Adinitium City

A breeze rolled through an open window on the west side of Adinitium city and fluttered the curtains gently. It was a cool Summer morning and the sun’s light shined in just long enough to flash across the face of a sleeping teenager. His face scrunched up slightly and he rolled over, trying to deny the fact that it was morning. Sleep was always something he enjoyed, but as his mind slowly crawled out from the fog of slumber, he opened his eyes with excitement. He was leaving home today!
The young man sprang from his bed and quickly changed out of his pajamas decorated with bug pokemon and stared into his closet, “What to wear… what to wear…” he sang softly. He spent a good 15 minutes pulling things out before tossing them to the side. Eventually, he settled on a pale pink tank-top and a short sleeved white jacket that he left unzipped on top. Down below he chose a pair of pink jeans that was artistically torn in a few places. He admired himself in the mirror and picked up two back-packs, one significantly larger than the other, and left his room for what would be a very long time.
The downstairs of his home was quite modest, essentially one room with the kitchen, dining room, and the living room all connected. On the simple two person table sat a plate covered with foil. Beside it was a note that read:

Dear Sean,
I’m going to miss you, but I wish you the best of luck with wherever you’re going, and I want you to know that I will always love you son.
Sincerely,
Mom ♥

With a small tear in his eye, Sean set the note down and sat down to enjoy his breakfast of eggs and toast. He felt a soft nuzzling on his leg and looked down to see his adorable friend and pokemon partner, Seanapillar. He picked up the wurmple and set him down in his lap and gave him a small piece of toast to munch on. He absentmindedly stroked his friend while thinking about the day. He supposed that he’d have to stop at the pokemart and pick up some items for the journey ahead. Granted, all he had to spend was 600 poke dollars. Maybe I can talk mom into smuggling me something… but he dismissed the thought quickly, he didn’t want to endanger his mother’s only job. He finished his meal and went to rinse off his plate while Seanapillar climbed up onto his shoulder.
He was a graduation present from his mom, who knew how much he loved caterpillar pokemon. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, remembering his very first pokemon, then nuzzled Seanapillar. He felt a little guilty about naming him after his deceased caterpie, but he supposed it wouldn’t harm anyone.
Sean walked toward the door and opened it, then looked back at the house that held so many memories, then with a warm feeling in his stomach, he closed the door and began walking around town, toward the pokemart, with his best friend on his shoulder.

Raine Selwood was used to waking up alone. Since she was little, her mother always had to get up early in the morning to open up the flower boutique next door. It was a rather popular shop in Adinitium, so as its owner, her mother didn’t have a moment to spare for her late-rising daughter.

However, Raine was not at all used to being jolted awake with a series of static shocks across her face. With a small yelp, she sat upright, rubbing her offended cheek. “Well that’s a pleasant start to the day,” she mumbled before glowering accusingly at the woolly pokémon nestled in her pillow. Her expression weakened, and she broke into a small smile. “Luce, you’re just too cute,” she snickered before waking him with a poke to the cheek.

The mareep had been a graduation present from her mother – one that Raine was rather surprised to receive as her mother wasn’t very supportive of her dream of travel. It wasn’t love at first site. The mareep had worked his way into her heart with its timid antics, like how he liked to press by her legs instead of be carried around in a pokéball. She was rather surprised when the bulb at his tail started to glow at night just a few days ago. After learning that it was a natural occurrence thanks to her pokédex, she had offered him the name Luce. She was glad he accepted it.

The mareep drowsily opened his brown eyes, shaking his head to chase the sleep away. Bleating, Luce clumsily stumbled to four feet and leapt off the bed, only to collapse into a dozing heap yet again. Its blue fur and fluffy white wool contrasted sharply with the dull wooden floor of her room. Raine shook her head, chuckling, and leaned over to her window, throwing the curtains open in one swift motion. What she saw startled her. “When’s the last time I saw the sunrise,” she murmured, smiling wryly to herself.

She looked in the mirror to her left and smiled at her reflection. In the orange lighting of dawn, she seemed a little different than usual. Sure she saw her sixteen-year-old self, looking less than travel-worthy in her sleepwear, but it was something about the glow to her skin and short hair. She seemed a little more ready for what lied ahead? Then again, she had no hesitations.

She nudged Luce with her foot, successfully rousing him before making her way to her closet. She had prepared her outfit the night before, valuing comfort over style as usual. She changed from her sleepwear into the sleeveless black shirt and dark green trousers she had chosen and slipped her black Xtransceiver onto her left wrist. Her favorite addition to the outfit was the long hooded vest, crisp and white. It was uncomfortable when she zipped it up, so she kept it loose.

With her outfit, she had packed her travel bag the day before – a dark green messenger bag with a pokéball design the side pocket. She slung it over her shoulder easily since it was nearly empty. Its only contents were a bit of money, her journal and an assortment of pens and pencils. Her pokédex was tucked safely in the pocket of her vest. Then, taking an elastic from her wrist, she loosely tied back her short dark hair. It was just long enough to tie at the nape of her neck. “C’mere, Luce,” she called, scooping him up with one arm. The mareep was a little clumsy on his feet sometimes, so Raine found it easier to carry him – when his wool wasn’t full of static electricity.

When she left the house, she didn’t expect to see her mother outside the flower shop. Raine had forgotten it was earlier than usual, so her mother would just be opening up instead of at the counter already.

