Open Unova RP:All-Nighter

[sgiovannii]

"That's really impressive, I'm jealous. How long have you been a trainer?" He asked, but when he was presented with her assessment of him he hummed in thought. "Thank you... we do get along pretty well, I guess," he joked, reaching up to pat his Azurill on the head, Mira practically purring in delight. His jaw dropped and he stopped in his tracks, staring at Lexi and Arcanine incredulously. "... Really? Like, seriously?" He asked her, and then Arcanine, looking between the two of them.

Still, no need to ask him twice. With Lexi's assistance (and Arcanine's), he was lifted onto the Pokemon's back, barely able to restrain himself from bouncing in delight like Mira was currently doing on his shoulder.

 

[Lexiepedia]

"I've been a trainer since I was 10, Feralgator was my starter. I know it's weird for a Johoto pokémon to be a Sinnoh girl's Pokémon, but I was visiting my brother in Johoto and Professor Elm was kind enough to give me a cute blue pokémon. What about you? How long have you been a trainer." Lexie asked, curious to know more about her new friend. She giggled at his reaction to her question. "Yes really and seriously, you haven't lived until you ride on the back of an Arcanine!" She exclaimed, reaching her hand out to him. She hoisted him up on her Arcanine. His warm, soft fur acting as a cushion for them. Arcanine began moving down the path, while Lexie admired the flowers and buzzing bug pokémon.

 

[sgiovannii]

"I don't think it's weird at all, but you got really lucky. Your brother lives in Johto?" He asked curiously, as the region was a significant distance away from snowy Sinnoh. He could only imagine having family in another region to visit. "Thank you so much, thank you so much, thank you so much," he repeated, basically buzzing with excitement. Mira could barely sit still, the Polka Dot Pokemon happily bounding to and from Damian's head and shoulders. "So if you don't mind me asking, how come you aren't starting with a new team?"

 

[Lexiepedia]

"Yeah, I am really lucky, I was very happy to recieve Totodile. My bother lives in Johto and my sister lives in Hoenn. They both like to travel like me, but they decided to stay in those regions." Lexie said. "But I'm happy they did, because I can visit them a lot and check out all the pokémon there." She grinned. She patted Arcanines head and listened to Damian's question. "I mean I thought about it but, I've been with this guys for long, it didn't feel right going to a new region and now bringing them with me. That's not going to stop me from catching new pokémon though!"

 

[sgiovannii]

"I'm jealous. I wish I had older siblings to look up to like that. You must be really proud." The little walk was nice, Arcanine's fur providing warm, soft handholds for Damian to stabilize himself with. They had reached the edge of the city again, Arcanine walking them through the town gates and down the route. "I understand that. It also doesn't hurt to have a little more firepower if we need it."

(Sorry for the lag! Just finished dinner. Also we need more people tbh)

 

[Lexiepedia]

(I know, but no one else is replying)

"Yeah, they're both strong and I'm proud of them. I'm glad to have them, but sometimes they're a pain." Lexie smiled brightly as they reached the gates of the town. Excitement started building up the closer they got. "I wonder what there is to do here." She asked. She could already here the loud noises coming from the town, laughing and yelling from both people and pokémon alike.

 

[sgiovannii]

The trip up Route 1 went by in no time at all, thanks to their huge, canine friend. Yet the leisurely stroll was just long enough to give the two trainers time to enjoy the wonderful, lush greenery around them, the scent of flowers in the air. The two were laughing by the time they reached Accumula Town, excited by the sound of the bustling city. "I don't know, but hopefully there's a lot," he replied, peering over her shoulder as Arcanine reached the top of a short incline, Accumula Town sprawled out beneath them.

About ten minutes or so later, they were surrounded by the many impressive buildings the town had to offer as they wandered along its main street. Mira was overjoyed by the sights and noise, jumping down from Damian's shoulder to attempt (and fail) to climb Arcanine for a better view. "This place is so pretty! But..." he breathed, "I can see why the map describes it as having a ton of hills. My calves and thighs are dying already," he groaned to Lexie, stopping for a moment to rub his legs. He caught a blur out of the corner of his eye, and he just barely moved in time to avoid getting ran into by a group of three young men, who didn't even seem to notice as they ran past their little group. "Watch it!" Damian scoffed at them, but the annoyance in his face faded to curiosity when he saw the huge group of people the boys were so eager to join. "What even..."

