Private/Closed Pokémon: Bronze and Iron {A New Region Adventure}

[Charlotte Pryce]

Chaplet Town

Sky hesitated. It wasn't that she minded telling Wulf. After all, he was a late starter too. It was just that she hadn't considered it all that much.

"I guess I lost my confidence," she told him. "My father never liked Pokémon much. He said they were too much trouble, and that the chances of me ever making enough money to properly care for one was slim to nothing. Back when my brother and I lived with my Mom, it seemed like the world was full of opportunity. Every time we moved, we met new people, new Pokémon, it seemed like everyone thought they could be something special."

Sky was taken a back at her own honesty. She never admitted any of these feelings to her family, yet here she was, pouring her heart out to someone she had only just met.

"I have a gym badge," she told Wulf. "My victory was...bittersweet. Long story short, one moment I and the most beloved Skitty I ever knew are basking in the limelight and shaking hands with Thalassa, the Water-type Gym Leader herself! The next, my brother and I are en route to Chaplet Town while Mom and Fritz remain on the island."

Sky looked up at Wulf, and gave a half-hearted smile. "That would be Crest Island," she specified. "And Fritz would be my Mom's Skitty."

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"I'm sorry to hear that." When Wulf heard about Sky's past, he decided to respond in kind. "In my case, my parents are always stressing about the importance of education. You can't start training until you have graduated from highschool! I guess it gave me a goal to work towards, but I was always the odd one out because I either didn't have a Pokemon yet or others were just unnerved by my eyes." Wulf sighed as he remembered those days. "Not to mention my apparently weird sense of direction. That always unsettled people."

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

"Really," Sky said, not certain whether she meant it as a question or a statement. "I guess I can understand your parents value of education, still I bet that was rough. I've never heard of someone being unsettled by someone's sense of direction either. In what way is it 'weird'?"

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"Well, try taking me somewhere I've never been or ask me to find a place without asking for or looking up directions. I unconsciously begin moving towards that place. My parents are also perplexed by it. Though, I guess they've gotten used to it by now." As Wulf explained, he subconsciously picked up his pace, as though he were on a scent trail with the source getting closer and stronger with each step. His body actively demonstrating what he meant. Before he knew it, they had arrived just outside of the "secret spot" that Sky was talking about. "I suppose this is the place?"

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Chaplet Town

Sky was startled and a little impressed. "That's very good. Man, I wish I had a super sense of direction."

She lead Wulf into the "secret spot". On the surface, it seemed like any other thicket: plenty of trees, bushes, and wildflowers. Sky learned, however, that this was the best place to find all of Chaplet Town's Pokémon in one go.

"It will probably be best if we split up. Not too much," Sky explained. "Just give each other enough space so that the Pokémon won't get spooked. If you're after Slinkajou, you might want to find some wild berries to use as bait. Aside from the Dark-type Pokémon I mentioned, there are others out here as well. Keep your eyes open for Hummingblurr, Raptyke, and Snarpy. The former will generally leave you alone, but the last two can be more bold. The best thing to do if they swoop down on you is find cover and try to scare them off."

"Lastly, this area is crawling with Bug and Grass-type Pokémon. Slinkajou is part Grass-type, but if you want another one, this is the best spot for it. I've heard their might be an Eevee somewhere around here too, but I've personally never seen it."

Sky looked blankly at Wulf once she finished. "Sorry! Was that too much information?"

Professor Gem's Yard, Coronet City

"I suppose it depends," Professor Gem conceded. "Personally, yes. I recommend that knew trainers start out closer to home. Coronet City is known for having dense populations Electric, and Fire-type Pokémon. Since Cirkit is Electric/Water-type, I don't see why you couldn't find it in this area. Of course, if you have a fishing rod, you might catch a Goldeen, Magicarp, or Holimackrel. Our Ragcoon population is also rather high, but like I said, it's the Electric and Fire-type Pokémon that we're famous for."

 

[Inkage]

Earl dropped to the floor, getting up close to Wigwarm. At least something familiar was around.

"That reminds me, Alexander...Didn't you say you'd nickname it? You've yet to do that, and I am curious upon the names you are going to choose for your allies. I am personally going with a royal court theme, but I don't think lots of people go for themes."

