all the way back to its pile. But the thing was still as vigorous as ever, leaping back to its feet. The only sign that it had taken a hit at all was fur that was slightly more ruffled than normal, and some haggard breathing with the occasional wheeze. It was still perfectly able to fight, and Quinn could see a dark aura forming around it once again.

It was an aura that Cassiopeia nearly fled from just on sight, but Quinn stepped in. “It will only be worse if you run!” Quinn said. “Use Astonish!” The command was just enough reassurance, and Cassiopeia flew in close to deliver another loud “Bloon!” It was expressive enough to knock the Ratffian out of its aura! She had gotten the rat to flinch!

“Now use Gust! Blow it back again!” When Cassiopeia did so, it worked exactly as described. The Rattfian was knocked up into the air, and when it came down, it fell on top of its berry pile, knocking berries everywhere.

The Ratffian squealed in disappointment, its hoard now ruined. Out of the corner of his eye, Quinn could already see Rattata poking their noses out of the brush, trying to get a glimpse at just how close some of the scattered loot had fallen, if they might be able to sneak away with one. The Ratffian struggled back to its feet. There was a gleam in its eye that warned just what might happen to Cassiopeia if she got too close again, but she just floated in place, looming above the fallen rat.

One of the berries had landed near Quinn, and zey picked it up to examine it. As far as it could tell, the berry was completely mundane. The Ratffian had been fighting over food and nothing else.

Quinn approached the Ratffian much more carefully this time and had her palm outstretched in front of her with the berry still in hir hand. “Here you go,” Quinn said. “Let me help you.” He placed the berry down in front of the Ratffian and went over to where some more berries had fallen and gathered those up as well. The Ratffian squeaked at her but still did not react more than that. “I know you have done everything on your own, but that is not the only way to do things,” Quinn said. “It is easier when we work together like this.” They set the next set of berries in front of the Ratffian as well.

They rummaged around in their bag and took out a Potion and the Premier Ball they had received from the shop in New Point Landing. “I returned your berries to you because they are yours,” Quinn said. “I can spray you with this too, to help heal your wounds. You saw what it did to Cassiopeia after you chased her down. But to get the Potion, you have to join my team.“

“Well, I say ‘my team,’” Quinn quickly clarified. “Right now, it is just Cassiopeia and myself. But we are traveling with a group ourselves, so it has not felt lonely yet. What do you say to some more help?”

Quinn took another step closer. The Ratffian no longer growled or squeaked at them, but eyed the trainer warily. Its breathing was still heavy, and it seized upon one of the berries and devoured it. “I will not even share your berries with anyone else if you do not want me to,” Quinn said. “While I would keep them in my bag, they are yours and yours alone.”

The Ratffian chewed on its berry, still staring straight at Quinn, but, slowly, carefully, it closed its eyes.

Quinn tossed the Premier Ball, and the beam of red light reached out and enveloped the Ratffian, sucking it into the shell in the middle before snapping shut. Quinn counted the ball’s shakes out loud. “One, two, and…” They had tried their best. Cassiopeia braced herself for more fighting just in case.

The Premier Ball’s release button blinked. “Got it!” Quinn cheered. Cassiopeia did a little twirl in the air too. Quinn grabbed one of Cassiopeia’s hands, and they both spun around together, but only a few times. “Yes, yes, before I forget.” Xe still had to properly gather up all the berries, and they did not want to forget about the Potion either. Quinn also reopened her Pokédex, scanning her ball to register the updated data. Sex, height, weight, known moves, it was all there now. There was an option to fill in a nickname, and after a little thought, Quinn plugged one in.

Once those tasks were done, though, it was time to return to Route One proper and rejoin the others. With Cassiopeia in one hand and the Ratffian’s ball in the other, Quinn left the clearing…

…and nearly ran right over Nathaniel, who was leaning over one of the collapsed Rattata Quinn’s Ratffian had left in her wake. “Oh! My apologies,” Quinn said. “I was distracted, you see. I found all these Rattata earlier and got caught up in investigating the cause.” Quinn held up the Premier Ball in their hand. “This little thing was fighting off a bunch of Rattata trying to get at her food. It took some work, and I think she even managed to bruise my material body a little, but we did come to an accord. I would like you to meet:” She tossed the Premier Ball into the air, and out from it materialized her new partner, looking proud over some of her former conquests. “Normandie. Or, perhaps if you prefer brevity, I am sure she will not mind you calling her ‘Normie,’ for short.”

