Pokébook: Kanto

Hayden | Stella's lighthouse

Hayden followed Sin as they went up to the top level of the tower. He didn't like leaving Kristine. But they didn't have much of a choice if it was Haunter doing the ghosting. They needed to confront him if they had any hope of getting their friends back. Kaze's Sunny Day was wearing off, but it was enough. And he didn't want to wear his pokemon out much more, if they were about to go against a life-force-draining ghost.

They reached a floor that looked like some sort of living room. Couches, chairs, a table.

No pokemon.

Sin pulled out his 'dex and scanned around the room.

Ghost energy is mysterious.

"Nothing."

Hayden wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved or not. "What now?"

Sin was already shifting through papers organized perfectly on the table. "That Haunter's got to come back at one point."

Again, Hayden wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. He kept an eye out and started to shift through the paper all the same, not sure what he was looking for. 'Felia also started looking around at her level, mostly under couches. Kaze was on the table Sin and Hayden were using, so they could see what they were doing.

"What's this?" Sin said, holding up a small box with a rather intricate lock on it.

Hayden held out his hand, catching the box a little sloppily before holding it near Kaze's nose.

"Looks like a TM," he said quietly. "Similar to th'one that got Kaze and 'Felia to learn Sunny Day."

Sin took it back. "Which one do you think this is?"

Hayden shrugged, trying not to look around (again). "Dunno. Instructions came with it."

Sin began looking around the papers with a purpose. "I've never seen one before, pardon."

Hayden tried not to stare. "You've never used one?"

The other boy just shook his head. "When I got Cade, he'd already been exposed to Sunny Day. I have read about them, though."

Hayden scratched Kaze's head. "Kaze didn't come with much. The breeder didn't have many plans for him."

"Vul-pix," the pokemon said disgustedly. Hayden smiled a bit. "Past being a pillow pet."

Sin smiled a bit, too. "Guess he likes this better."

"Pix!"

After a short while, SIn held up another piece of paper. "This looks like the TM instruction! It's for..." He squinted. "Safeguard."

Hayden blinked and suddenly remembered that they'd been gone awhile, with no sign of pokemon, and Kristine was still probably shuddering the floor under them. "Maybe..."

"Hm?" Sin said, barely looking up from the list of compatible pokemon.

"Maybe that could save Kristine!"

Sin looked up and a whole mix of emotions went through his face. From shock to excitement to fear. That it'd take too long or they were already too late. He snatched up the TM and instructions. "Let's get down there."

They were much faster going down than going up. To mixed relief, Kristine was still shuddering. Pikachu was beside the bed with sparks flying out of his cheeks. Had he had to zap her? Kristine's hair indicated that maybe.

Hayden didn't want to know why, but he could guess.

Before either of them could get started on the rubic's cube like TM— Hayden could remember the Sunny Day one taking him awhile (probably too long but they could try; if it meant not facing that Haunter for awhile he'd be happy to)— their concentration was broken by a shrill "Cu-BOOOOOONE!"

Hayden's head whipped around to where 'Felia had been watching the door, to see Haunter floating over her, hand going out to touch her.

"Ophelia!"

She was rooted to the spot. Had she been licked? Already touched? Apparently not, as Haunter put a hand on her head and chuckled, eyes closing and head bobbing from side to side.

No. No no no no please NO.

Ophelia staggered and fell back. The shuddering started not long after.

Kristine he'd been able to half handle. But not Ophelia. Not her.

He wouldn't let that happen.

Even though Kaze was tired, and had never used Safeguard before, he couldn't wait for the TM to be solved anymore. He had to try. "Kaze, Safeguard!"

Kaze's eyes closed and his tails started twitching. A low "vuuuuuuuulllll" was growing in his throat as he concentrated. Hayden didn't want to rush him by saying 'hurry.' Kristine’s shivering was slowing down, but he didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad. Ophelia's was barely effected. A soft orange-brown glow was beginning to form around the vulpix's tails.

Cade barked, beginning to mouth the TM as Sin worked on it. The teeth marks seemed to help click it around, as the coloured dots began lining up. That TM had a system Hayden didn't remember and he didn't bother trying. He'd gone over to Ophelia and had her on his lap in some hope to warm her up. The Safeguard seemed to be working on her the best, as her shivering was calming down and she kept moaning and trying to open her eyes, something Kristine hadn't been able to do.

Click.

Hayden looked up to see a cloud of brown-orange gas— like what Moltese had spread over Kaze— begin to swirl around both Sin and Cade. Cade was standing straighter, eyes staring far into the distance as he absorbed the information. Sin was also staring in bewilderment, having to learn the move just as much as Cade.

Once the cloud had dissipated, both shook themselves out and Sin barked out, "Cade, help Kaze out with Safeguard!"

Cade nodded and started growling. The cold ghost energy began getting pushed out as two pokemon— it helped they were Fire types— protected the group from the environment. Which at present seemed to be focused on killing them. Or at least turning them all into ghosts. Kaze was getting tired; Hayden put a hand on the vulpix's head for support which seemed to help.

Hayden tried not to shiver when he heard a "haaaaaaaaunter" somewhere just outside of the warm zone. But it wasn't a constant shiver. He hadn't been touched.

He hoped.

Ophelia opened her eyes as Safeguard wrapped around her. Hayden half exhaled and hugged her so tight she let out a soft "bone!" in protest, but once he'd loosened his grip enough she could hug him back she was fine. He heard a very relieved "Cubooooone" in his ear.

The two pokemon’s growls got louder, and the Safeguard’s effects filled the whole room. Kaze flopped down, panting, having spent a lot of energy to protect the room. Cade was sitting down and was panting quietly. Thankfully they’d had both pokemon using it. Hayden figured Cade's Safeguard had been stronger, thanks to it being learned by TM. But he couldn't be sure— Kaze has never used his TM moves at full strength until recently.

Kristine had stopped shuddering. The others, pokemon included (especially Lumichu) were holding their breath. Had they done Safeguard in time...?

She opened her eyes and everybody exhaled.

“PIKA!”

Before she even had a chance to sit up there was a mouse pokemon on her chest snuggling under her neck. Her arms went around him almost automatically as she sat up. “What... what happened?”

“Haunter touched you,” Sin said quietly. “You were almost a ghost.”

She looked at her hands, turning one over while Pikachu demanded the other stay around him. “How— why aren’t I?”

Hayden had bent down and scooped Kaze up in his arms. He didn’t want to put the vulpix in his pokeball, just in case they needed another fire attack. ‘Felia was tugging on his pant leg, not quite sure what to do about it all. He was kneeling to pat her head. “Safeguard. Kaze and Cade did it.”

She looked at them, expression saying as clearly as any book that she was confused.

Sin continued patting Cade. “It protects a group from the environment. So the ghosts energy can’t come in here.”

“But what about the ghost pokemon?” Kristine asked, still not completely herself.

Hayden and Sin looked at each other, their pokemon also exchanging glances. “We’re not sure about that one.”

They all swallowed.

Kristine was the first to break the silence. “So what are we dealing with?”

“A Haunter, a Gastly...”

Sin cleared his throat. “And a Gengar.”

“You’re kidding me,” Kristine and Hayden said in unison.

Sin shook his head. “I ran into it on my way up... when Noah tacked it, the Gengar started crying. Then it vanished.”

Now Hayden was surprised. For a completely different reason. “Crying?!”

“We’ve got to help it!” Kristine said, getting back to her old stuff.

Lumichu looked up at her. “Pi-KA?!”

Hayden was wondering the same thing. What in the world was she saying?

Before he could say that, he noticed the lights dimming. “‘Felia, Sunny Day.” He wasn’t going to tire Kaze anymore. Especially as the vulpix’s tails were sometimes twitching and glowing, as if he was still maintaining the attack.

“We don’t know how to help it,” Sin said in a very level tone. “And, if you hadn’t realized, Safeguard only works on one room at a time.”

“Haaaaaaaaaaunter.”

Everybody shivered and turned around. Hayden was a bit too scared to try and get any attacks out of his pokemon. Considering they were face to face with the pokemon that had probably taken Jason. And nearly taken Kristine. And Ophelia.

Lumichu hadn’t forgotten, and was about to shock Haunter into the next dimension. Kristine clamped a hand over his mouth and cheeks. “Don’t you dare!”

“What?!”

“Haunt?”

It was nice to know Haunter and everybody else was on the same page.

Kristine kept Pikachu on the bed, ignoring many protests, and walked right past Hayden (who promptly remembered to stop her from going but by the time he realized what was going on he was too late to do so) to stand in front of the Haunter.

“You’re lonely, aren’t you? That’s why you turn people into ghosts.”

Sin, Hayden, and every other pokemon in the room just stared at the floating head nodded.

Kristine smiled. “Tell you what. If you put our friend back in his body we’ll take off this Safeguard and play with you. And any friends you have here.”

The boys let out a barely-audible “what” (Lumichu saying ‘Pi-ka...’ at the same time) when Haunter smiled and nodded. It was still smiling as it floated up through the ceiling. By the time the boys had stopped staring at the spot and looked towards Kristine going to the staircase, Haunter was floating back downstairs fast enough to leave small trails of its gas in its wake.

Only now, it was accompanied by a Gastly and a Genger. And a faint outline of a little girl followed.

Sin and Hayden cautiously walked down the staircase, Cade staying behind to maintain some level of Safeguard. Just in case they needed to run back into the room.

Jason was just beginning to wake up when they got downstairs. Sin looked up the staircase and called Cade down, letting the Safeguard dissipate in the process.

“What happened?” Jason muttered, rubbing his head.

“Kristine made a deal with Haunter here,” Sin said, eyeing the ghost pokemon wearily. “You wake up, we play with him.”

“Her,” Jason said. “Her name’s Murtle.”

“It,” a small, cheery, and female voice said. “Murtle’s an it.”

Hayden just looked back to see a see-through girl. A ghost. Chances are, this was Stella.

Jason just stared at her. “But... you’d—”

She dropped the topic of gender and looked at Ophelia. “YOU need to learn how to play with dolls properly, missy. You broke one that was going to be for Kristine!”

‘Felia just looked up at her, bone slightly tense, and half-glared. “Cu-bone.”

“I think we were all just a bit scared,” Hayden said, hand behind his head.

Stella ‘hmph’ed before waving her hand towards the empty room. Hayden had to blink when he saw it was no longer empty... but filled with a table, chairs, a canopy like a gazebo with curtains at each corner going down to the floor, and carpets. It had enough seating for all of their pokemon out of their pokeballs and then some, along with the four ghosts standing around the group.

Stella motioned to the table. “Shall we go for tea?”

~

Over 2k. :3

Sinclair Audley | Stella’s Lighthouse

Though Sin had developed a certain affection for his companions over the past few weeks, one thing was painfully clear: they had never been to a tea party before.

“Shoulders back,” he commanded Kristine. “Tummy in. Pinky out! Raise your chin...”

“I see now,” Kristine said and took a sip from her dainty bone china cup. The cups were probably as old as Stella, yellowing from age but finely made. Her family, Sin surmised (he had taken a course in antique auctioning after school for a year), must have been well-off.

“How do you know these things?” Hayden whispered to him.

“Are you secretly a girl?” Jason asked. “It’s okay, you can tell me. I kind of suspected.”

“Just remember who just saved your life,” Sin warned him pointing with a delicately raised little finger. He put the teacup down and reached back- defying all protocol, of course, to pat Cade. He was proud of his puppy taking to the TM just in time to save Kristine.

“Grooooowl,” Cade said appreciatively, nuzzling Sin’s hand.

“That’s not polite!” Stella screeched and Sin quickly turned back around to apologise, only to find she was giving out to Ophelia who had just reached across the table to take Lumichu’s cupcake. Lumichu looked as if he were about to give an electrifying response.

“Piiiiiiikaaaa.....”

“Give it back, quick!” Kristine commanded Ophelia, who glanced at Hayden who gave her an admonishing look and she sadly put it back on Lumichu’s plate.

“Don’t be too disappointed,” Jason said, who was holding a cupcake of its own- with pink buttercream icing with a tiny ballerina ornament on top. Everything in Stella’s house was in excellent taste. “The cupcake’s a lie.”

“What?” asked Kristine. “But you just took a bite out of yours!”

“But it doesn’t taste like anything! It’s just ghost food.”

Sin sipped his tea and found this to be correct. The liquid level in his tea cup had gone down but sadly none of it had gone into his mouth. How upsetting. Sin was looking forward to a nice cup of Earl Grey like Crebbins used to bring him every afternoon at four.

“And you’ll all come over for my Deathday Party, won’t you?” Stella said hopefully. “We’ll have more tea and a big birthday cake with lots of pink frosting- Murtle’s really good with a piping bag, he can do almost anything-”

“He?” Kristine asked. “I thought it was an it...”

“I still thought she was a she...” said Jason who was clearly in a bad mood on account of the ghost food. “Well, this has been fun but I really do think we should be going-”

“Jason, we can’t just leave,” Sin moaned. “It’s so impolite.”

“But I’m hungry. Have you ever been dead? You’d be hungry too!”

“Just a few more minutes,” Kristine said. “Sit.”

Stella passed Jason the milk jug and said, “Silly, you don’t drink your tea black.” Jason took it with a faked grin and poured it into his teacup without looking-

except that he missed the teacup to shrieks of outrage from Stella whose face- though colourless, had definitely darkened in its transparency and looked like she was about to slap Jason for spilling the milk. Kristine looked delighted.

Then the door flew open and in walked a tall tanned but NOT BLONDE young woman wearing a pink vest and white shorts. She flicked her black hair off her face and said, “Okay, kids, this is where it gets complicated.”

“Who- who are you?” Sinclair asked, forgetting all etiquette.

“Sabrina Pond, Sinclair Audley,” she said which was impressive but was not helping in decreasing Sin’s general sense of terror.

“How did you know that?”

“Don’t worry, Jason Apparently Mason, I’ll explain later. Now." She looked directly at Stella- or at least, the space where Stella had been sitting. The little ghost girl had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

"Stella." Sabrina Pond cocked her head, speaking almost kindly to the little girl who wasn't there. "What are you doing?"

"Playing," came Stella's voice, smaller than usual.

Sabrina ran her eyes over the rest of the table. "And the rest of you don't find it the littlest bit weird that you're having tea with a dead girl, her dead Pokémon and two stray ghosts?"

"I find it pretty weird," said Jason, jumping up. Waut agreed with a "Kid." "I'm not going to lie, it's freaking the heck out of me and I was just dead-"

"He's hungry," Hayden said knowledgeably.

"Out-of-body experiences will do that to you. Oh, yeah, you weren't dead. Just in a coma, of sorts," Sabrina said vaguely. "Now, if you lovely people excuse me..."

Kristine, who had politely been trying to drink some of Stella's tea spat it back out again. "I just realised who you are!"

The boys all turned on her, shocked. Not that Sin was a snob or anything (perish the thought!) but Kristine had never seemed like the educated one of the quartet.

