[X] My Assistant

[Aureylian]

As Luna made her way out of the Pokemart, she noticed the rain starting to fall. She took the few supplies that she had just bought and put them in her small, brown purse. She thought about taking out her Abra and using Teleport to make it back to the Pokemon Center, but she decided against it. I can probably make it back before the rain gets too bad, she thought to herself.

She had made it about halfway back to the Pokemon Center when the rain started coming down faster. She pushed herself, quickening her pace. It was hard to see through the rain, but she could make out the lights and the familiar smell of the place where she was currently staying. As she made it to the door, she almost ran into a small girl, around 16. "I'm sorry," she said. Luna pulled a small key out of her pocket and walked down one of the few hallways of the center. She walked up the stairs and made a few turns, then came to a door at the end of the hall. She pulled out her key and opened it, walking into her room. She quickly changed clothes, gathered some food for her Pokemon, then walked back down the stairs.

Once she made it down the stairs, she sat down on a small couch close to one of the windows. Nurse Joy had handed her a blanket earlier, so she unfolded it and wrapped it around her. She had been freezing, due to being out in the cold rain, but now she was warm. She let her three Pokemon out of their pokeballs and gave them each a bowl of food. While her Pokemon ate, she curled up on the couch and looked out the window. The rain had let up a little and she could make out two figures standing in the dark. It was a young man and an old woman, who looked familiar. Luna, being a very curious person, grabbed a raincoat, called back her Pokemon, and ran outside.

It was getting dark out, but she could still see well enough to walk around without running into anything or anyone. She used the shadows to cover her and hid behind the tree closest to the two. She now knew who the familiar woman was. It was her grandmother. She listened as the two talked about transferring money to Groudon's Thumb. She knew that the Rebellion should know about this meeting, so she turned to go back to the Pokemon Center to call Mr. Rydel. She accidentally stepped on a small twig, which made a loud snap. Luna looked back and saw the young man looking right at her. She ran, with him chasing her. She took a longer route back to the Center, eventually losing him. She ran inside and looked out the window where she had been sitting before. The young man, most likely a Magma grunt, was looking around outside, but could not find Luna. He returned to the old woman, shook her hand, and ran off. They were probably going to continue their meeting at a later date due to the intrusion. She took a deep breathe and turned to walk back to her room. Luna wasn't paying attention and ran into a girl, the same one as before. This time, Luna had gotten a better look at her. She had red-orange hair and green eyes. Luna felt awful for running into the poor girl again, so she apologized for the second time.

This post has been edited by Ozzy: Feb 8 2010, 12:38 PM

[Amissa]

After a hard day of working and training, Caroline finally made it to the pokemon center, the one place where she knew that she and her pokemon could find some respite. The downpour had been annoying for her, but she'd expected it and worn her brother's old black raincoat. It didn't change the fact that she had water in her shoes and wet feet, however, and was eager to dry out a bit. Just when she reached the door, she was suddenly bumped by an older girl with dark red hair. Caroline thought nothing of it, since anyone would be in a hurry to get out of this rain and simply went inside.

The sweet familiar face of the brave Nurse Joy who worked at the pokemon center in the poor district greeted Caroline with a smile. "Hello again, Caroline! How was training today?" She asked politely.

"Hard," was Caroline's response as she handed the woman her three pokeballs. "Can you check Thor for me? He was stung by a beedrill today and he won't let me touch him to see how it is."

"Certainly," the nurse said and released Caroline's electrike on the counter before the two. She then put on a pair of rubber gloves to examine the electric type, who struggled against her ministrations. "Nothing I can't take care of," Nurse Joy declared. "You know, considering Thor's Static ability, he may simply prefer not to be handled because he wants to protect you. It may be a sign of affection."

"Maybe," was all Caroline had to say. She was still learning about her pokemon and their peculiar mannerisms. It wasn't unthinkable that Thor might simply show affection in more subtle ways than she would expect, but she wasn't certain either.