Aceso smiled, awaiting his answer and decision.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Wigwarm looked at Earl blankly. The frog Pokémon didn’t have any thoughts whatsoever flowing through its mind.

“Uhh.. yeah.. I don’t know what I’m naming him,” Alexander admitted.

“Maybe Noodles?”

Wigwarm nodded no immediately.

“Uhh…. Pickles?”

Wigwarm once again nodded no.

“What about.. Bob?”

Wigwarm started to seem pissed off at this point.

 

[Inkage]

"Oh, I liked Pickles. That's too bad," Aceso said, giggling at Alexanders childish decisions.

"Those are maybe not in Wigwarm's league? Maybe it prefers mature names? Or direct puns?" She laughs.

"How about Squishy? Croakus? Hopalong? Hmm? Does this fit your style, Wigwarm?"

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Wigwarm nodded no and seemed absolutely pissed off at this point.

“Uhh… let’s talk about this later… we can get a better name then,” Alexander said, which Wigwarm seemingly calm down quite a bit, which relieved Alexander as he didn’t want an Ember to his face.

“So… umm… where can we catch Pokémon? You know this place well, right?”

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"I wouldn't say it was too much. If anything, it helps to have someone with some idea of what to expect." Wulf began glancing around, occasionally sniffing the air and twitching his ears, habits he picked up from watching Pokemon when he was younger. He then turned back to Sky. "Sorry, old habits die hard. If you think we'll have better luck working separately, then we'll do that. I don't want to hold you back after all."

~Professor Gem's Yard~

"Noted." As Diana was about to leave, she remembered her question. "Um, silly question but, is my Wulfleur a boy or a girl? I was thinking about giving it a nickname."

 

[Inkage]

"Well...There are a few locations around here. Plenty of Pokemon reside here on Crest Island. I could show you, but I personally am not going to catch anything in this location," Aceso said, looking at Wigwarm and flinching. She did not know such a tiny face could be filled with so much malice. Even Earl backed off a tad.

"You can catch a variety of common Pokemon around here. Lots of Ragcoons, Caterpies, Wurmples, and Rattatas in the tall grass," she said, almost perfectly imitating what the professor said earlier.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

What she just said sounded completely familiar... wait a minute!

"Didn't the professor say that... earlier? Or am I... thinking of someone else...?" Alexander wondered, seemingly confused.

Alexander looked at some of the wild Pokémon in the distance. He recognized most of them since he lived in Kanto, but he didn't know one. A Ragcoon.

"Is that thing over there what you called a Ragcoon?" he pointed to what was definitely a Ragcoon.

Wigwarm seemed to calm down, realizing how angry he had gotten earlier on.

 

[Inkage]

"Yep. That's Ragcoon," Aceso said, ignoring the question about Professor.

"Ragcoon is an interesting Pokemon. It is not deterred by pain from achieving it's goals, and is quite intelligent. It presents those it likes with trash as a show of affection. Unusual, eh?" Aceso explained. "I believe it is a normal type...But I am unsure of any secondary typing. Oh well."

Of course, this answer was also a near carbon copy out of her Pokemon Field Guide, but hey. Alexander didn't need to know that.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"Woah... that's interesting," Alexander said.

"So, if hypothetically, someone were to throw gold in the trash, it would give it to me?" he additionally asked as he looked for the Ragcoon he had seen, seeming about ready to capture that one he saw.

Wigwarm seemingly looked at the Ragcoon, and while it still was a little tired from the previous fight, it wouldn't mind a challenge.

 

[Inkage]

"I suppose. It just grabs whatever it's interested in, really."

Aceso also scanned the grass, while Earl curled up and straight up went to sleep. "I would be careful, however. It evolves into a Pokemon that, while being very smart, is very manipulative and hordes actual valuables," she explained, making sure Alexander completely understood the potential consequences of catching Ragcoon.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

“Awesome!” Alexander exclaimed, seemingly ready to catch the Pokémon.

Alexander didn’t really think things through about the second thing that Aceso said - in fact, what she said made him think the final evolution was a great thing. He tuned out to most of what she said and focused mainly on the fact that the Pokémon was ‘smart’.