"You're Sabrina Pond!"

"Yes, she said that, Kristine..." said Sin patiently.

"But she's the Sabrina Pond! The gym leader! The psychic one! The one that was on the cover of Pokégirl last month!"

The boys all cringed but Kristine unashamedly jumped up and said, "Can I have your autograph? Wait, I don't have anything- can you sign Julius' helmet?!"

"Julius is my Pokémon! She can't sign his helmet!"

"Pokémon do not belong to their trainers, their trainers belong to them," Sabrina said distantly. "In any case, I will not sign anything. My purposes here are beyond the realms of reality."

"... Right..." said the four in unison.

Sabrina sighed. "This lighthouse is built on a very special spot. Don't you wonder why Stella and Murtle are here?"

"Honestly, it's such a weird situation I had barely even given that any thought," Sin said blankly.

"Stella?" Sabrina asked but the little girl did not reply. "Stella was the lighthouse keeper's daughter. You're right, that is her room up there was hers. But Stella and Murtle died in a horrible accident fifty years ago. There was a storm. The lighthouse keeper was never the same afterwards. He left this place. Went to the Whirlpool Islands in Johto. No one knows what happened to him there."

"But... Murtle's just a Haunter," Kristine said. "Just a Haunter like any other ghost Pokémon."

"She was kyll'd in the storm too," said Sabrina. "And he returned as a Haunter. I don't know what it was before."

"Murtle was a Ditto. That's why she's so good at hiding and playing Pretend with," Stella said in a small voice and popped back into existence. She had a very stubborn and petulant look on her face. "I don't appreciate you talking about me and him that way."

Still in the dark about the gender issue, Sin said, "But Ms Pond-"

"Sabrina, please."

"Why are you here? If you're the gym leader in..."

"Saffron," Kristine supplied eagerly.

"The energies here make it very good practice for me. Stella herself is often a worthy opponent. And you find the strangest things in here as if they just... come through the gaps in reality."

"Like that TM upstairs," Sin said to Hayden who nodded.

"Wait, what? You have a TM?" Jason asked. "And you didn't give it to me?!"

"Krabby," said Gumbo, clearly rebuking his master and hitting him with a pincer.

Sabrina smiled. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go upstairs myself now. Enjoy your tea."

She turned to go, but found Julius standing at the foot of the stairs brandishing a spatula. "Psy?"

"Duck," Sabrina replied and then she and Julius appeared to have a mental conversation. Sin stared at the two geniuses in action. Then he stepped aside and let Sabrina take the stairs up to the kitchen.

"If anyone wishes to battle with me, you're more than welcome. But don't be getting any ideas, you won't be squeezing a gym badge out of it."

Sinclair was too intrigued by the way her hips moved in those short shorts to even consider such a thing until Kristine slapped him over the back of his head. Gengar and Ghastly had vanished.

"Oh, don't all go," Stella said. "Sabrina's such a bore, all she wants to do is battle, she never has time for tea. Or playing dress up." Her eyes lit up. "Would you play dress up?"

Sinclair turned slowly around. "Do you know," he said, "Hayden was just admiring some of the lovely dresses in your dress-up chest. He'd love to have a go."

"Great! Come on!" Stella floated straight through Julius' head, leaving him puzzled and squawking, "DUCK! DUCK!"

"I'm so going to get you back for this," Hayden muttered.

"For giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity? Never." After all, it wasn't every day a dead fifty year old girl showed you her dress up chest while a gym leader was... meditating or something upstairs.

Sinclair wondered if he had eaten anything dodgy lately.

David | Cerulean Gate

“Are you certain I can’t convince you to stay in Cerulean longer?” Galveston stood at the heel of the gate, arms folded across his chest and head tilted. He seemed just as exhausted as the others did; none of them had rested since Nick had vanished through the drainage valves.

Eve hesitantly shook her head, a hand clutched around the strap of her bookbag. “I think it’s for the best if we move on and search for him in the south. You said some of the floodgates end in Vermilion harbor, right?”

“Well, yes...” Galveston pursed his lips, shaking his head. “But there’s no telling which floodgate he fell through. The current was too strong and thick for me to see.”

“That’s fine,” Art said quietly. His hands were subconsciously fiddling with the gear shafts of that purple Pokeball. “South is as good a place to start as any.”

“Besides,” Katya interjected, both cold and accent faded back into their normal places, “we need to move on for our own good. Not just for Nick.” She didn’t look at the others, but rather at the map of Kanto sprawled across the wall of the indoor gate. The map was a bit dated, she noticed, because Cerulean wasn’t quite as epitomized in its diagram as it deserved to be.

Everyone grew quiet, then, and turned to look at David standing along by the escalator that led underground.

“He’s gonna be this way for a while, I think.” Art shook his head and frowned.

“Yeah,” Eve murmured, “we should just get going.”

Galveston nodded and reached into his bag, pulling out a small blue handbook, giving it to Eve. “This is a moderate-level Trainer’s Manual containing some of my favorite Water and Ice attacks. I figured you four might find it useful later on.”

Eve smiled, taking the book and stashing it in her bag with a nod. “Thank you, Dr. Winters. It’s been a thrill meeting you.”

__ __ __ __

Jason | Stella’s Lighthouse

“Oh, come on!” Jason picked Krabby up off the floor after Abra sent him flying. He didn’t seem very pleased with himself for losing so quickly.

“Like you could even imagine beating me with that thing?” Sabrina flipped her hair to one side, and then the other side, laughing. “You can’t really compete with Psychic Pokemon, after all.” She took out a Pokeball and recalled Abra. “Nice try, though.” She turned her back to Jason and looked out over the ocean where clouds were rolling in.

Jason grumbled something to himself about evolution.

“You think power only comes from evolution?” Sabrina didn’t look back at him, didn’t move; she simply continued watching the clouds. “Power comes from dedication and something...well, something you can’t really tap into just by training.” She furrowed her brows and shook her head. “You came here by boat.” Jason took it as a question.

Jason thought back, thought back, thought back...but then realized that he couldn’t remember how they’d gotten to the lighthouse. Or inside it. Or how he’d gotten into the loft with Sabrina. He just remembered Stella. “Uhh...” He walked down the steps a tiny bit, ducking down to see the others still at the table with Stella.

“--and that’s when he plopped down and said ’I’M ON A SNORLAX.’” Everyone at the table burst into laughter, cackling along with the ghosts and Stella and all the Pokemon.

“Oh, but wait until you hear about Kristine’s head-over-heels crush on the dumbest boy in the entire wor--”

“--Guys, how did we get here?”

“The Magikarp.”

“Thanks.”

“World! I mean, I swear, she knows how to pick them...” The sounds faded as Jason walked back up the stairs. Sabrina was on the floor, meditating with her eyes closed, arms spread and fingers looped, just like Jason’d seen on TV.

“I, uh...” He walked near her, not sure what to do. Was it the same as someone praying when they meditated? “We came here, uh...” Small rocks and items were floating in the room--an obvious sign of Sabrina’s power at work. Jason furled his lip in and watched a teacup float up the stairs, almost like it was dancing.

“You came here by boat,” she repeated, “just like I said.” The teacup tipped over at her lips and let her sip at the ghost tea. “With the storm clouds coming in, there’s no way I’m going to let you rookies venture out on your own.” She slowly stood up, stretching. “Get your friends and Pokemon together and bring them up here.”

Jason slowly nodded, backing down the stairs. He was getting a headache from all the weird junk going on.

“--but I swear he was a girl in disguise! There’s just no way you can look that feminine and still be a man!”

“Even if you do have a mystical fire bird at your disposal.”

“I think it’d be funny if Jason had a crush on Montel,” Kristine giggled.

“Guys,” Jason interrupted, not looking at any of them, “Sabrina said she wants us all upstairs.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Stella interjected. “Sabrina wants to take you all away from me!”

“Oh does she, now?” Sinclair turned to Jason, giving him the look.

“I don’t know what she’s up to, but she says that storm clouds are headed this way, and it’s not safe for us.”

“Oh,” Kristine whispered, eyes sinking. Jason could tell--it was right there on her face--that she was afraid of storms. And it was--yep--getting worse with time.

Jason cringed as his head shocked him with another bite of pain. “Can we just go, please?”

“Haunta Hauuuun.” Murtle stretched her expression out, making an enormous sad face at Hayden.

“Murtle wants us to stay,” he said, turning to Jason, and then back to Murtle. “And I don’t exactly want to leave her, either.”

“Oh sure!” Jason sneered, throwing up his hands, “just carry along the ghost that literally killed me. She’ll be a blast to have at Christmas parties!” He sulked up the stairs, rubbing his temples.

“Well,” Kristine mused, “that could’ve been worse.”

“Haunta...” Murtle piled up the ghost dishes and put them in the sink, floating around Hayden. “Haunta Hauuuuuun!”

“I don’t know what Christmas parties Jason was talking about,” he said, “but I really want to bring her along.”

Stella put her chin in her hands and frowned. “That’s not how Pokemon trades work, you know.” She shook her head. “You have to give me something of significant value in exchange, if not a Pokemon!”

Hayden thought for a moment, pondering over what he had to give her. “Oh, what about--” He fished around for a moment in his bag and produced the Safeguard Puzzle box. “Here. It should work differently for ghosts, I guess, so you can do all sorts of cool things with it.”

Stella peered at the cube, then at Murtle. Back at the cube. Back at Murtle. Sadly, the cube wasn’t as incredible as Murtle, but with time, the cube could help Stella feel better about losing Murtle. She looked back at Hayden. “I’m on the fence.”

“Haunta?” Murtle smiled at Stella, nudging the cube to her.

“So you’re saying you want to go travel with Hayden, to see the world again?”

“Haun.”

“And that you will never forget me, no matter what happens?”

“Ta.”

“Will you visit on Holidays?”

Haunter peered down at Hayden, and then back to Stella with a shrug. “Haunta Haun.”

“Alright, then.” She vanished for a second before coming back with a little trinket. “This is Murtle’s favorite bracelet. Just show it to her if she ever gets Lighthouse sick.”

__ __ __ __

David | Vermilion City

“Really, David? Are we really going to wait around while you stand in knee-deep sewage, waiting for your friend to pop out?” Katya was in a rage, hair fluffed out like Bellatrix and arms flailing. “Of all the things to do in Vermilion freaking City, we have to stand around while you mope in this slop!”

David didn’t answer her.

Eve was sketching on the back of Galveston’s Water Book, making a drawing of a meter. She called it David’s Rage-O-Meter, and it was steadily building. With every snide comment from Katya, she gave it another umph towards the end, where a mushroom cloud explosion sat, waiting.

“Well,” Art interjected, “technically it’s a Sunday, and most things are closed on Sundays. Except apparently sewage plants.”

David sighed and climbed out of the water. The skin on his legs and feet was slimy and grimy from the mess, and he was in desperate need of a shower. They all were, really.

Kiwi popped out of his Pokeball, spraying David’s legs off with a trickling water gun. He laid back against the concrete and watched the sky, soundlessly. Kiwi did the same, bouncing back on David’s belly to look at the clouds. His tail slowly wagged at David’s chin.

“Apparently the concert hall is open,” Art said, scrolling through places on his PokeNav Touch. “Vermilion is the epicenter of the Kanto Rock ‘n Roll scene, so all sorts of bands gather here year round to battle it out in the different venues.

“I was in a band once,” Katya said proudly, nodding. “We were known all around as the best band to ever exist.”

“Then why aren’t you a rock star?”

“Rock star?” Katya laughed, slapping Art on the back. “It was a pots-and-pans band when I was two!” She looked even prouder, placing a fist on her chest. “We were great musicians.”

“What was the band’s name?”

“Goo Goo Gaga.”

Art stifled a laugh, cheeks blowing up and lips puckering. “D-does that make you Lady Ga--”

“--David?”

He was walking away from the group, hands in his pockets, sneakers slung over his shoulders, and Kiwi sitting on his shoulder. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk as he kept wondering how he’d lost Nick. He was there. And then...gone.

“Yo, little bro.”

David stopped walking and looked to the side where a tall, built, blond, shirtless guy stood behind a kiosk filled with Magikarp keychains. “You look like you could use a little lift, brah.” David narrowed his eyes. Go on... “So what your bro, Spam, is gonna do, is hook you up with front-row tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime sho-- Where’re you goin’, little bro?!”

David kept walking, stopping when he came to a park bench that sat under a single tree. His tail hit the wood and he looked down in his lap where Kiwi sat, watching him.

“Poli...”

David smiled, stroking a thumb down the side of Poliwag’s face. “I wanted to hang out with you since I probably can’t use you in the gym, buddy...”

“Wag?”

“I don’t want you getting hurt.” David sighed and sat Kiwi down beside him, pulling on his socks and sneakers. Off in the distance, a roller coaster roared with the echo of screams. Guitars, heavy bass...it was all there. And David would’ve loved it if he wasn’t in such a dang bad mood. He turned his head and looked down at Kiwi. “How do you get in a better mood when you’re sad, Poliwag?”

“Poli...Poliwag.” Kiwi looked down at its two flipper feet, patting one down after the other in thought. “...wag?”

“Wag,” David repeated. He smiled as he watched his friend dance on the park bench. “You’re a good dancer, Kiwi. If I’m ever in a band, you’ll have to be up front.”

“Poli!”

__ __ __ __

Rocket Mandy | In The Bushes Several Feet Away From David (Apparently)

“So the big macho twerp is all sadfaced for some unknown reason.” She blinked, stowing her binoculars and sitting down in the bark beneath her. “Perhaps it’d be good of Team Rocket to give him a reason to cry!” She cackled and looked up.

Andy was sitting across from her, face stuffed into a stick of cotton candy. She growled.

“This is no time for childish, sugary treats, you moron!” She yanked the pink fluff out of his face, leaving him with a pink beard and eyebrows.

“Awh, but I absolutely love cotton candy, Mandy.”

“Cotton Candy’s dandy, Andy, but our nefarious plans must come first.” She took a bite.

“And what are those nefarious plans, Mandy?”

“I’m glad you asked,” she said, “because I’m not quite sure yet.”

Kristine | Stella's Lighthouse

Hayden looked a bit flustered as Stella handed him the bracelet. Kristine wondered if keeping a pet Haunter was something he really wanted. Maybe that was Kristine's new fear of Haunters, but Hayden seemed a bit wary. Every time he looked at the Haunter, the look in his eyes was a mix of sympathy and paranoia.

"Guys, let's go!" Jason called back down the stairs.

BOOM.

"Ohhh, my goodness," Kristine squeaked, running up the stairs after Sinclair. Sin looked briefly in her direction but paid no more mind.

Hayden stumbled after as Haunter vanished.

"Can we not do the running thing?" Sabrina asked without budging out of her stance. The group stopped bustling when she told them to, Hayden running smack into Kristine's back. He jumped and looked over his shoulder, but Kristine didn't see why he did.

