[X] My Assistant

[Aureylian]

The girls left the room and walked over to Nurse Joy. "The babies are asleep."
"Thank you, girls. You've been a big help." Nurse Joy smiled and turned to someone who had just walked in.

"My Squirtle's badly injured. Can you help him?" Luna watched as Nurse Joy called out the Squirtle to check out it's injuries. It looked like it had recently been in a vigorous battle. Luna walked over to the couches and sat down. It was still raining outside and didn't look like it was going to stop for a while. She, unlike most people, actually loved the rain. It was calming, she found it amusing. When she was little and no one was home, she'd sneak outside to play in the rain. She ran through puddles and she just danced in the rain.

"I can have him fixed up in a little bit, you can sit in the lounge area until I'm done. Luna, you have a call."

She told Caroline that she would be back and walked over to the net-phones.

This post has been edited by Ozzy: Mar 27 2010, 01:09 PM

[Amissa]

Walking back into the main room of the Pokemon Center, it was hard for Caroline to shake of the mildly euphoric feeling that had come over her while playing with the baby pokemon. It had been so cute and funny to watch to two tiny newborns pouncing and playing with Luna's growlithe. Her pokemon was evidently not only a good watch-dog but also very gentle with the young ones.

Caroline went over and sat on one of the couches as Luna walked over to receive her call. She yawned, exhausted from playing with the rambunctious babies and from her hard day of work and training. Training...she thought, where did Swiper get to?

Swiper was, in fact, by the reception desk. He was keeping an eye on the trainer who had just walked in to heal his pokemon. It was difficult to see since the lights were dimmed during the nighttime, but the outline of this boy looked familiar. The ekans drew close to the new trainer, flicking his tongue in and out to catch his scent. Suddenly the snake pokemon became disinterested. It was not who he had thought it was.

"Swiper!" Caroline scolded, walking over to where her ekans was, "What are you, oh!" She stopped suddenly upon seeing the trainer's back. From behind, he looked like her brother. She drew back for a moment, unsure yet whether she should be delighted or not. "Rick? Is that you?"

It's probably not him. But what if it is? He could be anybody. If only I could see his face. At that moment, a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room and was shortly followed by the crash of thunder. As usual, Caroline jumped, startled like a nervous skitty. She'd gotten a better look at the boy, at least, and her expression fell slightly. She blushed a little, embarrassed by her mistake. "I'm so sorry," she said in her soft voice, "I thought you were someone that I've met before."

By that time, Luna was making her way back over. Caroline glanced over at her as she approached. She felt better with Luna with her, a bit less like an idiot for mistaking some random stranger for her brother.

[Xal]

"Thank you." Karuto mumbled when the Nurse Joy said she'd treat Squirt. He was still ashamed at what he'd done, they'd never been in a real battle before and Karuto should have known it was a bad idea to suddenly confront a grunt. He just hoped that Squirt would be okay, he'd never be able to live with himself if something happened to him.

He was about to walk over to the seats but an Ekans appeared by him, staring and flicking its tongue. Karuto exhaled, closed his eyes and turned away. He wasn't in the mood to be pestered, he was horribly worried and under massive stress. Fortunately the snake soon lost interest and slithered away, leaving him in peace.

"Rick? Is that you?"

Somebody behind him started talking, and for a moment Karuto didn't realise she was talking to him. When he realised that she was confusion engulfed him. Rick? No, he wasn't called Rick, he didn't even know anyone by that name. He was about to turn around to answer when she spoke again, a moment after the room was illuminated by a bolt of lightning. It must have been close, the thunder echoed through the pokémon centre about a second after the lightning struck.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone that I've met before."

Karuto sighed. He was no longer stressed and annoyed, only sympathetic. He knew what it was like to go about mistaking complete strangers for someone else, he could hardly snap at someone for making the same mistake.

"It's all right, don't worry about it." He said. "I do the same thing all the time."

