Sunset Mountain

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie, who had tuned out most of the following conversation, stared down at the gently slumbering Pikachu in her lap. Pearl didn't like Pokeballs that much, but it must be ten times more comfortable there than rattling along on a train.

Carrie reached for Pearl's Pokeball and quietly recalled her. She put the ball away, fingering one of her others, wondering if she should let them out. Lapras and Charles were no gos; they were far too large. Train rides made Raichu sick, and Jolteon wouldn't be able to stand all the noise. He'd have most likely demanded to be recalled the instant upon coming out. Carrie's hand drifted to Mischief's before she looked around. It didn't seem as if any particularly red-headed girls were present, which meant it might be safe to let him out. She looked around once more, making sure no pointy objects or things with which he could cause havoc were about, and there were none. She slowly let out a breath.

"Hey, guys? I'm going to let Mischief out. Just warning you." Carrie would have had to be sadistic not to warn them. Mischief was trouble, as his name implied. She grabbed his Pokeball and let him out, his floating form materializing a foot above her head.

The Misdreavus was ecstatic to be let out, and he circled the small group's heads for a moment before pausing. He eyed once the camera Rei held and the Pichu huddling within her coat; he eyed Sonjo and his Riolu, recognizing them both and therefore passing over them without interest; he watched Lute and his Chatot, mildly fascinated but not yet spurned to action. And finally his attention fell upon Elle, who sat with her Umbreon near them. A positively wicked grin spread across his face, and he floated near to them with an innocent chirp.

"Mischief," Carrie called out in mild warning, knowing he was about to pull a prank. Mischief's grin widened.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Sonjo's eyes dwindled onto the ghost and its hi-jinks. "Mischeif? Are you sure you want to do that, Carrie?" the young trainer questioned, turning to her in mid-sentence. "It looks like its up to it's usual Micheivious deeds."

((Forgive the pun. >_>))

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie's eye twitched at the pun, and she uncertainly nodded her head.

"It won't be smart to let him out when we get to Goldenrod. He could do a lot more damage then, and I have to let him out every so many hours or he'll go crazy. He doesn't like being inactive."

Mischief was still floating about Elle's head, but Carrie was relieved to see he hadn't done anything yet.

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita eyes the Misdrevous. It was a good specimin, but seemed to be fond of pranks. She would have given that more to a Haunter, that was more their style, Misdreavus were usually more level headed. But there were always deviations. She knew that well. Pokémon couldn't be condensed into numbers.

Arita quickly tapped all of her pokéballs. Perhaps a playmate would calm the Misdreavus down? It looked like trouble. Noctowl was level headed, but she would never let him out in front off all of these people. She had more respect for him then that. That left only. . .

Pulling the pokéball off of her belt, she tapped it twice, quietly releasing a small Shuppet. It floated around her head twice, its usual greeting, before floating off to investigate the other ghost pokémon. Arita smiled. She had known the small pokémon for a long time now, and was glad to have it along with her. She went back to watching the Misdreavus. She'd want one with a calmer nature for studying, but she wasn't going to miss a chance to observe this one. She flipped to a new pad and began scribbling notes rapidly, measurements and observations, never once taking her eyes off the pokemon.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Mischief saw the Shuppet approaching, his attention being pulled away from Elle. He watched it come closer, and his head tilted to the side the tiniest bit. He had seen Shuppets before, but he had never actually met one. He floated closer himself, chirping a greeting.

Carrie, watching the two work, turned her eyes to the older woman who had released the Shuppet. She was occupied with her furious writing. Carrie--being mildly intrigued--went back to watching the two Ghost Pokemon, noting that they got along well.

Carrie slumped back in her seat, feeling relief watch over her. At last, something other than croissants that could keep Mischief in line...

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Sonjo watched the two ghost pokemon float and interact with each other.It was sort of humerous, for he had never seen Mischief actually get along with another other than Carrie. "That Shuppet, at seems to be a somewhat gentle ghost. Interesting." he mumbled.

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

The shuppet bobbed up and down, floating in a circle around the Misdreavus. Arita was glad the two were getting along. She motioned to the trainer of the Misdreavus.

