[X] My Assistant

[Toogee]

Wayne was astonished. It seemed he was the only one who had Daioh’s interests in mind. They had spent countless amounts of time and money to study the variety of pokemon species never seen before outside this vast continent. And yet, Kino was exploiting the expedition to claim fame and fortune. Mae was a sweet girl, but who was she kidding? They were here for the pokemon. This would definitely come up on the evaluation reports he conveniently packed.

For now, it was time to enjoy the last of the smores. The combination of milk chocolate, fluffy marshmallows, and crunchy graham cracker was enough to keep the scientist quiet for a bit. Even his mijumaru was happily eating the tasty snack. Still, they would have to think about getting some more nourishing foods; they couldn’t live off of smores for the entire journey (it’d be nice to see Kino’s reaction to gaining a few pounds though).

“I suggest going on a nighttime excursion to study nocturnal activity-”

Before he could finish, everyone seemed to be setting up for sleep. It was there first night in Isshu after all; there would be plenty of nights for searching the darkness.

“Excuse me, Pokey. I must prepare for the night.” The otter pokemon didn’t seem to care as he used a water gun attack to put out the fire. He watched as the embers slowly died, then turned around to see his new master exit the tent. For the first time today, the mijumaru smiled widely at the sight of his master. Was it a sudden gain of respect? A realization that they would be the best of friends until the end of time?

Actually, it was the choice of eveningwear Wayne decided to bring on the trip. He was enclosed in jirachi-print wool footie pajamas. The jirachis were in various shades of blue, though the majority of the outfit was a bright yellow. If asked, Wayne would explain that the yellow would make him easier to see in the dark (why would you want to make it easier for people to see you in that?), while the footies would prevent small creatures from creeping up his leg during the night. He would likely find it difficult to explain considering he wouldn’t be able to speak over the laughter of the entire group.

“Glad to see you’re in a good mood,” Wayne replied to the smiling mijumaru. He was not aware that the otter was dying inside from holding back the laughter.

“Ooh, I think someone dropped something over there. Finders Keepers!”

The scientist ran across the camp ground as best as he could in his one-piece PJs, his legs rather restricted in the speed department. Pokey stayed behind to let out a quiet burst of laughter; the footies were clearly no made for running.

What Wayne found was a single item ball nestled right next to a tree. What luck! Perhaps it was a rare evolution stone or a star piece. Dare he hope for a new fossil?

“Come on, gimme something shiny or old…hm, this ball is buried deep…”

Wayne kept pulling and tugging at the deeply embedded item. After a few more tugs, Wayne finally revealed the item to be…a mushroom? No, a mushroom pokemon! This was no paras either. It was more mushroom-shaped, with a pokeball design on the top. It also looked deeply irritated that it was awoken from its sleep.

“Tamagetake!”

The mushroom pokemon sprayed a cloud of spores right into Wayne’s face. This caused the scientist to cough and wheeze, falling upon his back. The mijumaru caught up just in time to watch his master get utterly defeated by the tamagetake’s ability. The poisonous affects were a bit more serious in Wayne; he was starting to puff up and develop a rash.

To the mijumaru, this was quite a pathetic sight. Of all the things that could happen on a journey through the wilderness, his master would die of an allergic reaction…in his footies. As Wayne’s started to blow up like a balloon, the otter imagined the reaction of the rest of the group upon this poor sight. Obviously, the redhead would die of laughter. One of them would likely take pictures and post them on various social networking sites. Pokey contemplated using his shell to slit Wayne’s throat and save him the embarrassment. Wayne was trying to mouth something, but whether it was “help me” or “kill me”, the otter could not tell.

Luckily, no mercy killings were necessary, as a bipedal pink creature emerged from the bushes, watching the situation unfold. She quickly knelt down to Wayne’s side and inserted a berry into his mouth. The creature started to hum softly.

“Tabunne…tabunne…”

Soon, Wayne’s face began to return to normal, though he was still plenty weak from the reaction. The tabunne grabbed the human’s hands and dragged him all the way back to his tent. From now on, she would take on the task of helping this poor defenseless human make it through the rough environment that was Isshu. As Wayne fell asleep, the tabunne wrapped herself around his side to keep him warm. This was way too creepy for Pokey to handle, so he decided to take shelter in his pokeball. He didn’t want to see what else the stalker pokemon had in mind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile…

<<Gee, what a wonderful nap! Wait, it’s nighttime?! I go to get back to sentry duty!>>

The miruhoggu quickly left his burrow to seek out his colony. He was supposed to be on sentry duty that day, but the pokemon felt quite lazy and chose sleep instead. It was a tragic mistake: most of his brethren were missing! A small group of mamepato landed nearby to inform the sentry of what had occurred.

<<It was the aliens! They came with their spaceship and it exploded into tiny ships. They abducted everyone! They came so fast; we were helpless to stop them. If only there was a sentry around, maybe more of us would still be around…>> The pigeon pokemon looked down and sighed at the thought of his lost neighbors.

<<NOOOOOOOOO!!!>> The miruhoggu shook his fists and cried out to the heavens. Long had he been lazy in his duties. Now, it cost him his colony. Who knew what weird experiments his friends were going through on those spacecraft? It was up to him to rescue them from the darkness of space. It was time to leave the grassy fields and pursue the kidnappers.

<<By Reshiram’s blaze, I shall avenge you all!!!>>

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tomb Raider Accomplishment Log V

I hate this place.

Ever since we've arrived, it's been one moment of bad luck to the next. First, I get saddled with a pokemon that I expect to be awesome, but which turns out to be cute! And to top it off, it hates me! Next, I go to capture one pokemon, but another jumps in the perfectly aimed path of my pokeball and gets caught instead. And now... now I find that I have been saddled with yet another ridiculous pokemon.

I'm half tempted to turn around and go home.

"You're pretty freaky lookin'," Jackson said, staring at the pokemon. It was a good thing he had gotten used to zubat and their evolutions over times travelling in ruins, else the pokemon that he had captured might have bothered him a little more. Although, without the incentive of fear, he was forced to admit that the pokemon looked kind of... cute.

That just pissed him off.

A large cotton-ball with one big eye and black bat wings. There weren't too many other ways to describe it besides "freaky" and "cute."

Koromori, my pokedex says in its crappy broken English. A dual psychic/flying-type pokemon. Translation: the Q-tip's bloody useless. This trip sucks. Even the food's bad.

Jackson plopped another marshmallow halfheartedly into his mouth, chewing it slowly. He had eaten s'mores with the others and the marshmallows had tasted just fine, so he had nicked this bag from the shy girl's - Mae's - satchel when she wasn't looking. For some reason, though, they just didn't taste right.

Grimacing, Jackson pushed the bag away. Daga and Cappucino took to it like thieves, tearing the bag to shreds in their fight to get the most marshmallows. Jackson didn't pay attention to who won the battle. He was thinking about what he was going to do, come morning.

I guess it all comes down to what I want the most. If I turned back in the morning, I could return to my usual routine of sneaking through tombs and ruins, finding artifacts and selling them to whoever offered me the most moolah.

If I stayed on Isshu, though, there was a chance that I could find ruins that no one knew about for years - find something that no one ever knew existed on a brand new island. It was the chance of a lifetime!

But there was always the chance that I would find nothing... and being stuck with these dweebs...

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest, wishing that he had thought to bring a shirt to wear at night instead of just his pajama bottoms. The metallic silver pants glimmered in the meager light of the night's moon, hanging low on his hips, and he knew that anyone who saw him wouldn't be able to deny that he was attractive.

Uncrossing his arms, he leaned back, propping himself up on his hands and staring at the sky. His long hair hung over his shoulders, released from its ponytail, and he wondered if maybe he had made the wrong choice coming. Things just weren't going the way he had planned and he was stuck travelling with a bunch of kids who would only get in his way or annoy the hell out of him. Really, he was better off on his own...

Maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow - find some way to get away from this idiots so I can go where I want to go. This place can't be any more dangerous than Kanto, and I'll probably be safer away from that labdork Wayne, anyway.

Yeah, tomorrow, we'll see about getting away from these morons. Then the adventure will really begin.

Jackson Sanjare, going solo

[Living Arrow]

*What the hell is that thing?* Kino peered out of her tent as she prepared to bed down for the night. The goon of a scientist named Wayne was choking like a Swalot with half a car in its mouth while an angry little mushroom hopped away from him with cries of ‘Tam TAM!’.

*Whatever it was, it’s gone now… but that simpleton is poisoned. Figures.* Propping herself up on an elbow, Kino zoomed in on Wayne’s beet-red face with her camera phone and clicked away, giggling wickedly to herself.

