[X] My Assistant

[Cube]

Under normal circumstances, Spencer would probably say something reassuring about how Ghost Pokémon wouldn't live all the way out here, and how the shrine would probably keep them from attacking.
Of course, these weren't normal circumstances, and to be quite honest, Spencer was in need of reassuring himself. Between the missing Pokémon, the angry moos of Miltank, and the pitch blackness that seemed to set in once Celia had put out the campfire, he could barely maintain his composure. He was supposed to be the adult in this group, and yet right now he was on the verge of breaking down like a child!

"All right…" said Spencer, struggling to stay calm. "There's probably an easy way for us to figure out if Shadow has gotten the right scent… Vincent, come stand over by that tree please?"

The Charmander obliged, the flames of his tail revealing that many of the trees along Shadow's trail had strips of bark missing, the damage growing more and more gruesome as the trail went on. Spencer felt a lump form in his throat.

"Well… I guess it's safe to assume that Logan has been down this way…" muttered Spencer, as the group followed the Swinub through the trees, the violent sounds of a battle growing louder as they ran.

<<This is all your fault Vincent!>> shouted Celia, as she awkwardly struggled to keep up with the others.

<<My fault!? How is it my fault?!>>

<<I don't know… You're the oldest, aren't you supposed to look out for your siblings?!>>

<<Okay, first of all, he's not my sibling.>> snapped Vincent. <<And second, maybe if you weren't berating me about how bad of a Pokémon I am, I could have kept an eye on him! Besides, isn't it Dad's job to watch his Pokémon?>>

<<Oh, so you're blaming it on Dad now!?>>

<<STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!>> shouted Nils, causing his Siblings to stop out of pure shock. <<Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere! It's not going to find Logan, it's not going to keep dad safe, and it's not going to help open the doors to any hearts!>> The Treecko panted for a moment, as Vincent and Celia stared. <<Vincent, I know that you're concerned for all of us. But the best way to deal with a Shadow Pokémon is to open it's heart. That's what Grandfather Feraligatr always said back home, right? Once his heart is open, he won't want to attack Dad anymore.>>

<<I guess you have a point…>> said Vincent, reluctantly.

<<And Celia, Vincent was only acting the way he was out of concern. Yes, what he did earlier was wrong, but it's not his fault Locke and Logan ran away. Shadow Pokémon just… do that, I guess.>>

<<I suppose…>> said Celia, glancing at her sibling.

<<Um… Sorry I did all that stuff earlier…>> said Vincent.

<<Sorry I blamed you for what happened…>> muttered Celia.

<<There. Are we all better now?>> said Nils, with a smile.

<<I think so.>> said Celia.

<<Yeah.>> said Vincent. <<But just so you know, I'm still not turning my back on that bug until he's purified.>>

<<I can live with that.>> said Celia.

<<Hey!>> shouted Butchette, from up the road. <<Are you three coming or not?!>>

<<Oh crap! Coming!>> shouted Nils, as he and his siblings hurried to keep up with the group.

-------

The group stumbled out of the forest, before climbing over an old wooden fence at it's very edge. Spencer- who could feel the soreness from earlier returning to his muscles- panted for air as he pointed at the mostly vacant pasture ahead. "I think this is the border of that Moo Moo Land place…" he panted, hands on his knees. "Keep an eye out for-"

"MILTANK!"

A large pink ball of flesh rolled past the group, aimed at what was clearly the silhouette of a Scyther a short while away. The mantis Pokémon launched a Cut attack at the Cow Pokémon just before impact, before slamming into the bug Pokémon and steamrolling it into the ground. Meanwhile, an Ekans who seemed to have been clinging to the Miltank with it's teeth was shaken loose, clearly knocked silly from the constant rolling. The Miltank built up momentum at the other end of it's roll, before making another spin back toward the severely weakened Shadow Pokémon.

"Someone do something!" shouted Spencer, utterly terrified. Butchette started to make a move for the Miltank, until Vincent darted out from under the fence.

<<Vincent, what on earth do you think you're doing?!>> shouted Celia.

<<I'm the oldest, aren't I?!>> shouted Vincent, as he leapt several yards in front of the Shadow Pokémon, as the Miltank prepared for it's final Rollout.

Rollout is a sequential attack, which relies on increasing momentum to do damage. Statistically, it doubles in damage with each hit, it's 5th hit being the most powerful. As a result, when the final Rollout came barreling toward the group, everyone was shocked when Vincent tried to absorb the attack himself.

The Charmander braced himself as the attack slammed into his open claws, sending shockwaves through his body. Still, the Pokémon valiantly struggled to hold the attack back from the others, digging it's feet into the dirt as the still rotating Miltank slowly pushed him toward the group. Vincent's hands were being rubbed raw, as it's claws just bounced off the Miltanks hide. Dust flew up in the air as the Miltank built up momentum like a drag racers tire. Still, he could feel himself slipping… At any moment, he could lose his grip and be flattened by the Miltank's attack, which would continue to launch itself at full force toward the others. Vincent winced… This was not one of his better ideas… Still, he struggled to hold back the attack, drawing from all his Strength.

His feet began to slip, he braced himself for the inevitable impact, drawing from the very last of his energy to hold off the attack for just a few more moments…

He felt a strange warming sensation in his chest, which soon spread throughout the rest of his body. The flame on his tail flared up as he gritted his teeth, a bright light filling his vision. Was he… glowing?

Spencer covered his eyes as the Charmander erupted into a flash of glorious light, a small alarm on his Pokétch going off. Finally, the light surrounding Vincent exploded in a flash, blasting away the dust that had surrounded the field. When everything had finally cleared, the group was treated to an amazing sight…

The Miltank had stopped rolling. Vincent had managed to stop it completely.

Except… it wasn't Vincent who was holding the Miltank back. At least… it didn't look like Vincent anymore. He was taller, his tail flame was brighter, he had sprouted a horn on the tip of his skull, and his claws had dug themselves into a particularly tough part of the Miltanks hide.

"Charmeleon…" Vincent let out a deep growl, as he shoved the Miltank away, causing it to unroll into it's normal shape.

"Is this… what an evolution looks like!?" said an awestruck Spencer, as he whipped out his Pokédex.

Number 5: Charmeleon- The Flame Pokémon. A hot headed Pokémon, Charmeleon battles with it's razor sharp claws and burning tail. It will not give up until it's opponent is defeated. When agitated, it's tail turns a bluish white color.

"Whoa…" said Spencer, as his newly evolved Pokémon slashed at the furious Miltank with a Metal Claw attack, it's tail flame burning blue. The Miltank snorted steam as it stroked the ground with it's hooves, preparing another Rollout attack. But Vincent was ready for it this time. The Charmeleon's claws shone like metal as it prepared another metal claw attack, as the Miltank curled into a deadly sphere. Taking advantage of the Miltank's momentary distraction, Vincent quickly spat embers at his right claw, causing them to glow white hot. It was a maneuver Spencer had taught him as a trick, thinking it would be useful in a gym battle or something. But Vincent was going to use it a bit more creatively now…

As the Miltank rolled toward Vincent for the second time, he focused all his Strength into his claw before thrusting it at the Miltank with terrible force. The searing hot metal combined with the force of the blow caused the Miltank to scream in pain. Utterly terrified now, the Miltank unrolled and dashed away from the Pokémon, leaving Vincent and the other alone in the field. Waker dashed to Locke's side, but Spencer was too stunned by the display to say anything.

"Strength: A move which allows the Pokémon to tap into their hidden reserves of physical strength. Typically found as an HM, this move can also be learned naturally."

Spencer slowly made his way to his Pokémon's side, silently giving each of them his last three Oran Berries. (He was starting to wish his mom had packed more than 3). Logan, while stunned, didn't seem to have any broken wings or other serious injuries, and Locke just seemed slightly battered from the whole experience.

After a few moments, Spencer finally managed to say something. "Vincent… that was amazing! I… I didn't know you had that in you. Evolving after just one day?" He laughed. "At this rate, you'll be a Charizard before the month is over."

"Meleon." Said Vincent, going into hug Spencer.

"Whoa! Wait! Hot claws!" exclaimed Spencer, holding up his hands.

Realizing his mistake, the Flame Pokémon allowed the metal coating on it's arms to melt off into a puddle of molten steel, lowering the temperature of his claws considerably, before he leapt into Spencer's arms.

It was at this point that Spencer realized how heavy Vincent actually was, considering how this simple act of affection had knocked him to the ground. "Um…, let's not jump into my arms again, okay Vincent?"

"Char." Said the Flame Pokémon. It was going to take a bit of time to get used to this…

Meanwhile, Logan had just finished his second Oran Berry of the day. (He was really starting to hate the taste…). Pulling himself to a sitting position, the Scyther clutched his head.

Something felt a bit clearer in his mind now… The flashback of that nest… With the two other Scyther… Massacre and Dest… no…

…Mama and Daddy?

Mom and Dad… his parents…

And they weren't attacking that human out of bloodlust… The human was attacking him… and his parents were defending him?!

And now, this Charmeleon was defending him too…

He didn't need defending, he was a Shadow Pokémon! He could take care of himself! And yet…
Something within him felt strange… Like that impenetrable wall that surrounded his heart was beginning to crack…

Somewhere… for a moment, Logan could have sworn he could hear that Celebi laughing…

[Ganymede]

Waker cradled Locke's head in his arms, watching Vincent's battle in pure awe, not noticing Azzy and Pora darting about, making sure no more Miltanks were on the loose. As Waker picked up his immobile Ekans, Locke looked up, sending a strange glance in Vincent and Logan's direction. Weird thoughts were beginning to nudge at his mind - vague memories of two giant, lithe figures, lowing faces on their bodies; other young, playful Ekans...He shook the thoughts out of his mind. "Head hurt," he hissed dully, wrapping his coils around Waker's neck. "Nap now."


"NAP?!" Both Waker and Locke turned, startled, at Pora's sudden outcry. "You had Waker worried half to death and you want to take a NAP?!" The Poison Pin Pokemon was furious, the spines on her back rising as she growled deeply. [/i]"Fine then - take your precious [/i]nap - Azzy and I will take care of Waker. OUR TRAINER. WHO LOVES US." Pora spat out her last words, turning away from the group, who stood in an uncomfortable silence. Azzy sat there, stunned - he'd never seen Pora this angry before. Cautiously, he made his way over to the other Nidoran and sat next to her, "Nii"-ing softly.


Biting his lip, Waker turned back to Spencer and the girls and shrugged, wishing he could write in the darkness. Instead he motioned back the way they came, and then shrugged again - Do you want to go back to the shrine, or stay here until morning? He was rather hoping they'd go back to their modest campsite at the shrine - the Miltanks in Furoh seemed quite a bit more Rollout-happy then the ones in Johto, and he really didn't want to be squished flat while he slept. Locke, eyes still wide from Pora's outburst, curled around his neck unhappily, tongue flicking in and out of his mouth. Waker realised it then - he'd forgotten Locke's restraints back at the shrine, as well as his jacket. Frowning, he kicked at the ground before clapping his hands loudly, startling Aussie's Swinub.


Pora growled as she got up, Azzy following her closely. Waker began to set off back towards camp, almost getting lost the second he left the small ring of light from Vincent's tail. With a sigh, he silently prayed that there weren't any wild Spinarak groups around - unwary travelers in Johto sometimes stepped on one, causing some very angry Ariados to attack. Making his way over a log that he didn't think he'd climbed over on the way out, he didn't notice the small, almost invisible shape in the trees, watching him with its tail waving slowly, a small smile on its moon-shaped face.

Sorry if this post is short and unentertaining - I had a really long day at school and work, although I really shouldn't be making any excuses...Anyway, here's the first appearance of the Stalker Skitty. Stay tuned for more general feline creepiness!