"If you don't mind me asking," She called "How did you manage to acquire your Misdreavus?"

Then she realized a second too late the question might have been mildly creepy, and added,

"I'm a ghost pokémon researcher, sorry, I should have mentioned it before. . . And my next subject are Misdreavus. I'm headed to the Cianwood area to see if I can't . . . scare a few up."

Well, maybe she was good for a few ghost puns.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie scratched at her cheek, pondering as she watched the two Ghosts interact.

"Well, it was maybe a year or two ago now, and I was up at Mt. Silver looking for some Sneasles. I remember it was during summer, and it rained a lot then. Well, it started to rain, so I took shelter in a cave. Mischief was in there, crashing rocks against the walls, and I caught him." She laughed, thinking about what she had just said. "Sounds odd, doesn't it? I think he liked to play pranks even before I caught him."

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita listened before writing the story down. She longed to ask more questions, but kept them to herself. She went back to watching the two ghost pokémon.

"Thankyou," she said. "I'm Arita, by the way." She smiled and inclined her head, then went back to watching the pokémon. "They seem to be getting along, huh?"

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

"Carrie Slovak." Carrie introduced herself. "And yes, they are getting along. Normally it takes some buttered croissants to get him to behave like that. It's amazing. At this point he would just pull a prank and laugh it off, on any other day." She marvelled as she watched them. "It's rather incredible."

Her wonder was cut short as the train jarred roughly for a brief second, and she scowled slightly. "The train ride can't be much longer. We should be getting to the station soon."

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Upon hearing Carrie's remark, Sonjo was reminded of his 'hypothesis' that he had made prior. He squirmed in his seat in excitement, nearly waking the sleeping Riolu. "So exciting! All of the people here, rare pokemon, new sights... Just thinking about it just fills me with anticipation!"

 

[Persian]

((OOC: Ack! You guys get so far without me! I don't have time to really read over what happened...but I'm pretty sure we're still on the train? Umm...yeah. I probably won't be able to post again today (I reeeeeally have to go study for my three big exams tomorrow) or tomorrow (another big exam on Wednesday), so I apologize! I should have thought this whole RP thing through before I rushed into one so close to finals! >_

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie--after having recalled Mischief--turned to Rei.

"Well, I know I'm going to walk there, and if no ferries are available I was going to ride on Lapras, but I think everybody's going on foot. Or at least, that's what I'm assuming."

Carrie, realizing for the first time then that she would have to spend several days walking, sighed.

"From your questions I'm assuming you either want to make sure you take a different path than us or are asking whether we all want to go together."

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita lost the group as everyone filed off of the train, but found Carrie again in the station. She waited behind as the trainer spoke with another girl about her own age. The girl looked very non-plussed. When she heard Carrie comment on whether they would be going together or not, she cut it.

"Actually, Carrie, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to travel with you. If I don't run across a wild Misdreavus, your Mischeif is the only chance I'll have to study one, and I came to study. I'm not going to take that risk, of not getting one."

She offered no apologies for cutting in. Her research came first, manners second. She refused to have a repeat of the Gastly episode. She came to study Misdreavus, and that's wht she intended to do.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie brushed off the rudeness and grinned. "I'd be happy to have you along. Your Shuppet can actually calm Mischief down. I wouldn't mind having such a miracle around."

Carrie, as if suddenly remembering something, put her hand to her forehead and peered around. "Where'd Sonjo go? He said he wanted to go to Cianwood..."

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Lute stood up, Chatot's claws digging a little into his shoulder as he did so. He patiently filed off with the crowd, playing a jaunty tune all the while. He caught up with Carrie momentarily and finished his song before pocketting his flute.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

"Over here!" Sonjo raised an arm while trying to get off the train, tugging the annoyed Riolu along. "Be right there!"

After several minutes passed, the now exausted trainer was at the current setting, gasping for breath. "Sorry about that, Riolu here doesn't like to be disturbed from his naps..." A sweatdrop ran down the back of his head. "Now, where were we?"