[Amissa]

Caroline could feel Swiper by her side. The ekans was listening in curiously. Sure, he wasn't Rick, but that didn't mean he didn't know anything. He wished that he could make his trainer ask all of the right questions. If only she could squeeze the information out of people the way that he would, they might actually get somewhere. But she was too soft-hearted and soft spoken for all of that.

"I hope that my ekans didn't bother you. He's just curious too." Caroline leaned against the reception counter as she spoke. Her exhaustion showed clearly in her expression. It was very late now and she hoped to be able to go to bed soon. "You do your hair like him. Like that person. Like my brother. Are you staying the night here too?"

[Xal]

"No." He said. The thought had never occurred to him, but when a bolt of lightning struck again he started to reconsider. The rain didn't bother him and he was already soaking wet, but it was worth finding somewhere to stay and dry off even if only for the sake of convenience.

"Yes. I don't know, I might. Maybe?"

In reality he had no idea, not only about staying in the centre but about anything in general. There was more on his mind than just rain and lightning, Squirt was seriously injured and he couldn't help but worry. He was numb all over and it wasn't because of the cold. It was as if he wasn't even there, it almost felt like he was somewhere far away somehow looking through the eyes of Karuto Jones.

"Those grunts." He mumbled, his breathing shaky with anger. How dare they? There was no need to lay into Squirt like that, it wasn't as if he posed any real threat. The stupid Magma could have just laughed at the pitiful attack and walked away. The two of them were inexperienced and too big for their boots, there was just no need. No need.

Karuto wished he could believe that but he still couldn't stop blaming himself. He started a fight and he lost it, and Squirt was left inches from death because of it. He knew he was exaggerating and that the Squirtle couldn't have been as badly injured as he thought, but it was no comfort. The Magma grunt was still wrong though, not only to be so ruthless (but what else could you expect from them?) but because of the enemy he'd made. This encounter had made Karuto more determined than ever to take on Team Magma, but in a much more controlled way. No more random skirmishes with lone grunts for the sake of it, he'd use controlled and calculated attacks. He'd need help. He'd have to find stronger pokémon and train Squirt and Deli until they were capable of a real fight, but he'd do it. The problem wasn't one of strength, it was one of tactics and control. He could see that now, the grunt had enlightened him and he would live to regret it. Strength only goes so far, Squirt was strong enough to take a Poochyena but was still beaten effortlessly. He needed training and better tactics, and then he'd be able to fight Magma. They valued strength far too much, and Karuto could now see that that would ultimately be their undoing.

"Yes, I'm staying." He decided, and waited for Squirt to be healed and returned.

[Aureylian]

Luna walked over to the net-phones and turned on the screen. It was Mr. Rydel. "Well, Luna. Have you gotten yourself into anymore trouble?"

"No, sir. I haven't, yet..." She had to whisper the last part. She didn't want Mr. Rydel to worry. Luna was a very curious being and she had to investigate, it was against her nature not to.

"I made a few calls, and by the way you described him, I believe he is only a grunt. He shouldn't be too much of a problem, but we have to find out what exactly he's up to. Remember, even though he's a grunt, don't try to face him. You never know if they're having him followed and you don't want your grandmother to find you."

"No, I don't." That was true. Her grandmother finding her would be worse than being captured by Magma, or, at least that's what she believed. Her grandmother was a strict, overbearing old woman who was forced to take her in when Luna's parents left. She didn't like Luna, yet she didn't want her to be like her "filthy rebel" parents, as her grandmother called them. But she couldn't let this go. She had to confront the Magma and stop her grandmother from sending them anymore money, who know what they could be looking for.

"Luna?" She snapped back to reality and looked at Mr. Rydel, his facial expression showed some concern.

"Oh, sorry. I was just... I'm just tired. I think I'll go to bed now." Before he could answer, Luna shut off the net-phone and walked back to Caroline. She was talking to the boy that had brought in the injured Squirtle. "I'm back, Caroline. Oh, hi," she said, acknowledging the boy, "I'm Luna."