“Well you’re up early for once,” Raine’s mother said with a smile.

Raine’s own grin diminished as she replied dully, “Yeah well… it’s a rather special day.”

“Is it?” her mother asked, seeming distracted. “Well, since you’re up, won’t you help your mother set up the shop? The berries were ripe and I have a whole batch of them to display,” she said, handing Raine the smaller of the two baskets she was carrying.

Raine watched as her mother entered the flower boutique, murmuring to herself about a bouquet delivery to make later on. So… her mother had forgotten. Raine knew her mother was never all that supportive of her leaving on a pokémon journey, especially after Raine’s father left and never returned for similar reasons… but Raine thought that as a mother, she would have the decency to remember.

“Apparently not,” she mumbled, setting Luce on the ground. The mareep stared at her questioningly as she opened a pocket in her bag and poured in the contents of the basket. Smirking at him, she said, “Just a little something to help us get started on this journey.” However, that smirk didn’t quite reach her eyes. She hadn’t planned on stealing the first day into her pokémon journey, especially not from her mother… but like always, things don’t always go as she planned. Raine knew she wouldn’t regret the decision.

Five oran berries, two pecha berries, two cheri berries, and a chesto berry. That would save her a lot of money at the PokéMart, thankfully.

“Our next stop’s the PokéMart, Luce,” she said, giving one of the oran berries to Luce who eagerly took it in his mouth and tottered after her.

Amy Lee skipped merrily into the Pokémart, her Cleffa imitating right behind her. She let out an excited squeal as she noticed the other customers. "O-M-G, guys! Look it's like a mini class reunion in here!" she cried, throwing her arms up and speaking just loudly enough to earn her a dirty look from the cashier. Blissfully unaware, she scrunched up her face and began to point at people as she tried to recall names, her Cleffa following along with it's little finger. "We've got... Dominic... Seeeaaaan... um, Raine... Claire... and..." she took a long pause as she reached Tyler. She put her hand on her chin thinking, and the Cleffa followed suit. Her face lit up with a sudden epiphany. "TIMMY! Hi guys!" She walked forward and slipped with a short screech on the spilled corn juices on the floor. Her Cleffa ran up and imitated again, landing on its little butt next to her. Amy blushed and stood up as the cashier smirked and handed Claire her Potion and Pokéball and took her money. "So... is everyone starting their adventure today?" she asked with a nervous and embarrassed laugh.

"Next?" the cashier asked lazily.

Sean smiled as he walked through the town. The weather was sunny and warm which brought a wide grin to the boy’s girly face. He walked tall and proud, with an air about him of positivity. Sean worked hard for this image all the time. If he walked into a room and it didn’t light up, then his mission was a failure. Some young children were walking in a close group on their way to the pokemon academy. He smiled just a little bit wider and slowed his pace a little, he wasn’t in any particular hurry. A few moments later, Sean saw a small boy walking alone, clutching his backpack and looking down. Sean’s smile faded a fraction of an inch and watched the boy make his route, almost robotically, to school. The boy raised his head and looked at the pack of children who were laughing and having a merry time, and the boy looked down once more and kicked a pebble a few yards ahead of himself. Sean’s smile faded even more (it never goes completely away) and stopped. He bit his knuckle for a few seconds until he brought the magnemites together. He whispered something into Seanapillar’s “ear” (as bugs don’t technically have ears) and took something out of his bag and put it in the caterpillar’s jaws. With its instructions, the pokemon crawled down his trainer and set off in the direction of the young boy.

The student made his way along the same path he took every weekday, not really paying attention to where he was going. He’d been in school for a little while now, and he still hadn’t made any friends. He tried not to let it bother him, but there are some things that a kid can’t do alone and be happy. He didn’t come from a particularly rich family, so he only had a few toys that were hand-me-downs from an older brother who left on his pokemon journey a few years ago. It wasn’t too bad, but he didn’t even have anyone to complain to.
Kicking the same pebble again, (11 times, almost going for his record) he didn’t look ahead of him and something hit his face as he walked by. He stopped and looked at what he had made contact with and saw 100 pokedollars hanging from a somewhat gooey string attached to the tree overhead. He looked around, seeing if it was some sort of trick. Seeing no one, he grabbed the money and pocketed it. He beamed, feeling great about his gift. It wasn’t like it was laying on the ground like someone had lost it, the fates had presented him with enough money to get a new pokefigure, he might even be able to get a good one now, like the other kids had. He walked with a spring in his step for the rest of the trip, and left the pebble behind him.

From behind the window of the nearby pokemart, Sean’s smile broadened and he turned to continue his shopping. Part of him felt really glad at what he had done, but there was another part, the one that looked into his wallet just now and internally frowned. There was just enough here for a couple pokeballs and an antidote. One of his faults was that he loved spending money to no end. He gave up toys and gadgets a long time ago to save up for clothes that made up over half of what was on his back.
Sean grimaced and bit his knuckle again. He decidedly walked over to the cashier and smiled as sweetly as he could, “Hi Barbara,” he sang, “I was wondering if I could go into the back and talk to my mom.” When he was younger, Sean would come to the pokemart and help his mom with inventory and stocking and became a regular sight around the store.
The cashier Barbra looked up with a softer, but still grumpy expression on her face and said. “Go right ahead kid.”
“Thanks.” He made his way around the counter and into the back room. Looking around for his mom, but not seeing her immediately. With a bit of a hesitation, he led himself down to a pile of boxes labled “potions” and looked for an open one. When he found it he reached in and pocketed one. “Just one, “he said softly, “they won’t notice it…”
“Yes we will.” said a firm voice behind him.
Instantly, his insides dropped and he looked behind him where the figure he called mom loomed. Sean swallowed difficultly and gave a guilty smile. After just a few moments of tension, his mother smiled and handed him another potion and some oran berries. “Great minds think alike.”
Sean lit up and hugged his mom tightly. She was the one thing that he was going to miss the most, “Thanks mom, I love you.”
“I love you too sweety,” She replied softly before letting go, “Now hurry up and get out before I get teary.” She nuzzled Seanapillar affectionately.
And with that he said his final goodbye to his mom and made his way out into the public part of the store once again.