[Verity Lily]

"Ghosts," Verity said quietly. She wasn't afraid of real ghosts - she'd been raised with a healthy skeptism - but ghost pokemon troubled her a little. Butchette was more than a match for most of the pokemon of the low levels found around Barley, but she didn't have a chance against a ghost type. And the last time Courage had battled, she'd been fainted almost as soon as she started. Verity wished she'd trained Courage more; she guility remembered Pokemon Training Class, in which Emerence had urged the importance of not just relying on one partner pokemon, but of raising a whole team evenly. But Butchette was just so reliable... except against ghosts. Or psychic pokemon. Or flying types...

Courage seemed reluctant to leave her trainer, for which Verity was really rather relieved and so she gestured to Courage to come sit on her shoulder just in case. Courage had her own ideas, though, and settled on her head again, with much pride. Verity didn't have the heart to dislodge her.

With Butchette by her side, Candyfloss in her arms, Shadow sniffing out scents, Connie accompanied by two mareep-riding pokemon and a bee pokemon, and the boys being surrounded by fire, grass, water and poison types respectively, it occured to Verity that they weren't really the most discreet search party of all time. They were more like a pokemon circus parade. The shadow pokemon would have no problem avoiding them - and anything scary would find them straight away. She clutched at Connie's arm for reassurance.

"I think this is the border of that Moo Moo Land place…" he panted, hands on his knees. "Keep an eye out for-"

"MILTANK!"

Verity froze in complete terror. "Fighting beats normal, fighting beats normal" her hindbrain repeated urgently, and Butchette looked questioningly up at her, but she couldn't make her dry lips form the order to attack. She couldn't believe how enraged the miltank seemed... this wasn't like the ones at home who just thought it was funny to roll around like pool balls, ricocheting off each other. It seemed to really want to hurt them, like the tauros from earlier in the day. They were all going to be squished, just like in her dream.

Vincent's valiant defence made her heart lurch. She stood, shaking and clinging to Connie, unable even to properly register that she'd just seen her first evolution. The miltank was gone... that was all she cared about, for the moment.

<<Not bad,>> Butchette told Vincent, grudgingly. <<I was just about to step in and handle it, of course. But your evolution is kind of impressive.>>

When Waker gestured back to the camp, she felt an almost sickening wave of relief. Still clinging desperately to her best friend, she began to stumble after Waker...

"What's that?" There was a rustling in the grass. Verity swallowed hard. She didn't think she could bear another miltank straight away.

Courage obediently whirled off her head, her claws only tearing at Verity's head a little, and went to go look.

"Courage, wait!"

"Starly!" The little bird pokemon pulled aside a branch of the scrubby undergrowth, and Verity felt a wave of relief. Not even a baby miltank could hide in something that small. She stepped forward and leaned down, curiously.

"Oh! Spoink!" she cried in delight. There was a small group of them hiding as best they could, but their incessant bouncing was rendering their hiding place pretty much useless. Delighted, Verity pulled her pokedex out of her backpack and pointed it at them.

Spoink, the bouncing psychic pokemon. It doesn't stop bouncing even when it is asleep. Spoink keeps a Clampearl pearl on top of its head. The pearl functions to amplify this Pokémon's psychokinetic powers. It is therefore on a constant search for a bigger pearl.

"They're so cute. I always feel sorry for spoink, having to keep bouncing or die..." Verity's eyes filled with compassionate tears. But something was wrong.... the pokemon's eyes were leaking tears, too. And on top of their heads was... not a single pearl.

"OH!" Verity covered her mouth with one hand in shock. "Your pearls have been stolen! Oh, who would be so cruel as to leave you helpless like that?"

"Spoink!" wailed the little pokemon in concert, and Verity's eyes spilled over with her own tears. She fell to her knees, and held out her arms, pokedex still in one hand but Candyfloss slipping from her grasp into the grass. The little girl longed to huggle and comfort the dear little things.

"GRUMPIG!!!"

Verity turned her head slowly, and her pokedex came up and pointed almost as if my automatic control.

Grumpig, the black pearl pokemon. Grumpig uses the black pearls on its body to amplify its psychic power waves for gaining total control over its foe. When this Pokémon uses its special power, its snorting breath grows labored.

The pokemon drew in a long, grunting breath, and Verity suddenly realised what the Barley bullies must feel like when she turned out to have Bill with her. She sent a desperate look at the spoinks.
"Um, little ones, can you tell your Mama we just want to be friends? Please?"

[ROMANA]

Connie was hard pressed not to laugh at Spencer nearly being knocked flat by Vincent's enthusiastic cuddle. A tiny, weeny giggle-ette may have escaped her just for a moment. She had been awfully impressed by Vincent stepping in to save them from the Miltank and his evolution was fascinating. She wondered if her pokemon were ready to evolve yet and whether she could encourage them.

Waker seemed as keen to leave any further exploration of Moo Moo Land for tomorrow and daylight as she was and Connie slipped her hand back into Verity's as they set off back to the campsite.

"Do you think Victoria will find her way back in the dark? Maybe I shouldn't have sent her off on her own." she mused as they walked. "Maybe my poketch has something useful..." After all, Spencer's had been monitoring his pokemon - it had alerted him when Veincent was evolving. She started pushing buttons. "This thing could do with a better light," she muttered, peering at the screen. "Maybe in the next version. Nothing. Well, hopefully she'll be back at the campsite already when we get there. And if not, maybe Shadow can help find her, too," said Connie, with a shy smile at Aussie.

Connie was surprised to see the little group of bouncy but cowering spoinks and she was horrified to realise they had no pearls. Verity seemed ready to try and give them all a big hug when...

"GRUMPIG!"

Connie gulped.

"Um, little ones, can you tell your Mama we just want to be friends? Please?" said Verity. She sounded almost as scared as she was of Miltanks.

Grumpig had to be a very high level and without Victoria, she was stuck without a pokemon with supereffective moves. Carmilla was her lowest level pokemon and the Grumpig was a psychic type, so that was no good. Ok, so she would try and use moves that would at least have the bonus of being the same type as the pokemon using them.

"Verity, I think maybe you should move away from the Spoinks," said Connie. "Come here, with me. Mary, I want you to try and Thundershock the Grumpig while we move out of its way, please."

Torchie and Carmilla jumped down from Mary's back. They seemed less than eager to be facing the Grumpig.

"Mareep," said Mary, uncertainly. <<Are you sure you don't want me to use Charge first, really?>>

"You can do it," said Connie, sounding as reassuring as she could.

"Mar..."

The Mareep's hesitation hadn't helped matters. Mary was hit by a determined headbut from the Grumpig and she sat down, looking surprised. She fell over onto the grass with a pathetic "reep" noise.

"Mary!" said Connie, darting forward to her pokemon, regardless of the Grumpig's proximity. She lifted Mary's head and, pulling a fresh water from her bag, helped the Mareep to sip.

"GRUM!" said the Grumpig, shaking its head. It seemed to be having trouble moving. The static in Mary's coat had affected it. "PIG," it said to the Spoinks, who bounced over and cowered behind it. Together, the little pearless Spoinks and the Grumpig backed away from the trainers and pokemon.

<<Your humans are looking after you,>> it said. <<You should keep hold of them.>>

<<We will, thanks,>> said Butchette, suddenly more talkative now the big Psychic type was backing off. <<You should try to be less intimidating to humans and then maybe they'd want to catch you, too.>>

<<Are you crazy?>> asked the Grumpig. <<I have had quite enough of humans.>>

<<She didn't seem like... those two,>> said Torchie, waving a wing at Locke and Logan. <<What's up with her?>>

<<Who do you think took the pearls, stupid?>> "Spoink?" There was one tiny little Spoink still cowering in the undergrowth. <<She's trying to look after us until we can find some more. That human really does seem to be looking after the Mareep, though.>>

<<You're bouncy! Be my friend!>> Candyfloss ran full tilt at the Spoink with its arms outstretched. <<I have lots of friends, my friend the Espy gave me my crown and EkansLocke gives me cuddles... wants to give me cuddles and I have a berry but I ate it.>>

The Spoink stared at the pink thing rushing at it.

<<You're... round.>>

"Is everyone ok?" asked Connie, looking around anxiously as she helped Mary back to her feet and recalled her to her pokeball. She thought she should probably let her rest.

"Torchic!"

"Oddish!"

"No," said Connie firmly, "you'll just have to walk."

[Verity Lily]

Verity watched the scene with great confusion and quite a lot of relief, when the Grumpig inexplicably backed off. All the pokemon seemed to have become remarkably communicative, too.

One little Spoink was left bouncing forlornly, all alone.

"What's wrong, baby?" Verity asked gently. "Aren't you going with your Mama?"

"Spoink!" The little pig pokemon shook its head.

"Isn't she your Mama?"

"Spoink!" Another shake, and its tears began to flow again. Verity uneasily wondered if Candyfloss wasn't the only pokemon around who knew Fake Tears. Even so, she yearned to pick it up and give it a hug, but was too afraid of interrupting its bouncing.

"Do you know where your Mama is?"

"Spooooooink!" sobbed the little pokemon, and Verity began to cry again herself.

"I know how you feel," she told it. "Butchette and I are away from our Mamas. And so is Connie, and Courage, and Waker and Spencer and Aussie and all of our pokemon." A great wave of homesick longing for her mother sweapt over her. And they'd only been parted a few hours! Verity wasn't sure how she'd bear a pokemon journey.

"Would you like me to be your Mama for a while?" Verity asked timidly.

At this moment, Candyfloss flung herself into the spoinks's arms. "Spoink!" the little pig said, and carefully placed the igglybuff on top if its head, where its pearl normally resided. Its tears magically dried up. "Spoink spoink spoink!"

"Lee! Leee! Leee!" Candyfloss said gleefully on each ascent. <<Look, Mr Locke Ekans, I'm bouncing! Wake up and see me!>> She couldn't actually see Locke from where she was, but in her few short hours of life Candyfloss had already learned that pokemon, people and things tended to be exactly where she wanted them to be.

Courage circled back to her perch on Verity's pink head. <<The spoink is a hat too!>> she chirped excitedly. <<We are hat type pokemon! Candyfloss has a hat as well.>> The espeon's purloined tiara faintly glimmered in the light from Vincent's hotter flame.

"Oh, I have to keep it, now!" Verity said delightedly. "It's friends with Candyfloss already. Come here, little spoink." She tried to remember, from her farming lessons, the ancient pig pokemon summoning cry, used on Mamoswine and Grumpigs since time eternal. "Pig-hooey! Pig-hooey! Oh, it doesn't seem to be working," she said disapointedly, as the spoink - and igglybuff - continued to bounce on the spot.

"Machop!" Butchette strode forward and delivered an accurate Low Kick. The spoink flew backwards, Candyfloss and tiara tumbling over and over into the air. Candyfloss burst into noisy tears and went to the nearest pokemon, who happened to be Shadow, for comfort. The spoink gave a surprised "Spoink!"

"BUTCHETTE!" Verity said, shocked. "That wasn't very nice! And - what if the Grumpig comes back?"

Butchette shrugged, and then mimicked throwing something at the stunned pokemon. She managed to communicate that if Verity really wanted a low-level psychic pokemon who had lost most of its powers anyway, (although she, Butchette, couldn't possibly imagine why she'd want one,) now it had been defeated by Verity's pokemon Verity could perhaps do something like throw a pokeball at it, if she was so inclined.

"Oh!" Verity was glad no one could see her blush in the darkness. She fumbled in her bag, produced a pokeball, and flung it. It opened and captured the spoink in a blaze of light.

"I caught it!" She jumped up and down. "My first real pokemon journey catch!" She caught at Connie's hands and danced her around in a circle. "I'll call her - I know! She looked so regal, with Candyfloss and the tiara on her head. I think I'll call her the Empress of Fidona."