[Xal]

Karuto had spent a few moments silently dwelling on Team Magma and how he would be getting revenge, but in his state it felt like a lot longer (or was it shorter? In his agitated state nothing seemed consistent, not even time). He was about to change his mind and tell the stranger that he wouldn't be staying after all and march out the door just for the sake of having something to do. His mood was flitting between calm and enraged. Sometimes all he wanted to do was sit back and hide away, other times he wanted to march out there and
Just as he was about to pipe up someone else approached. She spoke to the person beside him, who was apparently called Caroline, and he assumed they knew each other.

"Oh, hi, I'm Luna." she said, looking towards Karuto.

"Hi." He said, forcing a smile despite his feelings about the recent disaster. He didn't entirely feel comfortable giving out his name to a pair of complete strangers, but they seemed trustworthy enough. He now had theirs anyway (unless they were lying, and this was all some kind of bizarre Magma trap) and it wouldn't hurt to be polite.

"I'm Karuto."

[Amissa]

"I'm Caroline," Caroline added, joining in the sharing-names game. "Luna is letting me stay with her tonight. It's too dark and rainy to try to go home tonight, I think. It's nice to meet you, Karuto, and I hope that you and your pokemon get plenty of rest."

"Me, well I'm so tired I think I might fall over," She looked at Luna as she said this, smiling and blinking her eyes sleepily. "How about you, Luna?" Swiper coiled himself and leaned against her legs, as though he wanted to test and see if she really would fall over. He grew annoyed when she stepped away, leaving him to topple over instead.

"Maybe we could meet for breakfast or something, if the two of you feel like doing that." Caroline suggested, trying to be friendly.

[Aureylian]

Any bunnying from this point on has been approved by character's owner.

She must talk a lot when she's tired. "Come on, Caroline. Let's get you to bed. He's probably tired of us bothering him." She pulled Caroline away, which Swiper did not like. She led her all the way back to the room, for she was afraid she would just fall over.

"Here we go," she said, sitting Caroline on her bed. She leaned back and her Ekans curled up beside her. "Goodnight, Caroline." She whispered.

"Good.... night... Lu..."

--------------------

Luna couldn't sleep. Her thoughts wouldn't let her. Why would she give money to Magma? Is that all she's doing? How did I not know this for so long? Questions like that went on for what seemed like hours to her. It was her grandmother and she had to stop it.

It was still early in the morning, probably around midnight, when she got up. She tiptoed as softly as she could, not wanting to wake Caroline. I'll just go for a walk, clear my head. She made it to the door, but Swiper was awake. Watching her. "Go back to sleep, do not wake her." She whispered to the snake.

--------------------

No one was in the lobby. It was quiet and she liked that. She walked out the doors, which she was surprised to find them not locked. She walked around for a few minutes, never straying far from the Pokemon Canter.

"Who are you?" She turned around to see that grunt, and her grandmother.

[Xal]

"No, I don't mind." Karuto replied when Luna said he was probably tired of being bothered. "It's good to know that there're still some friendly people around."

Karuto thought it was kind of hypocritical he felt that way, although he was sick of some people not trusting anyone and refusing to speak much out of fear he was very much the same way. The two of them made their way off, just as Karuto saw the nurse waving him over. He walked over to the counter and accepted the pokéball as she handed it to him.

"Your Squirtle is fully healed." She smiled.

"Thanks. Do you have any rooms for the night?" Karuto asked her.

"Yes, we do. They're just up there." She said, pointing towards the room. "Should I book you in?"

"Please." He said, making his way upstairs.



The room was small but decent. Karuto was used to sleeping rough so having one at all was something of a treat.

"Squirt, are you ok?" He said, calling the Squirtle out of the pokéball. He seemed fine and was grinning from ear to ear (or would have been if he'd had any), which made Karuto feel a lot better about the situation.

"Come on then, let's get some sleep." He sighed, calling Squirt back into the pokéball and climbing into bed.