"Why are we up here now?" Sinclair asked. "The exit is downstairs last I checked."

Sabrina stayed stock still.

There was a bright flash.

BOOM.

Kristine shrieked again, instinctively running into the closest human for comfort. Sinclair retreated, staring at her like some sort of alien. She muttered an apology, cleared her throat, and hugged herself. Lumichu bounded up into her arms for an additional cushion.

Finally, Sabrina spoke. "Make sure you have everything. Please put the ghost pokemon away if you wish to keep him."

"Why is that?" Sin was quick to ask, Hayden a bit curious himself.

She didn't reply.

Hayden acknowledged her request, holding out the pokeball to Murtle, who slowly faded into view with a sad puppy-dog look. It was zapped into the pokeball, Hayden muttering something about releasing him when they left.

"Hold tight."

The gang barely had a chance to exchange looks with one other person before they were suddenly swept off their feet--

--and landed haphazardly outside. In a foresty plain. On a sunny day.

Kristine had fell straight on her bottom. Hayden was also on the ground, and they both struggled to stand up, feeling a bit dizzy. Sinclair was also holding his head, but Jason was walking around like a drunken man finding his way to the toilet.

"What... in the... " Jason caught himself on a tree, wiping his forehead of the sweat.

Kristine stumbled on her feet as well. "I'm not so sure the whole psychic thing is really my... thing." She shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "You guys okay?" Cue a chorus of groans plus a descant "pikaaa". Kristine nodded with approval though. "Alright, let's figuuure--" Kristine stepped awkwardly on a protruding tree trunk, tripping herself and falling down a huge hill behind her.

The travel was rough, and she could hear the others calling out to her. Kristine didn't have time to think, curling herself up to defend against the endless bushes and branches hitting her. She continued to roll down the hill, not able to catch a grip of anything, until she finally stopped in what seemed to be a small stream.

She breathed, a bit beat up by her tumble.

"Kristine!" called Sinclair faintly.

She shook her head and propped herself up, rubbing her eyes one last time. Then she tried to blink so she could get a good look at how far a drop she made when she noticed her vision was blurred by a strange purple goop.

Kristine wiped some of it off her face, completely disgusted. Her expression made a drastic change from "ew" to "GOOD GOD" as she jumped to her feet. She was practically swimming in the gunk and now had a backside completely covered in it.

"Muuuuk."

She jumped and whirled, breathing quickly, but she saw no one there that could have talked. Shaking her head, she stepped out of the ravine and looked into wiping as much of it off of her as she could.

"Hey, we got her!" Jason called, coming down the hill first. He stumbled a bit but jumped neatly onto his two feet to make up for what could have been a most drastic trip over his own two feet. He looked at her -- and burst out laughing. "What the heck did you do?!"

Kristine grimaced, shaking some more off her hands. Jason jumped when some of it almost hit him, but he still snickered. "That's priceless."

"Thanks," Kristine replied, lip curled still. She felt kind of abused at this point of her day and just wanted to curl up in bed somewhere.

"Muk!"

Kristine looked up at Jason, but he was looking everywhere else for who said that.

"Muuuk!"

Kristine shrieked when she felt something cold and slimey rub against her leg. She jumped right next to Jason, and both of them stared with open mouths at the pile of purple pudding before them, grinning wildly in Kristine's direction. Jason pulled out his pokedex.

Muk
Species: Sludge Pokemon
Type: Poison
They love to gather in smelly areas where sludge accumulates, making the stench around them worse. Its body is made of a powerful poison. Touching it accidentally will cause a fever that requires bed rest.

"...great."

Jason's word couldn't have been more appropriate. Kristine started to panic, feeling her forehead, shaking as much gunk off as she could, and all around freaked out that she would come close to death for the second time today.

"Muuuk!"

Jason willingly stepped away from Kristine as the sludge pokemon slithered its way toward Kristine.

"Gah, no! Get away--ah!" She stumbled as she stepped on a good-sized rock, knocking a pokeball in her bag juuust right so Peach appeared with a mighty, "Pidgeeey!"

"Muk!" The sludge suddenly stopped in his tracks and, what Kristine could only explain it as, stood up, putting on a tough face that seemed to dare Peach to make a move. Peach, of course, didn't like being pushed around. He used gust and sent the sludge pokemon flying back.

"Kristine, are you--"

"DUCK!"

Sinclair and Hayden both ducked aside at Julius' call as the Muk passed them by into the foliage. Then they hurried over to her and Jason, both freezing at the disgusting sight that was Kristine. "What happened to--"

"Don't ask," Kristine said, tossing a bit more goop into the ground. "Fetch me a towel or leaf or something?"

"I'm not fetching you anything," Jason said, taken aback. "I'm not your dog."

"Muuuk!"

The pudding pokemon started coming over again, so entranced by the prospect of a Kristine Cook. Peach was getting extremely protective, chewing the pokemon out and hurling all sorts of gusty attacks his way. Lumichu, for a change, was cheering the pidgey on. Julius waved his spatula, apparently never having lost his new gear.

"New friend?"

"They're BFFs," Jason corrected.

Kristine gave Jason a look. "Fetch me water then if a towel won't work."

"Stop trying to make fetch happen," he snapped. "It's not going to happen."

"Sin, the pokedex said Muk's... muck was dangerous. Is there--" Sinclair held up a white piece of cloth. "A handkerchief?" He nodded. "We don't have any--"

"The Miracle Cure's for pokemon," Sin said with a shrug. "You'll have to try and make it to town before we can find any medicine."

Kristine sighed, still not taking the cloth. Sin seemed a bit too disturbed by the mess though and started to help pick off the rest of the mud.

"MUUUK!"

"DUCK!"

All of them dodged to the side as a now-ferocious Muk sprayed some purple sludge in Peach's direction. The pidgey had easily dodged it by flying into the air while everyone else ducked out of the way just in time. Kristine peered up from her hands as the Muk came closer.

"This guy isn't giving up," Jason said, then snickered. "I like this kid. You should keep him."

Kristine punched him in the arm. "I'm not keeping a pile of--"

"Muuuk?"

Kristine looked back, the muk now a whole lot closer. If it wasn't for that puppy-dog look in his eyes, she'd have jumped back again. Her head spinning a bit, so she shook her head, blaming what should be a Muk Fever for messing with her head.

"Let's just go," she said, standing up. "Have we figured out where we are yet?"

"No, we were busy getting to you," Sinclair replied. The group started walking away now, Peach landing on Kristine's shoulder in that familiar protective stance she's grown dependent on. Lumichu gave the pidgey a face before begging a seat in her arms. The pikachu promptly stuck its tongue out at the pidgey as if he had just gotten the prime spot now.

"Muuuk."

Kristine ignored it. She could tell the boys kept giving her looks, but dude. She was so not getting a Muk. What was she going to do with a Muk? It's not like she can touch it--

"Muuuk!"

"This guy is so not giving up," Jason said with a huge grin. "I think he's just what we need to liven things up--"

"I'm not catching a muk," Kristine said. "Why would it be following me anyway? Do I need a shower that badly?"

"Yes--Ow!"

"Muuuk!"

Kristine stopped and whirled, about to say something, but the sludge pokemon surprisingly stopped and peered up to her like an obedient puppy. "Muk?" He smiled up at her, expecting some sort of treat.

Kristine groaned, her heart admittedly stolen. "That's so unfair."

Lumichu did her the favor of digging in her pouch and throwing out a treat. The muk caught it with his mouth and ate it gratefully, grinning widely when he was done.

Kristine rolled her eyes and turned around, muttering so quietly, she had hoped no one would hear, "Fine, let him follow."

Jason cackled. "This is going to be so fetch."

Hayden | Forest

Kaze was back in his pokeball after seeing that Muk. ‘Felia didn’t care much, and just kept her distance. She continued eyeing the pile of sludge wearily, bone half-tense as she considered THONKing it, but not wanting to get the club covered in poison.

Murtle, as promised, was free from its pokeball and floating behind him. Or so he— and everybody else— thought. So when a low “Haaaaaunter” came from somewhere in front of them, everybody jumped.

“Why did she have to tag along again?” Kristine muttered as Murtle became visible and laughed at all of them, still in shock.

“Cuuuuuu-bone,” ‘Felia said, waving her bone with a bit more certainty. Not like she could hit the creature if she tried.

Either way, the threat worked, and Murtle looked a little crestfallen. Hayden tried not to look around the group before looking at the ghost pokemon. “Why not help us figure out where we are?”

It nodded and smiled again. “Haaaunt.”

Jason looked to where she’d floated off. “Thank goodness she’s gone.”

A warning “Teeeer” was his reply.

Everybody shuddered.

“Do you think we’re on Three Island?” Sin asked after awhile. “I haven’t heard it looking quite like this, though.”

Kristine shrugged. “So long as we can find a place to wash this Muk’s muk off soon...”

“Muuuuk,” it said, almost mournfully, from behind the group.

He and Murtle should get along, Hayden thought as they found a trail. He can pass right through him.

Speak of the devil ghost pokemon, it came floating through the trees from the other side it’d left. Hayden stopped to look at it, letting the rest of the group keep walking. “What is it?”

Murtle pointed back from where it came from, a slightly urgent “Haunt” to accompany the movement.

Hayden frowned. “Somebody’s in trouble?”

It’s disembodied head nodded before it floated back through the trees, half-vanishing, going through trunks in her hurry.

“Cu-bone,” ‘Felia said, sounding tired.

Hayden just nodded in agreement before beginning to wave through the trees after Murtle. After a few feet, he remembered something and released Salem. “Go find the others and tell them to come, will you?”

The meowth smiled at him before going back through the forest.

A few more feet into the forest, Hayden began hearing calls of “Gri-mer” and louder “Muuuuk” calls. He paused to look down at ‘Felia, who did not look happy with the situation. But it was more the Look she had when about to go into battle.

Here they’d go again.

At the treeline, Hayden could see a purple pool of sludge made up of Muk and Grimer. A few leeks were floating in the poison, and there seemed to be a bare spot somewhere near clear water. Murtle was focused on that spot, pushing the sludge away but not quite getting a good enough grasp.

Hayden realized that it was protecting an egg.

‘Felia’s eyes narrowed in rage. She walked out through the treeline and waved her bone at the pile of sludge. He was not about to argue her.

He would also rather not face ten or twenty (or more) pokemon in one giant pool of goo.

Hayden stayed far enough away from the sludge to be able to escape. “Murtle, Hypnosis. ‘Felia, kick dirt at any of them that come close!”

A the pokemon around the egg were caught up by the hypnosis, with those on the outskirts having heard Hayden’s voice. ‘Felia used her bone like a golf club and slowed them down significantly by chipping dirt in their faces. At least, Hayden figured they were faces.

“Pidgey!”

A gust attack slowed the middle ground of pokemon down, letting Murtle grab the egg and fly over to the trees with it. At the turning tide of Muk and Grimer, Hayden called for another hypnosis. There were enough asleep after they could slip away.

And run into the rest of the group.

“Where were you?!” Kristine said, finally having gotten most of the muck off. “You left us. Again.”

Hayden rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry... Murtle wanted me to follow.”

Sin eyed the ghost. “And what did she want?”

“Hauunter,” she said, holding the egg out for them to see.

“It was being attacked by Muk and Grimer,” Hayden filled in. He looked over his shoulder. “Which we should be getting away from.”

They all nodded and went back through the trees from whence they came.

“So what kind of egg is it?” Jason asked.

Sin looked up at Murtle. “And, whose is it?”

Hayden took out his ‘dex.

Farfetch’d
Species: Duck Pokemon
Type: Normal/Flying

The sprig of green onions it holds is its weapon. It is used much like a metal sword. It is rarely seen, possibly indicating their numbers are decreasing.

Jason looked at the ‘dex. “So an endagered pokemon.”

Kristine gasped. “We should bring it to the nearest pokecenter, then! They’d know what to do.”

Murtle cupped the egg a bit more protectively. “Haaaaunt.”

Sin kept glancing at the pokemon. “Looks like she wants to keep it.”

“We should go to the nearest pokecenter anyway,” Hayden said. “See about all those Muk and Grimer.”

Jason just shrugged. “Why?”

Hayden looked back on instinct, making sure there wasn’t any more of the creatures following. “Cause there were a ton of green onions in with the sludge. It’s like Muk and Grimer took over a Farfetch’d habitat, and left this egg.”

“So it’s orphaned?” Kristine said.

Hayden and Sin nodded.

“Haaaaunt.”

Once Murtle had everybody’s attention, it offered the egg to Hayden. He stared at it. “You want me to take it?”

It nodded. “Haunt haunt.”

Hayden looked at the egg a few moments before sighing and taking it. “But if the pokecenter wants to keep it...”

“Haunt-er...”

“He’s actually negotiating with that ghost,” Jason muttered to Sin. Murtle gave them a Look. They quieted.

Salem jumped on Hayden’s shoulders, almost causing him to drop the egg. “Me-owth!” Ophelia looked/glared at the cat as it just smiled from its perch.

“Spoiled cat,” Hayden muttered as they continued down the trail.

Sinclair Audley | Three Island

"Ugh, no, stop," Kristine said as the Muk affectionately nuzzled her ankles. "Stop- what is up with this thing?"

"I think it has a crush on you,"Jason said and nudged Sin heavily in the ribs. "Who else would be crazy enough?"

They continued trekking up to the crest of a hill in the hope of seeing a town before them. Unfortunately, Three Island didn't seem heavily into towns. There were buildings sprawled here and there but Hayden said, "Look," and pointed to where the rotating sign of a Pokécentre was. "Maybe they can fill us in?"

Cade growled and insinuated he wanted to run back down the hill as fast as he could. Sinclair looked around at his human companions who were all rather carefully picking their way down the slope.

"What do you think?" he asked Cade. "It looks pretty even."

"Growl."

"Squir?" Noah held out one fore fin to Sin.

"Duck!" A wing found his other. He turned and shrugged helplessly at Jason, Kristine and Hayden.

"Don't fall and die!" Jason shouted as, with a growl from Cade, the party set off at a sprint down the hill. Sin loved the exhilaration, the feel of his slower Pokémon holding on tight to his hands, Cade running on ahead, bounding on all fours-

until the hill stopped and ended with marsh.

Sin rose sputtering from the muck with his two water Pokémon to an eruption of laughter behind him. He was disgusted. His clothes were ruined. Noah was emptying his cap while Julius was intrigued by the fact that the water in his helmt just ran straight back out again.

"Squiiir," Noah said, hitting Psyduck with Water Gun to siphon off most of the dirt.

"At least it's not Muk-muck, get off," Kristine insisted at the Muk who was now trying to hug her.

"Psy?" Julius asked, looking at what Noah just did. "Duck!" He imitated the move. Sin stared, then looked back smugly at the others.

"Julius just learnt a new move." He picked himself out of the swampy ground as proudly as he could, then looked at them all and said, "I think I need to change."