She beamed around at her friends, then her brow wrinkled with anxiety as a sudden thought struck her. "Oh - I do hope she can bounce inside her pokeball!"

This post has been edited by Butterfree Farm: Aug 16 2009, 01:55 AM

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie watched everything with utter astonishment. She had never seen a pokemon evolve before, and even though she had seen battles she had never been this close to one, much less in one. She had begun to scribble notes on her pad. They might come in handy when she had to battle... or if one of her pokemon ever evolved. The thought of her pokemon evolving made her laugh. Cute fluffy little Shadow as a big Piloswine or even a giant Mamoswine? It felt as if it could never happen, and Mimic as a Noctowl? The thought made her smile. She returned her pen to behind her ear and put her notebook back into her pocket.

Suddenly she heard Shadow jump and make her strange little snuffling sound. Shadow ran up to her legs and started snuffling sadly. Aussie smiled down at her and picked her up. She gently rubbed the little Swinub's head and said to her "What scared you Shadow? You could never be a Piloswine. You'd never have the guts to be a pokemon that big and tough. Your to cute and fluffy."

Shadow looked up at her and said "Swine?" Aussie smiled again and replied, "That's right, I owe you those treats don't I?" Aussie went to reach into her bag but instead of treats she grabbed a handful of feathers. "HOOF!" she heard Mimic scream. "Hoof? What are you doing in the treat pocket in the first place Mimic?" She looked down at Mimic and almost laughed when she saw that Mimic had nearly eaten all the treats and her mouth was still stuffed with food. She grabbed the hoothoot by her leg and put her on the ground. "You have to walk home Mimic for eating almost all of the treats. You could have just waited for supper."

"HOOF! Hoof hoof hoof." Mimic couldn't speak right because all the food stuffed in her beak was garbling her words. Aussie nearly doubled over laughing at the spectacle. If there was one thing Mimic did not have, that was patience. She couldn't wait to eat and she couldn't wait to swallow to speak either. Aussie returned to the treat pocket and found there were just two treats left. She smiled. Perfect. She took them out and when Shadow got a whiff of them she snuffled and wiggled in excitement. Before Aussie had an opportunity to give them to Shadow, the little pokemon had snatched them out of her hand. "You can be fast when you want to be Shadow." She thought that was incredibly funny and started to laugh. Mimic was glaring at her from the ground, her big red eyes glowing in the shadows of the trees. "Well I thought it was funny." said Aussie. "Hoof." said Mimic, still chewing the unbelievable amount of food stuffed in her little beak.

"Maybe in the next version. Nothing. Well, hopefully she'll be back at the campsite already when we get there. And if not, maybe Shadow can help find her, too," Aussie looked up when she heard one of the girls say this, she had been absorbed in her own little world of snuffling Swinubs and impatient Hoothoots, but now she was snapped back to reality. She blinked and opened her mouth to reply when she heard a loud "GRUMPIG!" Both Shadow and Mimic jumped. The last of the stolen treats fell from Mimics mouth as she screeched, "HOOT!" and immediately returned to her pocket. Mimic stuck out the top of her head and eyed the approaching Grumpig warily and with curiosity. Aussie watched as Connie's pokemon battled with the Grumpig for a short while until the big psychic pokemon backed off.

"That was strange." Aussie said to herself. She looked down at Shadow and Mimic, both of which were shaking and scared. She frowned "Nice to know if I ever get attacked I'll have two strong brave pokemon to protect me." she said sarcastically. "Swine?" said Shadow. Aussie was starting to think evolving Shadow into a big tough Piloswine wasn't such a bad idea after all... but she could think about that later.

She looked back up at the Grumpig and noticed several small spoink at its feet. Now it made sense. Maybe the Grumpig was protecting its babies, but something was off about them... THEY HAD NO PEARLS! Aussie was horrified. She had never heard about spoinks without pearls... what would happen to them? Just as important, where had the pearls gone? Aussie tried to think up any plausible answer at all, but none came. She stood there thinking over the little Spoink's predicament but she didn't know what to do.

She looked at the others and blinked. She didn't know what to say or do, so she just stood there, eyes wide, staring, because that's what she was best at. She felt Shadow jump out of her arms to the ground. She just stood there. Let the Grumpig take care of it... she thought to herself It was their mother after all. For all she knew spoink were born without pearls... and maybe these ones were just to young to have one yet? She would have to figure out if spoink were born without them... Aussie was once again snapped back to reality as Verity's Igglybugg ran and started playing around with one of the spoink. Aussie looked around for the Grumpig but noticed its shadow walking away into the forest. She wondered why the spoink had stayed behind.

Verity was speaking to the little spoink when suddenly machop came up and kicked the little spoink. Aussie heard herself gasp and watched as Igglybuff ran up to Shadow of all pokemon for comfort. Both of the little pokemon appeared to be crying and sniffing the same amount. She definitely needed to evolve Shadow she decided then. She needed at least one pokemon who didn't cry at the drop of a hat, but watching Igglybuff and Shadow together... it was so cute. Maybe she really shouldn't evolve Shadow. She loved the little Swinub just the way she was, even if she was easily scared...

She turned to watch as Verity pulled a pokeball out of her bag and watched as she caught the little pearless spoink.
"I caught it! My first real pokemon journey catch!" Verity said happily. Aussie watched as Verity took Connie's hand and danced her in a circle. Verity smiled at them all and then suddenly sounding a bit worried said"Oh - I do hope she can bounce inside her pokeball!"

Aussie smiled. She knew what she had to do now. Evolving Shadow was a long way off anyway... for now she would just have to catch something with a little more guts and fire in it's belly then her pokemon. She wondered what kind of pokemon she would catch... but that was also a ways off. She would know the pokemon when she saw it, but for now... "Let's head back to camp and make some supper. It's been a long day for all of us and I'm starving." Shadow snuffled excitedly at the word supper, but Mimic groaned. She looked down at Mimic and noticed that the hoothoot was clutching its belly with its wing. "That's what you get for eating to many treats Mimic, but we'll take care of that sore stomach of yours when we get back." she said to Mimic. "Hoot..." Mimic said. Mimic looked slightly nauseas. Mimic's eyes started to flutter as she clutched her stomach. Aussie thought the pokemon was going to puke, but surprisingly Mimic fell asleep in a matter of seconds, her little body sinking and disappearing into the pocket. "That's one way of taking care of a sore stomach I suppose." Aussie said and smiled. A large snore erupted from Mimic's pocket.

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Aug 15 2009, 02:51 PM

[Cube]

Spencer had taken the opportunity to try and hook up that weird leash thing Elysia had given him to Logan's harness. After an ordeal like that, he wasn't going to let him run away again.

Not that Logan was in any mood to run away… He was exhausted. Today was just one string of losses after another… He was vaguely aware of a strange fog that seemed to cloud his mind… He had never noticed it before… He assumed it had always been there, but he had never really given it much thought before recently. It was like, parts of his mind were blocked off. Every time he tried to think about his parents, and that nest (and he had no idea why he kept thinking about parents and nests, since they weren't really subjects he was interested in) his memory would fog after a certain point, and he'd reflexively remind himself that he didn't really care… Which wasn't true, because for some reason he did care, if for no reason other to know how that particular memory ended. But every time words like "family", or "parents", or "protection" came up in his mind, some part of his heart reminded him that he was a Shadow Pokémon. He was powerful. He wasn't supposed to care. A Shadow Pokémon doesn't need any of those things…

But lately… he was having trouble believing that…

He didn't even bother trying to smack the human when he hugged him, and tearfully asked him not to run away again. He was sure if he tried that new cutting move on his neck, he could have killed him easily… but he just couldn't bring himself to do so for some reason…

The fiery one seemed to be trying out his new form, stumbling over his larger feet on occasion, though he did seem to be showing off a bit, shoving aside the occasional fallen log to test his new Strength. The grey one didn't seem very impressed by this, though she did grudgingly complement him on his performance, which he duly thanked her for. (Logan wasn't really paying attention…)
The Piplup and the Treecko both seemed quite impressed though.

<<Vincent, that was incredible!>> said the Treecko. <<The fighting and the evolution and that new thing you did and…>>

<<Remember to breath Nils.>> laughed the Charmeleon, his voice significantly deeper that it was this morning. <<I'm kind of surprised this happened myself… I thought there'd be a bit of forewarning before I evolved…>>

<<Well… you have been breathing smoke a lot lately…>> said the Piplup.

<<Hm… I guess you're right… I have been smoking a bit more often lately…>> thought the Charmeleon.

<<…Hey Vincent.>> said the Piplup, after a long silence. <<That was really brave of you, by the way. Saving Logan like that…>>

<<Well… Just because I don't trust the guy, doesn't mean I want to see him die.>> said Vincent (That is what the humans called him, right? Vincent?) <<Besides… what you said earlier made a lot of sense… He didn't choose to be that way…>>

The Scyther felt a word forming in his throat, sticking like the skin of a particularly tough berry… After a moment, he barely managed to choke out a stifled <<Thanks…>>, before the reflexes kicked in again, and he found himself unable to say anything at all. His sole word seemed to surprise the party, stunning the Piplup more than Vincent's evolution did.

The three Pokémon started chattering wildly, mentioning words like "purification" and "heart", and "progress" that Logan wasn't keen on paying attention too.

Instead, he focused his attention on the trainer, who seemed to be speaking with the others about a small colony of Spoink they had stumbled upon. He seemed deeply concerned by the lack of pearls of the Spoink's heads. A Grumpig mentioned something about humans taking away the pearls… This struck a chord with Logan, but he was too tired to pursue that connection any further. He just wanted to go to sleep…

"Why would someone take a Spoink's pearl?" thought Spencer, as the pig Pokémon bounced away. "It's unbelievably cruel…"
Cruelty seemed to be a running theme lately… It disturbed him deeply… This region wasn't much better than Orre was…

Spencer recalled a story about poachers de-pearling Spoinks in the past, but he had never encountered one without a pearl. Though, the sight of Candyfloss bouncing on a Spoink's head was adorable. The low kick and capture did throw him off though. Still, he was quite happy to see Verity capture it.

"Congrats Verity!" he exclaimed, before launching into a short monologue about how Spoink's are fine inside their Poké Balls , and how there's a proper way to hold a Spoink in one's hand, and a bunch of other reassurances regarding Spoink's that will not be transcribed here.

When they had gotten back to camp, the group soon settled down to a normal pace. Vincent gladly ignited the campfire after some dry firewood was gathered. Spencer had pulled out his berry dispenser and was preparing a small Berry Based dish. Verity gushed over her new Pokémon while searching her bag for ingredients, while Connie, Waker, and Aussie and the other Pokémon helped out around the camp.

Logan wasn't really in the mood to deal with anymore humans now… His head hurt, his body ached, and quite frankly, he was in no mood to stay conscious for another moment.

Leaning himself against a tree, the Scyther slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep…

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie helped around the camp, carrying firewood, setting up tents, anything camp related she pretty much did. Aussie was more then used to the ins and outs of camping because of her aunt's large amount of travel. She may have spent more time in a camp then in her actual house in Barely. She was more then glad when suppertime came around. She was so exhausted that she wasn't even sure what she was eating but she was hungry. Shadow on the other hand was still up and hyper. She was running around playing and gobbled down her pokefood with a large amount of vigor.

Aussie felt as if she was about to go and drift off to sleep when something in the back of her mind started nagging her. She had forgotten to do something... but what? Sleep clouded her mind as she sat drowsily around the big campfire that was burning. It took a few minutes for her meandering mind to remember what she had forgotten. She immediately straightened up and all hint of sleepiness was gone. She was berating herself for forgetting something like that. How could she forget when she did it almost every night religiously?