*And what is THAT thing?!* Kino watched as the pink Pokemon dragged Wayne back to his tent, hopefully to finish him off. She fired up her emerald Pokedex and scanned the critter before it closed the tent behind herself as the sickly fool.

“Tabunne, eh?” Kino read off the half-english translation of the data for the creature and tapped a finger to her lips in thought. A Pokemon that can heal others even in battle. One of those would really be a shock back in the Sinnoh region. It wouldn’t take much effort to get in that tent and capture the sucker… Then again, such a tame creature from the outset would likely be weak on the battlefield.

*And when, exactly, are you going to commit to a capture with one of those Pokeballs?* Kino admonished herself as she changed into her nightwear – a white lace nightdress that exposed more thigh and cleavage than was really necessary on a journey like this.

Mulling over her last thoughts, Kino drew her little Tsutarja close and resigned herself to sleep.

***

*Loser.*

Kino watched Jackson saunter off into the night from the confines of her tent. She slept with it open, save for the bug net, after being the victim of more than one angry Pokemon attack in the dark on her travels. Even through tried eyes she could read his swagger – more of a strut and he’d be competing with her!

Whatever. He was some low-life thief, anyway – one less idiot around meant reaching the first gym all the sooner. Turning her face back to her pillow, Kino snuggled closer to the warm reptile pressed on her stomach and fell back to sleep.

***

*And another? Doesn’t anybody get any frikkin sleep around here?!*

Kino peered after Mae as she, too, made her way into the night leaving the campsite behind.

*If she thinks she’s leaving me with that freak of a dweeb, she’s wrong!* Kino huffed, laying back down and allowing Tsubaki to loop his tail over her knees. Unlike Jack-off, Mae had left her tent wearing slippers. She wouldn’t be gone long.

Sure enough, Mae soon made her return.

***

“Tsubaki, Vine Whip!” Kino ordered, her little grass type flying in to attack the purple feline that faced him. A snaking vine exploded from one of the curled leaves around his neck, swinging in a wide arc to knock out the apparently-named Choroneko’s legs.

“Neko!” The cat sprang upwards, dodging the attack and extending its claws in preparation.

“Counter that move, Tsubaki!”

“TAJ!” A second vine shot out from the other side of Tsubaki’s neck, this one moving more like a bullet on a string than a jump-rope. Unable to dodge in the air, the Choroneko was stabbed between the eyes with the vegetative appendage, producing a scream and a fainted Pokemon.

Kino calmly minimised the green-capped ball in her hand and replaced it in the clip at her waist.

“Erm, aren’t you going to catch it?” Wayne asked from behind her. She didn’t bother to look back.

“No – it’s too weak for my Pokeballs. You, however, may wish to throw one. Otherwise, here comes another capture machine.” Kino shielded her eyes as the spinning grey torpedo plummeted out of the sky and request the insertion of a Pokedex. Mae obliged.

“And once I again, I have to remind you: THAT IS NOT WHY WE ARE HERE!”

“Oh, buzz off ya weirdo.” Kino snorted, holding out an arm for Tsubaki to leap to and slither up to his riding place on her shoulder. “We all know we’re here for different reasons so deal with it. If you can’t, then get lost like that Jackson kid.”

The group went silent. Since they had all prepared to leave the camp that morning, without Jackson, none of them had been overly comfortable about approaching the subject. One of their ‘fellow travellers’ had already deserted and, despite how much Kino approved of his leaving, all were bound to be worried about his welfare in a foreign country. Mae cleared the silence.

“We’ll meet up with Jackson again. I-I’m sure we will.” Her smile was half-hearted yet hopeful.

“But we’ve already passed Karakusa Town and no-one there had seen anyone matching his description.” Wayne muttered. “If they even understood what we were saying…”

“So let’s just move on.” Kino interlocked her fingers and stretched out her arms infront. “He got called here, like us, because he is a capable trainer. Anyone getting caught out in such a rookie region shouldn’t be here, anyway.”

Another long silence. Mae looked as though she was itching to say something but she was holding it back. Her Pokabu looked up at the human conversation with some wonder but also made no comment. Finally, Mae’s almost frown became a smile.

“Kino’s been leading since the morning – how about we swap so her and Tsubaki can take a break?” She suggested.

“No thanks – we need to train.” Kino insisted, her Grass Snake nodding his agreement alongside her. “And if we carry on through these fields, the map says we’ll reach this… ‘Abandoned Lot of Dreams’… There’s got to be decent Pokemon there!”

“And maybe Jackson went there, too?” Mae offered.

Kino didn’t manage to summon the energy to humour the other girl. Sure, she was nice enough, but nice to a fault. If that kid had cared about travelling with any of them, he’d have stuck around. Taking the lead once more, Kino set off to the north east crossing her fingers that somewhere nearby a Pokemon worth capturing was waiting for her to come by and snag it up.

[Master Houndoom]

Oh, my, Mae sighed. I'm sighing again.

She watched the road ahead as they approached the next destination, eagerly anticipated by Kino, if not by herself and Mr. Webb. Kino had volunteered to remain in the lead, citing that she needed more training. Mae thought that was noble of her, except that she, too, needed more training. She now had three pokemon in her care, which she didn't mind, but without some battles, they could never reach their greatest potential, or decide whether or not they liked battling in the first place.

She looked down at the little deer following her. She had explained to Puumba, who seemed a little put out but not overly upset, and Timone, who was ignoring her in favor of the sandwich she had given him for breakfast, that she should get to know her newest addition for a while. As she didn't know the customs of the land, she didn't know if it was more socially acceptable to leave her pokemon out, or keep them in their pokeballs. She decided to compromise, and have only one out at a time. At least it seemed that Mr. Webb and Kino were amenable to this arrangement, as they, too, left their pokemon outside. Mr. Webb did not seem as eager to battle as Kino did, which balanced them out. Mae hoped, at some point, she would get to let her pokemon out and train before they came upon a grouping of them that were too strong for her.

She sighed again, then, mentally, commented on the sigh. Thinking about these things was not doing a good job of keeping her mind off of her real troubles. When they had awakened this morning, Jackson had left, without a word, or a reason, or even so much as a note saying, "So long, suckers!"

Not that Jackson would leave a note saying that...

They had traveled on to Karakusa Town and restocked their supplies, but no one had seen him. Curiously, Mae had realized tat her bag of marshmallows was also gone. She would have to check Timon and Puumba's pokeballs. If they were not secure, she would end up with fat little pokemon, and while Puumba may be naturally inclined that way (most porcine pokemon tended to be), Timon was less than restrained.

But the important thing was Jackson. She didn't know why it seemed important. Maybe it was the fact that, while their interaction was limited, she had indeed noticed that the only one of the four of them to treat him civilly, let alone with kindness, had been Mae herself, and that he seemed... not saddened, or even put off... but resigned, perhaps.

But who was she to talk? What did she know about interaction with people?

She looked down at the little shikijika, who walked quietly beside her and stared around, curious and excited. She had checked, and the little one was a male. Another part of her attempt at distracting herself was to think of a name for him.

"Little one," she said, thinking no one could hear her, "I have decided your name. Would you like to hear it?"

The shikijika looked up at her, intently, with a look of happiness on his face that rivaled any she'd seen.

"Let me guess," came a slow drawl from her side. She looked up, eyes widening, as Mr. Webb rolled his eyes. "Bambi, right?"

"Oh!" She looked down, then, as he snorted, managed to stammer out, "N-n-no... no, B-bambi... would be... I... didn't like that... that movie as much..."

Wayne blinked at her, and she looked away. She felt her face going bright red, but there was not dimming of the sun or weakening in her muscles as was usual. Perhaps she was getting braver.

"No, I... I read a book as a child, once... it was a very powerful book, about some cervine pokemon in Scotland and a conflict between them. The protagonist was very strong in the end... his... his name, and therefore this little one's name is..."

She swallowed, then forced herself to look Mr. Webb in the eye. He did not blink, but she made her best effort not to look away.

"Is Rannoch."

[Toogee]

Once morning appeared, the group was on their way to the next location. They would have been there by now…if Kino weren’t leading the way. She was leading everyone through the grass, resulting in a battle every five minutes. Seriously, they couldn’t take a step without getting into another battle. Of course, that meant Wayne and his pokemon were getting into battles as well. Luckily, Pokey was quite a capable battler, honing in on his Shell Blade technique to cut down unlucky pokemon.

The mijumaru would have had more fun with the battles had Wayne refrained from cheering during every battle. It seemed wild pokemon were challenging him just to embarrass him. Sniggers were heard all around as Wayne shouted out for “Precious Pokey”.