"I'll have them all healed and ready to go home with you in a jiffy," Nurse Joy promised before recalling Thor to his pokeball. She placed the two pokeballs of the uninjured pokemon in the recovery machine which would have them fully rested in only a few minutes. She took Thor's pokeball with her into a back room for a bit more attention, but Caroline knew that he'd be ready before long too.

She took this time to go to the bathroom and clean up as well as she could. She was eager to get back home and rest, but the thought of sitting at the dinner table with her brother's seat empty made her stomach turn. Why hadn't he come back? Was he that mad at her? He couldn't have escaped the town, Team Magma made sure that no one could, so where was he living now? Caroline heaved a sad sigh and pushed her unanswerable questions from her mind before heading back out into the main room. There she was bumped again by the same girl.

"It's okay," Caroline said in her small, quiet voice, "But are you all right? You look a bit alarmed. No one's been bothering you, have they?" It may have been an odd assumption if they were in any other part of town, but in the poor district the possibility of being attacked or harassed, especially for young women of their age, was great enough to make the question less awkward.

Just then, Nurse Joy called over from the counter, "Caroline, your pokemon are fully healed and ready whenever you are." She set Caroline's pokeballs on the counter for her to retrieve whenever she wished.

This post has been edited by Amissa: Feb 6 2010, 07:27 PM

[Aureylian]

"It's okay, but are you all right? You look a bit alarmed. No one's been bothering you, have they?"

Luna studied the girl, who Nurse Joy addressed as Caroline. She could see the slightly worried look on her face. Luna thought of what to tell her. She had no idea if this girl knew about the Rebellion or about what had just gone on outside. She didn't want to raise any alarm, for all she knew, this Caroline girl could be part of Magma.

She took a quick glance out the window, to where her grandmother and the young man had been standing. No one was there now. She took a deep breath and responded. "Um... yeah, I'm fine. No one has bothered me, I just thought that I'd go for a little run. Everyone's inside when it rains, so there is no one to bother you." She still felt a little uneasy, due to almost being caught. "I'm Luna, by the way. Lunaraye Cardelle."

After introducing herself, she took off her raincoat and placed it on a small coat rack near the door. She then turned to the counter where Nurse Joy stood and handed her the three pokeballs that she carried. "Will you please take care of them for me?" Nurse Joy nodded and took Luna's Pokemon to the recovery machine. Then she turned back to the girl, "I'm going to say that your name is Caroline, right?"

It was getting close to lights out in the lobby, so Luna rummaged through her bag, looking for her key. She took it out and held it in her hand so she wouldn't have to try and find it in the dark. She took a seat on the closest sofa and invited Caroline to come sit with her.

[Amissa]

"It's nice to meet you, Luna," Caroline said. She considered running in the rain an acceptable explanation, even if it was a bit odd. She reminded herself not to judge others quickly regardless of any unusual habits. Caroline waited as the girl hung up her coat and handed over her pokeballs to Nurse Joy. She counted three, Luna had as many pokemon as she did. Clearly if the girl was going to run around in the rain, she wasn't stupid enough to go completely unprotected. Caroline kept her raincoat on, however, expecting that she would eventually have to grit her teeth and just walk home in the rain.

"I'm going to say that your name is Caroline, right?"

"That's right," Caroline replied, collecting her pokeballs from the counter before walking over to the sofa to accept Luna's invitation. "Caroline Kelly. I live nearby. Where are you from?"

[Aureylian]

"That's right, Caroline Kelly. I live nearby. Where are you from?"

Luna took a minute to think about that question. She had changed her whole life and she didn't know whether to lie or just tell the truth. She settled on the fact that even if Caroline knew were she was from, she still wouldn't know who she actually was. "I'm from Lilycove City."

"Luna, your Pokemon are fully healed."

It had taken only a few short moments for her Pokemon to heal, especially since they haven't really done anything recently. She stood up from her seat and walked over to the counter and retrieved her Pokemon. She took her Pokemon back over to the couch and let them out of their pokeballs. She pulled out some more food, since they never finished it earlier. Growlithe and Gastly happily ate their food, while Abra curled up beside Luna and fell asleep. She gently petted his head while he slept. She looked out the window and and saw that the rain was coming down harder than before. "What are you doing here so late, if you don't mind my asking?"