She stood up and stretched and looked at the others. "I'll be back in an hour or so." saying nothing else, she wandered off into the woods. She thought the others must think her crazier then ever but this is a tradition she could not break under any circumstances. If one of them wanted to follow she didn't mind, as long as no one interrupted her. Aussie started searching for a good spot and soon came upon the base of a large tree covered in holes with many burrows under the tree where pokemon could hide or live. She smiled and sat down. She reached into her bag and drew out a large handful of pokefood and sprinkled it on the ground.

Shadow came around a minute later. The little Swinub must have realized her trainer had disappeared and come to join her. Shadow knew the ritual just as well as Aussie. She crawled close to Aussie and fell asleep, not even looking at the food. Shadow had learned long ago the food wasn't for her. Aussie sat silently and waited expectantly for several minutes. She heard the rustling in the branches around her as pokemon moved and watched her curiously. Finally she heard a buzz and a beedrill landed by the food and started eating it.

Aussie smiled. There was nothing more relaxing then feeding wild pokemon, and not to mention you never know what you'll find. She watched the beedrill eat for a minute but something else was nagging at her mind again. "Buzzbee is that you?" she said to the pokemon. The will beedrill looked up at her and started buzzing loudly. Aussie smiled. It could only be him. "Seems I stumbled across the old beedrill nesting grounds by accident Buzzbee." Buzzbee once again buzzed and started picking up several pieces of pokefood before flying off. Aussie followed.

She followed for several minutes before the buzzing became so thick you could hear nothing else. She walked through a bush... and there it was. The tree was covered in Beedrill, not one of which paid her the slightest attention. They tolerated her presence without question, because she had come around so often they trusted her. She spotted Buzzbee immediately, because he was the biggest of the beedrill, and made her way toward where the beedrill was sitting in the tree. On the branch was a neat comb-shaped little nest and inside was several weedle. Buzzbee carefully started feeding the pokefeed to each of the weedle in their turn.

Aussie thought that was interesting. Unlike most nesting pokemon the beedrill appeared to feed their babies equally instead of just throwing the food in and letting the strongest get the most, but Buzzbee appeared to making an effort to make sure each got their fair share. Also the little weedle were not fighting to get fed first, another common characteristic among other nesting pokemon. It made sense though. If the weedle were going to grow up to be beedrill and live in such a large organized community they needed to be well... organized, not fighting and bickering amongst themselves.

Aussie made a quick note about this in her notebook and then turned around. It was getting late and she hadn't come out at this particular moment to watch beedrill but to feed pokemon. She turned around and headed back towards the tree where she had spread the pokefood. When she returned, several more pokemon had come out of hiding to feed. They looked up at her cautiously, but she moved slowly and made sure not to be menacing and so they eventually ignored her. She sat back down and watched them feed. There was a nasty ratatta that kept on chasing off the other pokemon and tough spinark that kept on coming back after being chased off. Other pokemon came around and fed for a few seconds but these two were the ones that stayed around the most.

She decided to give them names like she did with so many of the other wild pokemon she befriended. Bully seemed appropriate for the rattata, but the spinark was tougher. Boulder perhaps, because he was so determined to feed... While she was thinking intently on this a bush behind her started to rustle. She whirled around and to her astonishment a ponyta appeared. This was far from the environment that a ponyta would live in... so why was it here?

It was dirty, scratched, and shaking. It's fur was so covered in dirt it looked brown, and it's flame was burning only weakly. It looked as if it was about to fall over from exhaustion. It was panting heavily as if it had just run for a very long time, but maybe the most astonishing part was it was wearing a bridle and saddle pad. This ponyta had just recently come from some human habitation and most likely someone had owned it. Aussie looked at it closer. It looked beautifully bred under all that dirt. She could recognize the look of good breeding, long legs, a small dainty head, and large expressive eyes, but the ponyta looked a little worse for wear. It was extremely thin as if it wasn't fed right and it looked to young to be saddle trained. By appearances it shouldn't even be separated from it's mother yet, much less ridden.

Aussie edged closer to the ponyta, but it looked startled when she came to close. She didn't want to scare it off so she sat down and simply watched. The ponyta eyed her warily but edged toward the food, when it came close it started sniffing it and looked as if it wanted to eat, but that wasn't possible with a bit in it's mouth, and it looked young enough that it probably wasn't even off it's mother's milk yet.

Aussie tried to move closer again, but this time the ponyta panicked and charged straight at her!

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Aug 15 2009, 08:46 PM

[Ganymede]

Waker sighed, sitting himself down in a small clearing he'd come to. Obviously what he'd thought was just a small group of trees was actually a rather sizable forest - he'd been walking for minutes now and he'd seen no sign of anyone else. Pora had taken up an icy silence, Azzy was in full-out 'protect' mode, and Locke...


...Locke was acting strangely. After Pora's outcry he'd simply lain his head on Waker's chest, not bothering to take one of his usual naps. Instead, he stared, focused, at the ground, his tail rattling every now and then. Waker absentmindedly stroked the top of Locke's head, getting to response - not even a 'hug'. Waker was seriously worried now - lost, in a forest, in a strange new country; none of his friends in sight. Squinting at the faint glow his Poketch emanated, he wasn't surprised to see that it was already nearing midnight. His first few days in Furoh had been filled with a mix of excitement and danger - contests, Shadow Pokemon attacks, discovering a shrine, angry Miltanks - and all Waker really wanted to do was sleep.


Still silent, Pora walked over and sat next to Waker, turning her head away from Locke. Azzy crawled into Waker's lap, making a little room for Pora, who ignored him as well. With a frown Waker picked up the Nidoran, who simply let herself be placed in his lap. Why are you guys acting so weird? he thought, a little frustrated. We're all together in this, okay? Please cheer up! Locke's tail rattled gently as a slight breeze picked up, chilling Waker slightly. His jacket was still back at the campsite, and he doubted his sweater was warm enough. Thinking longingly of the fire back at camp, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his Pokemon, smiling as he suddenly felt very warm. Opening his eyes, he let out a soundless gasp as he realised the source of the warmth - Locke had curled around Waker's arms, looking at him strangely.


Locke's tongue flicked out of his mouth. He'd been thinking - which was a new thing in and of itself - about the strange feelings he'd had earlier, back when the rolly thing attacked him and the Scyther. Something about two tallish figures, curling around him and other Ekans, making them warm...


...And the squishy thing was cold, he could tell. Even if it meant being yelled at by the blue Pokemon again, it was at least...nice, was the word? Yes, nice, to be able to do what his parents had once done...


...Parents?


Waker smiled, hugging all his Pokemon close before slowly standing up, Pora and Azzy looking up at him. Okay, he thought, Locke still wrapped around him like a cape. We've got to find camp before we freeze to death! Waker struck a heroic pose, eliciting small laughs from the Nidorans. Sure, he was being an idiot, but at least nobody could see him. Closing his eyes, he spun in a circle and pointed straight forward, grinning as he opened his eyes.


Okay then, team! This way! Still posing, he began walking forward, Azzy chirping and nudging Pora into a brisk run. Locke picked up his head and swayed a little, smelling the sharp tang of fire on the air. "Right way," he droned, sounding bored. Before he could lay his head back down, he caught another scent. As he was about to hiss his new information to the blue and purple things, something jumped into the path directly in front of the small party.


"Ski!" The small cry seemed to penetrate the darkness faster than light. Azzy and Pora immediately sunk to the ground, both growling as Waker hastily pulled out his Pokedex, pointing the dim light at the shape in front of him.

Skitty, the Kitten Pokemon. Fascinated by anything that moves, Skitty will chase moving objects for hours, even if it is only their own tail. Due to their cute appearance, they are often kept as pets.

...A Skitty. Waker thought, suppressing a laugh. Why are there Skitties in the forest? Azzy and Pora relaxed, just as Waker's Pokedex beeped again.

While not often seen in the wild, it has been reported that groups of Skitties live in holes of forest trees.

...Can this thing read my mind? Waker turned his Pokedex upside down, pointing it at himself and a random tree, without response. Frowning, he poked it, not noticing the angry glare of the forgotten Skitty until it let out a rather cute growl.


Looking back down at the tiny Pokemon, he smiled and kneeled down, sliding Locke off his arms. After all, Agent Jennifer had told him and Spencer to fight with the Shadow Pokemon, right? And Waker knew from his mother's stories that Skitties were good at cure contests...


Okay, Locke! Training starts now! Posing again, he pointed at the Skitty, tapping the ground with his foot. Use Wrap! ...Uh, wait, you don't know that, do you? Uh, just use Shadow Rush instead! Waker's actions were met with a blank stare from both Locke and the Skitty, who simply shrugged and charged at Locke. Swinging her tail in front of her, the Skitty Tail-Whipped Locke, who hissed and slid backwards.


"Locke! He wants you to attack it!" Azzy yelled, ignoring Pora's snort.

Sorry about any inconsistencies with anyone else's post - I wanted Waker to go off and do his own thing for a while. I forgot to mention that earlier, so feel free to yell at me, beat me with a fish, etc. if it screws up your post. From what I've managed to read between school and work, Waker hasn't been mentioned all that much, so I hope it's okay. Sorry again!

This post has been edited by Mechanical Lullaby: Aug 15 2009, 09:33 PM

[Verity Lily]

Catching a new pokemon had really brightened Verity's mood. Sure, it was a very small pokemon, and it wasn't very powerful without its pearl, but Verity secretly didn't mind that. It was a lonely, needy pokemon to love and protect, and it really needed her - that meant more to her than her very own Garchomp ever could.

She was terribly relieved that Spencer had reassured her that she could keep the Empress of Fidona in a pokeball or cuddle her without killing her. "The pokedex says the Empress has a gentle nature," she said, "She does seem very sweet."

<<Empress!>> Butchette grunted in scorn and some jealousy. She had been watching Vincent enviously, wondering if it wasn't about time for her to evolve herself.

Verity leafed excitedly through her new book on contests. "That means she's a very intelligent pokemon and she likes bitter pokeblocks - ew." She made a face. Well, if she isn't very good at fighting without her pearl, maybe I can use her brains in contests. I don't think she'd be allowed to perform with Candyfloss on her head, though, they would be like entering with two pokemon. I'll have to make her a hat! A hat that makes her look smart." She giggled. "Maybe glasses as well."

She became aware she was babbling and reading without helping, and blushed, putting her book away in her jigglypuff backpack. "I'm sorry - I'll help!" She stood up and started helping out the food. "There, Aussie - Spencer - Connie..." She froze. "Um, Waker?"

She looked at the others with eyes that were suddenly almost as round as Candyfloss's. She looked a little like an igglybuff for the moment, with her general pink colour scheme and wide red eyes. "Um, have you guys seen Waker lately?"

Spencer and Connie sat up, concerned. "We were following him back, and then - the spoink and the Grumpig. Maybe he's with Victoria," Connie said hopefully, although her eyes were worried.

Aussie, who had seemd to be half asleep, suddenly stood up and stretched. "I'll be back in an hour or so," she said, and left.

Verity stared blankly after her. It occured to her that they knew absolutely nothing about this girl except that she liked to keep secrets, and maybe that wasn't a good thing. They had just met her and aborbed her into the group - it had seemed natural to trust her after meeting the boys and forming a tight band of friends so quickly. But Verity was sure she'd seen the odd-looking girl around Barley, and there were things going on in Barley that were inexplicable and not very nice.

Aussie had already disappeared without saying why once ... and Locke and Logan had wandered off, and now Waker and his pokemon and Victoria were all missing, and this girl had gone off alone into the woods without explanation again.

"Connie, Spencer... where do you think she goes?" she asked uncertainly, not wanting to voice her suspicions fully. "There's something weird going on here - that miltank, and all the poor spoink. And Waker and his darling little nidorans and our Victoria are m-missing... What if they're in trouble? Waker couldn't even call for help if anything bad happened..."

Butchette made a rumbling noise, and patted her soothingly on the back. "Machomp!" she said, and Verity didn't need a Slowking translator to know her partner pokemon was vowing to protect them all.

