Every Journey Begins with the First Step

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Seeing as how I made it into a celebration when I did it, I guess it would only be customary to continue the tradition; so without further ado: Congrats on passing the 100-post marker!!!]

BIC-

Mike's eyes were locked on the Pikachu. He wasn't prepared for this kind of counter-attack. Sure, Mike had warned himself of the dangers of going in for a gust-attack, but it had simply been too tempting to resist. One of Mike's greatest set-backs was that once he got to see his goals in front of him, once he thought he saw a chance to win, he lost all of his patience. Mike just prayed that his reaction-time would be sufficient to evade the attack.

"Pidgeotto!!" Mike yelled in a desperate, rushed voice, "Get away!". The pokémon did as best it could, but it was proving to be quite difficult to follow the command. The gust-attack had put Pidgeotto in a stationary, upright (though crouched) position. Basically, it was standing still in the air, with it's body in such a way that it couldn't get any substantial speed. Thus, it only managed to straighten out before the Pikachu landed on it's back, it's claws gripping tightly into it's back.

"Piiiiikaaaachu!!!!" cried Pika as the electric sparks that had been crackling from it's cheeks grew into a full sized lightning bolt. The Pidgeotto lit up the sky as the electric current completely paralyzed it and sent it roaring towards the ground, screeching in pain. It landed with a thud on the grass, and remained there.

The crowd was waiting silently. No one said a word as they all tried to see if Pidgeotto was knocked out, or if it would continue. The flying-type lifted it's head and then stood up. It looked roughed up, and seemed tired, but it still had it's fighting spirit and a long way to go. The crowd now went wild again, hoping for a few more minutes of the battle. It seemed to be more than enough to motivate Pidgeotto to continue, anyways.

It was however, not enough to motivate Mike. I could continue this, and there is the possibility that I'd win if I kept on pushing, but it's not worth it, thought Mike, It's just a sparring match, and I don't want this thing to become anything more than that. Pidgeotto is already fairly worn out.... Mike then stretched out his arm, making a 'stop sign' by extending his flat palm towards Grey.
"Nice battle Grey, but I'm afraid it ends here. I forfeit!" said Mike.

The crowd burst out in cries from angry and disappointed spectators, but Mike ignored them. There wasn't any reason to push his Pokémon any further. He approached Pidgeotto and embraced it. Then, he looked it in it's eyes eyes and said "Good job, my friend." The pidgeotto eyed him, making it clear to Mike that though it respected his decision, it didn't agree with it. It had more to give in the battle. As Mike stood up, he un-clipped his Pokéball and recalled the pokémon. Then, he turned to Grey and aproached him.

He grabbed Grey's hand and shook it firmly smiling at the younger trainer.
"I always end it with a handshake," said Mike grinning. His fighting spirit had been washed away, replaced yet again by the regular Mike, "Anyway, you did an amazing job out there. I can't believe you've been a trainer for so short of a time. And that Pika is pretty high-leveled as well. I had serious trouble keeping up with your attacks and you think fast on your feet - you'll have no trouble with Brock tomorrow!"

Mike leaned in on Grey. He wasn't really whispering, but he felt he needed a bit more privacy as the crowd was still listening in on them, despite their disappointment.
"I hope you don't mind me quitting, but this was just a sparring match, right? And I really didn't think it was worth it to hurt Pidgeotto." explained Mike, "I mean, it was supposed to be training for your battle, and I don't think continuing the match would have served any purpose - You already know everything you need to know for tomorrow."

Aevin wasn't too sure about Mike. He had quit in the middle of a match that, by looking at his Pokémon, was still undecided. Personally, Aevin would have run his opponent into the ground, or at least given it all he had- no mater what the nature of the battle. Yet Mike still interested him; The trainer was obviously very competitive when it came to battles, but he also wasn't afraid to quit.
Grey was also catching his attention. Although the final move had been obvious, the young silver-haired trainer seemed to had a knack for thinking fast and reacting to his opponents moves. He had the basic requirements for being a great trainer. Later, Aevin would go and introduce himself - for now, challenging one of them wasn't going to be very helpful as they probably wanted to rest.

Taylor now stood up and approached the trainers excitedly, closely followed by Reiu and Charmeleon. Each of the fire-types took it's place next to it's trainer, though Charmeleon threw a quick look at Mike, indicating that it had wished the battle would have continued. Mike gave Charmeleon a look back, silently communicating to his partner that Mike had simply done what he had seen fit.
"That was so cool!" exclaimed Taylor, cutting off the silent conversation between Mike and Charmeleon.
"Yeah, it sure was something," replied Mike, grinning at Grey.

[OOC- And so the battle ends... ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC- lol, I didn't even notice I was no longer a 'trainer' or whatever comes before the 100 post mark. That's what I get for my many picture-posts, huh? )

BIC-

Grey wasted no time in retrieving Pika from the damp grass; the small mouse-like Pokémon was panting heavily, wet and exhausted. He cradled the Pikachu in his arms protectively, intent on keeping it there until they waded through the crowd and back into the Center where it could be healed effectively.

"PIIii!" the yellow electric-type complained, not keen on lying helpless in Grey's arms, it wiggled a bit.

After a minute it gave up, realizing that its trainer was being careful amidst the disappointed and challenge-seeking spectators. With how it had performed, it would be unwise to let Pikachu run around unwatched.

Smiling sheepishly at Mike as his hand was firmly shaked, Grey listened to Mike's explaination.

"I planned on forfeiing after this attack, too," he said, sounding amused by their similiar thinking.
"What do you say we try to get back inside? I'm sure Pidgeotto wants healed as much as Pika - and otherwise we may end up fighting all night."

He gestured casually to several assorted trainers who were making a point to get closer to the two trainers, pushing through the crowd's ranks desperately. Reiu finally caught its trainer's gaze, and the two looked at each other without motion for several seconds. As if to show its new attitude, the Charmander blinked first, and they both broke out into grins. One considerably more toothy than the other.

"Wow! I wish I could use Pika like that!" Taylor exclaimed, pantomiming the Pikachu's fast movements and electrical attacks. "But... I'd rather have Sandshrew. Well, I hafta get home!" he added serenely.

Grey's smile turned into a laugh, unable to resist after seeing Taylor's goofy replay of Pika firing Thunder Waves at Pidgeotto - and then his solemn refusal to using a Pikachu. The silver-haired boy's eyes shifted down to Pika, who was looking up at him with a pouty-face, tongue sticking out. He sighed and poked the Pikachu's tongue playfully.

Grey motioned for Mike to follow and set off politely but forcefully through the gathered trainers, muttering 'excuse me' every few seconds. He had to grope past several younger children, around five and six, to hit the automatic button for opening the Pokémon Center door. Appearently the door's censors had been automatically opening the door every few seconds, so Joy had switched off the automated device.

Nearly falling into the cool, relatively quiet interior of the main lobby, Grey noticed that his hat had slipped chaotically off during his struggle through the crowd. Glancing back, he saw the same younger kids passing it around like a trophy.

"I can always get another hat..." he groaned, stepping back to allow Mike to follow him inside.

The boys walked up to the counter, where Grey passed over Pika, who looked relatively bored. Nurse Joy's eyes shifted suspiciously to the plexiglass window on the PokéCenter's side, then smiled down at Mike in the uniform manner.

"Would you like me to heal your Pokémon at the same time?" she asked neatly, holding Pika with one arm while typing Grey's I.D. number into one of the machines' databases.

Without much warning, Reiu turned around and began yelling at the same window Joy had glanced at, its sharp teeth bared aggressively.

"Char! Charchar...Charmander Char!!" it pointed fiercely to the orange-painted grass, where sunset was effecting the normal hues of everything.

Grey's eyes locked on the transparent surface, struggling to see what was there.

Neat, if wet, lawn, and a few trees.

"I don't see anything, Reiu - hey!" he said in a bewildered tone, stumbling as the white Pokémon tried to tug him over to the window.

[OOC- Sorry for bad post-ness. I have no real reason today :-X]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Sorry in advance for the ridiculously short post, It got kind of late, and I didn't get much sleep last night either, so I'm pooped... :]

BIC-

Curious as to why Reiu had reacted so fiercely, Mike drifted over to the window himself, closely accompanied by Charmeleon, who for once was just as out of the loop as Mike was about Reiu's reaction. As all four sets of eyes peered out of the window, they couldn't see anything odd at first, but then Charmeleon followed Reiu's gaze and noticed something disturbing. The same three people they had observed previously, the ones dressed in white, were sneaking about again.

Mike took a closer look at them, as they were now in a less shaded area, and decided to make a mental note for the future; they looked like troublemakers. One of them had huge red hair and was strutting around like she owned the place, and the other was kind of pathetic looking, but nevertheless rather handsome. Mike remembered a Meowth from before, but he didn't see one there now.

Mike turned around and faced nurse Joy. She looked at him with serious eyes.
"You looked like you knew those guys..." started Mike. he was quickly cut off by Joy, who took waved him closer. Mike approached the front desk.
"I'm not positive, but I think they might be criminals." she said, "I have seen them going back and forth with different supplies now for a few days, passing here regularly. I don't know what they're going to do, but it smells rotten!"

Mike turned towards Grey and gave him a disturbed look. He was getting a funny feeling that this was going to end dramatically, and almost felt a little worried. Mike hadn't really had too much contact with crime before and thus he felt very exposed to whatever trouble those two people were up to. Mike looked down at his Pokéballs, suspended at his waist. The feeling of anxiety gre a slight bit as he looked at them, aware of the fact that he, as a trainer had quite a lot of responsibility. He might have to battle those criminals himself, if there was nobody else around... Then again, Mike reassured himself, there's nothing saying that I'll be involved in this at all... Maybe I'm just getting carried away.

"We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious!" said Mike and winked at the nurse, "Hey Grey, let's head back and take a breather before dinner," He then beckoned for Charmeleon to follow him and headed for their room.

[OOC- Sorry, didn't read through this post at all practically (just skimmed it a bit), so sorry if it reads like hieroglyphics... I'll do better tomorrow ]

 

[firefox]

[OOC - the newbie post-count is due to the fact that I'm doing this post on my school's computer ^-^ Sorry for low quality, but I have...15 minutes. ]

BIC-

"Yeah," Grey said uneasily, his eyes following the trio until they were beyond his view from the window.

He waited as Mike handed over Pidgeotto's Pokéball to the Nurse, who looked rather disgruntled herself. Running a center responsible for caring for countless trainers' Pokémon had to be rather stressing, after all. Joy waved them goodbye before heading into the restricted area behind another set of automated doors, presumably to start the machine that would revitalize Pika and Pidgeotto.

Following Mike placidly down the clean white corridor, Grey found humor again in the family portaits of all the Nurses who had cared for the Pewter City Center. All of them were photocopies of Joy, albeit a different haircut here and there. He glanced back down the hall they had just come from, as if he expected to the the shady criminals trying to weasel past their room. It was almost a disappointment when all that met him was tiled linoleum floor panels and bleached white plaster for the walls.

The door leading to their room was done waiting on him, and he had to stop it from whirring shut with a hand, coaxing the machine door back open by pushing slightly. It grinded briefly, but then accepted the change, admitting him into their temporary room.

"Well...lot of stuff happening around us, isn't there?" he inquired to Mike, as well as the two trainers' fire-type Pokémon.

Reiu made a nodding gesture, its eyes solemn and cautious; the source of mistrust pinpointed, it wasn't going to let its guard down any time soon. Grey fell back into a squishy chair, wishing that it was a recliner. Perhaps not. I bet I'd be asleep in a few seconds if I got my feet up, he considered, a sigh issuing from his mouth.

"Trainer battles are really different from fighting wild Pokémon. I guess you feel superior sometimes to untrained Pokémon, but when I was fighting against you..." Grey trailed off. It needed no explaination - trianer battles required a whole new level of skill compared to fighting an unprepared Pokémon in the wild.

The silence in the room was companionable, with an air of tension lying beneath the surface. Not surprising, with Pokémon criminals running about.

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Your quality is excellent for 15 minutes, Firefox! If I wrote the same amount of text with that dead-line, it would be totally incomprehensible ;D]

BIC-

"Yeah, I know what you mean..." said Mike as he retook his earlier position on the lower bunk, "It is quite a difference. When trainers battle, it's actually not pokémon versus pokémon - you battle the trainer too, which requires a lot more thinking." Mike took off his leather jacket and folded it up, carefully placing it next to him on the bed. He then removed his half-fingered gloves and stretched out his arms, yawning.

"Boy, I'm tired... Anyway, you should count yourself lucky, Grey." said Mike, "The first time I battled a trainer was at the Celadon Gym... I tell you, if it wasn't for the type advantage we had over their grass-types, we would never have won. It was awful." He chuckled slightly to himself and then looked over at Charmeleon. It was quite a while ago, but Mike still remembered how that battle felt and how it wore both of them out completely.

Mike put the palm of his hand on Charmeleon's head and then lowered it to give the fire-type a pat on the back. It looked back at him and smiled before settling down on the ground next to Reiu. It felt like it was ages ago that they had come out of the rainy, wet woods, but the effects of the hike still lingered on. For once, it was relaxing to have absolutely nothing to do for a while, and both Mike and Charmeleon were taking full advantage of it.

As a welcomed quiet drifted into the room, Mike's thoughts centered on the mysterious people who had been sneaking around today... The more he thought about it, the more he felt they had to be up to no good. On the other hand, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't have any evidence of them actually being up to no good; all they had done was sneak. The whole subject was much to tiring to think about now though. Besides, with white outfits like that which stood out like a beach ball on a ski slope, they'd have to be idiots to try anything...

After a while, he started feeling hungry. Mike looked down at his watch.
"Hmm, it's getting close to dinner time... How about we head down to the cafeteria and get some grub?" he asked, not really expecting an answer from Grey. Mike stood up, stretched and instinctively grabbed his jacket. He then waved everyone to follow him and headed out the door, while putting on the jacket and straightening it's collar.

As they arrived at the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, they found a booth and sat down, making squiggly noises as they scooted in on the red vinyl couch. Mike smiled at Grey, happy to be getting some food in him. A Chansey arrived within a few minutes and brought out a trolley with different meals that had been prepared by the kitchen beforehand. Mike gracefully accepted a few dishes and started digging in.

"Well, they might not have a menu or anything fancy like that, but the food is good and that's enough to keep me happy!" exclaimed Mike as the Chansey reached for a few more dishes from the trolley, this time handing the food to the Pokémon. The Pokémon food didn't look too appetizing to Mike, but then again, if the chefs here could make good human food, why wouldn't they be able to make good Pokémon food? In any case, Charmeleon had the same appetite as Mike did, and they both almost started laughing as they realized this.

"Anyway buddy," said Mike, suddenly remembering his friends gym battle in the morning, "Did you ever decide who to use for tomorrow's battle?" He looked down at Reiu, assuming Grey would pick it as one of his Pokémon.

[OOC- Feels like we should move on to tomorrow soon, or what do you think?]

 

[firefox]

[OOC- Good point Feel free to auto next post]

BIC-

Imerged in thought, Grey picked at his food - his red Pokédex was in one hand, blipping as he moved through its options. The gravy-coated porkchops and potatoes were appetizing, and he was hungry, but as soon as the question about his Gym battle arose, all will to eat had evaporated. Reiu felt no such way, shoveling in its specially-made Pokémon food with vigor. Almost distractedly, he wondered if Pika and Pidgeotto would need food when they were done healing. He decided to pose the question to Mike.

"Should we box something for the other two?" he asked curiously, but Mike was beaten to the punch.

"Don't worry, I went ahead and fed them after they were restored!" Joy announced cheerfully, strolling past them and handing Mike his flying-type's Pokéball.

She deposited a whole-heartedly content Pikachu in Grey's arms, where it immediately took to his shoulder, using his head as a hold to keep its balance.

"Pii-pikachu!" it sang happily, a brief bit of static zapping the trainer in a friendly way.

With his dinner half-eaten, Grey handed it appreciatively to Chansey and looked back at Mike seriously.

"Well, actually, I don't plan on using Reiu." He turned quickly to the Charmander and quieted it with a meaningful glance before continuing. "Since I already know how to fight with him pretty good, and he's higher-leveled than my others...three above Sora, who's second to him."

He presented the 'dex's entries to his friend, the levels of his Pokémon highlighted on the screen.