This time, he was greeted by several familiar faces from his class. There was that kid Dominic who was walking with his chikorita, never really talked to him much. And also… t-something… Sean never could remember his name, always called him “that-creepy-kid-over-there”, only this time he had a little torchic with him. Sean figured that it would be better to do what he always did around him and stay a safe distance away. In another corner of the store stood Raine, who always seemed nice enough. Sean started to make his way over to her, but stopped abruptly when he saw the pokemon tottering around at her feet, “Of course, she got a mareep…” he thought morbidly, then moved on to that girl Claire with her charmander (geez, another fire-type? He thought, protectively stroking his wurmple).
Sean was debating on whether or not to talk to Dominic or Claire, when who but his best friend in the entire world Amy barged in, bringing a sunshine parade of vivacity behind her and her copy-cat cleffa. Sean sighed, today really was going to be a good day. “Heeey girl!” He called out before running up to give her a great big hug, stopping when she fell flat on her butt, “smooth move,” he said, smirking. He stood in line behind a girl he’d seen in class a few times, but didn’t ever bother to get her name. He gave Barbara his money and pocketed his pokeballs and his antidote.
“So… is everyone starting their adventure today?” Amy asked nervously.
“Yuppers! I’m all packed and ready to go,” he said, gesturing to his two backpacks. Seanapillar wormed his way down to Sean’s chest where he subconsciously moved to cradle the pokemon., “Are you heading out today too?” He asked with a broad smile.

"Thanks!" Claire said to the cashier, walking to a deserted area by the wall so she could find room to put her Potion and her Pokeball into her bag, glancing over at her Charmander as he waddled around the room.

And then she noticed Amy, sliding on the slippery tiled floor - from a mess that her Charmander had made - and quickly decided to rid of the evidence.

"See what you've done with that? All you've been doing is making messes!" Claire hissed to her Pokemon, who had been exploring. He stopped in front of her former classmates - ...Ali? Yeah, that sounded right - his gaze staring up at her. It would be menacing, almost challenging, if it hadn't been on such a sweet face.

"Charlie, don't be harassing Ali. She didn't do anything to you," she called. The girl shifted from foot to foot - and it was then she noticed the Chimchar. She zipped her backpack up and stood, shouldering it, and walked over to her Charmander, picking the monster up and, while he was preoccupied with the staring contest against the other Fire type, she snatched the can of corn from his grasp.

"Char!" It was something other than a grunt or whine, and she walked over to the trash can, throwing the mangled item in the trash. Now he was shooting her a dirty look, as if to say he hadn't been finished with the can yet.

"Sorry about him," she said, looking at the Chimchar and offering him a smile. "He's... very curious. And very hasty," she said. "There's so many fire types!" For a moment, she wondered what she'd have done if her mother had gotten her a Squirtle or something of the like. ...The thought didn't last long. She loved her Charmander and Charmanders in general.

"Ouch! DIdn't I feed you this morning, you little punk?" She said, gasping as the Charmander bit down on the arm that was holding him against her hip. It was the only way she'd found that kept his flickering tail away from her clothing - short of holding him out in front of her - and seconds later she felt him scramble against her side. For a moment she was afraid he was going to light her hair on fire, feet on her shoulders, and moments later the small dragon was curved around her head, paws on her hairline and his head scanning the room, but staring down at the Chimchar. It was like the added height made him feel superior to the monkey, and the way he voiced his next statement - "Char." - was proud, almost arrogant, by human terms.

Raine wasn’t expecting such a commotion at the PokéMart, especially since it was rather early in the day. As soon as she set Luce by her feet and went browsing through the pokéballs, a sea of vaguely familiar faces had crowded into the building. Timidly, her mareep shied behind her legs and she chuckled, “They’re not going to kill you, Luce.”

However, she did nothing more than flash a smile in their direction. People were difficult. They always had been for Raine. She turned her attention back to the pokéballs, and asked, “What do you think, Luce. Want a nice little ghost pokémon as a new friend?” She snickered at the terrified expression that crossed onto her pokémon’s expression, and had to convince him that she was joking. But he’d just have to get used to it, because she had a certain fondness for ghost pokémon.

Someone called her name, and Raine quickly turned to look. A bubbly girl was pointing at a couple people, proceeding to call out their respective names. Watching her, Raine quickly figured out exactly who were her old classmates, and thankfully their names. She was never very good with names. Raine watched as the chirpy young lady, who she couldn’t remember the name of, slipped on a puddle of what seemed to be canned corn. “Luce, you better watch out for that stuff,” she said, noticing that there seemed to be a whole trail of it across the PokéMart.