“That sounds great! And I’m gonna catch it! Wigwarm, let’s do this!”

Wigwarm approached the nearby Ragcoon, and got itself ready for battle.

Ragcoon originally seemed frightened and slightly ran away, but decided to fight anyways. The raccoon Pokémon then stood firm for a battle.

However, throughout all of this, Alexander forgot one important thing.

He doesn’t have any Poke Balls.

 

[Inkage]

"...Alexander, you do know how to catch a Pokemon, right? First you weaken it, then you throw a Pokeball at it. I believe the Professor gave us some earlier, so unless you somehow lost them you should be fine," Aceso said, smiling. She obviously meant that last part as a joke, but considering his situation it was a hard jab. Not that Aceso knew he didn't have any.

"So! Given that Ragcoon is a normal type, you're Wigwarm can't really kill it easily because it can't target Normal's one weakness; Fighting. So you should do fine with one or two hits, and then throwing one."

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

“Yes, Access-io, I know how to catch Pokemon. And yeah, I should have the Poke Balls,” Alexander assured.

“Anyways, Wigwarm, start up with Ember!”

Wigwarm nodded, and shot a small burst of flame towards the Pokémon, which was unable to dodge and thus got hurt. It seemed quite hurt from the Ember.

The Racoon Pokémon responded with a Tackle. While Wigwarm attempted to dodge, it was unable to and thus got hit. The Frog Pokémon got up pretty easily, however, and seemed ready.

“Alright, time to catch it! Poké Ball, go!” Alexander assumed a Poke Ball was in his pocket and threw it towards the Ragcoon, not immediately realizing he threw air.

Wigwarm face palmed with one of his legs while Ragcoon notably seemed to weakly chuckle a bit.

“Oh wait… do I even have a Poke Ball?” Alexander realized.

“Uhh… Access-io, do you have a Poke Ball by any chance…?” he then awkwardly asked, scratching his head a bit.

 

[Inkage]

Aceso looked completely stunned. She sat quietly for a good 5 seconds and then burst into laughter.

"O-Oh My gosh," she said in between body shaking laughs. "Of course you don't have any! Ahaha!"

It was another minute before she was able to get her hand to stop shaking so that she could put it into her bag to take one out.

"T-The Professor gave us ten! How did you lose every single one!?" She deposited it into his hand and resumed her position. "Now. I assume you know how to throw it or did you forget that as well?"

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Alexander sighed to himself, but he knew he had to a task to finish. He received Aceso’s Poké Ball.

Oh he was going to show her alright that he could catch a Pokémon! Instead of throwing a Poke Ball normally, he was going to do it with style!

“I’ll show you how a true professional does it!” Alexander exclaimed.

“Now, Poké Ball!”

Alexander threw the Poke Ball, intending to give a nice curve to it. The Poké Ball even looked like it would land on the Pokémon, but then….

It curved away from the Ragcoon.

Ragcoon laughed hard, and Wigwarm uncontrollably joined in too.

Alexander became quite frustrated with himself, and sighed.

“Are you… kidding me…”

 

[Inkage]

Earl opened his eyes, glaring at the loud distractions before shifting position so that he could see whatever was so important that it merited the interruption of his precious sleep.

Aceso redoubled her laughter, bending over with the force of them.

"I-I didn't know laughter was a status condition! At yet you inflicted it on both Pokemon! Alexander, stop showing off, you're only making it worse!"

She handed him a second ball, though she could barely straighten up enough to watch him throw it. "P-Please, Alexander, I ca-can't breath!" Aceso was laughing so hard.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Alexander sighed once more as he grabbed the other Poke Ball. Shamefully, he received it and threw it accurately, yet very much slow. The Poke Ball shook once, twice, and it finished!

Ragcoon was caught!

Level 4
Ability: Gluttony

Moveset:
Tackle
Growl
Sand Attack

Wigwarm leveled up to 8!

Although Alexander caught the Ragcoon, he seemed rather shameful. He hung his head down, his energy from earlier disappearing entirely. Wigwarm continued to laugh a little, but it started to slow down a little.