Reiu - 14
Sora - 12
Nezi - 11
Pika - 11
Fero - 8
Ikeiru - 5
Caterpie - 3

He tapped the names of the two Pokémon that he would be using, a stolid look on his face. If he could obtain his Boulder Badge using a Pikachu and Pidgey, he'd consider himself an able trainer. Reiu looked rather taken aback still, but an underlying pride in its boosted level kept it quiet; to dismiss the topic, the fire-type shoveled more food in its mouth.

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Don't know if there's anything that'll need autoing, but in case I need it, thanks! Oh, and If you ever need to auto anything, I think you know Mike enough by now to do it sensibly without me ok-ing it first ]

BIC-

Mike didn't know if using the lower level Pokémon was the smartest tactic in the world - Grey could level them up anywhere; but it certainly was the most brave tactic he could use, and it would serve as a (purposely, Mike imagined) tough battle. It would certainly surprise Brock, and that might prove to be advantageous.

"Haha, well, go for it then!" said Mike encouragingly, "You know I can't give you any of my advice for your battle, but I will say this: it's a very different tactic... and if you use it right, it could lead to a victory." Mike looked over at Reiu, afraid that the fire-type was grouchy for not being picked for the battle, but surprisingly, it seemed quite content. It's attitude and respect towards Grey had really changed during the last few days.

Mike, not quite as content, went back to emptying his plate of pork-chops, trying to hurry up since Grey was already finished. He stuffed his face a bit and then fell back against the red vinyl couch, sighing in satisfaction. It had been quite a few days since he had eaten a meal this big. Charmeleon kept at it, evenly paced with Reiu for a few minutes more, and then it too leaned back, sitting down on the floor with a big thud.

The group sat there, conversing abut tidbits for a while as they let the food sink in. A Chansey occasionally came by to check if they needed anything else, but none of them really felt like any more food; Grey was too busy thinking about the next day's battle and Mike, Reiu and Charmeleon were all stuffed.

Eventually Mike squirmed his way out from the booth and stood up, stretching his arms wide after the long dinner. He turned and smiled awkwardly at Grey before lowering his arms. He checked his watch - It was still not particularly late, but they had had a long day and they might as well head back to the room. Going to sleep was maybe still too early to do, but they could just as well chat in the privacy (and above all calmness, compared to the noisy cafeteria) of their own room.

"How about we head back to the room? I need to wind down a bit," he asked Grey, who was in the process of getting up. Grey nodded and patted Reiu on the shoulder, indicating that it was time to go. Mike did the same to Charmeleon before heading off to the main lobby, and then eventually to the room.

As they entered the room, Mike took off his jacket again, happy to get out of it, this time hanging it over the back of a chair. His black T-shirt was much more liberating without the somewhat constricting leather on top of it and Mike felt as if he could finally sit down and relax, no longer having to worry about a thing. Grey however, probably can't relax... He probably won't even be able to sleep tonight thought Mike as he turned around in circles looking for where he had placed his back pack.

He found it tucked away under his bed and opened it up. It was still just as neatly packed as Grey had left it, and he made an honest effort to keep it that way as he rummaged through his stuff. Mike removed a small bag containing a blueish bead. It was made of glass ans looked foggy on the inside, but at the same time, very crisp and clear.
"Here!" said Mike as he tossed it to Grey, "This is kind of a lucky charm. I don't know if it works or not, but I've never lost a match while having that thing in my pocket. Give it a try!"

As Grey examined the bead, Mike closed the bag, shoved it back under the bed and crawled in under the sheets of the lower bunk, not yet ready to fall asleep, but certainly willing to get as comfy as possible. Charmeleon seemed to be doing the same as it curled up into a ball on the floor, gently resting it's head on it's red tail and watching the trainers as they continued their conversation

[OOC- Well, I guess sleep is delayed one more post ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - Rawr, but sleep, she comes...as soon as I motivate myself to post...*ten minutes later* Alright!]

BIC-

Grey tugged off his own outer layer of clothing, draping his navy-blue jacket over the back of the chair and pushing his boots off. Pika took it upon itself to launch off of his head as he bent over to accept the singularly interesting bead from Mike, landing lightly on the top bunk.

The ornate bead was captivating, unique in appearance and smooth to the touch. Just holding it gave the trainer more confidence, watching its interesting blue colors.

"Wow...thanks," He said, pocketing the charm with reverence.

Grey held the Pokédex tightly in one hand still, intent on reading the limited data entries he had until sleep took over. Taking use of the bunk's built-in ladder, Grey hefted himself onto the soft surface of his bed, he had hardly situated himself when the Pikachu curled up affectionately on the pillow next to where his head would go.

He had almost settled into the covers when a sharp jab reminded him of his Pokéball belt's contents; with a bemused smile, he unclipped the belt and layed it on the sheets next to him. After a second he pulled one of the small, shiny devices from its magnetic clasps, pushing the button to expel its contents in a spew of white light. The energy took the winged form of a bird, Sora materializing on the thick outer cover of the bunk with bleary eyes.

"Pigeoo," it cooed happily, fluffing its downy feathers and snuggling down in the corner made by the wall and bedframe joining.

This done, he flipped open the Pokédex's covering, and the sleepy room was filled with various blips and beeps form the planning trainer. It didn't take long before the red device slipped in his loosening grip - Grey found it hard to keep his eyes focused on the object for more than a few seconds. Only then did he sigh, and drop his arms from their position in front of his face. The Pokédex made a soft thump on the covers, but Grey was already asleep.

Mischievously, Reiu waited until the rest of the room was quiet with soft sleep, and then clambered slyly up into the fluffy, comfortable chair, its tail curled cautiously in front of its body to avoid setting the plushy surface on fire. He hadn't know any trainers that were so friendly before Grey. Until then it had been in the world of professionals - how to raise a Pokémon for efficient fighting, which Pokémon to breed for improved offspring, and a serious air had surrounded everything. Here, it was like mistakes and incidents were welcome.

 

[daxx0r]

Mike felt the wave of sleep wash over him, and though he had only been under the covers for a few minutes, he was quickly slumbering away. In his sleep he dreamed about finally making it to the championships at Indigo Plateau. For some reason, Mike was always aware that he was asleep when he was dreaming, and this was no exception. Mike didn't dream often though, so he welcomed it, whether or not it was real, happy to at least be able to experience it on some level.

The truth of the matter was that Mike was worried about the championships. He had always been very confident with himself regarding the event, but ever since his battle with Grey, he had been doubting himself; just a bit, but still. Grey had only been a trainer for a short time, and even if Mike could have won the battle, it was much tougher for him than he had wished for it to be. Maybe Grey was just extraordinarily good, or maybe Mike was falling behind.

The dream continued and eventually put Mike in the championship finals. The match turned into a nightmare as his subconscious mind was littered with thoughts about Grey and his impressive abilities. Mike shot up into a sitting position in his bed, woken up by the vision of seeing his pokémon fall in battle. He was sweaty and breathing hard, his heartbeat elevated quite a bit.

Charmeleon lifted it's head slightly, having been woken by Mike's commotion. It was still dark outside, and the room was only illuminated by the tails of the two fire-types. Mike sighed heavily and fell back onto his pillow, looking casually at the dancing fllames. The were astoundingly beautiful in the dark room, acting like two lighthouses, making the shadows in the room dance harmonically while they flickered.

"Dang." whispered Mike, careful not to wake his friend in the bunk above him. He reached down to the floor next to the bed and probed for his watch. He eventually found it and held it close to his face. He pushed the back light button on the side of the watch, waiting for the blue light to illuminate the numbers on the digital display. It read "2:54:37 AM". Mike put the watch back on the floor, sighing, since he had wished it was later; there was still a lot of night ahead of him. He then attempted to go back to sleep, hoping he wouldn't be woken again by another nightmare.

This time however, once he had fallen into slumber he didn't dream. He was simply recharging; something he needed dearly. When he woke up again, the sun had already risen over the horizon and was casting it's light joyously through the half-closed drapes covering the room's only window. Mike was feeling refreshed and on top of the world. Above all he had managed to put all his worries out of his mind and was now ready to face new adventures.

Mike carefully checked his watch again. "6:45:12 AM". Mike wished it was just a bit later. It was late enough that Mike wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but it was still too early to get up; Grey might still be asleep (or lying very quietly thinking along the same paths as Mike) and Mike didn't want to wake him.

Instead, Mike simply stared out of the crack between the drapes, trying to see if anything interesting was happening outside. It was, of course still too early for anything particularly fascinating to be happening, but the search kept him occupied until he thought it was ok to get up. He rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes and sat up, throwing his legs off of the side of the bed. He looked up at the bunk above him. He stood up and hoisted himself onto the board on the side of the bunk (the one stopping Grey from rolling off the bed during the night) so he could see if Grey was still asleep.

 

[LaenVulpix]

"Guess you're up too, then," Grey grumbled groggily, greeting Mike's head as it rose in front of him.

Truthfully, Grey had found himself wide awake several times during the night, helpless to get back to sleep; during these times he had resorted to skimming listlessly over Pika and Sora's attack list, struggling to think of satisfactory combos in the fire-lit darkness. Once he thought there was a murmur from the bunk below, but that was before he drifted off into another one of his disoriented and brief dreams, so he doubted it was anything more important than Mike shifting in his sleep.

Each time sleep fell over him, the same dream - or nightmare - befell his mind. Either Mike or Brock was standing opposite him on raised platforms, clearly in a battle arena. They were laughing heartily and chiding him in mocking voices. Reiu, Pika, and Sora were laying prone on the chilly marble floor some fifty feet below him, each beaten up and severely injured. He tried to tell the Gym Leader or his friend to let him take care for them - to heal them - but from there the opposing trainer would look at him skeptically and say "You can't help them anyways."

After that he'd wake up.

Since the first feeble shafts of sunlight had greeted the soft carpeted floor of their room, Grey had been awake, uninterested in returning to his pointless slumber. His arms were crossed beneath his head as he thought, and he could only gauge the time of day by when Sora's eyes peeked open, instantly aware and curious.

'What time z'it?" he asked, pushing himself up and reaching for his belt.

He reslung it half-heartedly and, his mind elsewhere, returned Sora to its Pokéball in a brief flow of red energy. Pikachu's ears stood upright as he swung over the bunk's edge and landed on the floor, and before long it scrambled down on of the bedposts to join the rising group of travelers. Reiu pried open one dancing blue eye from its spot on the floor, where it had moved quietly as soon as it could detect movement from Mike.

Yawning by habit, the trainer slipped into his jacket and zipped up the garment with dexterous fingers - no matter his lack of sleep, he was as awake as ever, now. It took a few moments of bouncing around to force his socked feet into his boots, having to loosen the straps a bit to get them in, and then pull them tight again after the fact.

"D'you take morning showers?" he inquired, clinging to a rung of the metal ladder in order to snatch his forgotten Pokédex from the folds of the covers; his tone was a bit apprehensive and jittery - he had had plenty of time to fret over his battle while the dwindling hours of night had passed by.

In what was rapidly becoming custom, Grey held his arm out for Pika to balance itself until it had a firm hold on his head and a steady position on his shoulder, ready to catch the electric-mouse in case it overbalanced. After checking to confirm that the lucky bead had maintained its place in his pocket, Grey slumped wearily in the squishy chair, ready to leave whenever Mike was. He didn't doubt that his friend would end up trying to convince Grey to eat some sort of breakfast, despite his fluttering, knotted stomach.

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC - YAY!!! ;D 151st Post! I am finally a Master! *dances around the room in a ridiculous fashion* Oh well - on with the post!!]

BIC-

As Grey slumped into the chair, ready to go, Mike wasn't even half finished with getting dressed.
"I usually like taking showers during the evening actually," replied Mike casually while donning his trainer's belt, then adding, "and besides, you probably want to get going."
Mike winked at Grey in a supportive way, realizing that the approaching battle with Brock most probably was causing Grey a lot of nervousness.

After putting on his socks and hiking boots, he finally swung his jacket on and put on the half-fingered gloves before turning to Grey.
"You know," said Mike in an advising voice, "I realize you probably want to get to the gym, but you should get some breakfast first... It'll keep your mind sharp!"

Mike didn't really think Grey wanted to be lectured, but he also hoped that saying something might have some influence on Grey. Mike had always reasoned that since the trainer was the teams tactician, keeping your mind sharp was as important as having your Pokémon in good shape.
"Tell you what," suggested Mike, "I'll go and get some breakfast from the cafeteria, and then we'll eat it on our way to the gym!"
Mike gave Grey a thumbs up and then left without another word, purposely not giving Grey any chance to argue.

As Mike headed down the corridor towards the front lobby, he thought of his first gym battle. It had been very hard, since he didn't have any trainer battling experience, but unlike Grey, he had been battling with a type-advantage. Both flying-types and electric-types are at a disadvantage against Brock. Pika wouldn't be able to inflict any damage with it's electricity and Sora would be very vulnerable to attacks like rock throw.

Mike also knew, however, that Grey was a brilliant tactician. Had it been anybody else, he probably would have intervened, but as it stood now; Grey might actually be able to get the Boulder badge - despite of (or maybe even because of) his choice of Pokémon.

Mike arrived at the front lobby of the Pokémon center and crossed over into the cafeteria. It was basically deserted. Only two other people were there, and they hardly took notice of him as he entered. Mike checked his watch. Huh. The people here are kinda lazy thought Mike to himself as he approached a Chansey standing by the door to the kitchen, It's already a quarter past seven and nobody's up... There's usually somebody at least.

Mike greeted the Chansey and asked for two breakfasts to go. The Chansey smiled and scurried away into the kitchen. Before long, it had reemerged with a plastic bag containing two small packets of juice, a couple of pieces of toast and some fruit.
"Well, you guys sure know how to make a healthy breakfast eh?" he asked the Chansey, which replied with "Chansey!!". Mike turned and headed for the door, waving to the Chansey behind him as he exited the cafeteria.

Mike was surprised to see Grey and the Pokémon waiting for him in the lobby. He displayed the plastic bag to his friend as he approached.
"So Grey, you ready for the big challenge?" he chuckled. He put his arm around Grey's shoulders and smiled.
"You're gonna do great out there! Just believe in yourself and you'll be fine!" added Mike, seeing as Grey displayed clear signs of nervousness.

They left the Pokémon center, and as the door closed behind them, Mike stopped and looked up at the sky, trying to remember the way to the gym.
"Hmmm... Er... I... I think the gym is this way" said Mike, pointing uncertainly towards a road that stretched out to the left of them before making a sharp 90 degree turn. He then ran ahead a bit and checked out what was beyond the turn, Charmeleon scurrying closely behind. As he rounded the corner, he recognized the road more clearly. Mike turned back to Grey and beckoned for him to approach.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is the right way!" he called out to his friend and waited for him to catch up.

[OOC- In case you object; sorry for autoing Grey to the lobby. Just thought it would be more logical if he wasn't just sitting in the room, considering how anxious he seems to be about getting to the gym.]

 

[LaenVulpix]

Grey trudged unenthusiastically behind Mike as they made their way down the road leading to the Pewter City Gym. He nibbled slowly on his piece of toast, not tasting the warm bread as he swallowed it down, and almost mechanically swallowed down the packet of what was supposed to taste like apple juice.

Reiu tilted its head up uneasily at its trainer, sensing increasing doubt and nerves from him. Despite his lack of type-advantages, the Charmander had a gut feeling that Grey was going to be fine - he didn't get why the boy didn't remember his initial determination in proving his capability with Sora and Pika.

"Char charman!" it called out rebukingly, nudging Grey's arm with its head.

Surprised, Grey cast his eyes down to meet the fire-type's and smiled weakly. Unsatisfied, Reiu narrowed its eyes and glared firmly at the trainer until he held up his breakfast-cluttered hands in submission.

"Alright, alright...it's just a gym battle, no big deal." he said in a marginally more inspired voice. "So Mike...d'you think that Taylor will be there?" He asked in a calm voice, remembering their agreement to help out the boy after the match.

Before long they turned down a cobblestone street, where a few idle trainer gazed up at the first Gym of eight. One would push another in the building's direction jokingly, daring him to challenge Brock. Let's just hope there aren't any crowds today, Grey thought nervously, noting the other trainers' obvious disbelief that anyone would actually enter the Gym with the intention of winning a badge.