<<Come on, Precious Pokey! Why don’t you use Charm by sucking your thumb!>>

<<Yeah, use Water Gun, but don’t wet yourself Precious Baby Pokey!>>

He should have slit his trainer’s throat when he had the chance.

The newest member of Tabunne’s entourage, the tabunne, was by Wayne’s side, holding his hand. She was a very happy pokemon, often skipping by her trainer’s side as they journeyed through the tall grass. Her happiness must have been infectious, resulting in Wayne’s excessive cheering during battles.

“That’s it Pokey! Try a Water Gun! Nobody likes water shot in their faces. Yeah, nice shot! You’re my precious- WAAAAH!”

Suddenly, Wayne was sweeped off his feet when a new pokemon passed under him. It was a striped horse, though he had a lightning bolt horn on his forehead. At around 2.5 ft (0.8 m), it was quite a comical sight to see a grown man riding upon the tiny horse.

“Someone save me!” cried Wayne as he held on for dear life. The horse ran out of the grassy area and back onto the trail, quite panicked at how the situation. Tabunne quickly called out for her trainer as she gave chase. Pokey followed, though mostly to avoid more jeers from the wild pokemon. In their rush they raced past a large sign:

Abandoned Lot of Dreams

[Living Arrow]

“Itaaaiii!” A young girl wailed as she rubbed tentatively at the top of her head, her face screwed up into a grimace of painful helplessness. Kino frowned.

“Watch where you’re going, you damn idiot!” She snapped as she approached the fallen girl.

“S-s-solly!” The girl managed to sob in the broken English that the locals seemed to manage.

“Not you,” Kino rolled her eyes flippantly, “that great imbecile.”

While Mae rushed to pick up the abused local, Kino stormed over to where Wayne lay sprawled on the floor in a confused daze. With her hips primed, she raised her fists and… swung them to her waist in a haughty ‘what-the-hell-were-you-thinking’ pose that would crush Cynthia herself! Wayne managed to squint up at her, a bright pink bulge sprouting out of his cranium just like in a cartoon. Kino smirked, clicking away with her cellphone’s camera, but found herself staring in surprise as the Pokemon named Tabunne reached down and began smoothing the fool’s head.

“Where’d that thing go?” Kino demanded, looking around the crash site. “Was it a horse? Like a Ponyta?”

“It was a demon!” Wayne declared, getting up to his knees shakily. “Stolen away from my own feet by some sort of… speed demon…”

“Whatever it was, it’s going to be my first capture…” Kino stuck her tongue in her cheek. “Now, where to find one?”

“Um, Kino? Wayne?” Mae’s airy voice was accompanied by the sweet Johto filly herself and the younger girl from before. “This is… Ninny…”

“You must be kidding me.” Kino muttered to herself.

As Wayne threw himself full force into a fit of apologies that sounded more like the rantings of a madman than the confessions of a clumsy clown, Kino took in their surroundings. They were in a relatively sparse wood, the ground churned up into thick gravely mud where some sort of mechanical digger had carved a path off of the main track. Fallen down pieces of metal fencing were strewn everywhere like discarded trash. This was not the image of the peaceful countryside that Kino had expected. She day dreamed for a little while, contemplating what must have happened in this area’s past when voices began to draw her back to the present.

“-and zis is vie I am ze givink avay of zees Pokayball!” Ninny concluded. Kino blinked.

“Sounds fair enough to me!” She said decisively and edged closer to the girl.

“What? You weren’t even listening!” Wayne accused.

“And you’re a four eyed freak. What’s your point?” Kino lifted her eyebrows. “Like this… ninny said – there’s one each and we all appear to be responsible trainers. True, her judgement is clearly warped with you around but fair is fair and one a piece makes sense here. Sooo…”

“Oh, zis is makink me all ze hippie!” Ninny grinned from ear to ear. Literally. Damn, that girl had a wide mouth! “Ere zey are!”

A single Pokeball was donated to each of Kino, Mae and Wayne by the beaming-faced young teen. Kino reached out to take hers and pursed her lips. Although obtaining new Pokemon was great every time, it was far better to do it after assessing its strength. And in this case, the only way to check it out would be…

*Once I get a spare moment to myself, this little bugger’s getting released and I’ll make my first capture.*

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Would you stop that?!" Jackson swatted at the pokemon, not closely enough to risk hitting it, but enough to get his point across. The white ball of fluff wilted slightly, wings drooping even as it continued to stay aloft. It made a soft whining sound and Jackson rolled his eyes. "I know you're trying to help, okay, but I'm stuck and I'm too heavy for you to lift. Get it?"

His little speech had clearly put the koromori at ease, for the next moment, the happy pokemon had let loose a thick pink tongue and licked Jackson from chin to forehead, leaving a coat of drool behind.

"UGH!" Jackson shrieked, shoving at the pokemon. "Geroff!"

Serengeti, Jackson's meowth, was out of his pokeball, as well as Daga the zorua and the koromori, whom Jackson had decided to name Q-tip, since he resembled little else, and Cottonball just sounded so... girly. The minezumi, Cappucino, had swiftly been returned to his pokeball, far too hyperactive to be left out in such a scenario.

The scenario being, of course, that Jackson was lying on the hard concrete floor of a basement, his leg trapped under a bunch of boards.

He had reached the Abandoned Lot of Dreams not long after the sun had risen. He had wasted no time in setting off in a sort of scavenger hunt, seeing if there was anything good he could scrounge up here and sell somewhere else. He had been walking through a small building that hadn't appeared too promising after some steps in and had just turned around to leave when the floor had given way beneath him and he'd fallen into a basement equally as sparse as the room above. And the boards that had been part of the floor had fallen on top of him, pinning his leg to the ground.

Worse yet, all of his supplies were just out of reach, pinned under another board so not even Serengeti could pull them toward him. He would have loved to at least occupy his time with his journal, but that didn't look too promising at the moment.

"Damn it," Jackson said, as Serengeti rubbed her body against his back, purring to reassure him, "this trip just totally sucks."

[Master Houndoom]

Mae had seen the small girl get pushed aside by the tiny striped equine, though neither Kino nor Mr. Webb seemed to. Once again, it seemed as if her companions either weren't very attentive, or simply didn't care. Mae preferred to believe that Mr. Webb was distracted by the sudden speed at which he found himself travelling, and Kino... well, always had her eye out for a new find.

She approached the young girl, who was sniffling and holding her elbow, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Tears were just beginning to slide from her eyes when she hissed and then gave out a soft wail. "Itaaaaaii!"

"Watch where you're going," Kino yelled out, and the girl started.

"S-solly!"

Kino seemed to be equally startled, but waved a hand. "Not you."

By that time, Mae had reached the girl, dropping to squat next to her. She was quite young, but still a stranger, and even this small contact was causing her heart to race. She swallowed thickly, but took a deep breath.

"Are you all right?"

The girl looked up, still rubbing her head, and nodded. Mae held out a trembling hand and helped the girl up. When they were both standing, the girl looked up quizzically at Mae, keeping a hold on her hand. The tiny hand was warm, and the girl's round face was open. Mae blushed.

"What's your name," she asked, just for something to say. The girl beamed up at Mae, and the older girl found herself smiling despite her nervousness.

"Oh, so solly! I am named Nehnnie." She beamed up, and Mae blinked. The accent was slightly different than the Professors, but she was young. She almost wished that the girl had spoken some more in her native language. It was fascinating, and would be useful to learn. She'd look into that when they got to a city.

"Ninny?" Mae wasn't sure that was right, but the girl giggled.

"Shore, zat iss goot enough! You are... Ze trainer from an odder region?"

Mae winced. "I wouldn't call it odd... it is di-"

"No!" The girl collapsed into giggles. "Odder, odder, not dis region, de odder ones!"

"OH!" Mae blushed and covered her mouth. "Other... how silly of me..."

Nehnnie did not disagree, but laughed, clapping her hands. "Can I zee yoor pokemons? You haff more than ze one now, yesno?"

Mae smiled, obligningly calling out Puumba, Timon (<<MAKE ME A SANDWICH!>>), and Rannoch. Nehnnie smiled and reached out to stroke Rannoch's head. Timone instantly started to chatter, but Mae put out a hand and scrubbed his head lightly, which seemed to quiet him, though he crossed his forelegs and sat on his bottom in a huff. Puumba snickered, causing Timon to glare at her.

Nehnnie looked up at Mae, as if to ask permission. Her hand was hovering in the air near Rannoch, who regarded it with curiosity. Mae nodded, and the little girl pet the shikijika's head, causing him to press against her hand. Nehnnie smiled.

"You lahf yoor pokemons, yes?"

