Route 4

The rustling of the grass she was walking through nearly camouflaged the sound of the Pokemon that had waddled out in front of her - so much so, that she believed that it could have belonged to one of the other trainer's who had left before her. She completely didn't notice the mushroom Pokemon, but it noticed her, and halfway through his trek across the tall grass, he stopped and squatted down, attempting to hide himself.

The Charmander on top of her head noticed; watching the new Pokemon with sharp eyes. He took his owner's words and didn't dive for the other Pokemon, simply watching and waiting.

Something caught her foot. Claire let out a wail of surprise, sticking her arms out to attempt and catch herself - she felt a rough kick, her Charmander leaping off of her head before he hit the earth, but unlike the agile Pokemon she hit the grassy ground with a grunt of pain. She'd landed on her elbow and further fallen onto her side; Charlie rushed over, curious antics finally seeming to diminish - for the time being, anyway - and examined his owner.

"How in the world can a tiny mushroom trip me up so bad?!" She snapped to no one in particular. "...Well, that's an odd mushroom. Do you eat mushrooms, Charlie?" She'd never seen a pink mushroom, but Claire figured it could have been because of the lighting in the tiny forest area. The trees towered and it was awfully damp.

"Char!"

"What? It's just a mushroom! Chill out!"

She reached her hand forward to pluck it - at the very least, to examine - when her Charmander leapt forward on top of it. Suddenly it moved, trying to shake the creature off, causing the teenage girl to screech in surprise.

"It's a Pokemon?!"

It flung Charmander off, the small monster landing on the ground a foot or two away. Not hiding any more, the Shroomish stood it's full height, running towards the Fire-type and tackling it to the ground. Claire was still seated on the ground feet away, eyes wide and horrified.

It was her first fight, and she hadn't even expected such a natural-looking thing to be a Pokemon, who now had her own pinned to the earth. There was an odd glow - Absorb?! - from the Shroomish, and her Charmander, who had been scratching and growling, kicking his hind legs to try and get rid of the Pokemon on top of him, seemed to grow lax.

"No, no! You aren't passing out on the first fight! Get up, punk!" She cried. "Scratch him! Do it!"

The Pokemon suddenly switched positions; Charlie now had the Shroomish pinned, but suddenly he leapt back away from the smaller Pokemon, his abrupt kick away leaving the oddly shaped monster wobbling on it's feet for a few seconds. Charlie backed himself up against a tree, growling and trying to intimidate the shorter Pokemon. Claire stood up just as the Shroomish ran to tackle Charmander again.

"Charlie! Don't do that, you're setting yourself up to get tackled against a tree! Move!"

An aptly placed jump away - and the Shroomish ran head-first into the tree. It staggered, falling to the ground.

"Scratch again! Finish him off!"

The Charmander growled his agreement, jumping onto the dizzied and damaged Pokemon, claws digging into the pink and green spotted creature. She couldn't tell if it was because of the bloodying scratches against it's side or the head-on collision with the thick tree, but the Pokemon fell to the ground.

"You can stop, Charlie, he's done for," she said, falling to her knees. The dragon Pokemon hesitated, obviously not buying the idea, before scampering back to it's owner, who picked the small animal up in her arms and hid her face in it's orange skin. "Are you injured? Oh, Charlie, that was so scary..." she said softly, pushing hair out of her eyes before examining him for damage. He had, indeed, sustained a scrape and had a growing bruise from having been tackled, but it didn't look bad enough to use her Potion.

"Be more careful next time, okay? I don't want to lose you so early on in our adventure, you little monster," she said, patting Charlie on the head. He seemed to smile at her - baring all his sharp teeth - and then clamored back onto her shoulders and onto the top of her head. "You're lucky it wasn't that high of a level. It didn't seem to know a poisoning attack yet," she said.

Claire defeated the wild Shroomish!

Charlie gained EXP!

'Okay then." Derek said responding to Daph. He hoped he hadn't offended her, but she did seem to care. The three of them, were soon joined by another classmate. Laughing as the small Fire-type collided with the equally small Grass-type. "Oh! Hey there, um,......" Derek closed his eyes, snapping his fingers for awhile. This trainers name had taken some time to recall, but eventually, he got it. "Ah! Sorence." He said, rather triumphantly. As he enter the scene, Daphne politely gave up her seat, and walked over to the store behind them. Pulling out an energy bar, the three of them, five if you count the pokemon, continued to eat.

The akward silence was soon broken, thankfully, by yet another couple of classmates. Was this some sort of scheduled field trip of sorts Derek thought to himself as one of the newcomers asked them all a question. The pair of them, whose names escaped him, were apparently heading over to the Battle Club, whatever that was, and were asking if they'd like to join. As Sorence declined, Dereks' mind was once again pulled into an argument with itself. The two sides were debating wether to join the two on his left, or follow after Sorence on his right. After a few minutes of 'Mind-Fighting', Righty won. He turned to look at the two on his left. "Sorry looks like I'll have to take a rain-check," He told them as he lifted his backpack back onto his shoulders, "Maybe next time." With that, he tossed his stakeboard back on the ground and rode off after Sorence.

After a few minutes, Sorence came back into view. "Hey Sor, wait up!" Derek called out, thinking to himself Now that, I can remember. He rolled to stop next to Sorence. "Hey man. I was just wondering, you want to travel together?" He asked in a nicely enough.

Dom was the first to tear his glare away from Leafy. A fact that caused the Pokemon to chuckle in high pitched squeaks... Oh she wanted to play this game did she? Oh well, they had plenty of time left on this journey. Anyway, the reason he had broken his glare. A boy... Uh.. Derek something another. He asked if him and Daphne were together. A question that caused Dom to raise an eyebrow and Leafy to stare at her owner. Was there something going on that the Pokemon didn't know? How juicy.

Dom shrugged and began to speak, but he was cut off as Daphne stood and left, inviting Sorence to take her seat. Dom hesitated for a moment and shook his head, "I suppose that'd answer that wouldn't it?" Dom snarked, biting into his sandwich again. Leafy on the other hand dragged her packet of food closer to Dom and away from the strangers and a certain Magby, overcome by her shyness and ate in cautious silence. Then a boy in pink, Sean, made his way to them. When the hell did Dom become so popular? He was a slacker and day-dreamer in schools... Whatever, Sean asked if the group would like to go to the battle club. Dom thought on it for a moment before looking down to his partner.

Leafy was staring a hole through his forehead. He knew better than to accept the boy's invitation. "I'd love to... But Leafy wants to get on the road... Now," He said, giving the Pokemon a gentle smile. The Chikorita advanced forward and showed herself off to the boys. She was shy, but her trainer was talking to the boys... What did she have to fear? "And I've already made her wait too long," He said, standing up and shouldering his pack. "Doesn't mean we won't have time later," he said, smile spreading across his face, "We'll have plenty of time down the road we go. So, I suppose I'll see ya when I see ya, huh? Come along Leafy." He said, walking towards the exit of the town.

Finally, they were on the road in earnest. Tall grass surrounded them on either sides and sun beamed down on them. Leafy seemed to bask in the sun, her leaf angled just right to catch the most light. She sauntered beside her trainer, eyes closed, and humming softly. Dom himself had his pad out and a pencil sketching wildly on the paper. The flowers were his first objects of interest. Flowers of all shapes and sizes were drawn by his careful hands, and they soon took on a life of their own. A tree emerged from within the paper, likewise given elegant detail like the flowers. Near the middle of the page began another subject of his many sketches. A Chikorita looking up at the sun surrounded by flowers and exuding pure happiness. The drawing lasted long enough so that he was surprised when he came to the stream. He hesitated for a moment, sucking on the tip of the pencil.