"We need to find them," Verity said. "Only - " she took a deep breath. "Maybe the best way to find Waker and our missing pokemon is to follow that girl."

This post has been edited by Butterfree Farm: Aug 16 2009, 03:16 AM

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie was panicking. What to do? What to do? she thought to herself, Duh! Run... that wouldn't work. Even an exhausted ponyta like this one could outrun her easily... there was only one thing to do... "Shadow... use tackle... please?" she looked imploringly at Shadow, who was just waking up. The ponyta was getting closer... it would be to late soon unless... Shadow seemed to sense Aussie's anxiety and after a little hesitation got up and charged at the ponyta.

Please let this work Aussie was silently screaming inside as she watched Shadow get closer to the ponyta... but no! The ponyta veered out of the way of Shadow's attack at the last second and Shadow instead ran headlong into the large tree with burrows at it's roots! Shadow squealed in protest and started to shake her head as if to clear it of cobwebs. The ponyta had completely forgotten about Aussie, but now it was focused intently on Shadow, and at the moment Shadow was vulnerable. The ponyta prepared to charge again but Aussie screamed, "Shadow! Duck and cover!"

Shadow whirled around and saw the ponyta coming at her. She immediately looked around for a way to escape, but there was only one place to go... Shadow barreled into the small burrow at the foot of the tree right when the ponyta charged into the place she had previously been standing. The ponyta planted its feet firmly in the ground and stopped. It sniffed the ground around the burrow where Shadow had taken refuge and huffed impatiently. It started to dig at the base of the burrow with its hoof, but to no avail. Bending it's head down, it stuck as much of it's nose into the burrow as it could, but Shadow was untouchable to the much larger ponyta while in that burrow.

Ponyta tried for several seconds to extract Shadow from her hiding place but soon gave up. Aussie watched in horror as the ponyta turned around and prepared to charge at her again. This time she had no one to help her. Mimic was still sound asleep in her pocket and there was no way she could wake her up in time... A squeal of pain erupted from the burrow where Shadow was hiding. The little Swinub came barreling out of the burrow with of all things, a rattata firmly biting on to her rear end. Shadow was running blindly in a panic. Luck must have been looking down on Aussie at that moment because the frightened Swinub ran right into the ponyta.

The ponyta tumbled and fell when the involuntary tackle hit it. The ponyta lay on the ground a second, looking defeated, before getting to its feet as quickly as it could. It did not attempt to attack again, but stood there shaking and panting heavier then ever. Aussie felt a sudden rush of concern and pity for the ponyta. It was obviously very frightened and confused. It had probably only attacked her out of fear. The ponyta looked around again, but it eyed one place in the woods, an opening between the trees where it could dash to safety.

It looked as if it was about to run and Aussie knew this was her only chance. She slowly and cautiously reached for her bag, making no sudden movements that would scare off the already frightened pokemon. She reached in and pulled out a pokeball and then threw it as fast as she could. The ponyta looked suddenly frightened at the quick movement and turned to run away, but it was to late. It was suddenly enveloped in red light and then it was gone. The ball fell to the ground and started to move. Aussie hoped the pokemon wouldn't escape... she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch. The whole wood was silent, nothing moved.

Aussie slowly opened her eyes and looked at the pokeball and sighed with relief when she saw it was no longer moving and was unbroken. She walked over and picked it up. The moment was surreal. She had just had her first battle... if accidentally hitting the intended target because her pokemon was frightened about being bit in the rear end could really be considered a battle. She suddenly felt more tired then ever. It had been an exhausting day... and there was still more to be done.

Shadow came whimpering up to her feet. Aussie looked down and kneeled beside her. The rattata, who to Aussie's amusement turned out to be Bully, was still firmly attached to Shadow. Aussie grabbed the rattata and slowly pried it off before setting it on the ground. Bully looked at them both and chattered its displeasure to both Shadow and Aussie before promptly disappearing back into its burrow. "No more hiding in burrows for you Shadow." Aussie said to her. "Swine?" said Shadow while looking up at her. Aussie smiled and took a potion out of her bag and sprayed it on Shadow. "Don't worry. You'll be fine after a good nights sleep... though it may take a while for you to regain your dignity after an attack like that." Aussie thought that was pretty funny and started to giggle to herself.

"Hoot." Aussie looked back down at her bag. Mimic had woken up and was watching them curiously. "Well I thought it was funny..." muttered Aussie. Mimic only glared at her. Aussie stood up and returned her attention back to the pokeball in her hand. After a moment's hesitation, she opened it. In a flash of red light, the ponyta appeared again... but it was asleep? Rather conveniently actually. Aussie sighed with relief inwardly that she wouldn't have to deal with a frightened ponyta that was trying to run away.

She slowly crept toward it, but it seemed sound asleep. Aussie stood right beside and after a minute got the nerves to touch it. The ponyta did not react at all. It continued to sleep obliviously. The ponyta must be exhausted. Aussie examined the ponyta closer. The ponyta appeared to be a boy. She wondered if having a boy pokemon was any different then having a girl one, because that was all she had ever had. Her examination only confirmed that the pokemon was too young to be without a mother and that he was in terrible shape.

She stroked his sides for a moment, wondering at the bones that stuck out of his thin body at all angles. She was consumed by worry. Why had she been able to catch him? If he had been living in a human habitation and already been caught by someone shouldn't the pokeball she threw have had no effect? He was obviously unclaimed, but why would someone put a bridle and saddle pad on a pokemon they didn't own that was too young for any sort of riding? Obviously he also hadn't been well cared for either. She wished for answers, but also realized she may never find them.

She should head back soon. The others were probably wondering where she was and she had a lot of work to do tonight. She would have to feed the ponyta, clean him up, and cool him down. After so much exercise he would need at least a few minutes of walking to give his muscles time to loosen up and relax... and how was she supposed to clean him? Obviously she couldn't just dump a bucket of water on him because he was a fire type. All she had was her fingers. She combed her fingers over his dirty coat and they became covered in dirt and mud. There was no way she could clean him up with just her fingers... and what to feed him? Aussie didn't have any milk or formula at the moment, but he was obviously starving and should be fed soon... And he needed a name. That was something she could handle at the moment. She stood there for a moment considering and it came.

She looked at the ponyta, sound asleep in the middle of the forest caked in dirt and mud... "Welcome to the team Sandman." She whispered to him. She silently looked at the bridle he was wearing. She silently unbuckled it and let it fall to the ground. The person who had him before had tried to control him with pain and force, but Aussie was determined she'd find some other way. Aussie imagined Sandman waking up and panicking again. The thought gave her a headache. How was she going to control him? She turned back toward the direction of the camp... maybe she could get Spencer and Waker to help her with Sandman. Spencer seemed to know a lot about breeding and they both had experience handling crazed pokemon because they were taking care of shadow pokemon.

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Aug 16 2009, 01:05 PM

[ROMANA]

Connie was trying not to appear too worried but she had sent her pokemon away to look for the others and now that Waker was also missing she was starting to get really scared. What if she'd lost her pokemon and the next time she arrived at a pokemon centre shebe told she wasn't careful enough for a trainer card?

What if, instead of Locke and Logan, Victoria had found Team Deception and she was now a shadow pokemon and needed restraints on her... on... Connie's train of panic ran off the rails of imagination. What would you restrain on a shadow Combee? Her plumettingness? Her pretty scent? Connie wasn't distracted for long though.

"We need to find them," Verity said. "Only... maybe the best way to find Waker and our missing pokemon is to follow that girl."

What if... what if...

"What if Aussie is from Team Deception?" blurted out Connie, suddenly, her train back at full steam. "After all, we arrive with two of their shadow pokemon in the middle of nowhere and just happen to run into someone who seemed almost to be waiting for us and then the shadow pokemon go missing, and now Victoria and Waker and all of his pokemon are missing and she just wanders off again, Verity's right, it does seem a little strange."

Sitting at the edge of a wood, in the dark, with only the star light and the flickering of a camp fire and Charmeleon tail to cast alaming, moving shadows on the darkness surrounding her, this was really the least sinister of the possibilities that presented themselves to Connie. She clung to Verity's hand but didn't seem very keen on moving away from the fire, now that darkness had set in properly.

"I don't think I like the idea of wandering around in the dark, though," she said quietly. "I think maybe we'd do better waiting here. Maybe Waker's just... well, taking a while to get back. If he got lost, the best thing we can do is keep the fire lit. Wouldn't hos pokemon be able to follow the smell of the smoke? And Victoria, too. I bet she'll be back really soon - she'll be able to see the fire or smell the smoke, or something. Won't she?" Connie sounded very plaintive. "In fact, I think I'm just going to go back to making up comfy little camping mattresses like we were before. You'll help, won't you, Verity?"

Connie's camp bed making might have been a tad on the manic side, but by the time it occurred to her that Waker may have picked up a PokéGear at the Contest Hall, there were little piles of dry ferns for everyone to make comfortable when it was time to sleep. Aussie's might be less padded looking than the others, possibly, but Connie had made sure there was one there, just in case she wasn't a Team Deception agent after all.

"Did Waker take a PokéGear, too?" she asked, "Can we call him and make sure he's ok? I mean... Um... he could... Well, maybe Pora and Azzie could squeak if he needed help, or something?"

"Combeeeee" came a noise over the trees.

"Victoria!" called Connie, jumping up. "You're all right!"

The Combee didn't seem quite all right, though. Her flying was rather wobbly as she fluttered into the range of the firelight. She was obviously exhausted but she also seemed a bit confused.

"What's wrong?" asked Connie, reaching out for the Combee. Victoria was doing her best to aim for her trainer and Connie was able to catch her before she crashed.

"Oh!" said Verity. "Do you remember when Temperance had to take out the broken frames from the hives? She used smoke to make the Combees drowsy! I don't think she likes the camp fire much, even though she must have been aiming for the light!"

"You're right!" said Connie. She moved upwind of the fire and sat down, cradling the bug pokemon in her lap. "Thank you for looking for the others, Victoria, I'll put you away for now and you can rest." She recalled her pokemon and stared into the fire for a moment. "Now, where's Waker and where has Aussie got to, I wonder?"

This post has been edited by MAREEP: Aug 18 2009, 01:52 PM

[Dragon Maiden]

This post isn't so much about Aussie doing anything or such. I wanted to give Sandman his own little story that shows something about his history and why he acts the way he does. This is going to be about him dreaming and he's pretty much going to be dreaming of his memories, but he's going to be observing these memories from a third-party point-of-view. I've also been dying to post but I can't return to camp yet because Verity hasn't gotten the chance to follow Aussie so... I thought this would be a good way of letting myself post without rushing the RP (Just to note I officially am going back to school I do not like school.) Not to mention Sandman's mini story got me super inspired and kept me up half the night thinking about it a few days ago so I really want to write it XD

Inside Sandman's Dreaming Head

I felt as if the pain had been lifted from me. I was back where I belonged... but wait it wasn't me that belonged here. It was the newborn colt I was looking at, someone I had been but was no more. The building was dark but lit by the flickering of one newborns flame and a mother Rapidash's brighter flame. The Rapidash was nuzzling her child, but the newborn did not respond for several seconds. Afraid the youngling might be dead, I tried to move toward it but no matter how fast I ran I never got any closer. Watching in horror, I pleaded in my mind that he was alive. The newborn couldn't be dead. I couldn't be dead, but no, the little colt lifted his head at that moment and tried to pry his eyes open. Quickly he shut them when he realized that the world was full of bright colors that hurt his eyes.

The world was a much different place to the warm simple environment he had just emerged from. The remnants of his last home were scattered all over the floor. The eggshells gleamed white in the flickering light of his mother's flame. He wished more then anything at that moment to return to that place, but soon his wish was overcome by a more immediate urge he had never felt before. "Mama. I am hungry." he said instinctively without thought.