[Skaia 579]

Both Rus and Jacklyn did a synchronized, "tsk," as the hidden power knocked the fire bunny back. Recovering from the attack and seeming raring to go still, Rus got into a battle ready stance again as it called out to Jacklyn. Nodding Jacklyn shouted, "oh yeah? Well, we got some power of our own! Rus, go and Ember that Abra!" Complying with his trainers orders, the fire type let loose a small burst of fire from its mouth, towards the Abra. 

"Teleport." The Abra instantly vanished from its position only to then reappear having shifted to the side and dodging the attack entirely. "Hidden Power." With yet another blunt command the Abra unleashed yet another orb of energy towards Rus. 

"It can do that?!" Surprised, and then bright eyed Jacklyn shouted, "that's so cool!" Rus, meanwhile, was surprised and then, calling out to its trainer Jacklyn said, "oh, uh, right. Ember! Show it who's boss!" And Rus will Ember the Hidden Power.

"Yes. It can." Fuyumi replied. The two attacks met largely cancelling each other out, though some of the embers continuing on and striking the Abra. Fuyumi didn't seem to respond and simply seemed to be waiting for something.

"Heck yeah! Go on Rus and use like pound or something!" Rus, to her trainer's unknowing, did not know the move Pound. So it instead just ran towards the Abra and knowing what worked before and trusting its own intuition, stopped short and let loose another Ember. 

"What." Fuyumi said, indicating surprise even if she didn't show it. The Abra was hit by the Ember and seemed to be taking some damage now. "Again." The Abra launched another Hidden Power and, with Rus being closer than before, struck the Lepash dead on. 

"Oooh, not bad!" The Lepash shook itself as if to shake off the attack before the girl shouted, "alright well if it worked twice then let's do it a third time. Rus, Ember!" 

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

…Despite his words, Anima’s kind smile did not falter at all; instead, she merely took in a deep breath, and narrowed her eyes. “Steel yourself; Harden your outer-shell, you’ve no time to dodge!” she called out with a surprising amount of confidence towards her pokémon; and in response, the Dead-Coral Pokémon, who had quivered under the steely-gaze of the Nidoran, seemed to relax a bit; white coral growing less translucent as it used the move.

She had never gotten to battle in a Pokémon Battle before, despite her bond with Confi. They understood each other quite well; and she understood her partner’s capabilities quite well. There had been more than one occasion when the small Corsola had used Tackle to get something down that she wasn’t supposed to have; and even more where she had used Astonish to get Anima’s attention, or used Harden to shore itself up before jumping off a counter. So, even now, as she found herself with no time to think as the battle started, and outside of her element in general, she felt as if she was… well, at least partially in-sync with her pokémon. 

“Now, just after it impacts-” she called out as the horn made contact, pushing the ghost-type back as it hit straight-on. “Counter with Astonish!”

Confi’s eyes opened in an instant, a startling cry like a broken speaker filling the air as she lunged forwards, towards the Nidoran in her own attack; bright pink eyes glowing with malevolent intent as she seemed to increase the volume of her cry!

"Quick, Leer again!" Chad called out, and right as Confi's attack was about to land the Nidoran managed to slip in one more defense lowering attack. The pokémon was still knocked back by the attack but neither it nor the trainer seemed to worry. "Nidoran, keep back and use Poison Sting."

Confi seemed to shrink at the gaze, wincing slightly as she began to shake. Frowning, Anima simply nodded, and threw her hand forwards, taking a deep breath before she spoke. “...Put that anxiety to good use-- Follow, and Tackle! Don’t let them open up space between you two; you may not have time to dodge, but you can try to keep the pressure up!”

Confi’s shaking paused then, for a moment, as she gave a nod in reply; and sent herself bounding into a run! She let out a small whimper as the needle-impacted her forehead head on, but that whimper turned into a battle-cry as she narrowed her pink eyes, and threw herself full-force towards the Nidoran!

"Hurry, Peck!" Chad called out and the Nidoran quickly lowered its head and moved forward to jab with its horn, both pokémon colliding at the same time.

"Ghhh," Anima let out a hiss as the hits came to blows; Confi was probably worse for wear, but... She couldn't give up now...! Neither one of them could! Anima tightened her hand into a fist as she took a step forwards, nodding towards her pokémon. "Just a little more! Fight through the recoil, with Astonish!" she called out, as Confi steadied herself from the blow. Even still, the small pokémon's stubby legs swayed just a tinge, before her eyes lit once again with the telltale malevolent pink glow, and she bounded forwards, with a sound like nails on a chalkboard…!