Mae mirrored the girl's smile. "I do. Puumba is adorable, and Timon," she said, pointing to each in turn, "is very exciting. He loves sandwiches. Rannoch is new to me, but he's been so calm and peaceful."

The girl regarded Mae, then looked to where Kino was berating Mr. Webb. "And dem? Do dey haff much lahf for de pokemons?"

"Oh..." Mae looked back, then looked at the girl. "Mr. Webb, he is always protecting his pokémon, no matter how silly it makes him look. And Kino, she works very hard to make hers strong. Yes, I'd say they do."

"Yay!" Nehnnie clapped her hands. "Please to introduce me! I haff somethink to share!"

Once the girl had expressed her desire, and given out the pokémon, Mae let hers out. It was a green simian, looking up at her with a sleepy smile. She tilted her head and smiled back, kneeling down and taking his hands. "Hello, Louie..."

[Toogee]

“Oh, thank you thank you, little girl,” Wayne shouted in delight. He picked up Nehnnie in a big bear hug (to which Kino cut short with a swift smack to the head). After putting the girl down, Wayne gave the pokeball a closer look.

“Now, let’s see who this fellow is,” Wayne said to himself. He pressed the button on the pokeball to release…

“Baoppu!” The fire monkey jumped up and down in excitement at the sight of the new trainer. Wayne smiled as the baoppu expressed his approval.

“Well then…Burny,” Wayne chuckled at the cleverness of the name, “welcome to the team- ah, my hair!”

The hyper monkey jumped straight onto Wayne’s head and started pulling on his hair. He was making quite a mess of the scientist’s perfectly split hairstyle. In shock at the turn of events, Wayne proceeded to run around like headless chicken, heading straight into the abandoned building. Happy, concerned for her boyfriend’s master’s well-being, quickly followed. Pokey also followed, mostly because he enjoyed seeing Wayne in pain.

“No no, bad monkey! DON’T BITE MY EARS!!!”

Wayne’s attempts to pull Burny off only exasperated the problem. The fire type was now aiming for ears and noses. It was not out of malice that the baoppu was twisting and pulling facial features; the monkey was simply having fun, just as a small child plays rough with toys. In his running around, Wayne discovered a room he was not meant to find.

This room was mostly empty except for a table with three men surrounding it. Each person wore a gray hood with matching outfits that appeared to resemble knights during medieval times. Their clothing had a shield emblem emblazoned with the letters “TP”. They were all looking at an old piece of parchment, that is, until Wayne and his pokemon showed up. Though the angry looks from the men would normally warn others of their activities, Wayne took an entirely different approach.

“Is this what I think it is?” Wayne asked, finally realizing that he could return Burny to his pokeball. “Is this…A D&D meet?! Finally, people I can relate to! It’s a good thing I always carry my 20-sided die along just in case.”

Wayne was giddy with excitement. The other men were furious, insulted that this unwelcome visitor not only found their secret hideout, but also reduced their organization to a simple meet-up of nerds. Just as one of the larger fellows was about to get up and give Wayne a knuckle sandwich, another voice stopped him.

“There’s no need for violence, Chase. After all, we must welcome this fellow spirit with open arms.”

Everyone looked at the other side of the room and Wayne’s heart started to beat faster. This person dressed exactly like the others. The only difference between the others was that she was a she, a woman with long ginger hair and bright blue eyes. She turned her attention to Wayne, her eyes staring into his.

“Why no, I’m afraid this is no ‘D&D meet-up’, but it’s very similar. The only difference is that this is real: the world is in need of some brave warriors. We are actually planning a quest right now. My name is Delilah, and…I would really like it if you could come join us.”

As she said this, Delilah smiled and began fixing Wayne’s hair, brushing her fingers through the mess. At this point, the scientist was practically hyperventilating for many reasons. First, a girl that shared his interests actually existed. Second, said girl was actually touching him gently, actually happy to see him (a stark contrast to Kino’s physical abuse or Mae’s constant fainting). Finally, she just told him that his life pursuit of RPGs was about to pay off in an actual quest to save the world.

Without another word, Wayne followed Delilah to the table, leaving both Wayne’s pokemon and Delilah’s companions completely dumbfounded by the turn of events.

This post has been edited by 2gamers: Dec 14 2010, 11:57 PM

[Living Arrow]

Kino clicked away merrily with the camera on her mobile phone, adding to her ‘Wayne the Weird’ album. It was growing at an alarming rate but at least her facebook profile had a bunch of hilarious pictures smattered across its wall. Her smile faded as he disappeared form view, flaming monkey attached to his head.

*Well, if those two both got monkeys then I guess mine will be, too… Hopefully something cool like an electric type!*

“Oh, Mister Webb!” Mae squeaked, her menagerie all seeming to tense up at the sudden noise and excitement. The brown rodent named Timon got particularly riled up. “Kino, s-should we, um, do some… something?”

“Meh.” Kino shrugged. “He’ll cope.”

“Ze Baoppu iz all ze excitement, no?” Ninny giggled. “I am ze shur zey vill be helpink on ze journee. Zank you alls for ze vunderful akzeptence of zees darlinks! Now, I moost be goink home to ze odder bebes zat are needink me. Gutbeeeee!”

Mae and Kino said polite goodbyes, waving the little girl off while cradling their new Pokeballs with some relish.

“Well…” Kino peered after Ninny with hands on her hips. “That was weird. Right, Mae? Mae…?”

Kino looked back to find the timid girl hurrying in the direction of the large building where Wayne had disappeared, her entourage in tow. Kino gawked after her, absolutely outstanded that the shy creature that she had come to accept as a proper companion went scurrying to help one of the others in the little group. Somehow, Kino had expected that if anyone was going to do the rescuing of the others, it would be her… Or maybe Jackson (though she hated to admit it). But in no case had she expected Mae to step up.

“Maybe she really did make second place at the Silver Conference…”

“Taj.” Tsubaki tugged at Kino’s leg and pointed to the Pokeball in her hand. “Tsu. Tsutarja.”

“You’re right.” Kino smiled down at her partner. “Mae can sort Wayne out on her own – we can meet our new friend… or say goodbye… we’ll see. Ready for a battle, Tsubaki? Well, here we go!”

Kino slipped the release mechanism on the Pokeball and threw it into the air. The red-and-white sphere exploded in blue energy, expelling and releasing whatever creature had been lurking within its depths.

“HIYAPPU!”

Kino began weighing up her opponent almost immediately. Another monkey, as she had suspected by with its azure colouration… a water or an ice type? Only time would tell. It was around the same size as Tsubaki but there was definitely more weight there… Would that make it slower than the grass type? Difficult to say… A tough opponent overall? Well, judging by the open smile and gleeful laugh that it gave in welcome, doubtful.

“Let’s go, Tsubaki – test it with your Tackle attack!”

Kino’s Tsutarja, immediately on the offensive, launched himself into a direct attack that was nimbly dodged with a spritely leap to the side, followed by a backflip and a reverse somersault. Kino frowned. It certainly was faster than it looked.

In a flash, the Hiyappu attacked. With paws glowing white and sharpening along their edges, Kino could tell a Fury Swipes from a simple scratch attack.

“Tsubaki! It’s coming in from the side! Counter with Vine Whip!”

A lash of a vine arced out sweeping low at the incoming threat. The Hiyappu cleared it with a well-timed jump and raised its hand high… The second vine burst forth, in Tsubaki’s adopted swipe-then-strike motion, like a harpoon gun. The Hiyappu squealed with fright but all of a sudden its speed increased. With an aura of shimmering blue, the Hiyappu cartwheeled aside, flipped high into the air and soared around the second vine.

“What the heck was that?!” Kino gasped, clicking the scan command on her Pokedex as fast as she could. The display read ‘Acrobat’. A Flying type move!

Tsubaki was struck head-on by the new attack, flipping him end over end until he was able to regain his footing and hiss wildly back at the hateful creature that had taken him by surprise. His eyes narrowed angrily.

“Taj…”

“Hiya!” The Hiyappu waved merrily, only stirring Tsubaki up more.

“Don’t let it get to you, Tsubaki.” Kino commanded her Pokemon. “We’ll try those moves that the Pokedex says you have… I might not have seen them before but we can win this if you trust me. Ready?”

“Tsu.” The grass snake nodded.

“Then let’s go! Use Coil!” Kino crossed her fingers. This stat-booster would be perfect against this opponent. The Hiyappu, didnt waste another moment. A Water Gun followed, blasting Tsubaki in the face but he took it well, shaking off the ineffective move quickly. His body took on a deeper green hue as Coil took effect.

“OK, now Vine Whip one more time!”