Timmy… was that his name? She had noticed him slip an antidote into his pocket on the way in. Hopefully he stripped off the magnetic strip or there’d be an annoying alarm blaring when he left. Raine knew the works, but the others didn’t know she did. She had tried to keep out of trouble while at Pokémon Academy, and she didn’t want to take her chances on the first day of the journey. Besides, she had enough money for a pokéball or two.

“One will have to do for now,” she mumbled, throwing a pokéball in the air and catching it. She mumbled a quiet “Ow,” when she felt a shock across her legs. Surprisingly, she was getting used to it. Raine looked down to see Luce quietly pressing by her legs, his wool visibly rising with static. She noticed it was because Timmy was approaching her, with a torchic keeping close to him.

“Hello Raine. It’s me, Tyler.”

Oh, so that bubbly girl had gone and gotten his name wrong. Raine was grateful that he had introduced himself and spared her a possibly awkward interaction.

“I was wondering if we could start our journey together,” he continued. “You seem like a down to earth person, which is why it’s you I ask.”

Ignoring his strange manner of speaking, Raine replied, “Oh, you’re that guy who aced tactics class.” She stopped when she noticed a girl with an eevee struggling to trail behind her stumble through the crowd. Without watching where she was going, the girl bumped into Tyler, and Raine had to catch a pokéball to keep it from whacking Luce in the face. “See, this is why you want better reflexes,” she said to the mareep who bleated gratefully. She rolled it back so the girl could pack it up with the others.

Alice watched as more people came in and out of the small market and wondered if it would have been best to move outside. Most of these faces she would probably see again on her travels so she wasn't going to be missing them much, not that she was in the first place.

"Char..." Dante whined, he was obviously a little uncomfortable with the lack of space and air in the building. Alice smiled and patted his head, "Sure, I'm tired of this place too." She pushed past the others and exited the store, the air outside felt different compared to inside.

"Alice!" Her head turned at the sound of her name being called, "Huh?" Squinting her eyes she saw it was her older brother Chase approaching quickly.

Alice waited for him to catch up; out of breathe he handed her a box. "...Mom told me to give this to you; it's something to help with your travels..." Alice opened the box Chase handed to her curiously; Dante peeked over her shoulder curious to what it was also. Alice pulled out a orange and white Pokégear, one she saw her mother with in pictures "Awesome! I didn't think she'd give me this!"

Chase stood up, finally having caught his breath "Our numbers are already in there, so don't hesitate to call alright... Oh and here I made these before but forgot to hand them to you." He handed her another well wrapped box with a piece of paper attached. "It's some Pokémon food; I know you'll run out eventually so I also put the recipe on the side. You can find the ingredients in local towns or even out on the road."

Biting her lip lightly, Alice started to feel a little teary eyed. Maybe it was the thought she would be leaving her family that she loved and grew up with for who knows how long, or maybe she was just happy to have such a caring family to support her. Suddenly she threw her arms out and hugged her brother "Thank you, so much! I love you guys..." "Chim!" Dante chimed in jumping onto Chase's shoulder and rubbing his cheek against his happily, Chase laughed and rubbed his soft fur.

"You don't have to thank us, we're family and-" "Family stick by each other no matter what, I know." Alice finished his thought with a smile and wiped the lone tear on her cheek. Dante hopped back over to Alice and they bid farewell to her brother before he returned back home.

Eager to see what kind of features her new Pokégear had, she looked through the menus "Clock, map, phone, radio..." She read off all the functions, her smile growing wider with each one. "Oh this is so cool." She squeezed the Pokégear to her chest blissfully; Dante however gave her a questioning look.

"Heh, sorry it's just I have a love for gear like this. Well we should get a move on..." She trailed off and let out a large yawn, with all the excitement from the morning she hadn't realized she was still in fact tired. "Well we could take a rest and enjoy the view of the city before we head off?" Alice suggested, blinking her red eyes in Dante's direction. Her Pokémon looked at her blankly with a small shrug. "Right! Let's go." The duo nodded to each other and headed to the next route entrance and get a start on their adventures together.

---

Daphne caught the sound of more than a few crashes echoing from within, and smiled hazily through her sleepiness. It sounded like everyone was having a very exciting time. Nothing like a few minor disasters to get the bad karma out of the way. Or something like that, anyway. She wondered how Barbelle was handling the new job. Probably not terribly well, all things considered. If Daph recalled correctly (and oddly enough, she usually did), the tall girl was fairly short on patience…

…Huh. That was a pun. There was another crash, and she decided that by now, there probably ought to be more then enough good karma owed to get everyone to the next town pretty safely. So then what were they all still doing in there anyway?

The door opened, the characteristic whooshing noise of the sliding mechanism reaching her ears just over the din that temporarily filtered out the door. Someone settled themselves next to Daphne, and she cracked an eyelid. Hang on… she knew this one. He was in her class. D-something. Dunmer? Dun? No… that was a pokemon. If she’d slept through a few less lessons, she might know, but as it was, all she had was boy-who-stares-out-window-and-draws.

He said something, and she took a moment to respond. “Oh, I don’t know. I think they’re all quite excited to be tripping over things. I’m not sure why; it hurts if you land wrong.” She mustered the energy to sit up a bit, unaware that the statement had likely not made much sense. In her head, it connected rather nicely with several musings from both the night before and also a few minutes ago. Yawning widely, Daphne observed the eating Chikorita on the ground and smiled. She made no attempt to touch her, however, and was opening her mouth to excuse herself to brave the crowds when someone stopped directly in front of them.