"Then let's hurry and get this- ew- thing away from us!" Kristine said, shying away from the Muk once more.

They skirted the marsh carefully and arrived at the Pokécentre. They must have looked a sorry lot because Nurse Joy came running out and saying, "Oh, did the Muks attack you?"

"Yes," Kristine said. "And it won't leave me alone! And I'm covered in Mukmuck and I don't like this place at all."

"Oh you poor dear." Nurse Joy put an arm around Kristine before she had a nervous breakdown and led her away to a back room.

"What do we do, just stand here like idiots?" asked Jason.

"You seem like the type that would be good at that," Sin said. Hayden laughed quietly. "I'm going to go change," he said, pointing in the direction of the bathrooms. "Try and find out what you can."

There were thankfully showers in Pokécentres, so once Sin had showered, shampooed and conditioned his hair, dryed it, chosen his new outfit, put it on, straightened his collar, gelled his hair into its usual perfectly-structured-yet-careless coif, bundled up his dirty clothes as well as Noah's cap (which he was not too pleased about) and gone outside, he found Jason and Hayden sitting with steaming mugs of hot chocolate with Nurse Joy.

"The Muks and Grimers have taken over the whole Farfetch'd colony," she said sadly, massaging Durden's tired shoulders. "We've tried everything to get rid of them, but this island is full of bug Pokémon-"

"Let's not tell Kristine that unless we want her to cry again?" Hayden suggested.

"And bug Pokémon are weak against them," Sin finished. Nurse Joy nodded.

"It's so sad about the Farfetch'd- but, you said you had an egg?" she asked, turning to Hayden. Hayden nodded and cautiously held the egg up.

"Krab?" asked Gumbo, reaching out to grab it in a pincer. Hayden held it a little higher out of his reach and surveyed Nurse Joy uncertainly over the top.

"Perhaps I could check on it?" Nurse Joy asked, practically bouncing with pink joy. "Only after losing so many Farfetch'd it would really cheer me up to know there was a healthy one inside that egg."

Hayden glanced at the other boys who nodded and he reluctantly handed it over. "I'll be back soon, I'll just run a few scans to check everything's okay inside."

Pretty soon after Nurse Joy vanished into the mysterious back room Kristine reappeared with damp hair looking considerably more cheerful. "You know that they have, like, people medicine here?" she asked happily. "They got all the Mukmuck off!"

"Where is your Muk?" Sin asked, looking around.

"He's not my Muk and wherever he is I'm just glad he's not here," said Kristine, settling comfortably into the chair. "Pidg-ey!" Peach said, flying around her head excitedly. "Where's Nurse Joy?"

They explained everything that happened. Kristine sighed. "I wish there was something we could do about those poor Farfetch'd," she said sadly.

"Well, there's not," Jason said. "We're here to get our gym badges, not campaign for World Poképeace."

"I'm not here for the gym badges, not really," said Kristine. "I'd much rather campaign for World Poképeace."

"Stop trying to make 'Save the Farfetch'd' happen. It's not going to happen," Jason said.

Sin resisted literally taking out his Unova Army Knife and cutting the tension as Kristine and Jason stared each other down. Another thought had sprung to mind. "Hayden, you knew what was in the egg, right?"

"Oh, my egg that you stole?" Kristine asked. "Because I'll be wanting that back."

"Piiiika!" Lumichu was already at Sin's rucksack. Sin grabbed the rucksack away.

"It's my egg," he said. "So stop grabbing."

"I found it-"

"I won it-"

"Surely it would make more sense to find out what the egg was first before fighting over it?" Jason said lazily.

Sin and Kristine looked at each other and shrugged at this. Sin took out the egg and his Pokédex.

Eevee
Type: Normal
Species: Evolution Pokémon
Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving.

"An Eevee," Kristine breathed. "Oh my gosh they are so cute!" She looked despairingly at Sinclair. "You don't want an Eevee, I've always wanted an Eevee, I said my next Pokémon would be an Eevee-"

"I thought you wanted a Ponyta," said Hayden.

"But after that I wanted an Eevee. Oh please, Sin, give it to me-"

Before Sin could think of a polite way of saying, "no chance, now leave me alone," Nurse Joy appeared with Hayden's egg. Sin slipped his back into his bag in case Nurse Joy joined the debate and said Kristine should have the egg.

"Everything's fine," she told Hayden happily. "Now, what are you kids doing in town?"

"We're going to get our gym badges," Jason said stubbornly.

"What gym is this anyway?" Kristine asked curiously but to suspend the horror that would surely come when Kristine found out it was a bug gym, Sin asked,

"Is there a launderette?"

Two minutes later they found themselves trudging towards the launderette, much to Jason's disgust. "You're such a girl, why do you need to wash your clothes?" he asked Sin.

"Because they are dirty," Sin replied. "And it is the civilised thing to do."

"And mine could use a clean too, since the Mukmuck. Good thing that guy's gone."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Hayden said pointed. The Muk was making a rather purposeful way down the hill with them.

"Hurry up," Kristine said fearfully and they picked up their pace.

The launderette wasn't nearly as nice as Sin's dry cleaner's at home, nor even as nice as his laundry room in the Cinnabar house, but it would do. Kristine gave him her clothes as well and he stared blankly at her.

"You don't know how to work a washing machine, do you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Crebbins always took care of it."

Kristine sighed and took the clothes off him and pushed him down on the bench with the others. They watched her, intrigued.

"Why do girls know how to do this stuff?" Hayden asked, mesmerised as Kristine shut the front and turned the machine on. Then he became mesmerised by the clothes moving within, as was Noah, whose head was moving around in circles following the progress of the clothes.

Then they sat in the dark little space and waited.

"We should find out about the gym leader while we're here," Hayden said, looking around the room at the other citizens.

"Good idea!" Jason jumped up and Sin agreed.

"Pika!" Lumichu said, agreeing for Kristine.

"What's the gym leader here in Three Island called?" Jason asked the woman behind the counter, whose eyes clouded over.

"Evil takes human form in Georgia Regal," the woman said. The four backed away slowly.

The other answers were no less cryptic.

"She has three Butterfrees and a silver Kakuna."

"One time, Georgia Regal punched me in the face," said a rather large muscled man in a white vest that showed off many tattoos. He wouldn't have looked out of place in Tyler's gang on the SS Anne. "It was sore. By the way," he turned to Kristine. "Is that your natural hair colour?"

"Um. Yeah."

"It's gorgeous."

"Thanks." Kristine motioned to the boys to move away but not before the man had grabbed her hair. "See this is the colour I want," he said to his friend who was equally muscled and tattooed.

"So, we'll just be leaving. Yup." Kristine backed away and the boys followed.

They returned to their places no less in the dark. "Should we be worried?" Sin asked. Jason snorted.

"She's a girl, how much of a threat can she be?"

"Montel was a girl," Hayden pointed out. The others gave him a strange look. "Oh- wait..."

Kristine sighed. "What type is this gym anyway?"

Don't let her explode in a public place, don't let her explode in a public place, Sin thought and said, with no ideas other than to distract her from bugs, "So, Kristine, the egg..."

"Yes?" Her face lit up.

Well, now you're stuck. "Maybe we could... I don't know. Trade."

Her face darkened again. "Give you one of my Pokémon for my egg?" she asked. "I don't think so!"

"Maybe there's something else... I don't know..."

"You could do his chores for a week?" suggested Jason.

"Like Sin had chores," Kristine said.

Sin shrugged. "I had Crebbins. But we must be able to figure something out."

The washing machine stopped whirling. Kristine stood up to take the clothes out of the dryer, but a small furry thing stopped her, nudging her ankles.

"If that's Muk-" she warned from atop her pile of washing.

"'Lithe. Growl?" Cade indicated the washing.

"I think he wants to help. Let's take it outside."

Outside next to the rushing water, Sin and Kristine held up each of their now clean garments in turn while Cade used Ember to dry them- far quicker and more energy efficient than the tumble-dryer.

"Lithe!" he said happily as Noah's cap was replaced on his head.

"Cade's one smart puppy," Hayden said and Sin agreed, patting Cade's head.

"He is. Practically a big dog, aren't you?" Sin asked Cade.

"Growl," he agreed.

"Duck! Duck duck duck, Psssssy!" Julius was pointing madly at Kristine's rucksack.

"What?" Sin asked frowning. "I have treats if you want them."

"Pika," Lumichu said from where he and Ophelia were nestled in a pile of Pokétreats, clearly taken from Sin's bag.

"Psy." Julius shook his head, pointing at Kristine's rucksack again. "Psy." He pointed at Cade. "Duck. Duck." He crouched into as small a ball as his blubber would let him. "Duu-u-u-uck!" He pretended to roar, springing out of the ball, and Sin understood.

"Kristine," he said, not even looking at her, too intent on what Julius had just implied. "You have a Fire Stone."

--

Spoiler

let's be annoying and point out it's over 2000... xD

Kristine | Three Island

Kristine looked at Sin for a minute before snorting. "Yes, I do have a firestone! I'm glad everyone remembers this, though. Now I know that if I forget about it, someone will remind me."

Julius slapped his wing to his forehead. "Psy..."

"I'm starting to doubt that's your natural hair color," Jason muttered.

"What?"

Sinclair sighed. "I'll trade you the egg if I can use your firestone."

"Oh." Kristine fell deep into thought as she slipped on her vest, flipping her hair out from under. "Well--"

"Muuuuk."

Kristine's heart sank fifty stories, but there it was: The muk sludged his way towards them, eyes transfixed on none other than Kristine. His grin was as wide as ever, hands raised in the air in what seemed to be celebration of success in finding her.

"Hey, look--"

"I'm not feeling well," Kristine said, hand to her head.

"That's not going to work," Sin said. "We already know what happens when you feel faint."

"Haaaunter?"

Kristine whimpered, but when none of the boys made a move, she sighed. They all, of course, stepped away when the muk came up too close. Kristine tried to as well, but she felt Jason's hand stopping her. "I'm right behind you, man. Watch it."

"But Jason--eek!" She was as stiff as a marble statue when muk, once again, rubbed up against her leg. If it wasn't out of style, Kristine would definitely be running to the nearest clothing store for some woolen socks. Maybe she should try jeans instead. It'd be hot, but she wouldn't --

"Kristine, you're not looking too good."

Sinclair was right, but for the wrong reasons. Kristine was feeling lightheaded, but she was so tense, it only looked like she was about to faint. She buried her face in her hands as the muk continued to hug her leg and smother her in mukmucklove.

"Maybe we should just... stay for the night," Sinclair said, taking sympathy on Kristine. He took her arm and pulled her away, leading the group back to the Pokecenter.

"Dude, c'mon!" Jason said. "If we hit the bug gym now, we can leave the island tonight."

Kristine stopped in her tracks, panic-stricken.

"Told you," Hayden said as the boys watched Kristine slowly turn toward Jason, her face completely white. Even the muk on her leg didn't phase her.

"Did you say... bug gym?"

Before Jason could reply with a snarky comment, Sinclair took her arm once again. "You are so out of it right now, it's not even funny. We all need sleep, so let's go--"

"I hate bugs," Kristine stated matter-of-factly. "Like... I'm not stepping foot in that gym."

"No one's making you," Jason said. "I'm here for the badge. You go dig yourself some Pokepeace, and we'll brb."

"That doesn't make sense if the entire island is a bug colony," Hayden replied and immediately regretted it.

"Oh, my g--"

Sinclair stopped walking and looked at Kristine. "Stop it."

She sniffled.

He gave the other two an evil look before opening the doors to the Pokecenter and helping Kristine inside. The doors closed behind the entire group, leaving the now-extremely-sad muk watching them hopelessly through the door window.

When Sinclair finally let go of Kristine's arm, Kristine stopped in her tracks and grabbed chunks of her hair, biting back the huge urge to scream.

Jason barked a laugh. "You're overreacting, I swear."

"I hate bugs," Kristine repeated, now falling into a crouch on the floor. "Bug pokemon are no different."

"You can't be afraid of butterfrees," Jason retorted. "That's such a girly pokemon--"

"I hate. bugs."

"Why do you hate bugs so much?" Sinclair finally asked.

"Are you kids alright?" Nurse Joy approached them again. Her eyes fell on Kristine, and she immediately smothered her in all the nursely concern she was trained on. "Oh, sweetie!" She crouched down by her, holding her shoulders. "What's wrong? Would you like some hot cocoa? Let's sit you down somewhere." She helped Kristine to her feet and led them all to the lounge area. Nurse Joy checked Kristine's forehead anyhow. "Well, you don't feel as hot as you did earlier. Did you run into that muk again?"

"He's right outside," Sin said with a nod toward the door. Everyone looked over except for Kristine. The sludge pokemon was still there, watching Kristine with the most pitiful look.

"Why do you think he keeps following us?" Hayden asked.

Jason snorted. "I don't know, but it's hysterical. Of all the pokemon to follow Kristine like a dog..."

Lumichu bounded over to the door and looked at muk straight in the eyes. "Pika pi." His cheeks crackled, now giving the sludge pokemon a ferocious look. "Chu."

"Muuuk."

"Pi!"

"...muk?"

"Psy! Psyduck." Julius waddled over and tapped the glass with his magical spatula of doom. "Psyduck psy. Psyduck."

The muk shook his head. "Muuuk."

Lumichu's eyes narrowed and he muttered dangerously, "Pi. Ka. Chu."

The muk shirked back from the door, thinking about what the pikachu had just told him (whatever it was), but then he suddenly straightened his back (if muks even had spines), opened his mouth wide open and roared, "MUUUUUUK."

"Piiii!" Lumichu ran away, squealing his way into Kristine's side. The girl hugged him close, and the pikachu made the daring move of sticking his tongue out at the muk. The muk had resumed his puppydog stare at Kristine. Julius waddled his way back to the group.

Sinclair turned to Nurse Joy, who had apparently left for a huge tray of hot cocoa. "I don't recall muks growing attachments to people like this one. Kristine's going to have a hard time shaking him off."

Nurse Joy handed Kristine the hot cocoa. She continued to serve everyone while speaking. "It's the pokemon himself who seems to be attracted to Kristine," Nurse Joy explained. "It's all in personality. Some pokemon are very independent, others are shy, and some--" she cast a glance at the muk, "--some are very, very friendly. There could be a lot of reasons why a pokemon would go to such lengths for some love and care."

Kristine felt her heart sink. If it were any other pokemon, she'd have agreed wholeheartedly with Nurse Joy. Any pokemon, really. Kristine didn't mean to offend the muk in any way, but... well, she never considered the prospect of owning... one. The thought really, really didn't please her, but she couldn't really explain why without sounding shallow or pathetic.

"Any trainer with a muk faces a risk of its poison though," Nurse Joy continued, seeing Kristine's downcast look. "If you touch the sludge, you can fall ill. You could be in bed for days, even weeks. It's possible to grow an immunity from it, but it's not that common at all."

"Kristine's not exactly a common girl," Jason muttered.