 

[Persian]

((OOC: Just checking in...this time, this really may be my last post. I need to study. ^_^;; ))

Rei was about to tell them all to have a good journey and run off by herself (or, rather, by herself plus her two Pokemon), but Mushiko cut in with a terse comment in Caterpie. Rei pursed her lips, glaring at the bug. "And the advantage to traveling with all of them would be...?"

Her reply was none other than, "duh, food" in her Pokemon's native tongue. The Caterpie was obsessed with food, Rei knew, and always loved an easy meal. Generally large groups of people meant a large amount of food total, and Mushiko could probably steal everybody's surplus.

Rei hated to see what sort of amount she'd eat once she evolved. She supposed they needed to eat a lot for evolution purposes, especially in the Metapod stage, though she sincerely hoped that Mushiko gained normal eating habits upon evolution into her final stage. Otherwise Rei would have a very fat Butterfree, and she didn't really want a very fat Butterfree.

The teenager stretched a bit, resigned to her fate. "Well, if we're all going to Olivine...I suppose we should travel together. Does anybody need anything here in Goldenrod, or can we just leave? The route to Ecruteak isn't too bad, and we're already near the north gate of the city. We can take a shortcut around the National Park, too, since they recently cut down a few trees...should save us a few hours."

Mushiko nodded. Shortcuts were good, no need to dawdle. She assumed food in the cities was better than food out in the "wild", anyhow.

((OOC: Yeah, just start walking, unless you need stuff in Goldenrod. I may try to post one more time tonight...but yeah...if I don't post, just drag Rei along and say she's keeping quiet. Luckily, that's sort of in-character for her. ^_^;;

Oh, and sorry for the short-n-crappy posts! I'm so distracted and time-crunched! T_T))

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

((OC: It's no problem, really.))

Carrie looked about their rather large group and nodded.

"I'm good and ready to go. What about everyone else?"

As she waited for their response she took the moment to ensure she had all her Pokemon with her. Pearl, Jolteon, and Raichu rested safely on the left side of her belt, and Lapras, Mischief and Charles were safely resting on the other side. She nodded to herself and looked back up, waiting for everyone's answer.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Lute thought for a moment, then starting signing.

"No, I'm cool," the Chatot translated. "I made sure I had everything I needed before I got on the train."

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

The still-drowsy Riolu climbed onto Sonjo's should, yawning as it went. "No, I'm set. In fact, I might even have a little extra if anyone needs it." He was pretty sure his companions, Combusken, Gallade, Altaria, to the left to him, and Kadabra, Sudowoodo, and Zangoose to the right would agree with this. Sonjo smirked, as he adjusted his cloth headband.

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita listened to the rest of the group reply. She was running the checks and numbers in her head. Did she have enough? She nodded.

"I believe I will be fine. If not, we can get more at the next city." She felt almost like she was baby sitting, But these were friends, old enough to have pokemon partners and be out on their own. They knew what they were doing. She gave then the benefit of the doubt and smiled.

"Shall we set off then?"

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie gave a solitary nod as she started towards the north gate, figuring they would follow sooner or later.

"Last chance if you need anything. Otherwise we're going."

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Sonjo shook his head. "I made sure I was prepared before I came here. And like I said, I even think I have extra if anyone needs it." He tugged on the straps of his backpack, and started to make his way towards his frien, signling that he was rarring to get out of here.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Lute followed after Carrie, signing as he went.

"If I worried about being prepared all the time, I'd never get anywhere," his Chatot translated.

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita smiled at the last statement, and chose to translate it as "I am under prepared." She chose to hang in the back of the pack, watching the rest charge on happily. She observed the day-to-day workings of Goldenrod. She was looking forward to a chace at sight-seeing on her return trip, but now she found herself wanting to run ahead with the other trainers. She made sure to keep up.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Lute decided this might be a good time for some traveling music. He got out his flute and started playing a happy tune (the bicycling song?). His Chatot soon joined in, bobbing a little as she whistled in time.