It seemed as though the speaker- another D name, maybe?- had already done his shopping, and was headed out. She wasn’t particularly bothered by this; it was not as though the whole thing were some form of competition, was it? Oh, right. It sort of was, depending on how you looked at it. But maybe just not one where a few minutes out the gate really mattered. Still, she waved to be polite, a languid movement that elicited another yawn. She still wasn’t really awake, and probably wouldn’t be until about noon or so. So really, what he said didn't register too well, not that it would have bothered her if it had. "We're not," she replied simply and with a shrug.

They were joined by someone else (so many people about) and Daph stood. “You can have my seat,” she supplied, hefting her bag onto her shoulders. “I… still need things.” With that vague statement, she stood in front of the door and waited for it to slide open, stepping inside and avoiding what appeared to be some kind of… vegetable juice on the floor. Being Daphne, she didn’t really bother to question why it was there, and strolled causally through the aisles, dodging what appeared to be a spill of paper towels or something, and a couple people having phone conversations. She knew exactly what she had to get, so she wasn’t long in deciding, though getting around was a bit more troublesome than it usually was.

Luckily, she counted no less than three clerks (and possibly four?) working today, and she commended the business for anticipating this slight overload. She wound up in one of the lines that did not belong to Barbelle, but then it looked like she was about ready to leave anyway. The potion, antidote, and pokeball she was purchasing totaled to exactly all her money, and she handed the notes over without regret. Everyone had to start somewhere.

Emerging back outside, she paid a nod to the two who were still on the bench, then figured she probably had one more stop before she ought to leave. Ponyta was going to need more of that specialty food and probably a checkup as well, and her dad probably would forget to order it in advance, since all the basic organization stuff for the lab had been her province since she was old enough to write. That meant paying a visit to the Pokemon Center. At least it wasn’t going to be as crowded as the Mart had been.

Daphne ambled along, hands folded behind her head and elbows everywhere. Unlike most people these days, she couldn’t exactly expect her pokemon to follow her everywhere, given his distinct absence of legs. Whatever unusual mechanism the more ocean-inclined pokemon used for land battles was tiring, she supposed. So really, aside from the normal ambient noise of a city waking up, Daphne was alone with her footsteps for the moment. Not such an unfavorable condition, but well… she’d manage either way. Eleven-year-old kids survived this sort of thing all the time.

The Center doors, too, slid open, and the first thing she noted was that Nurse Joy was presently occupied. Not a problem; Blissey knew how to fetch the paperwork. The second thing she noticed was that the other person involved was a friend of hers. Not wanting to interrupt, she found Blissey and asked for the appointment form which would get Nurse Joy or one of her staff out to her dad’s lab at some point in the week to look at the recovering Ponyta. An abuse case, and the saddest thing she’d seen in a while, but he was getting better.

The forms were rote by now, and she was done in less than two minutes. Thinking for a second, she added a note at the bottom explaining her future absences and asking the nurse to please make sure her father had a large stack of these forms. She vaguely felt sorry for whichever of the assistants got stuck with the drudge-work she’d always done.

"Yep!" Amy bubbled over with renewed excitement as Sean asked her if she was heading out. "I was thinking about heading over to the Battle Club and Contest Club building. I hear that that girl Jessica - you know the know-it-all from the Academy? - I hear she's gone undefeated for the whole week and I've been wanting to see her battle. Maybe it'll inspire me!" The girl picked up her Cleffa and beamed as she shoved the little star-shaped Pokémon into Sean's face, unconsciously half-yelling again, "But I'm not sure this little girly's cut out for battling!"

As she did, the manager of the Mart, a rather short, fat man came out from the back of the store. He was the type that smelled as sweaty as he looked and had a personality that stunk just as bad. He dropped the magazine he was holding and stared wide-eyed at the massive amount of customers crowding the little shop, mouth agape. There was a mysterious liquid on the floor, and judging from the seat of a young girl's skirt there had been at least one slip. Toilet tissue was in a heap on the ground, the lines were just about out the door, and he could've sworn he saw someone steal something and slip out. His employees looked swamped, and he wondered what in the hell Barbie was doing on the ground. "Lazy good-fer-nothin's, the whole lot of 'em," he thought to himself. Surely this scene was a lawsuit or fire code violation waiting to happen.

" 'Ay!" he yelled over the chaos in the Mart. "This ain't no goddamn hang out for you lil hoodlums! Get the hell outta my store!" His bushy eyebrows furrowed and his face crinkled in rage, he grabbed a broom and shook it menacingly. "Go on! OUT! And Barbie, what are you sick? What the hell are you doing on the ground? You get home, too. Don't want none o' yer damn diseasles."

He hated the summer, right when the kids got out from that blasted Pokémon academy. They all flooded his store buying a few cheap items, lurking and loitering about and scaring away the real paying customers. Even worse was when he had to hire them.

Meanwhile at the Adinitium City Pokémon Center...

