Vermillion City

Tekno grinned lightly, leaning up against the railing of the large sea cruiser, the S.S. Marine as it sailing in towards the port. The port city of Kanto appeared quite large and exotic, especially to someone who had never been overseas before. Running his hand through his thick, brown hair, he glanced down at his partner--a small Charmander that was gripping onto the railing bar right alongside him with eagerness and excitement in his eyes as well.

"Heh. You're anxious, too, huh little buddy?" The young man grinned. "I bet you can't wait to get off this boat and start seeing people and what's new out here, right?"

The Charmander spoke up in happiness, nodding and jumping down to dance from foot to foot on the polished wooden deck.

"Yeah, I can't blame you. After two weeks on this wishywashy flipfloppin' vessel, I'm ready to get off! I never did care for sailing..." He mused, lifting his head as he heard the P.A. system come on over the boards.

"Attention all passengers. We will be docking in Vermilion Port here within the next few minutes. Please make sure you have all luggage and travel items with you and prepare to disembark."

"I guess we should get ready to go, Vesuvius." Tekno glanced down at his partner. "C'mon, let's get moving."

"Char char!" The fire type replied, jumping up and latching onto his back. Chuckling, the young man reached back to stroke him atop his head, before moving towards the side where they would be leaving.

[Tekno Lahjik] The SS Marine, originally built in Lilycove, landed at 3:36 PM in Vermillion City on the day that Tekno happened to be aboard. Filled with a large number of passengers, the majority of them streamed restlessly toward the port side of the boat, which was where the loading ramp would be located, once deployed.

Two young women, both with flowing ebony hair and white dresses and hats, stood leaning against the railing, chatting amiably. Their Pokemon, a Roselia and a Zigzagoon, were held in their slender arms.

Nearby, a young boy ran away from what appeared to be his older sister, who looked fretfully on, sweeping short green hair over her shoulders. A canvas bag was slung over her denim-clad shoulder.

A boy with flaming red hair and an athletic attire sat against the wall. In the water over the side of the boat were a few swimmers.

The young man glanced over at his Charmander, perched on his back and peeking over his shoulder, before turning his attention back over to the city in question.

"It's such a beautiful view...I wonder how it would look from here at night?" He mused out loud, more to himself than anything. Vesuvius shook his head, implying he had no idea. Tekno shrugged a little, "I suppose we'll just find out for ourselves tonight! Right then!"

As the boat finally docked and the ramp was lowered for everyone to depart, Tekno joined the majority of the passengers in getting off the vessel--finally pleased to be once again on solid land after two weeks at sea. Making sure he had his satchel and with him, it containing everything he would need for his journey, he grinned over at his shoulder again at Vesuvius, who jumped off his back and onto the dock proper.

"First things first, little buddy! What say we find the Pokemon Center...after that, we hunt down the gym!" He paused a bit. "Or rather, maybe we should find a sponsor. Get some directions to locate Silph Co...wasn't it somewhere else? Celadon or something...? Or was it Viridian? I can never remember these things."

Vesuvius scratched his head, before mirroring Tekno's pose--left hand under chin, right hand under left elbow, head tilted slightly forward and down, and a degree or two toward the right--perfectly as he pondered this. Trainer and Pokemon shrugged their shoulders in perfect synchronized unison as he glanced down each other.

"We'll find out eventually." Tekno said, getting a nod of assurance from the Fire-type. "Anyway, what do you think our course of action should be, once we find the Pokemon Center?" He grinned as the Charmander began to dance from one foot to the other back and forth, laughing a little. "Yeah...I agree. It's been a while since we did anything, though. Maybe we should practice, though?

I'd love to start up shows, but problem is...we have no contacts here. No advertisements, nothing. Heck, we don't even have a sponsor! ...Who could we maybe locate around here?"

The Charmander shook his head, before scanning the docks and walking with his friend as they left the pier. Glancing around, he reached up to tap the young man's leg and point over in an eastward direction, off towards a large building. Glancing down, the young man reached down to pick up his partner, cradling him in his arms.

"What's up, little buddy? Y'see something?" Tek inquired, turning his attention over in that direction. Blinking, he spotted a building with a large sign on it, decorated with a PokeBall. Walking up towards the sign, he rubbed his chin slightly. "Huh...the Pokemon Fan Club, eh?" He smiled lightly. "Good idea, but I get the feeling they wouldn't want to sponsor us. This is more a place where they gather to gush over us or something. ...Although, you know, these types of places are generally by eccentric and generally wealthy people. I wonder if they might be willing to help us out?"