 

[Persian]

((OOC: Okay, school is over, so unless I fall asleep (sort of likely), I'll be able to keep up with this better. Thanks for being patient, everybody - and you can move the story along on your own. You don't need me to state that the group left the city, unless you like a slow pace...))

Rei yawned, glancing at the group. It seemed like everybody had quieted down to small talk between separate parties and Lute's background music - it was nice not to have to bother with conversation.

She flicked her eyes forward. "The gate," she muttered, watching the large-ish yellow-and-grey building come into view. The automatic doors opened with a woosh, and a gust of air-conditioned air swirled out to meet them. Rei brushed a bit of dyed-black hair out of her face, relishing in the cold faux breeze.

Staying towards the edge of the group, she looked around the gatehouse as they went through. Pretty boring - a few rangers or city workers were stationed behind desks, but none of them actually said anything. Most just typed their work out on their computer keyboards, and only acknowledged the group with a glance or two.

They soon stepped out into the relatively warm air on the other side, and Rei turned around. "Hmmm..." She backpedaled, going ahead of the group a bit, before turning around and jogging forward for ten meters or so. Then she made a sharp one-eighty back to face the group, the gatehouse, and the yellow skyscrapers behind them. Lifting up her camera, she snapped a shot of the group (minus her) with the gatehouse and the city as a background.

"Looks okay," Rei muttered as she checked the picture, walking back to the group. The camera had a rather large amount of memory, so Rei wanted to make sure to take a surplus of pictures so her employers would be guaranteed at least a few good ones. Her natural greed really, really, really wanted some money.

As the group walked down the pleasant route, Rei noticed the break in the fence on their right, and the grassy expanse behind it. Shielding her eyes agaist the midday sun overhead, she peered behind the wild fields. She could barely see the forest behind, but it looked to be the right place... "The break in the trees should be over that way," she noted aloud, pointing to the thick grove of evergreens in the distance. "We should ditch the road and go through the fields to cut through to it."

Without waiting for any verbal affirmative from her fellow trainers, the teenager padded over to the grass, and plunged in. Wrinkling her nose, she rubbed her legs as the tall blades reached up almost to her waist, and they were vaguely itchy against her jeans. Holding back a sneeze (something pollen-like must have floated up towards her nose), she glanced up at her Caterpie.

Mushiko was asleep. Wonderful.

Not like she'd be able to take on any oncoming wild Pokemon, Rei thought, frowning. Tonari is out of the question, too. Ugh, I really need to catch something battle-worthy - Mushiko's not in the sort of environment where she can train to evolve. She'd just get eaten by a wild Nidoran, or something, before she could get any worthwhile training in.

((OOC: Ummm...yeah...kind of...Writer's Block-ish. Does anybody want to catch a Pokemon? If not, we can just continue on at the pace we're going in, and I'll try to think up some sort of quick side-plot to last us until we get to Olivine, or whatever. Unless somebody has an idea...in which case, please initiate said idea!))

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Sonjo looked through the woods, seeing different Johto pokemon as they went. The trees towered high among the group, as if they could reach the sky itself. As Sonjo looked back to Riolu, who was taking in the sights as well. Good, I can already tell Riolu loves it here. He loved Lute's tune, and wished he could learn it for himself.

 

[Gardevoir Master]

Lute's song slowly came to a halt. Lowering his flute for a moment, he let the wind brush over his face. He closed his eyes, opening his ears to the sounds of the field. Everything had it's own natural rhythm, an ebb and flow of environmental music. He studied it for a moment, allowing himself to become one with the beat. Then he put his flute back up to his lips and started playing a new song.

 

[HyperReaper33]

((OOC First attempt at RP, I'm kinda' a writer [famous...at my school, lol], lets see how I do))

BIC:

Jaxon peered directly down at the group.

Seeing many different Pokemon with such a...strange group... It was a waste.

"See anything...?" Nothing.

"I can sense you Shade...anything interesting?" A faint, red glow appeared next to Jaxon, followed by a rather large, transparent figure.

"Dus..." replied the haunting mass. Jaxon knew what he was thinking. "Not in public." Shade seemed rather violent when it came across other Pokemon. It wasn't so much protective as it was it just didn't like other Pokemon.