"Yup!" Nurse Joy smiled as a Blissey brought out a tray full of Pokéballs. "Your Machop has been restored to full health." Then she looked around and leaned in close to Alex, gesturing for him to come in closer as well. "Why are we whispering?" She asked with a slight smirk. She stood upright again and winked at the obviously exhausted boy. "Are you sure you're up for adventuring? You know we offer rooms for trainers for the low, low price of free?" She laughed again at her own joke. "Well, if you're really interested, I have heard that just up along Route 4, right before the Adinitium Ferry Dock, there's been some mysterious people lurking about really ruining business; their Pokémon appear to be too strong for young trainers trying to leave town and they keep forcing people back. Personally, I'd say let your Machop take a break before you go out trying to challenge them, judging from some of the Pokémon that've come here in critical condition. Maybe take some more time to train at the Battle Club or on the outskirts of town? But that's just me. Anyway, here's your Machop back. Take care, and hope to see you again!" And with that she turned and got back to work.

Sean stepped back just a bit at having the adorable little critter shoved in his face, and beamed at his friend. This is the exact reason why he was practically in love with her. Everything she does is just so over the top and she lights a room better than flash. At the mention of the battle club, Sean stopped to chew on his knuckle and think, “Yeshica…” He said slowly through the obstruction between his teeth. He pulled it out before continuing, “Oh! Her! I remember her…” Sean didn’t necessarily approve of Jessica. She’s very gifted and bright, but she’s just so… there, if that makes sense. Sean prides himself in being able to live and enjoy living. He looks down on others who just seem to exist rather than live. Jessica was always physically in a room, doing something, but she wasn’t emotionally, and that always brought Sean’s smile downward.
He thought about it some more though, and looked down at Seanapillar, who looked back up with those perpetually happy eyes that Sean always adored the most about his pokemon, “Y’know… I think it’d be fun to go and see her battle,” And maybe kick her ass at it too, he thought mischievously. He looked back at the adorable cream-colored bundle in Amy’s arms, “Although,” he said, bending over to pat its head, “I agree that you two should watch rather than get hurt.”
When the manager let out his steam at the kids, Sean decided it was best to do as he was told, seeing as he now had what he came fore. He took his gal-pal by the crook of her elbow and led her out of the store. Just outside though, grouped around a bench, was a small crowd of people. Some of them had been in the store, but of course, Sean didn’t talk to anyone in the store.
Sean smiled as he walked up to them, and was passed by a very bored looking girl, “Hey guys!” he said brightly, “Amy and I were going to go to the battle club and watch a few battles to get us in the mood for our adventure. Are you in?”

Even though he had been here may times before, Mike was always a little awe stuck about Adinitium City. Doug, on the other hand, couldn't care less. The Aron was happy since he ate on the way here and was now chewing on the stem of an oran berry. His trainer sighed a bit as he used his new PokeGear to check the time, which was about 1 o' clock and he had left around 7. The trip usually didn't take so long but this time they were looking for pokemon to catch. They didn't have much luck however because they only came across three pokemon; two Pidgey and and a Shroomish, all of which Doug soundly beat. Mike, putting his PokeGear away, headed for the PokeMart to pick up the last item he needed, with his Aron trotting behind him.

As he appoached the store, he noticed quite a few of his classmates outside of it, barely being able to remember their names. Mike sighed again, knowing it was his own fault he couldn't remember their names. Of course if he had gone to the school more often then he did he might have remembered them but, oh well, probably too late now. He then looked down at Doug, getting a perfect view of the chip in his head from their encounter. "Come on, Doug, we nned to get something." He muttered as he lead his pokemon inside.

When he entered he couldn't help but notice the angry, red-faced, tiny, manager who was screaming, what might have been word, at a group or two of his old classmates. Mike, deciding it was better not to get in his way, lead Doug over to a clearance shelf where he found an old PokeDex. From what he could tell the Dex did have all the known pokemon in it and it had color, it was just old, missing all the new things you could do with a newer one but, it would serve its purpose. Luckily it was only 600 pokedollars, and even through that was all Mike had, it was a worthwile investment. So, he quickly took it to the cash register, spent the last of his money on it and left as quickly as he entered, his partner still in tow.

He then headed for the park across the street, found a nice tree, and layed against with Doug laying right beside him. Mike then started thinking about his next step.

Daphne defeated Oyoh!

Tiberius gained EXP!

Tiberius grew to level 6!




"Of course he is!" Amy said as she grabbed both Sean and Mike and pulled them along toward the Battle Club. "C'mon, at this rate we'll never get there!" With all three Pokémon in tow, the trio arrived at the Battle and Performance Club building. Amy paid admission for all three, and they entered the building. A young woman sat at the front desk. She greeted them with a smile and explained they could go left for contests or right for battles.

Amy stood for a moment thinking. "You know what guys? I think Clea and I will go check out the contests. You guys both wanted to battle though, right? Why don't you see if you can't find someone willing to battle with you guys? Or you could come with me, but, you know, whatever you guys want to do. See ya later!" And with that and a wink she skipped off down the hallway to the left with her Cleffa in her arms.