He heard a sweet melodious voice he recognized as his mother's even though he had never heard it before. He had never heard anything until that moment. "My child, welcome to the world, but we have something to do before you feed." his mother whispered to him softly. The mother seemed to realize that the youngling's senses were still sensitive and took the precaution not to hurt his tender ears by speaking to loudly. "Mother. I'm hungry... so hungry." The ponyta replied to his mother's remark.

"I know son, but it is tradition among our kind to tell our young this story as soon as they have the strength to speak. Listen closely for it is important." she said with urgency in her voice. "I will listen mother, but let it be fast, for I am hungry." the ponyta replied. "I see you will be impatient and wild like your father, son, characteristics that will not do you good in our world, which makes it all the more important that I tell you the story of the The Knight and The Steed." The mother said solemnly. She stood for a moment in silence, nuzzling her son before continuing to speak.

"Once upon a time there was a Knight. He was strong, brave, and great. All the good things a creature could be, but he lacked one thing. A companion and a steed. He searched the world far and wide for a worthy steed and found the One Who’s Name Has been Lost."

"Why was the Steed's name lost mother?" questioned the ponyta "How may one lose a name?"

"Shh my son and listen. You will soon understand. Then Steed was more brave, strong, and great then his Knight and he served the Knight faithfully. He carried him into battle and obeyed his orders without question, no matter even if it went against his very nature. The Knight earned great renown far and wide for his feats in battle, but his Steed gained none of the credit, even though he was greater and did more work then the Knight."

"Why mother? Should not the Steed gain the renown if he did the work?" said the confused colt.

"Shh my son and you'll soon understand. Even thought the Steed knew he was the greater of the two he was happy with what he was given, good food, a warm stable, and anything he would ever need to stay healthy and after he got to old for work he was still treated with the same respect as when he was young. He was happy in life and what had been given to him even though he deserved much more."

"How can one be happy when he does not get what he has truly earned?" said the ponyta.

"I will answer all your questions now son because the story is done. He lost his name because no one remembers it. Only the Knight's name lives on, not the Steeds after their deaths. The Knight earned the credit because his kind was blind and looked at only their kind as great and noble, and yet the Steed was happy because he knew in his heart he had done what he was bred and born to do, which is all our kind can do. You were born to be a Steed son." his mother said to him.

"Mother, why can't we be knights? I remember a time when our kind was free and wild, when we were proud and not slaves." questioned the youngling.

"Ahh. I see now. You carry the old memories in you. It is best you forget those times. They are long gone. Our kind was like that before the humans came, but now they are the ones who chose our destiny. Do not question it son. It is the way things are. Now feed and let us get on with the night. We have many more things to discuss."

The ponyta remembered he was ravenously hungry and tried to get to his feet, but they didn't seem to obey him. He stumbled and fell more times then he could count. I watched the colt in amusement. How could one be so innocent? How could a mother be so blind?

I bet your reading that and thinking what the crap was that about. I'll summarize it for you. The Steed and the Knight is just a symbolic story about the relationship between pokemon and humans. It shows how humans command pokemon and how the pokemon are supposed to do as they are told without question (we may hate to admit it but it is like that in some instances instead of the partnership it's supposed to be *pokes evil pokemon teams*) and ancient memories is just a reference to instincts. I tied this into what I know about horses. Before humans domesticated horses they were much fiercer and dangerous, like they had to be to live in the wild, but after they became domesticated they became more docile like Sandman's mum. When she says he carries the old memories that mean he has a personality more like a wild horse (or ponyta in this case) then a domesticated one. I hope that clears some stuff up...

The world of the warm stable drifted away and the world reoriented itself. The night had turned to day and the dark building to a large meadow. The colt was playing with his mother watching. The mother watched proudly. As the youngling had grown he had stopped questioning why he must follow humans orders. Their human was very nice. She fed them well and treated them fairly. The Rapidash needed nothing more. Although her son had stopped questioning, he still retained his ornery streak. Sometimes he would disobey without reason, but he was coming along and she hoped he would soon grow out of it.

Her owner had left the Rapidash out in the meadow to graze and she was having a great time of it. The grass was sweet and the sun was streaming. She soon got so lost in the great day that she forgot to keep a close eye on her son and why should she? He was safe here. There was a fence to keep anything dangerous out... or so she thought.

I watched in horror as the man crept up to the fence and eyed his target. He was dressed all in black and moved so silently that the grazing Rapidash never even noticed him. I screamed in my head to let the colt go. Leave him where he was, where he could live a happy and long life, but the man had other plans. He could tell that the young colt was top-of-the-line. His breeding couldn't be any better and he would make a beautiful Rapidash that would sell for a high price when he was older. He couldn't give up a chance like this.

The man crept over the fence and ran over to the colt. He tried to coax the colt into coming and completely trusting, the colt came up to him. The man quickly slipped a rope around the ponyta's neck and led it out of the pasture. Nobody noticed. The man returned later and stole the ponytas pokeball right out from under the owners nose. Now he completely controlled him.

Once again things faded out and reoriented itself. This time the place where the colt was was dank and dirty. He was hungry alone and scared, but he could do nothing. He was powerless and even worse, he had given up. His new master had worked him nearly to death. He did not feed him right and spent hours a day whipping him and trying to get him to obey what he said.

He could still feel the bleeding gashes in his coat where the mean man had hit him with a whip and he was still tired from his most recent workout. All he wanted was a warm bed and good food. The colt heard footsteps coming down the hall and the mean man appeared again. He was carrying with him that dreaded contraption he put on his head whenever he got on his back and the red and white round object that kept him linked to him no matter how ho tried to get away. The man glared and said, "I will break you."

The man walked into the stable and forced the contraption into the young colts mouth then dragged him out of the dank and dark building into the sunlight. He quickly got on his back and started to whip the colt mercilessly, trying to get him to go. The colt was confused; he didn't know what the man wanted. All he knew is that he got on his back and caused him pain.

Suddenly a very loud noise scared the colt and he bucked. The man on his back screamed and dropped something out of his hand. The colt fell down with a thud and felt something crack under his weight. He looked down at his feet and saw the remnants of that dreadful red and white ball. Something suddenly felt different inside him... he was free?

The colt bucked again, and kept on going until the mean man on his back was thrown off him, and the colt ran without watching where he was going. Anywhere was better then where he was.

I felt myself panicking just as I had at that moment. I neighed and opened my eyes. Then I remembered what happened! I had been free, but now I was trapped again. Would it ever end? All I could do was fight. I stood up and looked at the human and prepared to charge...

Aussie watched as Sandman neighed urgently and suddenly stood up. He looked at her angrily and looked as if he was prepared to charge. Aussie instinctively pressed the button on her pokeball and watched with relief as he disappeared back into it. This might be more difficult then she thought...

[Verity Lily]

I have heavily edited the end of this post, if you've seen it before. I was worried I was dragging the night before stuff out too much - and I really want to get moving to Moo-Moo Land! Courage can evolve later.

Verity tried to be soothed by Connie, but it was a bit difficult to calm down once the words "Team Deception" had been voiced aloud. She was terribly, terribly glad Victoria had returned, but every time she thought of Waker, lost and unable to call for help, and the nidorans, who she adored, she felt a sick lump in her throat.

She was starting to hate Aussie... worse than Elysia. She had been scared enough already by going on a quest involving.. big pokemon, but now even their little group and the campsite didn't feel safe. She pulled Henrietta onto her lap and tried to eat, concentrating on threatening Candyfloss with her luxury ball every time she tried to entice food from the others.

"You've had quite enough," she scolded. "Don't you think you're round enough already?" Candysfloss looked plaintively at her with big round eyes, and she sighed. "I'll give you some moomoo milk before you go to sleep. I hope we can buy some more at the ranch, the way you're going through it."

She leaned against Connie, trying to draw comfort from her friend's solid warmth, and smiled and snuggled in when she felt an arm go protectively around her. She did love camping... the flickering fire, both from the campfire and from Vincent, was comforting, as was the presence of Spencer, who was quite grown up. If she closed her eyes drowsily against the light, Vincent's tail could almost be Merryleg's mane flickering, and her Mama could be close...

Verity's eyes snapped open. Mama. What would Bill think, if she knew her daughter had let a friend stay lost in the forest with a suspected Team Deception member and rampaging miltanks on the loose? What Amazon deserved a useless child like that? And she was sure Butchette was looking at her reproachfully.

She stayed very still, thinking hard. Then she got up.

"I need to go into the bushes to - um - you know - I'll be back soon," she promised, her easy blush rising.

Connie straightened. "Do you want me to come?" Verity shook her head, modestly. "Promise me you'll take Butchette, then. Pokemon don't get embarassed."

Verity smiled at her, feeling like the worst fraud in the world - but then, she really did need to go. "I promise." She beckoned to her machop, and they retreated into the darkness.

As soon as they were out of sight, Verity released Courage too, hushing her quickly. "Courage, I need you to go looking for Waker and Aussie - whoever you find first," she whispered urgently. "Don't get in danger. If anything seems wrong, call for help straight away. And please, please, please don't get lost like Victoria! Look, you can navigate by the moon if you go up near the canopy."

The starly nipped her nose affectionately to show understanding, and lifted silently up into the trees. Butchette grunted in approval.

Verity quickly took care of business and slipped back, snuggling a very sleepy Candyfloss back on her lap with Henrietta, and tried to relax, although her shoulders were tense as she listened and she was sure Connie was looking at her curiously.

****

Courage was very proud to be trusted on a secret mission. Sometimes she flet like Butchette was the only one Verity really relied on. It was okay when Courage was the baby, of course, but now there were not one but two new babies for Verity, and after all, Verity trusted her to stop her skin burning, she could trust her to fight for her, too. Courage was determined to win, this time, not like with that horrid Absol. Sometimes humans were so stupid - although Verity was really clever really, Courage amended her own thoughts loyally. Anyone with so many books had to be. She was just... nice. That was it.

Courage didn't like the forest. The shrine was lovely, but those poor spoink, and that miltank! There were clearly bad humans about, and Courage wasn't sure at all that Verity understood about bad humans. Maybe Butchette should train Verity for a bit. A pokeball was more comfortable than sleeping on ferns, and Verity would be safer if she knew a few attacks of her own.

It didn't take her long to spot movement, and circle down. It was the girl with the unfriendly Hoot-Hoot... and a ponyta, unconscious and with its frame nearly burning out, and covered with injuries. Courage circled, uncertain. Had the new human just found it, and would she give it medicine?

Then Aussie recalled the pokemon - to her own pokeball. Courage suddenly undertood with crystal clarity. The injured ponyta was hers. So this is how she treated pokemon with no one else around to see. Perhaps she was trying to break its spirit, to make it a scary blank pokemon like Locke and Logan, by torturing it...

"Starly!" shrieked Courage, at the top of her voice. "Starly! Star, Star!!!!!!!"

Aussie looked up, and Courage became afraid that the girl would flee before help came. She turned on her little wings and headed back for the campsite.

***

The group, worried but tired and afraid of venturing out into the dark to find their friends, settled on their soft "beds" and settled to sleep. Verty told herself that they'd done the right thing - the worst thing they could do was venture out after dark and all get lost and stumble around, missing each other and getting exhausted, all night. Waker would be far more likely to find them by seeing and moving towards firelight.

She snuggled into Connie's back, Candyflos tucked between them. She'd surreptiously handed Henrietta to her slleepy friend and smiled to see Connie's arms wrap drowily around the pokedoll. Empress bounced quietly to herself by the fire, fast asleep, and the sound wass rather soothing. Butchette slept sitting bolt upright, watching over them even in slumber.

There was a flapping, and Verity looked up, hoping to see a zubat - friendly zubats roosted in the trees at home. INstead Courage circled down towards her and landed accurately on her knee.

"Did you find anything?" Verity asked sleepily.