"Alright...here we go..." he muttered in a calm voice, determined to show his belief in his Pokémon, if not in himself.

Without further hesitation, the trainer wrapped his gloved hands around the door handles and pushed them open.

The heavy doors made no creaks as they opened in on the rock-based gym - and it was definitely rock-based. Somehow large collections of rocks had been placed inside, creating a ring around the walls. Some free-standing rocks jutted niftily out of the ground, forming plateaus, small cliffs, and various other figures in the middle of the Gym. A few paces from the doorstep, the ground changed from a clean marble to an imitation of mountain land. The surface appeared to be a sort of rock, dusty-brown in color.

As the two trainers and two fire-types entered the domain, Grey quickly realized that the ground's surface was uneven, cracking open, rising upwards, and dipping down without warning. Above, lights space evenly apart lit the place.

"Where's the arena?" he whispered worriedly to Mike, seeing only dusty ground, with no lines or markers for a battle arena.

 

[daxx0r]

Mike smiled back at Grey. The large room certainly didn't resemble any regular type of battlefield, but that was how it was designed; to give rock-types an advantage, no matter who the opponent was.
"This is the arena." came Mike's answer.

The rocky landscape certainly brought back memories from the last time he had been there. The rocky ground making up the battlefield had been a source of frustration and irritation for Mike and Charmeleon. Every time they had tried to attack, Brock's Pokémon had gone under the ground; and every time they took cover, the opponents smashed whatever obstacle was providing protection.

Suddenly, the doors behind them opened a second time, and in came Taylor, seemingly exhausted.
"Hey, I'm sorry if I'm late and..." he blurted out loudly. Taylors voice trailed off as he noticed how he was causing a massive echo across the room. Mike turned to the young boy and smiled.
"You're not late Taylor. Actually we haven't even met Brock yet." he whispered.
"Oh good, cause I was trying to get to the gym, but Aevin was bugging me and all..." he continued. Then he fell silent, obviously realizing that the situation didn't revolve around him as much as it did around Grey.

Mike carefully nudged Grey further into the room, moving from the shadow projected by the massive doors and into the better lit arena immediately behind the battlefield. Following closely behind, Mike scanned the other side of the room, also enveloped in darkness like the area around the door. He was pretty sure that Brock was waiting for them there, just holding back on his introduction until they did they did what he wanted: moved further into his domain.

"Who goes there?" came a booming voice suddenly. Mike held a finger up to his mouth beckoning to Taylor to remain quiet. Suddenly, the dark area opposite them lit up, revealing Brock, sitting with legs crossed as if he was meditating. He jumped instantly, preforming the same move he had displayed to Mike and countless others, finally landing on the rim of the battlefield. He lifted his head and looked straight at the three.

His dirt colored cargo pants and brown short-sleeved jacket blended with the arenas rocky surface, making him seem as if he was born into the boulder-ridden wasteland. After he had gotten a good look at the two trainers he pointed at Mike, who was quite surprised that he had somehow manged to become the focus of Brock, despite the fact that Grey was a good two feet in front of him and thus obviously the trainer trying to challenge him.

"You! Isn't one badge enough for you?" asked Brock in a strong and commanding, yet somewhat more relaxed tone. Mike almost burst out laughing, as this was the last thing he expected Brock to say. Brock winked discreetly at Mike, trying not to loose his serious demeanor.
"Yeah, one's enough." replied Mike jokingly, "I'm just here to clap my hands as my friend here wins against you!" Mike winked as well, but at Grey, who, despite being in front of Mike actually had a clear view of the wink.

"Aha..." answered Brock, "Well, we'll catch up on old times later. Right now however, I want to know who challenges me and the Pewter Gym to a battle?" Brock waited patiently for an answer, letting his hand slip into the pocket of his jacket, mindlessly rolling around the two pokéballs he had enclosed in it.

[OOC - And so it begins eh? Well, I wish Grey good luck! ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - Indeed! ;D Beware, for long a long post doth follow ]

BIC-

Rather pale but showing no outward signs of his fear, Grey stepped a few more paces towards the intimidating Gym Leader. His eyes were a foggy blue, almost the color of a storm-ridden sea, as he ushered Reiu to stand back with Mike; he took a deep breath and introduced himself.

"I, Grey of Pallet Town, challenge you." he declared firmly, proud that his voice had held no tremors.

Brock's face held a bemusement beneath his stony demeanour, interested in the young trainer's choice of words. He stepped down from the flat stone that had been his perch, and grinned tauntingly at the silver-haired boy.

"Then let's cut to the chase, shall we? Choose your first Pokémon, Grey of Pallet!" Brock exclaimed, pocketing one Pokéball and throwing the other in a swift, fluid motion.

As the red and white ball struck the ground, Brock was rather taken aback to see that Grey had managed to draw and throw his own choice of Pokéball quick enough that the two opposing Pokémon's forms appeared in simultaneous blasts of light. Clearly Grey didn't want Brock to think that he was going to try for a type-advantage.

"Pidggeoo!" Sora flapped its wings readily, focused blue eyes watching its foe with preparation.

Opposite it, a teal-green, dragon-like Pokémon glared coolly at the flying-type, red eyes trying to intimidate the Pidgey. "Laaarvitar!" it cried proudly, showing one sharp tooth.

"A Pidgey? Rather gutsy..." Brock muttered, catching the Larvitar's Pokéball as it returned to him.

"Sora, Gust!" Grey ordered instantly, taking no chances on the ground- and rock-type getting a first hit.

Without a word, the Pidgey became airborne, flapping heavily for a few seconds before catching a draft and rising into the air. Sora began to beat its wings in a mimic of what Mike's Pidgeotto had done the previous night, talons tucked close to its body as it created short, choppy gusts of wind.

"Laarr," Larvitar cried as its body was sent tumbling and knocked into a short, protruding rock.

It stood up angrily, rubbing its head where it had headbutted the hard surface. Pidgey finished up and rose higher into the air, circling readily around Brock's Pokémon.

"Gutsy Grey, but not wise!" Brock chided. "Rock Slide, Larvitar!"

Grinning haughtily, Larvitar held its short arms out in front of it and the ground began shaking. Rocks of different shapes and sizes rose from the soil, glowing a faint blue.

"Tar!"

Making a pitching motion, Larvitar, teetered on one claw, eyes narrowed. The rocks imitated the motion, hurling themselves viciously at the Pidgey.

"Toxic!" Grey yelled shortly, ready for such a thing.

Sora looked doubtful, but opened its beak and began shooting highly concentrated acid that the incoming boulders anyways. Sure enough, the liquid ate through one of the heavy rocks, creating a several holes in them.

"Dive through!" Grey explained without hesitation, and the Pidgey cried out in agreement as it understood the attack's purpose.

Beating its short brown wings furiously until it was shooting towards the falling rocks at an unstoppable speed, the flying-type locked its wings by its sides at the last second, squeezing swiftly through the boulder. Once through, it shot downwards at a rapid speed, and its trainer had a new idea ready for it.

"Quick Attack now!" he shouted, hands curled into fists as he watched his flying-type alter its course for the angered Larvitar.

With several more beats of its wings, the Pokémon was a blur of motion, and Grey could only see it had succeeded with its hit when the Larvitar flew backwards and landed heavily on its back. The rock-type was up in an instant, eyes on fire with pain and anger.

"Body Slam now!" Brock ordered calmly, watching as the black-marked Pokémon pivoted around and seized hold of the Pidgey as it tried to slow down.

Grinning victoriously once again, the short Larvitar spun around with Sora in its grip and slammed it to the ground landing on top it vengefully.

"Pidgeeoo!" Sora cried out, beating its wings crookedly, clearly out of the air for the time being.
"Wing Attack, then!" Grey called out, adjusting to the occasion.

The flying-type clipped the Larvitar painfully in the back of its head, knocking it once again to the ground as the strong wings struck it angrily.

"Good enough - Larvitar, return!" Brock ordered suddenly, throwing Grey off.

"Oh..you can rest too, Sora," Grey said unconditionally, keeping things even.

The single attack by Larvitar had done its damage, and the Pidgey relaxed weakly as red light washed over its body and drew it back inside its Pokéball.

"Not bad for using a flying-type, Grey." Brock analyzed, exchanging Pokéballs.

Grey remained silent, keeping his adrenaline going as he re-clasped Sora's Pokéball and held his arm out at a right angle for Pikachu to use as a lever. The Pewter City leader frowned at the challenger and asked him, "Aren't you choosing your next Pokémon?"

"I have it, whenever you're ready." Grey said stolidly, not even glancing at his friends.

[OOC - Ray~ Break for comments from Mike n' Taylor. You can choose which rock-type Brock sends out to, to le the battle get right on in my next post. Congrat's on the Master position, as well! *dances next to Daxx*]

 

[daxx0r]

Mike was in a trance as he followed the battle closely. As he watched Grey command Sora to do a powerful gust attack, he couldn't help thinking that this was going to be a very exciting battle. Before long, this was already proving to be true as the opposing Larvitar quickly countered with an equally impressive Rock Slide.

Mike almost couldn't watch at this point. A rock-type attack was something Grey should at any cost try to avoid; especially so early in the battle when they hadn't gotten their momentum up. Then however, within fractions of a second, Grey had once again thought up an ingenious way of avoiding an attack.

"Toxic!" The command caught Mike completely off guard.
"What the...?!" Mike asked himself aloud. I didn't even know Pidgey could use toxic attacks! he thought, Grey really didn't go into this at such a disadvantage as I imagined he would... Then again, I did imagine he'd surprise me and win anyway.

As the toxic acid burned a hole into the stone, Taylor stood in complete awe of the battle, not even able to blink as he was afraid he'd miss something. After yesterdays battle, Taylor knew that anything could happen - the only thing he was sure of was that it would be amazing.

The Pidgey soared through the rock, becoming a blur of speed, like an arrow piercing a body. Taylor looked up at Mike, who seemed to be as much in awe as he was. Eventually though, Mike returned the look and then beckoned silently to Taylor that he should follow the older trainer.

Trying to keep his eyes on the battle, Mike led Taylor to the sidelines of the arena and sat down on a bench, now getting a much clearer view of the battle.
"Body Slam now!" commanded Brock. Taylor held his breath, not sure of what would happen. Mike also held his breath, for he knew how dangerous this could be. The Larvitar grabbed the small bird, and flipped it over, before mashing it into the ground, forcefully landing on top of it.

Both Taylor and Mike gasped, though quickly hushing themselves up again, afraid they might upset Grey's concentration - or even worse; his confidence. Grey hadn't lost it though, as he quickly responded with a wing attack which sent the rock-type flying away several feet, eventually landing hard on the ground.

Brock now recalled the Larvitar. Mike thought it might have had a tiny bit of battling left in it, but the battle was lost for Brock, despite the fact that Sora was also quite tired. He knew Brock was a bit too humane to wear out his pokémon when the battle was already decided. He had done something similar during his battle with Mike.

"Um, mr. Mike, why is he recalling his Pokémon already?" asked Taylor.
"You really don't have to call me 'mr', Taylor," said Mike, smiling at Taylor, "But anyway, Brock knows to treat his Pokémon with utmost care and respect - there's no need for him to keep battling if Grey has already managed to decide the outcome of the battle. Besides, the gym-leader's task is to test the trainer's skills; not to beat him." He returned his eyes to the battle, fixing them on Brock, since the next move was his.

"Hmmm, alright Grey. You seem to have quite a lot of punch in you, but if you want to get tough, I can go along with that." said Brock tauntingly, prolonging the wait before he revealed his next Pokémon. Brock displayed his next Pokéball, older than the other, and quite scratched up.
"Let me see how you handle a battle against one of my oldest friends. It'll be tough, but you've already shown me not to assume an outcome in advance... GO GEODUDE!"

[OOC- I was gonna go for Onix, but upon checking it out on Bulbapeida (I had a hunch), I found out that *SPOILER if you haven't been watching the Japanese episodes* Brock's Onix evolves into a Steelix eventually */SPOILER* and thus I thought it wouldn't be much of a battle for Pika.]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - Ah, I expected either a Geodude or Onix! ;D I don't watch the anime due to the horrible, terrible voice-actors, but it's nice to know that Brock gots a Steelix...maybe I should read Wikipedia. ]

BIC-

As soon as Brock's second Pokéball bounced heavily on the ground, opening with a pon! sound, Grey tensed his arm. Pika sprang agilely off of the synthetic platform, eyes hard and focused for battle.

"Pii ka!" it growled threateningly, a naive grin etched on its small features.

"Are you serious..?" Brock asked weakly, expecting a grass- or water-type to finish up the battle.

He sighed and snatched the boomerang-like sphere out of the air like it was second nature, and he proceeded to twirl it skillfully on his index finger as he started his first command - coincidentally at the same time as Grey. The two voices blended, but the Geodude and small Pikachu caught their orders with acute ears.

"Agility, Pika!"

"Rollout, Geodude!"

The small electric-mouse threw itself forwards, narrowly dodging the Geodude's round, rolling mass. Flickers of yellow light danced around its body as it gained more speed than normal, outstripping Brock's powerful old Geodude the longer it ran.

"Turn, now!" Brock commanded fiercely, and before Grey could open his mouth, the rock-type cut directly in front of the Pikachu, barreling over the yellow Pokémon.

Pika flew backwards, tumbling several times in the dirt before skidding to a stop. It picked itself up wearily and rolled quickly to one side to evade a succession of attacks from the rolling Geodude.

"Let it run into an Iron Tail!" Grey finally declared, berating himself for the delayed command.

The order came just in time; Geodude had succeeded in cornering Pika between itself and a large overhang. The large shadow cast an ominous outlook on all aspects of the battle, dust fogging the air wherever the rock-type rolled.

"Pi Pika-chu," the electric-type consented, turning to face the incoming Geodude.

The idea of being hit by the Geodude's rocky disposition was out of the question - at its current velocity the Pokémon was a powerhouse. Pika crouched nimbly on all fours, and the Geodude's momentum carried it ruthlessly forwards. Grey caught sight of his Pokémon's tail glinting with a metallic sheen just before a resounding grinding sound echoed in the Gym.

Dust settled slowly, revealing Pika scuttling on top of the previously mentioned overhang while Geodude lifted itself shakily from the broken ground. The chafed surface revealed harder soil underneath, fit only for Onix and Steelix to maneuver around in, therefore the rock-type had not been spared any pain from its impact with the hardened tail or the barren ground.

"Geodude, Rock Blast!" Brock yelled sternly, catching sight of the retreating Pikachu high above the Geodude's reach.

"Dude!" the rock-type agreed, hefting a reasonably heavy stone and narrowing its beady black eyes at the electric-type.

"Pika, dodge right!" Grey commanded, a grin adorning his face in spite of himself.

The Pikachu bounded to the right, and the rock exploded into bits of chaparral on the ground some two yards beyond the cliff edge. Grey continued to belt out directions after the Geodude released its ammo, each marginally larger than the last.

"Use it to reach one of those lights, now, Pika!" he finally declared, pointing fiercely to the overhead light sources as one of the last boulders hurtled through the air.

Pika bounded wearily into the air, two-stepping by using the rock to gain momentum. It caught hold of one of the light fixture with its front arms, scrabbling to get a hold with its back legs as well. A final stone collided with the swinging light, and the following electrical sparks dancing around Pikachu's body was all the incentive that Grey needed.

"Thunderbolt that cliff!" he issued, making both Brock and Geodude look at the stolid overhang in confusion.

Well, it had been solid before Pika had strategically made Geodude create multiple cracks in it with its various boulders. Now it was fairly shaky - and hanging right over the rock-type's head.

"No Geodude, move!" Brock cried out, cursing under his breath as the small electric rodent sent a large, crackling bolt of lightning at one of the more visible fissures in the landscape.

The heavily-muscled Geodude scuttled rapidly towards the unshaded parts of the arena, powerful arms swinging it forwards speedily as the artificial thunder flashed brightly overhead. It's eyes widened with surprise as the crumbling section of the cliff collapsed forcefully on top of it, clouding the air in great plumes of dust.

Clinging halfheartedly to the creaking, destroyed light, Pika looked down at the wreckage. For one thing, Brock had some remodeling to do before his next match. The Gym Leader hadn't moved from his position however, waiting placidly until the Pikachu finally dropped lightly onto the top of the mountain of rock and dirt.