As Sean’s arm was being pulled out of his socket, he looked over at his new companion. He definitely seemed shy, which is always cute, but at the same time he might be lost behind Sean’s glorious self. What am I even going on about, Sean thought hurriedly, I don’t even know what team he plays for! After a few more paces though, Sean looked down, Still not too bad to look at though. He continued on with a mischievous smirk

The Battle Club was a decently crowded place, filled with trainers of all types and appearances. Some walking around with egos that were practically tangible, others who were visibly shaking in their shoes. Sean was definitely leaning toward the latter. He had faith in his wurmple, and some in himself, but he wasn’t sure how experienced these other trainers really were. It’d be humiliating to be smeared across the arena. He looked down at his companion, who looked up at him in return with a look that was filled with hope and anticipation. Sean nodded and walked forward to the front desk. He reached into his pocket and realized he spent all his money at the pokemart. Curse my materialistic personality! he sighed and was about to turn away, when in a flash, Amy took care of everything and headed off to look at the contests. He nudged… Oh Arceus, I never did catch his name… Amy, I love and hate you so much. Maybe if I’m lucky there’ll be some way of getting him to spill it without the awkwardness… Sean inwardly laughed and nudged his companion with a chuckle, gesturing toward Amy, “I’ve seen sonic booms move slower. Am I right?”

“The next round of battle club will begin in five minutes,” Spoke the reception lady through a microphone, “trainers should prepare themselves and their pokemon and wait in the arena.”
“Come on,” Sean said, smiling, “Lets go get ready.” He picked up his wurmple and stepped through the doors with butterfrees in his stomach.

Mike couldn't help but laugh at the corny joke he just he heard. It might nave beem that good but somehow it made him laugh. Doug simply rolled his eyes, jokes clearly not being the little pokemon's thing. His trainer then followed Sean, still smiling a bit from the joke.

The battle club much bigger then he ever expected. It was at least three stories high, having railings on the upper levels to easily see the battles that would take place. It seemed as if every wall had about fifty windows, all letting sunlight in making it seem as if the place never needed to use man-made lights. Mike couldn't help but stare at the high ceiling with a painting of some kind of epic battle between pokemon he had never even seen or heard of before. He then looked over at Sean, wondering a bit if he was having a similar experience.

Doug couldn't care much for what the building looked like and was instead looking for a battle partner. And quickly the Aron found one, charging in head first at a trainer and his Raticate. Mike noticed a small puddle of slime in its path and chased after the pokemon, picking him up, falling, then sliding and finally yelled as he continued going til he hit the wall. He then looked down at Doug, muttering, "Are you ok?" The Aron simply nodded and was a bit afraid to move. So, Mike stood, holding his pokemon and sigh, knowing he had just made himself look like a fool.

Mike was pleased to notice, how few people actually thought he spill was funny. But, he did attract quite a bit attention. So much, in fact that the whole Battle Club was quiet, except for one group of boys' laughter. When Mike looked over at one of the kids, the first thing he noticed was the boy's Grimer and the slime it was producing. Soon it became clear who had caused him to slip and Doug caught on as well, jumping from its trainer's arms to the floor. And, for one of the few times in his life, Mike lost his cool.

It wasn't the fact that he had slipped or that everyone noticed. No, it was the fact that this little boy, no... this little monster had tried to cause harm to someone, person or pokemon, for his own, damned amusement. What if someone had fallen and broken their neck? Or, what if a larger pokemon slipped on it and crushed someone? Someone had to put this kid in his place and that someone was going to be Mike.

He marched right up to the little punk, Doug right by his side. One the boys in the group started laughing, "Look who it is? Mr. Slip and slid." Then the other kids all laughed at joke. Mike chuckled a bit as he stared down the joking one, rage burning his eyes. The leader of the group and the owner of the Grimer, stepped forward from his pack, "What do you want?" Mike glared down at the kid, "To put you in your place." The pack then made some "ooooing" sounds before their leader quieted them down as he laughed, "You think, that you could put me in my place? Hell, you can barely stand up!" His buddies then started laughing, hooting and hollaring. The, now furious trainer rolled his eyes, with his Aron staring down the Grimer, actually scaring it a bit. Mike then yelled at the top of his lungs, "Let me make it offical then; I, Mike Richards, challenge you to a pokemon, right here and now!" That comment was followed by cheering from all around, seeming that everyone wanted to see this little monster get beaten down. The punk, who's face was now all red and flustered, accepted the challenge.

The battle was so anticipated, in fact, that it was going to be held on the main field. Mike was in the blue corner and got a very loud applause as he entered the field. The punk, didn't get much more then a few whistles from his gang. Doug charged on to the field, clearly battle ready because his fight had become personal. Their opponent throw out his pokeball, releasing his Grimer, the same one who had caused all this. Doug's body tensed up a little bit, but he was ready to strike, Mike took one deep breath before hearing the refree start the battle.

---

Well, the way things were looking right now, she needed to pay another visit to the Center. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to use the single potion she had to heal Tiberius for the next battle, after all. Across the hall, she noted that Lex was engaged with another Trainer. This training gym should be nice, easy experience for him, given the type advantages at play. “Not so much for us, though, huh?” she asked the little pokemon in her arms. His response was feeble enough that Daphne frowned in place of her usual airheaded half-smile, and sighed.

“I promise it gets easier,” she mumbled, retracing her steps and heading out of the building. Time to see a nurse about some free medicine, as the it was. It was only a short trip, but all the same she wondered why gyms didn’t just staff people to take care of this sort of thing. Oyoh would have to visit the place as well, since in all likelihood, she and Lex would simply be swapping opponents after this, then trying for the leader, who was bound to have something a little higher up the scale than a level five or six.