Kristine shot him a look, her muscles too worn out to try and throw anything at him.

"It doesn't look like he touched your skin much," Nurse Joy said, inspecting her leg. "But why don't I clean off your shoes and socks quick. It could very well have soaked through into your skin. Will you kids be staying the night?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sinclair replied.

"Alright, I'll give these to you when they're finished then." She slid off the footwear and walked away, adding, "Let me know if you need anything!"

Everyone sat in silence, Lumichu curling up close to Kristine. Peach was getting jealous, glaring at the pikachu as if he had committed sacrilege by stealing the attention. Kristine couldn't help but smile. She loved her pokemon. Each and every--

"Berry!" Kristine squeaked, pulling out her third pokeball. "He never got healed--"

"Nurse Joy can do it," Sinclair said. "All of our pokemon could use some extra rest before the gym tomorrow."

"The bug gym tomorrow," Jason said helpfully. Kristine shot him yet another look.

"Yes, the bug gym tomorrow."

"I'd much prefer we help the farfetch'd," Kristine muttered. She sounded completely worn out. She had no energy left at all to even try lightening the mood. "And the bug pokemon too, of course."

"What is it with you and bugs?" Jason asked, almost offended for the bug pokemon. "It's not like they're any more deadly than a pikachu."

"Pika?" Lumichu shot up at the word "pikachu" and whirled around to cast Jason a glare.

Kristine took a long drink of her hot cocoa as the silence sunk deeper and deeper into awkward. She took a breath. "My dad was on another trip. It was supposed to be for only a couple months--"

"Oh, that's it?" Jason put in.

"Yes, that's it," Kristine said coldly. Even Jason was taken aback and immediately regretted ever saying anything. Kristine also regretted her reaction, turning bright pink, but her dad was a sensitive subject. "I was little, about four years old, but he come home only a few days later with awful stings. Apparently, a swarm of beedrills struck him and his team; he couldn't travel for weeks. It was, apparently, a worst-case reaction."

"An allergy to the stinger's poison?" Sinclair summed up.

"Yeah... I guess so." She sighed. "But, you know. Besides that... They're so creepy-crawly-eugh." She shivered.

"That was the reaction I was expecting," Jason muttered.

"Sorry," she said quietly. Lumichu hugged her as much as his little arms would allow.

"Here you are, dear." Nurse Joy returned with Kristine's footwear, setting them down on the sofa next to her. "You're looking a bit better now." She felt her forehead. "Just need some rest. All of you do, I'm sure."

"I just need the bug gym," Jason said, standing up but failing to stifle a huge yawn. This started an entire chain reaction of yawns around the group, making Nurse Joy giggle and Kristine smile.

"You know, you might have gotten some rest when you died," Sinclair said, "but some of us still need to rejuvenate."

"Dude, being dead is just as exhausting," Jason replied. "Have you ever tried sitting at a tea party without the chairs in the sky above the ocean and then suddenly having to swim your way down into a lighthouse to find a certain haunter that apparently killed you in the first place so that you can wake up from death just to fall asleep in the next island over? Didn't think so."

"Well, Kristine certainly needs sleep," Nurse Joy said. "While the medicine helped her recover, there's still a lingering fever she needs to sleep off."

Jason looked at the nurse. "I freaking died."

"In Kristine's defense, she almost died twice," Sinclair jabbed.

"I sound like a whimp when you put it that way," Kristine replied.

"That's probably because you've got the backbone of a muk."

"That was low," Hayden said.

Kristine felt like someone punched her in the gut, her face turning even more red to match her hair. Jason's words were chewing her out like termites, shutting down her entire system. Her head was spinning, not having felt this tired in so long. Lumichu wasn't prepared for such a predicament, but Peach was more than willing to chew him out. The pidgey shot into the air and flew straight towards him--

--but the elekid struck him back.

"Peach," Kristine whimpered, seeing her pidgey fall into the mass of pokemon on the floor. She was scooted forward a bit, Lumichu bounding onto the table to strike the elekid. "Lumichu, don't!"

She could feel Sinclair breathe a laugh at her command, but the pikachu stopped in his tracks. He didn't lift his eyes off the elekid, but he didn't strike either. And Kristine didn't bother caring if Sinclair was impressed or not. She scooped up her pidgey and held him close, though Peach seemed more than ready for round two.

"Alright," Nurse Joy put in, clearly perturbed by the disruptions. "All the pokemon get put into their pokeballs and given to me. Everyone here needs rest."

Kristine didn't want to. The last thing she wanted to do was give away her pokemon, the only comfort she really had. But she did as she was told, just like everyone else. Each pokemon went into their respective pokeballs, and Nurse Joy collected them all. The four kids were left alone in silence. A heavy, awkward silence. Hayden probably felt the most awkward, judging by the way he kept dodging everyone's gaze when they looked at him.

The night wore on. No one spoke, and Jason even got up and left to another sofa away from the group. His snoring was a clear indication that he was just as tired as the rest though. Hayden had ended up sleeping in the fetal position of the armchair. No one seemed to have the guts to walk away for a bed first. Kristine curled up under a blanket Nurse Joy had given her, cold yet alone and miserable too.

"Muk..."

The sludge pokemon was still there. It was raining outside -- not too hard, but just enough to hear the faint pattering on the roof. The muk was sheltered by the Pokecenter's overhang, but it still played with Kristine's heart.

"Maybe you're not allergic to poison," Sinclair said quietly.

Kristine jumped slightly, expecting the boys had already fallen asleep. She met his gaze then shook her head. "I'd rather not chance it."

He shrugged. "You've been hit by mukmuck twice already, and neither times have you reacted worse than the normal. In fact, the second time was much easier than the first. Maybe you're growing an immunity."

She thought about it. The more she thought of her stalkermuk, the more stalkermuk grew on her. The sludge pokemon was incredibly adorable, the way he was always so cheerful and eager to see her. It also didn't help that she felt guilty for the way she had been treating him. Maybe catching a muk wouldn't be so bad. And Sin was right: she didn't have any bad reaction to the poison. Yet, anyway.

"You don't grow an immunity over a few hours," she whispered, shaking her head. "My dad didn't think he could travel anymore, you know. He considered staying home, doing research in a lab."

"Why didn't he?"

Her brow furrowed. "...I don't know, really. I was four."

Sinclair breathed another laugh. "That's hardly an excuse." Kristine knew he was right. "He probably continued travelling for the same reason you went to the festival, the same reason you're with us now."

Kristine swallowed. "I went for the enjoyment of it."

Sinclair nodded. "Isn't that worth a few stings?"

Kristine thought about it and ended up smiling. "I guess so."

"By the way, muks don't need firestones either. Just saying."

----

Spoiler

(I got a bit carried away, yes. Totes move on into the morning for gyms and things now. And, uh. This is ~2.5k, so that gives me 2 points, ja? Which means Kristine can catch her muk whenever ya'll see fit. Or just let him stalk more and I'll catch him. And name him Melon.)

Art
Vermilion City

Tick.
"Shh."

Click.
"I'm working."

Whirrrrrrrr-
Art rolled his eyes and stowed his Pokedex, which was in two pieces as he had been tinkering with it, back into his bag. "Ok, Lex. What is it?"

The Magnemite turned its back to Art, facing the lone figure down on the sands.
"What do you want me to do?" Art said indignantly. His voice took a softer tone as he continued, "Look, I've checked the Vermilion Sewer Patrol schedules - using sub-legal means, mind you - and I'm confident that Nick would have been found and rescued by someone, because the system is manned 24/7... I think we'll be seeing Nick at the Pokemon Centre within an hour or two, max."

Bzzt.
"I know he's upset. But what can I say? Find me some of Nick's hair and I'll track him down with the Pokedex? Please. Even I know that's a stupid thing to say, and I responded with 'pronoun' when Nick shouted 'WORD' at me."

Lex finished with a sound that cannot be expressed through text.
"... Ok, I guess any human companionship is better than none. Fine, I'll go talk to him."

As he approached David’s silhouette against the setting sun, Art passed Eve, scribbling furiously into her sketch pad, and Katya, muttering to herself while glaring out rather worriedly into the ocean. We all cope with loss in different ways, I guess.

“Dave?” The silhouette turned: the look on David’s face was impossible to read.
“Hey.”
“You... uh, you... whatcha up to?” Thanks a lot, homeschooling.
“Contemplating.”
“Mm-hmm...”
For a few minutes they both stared out at the horizon until the last slim vestige of sun had sunk below it.

“I think we have to go,” David said at last. Art looked at his PokeGear with a start.
“No, it can’t be! The beach is open until eight o’clock at least -”
“Not that,” David interrupted, the hint of a smirk on his face. “Travel.”
“... and we leave behind -”

“Art. If Nick is alive, he’ll find his way out and regroup with us at some point. If... anything else, then - well, we owe it to him to complete the journey.”
Neither of the boys dared to think about the possibility of the latter.
“You’re right - of course you’re right,” Art muttered, trying his hardest to control the pitch of his voice. “But... can we? I mean, maybe Katya could, she doesn’t seem to like him at all...”

“Neither did you, at first.” David was really grinning now. “Remember when he charged in and frightened your Venonat off? And then managed to let it get away again?”
Art coughed out a chuckle, which grew into a giggle: within seconds they were both laughing their heads off, garnering worried and irritated looks from Eve and Katya respectively.

“Well,” Art snorted, “had he not done that... I wouldn’t be here with you guys. I wouldn’t even know any of you.”
“You might. Maybe we meet later down the track.”
“Possibly. But the odds are at an all-time low.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m a student of temporal causality... by which I mean, I read about it on Dialgapedia and am now utterly obsessed with it.”
“Dialgapedia?” Katya stared at him; evidently she had deigned to join them. “Funny you should be talking about that. I remember someone who talked about it alllll the time, back in my hometown.” Here she scrounged up her eyebrows, apparently displeased. David stared at her.
“Your hometown, huh? Where is that anyway?” Katya ignored him completely, instead opting to stare at her belt.

“... Y’know, I don’t think you hate Nick half as much as you let on,” David said after a bit.
“Please,” Katya sniffed. “He vas merely an annoyance.”
“Well, you made fun of him all the time, and you sure did take huge steps to express how much you hated the rest of us. And there was totally no reason for you to stick with us. Which begs the question: why didn’t you just leave?”
Katya resumed her silent state, leaving an awkward silence as Lex hovered to and fro with Poliwag swinging from its magnets.

“He makes a very compelling argument, Kat,” Art interjected. “If you were staying with us for monetary gain, there is precious little to be had from a group of meandering ten-year-olds. The same can be said for protection. Something must have been keeping you with -”
“You boys are infru--infur--GUH!” Katya exploded. “I do not have a crush on Nick, I do not!”
Art watched, agape, as Katya stormed off. “I wasn’t suggesting that at all - were you?”
“Kinda,” Dave said, raising an eyebrow.

(~800 words)

Name:
Sam Martin

Age:
11

Gender:
Male

Appearance:

Spoiler

Sam looks exactly like his twin brother Max. With ashy blonde hair and big mulberry eyes, he has fairish skin that freckles lightly. He is tall for eleven and even a couple centimetre's taller then his identical brother. Sam though tends to have naturally straighter hair while Max's curls lightly.

Personality:
Sam is over enthusiastic, thinking he can take on the world. He is over confident in himself and his Pokemon, or anything that he is a part of. Which ever group he is in, he automatically thinks his is superior. This high-confidence isn't well deserved though because he often times mis-judges opponents and finds himself in losing positions. Losing/giving up is the same meaning of ultimate failure to him. So basically this means he pushes his Pokemon so hard in losing situations, you could even say that it was his fault he lost the battle due to the frequent mistakes. He is a very sore loser and his favorite saying when faced with a loss is; 'you cheated.'

He is out spoken, and says what ever he thinks, often times making him rude. He also is prone to temper-tantrums if he doesnt get his way.

Spoiler

So in summary, basically he is a kid who whines often, insults other people without meaning to, and is so arrogant it hurts. He is over-confident and a very sore loser.

History:
Max and Sam grew up in the Johto region in New Bark Town. Their parents were split though, their mother lived in Kanto. Always the ever companions of Professor Elm, they grew up quickly and ended up getting a pokemon of their own. A Chikorita in Max's case and a Totodile in Sam's. Sam was always adventurous and dreamed of venturing out on his own, so when he got his first pokemon, it sparked his dream and finally decided that now would be the time.

Despite Max's protests, Sam set out. Max followed dutifully though, not wanting to be left behind. There along the way, Sam picked up a Mareep and Max happened accross a Phanpy which was "just too adorable and couldn't be left behind." It was then, upon the second pokemon achievement that Sam decided he wanted to go to Kanto to find his mother whom they had never met.

They snuck passage aboard a ship and ended up on Kanto soil. They did not know where to go or which path to take. They struck out on their own in a new world. Sam encountered Scyther while on route on bug island and instantly knew that Scyther was meant to be his. Scyther was protecting an egg though so really did not which to be caught. In the midst of the battle, Sam's Mareep evolved and helped bring the wild Sycther to heal. Sam captured him. Max took the egg.

Sam did not wish Max to take it though, and instantly they met a disagreement. A battle errupted due to Sam's temper. Scyther was too weak to be used yet, nor did not trust Sam and Flaaffy was already roughed around. Sam lost the battle to Max and instantly the situation became worse. They went their seperate ways then, Sam not wishing to have his failure embodied in the stupid egg and Max wouldn't go with Sam because Sam would not let him. Sam struck out on his own then, wandering the vast lands of Kanto alone and vulnerable. Max left the island and went his own way.

Pokemon Team:


Totodile | Dexter
- Water gun (Water)
- Ice Fang (Ice)
- Rage (Normal)
- Bite (Dark) <-- D:! I liked my super powered move.


Flaaffy | Marie
- Spark (Electric)
- Take Down (Normal)
- Bolt (Electric)
- Shock Wave (Electric)


Scyther | Manny
- Vacuum Wave (Fighting)
- Wing Attack (Flying)
- Focus Energy (Fighting)
- Fury Cutter (Bug)

Name: Max Martin
Age: 11
Gender: Boy
Appearance (pic or description):

Spoiler

He always carries Togepi with him.

Shorter than his brother by a couple centimetres, Max is an identical version of Sam. He's pale, blond, and has mulberry eyes which look softer than his brothers, reflecting his rather childish dispostion.

Personality:

Max is kind of shy. He doesn't like confrontation and doesn't quite care for fighting at all. That being said, he became a trainer because his brother liked the idea of it. He's quick to become upset and gets all blubbery and sad when little things go wrong.

Because of his quiet disposition, Max is the type of person to simply back off. He doesn't like to battle, he rarely does anything on his own, and choosed his pokemon simply on the fact that they were sweet instead of powerful. His demeanor means he's easily taken advantage of and is rather empathetic to anyone and any situation that makes him sad.