Instantly, the heap began to rumble, revealing Geodude's pockmarked and trembling body as it shoved away various shrubble. Grey took one patient step forward, and as soon as the rock-type started to throw one of the broken pieces of the cliff, he intervened. Pika yelped in bewilderment as two hands wrapped around its body and tugged it out of the way, but the Pokémon relaxed as it recognized its trainer.

"I'm finished." he explained to Brock, waving one hand to make sure he had the Leader's attention.

Amidst the slowly fading, smoky dust, Grey sat cross-legged, holding Pika in his lap. His fingertips rested soothingly on the electric-type, and once again healing blue fire flowed silently into his Pokémon. He picked the electrical mouse up and sat it to one side, ears swiveling around curiously as it marveled at its renewed energy, and unclasped Sora's new, polished Pokéball. He repeated the process with the tired, cooing bird until he was satisfied with its status, then turned thoughtfully to Brock.

The Leader had, meanwhile, made his way over to Mike and Taylor, focusing primarily on the older trainer. He raised his Pokéball to withdraw his old, strong Geodude and squinted hard at Grey's prone form as the rock-type dissolved into red energy, swirling as it rematerialized inside the ball.

"What...on earth is he doing?" the Leader asked in a calm but inquisitive voice, eying the maturing boy as he stroked his Pidgey before withdrawing it into its Pokéball.

"Wha-what is he doin', Mr. Mike?" Taylor asked reverently, forgeting not to add on the respectful prefix.

Grey stood up with Pikachu quickly ascending his shoulder, turning to face the group of three boys with a perplexed expression.

"What's happening over there?" he asked in a drained voice, heading over to Mike, Taylor, and the attention-drawing Brock.

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- By crappy voice-actors I assume you're referring to the new ones? Just so you know, they still kinda suck but they've gotten a lot better since the season started.]

BIC-

Mike wasn't completely surprised by Grey's decision to quit. He was the same type of person as Brock, he cared more about the Pokémon than he did about the badges. It was an admirable, selfless trait that Mike wished he had more of, even if he actually did display it. Despite Mike's disappointment at Grey's decision to quit, he was smiling, glad that Grey was such a loving person.

Mike just hoped that Brock would hand him a badge despite Grey quitting. After all, Grey had shown himself to be more than able to beat Brock, especially considering the disadvantage he was in during the battle. Mike wasn't too worried though. He had heard stories of Brock's benevolent ways; and he was one of the few gym-leaders who didn't see the result of the match as a deciding factor for how qualified the trainer was to get a gym-badge.

Brock now approached them. He and Taylor were eying Grey carefully as he healed the two Pokémon. Their questions drew themselves to Mike, who was now placed with a decision: should he tell them Grey's secret? Well, it's not like they haven't noticed the blue flames coming from Grey's fingers... thought Mike, So I guess there's no point in hiding it, regardless of whether Grey might want to keep it quiet.

"Err.. well, basically he can heal Pokémon." said Mike, smiling awkwardly at how ludicrous the statement had sounded. Both Brock and Taylor were looking at him, as if they hadn't heard him and were waiting for the explanation. After a few seconds Taylor frowned.
"Er... Mr, Mr. Mike, you are kidding, right?" asked Taylor nervously, afraid of coming across as arrogant towards the trainer.
"No, I'm not." continued Mike, "He really can heal Pokémon, it's amazing. And he has some special emotional connection to them as well."

Brock looked over his shoulder at Grey before returning to Mike and leaning in a bit closer.
"But this is amazing!" he said in a rather low voice, "How does he do it?"
"Don't ask me. I don't have a clue." replied Mike and smiled. He looked over at Grey, who was now approaching them.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" he said, while nodding towards Grey. "Not that he'll answer you. I asked myself, but I didn't get much of an answer. I don't actually think he knows how he does it..." Brock and Taylor now turned around again to look at Grey, who seemed rather tired all of a sudden.

"What's happening over there?" asked the exhausted trainer, finally settling down on the bench, next to Mike.
"Hey, great battle buddy!" greeted Mike happily, "Not much is happening, really; they saw you heal Sora and Pika and asked me what you were doing... I hope you don't mind me telling them..."
"That was a very good battle, Grey. You have some real skills." said Brock, chiming in to Mike's compliments without letting Grey answer, "I'd like to ask you some stuff about your healing, if you don't mind... But first, I guess you want to know my decision regarding your badge..."

[OOC- In my opinion, Grey should get the badge, but in the end, the decision is up to you.. ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

Remembering the entire purpose of the battle, Grey shot to his feet in some form of respect to the Gym Leader. Brock paused for a few moments to fish around in his back pocket, then winked slyly at the healing trainer.

"...as for it, I can't see anything that should hold you back from going forwards and upwards. I'm sure once you get there, Misty will say the same thing after you beat her." he said benevolently, holding out his hand for Grey to shake.

Surprised in his change of attitude, the trainer tentatively took Brock's tanned hand, a feeble smile adorning his face as the Gym Leader pumped it up and down. When they let go, Grey looked down curiously, bewildered to see a pewter-colored, boulder-shaped badge in the palm of his hand. the trainer looked listlessly at his first badge for a few frozen moments, then a smile broke out over his face. He turned ecstatically to Mike, maneuvering the trinket so that he held it between his thumb and index finger, and showed it to his friend in a necessary way.

"I..I did it! I have my very first badge..." he exclaimed in a hoarse voice, letting go of it willingly when Pika tried to tug it away in its tiny yellow paws.

"Pii?" it asked inquisitively, sniffing the important trinket with bemusement.

Smelling nothing except for Grey's scent, the Pikachu handed it back to the trainer with a disappointed snort, and began to clean one of its ears dismissively. It dawned on Grey that the Pokémon was right - it wasn't the badge, but the feat he had accomplished that proved he was a true trainer. Somehow, that made it better, and he turned cheerfully back to Brock as the Leader waited patiently for him to finish celebrating.

"Well...erm..sir. About my healing-thing," he decidedly began. "I'm pretty sure it was something I was born with, and I can kinda 'link' my mind with Pokémon's. After I do that I can read their emotions - and sometimes their actual thoughts - and channel my healing."

He paused momentarily to let the information sink in, then sighed.
"I'm not sure where the healing comes from...you would be better off asking someone with telekinesis where the energy that gives them mind-power to lift stuff around is."

Brock pondered this for a minute, giving Taylor a chance to reestablish an idol-like worship of Grey along with Mike. The dark-haired teenager scratched his head before sharing a thought.

"Well, Grey, that is a faint idea, but it's better than nothing. I just want to tell you that you might want to watch your back...there are multiple organizations out there that would use those powers for their own cause."

The idea had never occurred to him, but Grey figured he was right. Criminals or thieves with someone who could heal their Pokémon would be big trouble.

"Yes, sir." he replied firmly, nodding as he pinned his first badge on the inside of his jacket.

[OOC - How'dja get an earlier posting-time, daxx? *is curious*]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Hehe, those are the privileges of posting on a Sunday when my schedule's freed up ]

Brock's thoughts had crossed Mike's mind as well. There were a few people out there who would do practically anything to get a hold of Grey's powers. That's partly why Mike had been weary with telling a lot of people about it. He was actually surprised at Grey's expression upon hearing it; he looked taken aback, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. Then again, living a sheltered life in Pallet town might keep you safely tucked away from the darkness of the world.

Mike suddenly felt a bit awkward as he hadn't really congratulated Grey yet. He waited for a good time and then took Grey's hand, but soon extended it into a full hug. As they parted, Mike laughed and gave Grey a good pat on the shoulder.
"Well, I guess it's in order for me to congratulate you as well, buddy!" he proclaimed, "You did great out there!"
"Yeah, Congratulations mr. Grey!" added Taylor, looking up at Grey with wonder in his eyes.

"Now that all the formalities are over, we could maybe have lunch together or something?" suggested Brock. He looked at Mike, "I mean, we could do some catching up, and I have some interesting stories that all of you would enjoy!" Mike immediately agreed to the lunch and then leaned over to Grey.
"He's an amazing cook, by the way." he said, purposely almost too loud for a whisper, leading to Brock blushing and chuckling to himself.
"Well, I am familiar in the culinary arts, boys!" he exclaimed proudly, twirling an imaginary mustache (or pinching imaginary salt; Mike couldn't quite decide).

"He's also an excellent breeder, and he makes his own pokémon food and he loves girls and... and..." continued Taylor, eventually trailing off as everybody turned to stare at him. Seeing as Taylor was from these parts, and how he longed to be a trainer, it was perhaps only natural to view Brock as an idol. Knowing that much about him however, seemed a bit over the top. Eventually though, the whole group, including Taylor started laughing at the myriad of information that had spewed out of the young boy's mouth.

"Yeah, well I guess you know a bit more about me than the average person" chuckled Brock before standing up and beckoning the others to follow him. He jumped elegantly over a few bench-rows, landing on the edge of the now devastated arena floor.
"Hmmm..." he muttered to himself, while passing the rubble on his way to the door, "Gonna have to do some repairs here, it seems." He laughed and opened the front doors to the gym, holding it open for everyone to pass.

Mike had to shield his eyes with the back of his hand as they stepped back into the light of day. It was certainly bright and sunny outside; nothing like the rainy, dreary, greyness of the day before. They all followed Brock on a small path around the gym, eventually leading to a house which was built in to the back.

"You'll have to excuse my brothers and sisters, guys. They tend to get prett..." his sentence was cut short by a deafening explosion! They all turned around, trying to look for traces of it's source. Mike spotted a tower of smoke coming from not too far away. He tugged at Brock's jacket, drawing the gym-leader's attention and pointed to the smoke.
"There!"

"That's where the museum is!" cried Brock, "What's going on here?" As if on a cue, the museums burglar alarm immediately started blazing through the air. Mike looked at Grey, who stared back. Mike could only think of one thing right now: the mysterious people from the day before. They had to be responsible for this!

A few of Brock's siblings popped their heads out of the front door of the house, wodering what was going on, but Brock quickly commanded them to stay inside. Mike didn't waste any time either.
"Come on!" he yelled and started chasing towards the pillar of thick black smoke, hoping that he'd be able to help in some way.

[OOC- Oooh, the excitement's not over yet!!! ;D So anyway, now we've seen Agatha, Brock, TR and eventually we'll meet Misty. This isn't something critical to decide now, but I eventually think we should meet Ash as well - and for that, we probably need to decide what he's done with his life so far. I mean, is he still a trainer, or did he get a more prestigious career? Waddayathink?]

 

[LaenVulpix]

Grey apologetically dropped Pika, who sprang to its feet and followed the threesome of trainers as they headed immediately over to the source of loud, blaring sirens. The noise sliced through everday activities, and maneuvering became temporarily impossible as gawking onlookers crowded outside the smoking museum. Grey grew rapidly impatient with the listless audience, who were clearly not going to try and help.

"Move, everyone!" roared Brock helpfully, and the citizens of Pewter scattered like so many leaves on a windy day.

A grim smile crossed his face at that, and the Gym Leader led Grey and Mike (Taylor had merged in with the singular mass of the crowd) across the ashen, burnt lawn that led to the large building's main entrance. Glass and various debris littered the grass - the shrubs had adopted a sickly, dead texture from whatever blast had occurred. As Mike and Brock headed into the museum, still billowing plumes of dark smoke, Grey faltered and drew to a stop.

Almost without warning, an overwhelming sound...like a heartbeat...thudded in his head. Instinctively he pressed his palms to his temples, swaying unsteadily on his feet. The feeling was an amplified version of how he felt when a Pokémon was injured - it was as if his mind was signaling for him to help out the distressed creature. Now.

He dimly noticed that Mike had hesitated, waiting for his friend while Brock rushed bravely into the building, Pokéball in hand and at the ready. The silver-haired trainer made a shooing gesture with one hand, straightening up tentatively.

"Go on, I have to...to...find something." he said in a voice that emphasized the task's importance. Without waiting to see whether his friend was going to help Brock or try to help him, Grey wheeled around viciously to the right. His head wouldn't stop pounding, not aiding his concentration. If he could just find the hurt Pokémon...

His eyes grew wide at first, then narrowed in a mixture of surprise and anger when he saw the source of his own mental instability. Cornered by a group of prodding children, a young Nidorino bared its teeth in an attempt to scare away its assailants. Burns covered its hide, and one eyes was skewered shut with a long scar marking it out. One boy went so far as to throw a rock at the injured Nidoran evolution, and even though the pebble was batted away, Grey felt his tolerance snap like a brittle twig under pressure.

As a blong-haired girl in a gaudy sundress reached back to throw a Pokéball, the trainer caught hold of her wrist, and promptly snatched the sphere from her startled, loose grip. As the collection of young kids turned to observe the newcomer (who stood taller than them despite his short posture), their mischeivious smiles evaporated.

[OOC - I'll post more on the event after your next post. : I'm out of time, and what Grey does might be affected by whether Mike went to help Brock or stuck with him. *cough*outoftime*cough*]

 

[daxx0r]

[Beware of a super long-ish post ;D]

BIC-

Mike recognized the expression that drew across Grey's face. He had seen it before, when the Pokémon around them had become particularly unsettled. Mike didn't know what pokémon Grey was responding to this time, but he had a clue that he wouldn't be of much help to Grey. Still wanting to do whatever he could to help the situation, Mike instead turned to back to the museum and tried to catch up to Brock.
"We'll be back in a second!" shouted Mike over the sound of the alarms as he entered the building.

Once he had entered, he quickly caught up to Brock who was looking around the front lobby, trying to decide which way to go. The sound of the alarms seemed to be even worse here than on the outside, and it was quite an alarm. Suddenly however, the alarm stopped and the lobby was yet again silent. Though the ringing in their ears continued, Mike and Brock were relieved that most of it was gone.

"It shouldn't shut down by itself." said Brock, while picking a corridor and heading down it, "The burglars must still be here."
They looked at each other and then at the gloomy interior of the corridor ahead of them, eying it suspiciously for any discrepancies that would lead them on a hot trail.

Suddenly, Mike felt as something tugged his left pant-leg. He looked down and saw Charmeleon who was pointing at a room off to the right. It was growling slightly, and Mike quickly signaled to Brock that they should check it out. They carefully inched into the doorway, trying to make themselves as small as possible, so that in case the burglars were still there, they wouldn't be spotted.

What they found weren't burglars, but rather a set of five completely empty display-cases. Brock gasped.
"What? What was in those cases?" inquired Mike in a low tone. They seemed to have contained some quite valuable items, because they were all surrounded by a foot long no-trespassing zone.
"Those cases contained ancient bones and relics from extinct Pokémon!" hissed Brock, obviously quite angered at the situation. Perhaps they were prized Pewter City artifacts or something? thought Mike as he pondered Brock's powerful response to their disappearance.

Then, simply by coincidence of Mike looking in that general direction, he saw a shadow moving in a room to their left.
"Brock!" he whispered, spinning the gym-leader around to where Mike had seen the shadow, "I think I saw something over there..."
Mike pointed to the adjacent room, and Brock nodded in silent agreement, before sneaking closer to the room.

They entered and found ...absolutely nothing. The room looked untouched. In other words, it looked suspicious. Mike, Brock and Charmeleon grouped together, standing side by side in a half-circle so they were fairly protected from every direction.
"Hmmm... this smells like trouble" whispered Mike to the two others, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

Charmeleon suddenly heard a slight, very slight whimpering from behind a large ceramic pot. Mike and Brock however, were oblivious to this noise.
"Yeah.. trouble is right..." added Brock. Now the whimpering grew louder. Both Mike and Brock were now looking straight at the large pot, with mixed thoughts of suspicion and confusion as to what it might be coming from. They now also heard ruffling from the pot.

"Tro... Troub... Oh I can't take it anymore!" came a female voice from the ceramic artifact.
Then, suddenly, two arms stretched out from behind the pot, reaching straight into the air, and music started playing.
"Prepare for trouble!" hollered the woman again, over the sound of the bad tape-recorded orchestra.
"Very well then... Make it double!" came the voice belonging to the other arm. It belonged to a man.