(You can choose what happens next haha)

 

[Dan_The_Dapper]

(Sorry about being super absent for the majority of this the computer has been in the shop for a while now anyway on with the show)

Chad sighs roaming through the town Penny following closely behind him.The two were walking around aimlessly until they come across two people around Chad's age group."So...wanna ask if they know where it is?" He asks kneeling down patting his Poochyena on the head.

"Yena?" Penny barks curiously tilting its head to the side.

"I have no idea what you just said but I'll take it as a yes." he snickers getting up walking towards Damian."Excuse me man but do you know the quickest route to Numeva Town?" he sighs adjusting his glasses ever-so-slightly.

 

[sgiovannii]

(No worries!)

Another boy's voice distracted Damian from the group of people congregating over who knows what, and he turned behind him to see who seemed to be speaking to him. A tall, blonde-haired boy with glasses, appearing around their age, was facing him and Lexie, a curious Poochyena at his side. Arcanine walked over to Lexie when he saw the stranger approach, eyeing him carefully, but Mira was busy dancing along the big dog's back.

"Nuvema Town," Damian repeated, eyebrows raised. "We just came from there, actually. You can find Route 1 just down the street here, and it'll take you there," he gestured behind the group, in the direction of the mob of people who appeared to be spectating... something. He turned back to the stranger, pointing his thumb towards the group of people. "Do you know what's going on over there, by the way?"

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie attempted to jump off of her Arcanine to join her friends on the ground. She failed miserably and fell flat on her face. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head. "You know, believe it or not, that's the second time i've fallen since I've been in Unova." She fully got up and dusted herself off before hearing people cheering and being pushed back by a boy running over to join the crowd. Luckily, she was able to balance herself so she didn't fall on the ground, again. "Whatever's going on over there seems to be really popular." She said to Damian, as she walked closer to him. She heard a low growl come from Aracnine as he stood in front of her, trying to protect her. The big dog eyed the stranger walking near them. She looked around Arcanine to get a better look at who he was trying to protect her from. She spotted a boy with glasses, who seemed to be around her age, and a cute Poochyena. She softly patted Arcanine's side to calm him down. "It's okay, he's just a trainer." Arcanine nodded and moved out of her way, not letting his guard down though. She heard the boy ask Damian for directions, which Damian gave him. "I take it you're not from around here?" She said to the boy with glasses. "We're not either. I'm Lexie." She said as she waved slightly.

 

[sgiovannii]

"And I'm Damian," the boy said with a smile, giving the other male a wave of his own. A cheer erupted from the crowd, and once again the green-eyed boy's focus was drawn towards it. The crowd was getting pretty riled up now, and they seemed to be circled around something; or more accurately, a pair of young adults. A quick break in the crowd showed the two standing opposite one another, tense looks on their faces. It only meant one thing. "A battle," Damian said softly, but then eagerly turned to Lexie. "It's a battle! Come on!" He exclaimed in excitement, nudging her before heading off to join the crowd. "It was nice to meet you!" He called back to the boy with glasses, but practically dove to join the mass of people. "Excuse us, sorry, 'scuse us," Damian muttered as he lead the way through, Arcanine helping them get to the front easily with his sheer size. Soon they made it to the front, attaining a much better view of the battle. One of the trainers, a girl, stood behind a smug-looking Panpour, and the other (a boy) was red-faced and shouting at the small, clearly struggling white Pokemon in front of him.

"Stop being so lazy, Tynamo! You're always making me look stupid, we haven't even got one hit in! Use Thunder Wave!" The Tynamo seemed too tired to even stay afloat over the street, much less battle, and was covered in scratches; still, it wished to obey its trainer, and the excited smile Damian had faded from his face completely when he saw sparks fly from its body as it tried mustering up the energy to attack. "Let's finish up, Panpour!" The male trainer's opponent called to her blue monkey, who nodded with a smirk. "Water Gun!" The jet of water smacked into the Tynamo, knocking it into the ground hard. The crowd cheered, as the outcome was obvious, and rushed to congratulate the winner or to challenge her to a battle themselves. Damian, though, was focused on the Tynamo... and its trainer, who was walking away down the street.