((...XD... just remember to post numbers with every post))

[Tekno Lahjik] As Tekno paced the streets of the mid-afternoon city, he did not remain as anonymous as he thought that he did. Several full-grown adults, some of whom were important professionals, observed the brown-haired boy's conversation with his Charmander. A group of men and women in suits, standing slightly to one side of the Pokemon Center, begin talking in excited whispers as he passed. The conversation may or may not have had anything to do with him, though...

Outside of the Pokemon Fan Club was a stone bench - and a young female trainer. She was busy sorting through some data in a notebook, an Igglybuff in her lap and a Glameow at her feet. Her shoulder-length purple hair swayed in the wind.

Passing by on bicycles were two trainers: a male and a female. They both had identical blonde hair, which was long for the girl and short for the boy. Both were around Tekno's age. And they each had a Pokemon on their shoulders.

Just then the doors to the Pokemon Fan Club opened. "...and I don't want to hear about it." An older man with a grey mustache and tophat told a younger woman, who looked abashed. "I don't care that I'm the President of the Fan Club, you won't be leaving on a Pokemon journey anytime soon. I need you here too much."

*(Uhm, alright. 3, then, I guess?)*

Tekno looked a little startled, jumping off to the side to give them room as to not get knocked aside as they walked out. Listening to them, the young man exchanged a glance with Vesuvius, who looked as equally confused as he did. Scratching the back of his head, Tekno seemed to want to say something but decided not to interrupt as they seemed to be in a fight of some sort.

"Maybe we came at the wrong time." He whispered over to the Charmander. "Perhaps we should leave and come back later."

[Tekno Lahjik] Tekno was probably right not to become involved in the family business just yet. The young woman, who had navy blue hair and was around his age, hung her head and said, upset, "Yes, father. I suppose that Vermillion City is the only home that I'll ever have..." Her father, satisfyed with her answer, reentered the Pokemon Fan Club with a loud laugh.

She sat down on the stone bench next to the purple-haired girl, who put a friendly arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Mary, he'll see reason some day."

The depressed daughter of the Fan Club president told her friend gloomily, "Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll be stuck in this dumb town for eternity." She seemed bent on the idea. Still, she absentmindedly took a Pokeball from a necklace that dangled around her neck and released a Graveller. "He doesn't even know that I have this little guy."

The group of suits by the Pokemon Center abruptly broke off their conversation and walked quickly to the Fan Club, entering its door. Loud conversation could be heard from within.

Just then, a biker nearby rode past through a puddle, spraying Charmander and Tekno. "Oh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed a voice from inside the helmet.

*(FOUR! *thwack!*)*

The young man and his Charmander glanced at each other again, overhearing the conversation--especially how the President gave a loud laugh after, apparently, denying his own daughter the chance to go out on her own Pokemon journey.

"Perhaps we should reconsider this. I'm sure somebody a little more compassionate would be willing to help up out. C'mon Vesuvius, let's get--AGTPTHBTH!" He fell backwards upon getting splashed--not quite expecting to get splashed.

"Manderrrr!" Vesuvius shouted, clearly incensed at getting wet. Shaking himself dry, he growled up at the biker, hopping up onto Tekno's back again.

"Agggh..." The dancer snorted, glancing down at his now wet clothes. Sighing a little, he shook his head. "Ah, it's alright. I got a few extra sets of dry clothes. I can always get these washed..."

[Tekno Lahjik] The biker had stopped at splashing Tekno, clearly not intending to pique the young man. The motorcycle helmet was lifted... long red curls bounced from its interior. The biker was a girl. A girl slightly older than Tekno, to be exact. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to splash you like that..."

The girl was clearly abashed at having dampened Tekno's spirits - and clothes.

"You said that you needed clean clothes? ...If you want, you can sleep at my apartment tonight. I'll wash the clothes, and you can be on your way in the morning." She spread her hands wide, wanting to compensate for any damages that she might have caused.

Then she looked at the Charmander on Tekno's shoulder. "Cute Charmander. My father had one of those."

*(FIVE! Four, three, two, one, ignition, we have liftoff!)*

Tekno and Vesuvius glared a little, intent on giving this biker a piece of their minds...up until the motorcyclist lifted his helmet and found that the he was actually a she. Both boys were rather dumbstruck at this revelation, eyes going somewhat wide as they gazed into her eyes.