[LordCowCow 842]

Team JAA/AJA/AAJ

Jacklyn vs Fuyumi

"alright well if it worked twice then let's do it a third time. Rus, Ember!" 

"Incorrect. Teleport."

As Rus's Ember shot out the Abra once more Teleported out of the way. This time to a spot behind Rus, between where Rus and Jacklyn were. Seemingly without having to be commanded the Abra shot forth another Hidden Power attack.

Depending on what Rus did Fuyumi would do one of two things. Were Rus to turn around to face the Abra and go on the attack she would command it to use Teleport again. If Rus didn't right away she would have the Abra attack instead.

---

Anima vs Chad

Chad smirked, raised his hands, and shook his head. "Trying to win head-on like that, I guess that's about all I should expect. Nidoran, to the side!"

Before Confi could come in contact with the Nidoran it crouched down and jumped to its right. Which caused Confi's attack to miss its mark. "Now, hit it with another Poison Sting!"

"Ran!" The Nidoran let out what was meant to be a battle cry and fired off another barrage of small purple needles. Striking Confi on the side. "Sorry, grandma, you're too slow." Chad said, his smirk only getting bigger.

---

Anneliese vs Kenta

"Huh, guess it is pretty exciting." Kenta said, his smile much more relaxed due to Anneliese's attitude. "No reason to stop now, Low Kick again!" Machop moved forward and swung his leg up into Leopold's chest, causing the Shinx to let out a grunt as he took the blow.

It was a move that worked better on larger Pokemon but it was still strong enough at this low level to be causing Leopold some damage. "Goodness, he really is strong. You must have trained a lot!"

Kenta laughed awkwardly and rubbed his head. "Yeah, guess I did. Chad really wanted us to be in top condition, this is our big chance ya know?"

From to the side Chad snapped, "Hey, Kenta, head in the game!"

"Oh, right, sorry, guess this isn't the time to talk huh?" He laughed despite himself, which caused Anneliese to laugh as well.

Leopold looked back at Anneliese and shook his head, letting out what sounded like a sigh. When he looked back at the Machop it was to find that the Pokemon was ignoring him and instead seemed to be puffing out his chest at Anneliese's compliment. Which annoyed the Electric type enough to, without being told, rush forward and hit the Machop with another Tackle.

He caught the Fighting type off guard and nearly knocked him over. However it wasn't quite strong enough to fully knock him off his feet and served to bring both him and Kenta back to the battle. "Whoa now, no need for that! C'mon Machop another Low Kick!"

As the Low Kick struck him Leopold looked to be getting worn down from the attacks but the Machop also was beginning to feel it given the way that the humanoid Pokemon winced every now and then. "Oh wait, silly me, I forgot, Leopold has more than that, try out your Thunder Shock!"

[Sethera 290]

Belle was not a social person. She wasn't even a fake introvert: someone who couldn't stand social interactions in person but chattered away behind a screen. She denied any friend or team requests and ignored all messages sent her way. It was to the point where "Deadly Nightshade" grew notorious among League and Unite fans for being a highly skilled but terrible team player. People had to coordinate around her instead of the other way around. They didn't complain too much, though. After all, they usually won those games.

So she genuinely could not understand why this boy Nate seemed to love the sound of his own voice so much, or why he wanted to team up with Belle for double battles, or even triple battles with the addition of Quinn. At least Moo didn't have to deal with this. She had returned him to his Poké Ball earlier. But now, her initial relief at seeing Nate return for her quickly changed to annoyance and exhaustion. It was as if he were a Sunflora taking in all the nutrients from the surrounding soil, and she was a withered Oddish beside him. When they passed a Pokémon Ranger, she almost asked them if they rescued human beings. Finally, the boy stopped. "Belle?" His voice dropped in pitch, turning unusually serious. "Do you see that?" He gestured toward a patch of grass in front of them.

Belle had seen injured Pokémon before. That was just expected when employed by a Pokémon League Gym, even if unofficially. But their injuries had never gotten truly serious, and they had trainers to look after them. She knew they were going to be taken care of.

These Pokémon… they had nobody.

Belle frowned. "There's a website for if you find injured Pokémon. Pokémon Help Now. They locate the nearest Pokémon Ranger or on-call Pokémon Nurse for you." She had heard about it on Seddit. "Also Pokémon Centers. And Potions." Sabrina sometimes used a Hyper Potion in tougher fights, so Belle knew how to use one. "They're sprays."