Tsubaki launched the move as before, starting with a sweeping move. The Hiyappu caught this movement and threw herself into another impressive Acrobat, dodging the first vine easily. The second vine came out, straight at the Hiyappu but once again it nimbly avoided the move only to come right up in Tsubaki’s face and… BAM!

“APPUUU!”

Tsubaki’s first vine returned like a boomerang and smashed the Hiyappu down to the ground. Kino punched the air. It worked! Not only did Coil improve accuracy but it had also raised Tsubaki’s attack strength. He may have been male, but DAMN he was powerful! Kino felt a surge of pride for her Pokemon and although it was for a boy, she didn’t let go of it.

“Alright, now finish it with… what was it?... Grass Mixer!” Tsubaki screamed compliance and began to spin, a flurry of leaves swirling around his tail then whirling out to catch up the monkey in a storm of sharp leaves that carried the Hiyappu high into the air before slamming it down harshly at Kino’s feet.

“Perfect! Now, to use one of my green Pokeballs…” Kino dropped the ball on top of the Hiyappu’s head and watched happily as the water simian disappeared inside without a complaint. “My first capture in the Isshu region! Lily the Hiyappu! And now just to… Hey! What’s that smell?”

Then, without seeing the Musharna’s beaming face behind her, she dropped like a sack and promptly fell asleep.

[Toogee]

“And that is our goal: to release pokemon from cruel slavery.”

As Delilah ended her story, Wayne kept his focus on her. These “Knights of the Round Table” were off to accomplish a very noble goal: to free pokemon from unworthy trainers. With all the gangs of thieves from the other regions, Wayne thought it was nice to see a group going out to do good. The fact that they dressed up like actual knights was even better.

“Modern day knights…yes, that would certainly be much better than watching gulpin in Hoenn.”

“So Wayne, our mission will take place in Hiun City. With your expertise, we’d like to get in touch once you arrive.”

Delilah handed Wayne a business card. His heart stopped: the card had a phone number on the back.

“That’s my number. Let’s have dinner when you arrive.”

Wayne responded with a weird hiccupping sound, as if he were choking on a squeaky toy. Delilah only smiled as she signaled her cohorts to leave the room. There seemed to be other people entering the ruins; there was no need to entertain more visitors. Delilah and Wayne waved each other goodbye. She left through a backdoor entrance, conversing with her teammates, who had quite a few questions.

“What the hell was that?!” said one of the thugs. “Are we just inviting trespassers to dinner now? I don’t even get a free meal!”

“Yes, what was the meaning of this?” asked another.

“It’s quite simple,” Delilah began, an evil smirk stretching across her face. “He’s one of the four: the foreigners our boss warned us about. They’ve come to pillage Unova of all the pokemon, and we can’t let that happen. Just one night and this guy will spill the beans about everything from where they’re from to the passcodes to their storage boxes. That dweeby boy will be the key to sending them back to wherever they came from…”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well out of earshot of Delilah and co., Wayne was happily skipping down the ruin corridors, his forgotten pokemon following not far behind. After so long, Wayne finally managed to score a date with the most beautiful girl in all of Unova. This trip was looking up after all!

“What a pretty name. Delilah, Delilah, Delilah-”

In his daydreaming, the scientist accidentally tripped over a sleeping Kino, causing him to tumble onto the ground. As soon as he stood up, he recognized his coworker upon the ground, sleeping soundly.

“Hmpf, I see you’re working hard,” Wayne replied coolly to the sleeping Kino. Sure, he got himself a date during research, but that was interacting with the locals. IT was certainly a valuable resource for finding more pokemon. Yeah, that was the reason…

Then, something tapped Wayne’s shoulder. The scientist turned around to see the musharna return. Wayne looked closely at the previously unknown pokemon focusing on the glowing face. This proved to be a mistake: Wayne blacked out before he knew what hit him. His body fell right on top of Kino’s as the scientist revisted his thoughts within the dream world.

“Oh Deliiiiiiilaaaaah,” Wayne repeated in his sleep. Apparently he was still very happy about the day’s events.
----------------------------------------

Wayne’s pokemon finally showed up, finding the awkward coupling of Wayne and Kino. Burny went about his previous actions, climbing on top of Wayne’s head and playing with his hair. Pokey sighed in disappointment: his trainer stole the hot girl away from him. How was that even possible?! The oshawott started to sharpen his shell blade, determined to take out his potential rival once and for all.

Happy was uncharacteristically unhappy. That loose woman spread herself upon the ground as bait for the Tabunne’s master. How dare she! In revenge, Happy started to kick Kino’s leg in anger, hoping to stop her games with her master.

[Troy Bolton]

Subject Name: Consolata Caelin
Age: 28
Hometown: Gigarte, Furoh (Expatriate of Noverus, Hoenn)
Occupation: Physician and Surgeon
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 123 lbs
Hair: Blonde, purple stripes.
Eyes: Grey.

Appearance:

A shorter woman with a marked fixation on fitness, Consolata resembles a cheerleader more than a doctor. Her hair is kept cropped, a pleasing blonde with streaks of purple dye from several years ago that will not come out. Her eyes are a cloudy gray, though her spare pair of contacts are green, which leads to some confusing situations. Consolata's face is ovular, with a well-defined chin. She prefers small, understated earrings to hoops and other garish things. Thin shoulders and an small bosom wind down to a slim, tanned stomach. Her hands are clean, though her nails are not painted- a cardinal sin by any definition of the word. She has several scars on her upper arms and torso, the origins of which she refuses to explain.

Consolata has at least three lab coats in her travel case, but unlike somebody we could mention, does not wear them obsessively. Instead, she prefers normal, if not upscale, clothing- button up shirts and jeans. The doctor seems to wear a flexible back brace, which she explains away as ongoing healing from a climbing injury. This brace is clearly outlined through the woman's clothes. It is not uncommon to see Consolata awkwardly shifting the brace, as if uncomfortable. Her shoes are sensible, but not particularly noteworthy, though the sheer lack of shoes- three pairs: sensible, combat boots, stilettos- is.

In her pack, Consolata prioritizes human medical equipment over that which would heal a Pokemon. There is far more gauze and sterilizing solution than there are Potions and Full Heals, though the doctor has some of the latter. Consolata wears a diver's watch and a "Class of '95" ring.

Personality:

Consolata doesn't have the time to mess around. Years of working in the boiler-room pressure of a hospital have given her no time for nonsense nor things that aren't absolutely vital. Her take-charge attitude has polarized the opinions of those who meet her- that of respect, or of disdain. She doesn't let silly ideas like 'fate' or 'destiny' bother her too much, being a firm believer in self-determination.

The values of the Hippocratic Oath are important to Consolata, about as much, if not more, as they are to any other doctor. Personal opinions and prejudices are set aside the moment somebody is in need of medical attention Though she might be rude, though she might try and put novelty stunning spore in your sleeping bag to get you out of the way for a bit, make no mistake- despite appearances, Consolata is a very good doctor.

Though Consolata respects Pokemon, certainly, they have not been a major influence in her life. Continued day-to-day survival was far more important than training up the cutest little Zigzagoon to show off to your friends. Pokemon are little more than an amusing hobby to Consolata. In battle, she is a competent trainer, though by no means a fantastic or creative one. She prefers using buffs and debuffs whenever possible, rather than smashing through enemies with brute force.

Her experiences have given her a dark, irreverent sense of humor that prefers to display itself in terribly pun-filled names. Woe be the Pokemon to be caught by Consolata, for fear of being bestowed a truly groan-worthy name.

Instead of writing in a journal, Consolata has always kept a tape recorder on her person to save her thoughts for later. This lends itself well to an operating table, where notes can be made quickly and without any halting made in process. Over time, she has developed a pet name for her tape recorder - Nick - and when left alone, will speak until her attention is drawn away from him.

Biography:

Consolata was born to a very poor family in Noverus, approximately eight years before the Magma takeover. Her older brother, Antonio, was at once conscripted into the cult, while Consolata and her mother and father tried to go along as best they could. One day, her father left and was gone for several days, and when he returned, he brought wonderful news: they could move out of the poor district! When questioned about how he could have possibly mentioned such a feat, he just shook his head and smiled a bit.

{ERROR 237b: DATA EXPUNGED}

That set, she took the Pokeball from Aragagi and hustled out the door, determined to catch up with these woefully unprepared researchers.