 

[Inkage]

"Oh, why do you look so down? I don't think I've ever seen you so shamed! Don't worry about it, Alexander. I remember when I threw Pokeballs like that. But I practiced in my bedroom until I could mostly hit what I wanted."

Aceso smiled, and gestured to the rest of the grass. "Did you want to catch any more?"

Earl snorted. THAT was the performance that interrupted it's sleep? Oh well. Looks like everyone was about to leave anyway, so Earl got up, stretching its feet.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Alexander completely ignored what Aceso said. He had his head down for a bit but soon allowed it back up as his face showed more of a pissed-off attitude. He felt humiliated.

"Let's go..." he had less energy in his voice than before.

Man, I suck at catching Pokémon...

Wigwarm stopped laughing and got ready to move and hop again. It was not hurt so much, even though it got hit with a Tackle.

 

[Inkage]

Aceso staggered a bit. She didn't expect Alexander to act like this. Usually he bounces back pretty quickly after some buttering up.

"Erm- It was just a bad Pokeball throw. It's not like it's the end of the world, Alexander."

"But if you want to be sad, I can't convince you to act otherwise," she said, picking up Earl and slinging them around her neck.

"If you're done, then I guess we can go then."

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"Yeah, alright, let's get going then," Alexander fake smiled. He was utterly pissed off that he had to go through this whole embarrassing experience. While this would disappear in time, his disappointment would continue.

Wigwarm detected something was happening with Alexander as it hopped around, but the Pokemon didn't say anything and let him deal with it.

 

[Inkage]

Aceso walked down the path heading for town, making sure she was followed by Alexander.

"O...kay then," Aceso wasn't used to Alexander acting this way. Maybe he had changed over the years. And not for the better, she supposed.

"Well, the gym here is highly challengable. With those two pokemon, you should do fine."

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Alexander seemed to get better as they progressed, seemingly getting over it.

He had definitely changed from his younger self. As an ambitious person, he had often set himself high expectations that often got offset by his scatterbrain self, which made him disappointed frequently. The failed first attempt to get Ragcoon was an example of him attempting to go with style and failing the expectations of making a fancy throw.

There have been periods of time where he has become disappointed to the point where he became totally silent for an extended period of time.

Even through this, he has never managed to get rid of his scatterbrain personality - it always stuck with him, especially with his lack of focus at times.

“It’s a water-type gym, right?” Alexander asked. He seemed to feel better and shook off his disappointment, at least for now.

“So I’d have to… not use my Wigwarm?”

Wigwarm seemed kinda disappointed that the first gym made him kinda useless.

 

[Inkage]

"Well, yes. But it's not all bad. In early gyms, it is supremely easy to win with even a Pokemon with no advantage over them. So with Ragcoon you should do decent, having Wigwarm as backup."
Aceso returned Aloegar to their Pokeball; it wasn't doing anything, and was starting to claw her neck. So out came Queen again. Queen stretched, padding along the road and paying no mind to it's inedible companion Wigwarm. Meowth were so fickle.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"That's a relief to hear... I was getting worried that I'd have to wait and train more," Alexander seemed relieved that his team wouldn't be so easily countered in the first gym.

Wigwarm stared at Queen quite intensely, seemingly more confident around the cat Pokemon. He understood that Queen didn't really pay attention to him, but he wanted to show Queen that he was stronger than it.

 

[Inkage]

"Well, the difficulty will obviously be upped in the other stretch, but for now, it'll be fairly easy to beat them. And I'm not just saying that." Aceso smiled, glad that Alexander's energy seemed to be returning, at least a bit.

Queen noticed Wigwarm staring, and was flattered by the attention because...Well, egotist Meowth. They swelled their chest, walking with obvious pride, and in a way that showed off the slight bounce of their curls as they walked.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"Seems like this place is just like Kanto with how the gym leaders work. I've heard it's much more confusing in other regions," Alexander nodded.

"So, how far away are we from the gym?" he wondered, hoping Aceso wasn't as forgetful as him and still remembered the route.

Instead of boosting Meowth's ego, Wigwarm made a semi-loud chuckling sound, mocking how Queen walked. It then imitated the pink cat, exaggerating the movements.