"Well Leafy? What'd you think? Reckon we should start off here?" he asked. The Chikorita nodded it's leaf wildly, ready to dive into a challenge. Plus, they were close enough to the town that they could make it back if anything went wrong.

"Well then, Let's do it then," he said, walking along the stream.

Raine captured the wild Treecko!

Luce gained a little bit of EXP!

"You want to join me? Sure you can, but I'm just curious. Why do you want to?" Derek pondered the question. The truth was, he didn't actually know why. After thinking for a few, he found his answer. "There's no point in traveling alone, and you seem like a nice guy." As he responded, Sorence held his hand out. "I hope we make a good team then." Derek took the hint and accepted the offer to a handshake. "Likewise." They continued the path, Sor walking, Derek riding along beside him. Not soon afterward, he was asked another question he was unsure of. "I'm haven't really decided yet." He answered. "I guess I'll just try everything, and go on from there." He said with a smile. "And funny you should mention Coordinaters, as my mom was one." Telling his new friend of his family history.

As the two were talking it up, Derek failed to notice the small Pokemon at his side who was playing with Jet's ball. The Fire-type managed to activate the device, releasing the mon stored within. The sudden, and unexpected, flash of light caused Derek to swerve and fall backwards to the ground. When he finally comperhended what had happened, he could stop laughing. Soon after he forced himself to breathe when he felt tears coming. "Whew. Now that that's over with, it's time I introduced you all to Jet." He said as he held he right arm aloft infront of him. With a flap of his wings, the small bird to the sky, flying over and perching itself on said arm. "There's no need to be afraid my friend," He said, looking up at the frightened Magby, "Of him, or me. He won't hurt you, and I, I can get equally as curious."

There's no need to be afraid my friend. Of him, or me. He won't hurt you, and I, I can get equally as curious. Sorence smiled at the remark Derek made. He was pleased that he made a kind friend that treated Pokemon and people the same. Sorence ran his hand through his hair and exhaled slowly. His green eyes shifted up towards Magby and he told it, "Magby, we are going to be traveling with these guys. You have to get used the them. You also have to be used to watchin' Pokemon come out of their Pokeballs. You can't battle if you are afarid of them appearing. Remember, you also emerge from Pokeballs too."

Magby gave the group a nervous look, he slowly began to slide down the tree. His feet touched the ground in a few seconds. Magby was very cautious in walking to Jet. In a few minutes, he reached Jet on Derek's shoulder. Magby extended his arm to the Pidgey, eyes averted from fear of something bad happening to him.

While this was happening, Sorence began to laugh to himself for a few seconds. He thought his Pokemon was so cute trying to face his current fears. He watched as the shaking arm slowly touched Jet, the wincing face from fear. "Nice to meet you Jet, as you can see, Magby is there." His arm motioned to the Pokemon that was now shivering, still trying to touch Jet. "Heh, don't worry Magby, Jet won't bite... right?" Sorence said as he looked to Derek with questioning eyes. He began to laugh at his own remark soon after. "Of course you won't Jet."

Magby, after 5 minutes, finally made physical contact with Jet. Magby made one long exhale, as if he was holding his breath for the amount of time it took him to touch jet. Magby gave Jet a nervous smile. He wanted to make a new friend, but he was still scared sh*tless from how Jet emerged into the world. "Why don't the two play together for a bit? Get to know each other."

"Finally." Barbelle murmured, the last customer of the hour left the store, ending her shift. Barbelle grabbed her totodile and picked him up like a baby, rocking him in her arms. He was fully awake, but Barbelle couldn't help but show motherly affection to her first pokemon. Barbelle had purchased four pokeballs, depleting all of her money until her paycheck came in. Now all she wanted to do was train her butt off, just like last night.

Her totodile demanded release, his nature wouldn't allow for him to lay in Barbie's arms for too long. So he roughly bit her arm and made her drop him. "Dammit Dieter!" Barbie cursed, holding her arm that had a few imprints from the bite. The two were walking down route 4, going in and out of the grass, waiting for a pokemon to show up.

Barbie would have gone to the training gyms, but she was prohibited entrance, orders of Barry Mortlocke himself. And because of Barbie's height situation, there was little she could do about sneaking in. She wondered why her dad wouldn't allow for her to train, and guessed it was a retaliation to her running away. Totodile was busy entertaining himself, getting wads of tall grass and biting it between his jaws. The poor gator was teething probably, or just had a serious desire to bite everything. The latter was probably right, ever since Barbie let him out of his pokeball, he was biting. Running around the forest area, in stores, in pokemon centers, biting people and their valuables.

Thankfully, Barbie didn't get sued. But she did reprimand her totodile with a ten minute time out, him being duck-taped to a chair of course. But now he was free to bite everything, including pokemon that may have showed up.

"How deep so you suppose this route goes, Charlie?" She asked, having stood up and continued on her trek through the route. Claire was, by no means, rushing, taking in the new surroundings she was experiencing, carefully stepping around the tall grass. She didn't know what she had been expecting the fight to be like - and she wasn't sure her Charmander was ready for another just yet. (She wasn't sure if SHE was ready for another one...)

"Are you getting hungry?"

This was met with a grumble of sorts from the monster. She laughed, waiting until they passed a patch of tall grass and was back onto a dirt road, before plopping herself down onto the dusty earth and taking her backpack off.

"Maybe we can take on some trainer and get some cash, 'cause if we don't, you'll have to eat this sparingly," she said, unzipping it and digging through the main pocket, pulling out a small canister. It had a resealable lid, something she thought was wonderful considering she'd have to put it back into her bag, and with a bit of elbow grease she turned the lid and it popped off.

She had been expecting a goopy, cat food-esque cylinder, but inside was small pebbles of food, speckled in different colors. Surprised, she poured a few out onto her palm, examining them.

...Until Charlie climbed down from her head and, sniffing once, devoured the kibble-like food. Claire poured a few more into her hand and after he'd ate, put the lid back on, and put everything back into her bag.

The weight of her Pokemon settled back on top of her head - a fleeting thought of that becoming his permanent place of perch crossed her mind, causing the girl to smile - and she shouldered her bag, continuing down the route. It took her several minutes to figure out the silence she was settled into was because her Pokemon had fallen asleep, chin resting against her forehead and stubby, clawed paws on either side of her face.

"Sleep up, buddy. We're going to be getting to a new town soon enough," she said softly.

A little further down Route 4, nothing had managed to catch Raine’s interest. That was the main reason she was hanging upside down from a tree with her new treecko, while Luce stared up anxiously from the base of it. Her short hair was tied back to keep it from interfering with her climbing, but her long white vest would have slipped off if she hadn’t kept her arms crossed in thought.

“I don’t think you’ll fancy a name like Emerald, and neither will I,” she muttered to the treecko, who seemed to snort contemptuously. “Do you even want a nickname?” she asked, a little irritated by the treecko’s lack of cooperation. She saw him nod, and rolled her eyes. “Well you could help a bit.”

Only adding to her aggravation, her hair elastic chose the perfect timing to come loose and drop to the ground, leaving Raine’s short hair be free in the wind. “Great,” she mumbled, before reaching up and grabbing the tree branch with both hands. Flipping over it, she landed easily with both feet on the ground and retrieved the elastic, tying her hair back up.

“Look, Treecko, let’s do it this way – you can let me know if you hear something you take a liking to, okay? For now, let’s just get a move on. We’ve been here long enough.”

Luce bleated and ran towards his trainer when the treecko suddenly leapt to the earth beside him. With a sort of grunt of affirmation, the treecko took his place besides Raine. Meanwhile, Raine zoomed in on the map of her C-gear. “Ah, the disadvantages of living on an island,” she said. “Looks like the only way to the rest of the region is the ferry a little further up ahead.”