Two figures stepped out from behind the pot in unison, staying far back where they were still enveloped by shadow.
"To protect the world from devastation!" said the woman.
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" continued the man.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

Now the two figures stepped into the light, revealing the faces of two 20ish-year olds. One of them, the woman, had a huge head of bright red-ish pink hair, bending back behind her in a crescent shape. Mike was almost surprised that it didn't give her a back-ache trying to hold it up. The man had blue, short and straight hair, perfectly contrasting the woman. They were both wearing white suits with a big red 'R' on the front and were rather attractive. They also looked utterly narcissistic.

"Jessie!" cheered the woman, taking a step forward
"James..." came the sailing voice of the man, who was suddenly holding a red rose in his mouth which seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" continued Jessie and crossed her arms.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" said James, also crossing his arms. A Meowth now appeared and finished off the cinematic pose, ending it all with "Meowth, that's right!"
Brock was leering angrily at them, and Mike and Charmeleon were simply staring at them, dumbstruck by the performance.

[OOC- Never really liked their revised motto, so I went with the old one. ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - That's a relief. I didn't even know they had an old one. Lol, I bet they're like WTF with Grey and his Pikachu...Ash with silver-hair (and no cruddy voice-actor)!]

BIC-

Grey had to, in fact, resist the temptation to crush the girl's Pokéball beneath his foot as he watched the peppy blond smile blankly up at him.

"I'm fine Mr. Person, I c'n catcha Nidorino alone!" she said in a drawling, country-ish accent, reaching one hand out for the trainer to return the sphere to her.

"Clearly you can't." Grey said calmly, but his eyes had faltered and faded into an icy-silver color. "All you appear to be able to do is take advantage of a Pokémon that had the misfortune of being near a...a.."

He cringed as another bolt of pain lanced through his mind, a mental bellow of pain from the coping Nidorino. Forgetting his lecture, Grey coolly moved the inconsiderate girl out of his way and started cautiously approaching the faded-pink creature.

"Riii -ii- ino!" it warned, making a savage jerk of its head to show Grey its thick horn.

Nearly shocked at his own brave attitude, the trainer reached out one unwavering hand. In turn, the Nidorino locked deep orange eyes with the teenager, analyzing Grey in a way that Grey was coming to adopt himself.

"Nido." it finally snarled, relaxing its legs and falling wearily to the ground.

Instantly one of the boys, a specimen with short, spiked auburn hair, tried to draw another Pokéball. Grey wheeled fiercely to face him and all of the onlooking kids scattered. But not far.

"Damnit..." he cursed under his breath unhappily rolling the metallic orb in his palms, eyes flitting from it, to the helpless Nidorino, and to the foolish trainer-hopefuls.

A firm tap on his pants leg made the trainer glance down at Pikachu, who had a fearless (if impatient) expression in its dancing eyes. The furry mouse-Pokémon smiled at him and pointed at the Nidorino with vigor. If he didn't want everyone in Pallet to know he could heal, then Nidorino would have to accompany him until the crowds died down and he could return it to the forest.

Throwing it up once to consider the issues the deed might create, Grey sighed and tossed the Pokéball at the injured poison-type's strong body. Its eyes watched Grey in the same analyzing way, as if judging the kid's intentions, as it flashed into red light. The Pokéball trembled a bit, but Grey took it securely in his hands and was inside the Pokémon museum before it could stop twitching. He barely had enough time to hear the confirming click of the mechanism when music - rather lame, bad guy music - started playing spontaneously from the other room. His face held a bewildered and confused expression as he stepped hesitantly into the room that was the music's origion.

"Wha-?" he asked, stupefied, as he heard,
"Meowth, that's right!" come from a small tan-colored cat-like Pokémon standing in between two trainers.

"Team Rocket!? What are you doing here?" snapped Brock rather viciously, looking ready to battle. But then he couldn't help but add on. "And you really should get a new song...this one sucks."

"I told you guys that we need a new theme!" The Meowth complained up at them in an unmistakable Celadon-accent.

The two trianers, a long-haired, red-headed woman and a submissive blue-haired man, had caught sight of Grey, and an unreadable expression had dawned on their faces.

[OOC - I figured that Celadon would be the equivalent of New York...big and all, right? And Meowth sounds New-Yorkish to me! ]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- I like that idea! But just so you won't get any funny ideas; Mike does NOT sound like Meowth ]

BIC-

"Team Rocket? The team Rocket?!" asked Mike in a mix of shock and worry. He had never seen a Team Rocket operative, but he had heard stories; robberies, kidnapping, arson... the list could have continued forever, containing everything from petty crimes to felonies. And all of it was perfectly strung together by the hands of some shadowy arch-criminal (no matter how much of a cliché it was); a mastermind named Giovanni of whom nobody but his closest underlings knew where to find.

Mike's shock was almost equally matched by the presence of a talking Meowth. Mike would have deducted that the speaking pokémon was a hoax, maybe played out by using the same cassette player that had erupted the crummy music before. His deductions were however quickly forgotten as he noticed the Pokémon move around on two legs, instead of the usual four. This would have been way too difficult to hoax; especially if it was purely for the cause of good choreography.

Mike's thoughts were quickly interrupted as both of the Team Rocket agents burst out in angry cursing.
"You try to come up with a new motto!!" they yelled, both at Brock and at Meowth.
"And besides, we did do it once, but we thought the old one was better!" continued the blue haired James.
"Would you two quit yappin'?" demanded the Meowth, restoring discipline to the somewhat disorganized, and unprofessional group.

Suddenly they stopped and looked in a hypnotized way, past Mike and Brock, towards the entrance to the room. Mike, Brock and Charmeleon all turned to see what they were looking at and spotted Grey, who was in the doorway.
"Is that...?" started James before falling silent. There was a big pause. Mike kept looking back and forth between Mike and Grey, completely perplexed and trying to figure out what was going on.

"No it's not, you morons. You really haven't changed a bit..." blurted Brock.
"You know these people?!" asked Mike in surprise as Grey joined the two a bit further into the room.
"Yeah; when I was traveling with a good friend of mine, Ash Ketchum, these guys kept bugging us, almost every single day. They were always trying to steal our Pokémon, but they were never too difficult to beat." explained Brock.

Mike and Grey looked at each other. Is he talking about the Ash Ketchum I think he's talking about? pondered Mike. He knew very well who Ash was and he imagined someone like Grey, who was from Pallet town, knew him as well. Ketchum's amazing skills as a trainer were one of the things that always compelled Mike to become a trainer himself. Mike observed Grey. He did actually resemble the famous trainer, especially with the Pikachu he had at his side.

"Are you sure?" asked the blue haired agent. He was clobbered on the head by the red-head, who was obviously quite temperamental.
"Shut up, James!" she hollered, "And thanks to you, twerp..." She paused and pointed at Brock.
"...we got sent to desk duty for so long I can't even remember what a cloud looks like!" she finished.

"We don't care, you old hag!" snapped Mike, regaining focus in the situation and now finally getting over the initial shock of their presentation. Despite the choreography, they were still criminals (and clearly incompetent, harmless ones at that), and Mike hated criminals. He had had a hatred for crime his whole life. He had always wanted to do something about crime; stop it in it's tracks before it managed to hurt anyone, and this might be his chance.
"You won't get away with stealing those fossils!" continued Mike, suddenly cutting his sentance short as he noticed a huge vein throbbing on Jessie's head.

She looked like rage had consumed her body, and Mike, as well as the others (including Meowth and James) backed away slowly from her.
"Did you just call me old?!" demanded Jessie, with fury ringing in her voice, "That's it! Nobody calls me old! Seviper, go!" She slammed her pokéball into the ground, which made such a bang with the impact on the floor that Mike imagined it might have broken in the process.
As the black snake materialized out of the red energy James shrugged and took out a pokéball as well.

"Ugh, why did you have to call her old?" he muttered under his breath. Jessie threw him an evil look which caused him to cower away even more from her.
"All right, Cacnea! Come on out!" he yelled and tossed the ball. A green prickly little pokémon appeared and immediately threw itself into James' arms, causing severe pain to him as it's cactus-like needles dug into his torso. He ripped it off of him, while shrieking like a girl at a rock concert. Mike, yet again in shock of the ludicrous display, eventually drew his eyes off of James and looked down at Charmeleon. They nodded to each other. They were ready for battle. The question was if Team Rocket was ready - even remotely ready.

[OOC- Man... My posts are getting pretty long all of a sudden. Go figure]

 

[LaenVulpix]

Grey slowly stood by Mike's side, figuring out the situation as the conversation progressed. At the mention of Ketchum, he smiled thoughtfully, looking at Pika's determined glare. The Pikachu had reminded him of the legendary trainer's own partner when he first caught it, and apparently he wasn't alone.

"I have silver hair..." he commented in a low voice to Mike, skeptical at the blundering Rockets' mistake.

As soon as Jessie and James drew their Pokéballs, Mike and Charmeleon leaped to action, and Grey grinned knowingly as his eyes flitted to his own snowy-white Charmander. Jessie's eyes followed his own gaze, and she tugged enthusiastically at James's white shirt.

"Owww....huh?" pulling a large spine from his hand, the blue-haired man looked over to Reiu, making three sets of eyes on it.

"If we caught a white Charmander, the boss'd hafta notice us!" Meowth explained to the rather slow James, pointing at the specially colored fire-type. "And we don't hafta bother with another Pikachu!"

The trio nodded in reverent agreement, and then returned to the battle as if Mike, Grey, and Brock hadn't been listening.

"Alright twerps, prepare to see a true trainer!" Jessie scoffed, laughing in a way that Grey imagined could quickly get on your nerves.

"Shaddup and get that Pokémon!" Meowth interrupted, apparently cutting off a long rant.

"Why're you always so bossy?" James grumbled, turning grudgingly to the silver-haired trainer. "Cacnea, use Pin Missile!"

The stubby, long-armed grass-type nodded cheerily and began to fling its arms in swooping motions at Reiu. Thick green spikes shot threw the air, only to be dismissively dissolved by Reiu's fiery breath. The fire-lizard grinned cockily and inhaled, expelling a large Flamethrower attack at the ill-fated Cacnea. Squalling, the grass-type jumped into James's arms.

Grey blinked cluelessly, wondering how a trainer could be so careless.

"Erm?" he stuttered, not sure if he wanted to order an attack when Reiu could injure the trainer as well.

"You dolt!" snapped Jessie, confronting Mike.

Oh, hell with it... Grey thought with a sigh.

"Reiu, Slash!" he commanded, watching Reiu chase around the agonized James while slashing fiercely.

Finally the Cacnea worked up enough courage to release its unfortunate owner, cutting the Charmander shallowly across the face before the Pokémon batted it aside with a Slash attack. The cactus-like Pokémon lie twitching on the expensive marble floor, out for the count. Reiu seemed troubled by something, shivering and holding its bleeding cheek.

"Char...char..." it murmured, looking to Grey.

The trainer flipped out his Pokédex in an instant, identifying the problem. Running over to his Charmander while pocketing the red device, he knelt by the woozy Pokémon. Rummaging hurriedly in his shoulder-pack, he withdrew a small blue squirt bottle, and sprayed the fluid onto Reiu's wound, working the trigger a few times until the small bottle was empty.

The cut was still their, but the Antidote took effect, cleansing the fire-type's blood of the slowly-spreading poison. Satisfied, Grey stood up and closed his pack. James was tentatively poking Cacnea to see if it would get up, looking apologetic, and Jessie was squaring off with Mike. Meowth sighed in frustration at James and finally took the dim-witted trainer's Pokéball and withdrew the grass-type.

"You got others, right? Use 'em!" it snapped, pointing frantically at Grey.

[OOC - Sorry for quality. I hadta write a drab essay today, and I suppose it sapped my writing-enthusiasm. :-\]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- I know what you mean... I had to write one not too long ago, myself]

BIC-

Mike had been observing Grey's "battle" against James out of the corner of his eye for a while, but now Jessie drew him back to the reality of his own battle.
"Seviper! Teach that twerp a lesson! Poison sting!" commanded the still furious red-head.
"Dodge it!" yelled Mike just in time to get Charmeleon to move out of the way. Mike too, had to jump aside as the attack had been evenly distributed between the two of them.

"Hey! You can't attack me as well!" snapped Mike, while pointing a blaming finger at Jessie. She clenched her fist and took a confident step forward.
"I can do whatever I want, and I'd like to see you do anything about it, little boy." she hissed. Mike looked down at Charmeleon and then returned his eyes to Jessie.
"Well, if you're going to play by those rules, I will too!" he said in a calm but determined voice.

"All right! Charmeleon, use flamethrower - on both of them!" ordered Mike. Charmeleon hesitated, for just a second, and looked up at Mike with an expression of uncertainty. Mike responded with a similar look and even if no words were uttered, they both came to a mutual decision to focus the attack on the pokémon. They didn't want to hurt Jessie, even if she was the enemy.

The flames raged towards Jessie and Seviper, and both of them shrieked as the flames drew nearer. The Seviper was caught completely off guard, receiving a full frontal collision with the wall of fire. Jessie however, did have time to react, and thought it better to save her own skin than that of her Pokémon. She dove towards the ground, slipped, and fell flat on her face.

"Ugh! My beautiful visage is ruined!" she screeched, quickly grasping her hurting face before turning all red with frustration, "Seviper! Wrap around Charmeleon!" The snake leaped into action, despite being pretty badly burned. It quickly coiled itself around the fire-type and hissed angrily at Mike. The red lizard struggled, but couldn't quite break free.

"Hahahaha! Now who's in charge?" toyed Jessie, completely overconfident in her victory. Mike wasn't quite as convinced of her winning the battle, but instead of wasting his time arguing with her, he simply ignored Jessie and put his words to better use:
"Charmeleon! Bite Seviper!" he yelled spontaneously. It certainly wasn't a textbook attack; at least not for a Charmeleon, but with it's entire body constricted by the huge serpent, Mike didn't see what else to do. Charmeleon did what it was told, but sadly it seemed to have no effect. Seviper's skin was simply too tough (or it's pain barrier was too high).

Suddenly Mike got a better idea. He smiled at Jessie in a maniacal way and then looked down at his friend, still struggling against the Seviper's powerful body.
"Charmeleon! Burn it with your tail-flame!" Despite the strong grip that the snake had on Charmeleon, it couldn't possibly restrict the tail without burning itself. Ironically, this was the one thing that allowed Charmeleon to burn the Seviper. It hissed a warning to Charmeleon, who responded with a growl. Then it quickly moved the tip of it's tail as closely to Seviper's body as possible. The fire gave an effect immediately, causing the big snake to release it's bait and rush back to Jessie.

"All right, now give them another flamethrower!" ordered Mike. Charmeleon launched into the attack, finally releasing the scorching flames from it's mouth and spewing them out at high speed towards Jessie and Seviper. The black snake looked petrified at the flames and jumped back a few feet, while Jessie stood her ground. Is she insane? thought Mike, until he saw what was behind Jessie. The Rocket-agent turned and reached behind her for a large bag, containing all sorts of things they had stolen from the museum.

"Mike! Watch it! Those might break if they're exposed to the flames." cried Brock, who until now had remained rather inactive, seeing if the two trainers could handle this by themselves. Mike gasped as he realized the damage the flames might cause. He saw images of shattered pots, ancient tools and fossils scattered around him, and a feeling of panic drew over him.
"STOP!!!" he cried to Charmeleon, who immediately seized the attack.

Jessie smiled and called for Meowth's and James' attention. She then hurled a few of the priceless artifacts at them. James shrieked as he saw the flying artifacts but actually managed to catch them before they shattered on the floor. He then handed one of them to Meowth and smiled as he realized the reason for Jessie's sudden action.
"I guess the battle ends here, losers!" yelled Jessie as Brock, Grey and Mike stood silently, looking at each other for clues of what to do next.

 

[LaenVulpix]

Grey signaled angrily for Charmander to return, making no remarks but settling for giving the Team Rocket flunkies a petrifying glare. He needed to get someplace safe to heal Nidorino, and Brock had just finished warning him not to let any organizations know of his abilities. His mind raked over Charmander and Pikachu's skills, but neither knew an attack that could allow them to successfully retrieve the delicate antiques from Jessie, James, and Meowth's hands (or paws).

"Pii..." Pika growled, taking a disliking to the strange trio.

Charmander bared one glistening fang in agreement, making it clear that it had no intention of letting them capture it. The situation was frozen temporarily, while Jessie seemed to be debating the importance of stealing Reiu from the uncooperative (obviously) trainer.