Consolata's Theme: Parity: Katawa Shoujo OST
Battle Theme: First Response ~ Desperate Rescue: Trauma Team OST
Risky Procedure: Surgery Code Blue: Trauma Team OST

Nick, I got off the boat just a few hours ago. So this is Isshu- oh, excuse me, Unova- that's what we're calling it now. Seems kind of weird to me, like how Spain calls itself España, but nobody else has the respect to. A little like me- it's pretty irksome when somebody calls me 'Consolata'. Caelin is fine, so's Doctor, or, hell, even Doc. But not Consolata. It means 'comfort.' When I was completing my residency, the interns thought it was hilarious.

...This is supposed to be about my experiences, and here I am, rambling about onomatology. I'm starting over. Nick, expunge this data.


Nick, I got off the boat just a few hours ago. Late, of course- the one boat that gets caught in turbulence, which I'm pretty sure only applies to planes. Met up with Aragagi, who wasn't as bad as I'd been led to assume - maybe it's because I've got such a good grasp of linguistics, but I can understand her just fine. Apparently, she liked me too - gave me a Stage 1 Pokemon instead of a Basic Stage, which was very nice of her, wasn't it, Nick? I'm not insulting the researchers, by any means - lousy impatient jerks couldn't even wait an extra day - but I've digressed enough, especially considering my resolution to not do such.

My partner is a Haderia, I think he's called. Evolved from Yorterrie, he's not too bad, as far as starters go. Not following the usual Fire/Water/Grass triumvirate, he's a normal type. More importantly, he has a fantastic mustache, which leads me to his nickname - Muttstache. You should see it, Nick - it takes up his whole face. He doesn't seem to mind the name too much, in fact I believe he rather likes it. He's proven an excellent tracker, as he's already led us to one of these Automated Capture Units, already activated. They're long gone, but I'm getting closer.

Well, Nick, Muttstache just found a torn up bag of marshmallows and he's going crazy. Odour Sleuth, Muttstache. I think he's really caught the scent now. Gotta run!

Caelin

The sun still hung high in the air as the woman rushed through the route. Light filtered through the trees, only to flicker for a moment on her face. The heady scent of honeysuckle caressed her, but she shook her head and moved on, determined not to let plant-sweets distract her. The Haderia was a few paces ahead of her, puffing a little as he hopped over some of the big tree roots she could step over. Consolata wiped the sweat from her brow, waving for Muttstache to stop. The loyal dog Pokemon trotted over, lying down with a great tired sigh.

Consolata reached into her pack and pulled out a sports-capped water bottle, downing about a fourth in one swallow. Muttstache's pleading eyes struck an instant guilt attack, and she poured some into her hands, letting him lap it up. The dog wagged his tail happily, even as his mustache fell into the water a bit. It dripped onto the ground as he pulled back, leaving little polka-dots of darkened earth here and there.

A rustling from behind them; doctor and dog turned as one - she brandishing the sports bottle, he growling and raising his hackles. However, the four creatures that appeared from a bush did not seem to want to fight. In fact, if Consolata did not know any better, she might've even thought they were laughing. She nodded to the Haderia, and Muttstache approached them.

=~=~=~=~

<<Have you seen four people with a weird smell passing through here? One of them has a Pokabu, one a Mijimaru, an->> He was cut off by uproarious laughter from the look-out mice. <<Oh, man. The clown-man. Him and his Mijimaru partner, what did he call him?>> One of the Minezumi in the back shouted, <<Precious Pokey!>>, and the lot dissolved into uncontrollable giggles. <<Suck your thumb, Precious Pokey!>> Muttstatche wouldn't be deterred, though. <<So you have?>> One of the Minezumi in front managed to quash his laughter enough to answer. <<Yeah, Clown got tackled by one of the skittish Shimama and they headed toward that lot.>> It waved a paw vaguely east, and the Haderia wagged his tail. Progress!

He turned to the Caelin, as the Professor had called her. <<This way!>>, he barked, rushing off again.

~=~=~=~=

Nice picture, isn't it, Nick? Just took it...

The two reached an outcropping, where a sign welcomed them to the Abandoned Lot of Dreams, which in Consolata's opinion was an odd thing to make a sign for. It was akin to making a sign welcoming somebody to the Dangerous Part of Town. Over yonder was the site of the picture the doctor took. Muttstache looked at her expectantly - it was clear that the scent's source was nearby. They strolled closer to the derelict building, where the Haderia started barking at something behind her. She turned to find a big pink something - almost like a Chansey - making unhappy and urgent noises. Consolata didn't like it much.

"Aw, get out of here, you." But it persevered, and the doctor held a Pokeball up to it - warning. "Three seconds to back off, Tubby. Three...two...one." It neared her impatiently, and the doctor chucked the ball. A beautiful hit, made sour only by the fact that the energy beam that usually absorbed a Pokemon was flashing cyan - the 'this Pokemon is owned' warning. "Okay, what is it, Lassie?" said Consolata, sighing. "Wayne Webb caught in a well?" The intermediate blob waddled over to a thick set of bushes, which it quickly hopped over. The doctor and dog had a tougher time of it (well, the doctor did, the dog just pretended to as to make her feel better). Two bodies lay unmoving before Consolata, as well as an odd Drowzee- like pig.

"Ah, shi-- sugar." She rushed over to the downed researchers, ignoring the Pokemon for now. Rolling the scientist off of the girl, the doctor checked both of them for a pulse. They both held pulses, so that was a nice start. Wincing slightly, Consolata ripped a couple of hairs from her bobbed haircut, holding them next to both parties' noses in turn. The hairs blew in the breath exhalation, so no CPR or rescue breathing was necessary. Excellent, that would save some time. With the help of the pink thing (who had a less than healthy obsession with the blue-haired scientist), She rolled both of them onto the recovery position - on their sides facing away from each other - and turned to face the pink thing that Muttstache had been growling at. It was entirely foreign to Consolata, so she pulled out her Pokedex. This Pokedex had been rooted by the doctor, so that it was in mostly English - bad syntax, made, but understandable. She aimed the red device at the creature.

CODE

Salutes. Please enter a command.

>>See_units

[MUSHARNA]
{Many the of dreams of people packed into the smoke emitted from its front head.}

Enter a command.

>>View_abilities

SynchrNOICE
Emprisen
Htpnoyize

>>Suggest_proceed

Thinking...thinking...

Fatal error 237. Retry later again.

>>Terminate

APP Terminatde safe.

The words were hardly English, filled with lots of errors, but Consolata's lack-lustre code translation got the job done well enough. 'Emprisen' was probably 'Imprison', 'Htpnoyize' was 'Hypnotize', and thus 'Hypnosis', but 'SynchrNOICE' was entirely foreign. The creature was expelling smoke from a blowhole on its head. As Consolata gazed at the smoke, she began to see things in it. Half formed people, bottles of lotion, bikinis, and knights in cowls of armour in a deteriorating room.

The smoke is causing and reflecting sleep, she realized suddenly. Wasting no time, the doctor rooted around her bag for a surgeon's mask, knocking out gauze and rubbing alcohol in her haste. She snapped it on, paying no attention to the strands of hair that were caught uncomfortably in the elastic. She managed a second one on Muttstache, negating him from the effects of the smoke, too. The creature didn't look too aggressive - in fact it looked downright jovial - but Consolata had to take it out.

She tapped a few buttons on her PDA, setting it to Auto-Dictate. "Nick, a note. Battle Number One, versus Musharna."

BGM: Battle Beat (Take it Easy, Don't Get Careless)

"All right, Muttstache, let's give this a try." The dog bounded ahead of her, hackles raised. As it saw the canine, the pig took a few unconscious paces back as the Intimidation factor set in. Upon receiving the Pokemon, Consolata had scanned him, and had ground out the abilities he could and could not perform. "Muttstache, Leer." The pooches' eyes gleamed deepest red, and they locked with those of the Musharna. The dream-pig shuddered, unable to look away from the defense debuffing hex. So, to recap, a lowered attack and defense. I don't think Haderia know any other debuffs, so time to self-buff.

"Muttstache, Cheer Up!" But the Musharna had other ideas. It reared up on its front legs, blasting images from the dream smoke at Haderia. An iron, a sword, and a spaghetti-and-meatballs dinner were all dodged by the canine, but the fourth - the word DELILAH in block letters- struck him hard, and he reeled back. "Hold your breath!" The mask wasn't perfect, and if Muttstache was down, that's it - game over. "Pretend you're drying off from water!" He wagged his body frantically, and unless Consolata's eyes were deceiving her, his coat took on a deeper, shinier hue, and his mustache grew in thickness. That must be Cheer Up activating.

"Okay, offensive. Give it a Bite!" The canine rushed forward, catching the pig well in his mouth. He began shaking it, and the Musharna began screaming - no, chanting. If the doctor still had her Pokedex out, it might've suggested that the Musharna was performing a Lucky Chant to mitigate damage. As it was, she didn't care. "Toss it away, Muttstache!" The dog rolled his neck and let go, sending the pig flying off into the underbrush.