She had two-hundred pokédollars left, and she didn’t really want to spend it all on a boat ride. “Unless one of you two happens to know surf, I might end up broke,” she sighed before walking onwards. Hopefully she’d reach the ferry by nightfall – something told Raine that if she made it off the island by dawn, she’d have something exciting in store for her.

A little thrill was what she lived for, after all.

Derek sighed as he watched the Magby descend from the tree, Sor finally managing to talk the mon down. Good, any longer and he could have gotten hurt. He thought to himself, smiling as it cautiously began walking towards him and Jet. He turned to look at Jet, who surprised him with a look of anger. This confused him, until he remembered what his Dad mentioned early. “Did he wake you?” Derek asked his partner, low enough that only the bird perched on his shoulder could hear. All he got was a flap of wings and a frustrated “Pidg!” in response. “Well it was an accident, so just forgive him.” He continued, still whispering. “Pidg, Piii, Pidgey!” Jet answered. “Look. These are our new friends, so you can’t hurt them.” He whispered sternly back to his Pokemon. The Flying-type stood silent for a few seconds before releasing a defeated “Pidg.” Smiling in triumph, he noticed that the small Fire-type had gotten closer, so he knelt down so that it could reach Jet, seeing that that was what he aiming for.

Minutes passed as the Magby slowly reached out, Derek chuckling as they did. Jet, not so much so. He was growingly getting more agitated with each passing second. When the timer hit the five-minute mark, the hasty Pokemon couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned his body forward until the two made contact. Luckily, Magby didn’t notice this, or it probably would have ran back up the tree. “See? Nothing to fear.” Derek told the nervous Pokemon. Why don't the two play together for a bit? Get to know each other. He heard Sorence say from above him. “Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Jet?” He said looking back at his partner. Flapping his wings, glad to finally get the chance to start moving, Jet brought himself airborne and floated over to a patch grass. He stopped, hovering for a few, while looking back at the Magby, as if to tell him to follow. The mon. wanting to play and make a new friend started to run after the soaring Pidgey. As the two distanced themselves from their trainers, Derek stood back up. Realising he had some dust still left on the seat of his pants, he dusted himself off before picking up his skateboard from the ground. “So have you named you starter, or are just calling him ‘Magby’?” He asked Sor with a face of curiosity.

"Not sure. I believe nicknames are too hard to come by for me. It's something I'm not really good at. I don't want to give him a stereotypical name for a fire type like Blaze... or Flare. You knok, the really common ones that you would hear every 4 minutes in town." Sorence said with a bit of sadness in his voice. He wanted to nickname his Magby, but he felt that what he came up with wouldn't satisfy the jolly Pokemon. Sighing, he continued to walk seeing how their Pokemon already ran off far ahead. "Come on, let's keep up with them."

As they went along Route 4, Sorence brought up the nickname subject again. "Now why did you name you Pidgey Jet? I love the name. It gives the essence of a flying type, but brings off creativity with it. I would love to have your mind for nicknames." Sorence said. "Can you give me an idea for a name? Just asking. You don't have to. In fact, forget it. It isn't even worth your time. I'm sorry." And with every sentence, he sped up his speaking, making it sound more nervous. He hated asking people to do things he couldn't do. It made him feel like he was using them.

After wondering a distance from the route entrance, searching for something to catch their attention, Alice suddenly felt her foot catch on to something and stumbled toward the ground in a comical fashion. Alice pushed herself up from the cold dirt "What was that?" She questioned bitterly. She looked back to see Dante pointing at an oddly colored mushroom, "Shroo, shroomish!"

A level 4 Shroomish appeared!

The strange mushroom turned out to be a wild Pokémon, and was obviously upset shooting an angry glare at the two.

Dante looked back up at his trainer eagerly, "I guess a battle wouldn't hurt." She moved back, to give the two space to thrash about, and flung her arm out dramatically "Dante, use Scratch on the wild Shroomish!" The eager Chimchar headed for the Pokémon, claws ready to attack.

But the angry little mushroom readied itself for the attack, shuddering and spewing a few spores once Dante came in contact with it. The fiery monkey became the unfortunate victim of Effect Spore, the Shroomish spreading paralysis onto Dante.

“Ch…Char.” Dante cried, stumbling backwards trying to break free from is vulnerable state, but with his energy being sapped from him made it difficult.

Biting her lip slightly Alice threw out another order, "Dante, come on shake it off, you can do it! Use Leer to weaken his defense then follow up with Scratch!" With the coaxing of his trainer, Dante was able to free himself and shot an angry glare in the Shroomish's direction. "Char!" With a new determination he tried for the attack again, weakened from the effects beforehand, but still charging forward. He wasn’t going to let the Grass-type off so easily.

The Shroomish; its defense significantly lowered by the harsh stare beforehand, was unable to fight back the attack.

Once Dante’s claws collided with the Shroomish’s head, it toppled over; it’s tiny stubs for legs kicking helplessly in the air “Sh-shroom!”

Happy the attack hit successfully, Alice pumped her fist in the air "Yes!" Knowing not to get too ahead of herself she retracted her hand with a smirk. "Alright, now finish it off with one last Scratch!"

Dante nodded and grinned mischievously at the now rendered defenseless Shroomish. "Chimchar, chim!" He cried out landing a fatal blow against the wild Pokémon, sending it flying off in the distant tall grass. Alice laughed at its angry cry, feeling very accomplished. “Chimchar!” Dante stood with his nose proudly in the air, happy to win against his first real opponent.

Alice defeated the wild Shroomish!

Dante gained EXP!

But the victory wasn't celebrated long when Dante toppled over, the paralysis still taking a toll on him. Alice rushed over to her companion's side, a worry filled expression on her face. "Dante, you did your best! Now let's get you back to health." Not wasting any time, Alice turned back towards the city entrance for a quick healing at the center, all the while holding the chimp cradled in her arms.

Alice set Dante on the ground, he winced slightly still in some measure of pain. "You'll only have to be in for a few, then we'll head back." The Chimchar didn't want to return to his ball, preferring it outside then in. "Just for a bit, and I promise you won't have to go back for a very long time." She tried to convince him; surprisingly it worked and he put up less of a fight to return. Alice pressed the little button on the sphere, the red light engulfing Dante and his pouty face and returned back into the ball.

With the little scene done Alice handed the Pokéball to Nurse Joy with a weak grin, "Heh I guess you'll be having a few visits today huh? All the new trainers..." She looked around the waiting area to see all the other trainers with their Pokémon. She smiled to herself; this would be her life now, though she hoped for less frequent visits for Dante's sake. Alice looked back to the red headed nurse, "It won't be long right?" she just wanted to make sure Dante would be alright, her motherly worries kicking in.

Alice looked over and noticed one of her classmates, her name escaped her at the moment being preoccupied with other things, but she remembered seeing her outside of the market earlier. The girl looked rather deep in thought so Alice thought it best not to bother her. Guess I'm not the only one who needed a quick check up Alice thought, relived that she wasn't reckless or at least wasn’t the only one who acted so.

As she walked, Raine had reconsidered her decision to leave the island so hastily – after all, there was still time before nightfall and all. “Luce, I think we should train a bit more,” she said to her mareep, who seemed to be alright with the decision.

“Only this time, we’ll go looking for the wild pokémon so you don’t get jumped again,” she added with a grin, and flashed the still-nameless treecko a look. He stared back at her before looking away, seemingly unbothered. A little let down by his lack of reaction, she returned him to his pokéball, assuring him he’ll get his turn to train later.

“This time, let’s avoid the trees, Luce,” she said, before walking into the grass. This time, she made sure the slow mareep stayed close by.

It was then Sorence heard a small cry from up ahead. Rushing forward, he found Magby running as a Combee buzzed angrily about the little creature.


A level 4 Combee appeared!