Hopefully, it would all be worth it. A badge, even one from a training gym, would be something to show for the effort, and as much as she didn’t like to admit it, she really did want to have something to show her father for the time she spent away from the lab. More positively, it would probably help Tiberius, too, if there was some proof of his improvement. Sometimes, Daphne wasn’t sure how much of the world of battling and gyms and contests pokemon understood, but other times, she was almost certain most of it was not beyond them. She’d encountered a few pokemon smarter than the a few blockheads from the academy; that much she knew for a fact.

The doors slid open and admitted her once again to the Center, and Daph managed a halfhearted proud-trainer face, advancing towards the currently-empty counter with the realization that really, she was pleased with how Tiberius’s first battle had turned out. It might have been wiser to start with wild pokemon, but she knew now that the diminutive horsea could handle trainer battles with aplomb, at least assuming she chose not to dunk them in over their heads, so to speak.

Speaking of over their heads… the question of why Lex had looked tired earlier came to her much later than it should have, and as she explained the situation about the battle to Nurse Joy and handed Tiberius over to her expert care, she debated asking him about it. She wasn’t really as dumb as she appeared; she could hazard a guess that his parents wouldn’t be too pleased with him for choosing to do this. Really, though, was it any of her business? Probably not; she decided she’d leave it be. Parents who wanted things from you that you didn’t really want from yourself were something of a recurring theme in her life- it wasn’t like that required explanation.

“Thanks for this,” she told the nurse with a nod. “It’s a bit harder than I thought it would be, watching him get hurt. I’ll probably be back a few more times before the day’s done.” Troublesome and troubling, but… if she wanted to help anyone on Route 4 and prevent any worse damage from unwinnable battles, this seemed like a good idea for the moment.

As Daphne waited for her pokemon, her thoughts drifted to her other classmates. She figured many of them had left town by this point; hopefully they wouldn’t run into whatever the problem was. Hmm… what was the ferry schedule, anyway? And more importantly, did they still serve strawberry ice cream on board? Some of that and a nap sounded really nice right about now… Needless to say, the girl was staring right off into space by this point, not really paying her surroundings much mind, though she did keep an ear out for Nurse Joy’s return.

"Ahem!" Nurse Joy giggled a bit at the half sleeping Daphne. "Your Pokémon has been restored to full health! We hope to see you again!"

A Blissey skipped over to Alice and, in its own little way, repeated what Nurse Joy had said to Daphne to her.

Daphne and Alice's Pokémon's health have been fully restored!

"Wow! Back again, huh?" Nurse Joy smiled as Alex headed into the Pokémon Center. "We'll restore your Machop to perfect health!" she sang as she received the Pokéball and handed it to Blissey.

The Center was slowing down as the day winded down, the sun starting set and an amber glow pouring in through the windows. As such Macho was taken care of rather quickly, and handed back with a small bow from Nurse Joy. "We've restored your Pokémon to perfect health. Hope to see you again!"

Macho had its health fully restored!

Mike smiles, still thinking of the battle. "It went pretty well, espically when Doug became a missle..." He then laughed a bit and noticed Sean's now confused face. "I'll have to explain later." He then sighed. "So how did your battle go?"

But Mike felt like there was some tension between them and realized that Sean probably forgot his name, not like he had much reason for him to be remembered, expect that he probably had the worst attendence record at the trainer school. Something he probably can't be proud of. But, getting his mind back on topic, he stuck out his hand. "And in case you have forgotten, I'm Mike and my Aron is named, Doug." And we that, he hoped the tension could fade.

"Good luck in the rest of your battles!" Nurse Joy smiled as she handed Daphne her Pokémon again. "Your Tiberius has been restored to perfect health! We hope to see you again!"

Tiberius's health was fully restored!

"Sure, sure!" Nurse Joy smiled as the two girls rushed in with their Pokéballs. "It's getting kind of late, no? Perhaps the two of you might want a rest as well?"

After a few moments she handed them both back their Pokémon, as well as Sean and Mike their respective Pokémon. "Your Pokémon have been restored to full health! Feel free to take a room upstairs; otherwise we hope to see you again!"

"Hm? Who told you that?" Nurse Joy asked Bianca. "I haven't heard much of anything from anyone in awhile... it's getting late so not many more people have been trying to get to the ferry I imagine. There was a boy though who said he was going down there... so perhaps they're gone? I'm not sure... but good luck out there, and be careful!"

Sean watched as Mike held out his hand after introducing himself. Sean, however, heard his wurmple had been fully restored and immediately got up to collect him. Sean had admittedly been a little cold to the trainer, but he didn't quite feel bad enough to want to go chasing after him after he left the center. Maybe he'd make it up to him another day... I'll do something, he inwardly promised, Just not tonight.

Sean opened the pokeball and Seanapillar emerged from the white light, looking brighter and happier than ever. Sean always preferred to have his pokemon outside of the ball while traveling. Having a close companion like this always made traveling better. For a fraction of a second, Sean's face turned solemn, And I don't want to ever have to chance of losing him... again. Sean's face screwed together for a second and shook off the memory and returned to his blissful smile.

The pair exited the center and decided to head for the forest. It was getting dark, so Sean figured that he'd be able to meet a different variety of pokemon. Everyone always says the freaks come out at night. Sean chuckled to himself and took his pokedex from his bag and put it in his front pocket for easy access. He touched the two pokeballs on his belt to double-check that they were still there and ready to go.

With a deep breath, exhaling a metaphorical ego-cloud that carried his feet eagerly toward the exit of the city and to the wilderness of Route 4.