Anger flooded him, and he rushed forward. "Hey! Loser!" The boy who lost stopped, and turned to glare.

"What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Damian scoffed, gesturing to the Tynamo; it seemed conscious, but far too weak to move. "You need to get it to a Pokemon Center!"

The other boy rolled his eyes, turning to leave again and waving them off. "I don't want it. The runt's lost me too many battles already, and I'm done being publicly humiliated." The boy turned into an alley, disappearing from view. Damian's jaw was clenched, his anger evident as he turned back to Lexie, their Pokemon, and the Tynamo. "What should we do?" He asked her, running a shaky hand through his hair as he tried to calm down.

 

[Lexiepedia]

"Ooh, a battle!" Lexie exclaimed, following Damian to where all the excitement was. She loved watching pokemon battles, and she couldn't wait to see how this one turned out. "Feel free to come along with us!" She shouted back to the boy with glasses and his cute Poochyena. Arcanine made it easy for them to quickly move up to the front of the crowd. His large size and intimidating demeanor always made it easy to move through large crowds like this. When they reached the front, Arcanine sat down next to Lexie, and Damian was to the other side of her. She was smiling as she saw the confident blue monkey. "Wow, Panpour's a cute pokemon," she added, as she watched the female give another command to the elemental monkey. Her eyes wondered to the female's opponent, and her heart sank when she say the poor Tynamo. It was barely hanging on by a thread but the electric eel didn't want to disappoint its trainer. Tiny sparks flew from its body as it tried to carry out an attack. Lexie watched in horror as the Panpour hit the Tynamo with a water gun attack. The tiny eel pokemon couldn't handle anymore and fell to the ground. She felt her anger in every part of her body when the trainer just left his pokemon on the ground. Her face was red and she yelled out to the horrible boy. "What kind of trainer are you? Pokemon are our friends, how dare you just abandon it in its time of need? Maybe it's for the best because you're a pathetic excuse for a human being and Tynamo will be much better without you!" She screamed, causing people to look over at her with shocked expressions on their faces. She rushed over to the pokemon and picked it up in her hands and then gently cradled it in her arms. Her expression softened as she saw the hurt pokemon, its breathing shallow and shaky. She walked over to Damian. "We need to get Tynamo to a pokemon center and fast." She hopped up on Arcanine, leaving room for Damian in front of her. "Will you lead the way? Arcanine will push through anyone in our way." She said, anger still coursing through her. Her anger was blinding and she was considering letting Arcanine torch that awful trainer.

 

[sgiovannii]

If Damian thought he was outraged, he didn't hold a candle compared to Lexie. Her outburst was enough to make him feel ashamed, and he didn't even do anything; he just knew now that wherever that trainer went, her words would stick with him for a long time. For a second he wanted to compliment her, but her words brought him back to the seriousness of the situation. "Uh, right, yeah. Mira, come here, please," he called to his little blue mouse. The Azurill leaned over the Tynamo in Lexie's arms, concern on her face, but obediently jumped off of Arcanine and onto her trainer's shoulders. Damian jogged forward down Accumula Town's main street, calling for pedestrians to watch out as he and Arcanine raced in their search for a Pokemon Center. Reaching the end of the block, Damian looked around quickly and finally saw the familiar red roof over to their left. A few moments later, the center's sliding glass doors opened in just enough time for the group to rush in, startling Nurse Joy.

"What's the matter?" The kindly nurse asked as she quickly walked over, her Audino assistant skipping alongside her. "It's... this Tynamo... miss," Damian started, his sentence broken up as he tried catching his breath. Cursed asthma. "It... was in a battle... hurt really bad... trainer was a jerk," he gestured to the Pokemon in Lexie's arms.