[Amissa]

Caroline lay in the extra bed in Luna's room, fast asleep and comfortable. Swiper, however, remained awake and aware of Luna's restless midnight wanderings. He sensed no danger, not yet anyhow, so there was no reason for him to wake his trainer. He did, however, uncoil himself from his sleeping trainer and sat stretched over the floor. From there he could feel the vibrations of Luna's feet as she walked away.

Ekans have only mediocre eyesight, but they make up for it with other senses. Their most powerful sense is smell, but they are also very sensitive to vibrations in the air and through the ground. Swiper used this sense to remain aware of how far Luna walked and even how long it took her to get there.

Foolish human, Swiper thought as he silently slithered out of the room. He moved slowly and kept a good distance between himself and Luna. He didn't want her to know that she was being followed. Running around late at night...very suspicious. It's a good thing I'm keeping an eye on her. It would be terrible if she were to...come to any harm. He admitted to himself that part of his reason for following at all was because Luna had told him not to. He didn't obey his own trainer, why would he ever listen to her? It pleased him just to be defiant,

Caroline rolled over in her sleep. Her face twitched as though troubled. Something wasn't right and somehow she knew it. In her sleep, she dreamt that Swiper was gigantic and squeezing her until she was out of breath. She rolled over again and in her dream Swiper's grip tightened. His jaw opened, but not to devour her. He wanted to speak to her. He had learned something and he wanted to share it. Caroline rolled over again and this time she spilled out onto the floor and awoke wrapped in her blankets so tightly that it was constricting her breath. She wiggled free and looked around the room.

Where did everyone go? Even in the dark, Caroline could tell that Luna's bed was empty. She stumbled around the room momentarily, trying to verify whether or not the room was completely empty. Once she was sure that she was left alone, she poked her head out of the door of the room and looked both ways down the hallway. It took a minute, but then she was certain which way she needed to go. She'd spotted something, a touch of light reflecting off dark scales and even a flicker of movement. It was far ahead of her, and she hoped that she hadn't just imagined it.

"Swiper," She called in a whisper. She felt awkward standing outside of a room that wasn't hers, dressed still in her work uniform, stalking her own disobedient pokemon. "Swiper!" She called a bit louder, doing her best not to wake anyone. However, it was no use. Swiper didn't care to come back to her so she was left to quietly follow him down the hallway. She moved slowly, since she was afraid of falling in the darkness and kept looking forward for signs of her pokemon. Every once in a while she would glimpse a bright yellow eye glimmering far ahead of her.

[Aureylian]

They were standing not more than five feet away from her. She made sure to keep her hair in her face. If her grandmother recognized her, that would be trouble. "What does it matter to you?" She tried her best at a thick London accent. Her grandmother was a bitch, but she wasn't stupid and she was eying her carefully.

The Magma called out a small Poochyena. By the looks of it, he didn't treat the poor thing very well. It looked like it had been through hell. She felt a little bad. Luckily, she had brought her bag with her. Luna called out her Growlithe, Lyra. "Lyra, Roar!"

"GROWL!" The small female Growlithe let out a loud Roar, which caused the Poochyena to back up in fear. The Magma kept trying to get the Poochyena to attack, but it seemed to afraid. He picked up a stick and threatened the poor canine with it if he didn't do what he wanted. That made him attack. Although, instead of attacking Lyra, he knocked over Luna.

"Who. Are. You?" He wouldn't let it go.

"It's none of your damn business." He walked up to her, trying to get a better look at her. Lyra was still battling the Poochyena on her own and she was alone. Except Swiper.

Swiper came out of nowhere, wrapping around the Grunt's leg. He tried kicking at the snake, but it wouldn't let go. He turned around, looking for some kind of help, but there was no one. Her grandmother was gone. "See what you've done! You've ruined everything." He wasn't talking to Luna. He was talking to the poor little Poochyena. Swiper had let go of his leg, so he ran off. Although, not before kicking his Pokemon.