 

[Inkage]

"We're not to terribly far. I think. I myself have...never actually visited it..." Aceso shrugged at this confession.

"But I've heard all about it from my father, so I have second hand knowledge," Aceso said. Indeed, she was trying to cover up the fact that she was indeed as forgetful as he was and had forgotten the exact way. So much for living here all her life.

Queen looked at Wigwarm, ignoring the chuckle. Aww! It was even imitating her! What a positive role model. The Meowth's ego skyrocketed, but noticed that Wigwarm was sauntering too hard. She walked in front of it, showcasing how to show off properly. Wouldn't want people to think it was a joke, now would they?

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

“You sure you got this…?” Alexander sensed some unconfident tones in Aceso’s voice. He hoped that she knew her way, but he seemed a little doubtful.

Wigwarm seemed to ignore Queen, and continued to over exaggerate his movements. He continued to laugh, before making some loud, annoying clicking sounds that made a beat that matched how Queen moved.

Alexander looked at the two and chuckled, but made sure no one got hurt.

 

[Inkage]

"Of course I do! I just...Need to consult a map." Aceso replied, taking out a town map she had received from her father (Although Aceso thought 'Town Map' wasn't accurate since they usually detailed a whole region). She unfolded it, gazing at it with evident confusion. Not even a genius could look at the tiny little wires and logos on a map and say 'this is here' without taking a couple hours.

"It appears that the map isn't going to help. It has too many...annotations."

Queen was not happy. They realized that Wigwarm was mocking them, and Meowth did not handle mockery well. Their attitude suddenly changed from bright and self-righteous to dark and aggravated. It's hair stood slightly on end as it hissed at Wigwarm. It prepared to pounce.

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"Can we buy a map somewhere..?" Alexander wondered, attempting to look at the map Aceso took out. He was in the same boat as her and didn't understand any part of the map due to the amount of annotations.

Meanwhile, Wigwarm felt very threatened. It stopped playing around. Realizing it was too late to calm the situation, Wigwarm made one of the riskiest moves it could.

Wigwarm shot an Ember toward the ready-to-pounce Pokemon.

Wigwarmed aimed the small burst of flame directly at the pink cat Pokemon, hoping it wouldn't dodge.

 

[Inkage]

"Erm- I think so..." Aceso twisting the map this way and that to try and make sense of it. "I'm...not entirely sure this is even a map," she joked weakly, chuckling at her own utter incompetence. "Maybe, in at least one subject, I am as scatterbrained as you..."

Queen did not take this well. It did land, having the Meowth yowl loud and clear. The shriek was shrill, and hurt the ears. Obviously, Queen pounced upon the fat frog to teach it a lesson. Teach that smug such-and-such to mock her, indeed!

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

"Don't worry; we'll find a Pokemon Center, and we'll get a map... if we can find one, of course," Alexander was then interrupted by the sound of Queen yowling loudly.

"What's going on..? WAIT! WIGWARM!" Alexander yelled.

Wigwarm was unable to avoid the pounce, but it tried to struggle out and failed. It tried to shoot an Ember inside the pounce as a last-ditch effort.

"RETURN!" Alexander took out Wigwarm's Poke Ball, returning it to its ball. He sighed, nodding no towards the ball. After that, he gave Queen a pet, apologizing for the frog's actions.

 

[Inkage]

"QUEEN!" Aceso seemed shocked. "Whatever could've provoked that!? Bad girl!"

The Meowth hissed back at Aceso, causing her trainer to flinch. Usually Queen would back down pretty quickly. Wigwarm must have insulted it's honor or something.

"Yeesh. Egotist..." Aceso returned Meowth to their ball.

"Anyway, right. Map."

 

[~Aura~Slashz~]

Alexander chuckled a bit.

"Guess it'll take a while for those two to get along," he smiled, "but let's get going on the map."

He also decided to take out another Poke Ball. This time, it was Ragcoon's. The ragged raccoon pup went out, and while it withstood some damage, it seemed alright and walked as normal.

"Did you think I should name it?" he asked while Aceso figured out the map situation.