 

[Lexiepedia]

The whole way over to the Pokemon Center, Lexie kept her eyes focused on Tynamo. The tiny pokemon had barely moved since its battle with Panpour. "It's okay, Tyanmo. We're almost to the Pokemon Center, and they'll fix you right up," She said to the electric eel, whose breathing was still slow and shallow. She frowned, and then felt anger rise through her body again. If she ever saw that trainer again, she would greet him with a punch to the face. Whoever would abandon their pokemon deserves a good punch to the face. Before she knew it, she felt the familiar cold air hit her face and she knew they had arrived at the Pokecenter. She jumped off of Arcanine and rushed over to Nurse Joy, listening to Damian's broken up sentence. She managed to grab her own inhaler out of her backpack and handed it to him before talking to the kind pink-haired nurse and her Audino assistant. "There was a battle in the streets and one of the trainers had this Tynamo, and it got hurt really bad. The trainer just left it on the ground, so we rushed it over here as soon as we could. It's in pretty bad shape." Lexie said, frowning as she handed over the Tynamo to Nurse Joy. Audino brought over a stretcher to where they were and Nurse Joy gently placed the pokemon and rushed through the double doors of the PokeCenter, where they were going to do everything they can for the poor Tynamo. She felt tears sting her eyes and she tried to blink them away. Yeah, she was definitely going to punch that guy if she ever saw him again.

 

[sgiovannii]

"Thank you..." he said to Lexie between deep breaths, taking her inhaler in his hand just in case he needed it. In a matter of moments, though, his breathing was under control again, and he waited until she was finished explaing the situation to Nurse Joy before handing it back with another word of thanks. The slight squeak of wheels reached his ears, and he noticed the Audino had come back with a stretcher. "Poor guy..." he sighed, rubbing in between Mira's ears soothingly. The Azurill still couldn't help but be concerned, watching Tynamo's weak, labored breathing.

Damian gestured to Lexie, following Nurse Joy until she disappeared through the double doors, and they entered the waiting room. "I've never seen something like that before..." he said softly, taking a seat on one of the couches lining the wall. Mira settled into his lap, forlornly sitting back against the ball on her tail. "It looked way too roughed up from just that battle alone, don't you think? What do you think that guy has been putting poor Tynamo through?"

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie grabbed her inhaler and put it back in her backpack and followed Damian to the waiting room. She sat down near him on the couch and Arcanine laid down in front of her feet, a deep sadness in his big eyes. She could tell he was worried about Tynamo too and frowned. "He said that Tynamo made him lose many battles before, so I'm sure the poor thing has been in this situation multiple times. It wasn't Tynamo's fault though, that guy was just a poor pokemon trainer." She frowned again, "What if he has other pokemon that he treats just like he treated Tynamo, if not worse." She looked down, her green eyes glistening. "People like that shouldn't be allowed to have pokemon." She sighed and looked at Damian, "I'm really worried about Tynamo, I really hope it's okay."

 

[sgiovannii]

He crossed his legs in front of him and leaned back in his seat on the couch, staring up at the tall cieling and white lights. "What an absolutely terrible person... you're right, the fault is entirely that guy's. I hope his mentality gets better, or his Pokemon leave him, or... or something," he sighed, rubbing his Azurill's soft head again. Now it was to calm himself more than anything. "It's literal abuse. I hope the little guy is okay, too, but judging from how long it seemed to have held out in that battle, it seems like a fighter."

A Pokemon Center was a curious place. Here in Unova, they were large enough to not only have the standard dining and lodging areas for trainers, as well as medical rooms, but had decently sized Pokemarts incorporated into them as well. It was designed to not only be a place of healing, but was a home away from home of sorts, a place for trainers and Pokemon to relax and recuperate on their journeys. However, in that waiting room, the Damian and Lexie were hardly relaxed. A clock hanging up on the opposite wall ticked every second, Damian's foot tapping to the beat unknowingly for a while as they waited.

After about forty minutes, the boy sighed and stood with a stretch, moving Mira to his shoulder and waking her from a nap she'd just fallen into in the process. "I think I'm going to go get a soda or something, do you guys want anything?" He asked Lexie and Arcanine, but just as he was finishing his sentence a bell went off with a gentle ding! The sliding doors opened, and Nurse Joy walked through with Audino following behind her, a smile on both of their faces. And in her arms...

"Tynamo!"