The Pokémon had lured Magby in with Sweet Scent, and now was attempting to attack it with Gust.

"Derek! Go find Jet, he could be in trouble!" He motioned for them to run forward towards the Combee. Running there, he called out to Magby, "Dodge it." Magby, hearing the sound of his trainer's voice, snapped out of the trance it was in, then tried to dodge the Gust attack. It was too slow though and its left leg was hit by it. Magby spun from the velocity of the attack, causing him to wipe out on the ground.


"Magby, come on get up." Sorence called, worried for his Pokemon. Magby struggled to stand, but was able to do so with wobbly knees. "Good Magby, now use Smog!" Magby took in a deep breath, then let out the poisonous fumes that traveled quickly to the Combee like a dart being thrown. With a vicious "Beeeee!" the honey gathering trio fluttered off another Gust. However, Magby's superior strength and speed won out, the Smog not entirely blown away by the feverishly flapping bee. It coughed as the Smog not only hurt, but poisoned it. It's health was sapped by poison, and the weak bee Pokémon fell to the ground buzzing

miserably, fainted already.


Sorence defeated the wild Combee!

Magby gained EXP!


However, their celebration was short lived as a subtle buzzing arose from the surrounding trees. It was apparent the little Pokémon had stumbled into the vicinity of a hive...


Magby turned, giving its trainer an urgent look as it ran off deeper into the woods.


Before Sorence or Derek could do anything else however, a loud cry rang out from the field of grass, a cry that Sorence instantly recognized it as Magby's. Quickly running off towards it, and having put 2 and 2 together, Derek wasn't far behind. As the two arrived on scene, they were surprised at what was happening before them. Jet had been forced to land, guarding Magby, who was trying his best to hide behind the small bird. Their buzzing assailants were spread out, coming at them from both sides: one group on the left, another one the right, both sides equal in amount. Jet was managing to hold the fort down, using his wings to spray up some dirt when ever one of the bees began to charge. Luckily these were wild Pokemon and not organized Trainers, or who knows how badly they could have been injuried. However, a raging group of Combee was still no laughing matter.


"Up for a Double-Team Battle?" Derek asked. "Yeah I am! Can't wait to beat these guys. First Double-Team, huh?" Came Sor's answer. "Yes, it is. Well let's show 'em how it's done" Derek answered. The arrival of the new voices startled the wild Pokemon, making them drop their guards for a few seconds. A few seconds that the otherwise pinned Pidgey and Magby used to scurry over to their Trainers. Now that his new friend was safe, Jet was raring to go. "We'll take the group on the left."


"Derek, We are going to shoot Smog at them, maybe you can flurry it around with gust or something, like a poison tornado?" Sorence said with a worried look. He knew Magby was hurt, so he had to come up with some tactics that would finish them off quickly. "Magby use Smog and cover up the area so they can't see!"


Magby shot out the poison gas like he did previously, showering the Combee's with the gas.


"If only." Derek said. Jet wasn't that high a level, hence he hadn't learned how to use Gust yet. Quickly thinking the situation through, figured out an alternative. "Jet!" He called out to his Pidgey, "Use Sand-Attack, but try and concentrate on the smoke instead of the ground!" Noting his trainer's words of advice, Jet took to the sky and turned his attention to the black gas. "Pidg Pidg PIDGEEEY!" The small bird shouted before starting to flap heavily.


After a few minutes, and a flurry of wings, Jet had successfully managed to generate a mini-cyclone of wind. The wind, aimed directly at the Smog attack, traveled downward through it. After bouncing of the ground below the streams of air would began their journey upward, bringing dust-particles with them, only to be pushed back down by the oncoming air. This chain-reaction of events created a miniature 'Poison-Dust Twister'.


The newly created tag-attack would compelety devastate the Combee trapped within. The team of trainers were left speechless as they watch the technique unfold. As the cloud of smoke span round and round, the sand from Jet's attack were sparkling as they danced inside the tornado. Lets not forget that the coloring of Magby's attack, a purplelish-black, brought out the image of stars in space. As the funnel climbed higher into the air, it grew more flattened and spread out, releasing the twinkling 'stars' as it did. This change the effect from watching star in space to that of a snowy night. "If they ever hold a tag-contest," Derek began, finally find his ability to speak, "We have to try that again." Sorence laughed at that comment, "Yeah, we do. Does that help you decide what you want to do? I say you should do contests."


Eventually the attack faded, ending in one those slightly dramatic 'Bang' like ways, releasing the fainted pokemon to the trees and bushes below. The Combee not defeated by the attack fluttered off either wounded or scared.


Derek and Sorence defeated several wild Combee!


Magby and Jet gained EXP!


Magby grew to level 6!


Magby grew to level 7!


Magby learned Ember!


Jet grew to level 6!


Jet grew to level 7!


Shaking himself back to reality Derek started to say, "We should get going before more of them show up. J-," But as he looked up to call his partner, he saw something bad that was quickly worsening. The attack had proved to be too much for Jet to handle. Quickly and completely exhausting the Pokemon, the heavy toll caused him to fall to the ground below. Reacting instantly, Derek dived forwards, catching the small bird inches away from the ground. "Gotcha!" Looking at his partner, he found that the Flying-type had passed out from fatigue. Smiling, Derek carefully stood back up. "You did a good job, and I'm proud of you." He said, pulling out Jet's Pokeball. "Now get some rest." With that he pressed the small button on the front of the device, returning Jet to the safety inside.



Sorence looked at the flying Combee. "Might as well catch one. I could use a flying type." Sorence threw a Pokeball at a fleeing Combee. The pokeball opened in the air and a red light shot out at the Combee. The Pokemon itself became red, then was engulfed. The Pokeball began to shake as his eyes shook with it.


The Pokéball shook lightly... once... twice... three times... the Combee was caught!





Level 4 Combee

Gender: Male

Nature: Bashful

Ability: Honey Gather

Moves: Gust, Sweet Scent

Held Item: Honey


"Yeah I caught a Combee!" Sorence said, looking down at the new Pokeball. "Magby, we did great!" Magby gave Sorence a look of happiness, then tried to walk to him. His leg gave out as he tried to take a step. Sorence caught Magby as he fell. "You worked hard today, you should rest for now." Sorence took Magby's Pokeball and pushed the button. The Pokemon then returned with a flash into the ball. Sorence looked over to Derek. He said, "We did great, plus I caught a Pokemon! I can't wait for your first!" He said with a smile.

As the daylight began to fade, the more nocturnal Pokémon began to awaken around Raine and her little party. As they meandered their way down Route 4, a tiny scuttling could be heard behind them. When she turned around to find the source, she found herself looking down at Spinarak gearing up for String Shot! She had unknowingly stepped through its web, the gooey threads still stuck on her shoes.

A level 5 Spinarak appeared!


Raine, startled, moved quickly in attempt to evade the string shot. “Luce, incoming!” she shouted, alerting the unwitting mareep of the sticky threads of silk heading his way. With a surprised bleat, Luce managed to scamper away from the attack just in time before looking bewildered, darting his gaze from Raine to the spinarak.

“Calm down, Luce, we can handle this!” Raine said. “Try to tackle it from the side – don’t get hit by its string shots!”

Spinarak redirected its attention to the oncoming Mareep, giving it a Scary Face to slow it down. Slowed down and scared significantly, the Mareep managed little damage with its Tackle, and began to move much more cautiously around the spider. The spinarak's little horn glowed as it darted forward with a Poison Sting aimed at the frightened sheep.

Raine ran forward, but it was clear she wouldn’t reach Luce in time. “Snap out of it and get out of the way, Luce!” she shouted, still trying to get him out of range. As the sunlight dimmed further, she noticed the bright glow from the bulb of the mareep’s tail – static was building up in his wool. If he could only land a tackle...