"Starly..." Courage was less certain than she'd been. Maybe she'd misuderstood; maybe the human was just helping. She determined to be very wary of the new human, and warn the other pokemon to be careful, but not warn Verity. In the morning, Butchette would know what to do. For now - well, Courage had failed to find Walker, and she didn't feel like mounting a rescue missue for Aussie, just in case she was a bad human. Curage wished she was a staraptor, who could take responsible decisions.

"Starly," Courage said sadly, shaking her head. Verity sighed and snuggled down again, and Courage took up her new place at Verity's head, tucking her head up under her wing.

This post has been edited by Butterfree Farm: Aug 19 2009, 01:14 PM

[Ganymede]

In a different part of the forest. Waker was having some troubles.


First, Locke had just sat there and let the Skitty wail on him until Azzy had finally lost patience and forced Locke to attack - by biting him on the tail. Surprised at the sudden sensation of teeth sinking into his skin, Locke shot forward, knocking over the Skitty in a wild Shadow Rush.


And then he just sat there again, staring at the Skitty blankly as it struggled a bit and got up.


"Oh, for the love of Arceus- WHEN HE TAPS HIS FOOT, IT MEANS 'ATTACK'! BEAT IT TO A PULP!" Pora shouted, shocking both Azzy and Waker with the frustration evident in her voice. Azzy quickly moved away from the volatile Nidoran - he didn't know why she was so touchy lately. As a newborn, she had been sweet and gentle, and now...


...Now she was ignoring Waker's frantically moving arms, diving not at the Skitty, but at Locke.


The second Pora collided with the Ekans, the Skitty opened its mouth and began to sing a soothing melody. Remembering Candyfloss' little trick back in barley, Waker quickly clapped his hands over his ears, stomping hard on the ground. Pora ignored him again, attacking Locke in a frenzy. The Song didn't even seem to affect her.


"You're useless!" she shouted, claws deep in Locke's skin. He was wriggling around frantically, darkness creeping in on his mind, telling him to forget the pink thing and kill the annoying blue one. For some reason he couldn't fathom, however, he couldn't bring himself to simply tighten his hold on the Nidoran - the blind will to kill he had once had seemed to have faded. Instead, he rolled over, trapping Pora beneath him before slithering away, curling up at the base of a tree.


"STOP RUNNING!" Pora shook herself off and launched at Locke again, only to collide with a purple blur in midair. Azzy growled as he sat up, spines on his back risen.


"I don't trust him either," he said, eyes flashing. "But he's still Waker's Pokemon, and there's no need to attack him!"


"WILL YOU STOP IGNORING ME ALREADY?!" All three Pokemon - and Waker - looked up in surprise as the Skitty approached them, seething. "You're supposed to be fighting me! What is wrong with you?!" When she received no reply, the Skitty screeched in frustration. "Ohh, you lot are so hopeless! Almost as bad as those weird people at the farm-"


"Farm?" Locke hissed faintly (how he hissed a word with no s's is still a mystery). Pora and Azzy stared at the Skitty, red eyes blank. Azzy finally broke the silence with a polite cough.


"Um, we're in the middle of something, so could you please-"


"THAT'S IT!" the Skitty roared, although the effect was rather dampened by her cute looks. "I'm going to knock you all out, and then-" She broke off in mid-sentence, as a Luxury Ball bounced off her head onto the ground. She stared at it in shock.


Waker sighed. He knew that wouldn't work - the Skitty was barely even hurt, but he'd hoped the distraction of the Poke-conversation would be enough for her to be caught. Walking over to pick up the Ball, the Pokemon sat frozen, the Skitty trembling ever so slightly.


And then she exploded.


"HE COULDN'T CATCH ME?! HE COULDN'T CATCH ME?!! OH, THAT'S IT, THAT IS THE LAST THING I NEED-"


Even Locke was impressed with the slap Pora delivered.


The Skitty twitched as Waker picked up Pora, Azzy jumping on his shoulder like usual. Tapping his leg with his hand - a signal for Locke to follow him - he walked off through the forest, leaving the poor, whimpering Skitty behind.


"He'll pay," she murmured, twitching.

---

Waker pushed past a tree into the camp, where a sudden chorus of cheers and shouts awaited him. Suddenly smothered by Connie and Verity, getting a faceful of Courage's feathers as Locke was hugged by Candyfloss. Letting the Nidorans off his shoulders, he smiled up at Spencer, pulling out his notebook to write as the questions on where he'd been began to float around. Moving next to the campfire, he quickly wrote in large, slightly disjointed letters.

im sorry but i got lost and a Skitty attacked us
wheres the other girl?

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie heard the screeching of a starly overhead. The pokemon seemed very agitated, and Aussie felt a prick of fear at the thought she may encounter yet another aggressive pokemon. She looked up and watched the starly circle around the ground once where she was standing before suddenly taking off again. Confused, Aussie stood looking at the sky for a moment but quickly shrugged it off. The starly circling above her was probably just a coincidence.

Glancing down at her pokeball, it was hard to imagine that the pokemon inside it would try to attack her if she let it out. Aggressive pokemon was something Aussie was not used to. Mostly she was around nice and quiet pokemon who liked humans, but she'd have to learn to deal with the other side of pokemon. Fast. Opening her bag, she slipped the pokeball inside and started walking. Since she had suddenly disappeared from the camp the night had become colder and the night darker. She shivered and wished the sleeves on her polo shirt were longer. The fire at the campsite was sounding better and better.

Her feet instinctively started moving faster in the direction of the campsite. Sleep, all she wanted was sleep. Of course she couldn't get that without looking after the ponyta. Leaving the pokemon in that condition without any help for longer then necessary was cruel, but she knew she couldn't do it by herself. The closest help was in the direction of the camp. Aussie imagined how much simpler the night would have been if she had not found the ponyta. Feeding the pokemon in blissful silence as she did every night before she went to sleep, curling up by the fire after she returned, and then falling asleep. It all sounded so appealing at the moment, but she had a stronger urge to help the ponyta who was now officially her responsibility.

Thoughts of him when he was older drifted into her head. She imagined a beautiful Rapidash, strong, brave, and noble. Realizing with some surprise, she had caught the pokemon she had wished for earlier in the day, a pokemon with a little more guts and fire in it's belly then Mimic and Shadow. Amusement was evident on her face for a flash of a second as she realized she had gotten exactly what she asked for. Sandman literally had a fire in his belly and there was no arguing he had guts, but maybe he was more fiery and gutsy then she could handle. There was only one way to find out though, and that was to give the little guy a chance to calm down and get situated.

She had been walking blindly the whole time she had been thinking of this. Aussie realized with some surprise she was very near the clearing. She recognized some of the trees she had passed earlier in the day. Her feet picked up faster a little more as she got closer. Excitement seized her at the thought of being back. The night had been longer then she could handle and soon it would draw to an end. Take care of Sandman and then sleep. Sleep was a magical word... The combination of her fast pace and drowsiness was not good. When she was seconds from emerging from the bushes into the clearing, she felt her foot get caught on something. She tripped and fell with a thud that seemed to echo louder then anything she had heard that whole night. Her bag fell to the ground and to her horror, the pokeball with Sandman came rolling out.

"No!" she heard herself screech as the pokeball rolled out of her reach into the clearing. Flashbacks of what had happened with the shadow scyther earlier whirled through her mind. Then she started imagining Sandman in the scythers place, but instead of staring calmly at the shrine, the ponyta took off running into the woods, never to be seen again. Another even more terrible scenario flickered through her head. Sandman appeared from his ball and became terribly angry. He attacked the others who were innocently sleeping without any idea what was about to happen and when he was done with them... he would come after her. She couldn't be sure what would happen. Regret about catching such an obviously aggressive pokemon flooded her. If Sandman attacked the others, she would be the guilty one. She would have been the one who brought him to this place without the thought of the safety of the others... Maybe it was best if she had taken him far from here and risked her own safety trying to help him instead of the others. Right at the moment it seemed better that she would die then Sandman get lose.

Rolling the pokeball made it's way closer to the shrine. Please don't open Aussie was screaming in her mind, but to her horror, the pokeball rolled over a large rock. When the pokeball flew through the air for a short distance and hit the ground, the impact was enough to cause the pokeball to open, right in front of the shrine. The ponyta came out suddenly in a flash of red light. Still sprawled out on the round, Aussie shut her eyes tight to block out the horrors she thought she was about to see, but nothing happened. Opening her eyes cautiously, Aussie saw the ponyta staring contentedly at the shrine, illuminating it by the light of his flickering mane. For a brief second, the miserable colt looked more proud and noble then anything she had ever seen, a flash of Sandman as a young horse, not as beautifully bred as he was now, but running in the wild, free, a knight. The strange imagining was shattered in a second as she realized the reality. Sandman was not noble or strong at the moment. He was weak and vulnerable.

Her feet seemed to move of their own accord, as if moved by invisible strings. She stood up silently and walked into the clearing. Sandman did not look at her, or even seem to acknowledge her. Whatever magic that shrine held, it had Sandman in it's full power. Aussie couldn't even believe that Sandman was capable of the level of calm he was exhibiting, but she was happy he was calm, for now. Suddenly, she remembered she wasn't alone here. She looked at the others, and the looks on their faces were impossible to describe. They were standing around Waker who seemed to be writing something on a notepad, but now they were looking at her.

If any of you need to bunny my character or Sandman to speed things up you can, actually I encourage it at the moment, until morning comes around and Moo-Moo land

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Aug 19 2009, 08:14 PM

[Cube]

"Huh...!? I mean...There you are Waker!" said Spencer, as he spooned the last of his berry sauce onto a bowl of rice.
"Don't stray too far from Vincent next time, okay? Even poor Pora looks antsy..."

Spencer had a strange habit of becoming intensely focused when cooking. (When he cooks... he cooks) In fact (he was embarrassed to admit), he hadn't even noticed Waker or Aussie was missing until Waker had walked back to camp. Incredibly embarrassed, the breeder quickly converted his shock to relief as Waker showed him the notebook, only for it to revert back to shock again when he realized Aussie was still missing.

"OH CRUD AUSSIE IS... I mean... We still need to find Aussie! Right! Okay, where do you think she could-"

His shock turned into terror as a Ponyta was suddenly released in front of the shrine, causing Spencer to dash behind his Pokemon in shock.

"WE'RE UNDER AT... Oh..." Spencer adjusted his glasses as he got a closer look at the Ponyta. It seemed... weak.

Fabulously bred, yes. Spencer could tell that just from experience. It's "IV Genes" were probably on the high end of the scale. A Pokemon like that would probably be adopted from the ranch in no time... But this Ponyta had seen better days... it looked miserable... tired...abused.

"What happened to this poor thing?" asked Spencer, as Aussie ran to it's side, apologizing profusely. A brief explanation from Aussie only made Spencer feel worse.

"This thing had a saddle? You don't ride a Ponyta this young!" he exclaimed. "What on earth is wrong with this place?!"

He spooned his Rice and Berry Sauce concoction into bowls, sacrificing the meticulous ladling for a sloppier method that got rice and sauce all over the edges of the plastic bowls. Handing his friends and the pokemon their own bowls, he practically shoved the last bowl into the sleeping Scyther's face, who managed a half hearted swipe before falling face first into his bowl, the sound of munching being the only indication that he hadn't fallen asleep.

"This place is crazy... random shrines, people disappearing, Spoinks without pearls... That Miltank freaked out when Vincent attacked it... way more than I expected. It was probably a higher level too..." Spencer took a bite of his rice. "I don't know... It just seems so... weird..."

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie ran to Sandman's side frantically. She could hear excuses and explanations pouring from her mouth but she wasn't even sure what she was saying... Her mind was so scattered the words just came out, but Spencer seemed to accept them.