"Ah, forget 'em for now. They ain't such big guys, and once we show these here fossils to 'da boss, we're sure to get a promotion!" Meowth prompted, keeping a intelligently firm grip on its artifact - a shimmering piece of what Grey took to be amber from a tree.

"Not like we can go any lower..." James added gloomily, having taken more damage than his Cacnea.

"That can't happen!" hissed Brock over to the two younger trainers. "This museum is Pewter's main attraction!"

This information stunned Grey, who hadn't even heard of the large building until a few minutes ago. He looked over to Mike, and was embarrassed to see that the older boy showed no surprise.

The silver-haired boy's eyes locked with Mike's, and he started to whisper until he realized the entire group was in too close quarters for any speech to go by unheard. Damnit! he cursed, reaching out cautiously for his friend's mind instead. The tendril of energy symbolizing his friend merely reflected the teenager's irritation and anxiety at first, and it took Grey a moment of hesitant searching until he felt Mike's current thought.

Mike!? Can you hear me? If you can, I want you to attack Jessie with Charmeleon... try to get her to drop that artifact, and I can tell Pika to catch it. It's already used Agility...

Waiting to see if the message had gone through, Grey watched for some outward sign of acknowledgement from Mike. It had been short work to link his mind with Pika's and to relay a mental image of it using Agility, and then making sure none of the objects clenched in the Rockets' hands broke on the unforgiving marble floor. The electrical mouse watched Mike just as expectantly, crouched low to the ground.

"What do you mean you never make any decisions? If you did we'd be in jail or fired by now, doofus!" Jessie screamed impishly, eyebrows furrowed in anger as the entire Rocket trio argued.

Apparently, they were too confident in their safety...if only Grey and Mike could take advantage of it.

[OOC - Yesh, the underlined shtuff is his attempts and mind-speech-y stuff. ??? yeah...mind-speechy-stuff...*cough*]

 

[daxx0r]

Mike suddenly felt weird. He felt almost like he had done back in the forest while Grey was trying to heal him. He gripped his forehead as the feeling spread throughout his head. Grey? Mike asked silently, carefully trying to see if the trainer had a lock on his mind again, Is that you?

Mike!? The voice broke through Mike's mind, ringing loudly in his head before quickly fading away. It was definitely Grey. Can... ...hear me?
The voice was gaining clarity and seemed to be stabilizing some sort of connection with Mike. Soon it was coming across as clear as if Grey had actually uttered the words. As soon as he received the end of the message, Mike turned to Grey who was looking at him, waiting for a reply (and also to Pika, once he noticed that it too, was looking at him) and nodded discreetly.

Well, I'm not going to use fire since it risks burning those artifacts, thought Mike. After all, fire tended to be rather unpredictable. I'll show them the last attack they'd ever expect. Mike was about to use the ace he always kept tucked away in his sleeve. Despite it's appearance, Charmeleon was not a normal pokémon. It had an ability that gave it a great advantage in many situations: It was fast; very fast.
"Charmeleon! Quick-attack Jessie!" he commanded. The Charmeleon raced across the room towards Jessie, making her drop the valuable artifact while she took a dive to dodge the attack.

The whole room seemed to cry out in surprise at the speedy attack. Mike wasn't the type to show off his secrets, but using it fitted perfectly to the situation. Mike looked at Grey and grinned. He imagined Grey wasn't prepared to see something like this; especially now, after they had been friends for several days. After all, Mike knew about Grey's special abilities at this point.
Hehe, you're not the only one here who's got secrets, my friend, he thought before returning his eyes to the action.

Pika didn't need any verbal orders from Grey; it acted instinctively as Charmeleon began it's attack. Just before the artifact, an ancient vase, shattered on the floor, the Pikachu's outstretched arms managed to catch it. It landed flat on it's stomach, sighing in relief as the precious porcelain piece finally was safe. The Pikachu scurried back to Grey, leaving the stunned Team Rocket behind.

"You still think you're in charge?" asked Brock, masking his surprise at both the Charmeleon and the recovery of the vase itself. He had had no knowledge of the planned attack, and took it for being spontaneous, and thus in his eyes, remarkably skilled.

James whimpered slightly, realizing that they were heading down the familiar path towards defeat again. Jessie felt the same way, but refused to give in just yet.
"How did you do that?!" she bellowed, "I demand an explanation!" She pointed angrily at the group.
"It's quite simple really," answered Brock confidently, even if he himself wasn't too sure of how Mike and Grey had managed to coordinate it, "We outsmarted you three clowns." Jessie's vein, which had temporarily disappeared, suddenly re-appeared. There was simply no way of calming her down, it seemed. The "old"-comment that Mike had blurted out before was still having it's effects, although indirectly now.

Meowth and James had meanwhile been huddled together, whispering. They were obviously discussing Charmeleon, since they frequently stopped their whispering to look at it. Then suddenly, James stood back up, and leaned over to Jessie. The whispering continued, and with every sentance that was picked up by Jessie's ears, her vein and red color disappeared, soon to be replaced with an evil grin.

"What are you whispering about!?" demanded Mike angrily, confused by Team Rocket's lack of attention for them. They all turned to face him, now making Mike feel like he had too much attention.
"We've decided to forget about these old pieces of junk, and instead go for your two fire-types there!" proclaimed James. Team Rocket then subsequently tossed the artifacts into the air, sending Brock, Mike and Grey diving for them.

Mike leaped toward a large stone with several fossils inside, as it flew from James' hands. He missed it completely, but it thankfully landed on top of him, thus receiving enough cushioning to stop the precious stone from breaking. Meowth had tossed two small bones, each of them fossilized and ready to fall apart. Grey and Brock managed to catch them at the peak of their trajectory. The three of them then carefully placed the objects on the ground before turning to Jessie, James and Meowth.

"What do you mean, you're 'going for our two fire-types'?" demanded Mike.
"We were just discussing it actually," said Meowth matter-of-factedly, "and we decided that the boss would probably prefer two special fire-type pokémon of the same evolutionary family, than a bunch of pottery."
"With that Charmander's color, and that Charmeleon's speed" continued James giddily, "the boss will have to promote us right away!"

[OOC- Sorry for the crummy post. It just felt like I couldn't get it right today... Oh and I hope you don't mind me autoing Pika and Grey as they dove for the artifacts...]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC- Not at all...would've been one heck of a short post otherwise... I've been totaling a topic that the staff has today, in other news. *sigh* Oh well, I reckon mistakes (two in a row, hooray) happen. :-\ On with the RP!]

BIC-

Grey frowned openly in surprise at Charmeleon's manuverability. The fire-type had shot at Jessie like a bolt of lightning, and the Pokémon's speed had shaken him a bit. If Mike had hidden such an important ability like that, he felt a bit of his old insecurity creep back in. He had been a bit too open and reliant on his new friend, apparently.

"If you can't get away with a few pieces of of pottery, how to do expect to successfully beat us in battle, then get away with two fire-types? Both stronger than any of your Pokémon, apparently." Grey asked inquisitively, the words forming and asking themselves.

As far as the trainer was concerned, he hadn't said anything. His eyes were troubled and thoughtful - such uneasiness and insecurity that came from his lonely days in Pallet were trying to overrule Mike's actions. We ARE still rivaling trainers after all... a part of him spoke, while another reminded him that he had been performing all his best stunts right where Mike could note them.

Team Rocket seemed to take Grey's doubtful expression as fear, namely of them, and Jessie pointed accusingly at him, ignoring his mockery.

"Maybe if you give us your Pokémon now, then we won't have any more trouble," she scoffed, blind to her previous loss against the agile Charmeleon. James' expression wasn't so confident as he eyed Brock, associating him with their unlucky days with Ash.

Grey cursed rather spontaneously, and one hand went up to hold his aching head. If the varying pulses of pain, all without warning, didn't stop soon, he wouldn't be much more than a burden in battle. Thinking of this, Grey's eyes ticked rather expressionalessly to Mike.

"Can we just...hurry and get out of here?" he asked tightly, silently calling every curse he knew at the trio of ignorant, dream-filled Rockets that were drawing out the Nidorino's (and therefore his) pain.

"What's with you, champ? Worried now that we're all going for your precious Charmander?" Meowth wrongly guessed, his accent stronger than ever.

"Reiu, Flamethrower!" he said abruptly, fighting for his feet now. Whatever burns were digging into Nidorino, the wounds didn't appreciate not being tended to.

I hafta stand now. Brock could take over...and...he and Mike could beat them, but...damnit, I WANT to help! he thought hazily, keeping his eyes clear as Reiu exhaled a breath of greedy, growing flames from its mouth. The cat-like Meowth yelped in surprise as the fire attack washed over him, running to Jessie and James in irritated panic.

"Don't just sand there, get 'em!" he cried, pointing one stubby finger at the attacking fire-type.

"R-right!" James said with a determined nod, pulling another Pokéball from his belt.

[OOC - Due to my lack of anime-knowledge, I'll stop here. I don't know what's wrong with my posting recently. Hmm...maybe I just need to get another picture colored. ]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Well, if you ever need a reason to start watching the anime again - there it is You won't believe this, but I accidentally just killed about 30 lines of post *throws out the delete button*]

BIC-

James' pokéball was hurled into the air, spinning quickly before landing on the ground, opening up and releasing a Chimecho.
"Go Chimech... wait!" he yelled. Suddenly everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. He awkwardly walked over to Chimecho and picked it up, carrying it back to Jessie and Meowth.
"I'm sorry, I just can't let anything bad happen to my Chimey..." explained James as he carefully lifted it above his head, where it latched onto him, wrapping it's flat rectangular tail around him like a living headband.

As Mike looked at them, he couldn't help but feel sorry for James. It didn't seem as if he really belonged in the harsh life that Jessie and Meowth were living. His relationship with his pokémon just seemed too ...loving, for it to belong to a criminal. Jessie on the other hand, who was now arguing with James about the Chimecho, seemed much more like a criminal. She seemed quite heartless and cruel (though Mike still believed on some deep level she too had a heart).

Next, Mike turned his attention to Grey who seemed to be in pretty bad shape. He didn't even look as if he could stay upright for much longer. Mike looked down at the Nidorino Grey was carrying in his arms and put two and two together. He must be feeling what that Nidorino is feeling thought Mike, It's amazing that he doesn't cave in and heal it in front of them... I'm glad he's holding together. Still, we'd better finish this as soon as possible; I don't know how much more he can handle

Jessie leered at James and the Chimecho before turning back to the opposing trio.
"I guess I'm going to have to do this myself" she grunted, "But when this is over, it's time we had a 'talk' about your Chimecho, James."
She reached into her pocket and removed another Pokéball. She flung it into the air, and released her faithful Dustox.
"Dustox!" it exclaimed as it materialized. The green wings flapped vigorously, ripping up dust from the floor.

"Dustox, go! Use gust attack!" commanded Jessie. The Purple bug immediately started flapping it's wings even more powerfully, creating a devastating wind that forced everyone else to grab onto something for support. Mike shielded his eyes from the wind with the palm of his hand. The wind picked up even more in strength, becoming down-right dangerous because of the enclosed overhead environment.

"Charmeleon! Ember it!" yelled Mike over the sound of the roaring gust. Charmeleon started spewing out tiny flames, similar to raindrops, towards the flying bug, lighting up the room as if it was filled with fireflies. Sadly, most of them went off course due to the powerful winds, making the gust-attack even more harmful. However, a few of them did hit; and they were enough to stop the bug-type's attack. The Dustox yelped in pain as it retreated to safer ground, finally ending the windy attack.

 

[LaenVulpix]

[ OOC - Amusing that I killed about 50 lines of post...two times in a row...after you did. I'm sorry I didn't get the post up before you left, but the second time was about two hours ago...it kinda kills my enthusiasm to see a detailed post shut down because Firefox decides to close. Sorry...I'll try to re-create the nice, descriptive post anyways.]

BIC-

Grey took immediate advantage of Dustox's disorientation, signaling for Pika to finish off the wide-winged bug. A mere image of the Pokémon's Thundershock attack was sufficient to get the trainer's point across - the Pikachu nodded bravely and lunged at the recovering Dustox.

"Oh no ya' don't!"

In a display of his cat-like reflexes, Meowth tackled Pika out of the air, sending the both of them sliding across the slick marble floor. The tan Pokémon rolled a few times before springing to his feet, claws extended, guarding Pika from interfering. The small yellow Pikachu stood up on its own two legs, keeping Meowth on eye level. Grey realized that Meowth really had seen countless plans ruined by a Pikachu's assaults, and had thus kept an eye on the similar electrical mouse.

"Good work Meowth!" Jessie scoffed, turning to see the talking Meowth blocking Pika from electrocuting the prone Dustox. "Too bad, so sad, huh twerps?"

Grey ignored her newfound disdain, sharing a look of confidence with Reiu. The white Charmander had a toothy, intelligent grin on its mouth. The trainer had no doubt that his fire-type wanted back into the action after seeing Charmeleon's table-turning maneuver.

"...but as you can see, we've been through much more than-"

"Reiu, Fire Spin!"

The silver-haired trainer's voice was lost in Jessie's overconfident rant, and the two males of Team Rocket shared a dismayed glance as Grey's Charmander drew in a deep breath. The fire-type expelled a rope-like wave of fire - fire that coiled unwaveringly around the woman's helpless Dustox in an instant.

"Wha? Hey!" Jessie exclaimed, waving her arms in the air while directing her harsh words at Dustox.
"Why didn't you dodge it, you dumb Pokémon!" she screamed, glowering icily at Reiu's smirk.

Wings immobilized, the bug-type crashed to the floor like an unimpeded stone, where its coils of flame scorched the clean white marble until it was a foggy grey.

"Dusss...Dust dust!" the frantic Dustox whimpered in a humming voice, fluttering listlessly on the ground. Grey's heart went out to the poorly-commanded Pokémon.

"Oh return," Jessie snapped dismissively, withdrawing the green-winged moth even as she plucked an identical sphere from her belt.

No way! Grey thought irritably, his knees nearly buckling in frustration and weariness. How many Pokémon did she have? As if by some heavenly luck, a blaring voice overode any speech the red-head might have been preparing.

"THEIVES, THIS IS OFFICER JENNY! WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED, SO COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" announced the amplified voice of a female.

Her upraised Pokéball dropped as the female Rocket exchanged looks of fear and agreement with Meowth and James. Naturally Meowth received a painful jolt of electricity from the irritated Pikachu when he was distracted, but the cat-like Pokémon shook it off and ran over to his team members.

"You got lucky this time, twerps, but we'll be back!" Jessie declared, pointing fiercely at Grey and Mike's relieved faces. "Meowth, hurry up!"

On cue, Meowth pulled a small button out of...well...nowhere...and rammed it with one fisted paw. The button issued a single beep, and the entire trio dove comically out of one of the museum's broken windows and onto the scorched and destroyed front lawn. The three trainers inside could barely make out the amusing scene as Jessie, James, and Meowth clung to what looked like a rope dangling from a Meowth-shaped hot-air balloon.

Oh well... Grey thought dismally, fumbling for Nidorino's temporary Pokéball like a drunk man. The small red-and-white orb seemed to evade his fingers, and it was a relief when his fingertips closed around its metallic surface. He dropped the ball onto the floor unenthusiastically, but nearly threw himself on the agonized Nidorino as it materialized on the battle-worn floor.

He linked their minds cautiously thanks to the healing-event with Mike, but did it impatiently. As soon as he allowed the healing energy to flow, he could tell (dimly) that the deceptively fire-like energy was washing over Brock, Mike, and the collection of Pokémon in the room. He dismissed it as unimportant. The energy was self-sustaining, and would recharge itself as long as he didn't use it all.

As its vicious burn-marks and wounds melted away eerily, the faded-purple Pokémon bleated with renewed vigor. Its large ears swiveled in delight and with plenty of energy as it sought out the other human occupants of the room and studied them considerately. The Nidorino exchanged a challenging glare with Charmeleon before sniffing Grey's relaxed body in curiosity.

All better! Grey thought giddily, panning over his mind for any residual pain. He felt as revitalized as the enlightened Nidorino in front of him, and a smile bloomed on his face.

"That took forever!" he thought out loud, standing up with some effort.

"Pii pika!" Pika agreed, magically appearing at his side with a smile.