“Luce, dodge it and try to tackle it again!”

Luce hit the Spinarak with a full on Tackle. It cried out as it thunked against the tree, now stunned from both paralysis and the beating it had just taken. It laid miserably on the ground, unable to attack or guard itself.

Suddenly, Raine felt just a little sorry for the spinarak. It looked so miserable, just waiting for Luce to finish it off - although she thought she saw a slight satisfaction that it managed to poison him before it blacked out. She had always thought spinarak were just a little cute... but she only had one pokéball left...

Some quick decision making was in order, and Raine sighed, "Sorry Luce, but can you stand back for a moment?"

Immediately understanding, and not at all bothered, the mareep stumbled back - wincing slightly at the pain. Making it quick, Raine quickly detached a pokéball from her belt, casting it at the nearly fainted spinarak. "I'm sorry to you, too!" she called just before the pokéball hit.

The Pokéball wiggled once... twice... three times! The wild Spinarak was caught!

Raine caught the wild Spinarak!

Luce gained EXP!

Luce grew to level 6!


Lvl 5 – Spinarak
Gender: Female
Nature: Brave
Ability: Insomnia
Moves: Scary Face, Poison Sting, String Shot
Held Item: None


Quickly snatching up the pokéball, she hurried over to Luce instead. Stuffing a half-crushed pecha berry into his mouth, she ordered, “Eat. It’ll neutralize the effects of the poison.” She watched as the mareep eagerly devoured the fruit, apparently liking it for its taste more than its effects. Raine tried a drop of juice on her own hand. So Luce liked sweet things. That would be nice to know.

“You’ll want your energy back, so eat that oran berry I gave you earlier too,” she said. Luce gave her a mournful look and she gave in. “I’ll give you another one, so eat it without hesitation.”

Just as Luce happily finished up the oran berry, her own stomach gave a growl. Luce stared at her, and Raine found herself embarrassed. “Just because you got to eat like a munchlax today, doesn’t mean I did,” she grumbled, scooping the mareep up in her arms. She knew she was safe from the static from the dull glow of his tail.

“I think I see the ferry over there. Let’s get off this island so that I can grab a bite to eat!” she said, dashing off towards the ferry dock.

Derek looked up at the sky, noting the darkening color. "Looks like we probably won't be able to make it to the docks today." He said aloud as he rode along side Sor, back on his skateboard now that the Pokemon were away. "And seeing as how we come to far to head back to the Center, I say we get as far as we can before nightfall, and if we don't make it, we camp out under the stars." Picking up the pace, Derek sped forward, shouting back, "Follow me, I know the way!"

When Sorence caught up, he slowed back down a tad. "You know in all those times I ran errands for my dad," He began, "I never once encountered that hive before. I wonder why?" He pondered this for a few minutes before dismissing the fact with a wave. "Anywho, what was it that your were asking about before our little 'detour' again?" He asked just as they reached a fork in the path. He pulled his board to the right instictively, his body remembering the trip well, without breaking eye contact with Sor. His face plastered with curiosity once more.

"Well... I...um... just forget it. We shouldn't be talking about this. We should... set up camp. Yes! That's what we should do!" Sorence quickly walked over to the right of the fork as Derek rode over to it. He looked up at the crimson sky. The sun was floating down like a Jumppluf in the wind. It shimmered as it crossed over the tops of the trees. He saw dozens of wild Pokemon that ran through the brush and through the tops of the trees. He smiled as they found their homes in trees and in the leaf covered ground.

He looked over to Derek, whose face was still plastered with curiosity. He sighed and decided to be up front with him. If he was travelling with him, he might as well tell the truth. "Derek, what I was saying earlier was about nicknames and helping me come up with them. I then brushed the idea aside, because, well, I don't like having help where it isn't needed. But I would love if you helped me come up with names." Sorence said with an awkward smile. It was probably one of the oddest questions he could have asked anyone, but he wanted his two Pokemon to be more connected to him, and nicknames could help.

"Oh this looks like a good spot." Sorence said, motioning over towards a little edge in the road. It was open with short grass inside it. It was surrounded by towering trees. They had many holes scattered across their trunks, probably containing Pokemon. Sorence plopped down near one tree. He ran his hand through the grass and looked up at Derek. "What do you think of this spot? We are still a bit far from the dock and it is getting dark. I think sleep and rest would do us good seeing how we worked our Pokemon hard today."

Route 4

Derek smiled as Sor tried to dismiss the subject, only to give in to his inquiring gaze. Never fails He commented to himself as he answered him. "I'd be glad to. We're friends, so I'll be happy to help." He pulled to a stop when Sor called out to him. Putting a hand to his chin, he inspected it for awhile, before nodding his in approval. "Okay then! Tonight, we sleep here." Kicking his board up into his hand, he tossed it and his bag near a tree to the left. "Do me a favor, can you unroll my sleeping-bag while I go find some firewood." He asked as he walked into the forest nearby.

After minutes of scavaging, Derek had managed a good supply of stick and twigs. "This should be enough." He said to himself. "But, I'll see if there are anymore around just in case." And after scanning the nearby area, he noticed a fallen branch in the grass. "Ahha!" He noted as he made his way over to it. When he reached it he bent down and made to pick it up. But just as he was about to touch it, a Spinarak climbed out from under it and stood atop the wood, starring directly at Derek. The following cold sweat was almost instantous as his arachnophobia kicked in. Slowly standing up, he began to back away from the eight-legged Pokemon until his back hit a tree. Not soon afterwards a rustling sound could be heard coming from above. A sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight. With an almost silent 'Plop', two more Spinarak fell from the treetops and onto the horrified trainer below. One landed on his shoulder, the other, directly on his head of all things. Within seconds, any form of control he had left was lost. "GYAAAAAAHHH!!!!" He yelled as he started running as fast as he could, throwing the spiders off, though he didn't know that.

A few seconds later, Derek crashed out of the woods. And I mean literary crashed, as he tripped on an upturned root, all the firewood he'd collected fly and spread across the campsite. Without wasting a millisecond, he began squirming and rolling around screaming at the top of his lungs "GETEMOFFGETEMOFFGETEMOFF!" As soon as he was sure there where no more Spinaraks on him, not that there was, he curled himself into a ball and trembled the night away, any words of concern from Sorence unheard. After the tremors had passed and the fear had faded completely from his eyes, he began to regather the branches again. "S-s-sorry you had to see me like that," He started, "There's only one thing in the world I'm scared off, and that's spiders." Once he had all the wood, he organized them into a neat pile in a hole he dug with his hands. "I don't mean to be a bother, but could you let Blitz out and ask him if he'd be so kind as to light the fire?" In his haste to change the subject, he had absentmindedly used the nickname he was thinking about for the Magby.

Route 4

"Char!" Dante popped his head out from a nearby bush holding a round blue berry. Alice knelt down and rubbed his head, "Good job, Dante!" She took the berry from his hand and examined it trying to remember what effect it had, "Ah, this is a Oran Berry. It's a healing berry, this'll come in handy!" Dante grinned, obviously proud of himself for finding it.

Alice stood up and was surprised to realize it was already getting dark. She looked back towards the city; it was too far to go back now and the dock was still a ways away. "I guess our best bet is to set up camp here, how about it?" Dante let out a small yawn and nodded. The two searched for a good, comfortable spot to set up camp "Char!" Chimchar pointed to a low grass area under a tree a ways off the main road, Alice grinned with a nod "Perfect!"

After successfully setting up camp Alice sat down on the sheet and looked up at the sky, dotted with bright stars. "I could get used to this; sleeping under the stars every night like this." She looked over to her side to see Dante was already asleep, his tail fire out. "It was a long day." She spoke under her breath and placed him inside the tent; not feeling tired yet she decided to continue to stargaze outside. She was sure most of her classmates were under this starry sky with her, giving her a somewhat comforting feel.