History:

Originally from Johto, Max grew up with his brother, Sam. Sam dreamed of adventure whilst Max merely wished to follow wherever Sam went in fear of being left behind. That being said, when they both recieved their first pokemon, Sam took to the idea of wanting to find their mother, though Max always thought it was merely a way of getting them to start an adventure outside of Johto.

After Sam found the Scyther, everything seemed to go downhill. The pokemon egg, which the pokemon had been guarding, was not exactly something he thought Sam would take an interest in, so he took it instead. Of course, Sam thought cultivating a pokemon egg was a waste of time and when Max said he didn't care, Sam became angry about it, wanting to fight.

Max, who hated fighting, was calm enough throughout the entirety of it that he came out the victor as opposed to Sam who had been rather angry and had very little control over his new Scyther. Because of that win, Sam left Max.

From the point, Max went on his own way, not quite sure whether he wanted to go back home to Kanto, to find his mother, or to try and convince Sam that he was sorry. Going home would have been the cowardly thing to do, and Sam didn't appear to want anything to do with him, so he decided the best option was to find his mother instead. Leaving the island, he went in search, though he had no idea where to search.

Pokemon Team:


Chikorita | Chika
- Razor Leaf
- Poisonpowder
- Aromatherapy
- Mega Drain



Phanpy | Nelly
- Tackle
- Take Down
- Rollout
- Odor Sleuth


Togepi | Tobi
- Metronome
- Sweet Kiss
- Tackle

Jason | Three Island Pokemon Center

Stir. Stir. Twitch. Snore. Jerk foot. Twitch. Stir. Roll. Snore. Snore.

Jason blearily opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. Stretching out his fingers, he rolled over where he was sleeping...and rolled right off into the floor with an oomph. His head spun as he pushed himself up off the floor by his hands, resting on his knees while the room slowed the heck down. The next morning, he’d blame Sin for this. He’d get a kick out of it. Jason could see it in his head now.

Sinclair, your snoring kept me awake all night long.

Jason, you blah ditty blah blah until you blah blah snobbity blah.

And then Kristine would get tackled by her Muk. Jason smiled the derpiest smile and slowly stood up, shivering. His toes curled up against his feet and he shuffled around his little couch area to find his shoes. Nothing beat a midnight hike...except maybe Jason. Jason could beat a midnight hike, hands down. He tied the laces on his sneakers and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, grumbling as he shuffled to the sliding glass door of the Pokemon center, intentionally making his shoes squee! against the floor before he vanished.

Jason looked down beside the door. Yup. Sure enough, Muk was chilling in the shadows, giving little Muk snores. Jason reached into his pocket and took out his Pokegear, taking a snapshot of Muk’s wide mouth. He’d set it as Kristine’s background later. He walked from the Pokemon center and sat down underneath a street lamp, brushing his fingers over the three Pokeballs clutched to his belt. Gumbo, Waut, Durden.

He took one from his belt and clicked the button in the middle, holding it close to his mouth as he pretended to be a cashier over an intercom. “Paging Dr. Waut, Dr. Waut to the real world, Dr. Waut to the real. World.”

Elekid rolled out of his Pokeball and into Jason’s lap with a flash, but was still asleep as he materialized. Jason furrowed his lips and poked Elekid on the cheek, getting a smart spark through his finger. He grinned and turned Elekid onto his back, covering his face in a poke storm. Elekid swatted at his hands, dream-talking little Ele ele elekid!s out into the night air. When Jason finally stopped, his hair was standing on-end, electrified. “You’re no fun, Dr. Waut. Always about work and no play.” He pulled him back into his Pokeball. “And that makes you a dull, uh, boy.” He clicked Pokeball #3 from his belt and brought out Durden.

And wasn’t surprised at all when he was wide awake, shadow-boxing the air. “Rogue?”

“Finally, one of my Pokemon that sleeps about as well as I do!” Tyrogue grinned and climbed up onto the ledge where Jason was sitting, playfully jabbing him in the ribs with his balled-up fists. “You seem to be all about offense,” Jason said, watching him. “Does that mean you’ll evolve into that kicking dude we fought on the ship?”

Durden stopped, tilting his head to the side as he thought about it. He’d taken a heck of a beating from Hitmonlee. “Ty?” He shrugged and changed his stance, guarding against invisible punches.

“So you want to be a, uh, Hitmon...fat?” He took out his Pokedex and scrolled down to Hitmonlee, clicking the profile beside him. “Hitmonchan.” He looked down to Tyrogue. “Would that be cooler? Or maybe that weird Pokemon that stands on his head all the time, yeah. That’d be cool. I wonder if you’d get dizzy, though. I know I would, at least if I had to stay there all the time.” He looked down at Tyrogue and blinked.

Durden was doing a handstand, trying to stand on his head. He let his hands go and toppled off the ledge, rolling into the grass below. “Ty....rogue?” He stood up, turning to Jaosn and pointing at a soft glow in the distance. Jason squinted and raised an eyebrow, getting up off his butt to follow Tyrogue.

“Let’s check it out,” he said.

__ __ __ __

David | Vermilion Beach

“Maybe just a bubble...not a full on water gun, I guess?”

Kiwi rolled his eyes, flip-flopping his way between David’s legs where he shot out a trio of bubbles to wet the sand on David’s sandcastle. The blue tadpole turned around, peering at his big buddy for approval. “Poli?”

David ran a finger through the wet sand, sculpting a small window out of the wall.

“Poli...?”

And the towers were gonna be pretty big when he finished them, so maybe some support would work better.

“Wag!” Kiwi made his lips into a perfect O and sprayed David down with a water gun, knocking him onto his back. As he spat and sputtered, Kiwi hopped up on his belly, waddling up to stare him in the face. “Poli?”

Eve, who was sketching the sunset--or maybe it was a dolphin--looked at him and laughed. “You’re making a sand castle? What are you, like, five?”

David got up and folded Kiwi into his arms, holding him against his chest. “And what do you suggest we do while Katya’s off fuming somewhere?”

She thought for a moment, holding the pencil’s eraser to her lips. “I dunno, maybe run in the other direction?”

“Poli...”

“Poliwag’s right,” David said, nodding with his eyes closed. “Katya is our friend now, so we can’t just leave her.”

“Poliwag says a lot in so few words.”

“It’s a talent.”

“Your mom is ta--where’s Nidorina?”

The two stopped bickering, peering around in the twilight-that-was-quickly-becoming-night light. “I dunno.” He looked down at Poliwag, who just shrugged his not-shoulders. He looked around again. “...where’s Dax?”

__ __ __ __

Jason | An Old Barn

“If I had a nickel,” Jason whispered, “for all the shady places and shady things I’ve done since leaving home,” he creaked over a plywood board, “I would have so many nickels.”

Tyrogue swung onto Jason’s shoulders from a hanging pipe and pointed ahead towards a hay loft where the glow was coming from. “Ro Ro Rogue...”

“You’re right,” Jason snapped, stopping in his tracks as boards cracked under him. “I wouldn’t have that many nickels after all.”

He crept forward, putting a hand on the ladder that led up to the hay loft. “Ready to be brave?”

“Ty, ty ty roooooooogue.” Durden pretended to cry. Jason stared. “Rogue.” Tyrogue grabbed Jason’s head and turned it back to the ladder, making him focus. “Ty!”

In the loft, Jason stared again, watching a little red Pokemon curled up, crying by itself. He slowly turned his head to Durden and whispered, “It’s a Magby.”

“Tyrooooogue...” Durden was interested, and slid down from Jason’s shoulders, onto the floor of the loft.

Magby jerked, turning to see the intruders. Weakly, but defensively, it stood up, hobbling into a fighting stance with tears in his eyes. He was panting, out of breath. “Mag...Mag...By...”

Jason held out his hands, shaking his head. “We’re not gonna hurt you, little guy.” He rested down on his knees in the loft and stared at Magby’s shoulder. It had been clipped open during a fight against...something. “Are you hurt?”

“Mag...” The poor guy gripped his shoulder and blinked a few more steamy tears out of his eyes.

Jason bit down on his lip, reaching into his bag for some kind of bandage. “Let me help.” All he had was athletic tape he’d nabbed from Tyler back on the ship, but it would have to do. “C’mere.”

“Maby...?” Little red took a couple of steps forward, falling from exhaustion before long. “Magby--mmph.”

Jason reached down, sitting Magby down in his lap and sweating with him so close. It was like he was a brave little toaster about to ding. Once his shoulder was wrapped, Jason wiped his tears away, giving him a small smile. “Better?”

“Mag,” the baby yawned, curling up in Jason’s lap. With another deep breath, Magby was asleep.

“...Rogue?” Durden blinked at Jason, waving a hand in front of his face. Jason blinked away the sweat and shook his head.

“Nah, we can stay here until Magby gets a decent nap. At least until he’s feeling better.”

Durden nodded after a moment and made a little bed out of hay, laying on his back and watching the stars through the broken roof overhead.

__ __ __ __

David | Vermilion Beach

“Guys, seriously?” Eve gave the duo a motherly stare.

“I can’t believe you two!” David and Kiwi seemed disappointed.

“I think it’s completely natural,” interjected Art.

Nidorina and Nidorino had been caught.

In the act.

“I mean, how hard is it to get along for five minutes alone?”

Of battling.

It was obvious where they’d been fighting--signs of struggle everywhere. Dredges in the sand, dents in metal poles and sprays of sand and mud against the surf shack. And the two were exhausted. Nidorino looked up at David and panted, shaking his head. “Nidoooooooo!”

“Rina! Rina, rina--rina rina rina!”

The two growled at one another. David slammed his palm to his face and grumbled. “Dax, return.” And he did.

“Nidorina, return.” Eve looked at David and sighed. He did the same.

“I’m telling you,” Art said, waving a screwdriver at them, “it’s completely natural. Those two are competitive from birth.”

“Let’s just hit a Pokemon center before Kiwi and Lex start World War Three.”

“Ahem,” came a voice from the surf shack. There was a click, and dramatic music began playing. “Prepare for trouble in the break of the night!”

“Make it double for a seaside fright!”

“To protect the world from devastation--”

”Where have I heard this before?” asked Eve.

“--Mandy!”

“--Andy!”

“Team rocket blast off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”

“I can’t remember,” David said, looking at Eve.

“Were they interns at Dr. Bernstein’s?”

“No, but maybe they were in Valentine’s gym.”

“That’s it!” Eve clapped, and grinned up at the duo striking poses on the surf shack. “You two are from the Pewter Gym, aren’tcha?”

The duo looked at each other for a long moment before slowly, uh, nodding. “We--Yes! Yes, we are!” The woman slid down from the roof gracefully and extended her arms. “How good it is to see you again, my lovely trainers!”

The man tried to imitate the woman...and it didn’t quite work for him. He landed face-first in the sand with a loud MMPH!

“Have you missed us since your lovely visit to Pewter?”

David looked at his two friends. “Well, they’re definitely not from Pewter Gym.”

“And they’re not those volleyball chicks from Cerulean--”

“--Oh,” Art snapped, “they’re Team Rocket. Right.”

“Ohhh...” David and Eve both looked at the duo--one with his head still in the sand--and waited as their expressions melted.

“Criminal Team Rocket, yes?”

“Mt. Moon Fiasco.”

“That’s what I thought,” as David clutched a Pokeball. “Vash, light these suckers up.” Charmander appeared with a flash and instantly blasted fire out towards the two rockets, making them scramble back. They tossed out Pokeballs, releasing Golbat and Haunter into the air.

“Wind Cutter!”

“Night Shade!”

“Fire spin!”

“Lex, electrocution attack, style 96: Thundershock!”

The attacks collided, bursting out a cloud of dust and sand around everyone. Golbat flapped its wings, blowing everything away. Charmander growled and opened his mouth, charging up for another Flamethrower before Haunter swung down from the air with a Suckerpunch, sending him flying into the surf shack.

“Vash!”

“Chaaaar!” Out came another stream of fire spun out from the wooden shack, catching Golbat up in a flaming spiral. It flapped against the heat, searing itself as it tried to escape. “Chaar!” It cried out again, searing Golbat even deeper.

David blinked, not used to him being so...aggressive.

Magnemite shocked Haunter, and Haunter vanished through the walls of the surf shack. David clutched his fists and waited for the worst. “Charmander!”

There was probably one individual second between the moment David spoke and the moment the Surf Shack ignited.

Call it an eruption. David covered his eyes as the light from the fire made his face burn. Haunter flew from the shack--on fire--and fainted in the sand. Golbat escaped from Fire Spin just in time to dodge another zap from Lex...and just at the wrong time to flap into a charged Flamethrower from Vash.

David blinked as he backed up, seeing Vash in the flames...only looking a tad bit bigger.

Okay, a lot bigger.

Sam

He had let anger get the best of him again. His temper seemed to be quite the problem these days. But it wasn't his fault his brother was such an idiot and a total sap. Max could do nothing with that stupid egg and Sam knew it. It would probably grow cold and die if it wasn't dead already. And yet Max had defended that egg with so much fervor. Enough fervor to cheat that is.

Sam was totally at the disadvantage in that match. His brother had forced him to duel with all his pokemon, which clearly wasn't the fair thing to do. If it was just one on one, it obviously would have happened way better. There was no way his brother could beat him in a battle. Not fairly at least. Heck, this previous one couldn't even be counted as a battle.

Worst of all, he had took it out on that pathetic example of a Pokemon. Magby or something like that. Overcome with a little bit of guilt, Sam solemnly walked around in search of where the pokemon had went.

It was only after a little while that Sam noticed the tall derelict barn standing in an open clearing. The red paint was peeling away and it looked like some of the roof had caved in. It was late so Sam’s initial thought was that it could be some kind of shelter. Casually, in a bright flash he released Marie, his pink Flaaffy. She was tired and murmured some noises in complaint.

“Give me some light, will you?” Sam asked, patting Marie softly on her head. Instantly, her tail flickered with light. Cautiously, they approached the barn. Marie didn’t seem to care much, she was more mopey than anything else, but Sam suddenly felt the sensation of doubt settle in. Such a haven would attract others.

Sam entered the large side door of the barn after an echoing creeeak and instantly stopped. Looking around he saw some kind of form sitting in the hay loft. It was then also to Sam’s dismay he saw a pokemon lunge at him.

“Marie, spark!” Sam yelled instantly, backing away from the assailant. The sudden surge of energy illuminated the whole barn. The assailant, a spritely Tyrogue, quickly retreated from its headlong rush at them.

“If you’ve hurt Durden, I will seriously knock you out,” a voice said, anger obvious. Sam watched apprehensively as a figure stood up in the loft holding a small form in his arms. Sam wasn’t much of a guy to be scared of things, but it was dark and gloomy and, well, it was a confrontation in which he had pokemon in not the best condition.
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. It was kind of an impulse thing, you know,” Sam stammered. It only made things worse when the figure put down the small form and started down the ladder. As soon as he made it into the light, Sam nearly laughed. “Ha! You are just a kid.”