Before she could try to put her words into actions, Quinn—who had not abandoned her either—arrived, showing off her new Pokémon. "Cool." Belle glanced at the Ratffian who, if the boy was telling the truth, was the one that had inflicted these injuries. "Strong Pokémon," she admitted grudgingly. "Weird name, though." It sounded like what she had called Nate and Quinn earlier, except fancier. The girl purposefully turned away from the rat, anger kindling in her chest. Was this how all wild Pokémon fought? Were injuries like these common between Pokémon? She shook her head and continued the previous conversation with Nate. "Let's just contact a Pokémon Ranger. We passed one on the way here."

Belle looked back at Quinn. "They might help you as well." Now that she thought about it, didn't "bruise my material body" mean that the girl was injured? It seemed like this Ratffian didn't distinguish between Pokémon or ghost in hurting others. Since ghosts, or at least Quinn's type of ghost, could get hurt.

The girl shook her head. Yet another strange thing to add to the list of strange things about them.

---

OOC: I feel like I should post a disclaimer that any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by Belle are solely that of herself and do not reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of myself, the writer.

Also, yes, I had way too much fun making that fake website. However, it is actually based off of Animal Help Now, which is a great resource if you come across any injured or problematic wild animals. It will show you any wildlife rehabilitators in your area as well as their contact information. One of those websites that isn't useful until it is.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Sethera

[Tiamat's Circus 117]

Anima grit her teeth as the Astonish went wide, a spec of horror, if not defeatism rooting itself in her chest as she brought a hand to her chin. Though his comment that followed the poison sting was annoying, it was the pained, and… Annoyed cry of her Pokémon that kept her grounded. “You’re right, you’re right,” she murmured, closing her eyes as Confi once again began to gallop towards the opposing Pokémon. “You wanna step it up too, right, Confi?” she’d smile, throwing a hand forwards. “Use tackle to close the distance; and regardless of if it hits or not, follow it up with an Astonish!” she’d call out, as the Pokémon began to suit the actions to the words.

There was no time for second-guessing, no time to think-- 

Just feel.

As the Corsola closed the distance, her tiny legs buckled for half a second, and she threw her entire Bulk at the Nidoran; eyes already beginning to glow with a bright pink as a sound like radio-static began to build around her!

"I know you can take it Nidoran, Leer! Then Peck!" As Confi ran forward the Nidoran braced itself and leered to lower their defense once more before they struck Nidoran with Tackle. Despite their trainer's confidence this blow seemed to cause some damage, and the Astonish that followed managed to make it flinch.

"Grr, of course that'd happen at this moment...its fine Nidoran, shake it off, their defense is down get that Peck off and we got this!"

Anima nodded as the attack landed, a small smile coming to her face. They… May have had a shot at this! Even as Confi found herself having to get back to her feet post tackle, even as the Corsola was visibly panting from the strain of the fight-- They still had a shot. “You heard that right? I know you’re tired, Confi, but meet that Peck with a tackle-- Put everything you’ve got into it, and we can end this!” she’d call out, bringing both hands up in front of her.

Confi, for her part, steadied herself for a moment, pink eyes trailing until she had locked onto the Nidoran, legs wobbling a bit, before she bounded off into a gallop! Preparing to throw her full weight into her opponent one last time, as soon as she was in range!

Unfortunately, Nidoran had already gotten to his feet too; bristling with anger. With another roar of defiance, the small poison-type Pokémon moved to meet Confi’s tackle; horn first! White keratin slammed against the shell-like Exterior of the ghost type Pokémon, both Pokémon letting out a cry of pain as they bounced back, and yet… While Nidoran got back up--

Confi, did not. She tried to, for a moment, small nub-like feet scratching against the dirt for purchase, before… Going limp, pink-light fading from her eyes as she grumbled a quiet ‘Sola’ in annoyance. 

Anima had thought to say something-- Anything, but found herself speechless as she brought a hand up to cover the frown already forming on her face. The source, of course, was obvious; she had lost, but with that loss, several different emotions had all made themselves known. Annoyance, failure, that of a wounded pride, even… Guilt, for letting her partner get hurt. And yet every single one was connected, by a single thread, into a tight ball which felt like it was boring a hole through her chest; one which took her full attention, even as she slowly, and listlessly walked up and approached her Pokémon.

It was like she was blanking, on the spot; mind racing with overwhelming emotion, as she knelt down and scooped Confi up into her arms. The entire failure had made it hard to process the battle itself; let alone anything that happened after. She was fairly certain Chad had said something in the aftermath; something to the effect of, “Ha, looks like being old doesn’t mean much when it comes to Pokémon!”, but… she wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to do now. It felt like she needed to do everything.