I bet dad's looking up at the sky too. She thought happily to herself, hugging her body for protection against the cool night air. It would be a long while till she would return home, not wanting to return till she succeeded in her goal.

Route 4

"Sure I'll unroll your sleeping-bag since you'll get the wood." Sorence said with a polite smile as he watched Derek walk into the woods. He finished his task quickly and looked out into the now black sky. The stars glimmered like the eyes of trainners on their first day of their journey. He continued to run his hand through the grass, letting his body fall into a relaxed state. While Derek was gone though, he began to feel a bit lonley, so to make himself feel less that way, he decided that it was time for his Pokemon to meet each other.

"Magby and Combee, come on out." He said as he tossed the two Pokeballs while he was sitting. A white light flashed and the two Pokemon stood there staring at each other. Magby tilted its head. He had no idea wether to fight it or be friends to it. "Magby, it's OK. Combee is our new friend." Magby gave a big grin and extended its hand to the bee Pokemon. Combee shivered as the arm came close to it, and its bashful nature kicked in. He backed away and flew behind Sorence. Sorence looked upon the Pokemon, reached behind him, and brought it so it was facing him. "Combee, I know we all just met, but you have to get used to us. Magby is now your buddy, your pal, your friend." Combee, now being forced to turn around to look at Magby, gave the fire Pokemon a shy smile. Magby returned the smile with another smile, which was quickly followed up by a sneeze. The sneeze though was Smog that was quickly engulfed by Ember (Somg inside, Ember outside). It shot from Magby's tube mouth like a javilin, striking Combee in the face. The bee Pokemon was now scared enough of Magby to quickly return to his Pokeball by himself. He bashed the honey like structure of a body against the ball and the red engulfed him.

Sorence gave a mixed expression look at Magby. He was surprised about the move combo, disapointed at him for hitting
Magby, and sad that his new friend was too shy to be around them at the moment. "Magby, you kno-" Sorence interupted by Derek who crashed through the brush, screaming, GETEMOFFGETEMOFFGETEMOFF! Sorence looked upon Derek
with fear, seeing how he was covered with some bug Pokemon he couldn't make out. After a few moments of him
screaming rocking back and forth, Derek just rolled up into a ball. "Derek..." Sorence said with the up-most care. "Are you
OK? Do I need to get someone for you?" But he was unheard. After a few minutes of staring, Magby and himself jumped
when he spoke to them. "Oh, so you were covered in Spinaraks. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I had no idea what was
going on." As he watched Derek set up the fire, he asked if Blitz could light the fire. Sorence stared at Magby who stared
back at him. "You want that name Magby?" Sorence asked the Pokemon who nodded in approval. "So your new name is
Blitz from now on Magby." Blitz gave a big grin, proud of his new name. He then walked over to the pit and exhaled an
ember attack, lighting the sticks into a decent fire. "Thanks Derek for the help."

Sorence the tossed Combee out of his Pokeball again. Combee, now freaking out about a Pokemon and a person, just
passed out on the spot. Sorence leaned over Combee and asked Derek, "Why don't you send Jet out? He should meet the
new member of our team. He then gave Derek a curious look and asked him, "Have you decided on what you'regoing to do in the future?"

Route 4, Just Outside Adinitium City

As Sean and his partner made their way down Route 4 in the darkness, the more nocturnal Pokémon were really becoming active. The forest was full of odd sounds, turning the silence of the night into a sort of strange wild Pokémon symphony.

As Seanapillar inched forward along the ground, he noticed something else moving at his level. Nudging Sean, the little worm gestured in the direction of the slithering creature. A pair of yellow eyes peered out from the dark bushes... and an Ekans's head emerged from the darkness!

A level 6 Ekans appeared!

Sean grimaced slightly, he was hoping for something he could poison. Still, his recent victory at the battle club helped fuel his smirk, “We can do this Seanapillar...” He said softly. Sean took his Pokedex out of his pants to quickly check the stats of the ekans. However, his opponent was getting impatient, and leered at them both. Its eyes cut through them and a slight fear in them cut their defense. “Okay,” He whispered to his wurmple, “It's main asset is its attack, so if we can slow it down and dodge it, we'll be fine.” Seanapillar nodded and jumped down into the grass. 

“Use string shot!” Sean called, and the worm complied by shooting the goop toward the ekans.

The snake Pokémon was covered in a mess of stingy goop from the Wurmple's mouth, slowing its attempt to strike the worm. After a bit of struggling, it gave up trying to reach the bug and shot a poison barb at Wurmple with poison sting. It was mostly just to keep the little bug away as it tried to free itself from String Shot - which was difficult without any arms.

“Good job!” Sean began to praise his pokemon, but stopped as the stinger stuck itself into the wurmple's pink body. Sean was worried, knowing how useful poison could be. Hopefully the low level would keep the wurmple from getting affected by the venom. 

“Alright Seanapillar,” Sean said, shaking off the worry for now, “Use Tackle while it's still caught up!”

Seanapillar hit Ekans with a full body Tackle, sending it reeling back... but also freeing it from the String Shot on the ground. Though it was still sticky and slow, Ekans had regained mobility, and used the chance to Wrap the Wurmple before it could recover from its previous attack.

"Damnit..." Sean grumbled, trying to think of a way out of this. Tackle was useless right now if he couldn't get any momentum. and what use was string shot if the two were already stuck together... '"Wait..." An idea was formulating in his head, and a confident smirk appeared on his lips.

"Seanapillar! Use string shot again!" For a fraction of a second, confusion entered the wurmple's eyes, but he did as he was told and shot to goop at the ekans. While being squeezed, Seanapillar too was caught up in the mess and didn't seem to be able to escape too easily from his opponent. "Great! Now use poison sting, but keep it in your tail!" Seanapillar complied and stuck the stinger into the ekans's body. Because it was still connected to the wurmple's body, there was a larger dose of poison administered to the victim. Even if it wasn't very effective, the chances of poisoning the enemy were increased.

All caught up in the String Shot, the Ekans loosened its grip on Wurmple, struggling wildly against the threads that had nearly completely enveloped it at such close range and for the extended period of time. Relatively unhurt by Poison Sting, but still annoyed by Seanapillar's tail, the Ekans thrashed even more wildly, releasing the Wurmple entirely and focusing all of its energy into escaping the String Shot.

The plan worked well enough, although the attack didn't seem to do much at all, at least he got his wurmple unwrapped, "Go ahead and chew yourself out now Seanapillar!" The wurmple's jaws had special saliva that dissolved the spring shot so it wouldn't get stuck to itself. Slowly, but surely, Seanapillar wriggled itself free of its self-induced brace with the enemy and crawled a few feet away. "Alright!' Sean said, "Use tackle again!" it's pretty much all we can do at this point,then an idea struck him, "Wait! Aim yourself so that your stinger hits it instead of your horn!" This should do some critical damage while the ekans was busy with the string.

With Ekans all tied up (literally) with the sticky, silky threads, Wurmple had ample time to position itself just so and hit Ekans's weak spot for maximum damage. A critical hit, the Tackle sent the wrapped up Ekans flying. The snake stopped its writhing, completely fatigued.

The wild Ekans fainted!

Sean defeated the wild Ekans!

Seanapillar gained EXP!

Seanapillar grew to level 7!

Sean jumped into the air and raced to retrieve his friend, “You were awesome Seanapillar!” He said, holding his slightly furry friend. He didn't even look too injured, he figured the two would be able to continue on for a little longer before deciding on whether or not to camp or return to the pokecenter. He set the Wurmple on the ground for him to follow and started to head off into the woods, but stopped, when he noticed that his friend was following him, “Are you okay?” Sean asked as he stooped down to look at the creature, who was shaking slightly and beginning to glow.