"This thing had a saddle? You don't ride a Ponyta this young!" Spencer exclaimed. "What on earth is wrong with this place?!"

She was happy she had said something at least a little coherent. Reaching toward the ground Aussie picked up Sandman's pokeball and prepared to put him back in, but then she thought what better time to look after him then right now. He was quiet and calm. Perhaps she could even manage him herself as long as he stayed like this. A bowl filled with rice and some sort of sauce was pushed into her face. She looked around and saw Spencer holding it there. Calmly she took it, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Obviously he hadn't noticed she has eaten her own food she had packed earlier in the day.

Picking up the spoon she slowly brought it toward her mouth. Better to be polite and risk a slight stomachache then refuse to eat, but she was surprised. The taste that hit her mouth was amazing and perhaps somehow a little familiar. Aussie loved how it tasted... but she couldn't figure out where she had tasted it before, but suddenly it seemed important she knew. Her mind scurried for a moment until it clutched onto some old and forgotten memory.

Aussie was younger. Her hands were chubby and when she looked at a strand of hair that had fell in front of her face. It was her natural color (something that nobody would ever know. It was too embarrassing). She was holding a spoon and greedily shoving food in her mouth that looked quite similar to Spencer's recipe.

"Slow down honey or you'll get a stomachache." a voice floated in from the other room, but Aussie was too busy eating to listen to the woman's voice.

A few seconds later a thin, tall woman appeared in the room wearing a pink apron. The woman had curly red hair that reached down to her waist ("I'll never cut my hair, and if I have any say in the matter we'll never cut yours, though your father disagrees." the woman had told Aussie on more then one occasion. Aussie always replied, "I want to shave off my hair mother. It's so ugly." Her mother smiled and said "I'm sure you'll grow out of it." The woman had been wrong, very wrong. As soon as she had moved to her aunt's house the first thing Aussie was did was to convince her aunt to let her dye her hair white and it had been that color ever since.) The woman's eyes were huge, taking up half her face, and they were blindingly blue and pierced every person they looked at. She was also very pale compared to most people. "What did I say young lady? Slow down." The woman grabbed the spoon out of the Aussie's hand. "But Mama! It's my favorite." Aussie whimpered, little tears coming to her eyes. "I know. I know." her mother said, stroking her daughter's head soothingly.

Aussie felt herself almost choke on her food. That was the first memory she had had of her mother... ever. She was fairly convinced the past few years she would never remember anything of her mother and she had accepted that fact and moved on, but now... The psychiatrists her aunt had taken her to had always said that most likely she had blocked out the memories because losing her parents because they were to traumatic. Aussie had accepted that and she grew up and thought less and less of her parents and soon her aunt had become her mother and her real mother had never existed. She hadn't seen a psychiatrist since she was eight... but she was fairly sure at this moment that they had been right. Why was the memory coming now? Was she becoming too happy? You lost your parents. Your not supposed to have a happy life they taunted her.

Aussie set her food on the ground next to Shadow, who was eating from a bowl that Spencer had placed in front of her. Shadow was a bottomless pit when it came to food. She could eat for an hour straight and still be hungry. She had attempted to control Shadow's diet but increasingly the Swinub had started to inflate and look more like Candyfloss then a Swinub. She should probably take the food away since Shadow had already eaten and had two treats.

Suddenly Sandman turned around and kicked Shadow away from the food. The round little Swinub went rolling and a sad whimper escaped from her. Sandman ignored it and started licking as fast as he could at the sauce covering the rice. He didn't seem to be able to eat the solid food, but he loved the sauce, a lot. Aussie ran to Shadow and picked up the whimpering Swinub "I'm so sorry." She said to her. "Swine!" Shadow said angrily. Surprise covered Aussie's face. Mimic got mad on a regular basis... but Shadow? "Give him a chance Shadow. He's hungry and probably not thinking straight. I doubt he acts like that normally." Aussie had said doubt but she was really thinking in her head I hope he doesn't act like that normally. "Give him a bit and I'll bet he'll get more friendly." "Swinub..." Shadow grumbled but seemed to be less angry then before.

Aussie looked up at Sandman, who was greedily licking the last of the sauce from the second bowl she had placed on the ground. Her feeding problem may be solved for the moment. Looking around, she spotted a pot full of extra sauce and placed it in front of the ponyta. Aussie watched in amazement as the ponyta drained it in a minute and looked up at her for more. "I'm sorry little guy that's all I have. I promise we'll get you some MooMoo milk in the morning though." Aussie was more then sure that the little guy had eaten enough berry sauce to feed a wailord. His face was stained with it. Aussie looked at his back and realized he was sill wearing the saddle pad from earlier. She silently picked it off her back and wiped his muzzle with it. He stood silently, eyeing the others eating and of course he was most interested in the berry sauce. “Be good and you can have some more." Aussie said to him. She silently wiped as much dirt as she could off with the saddle pad. His color changed from brown to a dirty off-white... well at least it was an improvement.

Aussie looked around for more berry sauce and noticed another bowl on the ground. It had probably been for Mimic, but the little Hoothoot had fallen asleep again, probably still recovering from her stomachache. Aussie picked it up and placed it by Sandman, who resumed his greedy licking. When he was done he sighed contentedly and Aussie returned him to her ball. Aussie sat down in the grass where she was and laid down on the ground. She was asleep before she could manage to stand up to get by the fire and the sleeping bags.

[Verity Lily]

Verity's rapture over Waker's return cancelled out a lot of her ugly feelings. Everything felt better now the four of them were back together.

"A skitty attacked you? That's really strange - I always though skitty were cute little things. They can be pretty scary when they're scaring rattata away from the torchic feed, though." Verity interrupted herself to give Waker and his nidoran another hug. She was just so glad they were back! "And look, I have a spoink! Poor little thing doesn't have a pearl, though," she whispered. "Don't mention it, she's sensitive."

Aussie's return was less of a joy, even though Verity was relieved, and her tender heart immediately melted over the ponyta. Verity listened to Aussie's babbling, but something seemed off-key. It seemed impossible that a pokemon that obviously belonged to someone didn't already have a pokeball, and that ponyta was in a terrible state. She listened silently, giving Connie a worried look, but tried to put her suspicions out of her mind. After all, she'd been wrong about Elysia - Verity thought of Candyfloss's tiara and smiled.

"She'll be big enough to ride when she evolves," she offered. "Mama has a rapidash and she's huge. She's called Merrylegs," she added proudly. "Isn't that a beautiful name?"

She snuggled back down with Connie and Henrietta. Candyfloss's sweet scent washed over her, and the little pokemon, happy and warm, began to sing softly to herself. "Iggle-y-buff, iggle-y buff..." The human companions and pokemon all drifted off to sleep under the melodious sound.

Verity awoke boucing with energy, as dawn was just beginning to break. Maybe igglybuff-provoked sleep was sounder and sweeter than normal sleep, even if you did wake drenched with dew. "Connie, boys - Aussie, wake up!" Verity shook a groaning Connie awake, then turned to Spencer and shook him. Much amused by the idea, Candyfloss ran over to Spencer and rocked back and forth on her little paws, doing her best to shake him. The Empress of Fidona quickly got the idea and bounced over to Waker, doing her bit to wake him by helpfully bouncing up and down on his stomach.

"Empress! Naughty! Don't bounce on people when they're asleep!" hissed Verity. "Oh, Waker, I'm so sorry!" She was beginning to think that she and Connie attracted naughty pokemon, but Empress looked at her with reproachful hurt, and Verity couldn't stop the giggles rising as she picked up the spoink and hugged her. "Mercy, Spencer, please wake Aussie before Butchette takes it into her head to."

She kicked the dying embers up into flame, adding some more wood. "Let's eat quickly - we shouldn't waste the day! Pokemon, listen up. We need to tidy the campsite and get ready to leave. Butchette, Courage, Torchie - yes, you, don't look at me like that - Mary, Pora, Celia, Nils, Shadow - I choose all of you! Cleanup - GO!"

As the group hurriedly consumed breakfast, the pokemon restored the campsite to order in astonishingly quick time. Celia doused the fire, and the group lifted their various bags.

Verity recalled Empress and Candyfloss and took a deep breath. Holding Connie's hand with one hand, and Butchette's on the other (just in case of wild miltanks), Courage smugly nestled on her head, she felt like she could face a herd of rampaging tauros.

"Okay, team. All bound for Moo-Moo Land!"

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie woke up slowly and reluctantly. Her whole body ached from sleeping on the ground and she was still tired from the long night. She groaned and stretched. With some dismay, she realized she was covered in dew. That's what you get for falling asleep in the grass, she thought to herself. She watched the others scurry about the morning routine with half-opened blurry eyes. I'll just sleep for five more minutes... Slowly her head drifted toward the hard ground and her eyes started to close again when...

"SWINUB!" Shadow ran up to her happily and jumped into her lap. The loud excited exclamation made Aussie jump and wake with a start. Rubbing the little Swinub on the head, she whispered to it "I forgot. It's breakfast time, isn't it?" Swinub snuffled excitedly as if she had just learned she has won the jackpot. Aussie giggled to herself. Shadow acted like this at every meal. Aussie reached over to her bag and rummaged around until she grabbed a can of pokefood. Opening it, she placed the food on the ground. Snuffling louder then before, Shadow bounded over to the pokefood and started to greedily devour it.

Now I can sleep again. Sleep is a magical word. Aussies head was once again headed for the ground and her eyes grew heavy but then... "HOOT!" Mimic was sticking out of her pocket and glaring at Aussie in dismay. "I'M AWAKE!" startled, Aussie screamed loud enough to make a flock of pidgeys in a nearby tree fly away in terror. Aussie put her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had just done, but she couldn't help herself. The giggles escaped her. Soon she was rolling on the ground, her laugh echoing in the clearing.

After a minute, she laid down in the grass, to giddy and tired from laughing to move. Suddenly Mimics face obscured her view of the crystal blue sky above her. The Hoothoot stood firmly on her chest staring into her face with a look of dismay. "Well, I thought it was funny." Aussie said. "Hoot." Mimic said firmly, before hopping off her trainer and returning to her pocket. Aussie sat up and looked at the pocket that Mimic had disappeared into. "You're no fun." said Aussie, smiling while she did.

Mimic didn't bother to stick her head out. A muffled angry quiet hoot could be heard coming from the pocket, but that was the only reaction Mimic gave. Aussies smile widened a bit. This ritual happened almost every time she laughed. Mimic was always lecturing her after she laughed at something no one else found particularly funny, which was whenever she laughed. Her aunt had always told her she had had a strange sense of humor, and Aussie wasn't going to deny that anytime soon.

Standing up and stretching, Aussie was ready to begin the day. She bustled around, helping to clear the camp and pack everything up. The time went fast. Breakfast went past before she could blink. Before she knew it, everything was cleared up and the air was thick with anticipation over moving on.

"Okay, team. All bound for Moo-Moo Land!" she heard someone say. Aussie smiled. That statement seemed a perfect way to start a brand new day. She wasn't sure why it appealed to her so much, but she felt this day was going to be exciting at the least. Jumping around and squirming, she said hurriedly "Couldn't agree more!" Dashing towards the direction of the farm, she was almost running. "Hey, hurry up! What are you waiting for!" she screamed excitedly as she ran, not even looking back to see how far behind the others were.

Mimic poked her head out of her pocket for a moment and looked at her strangely. Aussie knew that look well. Almost everyone she met gave it to her. You're weird is what that look said. "You don't need to tell me that Mimic. I already know." she said. She had slowed down at that look, if only a touch. "I know I'm a little eccentric, but not in a bad way, right?" she said to Mimic. Mimic didn't reply, but merely disappeared back into her pocket. Aussie soon forgot that one-sided conversation as excitement and expectation welled up in her. Today was a new day.

Posted. Hopefully this will get things rolling again

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Sep 9 2009, 03:51 PM