(Feel free to take the lead! It's fun to build off one another like that )

 

[Lexiepedia]

"I made a vow to beat that guy senseless if I ever see him again," Lexie said, a slight pout on her face. She looked around the Pokecenter and studied the people and pokemon that were in there with them. They all seemed happy and carefree, like nothing was wrong in their world, but Lexie felt like hers shifted. She'd never seen a pokemon in that condition before. She probably looked like a worried mess to the joyous trainers and their pokemon. "Tynamo definitely seems like a fighter, it was obviously such a great and kind pokemon." She added, trying to distract herself from silently judging people. She laid back and watched the clock for what felt like forever. She felt her eyes close and felt into a light sleep. She had begun slightly snoring when she felt Damian get out of the couch, waking her from her what she could only call a worry nap. She rubbed her eyes and saw Nurse Joy coming out of the sliding doors, holding Tynamo in her arms. She leapt off the couch and jumped over Arcanine, rushing over to the pink-haired woman. The large dog got up and stretched and followed quickly behind his trainer. Tynamo was full of energy and its eyes were closed in a cheerful way. She couldn't help but smile at the cute electric eel. "Tynamo did great in there. It will make a full recover. For the next few days, keep it away from battles and allow it to get plenty of rest." Nurse Joy said as she gently handed over Tynamo to Lexie. Lexie held it in her arms and she smiled down at it. "You had us really worried there for a moment, Tynamo." She said, as she lightly patted the top of its head. She paused for a moment. "Tynamo, would you like to join Damian and I on our journey through Unova?" The Tynamo made a slight squealing noise and nodded its tiny head. She looked over to Damian, "Looks like you have a new member to your team," She said, smiling, as she handed Tynamo over to him.

 

[sgiovannii]

Damian almost tripped over himself, he was so happy to see Tynamo in such a great state. He jumped over to them, beaming happily, and Mira reflected his attitude perfectly. The small water mouse was up and bouncing again, excitedly jumping from Damian's shoulder to Arcanine's head, squeaking as if she was needlessly pointing Tynamo's health out to the large dog. "Thank you so much, miss!" Nurse Joy smiled at them and nodded, and headed back towards the lobby to go handle some paperwork, Audino waving at them as it followed her. "Yeah, we're so glad to see you're okay!" He chuckled at the tiny eel, who happily squeaked in Lexie's arms. As if the moment couldn't get any better, the little thing actually wanted to go with them, and Damian felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Wait, what?" He blinked at her, a small blush on his cheeks as he looked between his friend and Tynamo. "A-Are you sure? I mean, I'd definitely love to, but what about you?"

 

[Lexiepedia]

Arcanine panted happily and wagged his tail. He was like a puppy full of happiness. "Thank you so much! You're both amazing!" Lexie said as she waved to Nurse Joy and Audino. She looked at her friend and noticed his small blush and smiled. "Well, of course I'm sure. You're an amazing trainer, and you're amazing with your pokemon. I also have six pokemon with me and this way we can all still travel together. I won't have to leave anyone in the P.C." Tynamo was still squeaking, full of excitement. "Look how excited Tynamo is to travel with us, it's so cute, it definitely belongs on your team," She said as she giggled at the electric eel's responses to what they were saying. "I guess all you need to do now is put this little cutie in a pokeball." She smiled at Tynamo as it wiggled, happy to be with them on their journey.

 

[sgiovannii]

"But..." he glanced at Mira, who had squeaked to get his attention. The Azurill was glaring at him intently, puffed up as if she were trying to intimidate her trainer into saying yes; it was clear she wanted someone as small as she was around to play with badly. Damian chuckled a bit shyly, staring down at the floor for just a moment while he mulled it over before looking back up at Lexie. "Thank you so much, Lexie, really," he said sincerely. He stretched a hand out to Tynamo, and the Pokemon floated over to check him out, but was soon snuggling up against him comfortably. "Nice to officially meet you, too, little guy," Damian chuckled. He pulled a Pokeball from his pocket, enlarging it and holding it out to the little eel. Tynamo tapped the button on the center and was enveloped in red light as it was sucked inside.

One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes. Click.

Damian stared at the ball in his hand for a moment before releasing his new Pokemon, Mira bouncing happily as Tyamo's form emerged and zoomed around with just as much zeal. "Welcome to the team, tough guy," Damian laughed. Tynamo zoomed over to officially greet Arcanine and Mira, and while the three became acquainted Damian turned back to Lexie with a snap of his fingers. "Oh! What's next on the plan, boss? You want to check out the town a bit more, relax here, head out? Personally I'm fine with anything, it'll still be a while before it's dark out."