The figure hit the floor and turned, brushing himself off. “You’re one to talk, sheep boy.”

“I could take you on any day,” Sam said with a smirk, his confidence steadily growing. “Your ‘Durden’ couldn’t handle it.”

“Durden would have your little thundersheep in a headlock before you could say ’Derp Attack, Thundersheep!’ So I’d watch who you’re talking to, here!”

Their banter was shortly interrupted by a small pathetic cry from the loft. To Sam’s surprise it was the small Magby from earlier. Instantly, Sam headed for the ladder to check on it. The boy, though, stepped in his way.

“I don’t think so.”

“I hurt that thing earlier. I just wanted to make sure it was okay,” Sam said trying to push past the kid. He was a little bit shorter than him which made Sam smile with satisfaction.

The kid stopped, fist clutched on Sam’s shoulder...and getting tighter. “You. Hurt. Magby?”

“Yeah,” Sam replied, “and now I’m checking on him!”

Scrawny boy jerked Sam back by the shoulder, swinging his arm around in a punch right into Sam’s left eye. Sam instantly reeled back, his hands covering his eye, crying in pain.

“What was that for?! I was just trying to help it!” Flaaffy approached Sam and gently rubbed his leg in comfort.

The kid was up the ladder by then, grabbing Magby carefully. He just stood there, cradling the little Pokemon in his arms while the tiny fighting Pokemon scrambled up his leg to his shoulders. “If this is how you help Pokemon, I’d hate to see your battling.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. He just looked up at the kid and then turned around, awkwardly looking around the barn. He didn’t want to give in and leave. That would be another loss. Indignantly he said, “Well, I think I might stay the rest of the night here.”

“Oh, I guess you need a babysitter? Because I’m staying here, too.” The kid gave him a stare and, without taking his eyes off of Sam’s, moved his foot to draw a line in the dirt. “My barn.”

“You don’t own the property deeds, now do you?” Sam grumbled. “I have the same right as you to stay here.”

“I don’t see you with any property deeds to the air,” the kid said indignantly. He was just digging at Sam, now. “But yet you’re breathing up all the air in my barn because your eye is hurting.” He faked a caring face and puckered out his lips. “Poor baby, would you like daddy to take a look at it?”

“You know what, you are... well, stupid.” And with that Sam headed for the door of the barn. “Its a nice night out anyways.”

Sam ended up just leaning against the side of the barn, unwilling to sleep or even sit. Marie was the total opposite. Instantly, she curled up at Sam’s feet and fell asleep.

A long while passed. The air got colder, and just as Sam was close to nodding off, footsteps approached in the grass. His eye began burning instinctively.

“Sooo...” Sam didn’t turn his head, seeing the blurry figure of the Hit-and-Run kid in his periphery. “I’ve never seen that Pokemon before.”

“So, you suddenly care about my thundersheep?” Sam said quickly. “It’s called a Flaaffy.”

“That’s a pretty masculine name for such a masculine Pokemon,” he joked, smirking. “Where in Kanto did you find it?”

“Not in Kanto,” Sam smirked as he said this, expecting some kind of awe or susprise resulting in this news. “My Marie is from Johto.”

“I know this girl from Johto. Olive Garden City, or something. Anyway, why are you in Kanto?”

“Lookin’ for my mom. She is somewhere around here. And that’s Olivine, just saying.” Sam didn’t really care much for this small talk. Quietly, he shifted from standing to sitting beside his Flaaffy. It was getting really cold. He could almost see his breath in front of him.

“Right,” the kid said. “I’m Jason, by the way.” He hesitated. “I’ll, uh, be inside with Magby.” Jason left then and had reached the door when Sam stopped him.

“My name is Sam, and well, do you mind if I like, maybe join you in the barn? It’s kinda cold.” Sam’s words were very quiet.

Jason stopped at the door and looked around the edge at him, shrugging. “It ain’t my barn, dude.”

Sam got up, waking Marie in the process. She bleated a noise in protest but then headed to the barn instantly. Sam followed, awkwardly pausing before passing Jason into the barn. It was a little bit warmer in here, away from all the wind. “You mind if I go check on Magby now?”

He hesitated, peering up at the loft where the faint glow of Magby’s skin could still be seen. “I, uh.” He hummed, but nodded very, very slowly. “Yeah. Go ahead.” He watched Sam with narrow eyes. “But don’t wake him up. He makes more pitiful sounds than your Flappy.”

“It’s called a Flaaffy. And I won’t.”

The hayloft was warm due to the hay and Magby sleeping there. The pokemon was quietly sleeping. It looked alright. Sam sat back with satisfaction, relieved. He had forgotten about Marie down on the normal floor, so quickly he shuffled to the edge with Marie’s pokeball and told her to return in a flash of light.

The hay was soft and comfortable and soon Sam was finding himself being lolled away by sleep.

Kristine Apparently Again | Three Island

“Muuuk.”

Kristine shook her head but didn’t bother opening her eyes. She was way too tired to find out what she just heard.

“...Muk?”

Lumichu stirred, his ears popping up and smacking Kristine’s face. “Pika?”

“Not now, Lumichu...” Kristine breathed, curling up closer beneath her blanket.

“...MUK--”

“Holy--” Kristine jumped up in her seat to find none other than her favorite little stalkermuk in front of her. He gave her a huge grin as if pleased with himself for waking her up. Kristine sighed and shook her head, but this time, she managed a giggle with it. “You’re never giving up, are you? How’d you get in here, anyway?”

“He snuck in, I guess,” Sinclair replied, taking a seat next to her. “You’ve been asleep for a while now. It’s mid-morning.”

Kristine took a minute for that to register. She was usually the first one up among the four, but not only was she the latest sleeper, Jason was completely gone.

As if Sinclair understood her thoughts, he continued, “Jason’s not around town either. We’re not sure where he went, but--ew, no.” Sin edged his leg away before the muk could accidentally bump him. “Control at least one of your pokemon, and make sure that one is this one here.”

“He’s not--oh, don’t,” Kristine whined, seeing that ridiculous grin grow even wider. Lumichu bounded to the edge of Kristine’s knees and sniffed the muk. He immediately regretted that move, recoiling back into Kristine’s stomach. (“Pika...” he said, shaking his head.)

“Right, he’s definitely not yours,” Sin repeated, nodding.

“You can--

“No.”

Just then, in that perfect-timing anime shows tend to have, Jason entered the pokecenter with another boy following him. Kristine only shrugged that off as a coincidence though. Her eyes fell on the magby in his arms and melted. She jumped to her feet, dodging the muk carelessly and nearly dumping the Lumichu head first into the purple goop, and ran right up to Jason, inspecting the now-old bandage on the little guy’s arm. “Where did you find him?” she breathed, following on Jason’s heels as he went up to the rest of the group.

“Out at some barn someplace,” he said rather helpfully.

“You can try some of Dr. Bernstein’s Miracle Cure, if you wish,” Sinclair said, digging in his bag already for Julius’ incredible new meds.

“He’s fine, no worries.”

The magby blinked and curled up in Jason’s arms. Kristine melted.

“No need to introduce me,” the kid behind Jason said, his eyes rolling, “I’ll just let them soak in my presence like sunlight.”

“Sounds good,” Jason said.

“Who are you?” Kristine asked finally, standing up straight. Lumichu bounded up to her shoulder before Peach resumed his perch.

“Never mind, you’re soaking in my presence like sunlight.”

Kristine giggled.

Sinclair’s nose twitched. “It seems Jason found a cloning machine.” He didn’t seem impressed. “How much do we have to feed and water this one?”

“Hush,” the newer-and-taller Jason said, “you’re soaking in my presence.”

“Like sunlight,” Jason added.

“Like sunlight,” the boy concluded, even stretching his arms out as if radiating awesomeness.

Lumichu stretched out from Kristine’s shoulders, striking the same pose. “Chuuuuuuu...”

“The name’s Sam,” he said finally, swinging the backpack over his shoulder onto the floor and lounging back on the couch beside Sin with his feet propped up on the table, legs bridged over Muk. “Sam Martin, Pokemaster and all-around dream boat.”

Sinclair rolled his eyes, straightening Julius’ three hairs with a very small flat-iron that Nurse Joy had provided. “So what you mean to say is that Jason found you in a tree, thought you were a Pokemon, tried to catch you, and now you’re basically a pet.”

“Basically,” Jason snerked.

“Careful--” Sam winked at Kristine. “I bite.”

Muk furrowed his muk brows, poking out his muk chest possessively. “Muuuuk...”

Kristine just dropped her gaze into the purple goo and sighed, sliding both hands down her face. “There’s no escaping him now, is there...”

“Did you really think you could to begin with?” Hayden asked, walking into the lounge with a towel over his shoulder. He smelled like roses and candy canes.

“Why do you smell like--”

“--I had to borrow Sin’s shampoo.”

Oddly, that explained it all.

Hayden gave an odd look to Sam. “Who’s the new guy?”

“Pet.”

“Hush,” Sam said, holding out his arms again, “you’re soaking in my presence like sunshine.”

“You mean sunlight?” Kristine giggled.

“Sure thing, Sunshine.” He winked.

“MUUUUUK!” Sam squeaked as a purple arm swung over him, toppling him into the floor. He scrambled out of the purple goo, chest heaving with breath, and looked at the faces around the room. Everyone stared. He then dropped his gaze to the floor and frowned.

“Where’s my shoe?”

Muk chuckled and oozed away.

Kristine couldn’t help but giggle once again, but she ended saying, “C’mon, buddy. Be nice.” Her stomach growled at that very instant, and she put her hands on her stomach. “Guess it’s time for breakfast!”

“We haven’t even eaten yet,” Sinclair said. “How about you guys?”

“Negative dot com,” Sam said, fishing out his show from the goopy trail left behind by the stalkermuk.

“Let’s head out and find some food then before tackling the gym.”

“And helping the farfetch’d,” she added to Sin’s statement.

“And... helping the farfetch’d, yes.”

Julius waddled up to them, the strainer set lazily on his head after having just woken up and covering his eyes. The psyduck lifted it with his spatula of doom and peered up. “...Duck?”

Growl.

Kristine nodded. “Julius is right. Time to eat.”

“That’s not what he--”

“Time to eat!”

She whirled and bounded off toward the door, stalkermuk slowly following. Peach squawked, jumped into the air from the sofa’s back, and flew outside with her.

Kristine looked around town outside, humming a random tune. The streets were slightly busier than they were the previous night, but it wasn’t much of a town to begin with. Very few people populated the streets. Still, she smiled at the passersby who felt the need to watch stalkermuk and searched down the road for something to munch on.

“Hello there, little lady!” Kristine stopped in front of a fruit stand, facing the older gentleman next to it. He grinned, displaying an impressive array of yellow teeth. “Care for some apples? Watermelon or maybe muskmelon?”

“Muuuuk.”

Kristine looked down at the stalkermuk by her feet then back to the fruit stand’s wide array of colorful foods. Ideas were forming in her head, but she shook them away. “No, you’re not my pokemon. Stop it.”

“I’m sorry, miss?” the man asked. “Do you want to get something for your pokemon perhaps? We have--”

“Oh, no, they’ll just eat with me,” Kristine said, smiling sweetly.

“Muuuk!”

Hold that grin, girl, Kristine told herself.

“Well, take a selection--”

“Hey, Sunshine!” Sam appeared by her side in no time and sniffed at the fruit stand. “What’re you getting?”

“Fruit, I’m thinking,” Kristine giggled, picking up a muskmelon. “Though a whole muskmelon probably isn’t a good idea--”

“Muk!” Sam stepped aside as the muk made his presence known once again. The sludge pokemon slid in front of the two, facing Kristine with that dorky grin. “Muuuuk.”

“Doesn’t he have anything else to say?” Sam muttered.

Kristine smiled and sighed. She picked up a few fruits, paid the man with the little money she had left now, and turned the other way to hopefully end up back with the gang. Kristine offered Sam an apple, which he took immediately, tossing it playfully before taking a bite out of it. Lumichu didn’t hear of it.

The pikachu picked up another apple and turned it around in his hands, inspecting his new toy before throwing it up in the air. Kristine jumped back at the sudden appleattack, and Peach dodged the bullet, but the apple was thrown out of Lumichu’s reach.

Gulp!

“Muuuuk.”

“...Chu,” Lumichu whimpered.

Kristine giggled and allowed Lumichu another apple.

“Help the farfetch’d! Save the island!”

Kristine looked up immediately and found a woman holding out fliers and calling out the same lines over and over. “Rise to the occasion: stop the muk invasion!”

Kristine gasped. “Oh, that’s what we should do!”

Sam watched her gaze and shook his head. “No, that’s not what we should do.”

Kristine gave him a look, and Sam seemed to have regretted ever pushing the button. “The farfetch’d have no good home to live in because all the muk and grimer have infiltrated their home. We have to get them out or the farfetch’d can very well... I don’t know. Something awful. And we can’t let that happen--”

“Sunshine, whatever. Do your thing.” Sam turned around and walked off. Kristine smiled and turned the other way toward the woman.

“Rise to the occ--” The woman blinked when Kristine stopped right in front of her, as if surprised that someone actually paid attention. She immediately shoved a flier in Kristine’s direction. “Ma’am, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders--a head that knows when you’re being called to a higher purpose. Well, today is your calling, and you have a chance to make a real, immediate difference in the future of Three Island’s Forest Community!”

“How can I he--”

“Say no more,” she demanded, pushing a stack of fliers and a body-sized cardboard cutout of a Farfetch’d at her. “Take these--they’ll be your best resources in recruiting those who can help us with our cause. Go to the school down by the forest--Forest School--and start handing out fliers and spreading the word. People must know of the lurking danger of the Grimer and Muk!”

“Muuuuuk...”

“...yes! That lurking danger, right there!” She knelt down in front of Muk and took out her megaphone. “YOU, SIR, ARE A THREAT TO SOCIETY.”

Stalkermuk looked at Kristine, then back to the woman. Back at Kristine, and then back to the woman. The woman wasn’t as nice as Kristine, but she was louder. Muk went on a rampage.

In the time it took Kristine to blink--maybe it was two or three blinks, though, because the sun was bright and Kristine’s eyes were watering--Muk had sent the woman packing, leaving all of her stuff behind. Kristine groaned and looked down at Muk. “See what you’ve done? Now I have to rise to the occasion to stop the Muk invasion!”

“Muuuuk...” He put on a sorry face and poked out his sludgy lip.

__ __ __ __

“Soooo,” Jason said, walking beside Kristine on their way to the school, “can we call you Captain Planet now? Or are you still just, like, one of those tree huggers?”

“Mag?”

Jason looked down at Magby and shrugged. “I don’t know why they hug trees,” he said, “they don’t seem cuddly to me, either.” Magby thought about it for a minute, and then nodded.

“Call me what you want, Jason, but I’m going to make a difference. I’m going to save some pokemon. I’m going to make Farfetch’d happen!”