[Xal]

To his surprise Karuto was enjoying a decent night's sleep. He'd been expecting to be kept up all night worrying and fretting over Magma but he was sleeping much better than usual, although it had taken him a while to get to sleep in the first place. He was sure that there would be some kind of psycho-babble explanation about him being able to rest now that he'd decided on a plan to attack Magma instead of being a restless soul without a cause, but he was too busy in a deep sleep to be bothered by explanations.

That was, however, until he heard footsteps outside the door. The soft patter slowly made its way into his dreams, which was soon followed by more footsteps and someone's voice. Karuto had always had good hearing and the small noises of the night were soon in his mind. They weren't loud enough to wake him, but that changed when he heard a familiar name. Swiper was what that girl had shouted out when the Ekans went over to him at the counter and it was what someone was saying, although faintly, now. The recognition quickly dragged him back to reality. He stretched and sat up in his bed, looking around the room. A crack between the curtains was letting the moonlight spill into the room and light up a line of the wall and ceiling above him.

"Squirt?" He called out groggily, asking if the pokémon was okay although he knew he was in his pokéball. Karuto was still fully clothed so clambered out of bed and made his way towards the door. He was half asleep and should really have gone back to bed, but he just wanted to see who was out there.
As he looked around the corner he saw that it was Caroline, the girl he'd met earlier. That made sense since he heard the name of her pokémon. If the dark figure in the shadows was what he thought it was then she was following the Ekans. He instinctively followed, although he knew it was a bit creepy, to see what was up.

"Are you all right?" He called out in a whisper after he'd been walking for a while, when he'd just about caught up. He didn't know why everyone thought that the breathy tones of a whisper would still be quiet even if they were clearly talking quite loudly, but he still decided to do so. It just seemed natural.

This post has been edited by Xal: Apr 6 2010, 07:52 AM

[Amissa]

Caroline jumped and gasped as she turned to find the source of the whisper. She backed against a wall and looked at Karuto in the dim light. "I'm okay, but my ekans is up to something and I can't find Luna. I'm worried that she may be in trouble." She blinked at the boy for a moment, feeling wary again now that she'd had some rest and regained her senses a bit. But she felt inclined to trust him. He was just another trainer caught in the rain same as she was, who came to the pokemon center for respite. Besides, she wasn't sure that she could handle herself on her own if she found that Luna really was in danger.

"Would you come with me? It's probably nothing and I'm sorry if I woke you up, but I would feel better if someone came with me."

She glanced ahead and she could no longer see any sign of Swiper. However, she did hear the sound of the door to the pokemon center opening and closing, so she supposed that he was heading outdoors. She didn't wait for Karuto to answer. She headed down the stairs and through the lobby, hoping that he would follow her and glancing behind herself occasionally.

---------------------------------------------

Swiper let go of the trainer that he had captured and drew himself up in his coils. He flicked his tongue in and out of his mouth and observed Luna and her pokemon. The magma grunt had run off, leaving them safe for the moment. Swiper wasn't certain that he wouldn't come back, and if he did, he might bring friends along. He needed to keep an eye on Luna for now.

The encounter had put the ekans in a bit of a shock. He knew who that trainer was. He'd been captured by that trainer once and he had been impressed by his battling skill. But now Swiper was realizing how little else he knew about him. He hadn't been around him enough to know his true character or even how he felt about pokemon. And that trainer had given him away, quickly and easily as though Swiper meant nothing to him. He was unsure what to think or how to feel about this encounter.

To try to focus on something else, Swiper moved over to the abandoned poochyena. It was bruised and terrified. It looked utterly heartbroken, like it had lost its only friend. Maybe it had. The trainer had kicked Swiper too, so the snake pokemon had an idea what kind of physical pain it was enduring. But he would never be so foolish as to hang all of his hopes for happiness on a human. Not even that human. That's what he was telling himself, anyway, that he could not empathize even a bit with this sad abandoned thing.