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie laughed at Mira, the small pokemon had the power to get whatever she wanted. She was just too cute. "See, everyone thinks Tynamo should join your team," She said as Arcanine barked in agreement. She smiled at her friend as he thanked her, "Don't thank me, you deserve it, Tynamo is going to be really happy with you." She watched at the Tynamo floated over to Damian and was easily caught by him. When Tynamo came out of his pokeball, Arcanine laid down on the ground, so he could get a better view of Mira and the electric eel. "Are you planning on giving Tynamo a nickname?" She asked as she watched her giant dog roll around on the ground with Tynamo and Mira playing along with him. She pondered for a moment, thinking of what to do next. "Well..." She started, "Do you want to travel to the next town?" She suggested, "I'm fairly certain there's a gym there, if you want to challenge it."

 

[sgiovannii]

His friend's question had him thinking, his mind mulling it over while he watched their Pokemon mess around on the floor together. "Maybe. Everyone else on my team has one," he replied, but perked up when an idea popped into his head. "I think I like... Moray," he said, kneeling down and waving Tynamo over for a moment. The little eel floated up curiously, and Mira huffed from within Arcanine's mane where she had been playing hide and seek with her new friend. "Can I call you Moray, Tynamo? Is that okay?" He asked, but the way the Pokemon floated rapidly in circles with a happy look on its face was answer enough. Damian laughed and stood again, but not before taking out a bag of chips, opening the bag up and offering some to Lexie. "That sounds like a good idea to me! Though to be honest, I'd like to see you battle. I feel like you'd demolish that gym, haha."

 

[Lexiepedia]

"I really like the name Moray, it's very fitting." Lexie smiled as she watched the pokemon playing. Another huge smile came across her face when she saw Tynamo floating in circles after hearing it's new name. "I think Moray really likes its name too." Moray floated back over to Arcanine and Mira and continued to play with them. Lexie's mouth began watering as she saw her friend take out the bag of chips and offered her some. "Thank you," she said as she grabbed a small handful and shoved them in her mouth. She started laughing at his suggestion to take on the gym leader in the next town, "I would annihilate their pokemon, It wouldn't be too fair." She thought for a second, "Then again, it would be kind of funny to see the look on their face when I send out one of my huge pokemon."

 

[sgiovannii]

Seeing the thoughtful look on her face made her companion probably a bit too hopeful. Would she actually do it? Because that would be amazing! "Whatever you decide..." he started, munching on a chip as he pretended to act nonchalant. "I'm totally fine with. But you're right, let's get going!" A few moments later, the trainers and their Pokemon were back outside the center and heading off towards Route 2, though Damian was groaning.

"Whoever decided to build an entire town around so many hills deserves to be thrown off one," he muttered as they trudged up the street, passing various small shops and businesses on their way. He had recalled Mira and Moray, as they were getting a bit too wild, and he didn't want to chase after the Azurill if she rolled down the hill. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they crested a large hill and came face to face with their next path, which snaked far through the trees.

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie grabbed another small handful of chips and shoved it in her mouth. She grabbed her backpack and took Arcanine's pokeball out and returned him, "You've been so helpful today, get some rest." She told him as she rubbed the pokeball. She shuffled throw her backpack some more and found the pokeball containing Alakazam. She let him out and smiled as her psychic pokemon stood in front of her. He was smiling for a moment before he saw Damian and his pokemon, and gained a stern look on his face. Lexie rolled her eyes and laughed, and walked with everyone out of the pokecenter. Her legs were already killing her as they marched up the street. "Ugh, I volunteer to throw them off a hill myself," Lexie said, responding to her friend's very true comment. She watched as Damian returned his pokemon and looked over at Alakazam, who was calmly bending and unbending the spoons in his hand with his psychic power. When they came face to face with their next path, Lexie almost cried tears of joy. She grabbed a chocolate bar out of her backpack and broke some pieces off and ate them. She offered the bar to her friend, "I got this at the first pokecenter we stopped at, and let me just say that it's amazing."