"Looks like Team Rocket..." she muttered, settling back to the two researchers. "Nick, there's supposed to be four of them. Where're the other two? Can't leave these to fend for themselves, though... Dang it. I hate playing nurse."

[Master Houndoom]

Mae had looked all over the outside of the lot, but that had gained her nothing. She had hoped that the hyper little baoppu would have driven Mr. Webb out of the building as quickly as he had been driven into it, but a circuit around the building had proven that a semi-foolish notion. She sighed. The building did not look stable.

There were some outlying buildings, smaller than the main one, and Mae had run across footprints passing between them, as if someone had walked on this ground when it had been wet. Perhaps Mr. Webb had been ridden into one of the other buildings. Mae did not want to follow Mr. Web into the larger building, not when it could fall down around her head at any time.

Still, she could see no alternative. She peeked in, noticing that, while there was some crumbling in the exterior, the interior of this floor seemed almost clean and livable. It also seemed dark. Mae sighed, then pulled out her four pokéballs, three of them being orange and black, and the last being the standard red and white seen in countless other regions. One by one she called out her pokémon; Puumba the pokabu, who hopped and grunted cutely, and immediately started sniffing around. Timon, the minezumi, who instantly began to chatter until Puumba knocked him down with a head butt. Rannoch, the shikijika according to the pokedex Professor Aragagi had given her, who peered around but otherwise stayed still, and her newest pokémon, Louie the yanappu. Louie looked around, then scrambled up Mae's dress, earning a startled "oh" from the woman. However, unlike what had happened with Mr. Webb, the yanappu seemed content with sitting on Mae's head, peering down at her from the top of it. Mae gave an internal sigh of relief. She had had her share of rambunctious pokémon, including a mankey who liked to swing on her braid, and didn't understand that it now hurt his trainer when he tried to do so after evolving into a primeape. While she had not treated them different, she preferred quiet pokémon. Yes, Timon may be loud when he exited his pokéball, but at least he didn't do anything more than squeak loudly.

With her pokémon out for protection, Mae walked down the hallway, the darkness enveloping her like a cloak. Soon, she could not see, and sighed as she stopped. Puumba, she could feel by the warmth near her ankle, stopped as well, and the absence of clicking hooves meant that Rannoch had also sensed the lack of movement. It wasn't until they heard a squeaked "ZUM" that they realized that Timon had kept walking until he hit a wall.

<<WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU,>> cried the pokémon, making his way back to the group. <<WHY DID WE STOP? AND WHAT IS SO FUNNY, WOMAN?>>

<<You hit a wall!>> snortled Puumba. <<So funny!>>

<<SILENCE WOMAN!>>

"None of you would happen to have any way of making a light, would you?" asked Mae, shakily. She could not see, but she felt the side to side head motion from the yanappu sitting on her own head. Timon and Puumba were arguing, and there was a telltale grunt and thud that meant that Puumba had managed to head butt Timon to the ground again.

<<I'LL DANCE ON YOUR GRAVE, MISSY!>>

Mae sighed, but then was lit from behind by a dim purplish light. She smiled at Rannoch. "Oh, that's better, isn't it?"

Rannoch merely blinked up at her, eyes wide, but Mae stepped forward. Then she stopped. She had a fire type with no visible flame, two grass types, and a normal type. That's when It hit her.

A cold sensation on the back of her head made her turn, knocking Louie off her head. The grass monkey caught her braid and swung back up to her head, further disorienting the girl, but when she finally caught her footing, she was what looked like a small purple flamed candle with a face, currently smiling at her.

"Oh! H-hello!" Mae put her hand to her throat, calming herself. "You startled me..."

"Hito! Hito hito!"

"Did you come to help me, little candle?" The candle pokémon was floating at face level with Mae, smiling with the one eye visible and not covered by what looked like wax dripping. The eye closed in delight, and it spun.

"Moshi!"

"Would you like to join us in looking for our friend? I could use the light, if you're willing."

The little candle blinked its one showing eye at her, then beamed, the flame on its head growing brighter. "Mo hi toshi!

Without another sound, the tiny candle fled toward the entrance. Mae started, and scurried after it. In the daylight, the candle was barely visible, the sun passing through it as if it were a mere image of smoke, but the ground below it lit up with a purple light, a round shape about the same width as Mae. The pokémon followed it easily, and Mae followed them.

They went into a dark little hut, barely more than a shack. Mae had built up a lot of speed, and it took warnings from both Puumba and Timon to stop her. She crept to the edge of a gaping hole, seeing little. The candle, visible again in the dim light, peeped a part of its name, and Mae looked.

"Oh! Stairs! Thank you, little one!"

Mae made her way down the stairs, and was rewarded with a groan.

"Mr. Webb?!"

The groan came out louder, and then a voice. "What an insult..."

Mae gasped, and leaned forward. Sensing her intent, the little ghost candle floated past her, illuminating the wreckage on the ground, and clearly showing the face of the missing party member, Jackson Sanjare.

"Jackson!" Mae gasped. Then she stood up, surprisingly, and planted her hands on her hips. "What do you think you were getting at, frightening us and leaving in the middle of the night! We... well, that is, myself and Ki-- I have been worried sick!"

Jackson's eyes grew wide, and he gaped at Mae for a short time. Then, narrowing his eyes with a smirk, he gestured to the beam and debris on his leg. "And I suppose, desiring a nap, I put this on me as a blanket?"

"You shouldn't have gone off alone!"

"I do better by myself," Jackson said, coolly. He looked away, but was still struck when Mae sighed.

"Perhaps you do. But you were missed, and I worried. I hope you don't put me through that again."

Silence reigned between them, and then Mae moved around, trying to find out how best to extricate the boy from the fallen wood.

"Puumba, please push this debris to the side. Timon, if you would please look under there and see if there is any way to free him..?"

<<YOU DO NOT COMMAND ME! I COMMAND YOU!>>

"I promise there will be a sandwich when we all get out of here safely."

The minezumi blinked at her. <<I WILL DO AS YOU HAVE SUGGESTED. IT IS A GOOD KING WHO CAN TAKE SUGGESTIONS!>>

Timon burrowed under the wood, sliding through gaps and finding the beam that pinned Jackson to the ground. Before too long, Jackson started to laugh.

"I hardly think this is funny, Jackie."

Jackson stopped instantly, scowling a little. "It's that... it's your little rodent. He'd tickling my leg." He did not correct her about his name, and it wouldn't have done any good. She was already trying to find ways to clear the debris. Before long, even Serengeti was pulling smaller boards away. Jackson crossed his arms and huffed, looking at the ground near his waist.

With a sudden crack, Timon exploded from the boards nearest Jackson's ankle, pointing and chittering at the beam there. Puumba and Louie both cleared away the boards, but could not budge the beam. Timon dashed over to help, but though it moved, there was little progress.

Timon stopped, sniffing the air. Moving to a pokeball near Jackson's hand, he pushed the button. A brown blur shot out, bouncing from wall to wall to wooden pile to wooden pile. Finally it stopped, nose twitching, speaking a mile a minute about nothing. Timon walked straight up to the similar pokémon.

<<YOU WILL HELP US LIFT THIS BEAM FROM YOUR MASTER'S LEG!>>

The little one stopped chattering for seconds, then started to laugh.

<<Master? Ihavenomaster! Thishumanfeedsme,that'sall!>>

Timon rose to his full height, puffing out his cheeks and chest. <<YOU WILL DO SO, FOR I COMMAND IT!>>

Puumba sighed and put her head to the ground.

<<Yeah?? Whoareyoutodemandanything?>>

<<I AM YOUR KING!>>

<<King..? Ididn'tvoteforyou!>>

Timon blinked, then with a sharp cry batted the hyper minezumi on his nose.

Jackson protested. Mae scolded. Puumba rolled her eyes. But the hyper little minezumi blinked at Timon. <<OooohTHATKing!>>

With nary another word, he scampered to the beam and started to strain, trying to lift it. Timon joined in, and Louie as well. Together, they managed to lift the beam just high enough for Jackson to pull his leg out.

In the commotion of Jackson's rescue, neither human nor pokémon saw the tiny candle, giggling all the while, float down and touch Mae's belt, capturing itself into a pokeball.

Mae watched from a distance as Jackson hobbled in a circle. After a while, he seemed able to walk more or less without pain, complaining bitterly of the pins and needles in his foot.

"Thanks," he said, hobbling to Mae. He stopped just outside of arm's length. "Not bad. You know. For a girl."