Seanapillar became cloaked in harsh white light, energy swirling around him, and his body began to change!

Seanapillar is evolving!

When the light faded, a light cocoon sat in Wurmple's place, staring up at Sean with one eye.



Congratulations! Seanapillar evolved into Silcoon!

Seanapillar learned Harden!

Sean stared blankly for a second or so back at the Silcoon, jaw slightly slack. He picked up the creature, who was quite smooth and hard, but still warm.

“Oh my god...” Sean said softly, “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” His face lit up and his voice crescendoed as he starting jumping up and down with his pokemon in his arms. “Oh my god!” He repeated, his voice climbing octaves as easily as stairs. He stopped and looked at his new Silcoon for a second, but all he could muster was another, “Oh my god!”

Seanapillar almost got worried that his trainer would be upset with him for evolving until Sean began his freak out. The one red eye lit up in the same way that it had as a wurmple, making Sean's heart melt. “Come on, Seanapillar,” I'm keeping the name, he'll always be my Seanapillar, “lets go off and find some more pokemon.” He set the cocoon on his shoulder, which emitted some string shot from its body to hold itself still while his trainer walked.

Their three eyes were almost glowing in the night with happiness as they set off into the tall grass.

Hey you!"

Tyler turned, hearing a voice call out.

"Yeah, you! You're one of those assholes, aren't you!? Don't bother trying to deny it! Get ready to battle!" A young boy came running up to him, maybe 12 years old. "Go, Sandy!" A flash of light, then an angry Sandshrew appeared in front of him and his Torchic.

A trainer wants to battle!

The trainer sent out level 7 Sandshrew!


Tyler stared at the sandshrew. "Not good. Opposing types. The main question is, does it know any ground based moves?" Tyler thought, facing the sand mouse pokemon. He took note of the terrian, "Sandshrew has impressive defense. While it will still do some damage, scratch won't do as much as it did against that bellsprout. My best option is to use the ground as my weapon... and strike it before it can guard itself, or otherwise find a way to break it's guard"

"Flare, keep your distance, don't let that annoying mouse come close to you. Use a growl attack, then cut off a branch and hold it your mouuth to use as a club."

Flare nodded, hopping back a little, retreating with a growl attack, a sharp "Tor CHIC tor CHIC!"
Hopping back some more, it sliced a small branch from a tree, and held it in it's beak, ready to swing.

"Talk about a weird fight." Tyler thought to himself, "I wonder if hitting someone with a branch qualifies as a grass type attack?" He asked with a laugh.

"I have no idea what you mean by 'Assholes, but I'm warning you, I'm the ultimate. I'll shove that elemental strength if yours right down your throat." "Flare, if it get's close, hammer it."

"Chances are it has at least sand attack..." Tyler thought again. "THat's what I would make as one of my first moves: blind him, and go in for an attack.... Should that happen, I'll have Flare cover his eyes, and retreat behind that tree, or even up it..."

"Ya, right!" the kid sneered sarcastically as the bird growled at Sandshrew fearsomely, lowering its will to fight. "Don't worry about it Sandy! Beef up your defenses with a Defense Curl while he's far away!" The Sandshrew curled up into a ball, instantly covering its weak points and toughening its hide.

"I'll get you for what you did Ratty you bully!" the kid called out.

Ratty?" I have noooo idea what you're talking about.: Tyler said.
"i have to choice here: Continue to hold back, or rush in, and try to break his guard, or cut his attack. That way, neither of us can deal much to the other. Flare has the upper advantage in attack power, so I may be able to come out unscathed.

"Flare, drop that branch for a minute, and let loose a stream of growl attacks. Continue until his attack power is in little shards.

The Torchic continued to Growl as the trainer ordered Sandslash to continue to use Defense Curl, its defense rising and maximizing as its attack fell and minimized.

"Well this is great," the youth muttered annoyed. "Now neither of us can hurt the other! Sandy, go ahead and kick up a bunch of dirt with Sand Attack. Blind that bird!

Tyler saw this coming from a mile away. "Flare, keep your eyes closed, and jump towards me. Take the branch in your mouth, and swing your head back and forth. Blow that sand right back at them!" He shouted, as Flare slowly began to retreat.

"Okay, that's far enough. Begin circling the Sandshrew, and rush in. dodge it's sand attack, and bash him with that branch!

"Sandy, just curl up!" What little sand Torchic managed to blow back didn't affect the Sandshrew as it hid its face and curled up into a ball.

Torchic whacked at the Sandshrew with the branch until it snapped in half on the Pokémon's thoroughly reinforced hide. Tired from the effort, it was unable to dodge as Sandshrew uncurled and hit it with a meek Scratch. Barely able to harm Flare due to having its attack cut so drastically, it still managed more damage to the bird than Flare had done to it with the branch.

'Tyler examined the situation, when an idea suddenly struck him. "Flare, retreat. Go over and cli,b one of those trees."

The Torchic looked confused, but it did as it was told, using it's sharp talons to slowly climb up it.

With a yawn, TYler sat down on the ground, "Hand ten there, for a little while." He ordered. "It's your movem trainer man. Come up that tree, an let's continue.: He said, knowing. If there was one thing Tyler had, it was patientce. HE was willing to stay here all night, should it come to that. When they accepted his challenge, and climp up,, Torchic would strike the exposed parts. If the sandshrew curlded up, he would crash into the ground. From a nice 12-13 ft frop like that, it would hurt him more than help him.: And then, a flurry of scratches on it's face should wrap it up quite nicely.

Tyler loved his planning abilities.

"Wh... what? Okaaaaayyyy... Sandy, head on up the tree," the young trainer called out. Having quite an advantage in terms of climbing thanks to its four limbs, each with sharp claws at the end, the Sandshrew was quickly making its way up the tree towards Flare. The mouse Pokémon's less armored side would be against the tree as it climbed up, still leaving Torchic and Tyler no real opening for an attack. Sandshrew was closing in quickly on Flare.

Nonethe less. Flare had advantage. He moved around the tree tops in a circular pattern, waiting for the sandshrew to finsh climbing. Tyler stared at the oppurtunity, the split second when Sandshrew's paws could reach the top of the tress.

"Flare, scratch attack. Hell, tickle him. Cause him to lose his grip. If you fail, scratch attack him to the edge. He may not feel much damage from the scratchs, but it would still have a oushing effect.

'This, ladies and gentle men, owuld be easier If I had tackle." He thought to himself with a groan. If this didn't work, it would be time to get stupid.

"Sandy, dig your claws into the tree. Don't let it knock you off! Just let it attack you for now; I promise, I know what I'm doing!" Though the boy didn't look so sure. Flare's Scratches continued to have minimal effect on the shrew, who was now clutching the trunk of the tree for dear life.

"A foolish move." Tyler shouted, "If I were you, I'd withdraw now. Flare's scratches may be doing next to nothing, but next to nothing is still more than you're doing. He can't hold on forever. Flare, continue your assualt. I can see the goal line. Just a little bit longer. And then you can take a nap."

Flare brightned at the word 'Nqp', and redoubled his efforts with renewed determination, slicing away at the sandshrew's paws.

"A foolish move." Tyler shouted, "If I were you, I'd withdraw now. Flare's scratches may be doing next to nothing, but next to nothing is still more than you're doing. He can't hold on forever. Flare, continue your assualt. I can see the goal line. Just a little bit longer. And then you can take a nap."

Flare brightned at the word 'Nqp', and redoubled his efforts with renewed determination, slicing away at the sandshrew's paws.