 

[sgiovannii]

The road to Striaton City was yet another pleasant one. The sun's light made the tall trees cast shadows over the path that helped protect them from the heat, and the nice breeze was very refreshing. The sounds of their steps crunching softly on the dirt ground were accompanied by the tweets of bird Pokemon in the trees above, or the drone of a plane high above. On a branch above them, a Sewaddle watched them pass curiously. "So, question," Damian began after a moment of peaceful, comfortable silence. "Have you ever travelled with anyone else before?" The question may have been a bit unexpected, but he was curious since he himself had lacked that experience, but it was something he had always wanted. Besides, he enjoyed listening to Lexie, his friend was fun to talk to and clearly had plenty of knowledge to share.

A few minutes later, Damian stopped with a soft gasp. They had just gotten through the main group of trees, with only grass ahead of them now, and this allowed for a spectacular view of their next destination. Even this far away, Striaton City's big skyscrapers knocked Damian for a surprise after the recent small towns he and Lexie had come from, the tall buildings shining brightly in the sunlight. This was the first city to truly remind Damian of back home, and he got even more excited. "There it is! C'mon, we're almost there!"

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie enjoyed the cool gentle breeze and the small bits of sunlight peeking through the trees. She smiled at the passing pokemon, various kinds of flying, bug, and grass types. When Alakazam saw a Sewaddle scamper across the path, the large psi pokemon almost jumped into Lexie's arm. She couldn't help but laugh at his scared demeanor. She then heard her friend's question. "No actually, no one really wants to travel with the shy, awkward girl that has a mean streak. What about you? I'm sure you've had plenty of companions." She responded, referring to his kindness and generosity. When Lexie saw the town, she smiled as brightly as possible. It was huge and bustling with people. She squealed as the group ran towards Striaton City, excitement coursing through all of them.

 

[sgiovannii]

The group continued their walk down the well-traveled path, making their way though the sea of grass and bushes on either side of them. Damian rolled his eyes playfully at her words. "I really find that hard to believe. You're a very nice person! As for me, I guess the opportunity never really came up," he shrugged, gazing out over the field and narrowly avoiding tripping over a rock as a result. "I've always stayed home and never really traveled anywhere far without my family coming with me. So this is... it's really awesome, you know?"

In the distance, the buildings appeared to grow the closer they appeared, higher and higher until they were nearly looming over them. They had finally reached the wooded outskirts of the city, but they still had a bit of a way to go. Damian fanned himself with a hand, taking a break on a log someone had moved to the side of the road. He took a swig from his water bottle and handed it to Lexie as an offering to her and Alakazam, and leaned back against the trunk of an upright tree. "We're so close, finally. And it only took us..." he paused, checking his Pokedex. "Almost five hours, no big deal," he groaned tiredly, tossing his hands into the air. To his surprise, instead of feeling the rough bark of the tree trunk above him, he felt something smooth and cool. Damian looked at Lexie quizzically, then turned and stared: stapled to the tree was a missing poster, featuring a smiling young boy that couldn't have been more than seven years old.

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie smiled sadly, "Well people back home don't really think that. They just think i'm weird or different. They're right though, I am weird and different, and i wouldn't want to be anything else. I don't think they should outcast me for that." She shrugged and continue, "but there's nothing I can do about that. This is really amazing, i've never had this much fun before," she said as she playfully hugged his arm. Once they reached the outskirts of town, Lexie grinned, suddenly feeling energized. She was extremely happy they were so close. She grabbed his water bottle and took a sip, she offered some to Alakazam, but he shook his head and used to psychic powers to unzip her backpack and get her water bottle. Lexie handed Damian's water bottle back to him and smiled, "Thank you, i'm sorry about Alakazam, he likes the water I bring with me from Sinnoh." When Damian looked at her with a confused look on his face, she examined the poster. "It's a missing poster for a child," she frowned, "that's so sad."

 

[sgiovannii]

"It must be really tasty water," he chuckled, watching the Psychic-Type drink from Lexie's bottle with delight. He had definitely heard good things about Sinnoh water, or more generally, Sinnoh itself. It was a northern region with enormous snowcapped mountains and frosty forests, so there was no doubt they would have better access to nature's delights. Damian stood up straight, leaning in closer to the poster with a forlorn frown. "Guess his name was Dylan... and it says he was last seen playing with some friends in these exact woods," he said softly, and with a sighed hiked his pack up on his shoulders. With a subconscious look around the trees, he nodded to Lexie down the path to Striaton and the duo plus Alakazam were moving again, after Lexie was ready.