[Amissa]

Caroline felt a little jealous watching Luna with her pokemon. The little abra curled in her lap looked positively angelic and the rest of her pokemon looked very happy. Even the ghastly, who Caroline would expect to be difficult to control, eagerly enjoyed its meal beside Luna's growlithe. They acted more like a family than a team. She wished that she could have that kind of relationship with her pokemon. She wished she could have that kind of relationship with her family.

When Luna asked what she was doing up so late, Caroline gave the girl a weak weary smile. "I don't get off from work until eight, and then I have to hustle over to the outskirts of town where I train my pokemon. But even on days when I don't get to train, I try to stop by here. I like to talk to Nurse Joy. She has family everywhere, so she hears a lot of news."

Caroline paused, trying to judge Luna's reaction. What she wanted to share wasn't private information, but some people may find it startling or rude to bring up with someone you've just met. However, considering the situation, Caroline didn't think of courtesy as her first priority. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a photo and showed it to Luna. It was a picture of a young man grinning widely at the camera. He had his hair dyed black and spiked upward, and a face full of freckles. His right eyebrow was pierced and he flashed a peace sign at the camera.

"You see, Nurse Joy lets me know if she's seen or heard about him. He's my brother, Rick. He's about twenty years old. He used to live with me and my parents, but one night we had a fight and he left. None of us have heard from him since then, so we ask everyone to keep an eye out for him. He gave me my first two pokemon, but I'm sure he would keep one pokemon for himself. If he's a trainer, then he'd have to visit the Pokemon Center sometimes." At least that was Caroline's hope. This was assuming that he hadn't given her his only two pokemon. It was also assuming that all of the Nurse Joys would cooperate and identify her brother. Realistically, though, she knew that the nurses were probably too busy for something like this.

"Team Magma is so strict that they won't let any of the citizens leave Noverus, so he would have to still be in the city unless he found some miraculous way to escape. But anyway, you wouldn't have seen him, would you?" Caroline glanced up at the girl, but she wasn't hopeful. There was no way that Rick could have made it as far as Lilycove, where Luna was from, and Caroline had checked everywhere that she dared in the district.

[Aureylian]

"I don't get off from work until eight, and then I have to hustle over to the outskirts of town where I train my pokemon. But even on days when I don't get to train, I try to stop by here. I like to talk to Nurse Joy. She has family everywhere, so she hears a lot of news. You see, Nurse Joy lets me know if she's seen or heard about him. He's my brother, Rick. He's about twenty years old. He used to live with me and my parents, but one night we had a fight and he left. None of us have heard from him since then, so we ask everyone to keep an eye out for him. He gave me my first two Pokemon, but I'm sure he would keep one Pokemon for himself. If he's a trainer, then he'd have to visit the Pokemon Center sometimes."

Luna listened as Caroline explained what she was doing. She knew how it felt, having someone leave you. When she was young, her parents just disappeared, no one knew what had happened to them. Not even Mr. Rydel.

"Team Magma is so strict that they won't let any of the citizens leave Noverus, so he would have to still be in the city unless he found some miraculous way to escape. But anyway, you wouldn't have seen him, would you?"

Luna took the photo that Caroline presented to her. Studying it carefully, the boy looked familiar. She though for a few moments, I've seen him somewhere, I know it. She had no idea where though, and she didn't want to get Caroline's hopes up if she was wrong. "No, I haven't seen him. Sorry." She handed back the photo to Caroline. "If you want, you're welcome to stay with me tonight. I'm staying in a room here, and you never know, you may find someone who knows something. It also beats walking home in the rain."

This post has been edited by Ozzy: Feb 8 2010, 12:37 PM

[Amissa]

"Thank you," Caroline said, putting her photo away. "I just need to call home real fast to let my family know where I am." With that she walked over to use one of the net-phone computers. Soon her mother's face appeared on the screen wearing one of her father's Pokemon League hats in order to cover up her diminishing hair. The conversation was brief, though not as quick as Caroline would like. Her mother was suspicious of Caroline spending the night with any friends that she hadn't met, so it took some convincing before she was satisfied that Caroline was safe.