Reiu seemed ill, and Grey saw it as soon as he looked at the Charmander. It had a distracted frown on its face, and its dancing blue tail would grow bigger in bursts, then fade back to its original size.

"Reiu?" he asked uncertainly - as if responding to his voice, the small (at least three inches smaller than normal) fire-type was covered in white light.

[OOC - I hafta eat, but I was going to make Reiu evolve. You can do the honors, but when it changes to a Charmeleon, it has two black tiger-ish stripes - one on its left cheek, and on on its right forearm. Sorry again for the delayed post. :-\]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- No problem, my friend! Don't worry about it - And thank you for giving me the honor of evolving Reiu *bows* - And long-post warning ]

BIC-

The Charmander lit up the room, glowing in a magnificent pearly white. Suddenly it started changing shape; it's body grew larger, it's arms grew more massive (especially the forearms), and it's tail lengthened. Then it's legs grew longer, lifting it higher off the ground and it's snout elongated. It was shifting it's stance so it leaned slightly forward, as the more powerful body and higher center of gravity made it impossible to stand perfectly upright. To finish it all off, the three trainers watched as Reiu grew a single horn on it's head.

The shimmering white light which surrounded it now slowly faded away, leaving a Charmeleon in the Charmander's place. As expected it was snowy white and had a blue flame, just like when it had been a Charmander. However, after a few seconds of observing it, both Mike and Grey noticed, almost simultaneously, two elegant, black stripes on the Pokémon. One of them was stretched across Reiu's left cheek, giving it quite a mean appearance. The other stripe coated it's right forearm; similar to the cheek-stripe, only slightly bigger.

"Charmeleon," it proclaimed, proudly displaying it's new form. Mike's Charmeleon now approached, smiling at it's friend. It stretched out it's three-clawed paw and looked at Reiu sharply, sizing it up. Reiu responded by extending it's claw and shaking it with Charmeleon's. They both started chatting excitingly with each other.

Mike figured that the two fire-types were discussing evolution. Mike wondered curiously about what it was like to evolve. The process itself seemed quite enjoyable, but what was it like to adjust to life as a Charmeleon, when you had lived your whole life as a Charmander?
I guess those are questions mankind was never meant to find the answer to, thought Mike gloomily. He looked at Grey, who was also observing the Pokémon's conversation.

"Congratulations on evolving, Reiu!" said Brock who had remained quite silent until now. He then nudged Mike who also congratulated the Pokémon, smiling at it happily. Mike then discreetly waved at Charmeleon to call his attention. Charmeleon noticed the wave immediately and quickly excused itself from Reiu, heading over to it's trainer. Mike then led Charmeleon and Brock towards the entrance to the room.

"We should probably let them catch up for a bit, guys" whispered Mike to the two and proceeded closer to the doorway.
"Grey, we'll go and handle things with Jenny!" shouted Mike across the room.
"Yeah, you can catch up for a while while I get a date... err.. we talk to the police about this incident." continued Brock, already going mad over meeting another Jenny.

They had only managed to go a few feet into the hallway when they were met by the police. Several officers with flashlights, guns and police Growlithe approached them, checking every dark corner of the museum for suspects and sealing the place off with yellow police tape before stopping at Mike and Brock, keeping them at gun point.

Suddenly the leader of them, officer Jenny wormed her way through the crowd, approached them and took Mike by the collar.
"Alright you thieves! What did you steal?!" she demanded.
"Woah! Wait, we didn't steal anything! It was Team Rocket!!" exclaimed Mike, slightly shocked and slightly angered by the accusation.
"Oh yeah? Well where is this 'Team Rocket', then?" she continued, still not letting go of Mike.
"They left, in a Meowth-shaped balloon!"
"Do you expect me to believe that?" she asked angrily. Suddenly, Brock chimed in cutting Jenny short, just before she was about to slap some handcuffs on the two of them

"Jenny, we haven't stolen anything..." Brock frowned. He couldn't keep it in any longer. He started bubbling and threw himself down on one knee, grabbing one of Jenny's hands and holding it graciously.
"...But you have certainly stolen my heart!" he cried poetically. The entire police squad, Mike and Jenny were speechless, but eventually, at least Jenny regained her composure and removed her hand from Brock's loving embrace.

"Alright, that does it!" she exclaimed and removed a pair of handcuffs from her belt, before yet again being interrupted, this time by a police officer who barged into the room, yelling something into a walkie-talkie.
"Jenny, they've just spotted a Meowth balloon containing three Team Rocket operatives heading towards the outskirts of town" he yelled, trying to catch his breath between the words.
"What?" exclaimed Jenny in surprise. Mike was about to say "I told you so", but didn't have time to do so as Jenny and 90% of the officers rushed out of the room. Jenny poked her head back in momentarily.
"Sorry 'bout the mix up, guys!" she laughed awkwardly, "Anyway, we're going after the balloon. If you have any questions, please ask the officers that will be staying here. Oh, and could you please come by the station later for a report?"

She disappeared behind a corner, yelling "All right, MOVE it!" to anyone who was in her way. The whole thing was over quicker than it had started. Mike looked back at Brock, who was drooling on the floor.
"She's the prettiest one of them all..." he mumbled. Mike smacked himself on the face in disbelief. How can he possibly tell them apart? he thought while eying the still love-sick Brock.
"You think I have a chance with her?" he asked Mike, grinning in a would-be handsome way. Mike smacked himself in the face again.

 

[LaenVulpix]

Grey approached Reiu's new figure tentatively, Mike's words passing through one ear and out the other in a dreamy way. The two noble Arcanine-like stripes dashed across its face and arm gave the Charmeleon a more intimidating appearance when coupled with its gleaming, smiling fangs, but the trainer only saw his friend.

"Look at you!" he exclaimed in a bare whisper when Mike and Brock had gone.

Reiu offered him a proud smirk, revealing a row of powerful carnivore teeth. Its swaggering blue tail-flame danced and flared with new life, and the cheery gleam in the Charmeleon's eyes had amplified as well, suggesting a new, outgoing side of the fire-type.

"Charrrmeleon!" it announced, satisfied with its new condition.

Deep in his mind, Grey wondered if Reiu hadn't evolved to show it was as good as Mike's partner. It certainly would've fit the white Charmander's personality. The trainer rummaged in the front flap of his shoulder pack until he pulled out his Pokédex. The device blipped in a congratulatory manner as he opened it, replaying Reiu's unique image.

Lv. 16: Reiu
Charmeleon - Flame Pokémon
Height - 3'03''
Weight - 39.7 lbs

Nothing important, but seeing the new entry in the device made Grey's heart skip a beat anyways. He laughed when the newly evolved Charmeleon reached for the red Pokédex and snorted curiously at its own striped face, and took Reiu's large, clawed hand in his own.

"Congratulations, Reiu!" he said firmly, shaking the fire-type's claw up and down heartily.

"Char-meeeeleon!" it agreed, handing back the information-keeping item.

For the first time, Grey noticed a whimsy voice from the museum's main entrance. Sharing a glance with Reiu, he headed for the main display room.

Brock seemed completely blithering, and was looking hopefully at Mike's skeptical face.

"You think I have a chance with her?" the brunette was asking eagerly, a lovestruck expression etched on his face.

"With who?" Grey asked inquisitively, inserting himself into the conversation, Reiu's standing proudly by his side.

 

[daxx0r]

Mike turned around, brought back to reality by Grey and Reiu's sudden appearence.
"Officer Jenny..." moaned Mike, "Brock has serious love issues." After recieving a clueless expression from Grey and the white Charmeleon, he shrugged and dragged Brock back to his feet after he had fallen down.
"You'll see what I mean soon enough." he continued, "She wants us to come down to the station and answer some questions later."

Brock slowly snapped out of his Jenny-induced state of hypnosis and regained his proud stance.
"Well, we'll just see who's knees buckle, when I turn on the old 'Brock Charm'" giggled the gym-leader. He brushed some dirt off of his pants and the turned to the two trainers before him.
"Let's have lunch now," he suggested, "That's what we were doing before we got dragged into this whole mess anyway. And Jenny probably won't be back at the station for some time, so there's no use going there."

Mike was taken aback by Brock's sudden attitude towards the whole situation. Now he was acting like the Team Rocket encounter had never happened. Then again, Brock did say he had had a lot of encounters with those guys, thought Mike, Maybe he's just gotten so used to this that it's part of his everyday life... As he thought more about it he also realized: what else was there to do? Stay around in the museum and look proud of their victory?

They headed out the front doors to the museum, being greeted by a bright sun and a large crowd. It seemed as if everyone wanted to know what had been going on inside, but now thanks to the police tape everywhere, it was at least possible to move through the masses of people without being trampled. Mike noticed Taylor in the front of the crowded mass, waving towards Mike and Grey. He then disappeared from view, into the sea of people and reappeared in front of the trio, outside the crowd.

Taylor stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed Reiu and cautiously approached them.
"Hi! Did... did your Reiu evolve, Mr. Grey?" asked the boy shyly, quickly regretting that he opened his mouth to state the obvious. Not waiting for an answer he approached the Charmeleon and looked it over, particularly interested in it's black stripes.
"What happened in there?" asked Taylor inquisitevely, momentarily looking up from his examination of Reiu.

In the background, Aevin was also examining the white fire-type from a distance. He was beginning to reconsider his plan of challenging Mike. That strange white Pokémon might be more fun to battle against. For now though, he was happy with being a spectator. It gave him the chance to size up the two trainers slighlty more.

He still couldn't believe that his little brother was hanging out with those trainers. They were too good for the little brat. And the way Taylor was stumbling over himself because he was so afraid of saying something wrong - all he was good at was embarrassing himself, and Aevin too, for that matter.

"We ran into Team Rocket!" answered Mike excitingly, "We're heading back to Brock's place for lunch. We could tell you more about it there... I mean, unless you object?" he looked at Brock for a reply. Brock smiled warmly at Taylor.
"Of course not! You'll love my 'Brock's surprise'!" he exclaimed happily and charged on towards his house.

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - Sorry...I have the flu, and I only just decided to attempt a post anyways. Sorry for the delay, Dax. :-\]

BIC-

Grey studied Nidorino's Pokéball with a distracted expression, and looked up at Taylor with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, I imagine all of us can explain everything at Brock's house." he suggested, following after Mike at a leisurely pace.

The crowd dispersed to either side of them as the small entourage trekked back towards the Gym Leader's house, watching the group of trainers with reverent curiosity. Taylor seemed strongly self-conscious of the eyes upon them, and his expression said that he wasn't sure whether to be proud or nervous.

Cracking open his door, Brock made shooing motions to the numerous siblings that tried to get a glimpse at the small group of curious Pewter citizens. Grey caught various shades of brown, spikey hair before the collection at the house's entrance scattered.

"Come on in!" Brock said extravagantly, grabbing Mike's wrist and tugging him inside as if the boy was resisting.

Still thinking of the wild Nidorino he was holding onto for the time, Grey pursued, followed by Taylor. Perched quietly in a tree to get a good view of the proceedings, Aevin felt a twitch of jealousy at his younger brother. For some reason the shy, awkward boy always seemed to get in on interesting events - leaving him to act as if he didn't care.

[OOC - Really short, but I'm fairly sleepy. *is drugged*]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- That's terrible, Firefox; I hope you start feeling better soon! Don't worry about the delay or the shortness of your post. I know what it feels like to have the flu and it's not easy to do anything.]

BIC-

Brock's siblings swarmed around the trainers and he constantly had to shoo them away. As soon as he gotten one away, another one appeared, either to ask Brock for something, or to get a better look at Mike, Grey and Taylor. Eventually, the group managed to shake off Brock's relatives and made it into his kitchen; settling down at a large dinner table. Brock however, made his way over to the stove and started cooking up the 'Brock's surprise'.

Mike had felt that something was a bit off about Brock's home, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked around the room. It looked normal enough, and even if there were more kids than you'd usually find in a house, there was nothing particularly strange about it. That's when it hit him - Where were Brock's parents? He wasn't sure if it was a proper question to ask, in case there were none; but he thought Brock might have an understanding for the question anyway.

"So, er... Brock, I don't mean to be intrusive or anything, but don't you have any parents? I mean you seem to be taking care of the household in a pretty self-sufficient way..." inquired Mike. Brock turned around, thankfully with a kind expression on his face.
"No, you're not intrusive at all." he answered, "I do have parents, but they've run away for a romantic something-or-other. They have confidence in leaving me, because there was a time when I was alone with my brothers and sisters. My dad had run off to be a trainer and my mom left a bit later when he never returned..."

"Wow, that's really sad." said Taylor, looking down between his legs at the floor underneath the dinner table. He thought of how his life would have been if he was alone with Aevin... It wouldn't have been easy, to say the least. Brock wasn't anything like Aevin though.
"Not really," replied Brock, interrupting Taylor's quiet contemplation, "I mean, we did get by rather well. And my parents did find each other and come back... As a matter of fact, my father came back at the same time as I met Ash..."

The mentioning of Ash's name jolted Mike into full attention, and he could see the same attentive expression from Grey. Ash was more or less a hero to them, but hearing about him on tv wasn't the same as meeting someone who was actually his acquaintance. It made it so much more... real. Mike looked over at Pika and smiled. Maybe one day, we'll get to the top, just like him he thought longingly.

Within a few minutes, the food was ready, and Brock turned off the stove. He brought over a large pot filled with something that looked and smelled deliciously.
"We should let this cool down for a bit, guys." he cautioned before turning away from the table and heading back to the stove, "I also have something for the Pokémon." Brock opened a closet above the stove and pulled out a bunch of different plastic boxes. The boxes were semi-transparent, and from what Mike could see (and deduct) they contained Pokémon food; probably Brock's own blend.
Brock brought the boxes over to the table, and removed their lids. Each one was brightly colored and had a picture of a Pokémon. The pictures were obviously there to indicate what species of Pokémon it was for.

"Well, guys. Make your pick." exclaimed Brock happily, "I have everything here from my special Geodude food to Jumpluff snacks." The trainers eagerly took a box corresponding to each of their Pokémon. Then they released the Pokémon and put the trays on the floor next to the table.
"Go on, you guys! Eat!" said Mike happily, playfully shooing them away towards the food. They didn't hesitate, and went straight to it, chatting casually between bites.

"Anyway, enough about me," said Brock, finally settling down and distributing some bowls to his house guests, "What about you guys? Where are you heading from here? Cerulean, I suppose?" Mike looked over at Grey. He imagined that was where Grey wanted to head to. Most guides suggested trainers go to Cerulean after they visit Brock's gym, and had Mike started out from a more geographically favorable position, he would have done the same.

Suddenly, Mike thought of what Nurse Joy had said yesterday when they came had first arrived in Pewter; about the strange Pokémon in the woods that had scared Ekans. Mike looked down towards the snake, who was happily eating his food, now utterly free from the troubles of it's past. Mike had almost forgotten that they had to go to Cerulean, in order to visit Chuck, the Pokémon expert who lived in that area. Mike's interest for the strange event that the Ekans had been through was yet again awakened.

Brock now leaned over the table and one by one took his guests' bowls, filling them with the delicious looking food. It was creamy and chunky, almost resembling a stew, but not quite. Knowing Brock's cooking was excellent, Mike didn't hesitate to try it as soon as his bowl was returned to him. It was rich and full in taste but was unlike anything he'd tried before. His eyes lit up, resulting in him scooping up another spoonful, and another; quickly forgetting about Ekans and the strange Pokémon. As he realized he was getting carried away, he slowed his pace and smiled awkwardly at the others.

[OOC- Half of this post seemed kinda like a biography of Brock's life... But I thought it would be worth having there anyway, because it seems like a pretty natural thing for Mike to be curious about ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - Still, sick, but I am determined to make a quality post to make up for that dreck posted yesterday. Thanks for bearing with me, daxx0r! ;D]

BIC-

Grey studied his stew, ignoring the rumbling in his stomach that resulted from the food's alluring scent. His eyes were focused almost coldly on Brock's creation, but his mind couldn't be farther away.

It made sense for all trainers setting out on their own Pokémon adventures for the first time to dedicate themselves to being the next "Ash", but the silver-haired trainer had done no such thing. Ash Ketchum was definitely an amazing trainer, but committing himself to doing as the legendary trainer sounded like a limiting thing to Grey. He didn't just want to become Ash; he wanted to be better than Ash, to get out of the dark-haired boy's shadow and create his own name.