They had barely walked fifty feet, however, when they encountered another poster, with a third right below, each depicting two missing young girls: one nine, the other six. These explained they had gone missing in the city itself, nearly two weeks ago. "Just like that boy," Damian pointed out, looking over at Lexie and Alakazam in discomfort. The trio walked on, their sadness practically stifling the air, but in their distracted states the trainers hardly noticed the enormous sign in front of them. Naturally, Alakazam snapped them out of it. 'Welcome to Striaton City!' the sign read, and Damian was smiling again. "We made it, Lexie!"

 

[Lexiepedia]

"Oh it's the best water i've ever had, I would let you try some but Alakazam is hogging it all," Lexie said, laughing at her psychic pokémon gripping the water bottle with all his might. As she watched Damian read the missing flyer, a chill shivered down her spine. It was terrifying to think someone went missing right where they stood. As they ventured closer to the city, they saw more missing posters. This caused Lexie's uneasiness to build up more rapidly. She was scared and sad, but most importantly she just wanted the children to be safely found. "This may be a very, very stupid idea, but maybe we should look for the children in the woods." She suggested, but soon realized how insane she sounded. She cleared her throat and exclaimed when she saw the sign, "I'm so glad we're finally here!"

 

[sgiovannii]

After hearing her words, Damian looked back over his shoulder towards the woods. "You think so?" He asked, the notion sounding pretty good to him. The two trainers were certainly in no hurry, so after getting their badges why shouldn't they spend some time looking? Wouldn't hurt to help. Damian was wowed by the city the deeper they went; the architecture of its buildings was beautiful, and they passed so many skyscrapers, apartment complexes, shops, restaurants, and even passed through an open air market.

"I definitely want to check this place out some more," Damian said to his companion as they passed booth after booth of people selling various goods, like fruits and vegetables or clothing. The group arrived at the Pokemon Center, but as they neared Damian saw an Officer Jenny fussing with something on the outside of one of the center windows. He turned to Lexie with a gasp when he saw what it was.

"Lexie, it's another missing poster..."

 

[Lexiepedia]

Lexie nodded, turning around to look at the woods too, "There's something weird and mysterious about that forest, maybe that's related to all the children that are missing." She gave to woods one more look before turning back to look at the city. Her eyes sparkled as she looking at everything Striaton had to offer. "Wow..." She said, almost speechless, "This place is incredible!" She smiled at Damian, "We definitely have to check the city out more, I want to see everything!" She said, her cheerfulness obviously shining through. As they arrived at the Pokemon Center, her eyes followed Damian's to what he was looking at. Her mouth dropped as she saw the missing poster, the fourth one they had seen since the forest. "That's it, we have to go search the woods, we have to find those kids and figure out what's taking them." She said, determination and sadness both rising in her. She was sad that these young children were going missing and she was determined to put a stop to it. She sighed, "This is all so tragic."

 

[sgiovannii]

The Officer Jenny's back straightened with a start, their words reaching her ears, and she marched over to them quickly. "Excuse me, but I'm sorry, kids. It really isn't safe for you to be out searching for these missing children by yourselves, I can't have you doing that. It's a dangerous world out there, can't have anything happening to you as well," she said firmly, hands on her hips. Damian's eyes widened, and with a glance at Lexie he stammered out his next words. "Um... right, sorry, miss. We just meant we'll be keeping an eye out, is all, it's such a horrible situation and we want to help in any way we can," he responded gently, trying to look as innocent as possible. The officer sighed deeply, her expression briefly becoming one of fatigue and sadness. The streetlamps were beginning to come on as the sun was just beginning to near the horizon, highlighting her sad features even more.

"I get it, trust me. Ever since what happened at the Dreamyard..." she began, but shook her head. "Anyway, have a safe night, kids, and stay safe!" She departed on the police motorbike she had parked near the center and revved down the street, leaving the Damian to turn to Lexie with his eyebrows raised. "Dreamyard?" He repeated, curiosity rising in him. A chill breeze blew through the city and got under Damian's clothes, and he shivered and gestured towards the Pokemon Center. "Wanna head inside? We can get something to eat and look up whatever a Dreamyard is."

 

[sgiovannii]

(If anyone else wants to join, feel free to jump in!)