"Leave Swiper out of his pokeball when you go to sleep. He'll keep an eye on you."

"Yes Mom."

"And next time if it looks like rain, come straight home!"

"Yes Mom."

"I love you, sweety. Good night."

"Good night Mom."

She hung up the phone and yawned. Happily she went over to the coat rack and hung her coat next to Luna's. A crash of thunder from outside made Caroline jump and scurry back over to Luna. "Thanks again for letting me stay. I really didn't want to go back out there."

[Aureylian]

Luna watched as Caroline walked over and used the net-phone computer. She could hear her talking to a woman, probably her mother, but Luna could not hear their conversation. It didn't last long and a few moments later she was back.

"Thanks again for letting me stay. I really didn't want to go back out there."

"Oh, it's no problem," she replied, "I have an extra bed in my room." She called for her Pokemon to follow her and led Caroline to her room. They walked up the stairs at the end of the hall and it only took a minute or two to find the door. She put the key in the door and opened it. "Well, here we are." The room wasn't very big, but it could fit a few people and their Pokemon just fine. Luna laid her bag next to her bed and sat down on it. She called her three Pokemon back to their pokeballs and laid them on a side table.

She let Caroline get settled, then went to make a quick phone call. "I'll be right back," she said. She jogged down the stairs to the net-phone computers and called up Mr. Rydel.

"I'm sorry I'm calling so late--"
"It's fine, Luna. What is it?"
"Grandmother was here with some man. They were talking about moving money again."
"Did they say when? Where?"
"They didn't get to finish their conversation, I sort of interrupted them..."
"Luna, you mustn't do that. You could have gotten yourself into some serious trouble. You could have been captured."
"I know that, I'm sorry."
"Luna, I have to go. I'm going to make some phone calls and see if I can get anymore information. Be careful."

With that, he hung up. Luna walked to the vending machine and grabbed some food for her, and for Caroline if she wanted it. She made her way back up the stairs and back to her room. "I'm back."

[Amissa]

Caroline followed Luna up to her room and sat down on the second bed. She set her bag on the floor nearby and nodded to Luna as she left to make her phone call. Once Luna had left, Caroline took out Swiper's pokeball and released the ekans into the room.

"Ekanssss," he hissed, displeased by the strange surroundings. He raised himself on his coils and looked about the room, flicking his tongue in and out of his mouth. He could tell by the scents in the air that this room belonged to another human and that this human had pokemon. He looked to Caroline for further clarification.

"We're at the Pokemon Center. We're staying with a girl I met. She was nice enough to invite me to spend the night so that I wouldn't have to walk in the rain. Be good." Caroline said. She reached out a hand to soothe the pokemon, but Swiper drew back. His large yellow eyes regarded her, as they often did, as though she were stupid. Then, to Caroline's great surprise, Swiper came forward and began to wrap himself loosely around her.

"Swiper!" Caroline cried, worried what Luna would think is she returned to find Caroline locked in the coils of the great snake. Nevertheless, Swiper would not move. She had brought him here and she needed his protection. In return, he would need her heat. Just as Caroline had feared, Luna walked in at just that moment.

"Uh, sorry. This is Swiper, he's my ekans. My brother gave him to me but he doesn't take orders very well. My mom wanted me to leave him out of his pokeball while I sleep so that he could keep an eye on me. Can't be too careful, you know. He's not unfriendly." Caroline tried to explain. Swiper untangled himself from his trainer as Luna entered the room. Curiously, he raised his head, using the foot of the bed to help support his long body. His gaze on Luna was critical and calculating. Just who was this trainer, and could he trust her?

[Aureylian]

"Uh, sorry. This is Swiper, he's my Ekans. My brother gave him to me but he doesn't take orders very well. My mom wanted me to leave him out of his pokeball while I sleep so that he could keep an eye on me. Can't be too careful, you know. He's not unfriendly."