Mae tilted her head, and Jackson, briefly, swallowed and stepped back. The moment passed, and Mae smiled gently.

"Let's go up and find the others, shall we?"

"Yeah... I mean... whatever..." Mae, Jackson, and their pokémon made their way up the stairs, Mae looking straight ahead, and Jackson looking at her back, wondering, exactly, what it was that he had felt so... guilty for.

[Living Arrow]

Kino awoke to the sounds of battle. A crisp and commanding female tone sang orders to some barking, growling Pokemon.

“C-cynthia?” She whispered as her senses came back one by one, the dirt of the construction site smelled metallic and tangy, grunts of fighting creatures echoed from nearby. Light stung her eyes as she roused herself from sleep, the Champion’s trophy only millimetres from her fingertips as she exited the Dream World.

“Toss it away, Muttstache!”

The redhead was suddenly alert. What the hell was going on?!

A short-haired woman stood a few metres away, calling orders to what appeared to be some sort of canid Pokemon – it was spritely and strong with a penchant for physical attacks. It reminded her of a cross between Growlithe and Granbull… Maybe something else worth her time capturing…
Together, human and Pokemon were battling against a pink-purple piggish Pokemon. Another one that she had never seen before. This one seemed altogether more placid and yet at the same time Kino could see strength behind its eyes. Puffs of wispy smoke expelled from a hole in the back of its neck – similar to that of a Wailmer’s blowhole – and couple to the fact the woman was wearing a make-shift dust mask that meant only one thing.

*Some sort of status-inducing smoke… That could be helpful at some point…*

With a wail, the pink smoke-creature was thrown into a bush and the woman dusted her hands, half muttering something to herself.





"Looks like Team Rocket… Nick, there's supposed to be four of them. Where're the other two? Can't leave these to fend for themselves, though... Dang it. I hate playing nurse… Oh! You’re awake!” The woman’s brows under a short fringe. Kino wasn’t a fan of fringes.

“I can fend for myself just fine, thank you!” She replied haughtily, getting to her feet quickly. Her body felt like it needed to stretch – almost as though she had been asleep for a whole night – but the only pain she felt was in her shin… What had happened? “But first…”

Kino’s eyes flashed from the woman to the bush in rapid succession and once the eventualities were weighed up, she was on the move.

*Tsubaki and Lily are too tired to battle right away, sooo…*

“I’m borrowing this.” Kino snapped at the form of Wayne who had been, rather surprisingly, sleeping next to her. Whatever had happened when she had been unconscious could wait for exactly forty two seconds. She bent to pick up the scientist’s Oshawott and looked the creature straight in the eyes.

“You’re going to battle with me, right?” She stated without question. Unblinking, the small otter nodded and brandished the shell that normally sat clipped to his chest.

“Wot.” Came his firm reply.

“Then, GO!” She threw the whole Pokemon through the air, straight past the blonde woman who stumbled back in surprise, her dog Pokemon barking with some alarm. “Do it, Oshawott! Use your Water Gun attack!”

The pink creature’s face emerged from the bush only to be blasted rather neatly between the eyes with a forceful jet that brought it back onto clear ground.

“Don’t let it make a move! Get in there with another attack!”

“OSHA!” Pokey’s shell was unclipped and glowing blue, a bright sharp blade singing free from the bivalve accessory and slicing straight to the foe’s chest. Kino grinned. *Awesome!* This water type was actually stronger than she had thought – what a waste on a trainer like Webb! Maybe she could find some computer Pokemon and trade it for the poor bugger trapped with the scientist for a partner.

For the second time that day, she grabbed a green Pokeball from her waist, span it and maximised it with a flourish, kissed it once for luck, pulled back and pitched it full-force at the thing that was struggling to rise.

“Nngh, POKEBALL, GO!”

The force with which the orb hit the target was rather alarming for all who wathed – including Kino who regretting releasing it with so much tension behind it. It opened with a dazzling flash and a drone of a voice was heard:

[CRITICAL CAPTURE.]

The ball didn’t even rock once when it fell to the ground, the dream smoke Pokemon, captured within.

“Nice work, Oshawott.” Kino stooped to pat the otter on the head. “Not bad at all.”

Picking the Pokemon up to give him a congratulatory hug, Kino turned back to address the new woman but beyond her, Wayne was awake and his face was bright red.

“POOOOKEEEEEY!”

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tomb Raider Accomplishment Log VI

This is the most embarrassing day of my life. Wait, no - second most embarrassing.

Jackson frowned heavily as he limped after the group. His leg was, thankfully, either broken nor sprained. How he had managed to get that lucky was beyond him, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt a lot. Still, it could have been a lot more embarrassing than it was. At least there weren't any ghosts down there.

The others didn't have much to say to me, not that I'm bothered. The geek didn't look too happy to have me back, though. That was kind of nice. I hope my presence continues to piss him off.

Jackson was used to the looks that Wayne was giving him. People didn't understand raiders like Jackson. They didn't realize that the information in the history books had to be taken from somewhere. Scientists like Wayne gathered information by watching pokemon and interacting with them, but history and the artifacts from times long before - you couldn't understand them by just looking at them.

So Jackson ignored the looks he got from the geek. They didn't matter, and neither did he.

When my leg is completely better, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I thought about just leaving again, but I can't even believe they found me this time. It's possible they'll find me again if I run off. Or at least she'll find me again. The others didn't seem to care, but Mae seems like she's actual nice. It's...

It was weird. Jackson had never really been around someone who was genuinely nice before. He'd always been too wild or too on the wrong side of the law, even though he'd never really done anything that bad. Officer Jenny had always made sure of that. Jackson scowled. So, it was weird, but it was also kind of nice, and he sort of wanted to know what was going to happen. Maybe he'd actually end up with a human for a friend?

That would be something.

Maybe I'll stick with them. For a while, at least.

Jackson Sanjare, Tomb Raider

Signing out.

[Toogee]

This was the happiest moment in Pokey’s life. With Wayne fast asleep, the little otter followed the commands of the lovely Kino. Of course, he did his best to impress his temporary trainer with his fine Shell Blade technique. With the enemy finally defeated, Kino picked up Pokey to congratulate him for a job well done. This was it: she was taking the oshawott into her soft inviting bosom, sending Pokey into pure nirvana. A reward well deserved after everything he had to put up with…

“POOOOKEEEY!”

Wayne had woken up just in time to see Pokey deliver the finishing blow. The scientist pulled himself off the ground and ran to Kino. He immediately snatched the oshawott from her hands and hugged him, pressing Pokey against his bony chest.

“Good boy, Precious Pokey. You defeated that mean flying monster all by yourself!”

“Oshawott! Oshawott!” Roughly translated, Pokey replied: <<Damn you Webb. Damn you straight to Hell.>>

“I love you too,” Wayne responded to the oshawott’s cries.

Wayne’s lovely reunion was halted when he noticed the new woman in their ranks. Judging from her meticulous recording of the recent battle, the scientist concluded that she must be a fellow mind of science. Wayne did not expect this: he assumed he would be the only one dedicated to their true objective: catching the new pokemon for the betterment of society. If he could convince this woman to join the study, they could strong arm the rest of the group into accomplishing this goal. No gym battles! No grave robbing (or whatever that Jackson fellow did)! There would only be one word for their goals, a word Wayne did not hesitate to yell out loud as he pointed to Consolata.

“SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSCIENCE!”

Once Wayne realized he was speaking out loud, he quickly put Pokey down and straightened his glasses in order to appear a bit more professional. There was work to be done!

“Ah, I can’t help but notice your fantastic recorder,” he said to Consolata, doing a complete 180 from his earlier personality. “You must be a researcher of some sorts. I’m Wayne Webb, head science officer for the Unova Region Pokedex Project.”

Technically, no one was really given titles, but Wayne found it gave him some importance. In other words, it made him feel better about himself.

“Ah, do you have any notes on the creature that attacked us? We’re trying to study and catch samples of all the native pokemon for further study back at the lab. Anything would be most-”

Just then, Mae appeared along with the previously missing Jackson. Wayne snorted at his dirty clothes: It looked like he had been stuck in a hole for an extended period of time. The scientist concluded that this was no doubt the result of pillaging cemeteries for fame and fortune. He made a mental note to stay away from Jackson at night: he didn’t want whatever fate karma had in store for Jackson.

Meanwhile, Burny the pansear was pointing and laughing at Pokey, attempting to give the otter a big hug. The oshawott was so very close to giving the fire-type a well-deserved bath. Happy rejoined Wayne at his side, but not before giving an evil glare to Kino. That temptress wold not get to her master so easily again!