The first word to leave her mouth, however, was… a quiet, hushed, “sorry”, which rang out only for her partner Pokemon to hear as she ran a thumb over the Ghost-type’s forehead. She had fought valiantly; bravely, and… Had mirrored some of the spirit Anima felt as if she should have had from the beginning. That was one thing to focus on. One thing to ground herself on, as she began to look up, and glance around.

The others were all still in battles; though they appeared to be reaching their climaxes themselves, each one in a better position than she had been in hers. The pit seemed to grow larger as she tried to force a smile to her face, only to fail as she shifted her Partner in her arms, and glanced around. “...Sorry, but, I’ll be right back,” she’d murmur to the others as she began to back up; neither towards Anneliese, nor Jacklyn in particular, as she took another step back. “And… Sorry, but I’m flat broke; I’ll… Give you your winnings the next time I see you,” she’d murmur, albeit a bit louder, as she looked up towards Chad, before turning on her heels and walking away, off towards the nearest signpost and then Pokémon Center.

The polite thing, of course, would have been to wait for the others to be done, but… Well, she could assume that they would understand the urgency of getting her partner healed; and more than that… 

She wanted to be alone, for a moment or two.

That would be nice.

[Skaia 579]

The Abra moved once again, going for yet another back attack as Jacklyn shouted, "Rus behind you!" The Lepash turned around to see the psychic pokemon send a pulse of energy at it, and as Jacklyn shouted, "attack it!" the Lepash responded with yet another Ember. While the fire had won the clash again, the Abra swiftly teleported away once more and evaded the attack. The girl grit her teeth, clearly frustrated by it constantly vanishing and reappearing. "Oh come on! Can't you just stay still! Rus, come on, Ember again!" 

"Why?" The girl asked flatly, before tilting her head and having the Abra use yet another Hidden Power. 

"So we can duke it out properly!But fine, if you're gonna keep dodging then so can we! Rus, use those bunny legs of yours and hop!" The Lepash let out a grunt at his trainers command, springing off the ground with great force and hopping over the attack. While Jacklyn was something of a simple minded girl, she knew enough to know that just playing this game of cat and mouse would keep resulting in the two of them going around like this forever. And so, she shouted, "Rus, get ready!" The Lepash started to have fire gather in its mouth only for the Abra to teleport once more. Pointing to its new position, Jacklyn shouted, "And fire!" Letting loose the flame that it had been gathering in its mouth striking the Abra again. 

Though the two pokemon had been hitting each other with move after move neither seemed to be taking much from each individual hit, yet still in spite of that the two of them were starting to show some wear from the fight. Rus had already been a little fatigued from the two hidden powers it had taken and it seemed that Abra was starting to show similar levels of injury. Yet all Fuyumi had to say was, "I see. So this is everything it has. Hidden Power."

Feeling as if she was being mocked somehow, Jacklyn shouted, "yeah and it's more than enough!" Thinking that perhaps attacking point blank would deal more damage and make it harder for the pokemon to avoid the attack, and feeling like she had something to prove to her opponent now, Jacklyn shouted, "Rus, charge and bring it down!" Of course, Rus didn't know the move Charge, he was a fire bunny not an electric one after all. So instead he took the command more standardly, running head first at the Abra. Proving that he could do it before, without instruction, this time Rus decided to prove himself equal in dodging to the Abra by leaping over the Hidden Power once more. 

 "Hm. No time. Hidden Power." Rather than teleporting, the Abra stayed still, firing yet another attack at Rus. The Lepash as well had no time here, being unable to dodge the attack. Despite getting struck dead on, though, Rus had no plans on stopping. Its fur flashing red briefly, the Lepash leaped forward, throwing its body into a Tackle and striking the Abra dead on. Jacklyn, surprised by the lack of fire in its attack blinked for a moment, but when Abra seemed to no longer be moving the girls confusion turned to a wide smile. 

"Heck yeah! Way to go Rus!" The girl ran over to give her pokemon a high five but as she brought her hand up to swing she then stopped, a bit confused as to how to actually go about doing a high five with her pokemon. Rus didn't seem to care in the slightest, but did let out a small puff of smoke in pride at its victory. Quickly recovering from her lack of actually high fiving, she excitedly pointed at Fuyumi saying, "see that! That's the next Korovan champ to be in action!"