Face slightly flushing, only to go a little rosy, he grinned lightly as he raised a hand up to the back of his head. "Oh! Ah, it's alright! I don't want to be a burden on you or anything, really. I've got some clean sets, and I was sure the Center had some washing machines..."

Vesuvius smiled, going a little pink at being called cute by a female. He was always one for feminine attention...and Tekno, also a mechanist as well as a dancer, ignored his wet and dirty clothes for now to glance downwards from the biker's face to two large, round, bouncy objects underneath their chins...

"Those are some nice tires you got there. Aren't those that special brand from Hoenn built for all types of terrain? I like the suspension, too! What type of model engine is that, anyway? Is this an import, or did you modify it yourself?" He couldn't help it, as soon as he got a good look at the motorcycle the compliments and question just flooded right out. He was a bit of a bike enthusiast himself, and had always wanted to build one...unfortunately the bike he had built in his spare time was a bit of a junker (appropriate, considering it was out of old and spare parts) and had only ran once. He had always slightly wanted to own one of his own...

"Heh." He blushed a bit more, considering he was probably acting a little weird. "Sorry, I tend to get a little gushy at machines. Name's Tekno....Tekno Lahjik."

[Tekno Lahjik] The girl reached out and shook the blushing boy's hand with a black fingerless gloved hand of her own. "Nice to meet you. I'm Saranna." Her other hand found a Pokeball that was hanging from the back of her motorcycle, which was a deep red color. Matching her hair.

"Where'd I get the tires?" She looked at the base of her bike, which contained the thick rubber apparatuses (apparati?). "Yeah, they're from Hoenn. Lots of good designers there for all types of things. Built for all-terrain. So I'm going to be using them for that. The engine was originally meant for a four-wheel drive car, but my ex helped me set it up to be compatible with my bike."

She smiled and tossed the Pokeball to the ground next to her. A Mighyena appeared beside her and snapped its jaws once. She patted its head and gave it a single look. The dog was silent immediately. "This is my Mightyena." The Pokemon's eyes gleamed as it gazed upward at Tekno and Vesuvius. "It really is no trouble if you wanted to sleep on my couch. It would cost you less than the Pokemon Center would (to sleep in), at least. The offers there, if you want it..."

The two girls that sat in front of the Pokemon Fan Club glared at Saranna. For some reason, they didn't seem to like her that much.

((Just so you know, I know next to nothing about motorcycles or car engines. So I'm totally winging this.))

*(That's fine, neither do I.

I'd make a pun about #6 here, but I don't want to come across as being offensive, so I won't.)*

The two of them blinked, giving her a slightly suspicious glance, before gazing at each other.

"I don't know about you," Tekno whispered silently to Vesuvius, who leaned in further to his friend's mouth. "But last I checked, weren't Pokemon Centers free, boarding included?"

"Mander mander, char char!" Vesuvius replied with a nod and a left tilt of his head.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right. Different region, different customs, different laws." He audibly mumbled to himself. Turning away from Saranna for a second, he whispered over at Vesuvius again. "I don't know. We just arrived and already somebody's offering us a place to stay. Should we trust her?"

Vesuvius warily glanced over Tekno's shoulder at her and the Mightyena, before whispering back momentarily.

"Yeah, she did seem nice enough to wash my clothing, and if it's just for the one night, I suppose it couldn't hurt? Just seems odd..." He turned back around with a nervous grin and a nod. "Uh, sure? Why not?" He made a mental note to head to the Pokemon Center later anyway, just to check in with the Nurse about charges regarding the facilities...he was under the understanding they charged for MEALS, which was understandable, but charging for board was new to him.

[Tekno Lahjik] Saranna smiled crookedly at Tekno. "All right, then. It's not too late yet (it's only about 4:30PM, and you probably want to get some stuff done, so..." She pulled out a business card from a pocket on the front of her leather biker's jacket. "Here's the address. My apartment's on the third floor." The apartment building that was denoted was on the seaboard, sitting just behind the Gym. In other words, just a few blocks south of the Pokemon Center. "I have to be somewhere right now, so... I'll see you later." She drove off, her motorcycle revving as she zoomed out of the northern side of town, toward Saffron City.

The group of suits that had just entered the Pokemon Fan Club exited, chatting among themselves. As they walked by Tekno and Vesuvius, the two could hear, "...and maybe if we could just finish this project, then we could..."