"You're really better off without him," Swiper told the battered poochyena. "Who needs a trainer who is so violent and immature? You'd be better off in the wild than with him." The ekans leaned closer to the small canine and spoke to it in a soft silky tone that he hoped exuded honest and trustworthy intentions. "But I wonder, where do you think he's running off to? Do you think he might come back?"

This post has been edited by Amissa: Apr 10 2010, 10:33 PM

[Aureylian]

Luna watched as the Magma left his Pokemon there, injured. He just left. It was like the poor Poochyena meant nothing to him. No wonder this guy was a part of Magma. He was cruel.

Luna got up and walked over to the young pup. Swiper had moved over to him, talking to him. The closer she got, the more the pup tried to run. He tried, he really did, but he was in too much pain. "Hey, it's okay," she said in a calm voice. "I only want to help you." He was tired, so he didn't even try anymore. Luna picked up the Poochyena and rushed him back to the Pokemon Center.

In a hurry to heal the poor Pokemon, Luna had almost run into Caroline. "Oh, I am so sorry. Did I wake you?" Caroline looked, horrified, at the small Pokemon in Luna's arms. Luna hadn't given her time to answer before she went to Nurse Joy. "Please, help him." Nurse Joy nodded and took the small pup into the back, where she could take care of him properly.

[Xal]

"Sure, I'll come." Karuto said. Curiosity surged him, what was going on? Sleeping had calmed his nerves caused by the conflict and he was happy to go into another battle. He'd probably use Deli since he was still a little cautious about sending Squirt out to face another battle, but he was already eager to get back to fighting Magma. He'd make sure to do it in a much more planned way, no more random attacks on passers by, but the hunger to jump in and battle the group had returned, more powerful than ever.
He sighed and realised he was getting ahead of himself. There was no guarantee there was anything wrong at all, to be honest it sounded like Caroline was being paranoid. He didn't know where Luna had gone and he didn't see why the snake slithering off was so suspicious. Even if there was a problem there was no guarantee it was Magma, but then again if there was anything trouble it usually was them.

The pair of them walked through the center almost silently, eventually reaching the lobby. When there they saw Luna running in with a Poochyena, who Karuto thought looked suspiciously familiar. It looked a lot like that one that attacked Squirt. Most pokémon of the same species looked almost identical but there were always at least a few distinguishing features. He was sure it was him, it looked battered but it was definitely the same one.

"Hey! Where did you get that pokémon? Is it yours?" He called out as she handed it over to the nurse.

[Aureylian]

Luna turned around when Karuto started talking to her. Seeing the poor Poochyena hurt was hard on her. Seeing any Pokemon like that was. She tried to act strong, not show any weakness. She still wasn't to sure if she could trust him, she knew nothing about him. "He's not mine. He was abandoned." She wasn't sure if she should say where she found him or who he was abandoned by. She was a little shaken up. Not only by the hurt Pokemon, but also because her grandmother almost recognized her. Maybe she did. Luna shook those thoughts from her head.

--------------------

It had been at least an day. Or, well, it felt like it. She wasn't sure exactly how long it took. The Poochyena was hurt. Badly. Part of it was her fault, which made her feel even worse. Will he heal? Will he be okay? Thoughts like that just kept running through her mind.

Nurse Joy had called her over to the counter. She got up from her seat by the window, which she had been staring out, and walked over too see the Poochyena. He looked better. He wasn't in pain anymore. "Hello, little one," she said. She reached out a hand and the small pup licked it. Maybe he was thanking her for helping him. She didn't really care, as long as he was safe. Nurse Joy handed her a Luxury Ball and nodded towards the pup. The ball would make him more friendly, which would be a good thing. It would be tough getting him to trust her. "Would you like to come with me?"

She opened the Poke ball and the Poochyena was sucked into it with a red light.

Shake...

Shake...

Shake...

The ball stopped shaking.

Caught: Level 6 Poochyena ♂

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