“Well, if you ask me,” Sam said, tossing a Pokeball into the air with his left hand, “it all seems like a waste of time.”

“And that’s probably why she didn’t ask you,” Sinclair murmured, Noah clutched in-arms.

“I mean, it’s not like it doesn’t happen all the time.” He shrugged. “Back in Johto, some folks got mad because a family cut down some trees to build a house. Wasn’t their fault that those trees were Sudowoodo.”

Hayden was trailing behind, as always, having little conversations with Ophelia (and Murtle, when she decided to appear). When they finally arrived at the school, Hayden ran into Jason’s back with an oomph.

“Do you hear--”

“--singing?”

“Oh, I think I know this song,” Kristine ringed, listening in awe. She started nodding to the beat. “Yeah, I know this--”

“No.” Sam refused to admit anything.

“Let’s go check it out!” Before anyone could protest, Kristine ran off, clutching her pile of fliers. Stalkermuk followed without another thought.

She ran across the lawn and toward the back of the school, the singing getting louder and louder to where she could make out some of the words now:

Tranquil as a Chansey, but an Arcanine within,
Once you find your Ponyta you are sure to win.

“Oh, look!” Kristine whispered as she peered around the corner. The only response she got was a “Muuuk,” but even that didn’t distract Kristine from watching the team of rugby players on the field, shouting out the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

You’re a noobish, young, ignorant lot,
and you haven’t got a clue.
Somehow I’ll make trainers out of you!

Their laughter made Kristine smile wider, but she wasn’t the only one that was pleased by the entertainment.

“MUUUUK. Muuuuuk muk muuuk MUUUUK!”

“Oh, shhh!” Kristine hissed, waving her free hand uselessly toward the pokemon. “Don’t--”

“Who in Kanto is that?”

“Sounds like another muk attack.”

“I thought the school did something about that--”

“It’s school, dude. ‘Course they didn’t.”

“Wait, who’s that?”

Kristine jumped and hid back around the corner, giving stalkermuk a look that told him he got them into unnecessary trouble. She looked back toward the front, ignoring the calls for her to come out, but her friends were taking their sweet ol’ time coming toward the school, let alone the back field.

“What are you up to?”

Kristine squeaked, jumping back at the sight of, naturally, a shirtless rugby player. She smiled and shook her head wildly. “Nothing, really! I just heard you guys singing, and I wanted to come see what you were up to!”

“What’s in your hands?” the boy asked, peering at the stalk. He made a huge sigh and nodded. “Farfetch’d, huh? You’re with the Forest Community.”

Kristine giggled. “Well, you’re right, I guess. I’m helping them out!” She held out a flier. “Would you consider?”

The boy took it nonetheless but walked back toward the team. Kristine took this as an invitation to follow him into the field. The rugby team was sitting out on a water break, so it seemed, and the sight of Kristine caused a brief silence.

“No worries, just a tree hugger.”

Kristine gave him a playful look and shook her head. “The farfetch’d are in trouble! I only want to help them. Would you guys like one?”

She offered one to the nearest guy. He stared at it, thinking what would happen if he did take it, then yanked it out of her hands. “Let’s see what this sucker says then,” he said mockingly.

Kristine laughed. “That’s what it’s there for! Would you guys also help?” Eventually, most of the boys were holding a useless piece of paper. The last boy walked up to her personally and peered at the stack, fixing his glasses carefully. She handed him one, smiling. “Thanks, guys! Say, what song were you singing? I was telling my friends that I recognized the tune, but I couldn’t quite place it.”

They all started laughing like they were before Kristine joined, and that made her feel a whole lot better about being there. The shirtless boy from before walked back toward the group, water bottle in hand. “It was the Pokemanz song. You probably haven’t heard of it, actually. It’s fairly... new.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind learning it!” Kristine set the stack of papers down and sat next to the rugby wearing glasses. “Teach me the song! I can sing it to my friends later. They’d love to hear it. They’re all pokemon trainers!”

“Oh, of course we find her with a team of shirtless boys,” Jason’s voice rang from behind.

Kristine smiled widely. “And there they are!” She jumped up and turned around, waving them over. “C’mon, guys! You’d love this!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the first rugby player muttered. “Of all the girls to attract...”

Kristine only smiled sweetly at him. Sam cast a glare toward each player on the team, not expecting anything good to come out of this. Jason did the exact same thing, only his glare was solely for that first rugby player. “What are you, then? Defense?”

“Captain,” was all the guy said.

Jason glanced down at the flier next to him. “Captain... Planet.”

“They were singing a song about pokemon earlier!” Kristine interjected before the captain could say anything back. “It was catchy! C’mon, guys, do us the favor?” She cast them that winning smile as she reseated herself.

“You go, Glen Coco,” Sam said, patting the back of the guy next to her.

“Glen Coco?”

“It’s the name on his jersey,” Sam explained, seating himself between the player and Kristine. He leaned back, throwing his hands behind his head.

“It only says Coco...” Hayden said.

“The chances of his name being Glen Coco are just as much as the chances of his name not being Glen Coco.”

“That was mouthful,” Jason said, leaning against the wall with the captain.

“And inaccurate,” Sin said.

“Alright, team, let’s head back to the field--”

“Nuh-uh!” Kristine said playfully, putting up her index finger. “I want to hear the song. I gave you fliers, you give me a song!”

“Since when were you about equivalent exchange?” Sin asked.

“Don’t interrupt the lady,” Sam said, then patted Kristine on the back. “You go, Sunshine.”

She giggled but turned back to the group. “You could help me pass out fliers instead? My friends weren’t as willing, so I’m sure they’d be happy to let you guys help out. Besides, you all want to help the farfetch’d anyway, right?”

“YEA--” Coco stopped and bowed his head when no one else joined in.

“Great!” Kristine popped back up on her two feet, picking up the fliers and handing a small stack to the players. “You guys can see this as training too! Run around and deliver papers? It’s a win-win! You all are fantastic!”

Kristine even gave tiny stacks to her friends as well, though her friends were better trained to just take it as it came rather than argue. Even Sam, after casting a wary glance toward Jason, took the stack carelessly. It was Kristine, after all.

“Come on, guys! Please?” Kristine turned to the team captain, giving him that irresistible puppydog look.

He had too big of a heart to let that one go. “Alright, manz! Let’s get down to business!”

“To defeat... the gyms!” rang the chorus of players. Kristine giggled and clapped her hands, leading everyone back towards town. The rugby team resumed their loud singing and enthusiastic cheering as if this were the best thing they could do on a rugby team. After quite some time, Kristine and the boys all learned the song by heart:

Spoiler

(BE A POKEMANZ)

Let’s get down to business to defeat the gyms,
Did they send me breeders when I asked for champions?
You’re a brand new, badgeless, ten-year-old lot,
Who still haven’t caught Staryu
Young Ones, I’ll make trainers out of you.

Tranquil as a Chansey, but an Arcanine within,
Once you find your Ponyta you are sure to win.
You’re a noobish, young, ignorant lot,
and you haven’t got a clue.
Somehow I’ll make trainers out of you!

I’m never going to catch a Muk,
Say goodbye to my Clefairy!
Boy I shouldn’t have tried Cerulean gym!

Gengar’s got us scared to death,
Hope Jynx doesn’t see right through me,
Now I really wish that I knew how to win!

(BE A POKEMANZ)
You must be swift as a Squirtle’s rapid spin,
(BE A POKEMANZ)
With all the force of a Pidgey’s gust,
(BE A POKEMANZ)
With all the strength of a Cubone’s bone club,
Mysterious as the dark side of Tyrogue!

Time is racing toward us ‘til the gyms arrive.
Heed my every Trainer Tip, and you might survive!
You’re unsuited for your Bulbasaur
So pack up, go home, you’re through.
How can I make trainers out of you?

The day wore on, and Kristine was surprised and pleased that the gym was never brought up. Then again, Jason wasn’t really handing out fliers too. It was more shooting practice for his pokemon. But he was doing all that in the streets, which caused enough raucous to attract more people, thus more fliers were given out. Everyone had a role. If you included Sam’s fruit-juggling, that is. He seemed very invested in teaching a pikachu how to juggle three apples. The results were never good. Stalkermuk was going to be bloated from all the apples he ended up snacking on.

“Hello again, little lady!” The gentleman from the fruit stand greeted her just as cheerfully. “I see you ate all that fruit you bought! Would you like a little more? You haven’t tried the muskmelon, and it’s in season!”

Kristine laughed. “You’re right, I didn’t. If I bought a muskmelon, could I post this flier on your stand?”

“You can post your flier even without the buy,” he said with a wink. “Sure thing, sweetheart.” He took the offered paper and posted it on his stand where it wouldn’t block the prices. Krisitne gave up her last few cents for the fruit.

Tossing the muskmelon from hand to hand, she turned around and stopped herself from stepping on stalkermuk.

“Muuuk?”

Kristine stared silently, thinking. And thinking. And eventually, she was saying her next line with half-regret as she kneeled down in front of her new pokemon.

“Will you be my mukmelon?”

“MUK,” Melon replied and ate the fruit in one gulp, grinning widely at his latest achievement.

----

Spoiler

3400 words? oO

Katya | Somewhere in Vermillion, Otherwise Known as Being Lost

“Uhhh...” Katya looked around, her eyebrows twitching as she observed a signpost that said ‘Costumes for Sale’. Beside it a guy in a Weedle costume was handing out cotton candy--or at least, it looked like cotton candy--to kids passing by--kids older than herself, that was. When she reached out for one, however, he had simply brushed her off. The nerve!

By the way...where was she anyway?

“Excuse me.” She pulled at his outfit again, trying to catch his attention. “Could you tell me--”

“I don’t have time for you, little girl!” The Candy Weedle turned his back on her, and Katya’s eyebrow twitched even more violently. Nobody, nobody turned their backs on Katya Faelane, and even if they did, they would come to regret it sooner or later.

Her fingers reached towards the five Pokeballs on her belt. Five. She looked down. There were two more that weren’t there before--they shouldn’t have been there now. A bead of perspiration ran down her cheek as she stared down at her belt. I suppose now’s a good time as any.

Checking her surroundings to see if anybody had noticed her, she ducked into an alleyway and halted as her foot crunched down on a rock. However, no one had come in. You’re just being paranoid, Katya. Nobody except the group will know that you stole Nick’s Pokemon. She was a thief by trade anyway. Why did she have to feel guilty about this?

She ran her thumb over one of the balls, wondering what Pokemon was in it. “I choose you!” She threw the ball, but nothing happened. Katya blinked. So it was an empty one after all? She stared down at the second one. “If this one is the same, that means I have nothing to be guilty about! A...hahahaha! Ahem.” She coughed, as though to regain her composure, and threw the second one, sure it had nothing in it.

“Jiggly...PUFF!”

Oh no. Dear God, tell me I didn’t steal Rose. Katya stared at the pink ball of fluff rather unbelievingly; Rose stared back at her as well. It was a stare-off between a short human and a smaller Pokemon, but Katya felt herself getting even shorter as it continued. Rose was the first one to break the silence.

“P-p-puff...” said the pink ball as her big blue eyes welled up with tears. She turned from side to side, anxiously searching for the boy she travelled with. She finally turned to face Katya. “Jiggly?”

“H-hey, Rose.” The human girl grinned nervously. “Uh...how are you?” Lame. LAME. Katya adjusted her collar and looked down at her feet. You’re a THIEF for crying out loud. ACT like one. “Er, you see...Nick ish - is not around, so...so...like, I am in charge of taking care of you. For the time being. Ehehe...he...”

“Jigg--ly,” Rose said in her smallest, quietest voice. She considered the ground at her feet for a moment, before looking back up at Katya. “Jigglypuff?”

“H-hey...don’t look like that.” Katya was ready to panic. She didn’t like how Rose looked--as though the Pokemon was ready to break down into tears. She tried again. “I am here, right? I vill - will, take good care of you, promise.”

Rose’s only reply was to toddle forwards and throw her little pink arms around Katya’s leg. She tried her best not to cry, but a few sobs still escaped her. Katya crouched down and patted the poor little thing’s head, not sure what else to do.

After a minute or two Katya coughed, trying to think of what to do next. “There, there. We will see Nick again soon.” I hope. “Now, um...why do we not try and find a way back to the others, hmm? Nick always said you had a good sense of direction--oh, do not start crying again!”

A few more moments passed as Rose tried to recompose herself. “Are you ready then, Rose?”

Rose replied by pointing directly over Katya’s shoulder and wriggling. The girl blinked at her. “Are you trying to say something, Rose? Is there something you noticed?”

“Hey Katya!” Katya whipped around, and saw the entire team standing right behind her, David at the front as usual. “What are you doing here? Who’re you talking--Rose?”

David | Vermilion

“Are you kidding me?” David dropped to one knee, holding Rose’s hand while she sobbed big, Jiggly sobs. He looked up at Katya and watched her with those blue eyes of his and wondered if she could actually read them. For wanting to accompany them on their journey, Katya sure hadn’t put up good impressions.

“I did not think that he vould--would go swooping down the drain like a bath toy!”

“Jigglyyyyyyyyyyyypu-hu-hu-huffffffffffffufufufufuff...”

David sighed and picked up Rose’s pokeball from the ground, pulling her back inside. He stood, and, shaking his head, handed her the Pokeball. “You sure do confuse me, Kat.” Charmeleon limbered up beside him, letting his longer tail slither against Katya’s leg. She cringed.

Eve picked up the other Pokeball from the ground, closing it back and returning it to its pocket size. “You took off, and Team Rocket decided to come and cause trouble.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “I swear, between all of you, I’m going to be as gray-haired as a grandma Jynx before we reach the Pokemon League.”

“Actually,” Art interjected, “the chances of your hair color changing that drastically are one in--”

“--it’s a figure of speech, Art,” she groaned, placing hand over her eyes, rubbing them. “Look.”

The boys and Katya all looked at her, expecting something to happen.

She hesitated, then grumbled. “Listen--just because Nick decided to go on a sewer tour doesn’t mean that you get to mope,” she glared at David, “that you get to run off and be all Oh Look At Me I Am Such A Mysterious Russian Preencess,” she glared at Katya, “and that you can dig your face any further into your Pokedex!” She looked at Art, shaking her head. “I mean, really, Art. It’s not like you’re going to discover a new region on that thing.”

Eve grabbed her bag from the ground and put a hand on her hips, looking at the others. “So we’re going to go rest at the Pokemon Center, get some rest, and act like this whole day never happened.” She looked to David with tired eyes. “Right?” She knew he couldn’t say no to a girl with tired eyes.

“R-right,” David murmured, scratching the back of his neck. Charmeleon did the same.

“Good,” she said. “Now...we, uh.”

There was a long pause.

“...Er, I forgot where the Pokemon Center is...”

David looked at Art. “Mind grabbing us a DigiMap, bud?”

Art nodded, walking out of the alley ahead of them. “ASAP--My maps are currently in the Orre Region.”