The two girls were talking among themselves. They whispered, since they were only a few steps away from Tekno. Occasionally, they glanced at the northern road, as if in fear.

((Haha, another thing I'm winging. Since I'm not sure, let's just assume that in Johto and Kanto, they charge for food and rooming at the Pokemon Center, since they don't have enough room for all of the new trainers. By the way, do you remember the name of the big company from Hoenn? It's not Silph Co...))

*(Well, now I know how this number system works, I think I'm gonna go off a bit of a hunch here. 13!)*

Tekno watched off after her towards the northern side, disturbed by her crooked smile. Turning his attention back, he had noticed the two girls and their reaction. They seemed to be...almost frightened of her. Who exactly was this Saranna individual, anyway?

Taking a quick glance at the business card and making a mental note of the address, he figured he should ask around about her, trying to ascertain exactly what type of business she seemed to be in, as he couldn't quite fathom why should would have a business card for her residence. Figuring he shouldn't worry about it, his attention was broken by the group of suits leaving the Fan Club, and something about a project. It had piqued his interest slightly...but he decided it ultimately had nothing to do with him.

He did however, briefly wonder if had to do with the President and possibly his daughter--whom he recognized as one of the girls standing near him. Mary, was it?--however they didn't seem too concerned about them, and Tekno wondered if maybe that had even noticed them at all.

Still figuring it wasn't any of his business anyway, he decided that the best course of action would be to gather information. Turning over to Vesuvius, he nodded, glancing down at the business card again. "C'mon, buddy, we've still got daylight to burn. Let's head to the Pokemon Center and see what we can't find out. I don't have a good feeling about this...Saranna."

(Wow, you picked up everything. I'll let you choose how to use the information that's given below.)

[Tekno Lahjik] The astute teenager would find that no one knew all that much about Saranna.

The two girls decided that that woudl be the best time to get up and walk away, first returning Graveller to its Pokeball. The suits were long gone, disappeared practically. The old man from the Fan Club took that moment to walk outside his place of work. Smiling politely at Tekno, he proceeded to sit on the bench and puff on an old-fashioned pipe, looking quite aristocratic all the while.

In the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy looked out across the abandoned lobby. There was no one there to help or take care of, so she felt slightly lonely.

She knew very little about Saranna. The only facts that anyone knew were that she had moved to Vermillion City a little less than a year ago with only her Pokemon, purchased a red motorcycle, and ran an online business out of her home. She kept to herself and was generally very polite.

*(Love Posting #9! ...Sorry, sometimes I can't resist a terrible pun every now and zen.)*

Tekno was a little surprised that his quest for information yielded little result. However, now that he knew she now ran an online business out of her home, he supposed that explained the business card quite nicely.

Still, if she had only arrived less than a year ago, then he still had to wonder exactly why those girls seemed scared of her. Perhaps it was because of her Mightyena? ...Was that even the only Pokemon she had? He figured this would warrant further investigation, although if those two girls were the only ones that seemed out-and-out frightened of her, then perhaps his initial impressions were probably misjudged? After all, Nurse Joy did state she was generally very polite.

Although, he debated, generally meant not-always. And keeping to yourself was also a standard, if possibly cliche, characteristic of people that were likely up to no good. Though, this didn't state her as a bad person--he kept to himself often as well, and he was certainly a nice enough guy. At least, he hoped he was.

~I am definitely putting WAY too much thought into this.~ He sighed. ~I'm being over-analytical again.~

His only two further questions for Nurse Joy would be to see how much a room would be and how much meals normally cost on average. Once he had gotten that information he decided that, if nothing else, he would go with his original plan regarding Saranna and take her up on her offer....and learn what sort of business she ran. He figured he still had some time to kill before he would head to the address listed on the card, so he decided to continue learning precisely what this business was....along with seeing where the best place to stage a show would be.

The Pokemon Center was nice and large--the east side of the lobby against the far open wall could potentially make a good stage--but he didn't want to bother the sick and injured Pokemon resting inside, and while the Center was spacious, it could get pretty cramped. No, if he was going to conduct a show, it would best be done outside. Problem was, he wasn't sure where it could best be performed.

On top of that..."C'mon, buddy." He said down to his partner. "We probably better find someplace to get some practice in." After all, what was the point in putting on a show if one didn't keep at it? Perhaps out somewhere on one of the Routes...someplace nice, wide, open...and maybe, if he was lucky, he could catch a few extra "performers" to help along with the show!