That was the problem with Team Galactic Pokemon. They didn't work well together. Thats one of the reasons Jaxon traveled alone.
He didn't need a second party screwing up his plans.

Just then, while Jaxon was lost in thought, Shade responded in a alert, terse manner. "Dusclops...Dusc"

Jaxon peered to where Dusclops's rather long, translucent arm was pointing. "A...Riolu...rather rare, they are."

"Dus..Dusclops...?" Its eye flashed manically crimson. It seemed to be eager to do what they do best. "Lets observe a bit longer. Don't worry, you'll get to play."

"Dus..." The disgruntled Dusclops faded back into nothingness.

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Arita smiled at Elle. She was suprised the young girl was interested in her work. She had never thought she would find someone she could talk to in this group. . .hadn't she mentioned something about it. . . ? Arita couldn't remember (OCC: Neither could Jezebel, did Elle mention her parents within Arita's earshot?).

"I've been all over," Arita replied. "Every region except Sinnoh. I grew up on the outskirts of Viridian, where I met this 'lil guy." She raised a hand to the Shuppet, and it bobbed up and down. "I'm not sure what he was doing there to this day. I've been to Jhoto before, but never the Cianwood area, and Hoenn. Been to Cinnabar, Saffron, and Lavender, Azealia, Goldenrod, Ecruteak, Mauville, Fortree, Lavaridge and Mossdeep." She nodded at the list. "Lavander was my most recent trip. I went in search of Ghastly, but I'm afraid I didn't get very far on that quest. I'm hoping this one goes better."

Lute had switched tunes from a lively travelling melody to a slower, sweeter tune. It was perfect for the walk, as the sun glimmered through the trees, making spotty patches all over. The wind rustled in the trees and Arita glanced up briefly. Peering through the grass, she suddenly looked back up. Had she caught the faint glow of a ghost pokémon in the trees. . . ? She scanned them and saw nothing.

Several Rattatas crossed their path in a hurry, jumping and leaping. The last skidded to a halt and looked at them before hurrying on. None made challenges, however, and Arita and Elle continued on, wading through the waist high grasses. She knew they weren't ghost types, but she had always wanted a Murkrow, or maybe a Larvitar, and now here they were, in the proper region. . .Perhaps after her trip was over, she'd go out and see if she could catch one. . .

Maybe they wouldn't have to go as far as she had thought to get ghost pokémon after all, she almost felt something unseen watching her, and wished she had something more. . . impressive then Shuppet out. . .

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

"I could have sworn I saw something in the trees," Arita said in response to Elle's question. Arita shook her head.

"Ecruteak? I've been through several times, I'm suprised I never ran into your parents. I'd love to meet them if we're passing through Ecruteak. I'd like to get a chance to talk to Morty as well, we're old friends. Perhaps I can catch something out here and convince him to trade it for a gastly. . ." It stung her that she hadn't run into a gastly while in Lavander.

"As a matter of fact, I'm suprised we didn't run into each other, both being in Lavander." She laughed, then went back to eyeing the wild pokémon. That was a wonderful idea, trading Morty, but what would he want in exchange for one of his own? She couldn't think of anything, he was very attached to his ghosts. Maybe he'd do it as a favour to her? Their weren't ghosts in the Ecruteak tower, were there? She eyed a rustle in the grass.

"What have your parents learned in Ecruteak? Where did they work before that?" She was always full of questions, being a researcher.

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie remained utterly silent as the group moved along, tense and itching to get Rai or Jolteon out for defense. Her (normally dormant) sense of paranoia was kicking in, and it was crawling up her back with a petulant insistence. She mentally brushed it away, but within moments it came back, stronger than before. Her shoulders twitched, perhaps a subconscious effort on her part to make the feeling go away. She jogged a bit, catching up to Rei.

"You seem to be pretty paranoid yourself. Sense anything, or am I just being delusional?"

 

[HyperReaper33]

Jaxon ducked out of surprize as one of the party members looked directly at them.

Nobody could have sensed us...unless...