Maybe it was partially because Grey had never heard the full extent of Ash's story, having no close relations in Pallet (and he thought it was better that way) or from the world outside of the small town, but he held a fierce sense of rivalry when he imagined the renowned trainer.

Miles away, the trainer watched the wild Nidorino with a slack expression, spoon drifting sluggishly in his bowl of stew, directed by a listless hand. Nidorino twitched its ears in mild annoyance at first, then felt the need to bleat loudly. Grey jerked, startled, and nearly fell off his chair when one elbow slipped off of its prop on the table.

"What's up, Grey?" Brock asked curiously in between enthusiastic bites of the soup-like meal.

"Oh...nothing." Gray returned, taking a weary bite of his own helping - "waste not, want not" and all.

The perfect blend of vegetables and meat surprised him momentarily until he choked down the spoonful, coughing vigorously at the unexpected abundance of flavor. He purposefully evaded eye-contact with his friends and the Gym Leader, hoping they would understand his thoughtful attitude.

Apparently, however, Pika had no patience for an unhappy face.

"PiiiIIii!" it chuued, tugging playfully on his slack arm.

Not responding, Grey picked up the small electric rodent, setting the Pikachu in his lap and stroking it behind the ears. Not what Pika had been going for, but the Pokémon wasn't going to object to an ear-massage!

"I'm pretty sure we're heading towards Cerulean next. We hafta talk to Chuck if nothing else, but I imagine I'll challenge Misty while we're there." he responded without warning when Brock asked.

Reiu growled uneasily, anxious at the idea of entering a gym that was composed of a large swimming pool. The wild Nidorino bleated nervously in response to the lizard-like Pokémon, ears swiveling irately. Sora and Fero both fluttered their wings at the disruption, the Spearow's caw adding to the noise. The small, round-eyed Caterpie he had caught shrunk back in fright, and Nezi poked it immediately with one claw to watch it roll helplessly onto its segmented back. Already watching its owner with calculating eyes, Ikeiru took the opportunity to lunge for Grey's face, bawling out loudly as the trainer held up its Pokéball before the Mankey could reach him.

"Well..." Brock said uncertainly, looking at Grey's eight-ring circus of Pokémon. "..erm...you ARE going to put some of these in storage while you're traveling, right?"

Grey blinked in surprise before looking at his ridiculous, mismatched catches.

"Oh, yeah. I was just waiting until today. I'll do it before we take Taylor to get his Sandshrew." he said thoughtfully, smiling adoringly at all of his group (even the wild Nidorino got a peaceful grin).

"Oh, YEAH!" Taylor suddenly interjected, his tawny-gold eyes flaring in excitement as he remembered the life-changing event that was to happen later. "I'm finally getting a Sandshrew, then I can show Aevin how cool I am!"

Satisfied that he'd contributed to the conversation, Grey slumped back onto the table, picking at his food as memories of his Pallet Town days came flooding back. How he used to fish desolately at by the sea, handing his catches bits of Poké-food before setting them free again. How he would scatter crumbs for the Pidgey and Spearow to get, laughing when bold Rattata would take their share before the shy birds could get there. He had always considered his connection with Pokémon and nature to be enough, but Mike had changed a lot. Yet, he thought of the older boy in the same way he considered Ash Ketchum when he was left to his thoughts.

He was a rival. A rival that was better than him, and therefore more likely to reach the top.

[OOC - Yeesh, this took a while to write. Hope it'll do for ya', dax. ]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- It'll definitely do, my fiery vulpes vulpes! In all honesty, that was a massive post for someone with the flu ;D]

BIC-

Mike gobbled up the last spoonfuls of the meal and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
"Mmmm," sighed Mike delightfully, "That was good. Way good." Mike leaned back against the chair and looked around dreamily. The food had filled him up just to the point of almost being too much.

"Take some more," offered Brock warmly while blowing on a spoonful of the soupy stew, "please, go ahead!" He had a bit more food left in his bowl than Mike did, probably because he was used to food that tasted so good.
"Oh, no I couldn't... I'm filling up quite well, and I don't want to over-eat!" replied Mike, holding up his hands to emphasize the words. Mike looked over at Grey, who still had a long way to go with his stew.

I wonder what's up with Grey? thought Mike worriedly as he observed his friend, There's something on his mind... That's for sure. Mike was about to ask Grey what he was so occupied with when he suddenly changed his mind. Obviously it wasn't something Grey wanted to speak about - Mike was pretty sure he would have done so if that was the case; so there was no reason to push him.

Taylor was pretty much the opposite of Grey. He seemed eager and was shifting in his seat. Ever since Grey had mentioned the Sandshrew, Taylor hadn't been able to think of anything else.
"What's up, Taylor?" asked Mike cheerfully. Taylor looked at Mike, happy to have gotten attention. He had wanted to ask if they could go and look for the Sandshrew, but he was afraid to bring it up, in case the others thought it was a bad idea so soon after the their battle at the gym, and then again against Team Rocket. Now, however, he had been asked and found it to be a perfect opportunity.

"Well, mr. Mike... I was... well I was wondering if we could go and get a Sandshrew soon?" he asked while looking down at the ground, blushing. He didn't want to seem too eager, even if he was. Mike smiled at Taylor, who carefully looked up.
"I could use a good hike up to the mountains actually," said Mike, rubbing his full belly, "I don't know if Grey is quite ready yet, but if he is, I don't see why not."

Mike looked over at Grey, waiting for a response. Before Grey managed to say anything, Brock cut in.
"Well, if you really want a Sandshrew, I know a place where we could find one... It's within a reasonable hiking distance, and I know a few shortcuts around these parts. If I showed you the way, I could get get you there and back by nightfall" suggested Brock, "But I'm curious; who is this Aevin, and is he the only reason you want one?"

A panicked expression washed over Taylor's face. That wasn't what he was insinuating at all, but he now realized how it had come across. He was afraid that he seemed like a bad person and jumped to his feet shaking his head vigorously.
"No no no! That's not what I meant!" he cried, "I'd never want a Pokémon for anything like just showing off!" He settled down a slight bit, and then continued.
"I... er... what I meant was that I hope he'll be impressed with it, but not that I..." Brock put a reassuring hand on Taylor's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
"It's ok, I understand" he said reassuringly, "I'm guessing Aevin is your brother? I have experience with similar things" He smiled at Taylor, who smiled back awkwardly, sighing in relief. He nodded slightly at Brock, and then turned to Grey.

"So... can we go?" he asked, yet again gaining an eager expression and shifting his weight between his legs every other second.

[OOC- A bit shorter than my posts have tended to be lately, but what the hey... Also, it felt kinda crummy in the quality department; so if it is, I apologize :-\]

 

[LaenVulpix]

[OOC - *exhausted yawn* Sorry for the ridiculous wait, but I recovered just two days ago, only to learn that my end-of-course exams in English, Geometry, Science, and Computer Applications take place all this week. Along with that, I get to make up a presentation (using the report written a few weeks ago) tomorrow. Oh how I loathe public speeches...]

BIC-

"Wha-? Oh, yeah. 'Course we can," Grey's belated response came out in a yawn.

The youth pushed his bowl of half-eaten stew away from him, and began to juggle Pokéballs as he searched out each Pokémon's separate container. One minimized selection tumbled from his full arms, clattering to the floor lazily before springing open. In response the Nidorino swirled into red energy, changing into data before the metallic orb shut with a snap.

"Huh..." he said thoughtfully, dropping another ball experimentally to the floor.

With a click as the mechanism opened, Fero's weight disappeared from his shoulder, tilting him inevitably to the side Sora was perched upon. The Spearow's figure shone with red light before it to returned to its Pokéball. It shut with another click. Grey stored this tidbit of information away before returning the remaining entourage one by one, clasping the shrunken, marble-sized devices to his belt. Out of room, he stuffed Nidorino's and the Caterpie's Pokéballs into his jacket pockets for safe-keeping.

"You sure get lotsa Pokémon, Mr--I mean, Grey." Taylor commented, looking at the trainer's collection of occupied Pokéballs.

The silver-haired trainer ignored him, tugging considerately at his roguish waves of jagged hair. The main reason he wore a hat, and without something over his head he felt...untidy. It hadn't occurred to him that he looked older and more serious without the childish caps; he never cared for girls anyway.

"Is this Sandshrew nesting-ground anywhere near the Pokémon Center?" Grey asked distractedly, shifting as Pika clambered cheerily back onto his narrow shoulder. " I really do need to be able to catch new species when I see them...maybe I can nab a few rock-types or ground-types while we're out."

"Close enough, I imagine." Brock commented, a smile of old fondness creasing his lips at the similar way that the spiky-haired Pikachu sat on its trainer's shoulder.

"Then...then let's go!" Taylor couldn't contain himself, launching out of his chair in excitement.

Outside, Aevin caught sight of the raven-haired boy upsetting his chair. The kid picked it up clumsily and had a sheepish look, no doubt apologising inside. The teenage hissed as he realized a fond smile had formed on his face, and looked away in renewed anger. Taylor had no right to have his care - the small boy always had the best of luck, while Aevin had had to steal a Pokéball just in order to catch a Nidoran.

The catching itself had been painful, and the new trainer had found need to use an Antidote on himself by the time he emerged with the lively poison-type clenched victoriously in one hand. Here Taylor was, getting three highly-trained trainers accompanying him to catch a Sandshrew. Aevin's golden lion eyes grew fiery with jealousy (he placed it as anger as well...jealousy was too weak a feeling) and he slid skillfully down from the high-placed branch. He landed calmly on the ground, and struck off for the Viridian Forest. When in doubt, you could always train.

[OOC - More background on the future-rival-of-Mike/Grey vwoot. I REALLY want to start a fan-fic, but my ideas are irritably similiar to the new game, Tales of the Abyss. Bah. Oh well, it's just something to write~ Wish me luck on the EVIL presentation. *dies of nervousness*]

 

[daxx0r]

[OOC- Wow. Tough week, eh? Me too, actually... :-\ Anyways, I wish you the best of luck on your speech! I'm sure it'll go really well!]

BIC-

Mike quickly returned all his Pokémon as the others were already heading out the door, and followed them hurriedly with Charmeleon marching by his side. They stepped out into the fresh air and Mike drew a deep breath.
"Aaah! Nice!" he exclaimed happily, feeling how the playful breeze revitalized him from his sleepy post-lunch state. He walked over to the others so he was side by side with them and looked at them with a smile on his face.

It was turning into quite a nice day and Mike was feeling the sun on his back so he decided to remove his heavy jacket. He flung it over his left shoulder and held it in place loosely with his index finger. That jacket had been through a lot with Mike and bared the scars of a tough living; It was often exactly what Mike needed to keep comfortable through tough terrain and bad weather, but on a day like this, it was actually a pain to drag along.

They made a turn and ended up walking down a large avenue, with trees on both sides of the road. At the end of the avenue, Mike could just make out the entranceway into the city and the large sign which said 'Welcome back soon!' hanging over the wide road. Beyond that lay the mountains, forests and fields that surrounded the area, and ultimately, the Sandshrew they were looking for.

"Is it very far?" asked Taylor excitedly, in a true 'are we there yet'-way. Brock looked down at the boy and smiled warmly.
"Well, it's going to be a while before we get there" he started, and then as he saw Taylor's disappointed expression, quickly added "But I wouldn't call it far away!" Taylor lit up like a Christmas tree. It was enough good news to keep him going for a while; at least five more minutes. Then, he'd have to ask again.

Mike turned his head to the right, trying to avoid the bright rays of sunlight from striking his eyes, and noticed a pillar of smoke. Even if he couldn't actually see the building, he knew it was coming from the museum. It was probably going to be a while before that place was fully restored again. Mike suddenly remembered that they had promised to come by the station later.
"Guys, remember we have to make a statement to Jenny later," he said. Taylor looked at Mike, yet again with an expression of disappointment spread across his face.
"Don't worry Taylor," said Mike reassuringly, "I'm sure it can wait a while. We'll take care of the Sandshrew first!" The others nodded in agreement.

The four of them continued towards the edge of the city, drawing ever closer to the Sandshrew Taylor so longed to receive. Aevin was also heading towards the edge of the city, tailing the three trainers and his younger brother. His anger was still largely centered around Taylor, but it was now also spreading to Mike and Grey. Who do they think they are? he thought angrily, They have no right to be socializing with Taylor. I'm his brother; that should be me up there with him! Aevin was surprised by his reaction. His brother was a nuisance, and he was the last person to want to spend time with him, but in a way, he didn't want anyone else doing it either. He liked the idea of Taylor being dependent on Aevin; it gave him a purpose - But now, it seemed as if Taylor was perfectly suited to finding someone else to replace him. Aevin didn't feel important. He felt obsolete - and it made him angry.

[OOC- As you said, more background into the future rival of Mike/Grey ]

 

[LaenVulpix]

Entirely off in thought, Grey nearly veered away from Taylor and Mike without warning. He blinked in disorientation after realizing that the other trainers didn't need to go to the Pokémon Center--thus, it wasn't their place to remember.

"Guys, I'm going to go lighten my load," he said, pointing a finger in the Center's general direction for emphasis. "You go on ahead. It'll only take a minute!"

The threesome of boys nodded their consent, Taylor casting an impatient, thrilled glance at the silver-haired trainer. Reiu looked up at Grey searchingly, as if trying to guess which Pokémon the boy was going to keep with him for the time. Pika soaked up the sun with its bright yellow fur, in no danger of being stored away (it had yet to receive a Pokéball, after all). Several girls cast him looks that were both embarrassing and irritating to the trainer, and he only evaded confrontation by pointedly ignoring them. Almost on its own, a blush had risen in his cheeks.

"Pika!" Pikachu sang, long lightning-bolt tail bobbing gleefully with Grey's quick-paced steps; it had no problem with all of the attention, waggling its ears cutely for the giggling females.

"Hey, you'll give them the wrong impression!" Grey whispered fiercely to the electrical mouse, plucking it from his shoulder and setting it on the ground.

Pika gave him a roguish smirk and trotted ahead.


"Yes, may I help you?" Joy asked politely as he slunk nervously up to the front desk after fiddling with the computer in abject confusion.

"Erm, could you show me how to store Pokémon?" he asked simply, flushing as he showed her his eight-Pokéball arsenal.

The pink-haired nurse grinned knowingly at him and walked sagely over to the device, showing him which buttons to punch in order to bring up his own personal storage system. After scanning his Pokédex in order to extract his I.D. number, Joy handed it back to him and dipped her head professionally.

"Just set the ones you want to store inside there, and follow the instructions." she supplied.

"Th-thanks." Grey stuttered, plucking all but three Pokéballs from his brown leather belt.

He made a mental note to restock his supplies before running to catch up with the rest of the group. His Pokéball belt looked painfully barren without fresh, gleaming spheres clasped all around it.

With his team reduced to three though, at least he felt ready for more adventuring. Sora sat in its marble-sized Pokéball, Pika bounded cheerily ahead of him, enjoying the brilliant summer sunshine, and Reiu walked timidly next to him, buried no doubt in its own thoughts.

Aevin looked curiously over his shoulder, hearing a loud keening cry of "Piii ka!" crash through the air. the silver-haired trainer, looking more solemn and loner-ish without his floppy blue safari hat, was strolling peacefully towards the market, fingering his near-empty belt unconsciously. The raven-haired boy frowned distinctly at the solo trainer, wondering why the rest of his friends hadn't accompanied him to a trip to the Center and PokéMart.

Hell with it, why should I care... he thought exasperatedly, massaging his temples in frustration. The passing-through trainers were causing major problems for him, somehow. His deep yellow eyes narrowed at Grey. Mayhaps he would ask the kid to fight him before he had a chance to trek off to Mt. Moon.

Grey shuddered, looking suspiciously over one shoulder. For some reason he had felt as if he was being watched, and couldn't shake it. His white Charmeleon locked its azure eyes on Aevin right away, measuring up the black-clothed figure.

"Meeeeeleon." it rumbled, shooting a brief spurt of fire at the mysterious trainer.


[OOC - Would post more, but got to get to my 3rd block class! I really need to draw some more...I feel unhappy since I haven't done anything in nearly three or so weeks. :-\]