The kid smiled and ignored Tyler's taunts. "Alright, we've got this now, Sandy! Now that it's distracted, cut the branch its standing on with a Scratch of your own!" Flare had begun to put so much of its energy into attacking Sandshrew, it was too absorbed to react quickly enough to jump from the branch; it snapped and began to fall to the ground, little Flare falling with it.

Though it hurt slightly, Torchic scraped his claws at the base of the tree, slowing it down just enough to protect himself from any real damage.

"You're stubborn, I'll give you that." Tyler complimented. "Flare, you know the drill, climb up that other tree." He said, pointing to the tree next to the one sandshrew w was on. Flare sighed, and scurried up it.

"Sandshre has two options, in this case. It can either jump from the tree to my tree top, or jump down, and climp back up. Knowing the trainer's impatient nature...' Tyler thought to himself

"Flare, prepare to intercept a flying Sandshrew." He ordered, "Oh, but make sure you don;t fall, okay?"

I'm sick of this game of cat and mouse... er, bird and mouse. You can't just run away the whole battle!" the boy whined. "But I can tell you're not one of the ones who hurt Ratty; they were much stronger with higher level Pokémon." The boy sighed and called Sandshrew down from the tree. "Come here, buddy. Let's just wait out of range until that stupid bird decides to come down and lose," the kid taunted as Sandshrew scuttled back down the tree and sat on the ground at a distance, staring at the chick in the tree.

Tyler activated his pokeand turned on the radio, relaxing, ignoring the trainer's taunt. "I thought I told you, bro. I have more patience than you can imigine. I'm willing to wait here all night bro. Torchic, sit down, and recover your strength."

He sat down, pretending to not pay attention when, in reality, He kept a sharp watch on sandshrew's every actions, prepared to order Flare to strike at any second.

"Ugh, this blows," the kid sighed as he sat down on the ground. "At least turn on some better music, geez." He called Sandshrew over and used a potion on it, restoring its energy and waiting, thoroughly annoyed.

"Woha man, I like this. If you don't... TOUGH!" Tyler said. Then, as an idea, cranked the music up as loud as it could go. He reached into his back, and pulled out a sandwitch he packed, and began to chow down. He pulled out a berry, and threw it at Torchic, who caught it in it's beak.

"SO, where you from?" He asked the trainer.

"I'm from where if your Pokémon is unable or unwilling to battle, you lose or forfeit the match," the boy responded, rather irritated. "So call your bird down or pay up!

Who said anything about unwilling to battle?" Tyler asked. "I'm all for a fight. Get up there. Refuse, and YOU'RE the one that's unwilling to fight. This is called tactics, my unblessed with brains friend." HE said, with a nod, "Or are YOU forfetiing?"

"Well... well... screw you! I'm leaving!" the boy pouted. "Come on Sandy! It's gotten late and this battle has wasted our whole day. And for the wrong guy, too." The boy picked up his Sandshrew and started down the path back to town. "And... you suck!" he called back over his shoulder angrily.

Tyler (kind of) defeated the trainer!

Flare gained EXP!

Flare grew to level 6!

Tyler laughed as Torchic returned to his shoulder. "who says battles have to be won by fighting.:"

He then ran, to catch a ferry

Route 4

Doug ran eagerly ahead into the dark forests of Route 4 with Mike following closely behind. It wasn't long before Doug got his wish and a wild Pokémon swooped from the trees and landed in front of them.

A level 5 Hoothoot appeared!

The little owl hopped from one leg to the other with astounding speed, cocking its head curiously at the trainer and his Aron as they approached. "Hoot...hoot... hoot..." it said, tilting its head back and forth and "hooting" with perfect rhythm like a metronome.

The Aron, suddenly stopped, a few feet in front of the Hoothoot, staring at it. His trainer finally caught up, panting. "There you..." He was cut off by the wild pokemon's hooting

A sly smile appeared across Mike's lips, as he looked down at his pokemon. "You ready?" Doug gave a grunt and nod, without turning its attention from the Hoothoot. "Good. Now Tackle!" The Aron didn't need anymore instructions as it charged at the owl, at full speed.

"Hoooot?!" the owl Pokéman cried while using its superior speed to flutter up and avoid the Tackle. The Hoothoot landed again with a Growl, trying to frighten Aron into attacking less fiercely.

Doug took a step back, unerved by the growl. Mike noticed this and knew that another attack like that wouldn't work again. "Harden, Now!" The Aron, shook its head and quickly harden. His trainer sighed and knew they would have to be playing defence until he saw an opening.

The Hoothoot saw the Aron wasn't moving and decided to go in for a Tackle of its own. But between the defense boost, the double defensive type advantage, Hoothoot's poor attack, and Aron's natural bulk, Hoothoot didn't manage to do much other than frustrate itself as it rammed its body into the little steel type. It continued to attempt its Tackles, leaving itself within Doug's range again.

Around the fifth or sixth tackle, it was clear that the Hoothoot was getting tried, but Mike had to admire the bird's determination. He also saw an opening as the pokemon went back for its tackle. "Now, Doug use tackle." The Aron, without needing any more directions, rammed into the Hoothoot.

Falling backwards, unable to keep aloft or even maintain balance as it refused to use both legs, the Hoothoot cried out and thudded on the ground. Realizing it had no hope of defeating the Aron, it started to flutter its wounded wings. For the time being the Pokémon was grounded, but if action wasn't taken soon, it would fly away and retreat back into the safety of the dark forest treetops

Doug looked back at his trainer, then to the Hoothoot, then back to Mike, wondering what he was doing. The trainer couldn't help but be a little nervous as he took out a poke ball. Mike gulped and tossed the ball, hitting the pokemon on the head, then trapping it inside.

The Pokéball shook once... twice... three times! With a click it settled on the forest floor.

Mike caught the wild Hoothoot!



Level 5 Hoothoot
Gender: Male
Nature: Gentle
Ability: Insomnia
Moves:
*Foresight
*Hypnosis
*Tackle
*Growl
Held Item: None

Doug gained EXP!

Mike slowly walked over and picked up the poke ball, now containing his new Hoothoot, took a deep breath, and finally, jumped for joy at his success. Doug, seeming just excited, jumped and nudged his trainer's hand, wanting his new comrade out. But the trainer shrunk and slipped the poke ball into his pocket, looking at his Aron. "Not today. After we've had a good night sleep and this little guy..." Lifting the ball up high as he says that, "Is taken care of." And with that Mike headed back to the pokemon center, Doug following behind, as usual.

Route 4-Off the Path

"Thank you." Derek said, thanking Blitz for igniting the wood. He gave him a small pat on the head. "And you welcome, glad you like it." He said to both trainer and pokemon alike. He laughed when Sor let out his newly captured Combee, only for it to quickly pass out. He smiled, glad that the topic was moving away from his 'incident', though he knew tonight he'd have nightmares. He shuddered at the thought, thankful when Sorence drew his attention from the topic. "That sound like a good idea." He reach over for the ball, releasing Jet from within. When he fully came into focus, he flapped his wings for a few, making sure they weren't gonna stiff up. After he finished, he noticed the Combee and eyed it catiously. Derek noted this and quickly explained what had happened. "So you see Jet, He's on our side now." The small bird got it, and eager to make a new friend, began to walk over to the bee Pokemon. As he watched his feathered companion do this he answered Sorence's other question. "I'm not 100% sure yet, but I'd say I'm leaning more towards Contest."

Soon after, Derek let out a yawn he was sure everbody, including mon, joined in on. "Well, seems like it's bedtime. Jet." He said calling his Pokemon over. He went over to his bag and pulled out a blanket, and rolling it into a nest-like shaped, placed it onto the ground next to him. Jet happily jumped into it, curled up, and was soon fast asleep. Pulling off his jacket and kicking his shoes off, he let out another yawn, before climbing into his sleeping bag. "G'night guys." He said, whispering Jet's to him, before drifting off himself.