"Shade, our presence is known. You know what to do. Everything is fair game. I might bring Grasp out to help you. Don't go overboard here. We need them alive if we're to get paid. Got it? Do you understand?"

His frantic speech slightly worried the invisible ally--if only for a second. Shade was slowly, but surely making his way ahead of the group.

How did the one see us...?!

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

The chat between the group caught Sonjo's wondering interest. He apted to send Combusken out instead of Riolu, but he'd rather not get ahead of himself. Riolu's ear started to rise, signling that he sense a rather peculiur aura in the group's mists. "...Something in the trees? Are you sure it wasn't just another pokemon?" he asked. Several wild Weedle and Caterpie scurried by as he asked this.

 

[HyperReaper33]

"NOW, Go Grasp!"

The Ariados, named after his role in capturing Pokemon, spun its webs every witch-way and trapped the adventurers from their current path. Shade was laughing in an eerie church-bell cackle.

I hope I don't screw this one up...

Contrary to his job, Jaxon was the only one of his class who hasn't had a successful capture. Maybe it was because the only Pokemon that wasn't his was Grasp. He caught his team himself, and would probably make and excellent trainer. If it wasn't for his "job" getting in the way.

Well, it does have dental...

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

"It was nothing though," Arita said. "I could have sworn I saw the glow of a ghost pokémon, briefly, but when I looked back, I didn't see anything. . ."

Shuppet had grown agitated. It nudged her once or twice, and she put a hand up to comfort it. "I know, I know," she muttered to it. She narrowed her eyes. Was something unseen drifting over the group? The air eddied like there was. . . a slight waver. . . Arita's eyes widened. There WAS something drifting over the group. She had seen a ghost!

She thought fast. It was a ghost pokémon, her area of specialty. They were weak against ghost and psychic moves. If she sent out another ghost pokémon, it'd be weak against this ghost, as well as strong. . . It was baffling, but this was what she had trained Shuppet for.

First thing first. She turned to Elle. "Make sure you've got a strong pokémon out, one that knows ghost or psychic moves. I'm not sure what we're up against, but it's a ghost." Then she turned to Shuppet. She had no doubt he could see the abberation, but she pointed just in case.

"Imprison," She said. The small Shuppet watched the floating mass, his rainbow eyes flashing. Now the ghost would be unable to use any moves Shuppet knew. She made sure Shuppet knew a good array of Ghost and Psychic moves just in case circumstances like this arose.

Arita looked down in time to see a giant Araidos drop out of the trees. Well, great. She knew next to nothing about bug pokémon. She could do nothing while the spider-like Pokémon quickly webbed up the area. She heard something laughing, and it sent chills up her spine. She guessed it was the unseen ghost. It wouldn't be laughing for long once it figured out what Shuppet had done.

Shuppet knows Nightshade, Faint attack, Spite, Will-o-Whisp, Snatch, Imprison, Psychic, Destiny Bond, Astonish and Disable. ^^' Enjoy.

 

[Trainer Sonjo]

Sonjo's eyes widened. He fumbled to reach for Riolu's pokeball, and obtained it in minimal time. The aura Pokemon scattered down Sonjo's clothes, and was successfully recalled. Putting Riolu's mobile home aside, he grasped Combusken's pokeball, and hurled it in front of himself. The light revealed the fighting bird, observing the now webby battlefield.

So, it was a pursuer...

 

[Carrie_Slovak]

Carrie, having heard Arita's advice, swore softly to herself as she grabbed for Mischief's Pokeball. Of all the times to leave Espeon behind, she had to pick today...

She enlarged the Pokeball and was about to let Mischief out before she spotted the Ariados. She frowned.

'Let them handle the Ghost; I'll handle the bug.'

She moved her hand down her belt, grabbing Charles' Pokeball instead. With a click and a toss the Charizard reared up before her, flames sprouting from his nostrils. He looked at her quizzically.

"Ambush," She explained shortly. He eyed her for a moment then nodded, his eyes moving to the spider that was still rapidly descending upon their group.

"Flamethrower!"

A great plume of fire burst from his mouth with a heave, rocketing up to meet the Ariados.