The curious snake uncoiled itself from around Caroline and stretched out on the bed. Luna saw his eyes following her as she moved around the room. "Your mom just wants to make sure you're safe. I understand. I brought you some food if you want it and I have some Pokemon food if Swiper wants any." She sat the food down on the small coffee table between the beds and took a seat on her bed.

While rummaging through her bag to find the Pokemon food, if needed, her Growlithe , Lyra, let herself out of her pokeball. The red beam quickly took shape of the small Growlithe. "Lyra, what do you think you're doing?" Lyra jumped onto the bed next to Luna and laid down. She watched the Ekans, who was still staring at Luna. Luna still hasn't bonded very much with her Pokemon, due to the fact that she hasn't had them long and that they belonged to someone else before. She did all she could to make them comfortable and they were starting to become attached to her. Luna petted Lyra and leaned up against the wall behind her bed.

[Amissa]

"Oh, thank you. Neither of us have had dinner. I'll pay you back later okay?" Caroline said a bit nervously. She wouldn't have any money to pay Luna back with until the end of the week. "Or maybe you can come over someday and eat dinner with my family."

Swiper slithered closer to Luna as she took her seat on the other bed. He coiled up on the floor between the two beds, tongue flicking in and out as he sized her up. Then from one of the pokeballs on the girl's nightstand, a growlithe appeared. Caroline smiled wide as the cute little growlithe kept its eyes on Swiper. She thought that it clearly felt protective and with good reason. Ekans weren't reknowned for being gentle or friendly.

"It's okay. He's just curious. He wouldn't hurt anybody," Caroline reassured the little growlithe, Lyra.

Swiper was actually pleased to meet the growlithe. After all, there was no better way to learn about a trainer than to talk to its pokemon. The ekans hissed, speaking to the other pokemon, "What kind of trainer is this? Is she honest? Is she kind?"

Of course, all that Caroline could hear of the conversation was, "Ekansss, ekanss ekanssss?" She could tell that a pokemon conversation was going on, but had no idea what it could be about.

"I always feel awkward when they do stuff like this, like they're talking about me, ya know?"

[Aureylian]

"Oh, thank you. Neither of us have had dinner. I'll pay you back later okay? Or maybe you can come over someday and eat dinner with my family."

"It's fine, really. You don't have to pay me back. It's vending machine food, it's probably not good for you anyway." She laughed. While watching the Ekans move around on the floor, she ate her food.

"It's okay. He's just curious. He wouldn't hurt anybody."
Lyra looked up at Caroline when she started to talk to her, then back down at the Ekans.

"Ekansss, ekanss ekanssss?"
"Growl, growlithe, growl. She takes care of us, she would never hurt you."
The two watched as the Pokemon started their conversation. Luna wondered what they were really talking about, I guess we'll never really know, will we? she thought to herself.

"I always feel awkward when they do stuff like this, like they're talking about me, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know exactly how you feel."

This post has been edited by Ozzy: Feb 13 2010, 10:15 AM

[Amissa]

Caroline leaned over to accept the second sandwich sitting on the coffee table and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully and watching the pokemon. She swallowed and smiled up at Luna. "It may be bad for us, but it tastes all right. As for Swiper, he has these long conversations with my electrike, Thor. They are the two that my brother gave me, so I guess they probably spent a lot of time together. They're like buddies. Except that Thor is much better about following instructions. I have a spearow too, but I can't let her out too much. Her name is Friday. She's...not quite right, but I think that maybe some real bad stuff happened to her before. She's super sweet if it's just me and her and she can tolerate Swiper and Thor, but she's really mean to everyone else, even my parents. My parents keep telling me to release her. I won't though, not unless that's what Friday wants."

Caroline spent another few minutes finishing her sandwich and generally thinking about her pokemon. Despite all of their quirks, she loved them to bits. Naively she went around assuming that everyone else would as well. It had been quite a shock when her parents asked her to release Friday and her relationship with her parents had only grown more strained over the request. Caroline couldn't bear to release her pokemon, no matter how psychotic or destructive it behaved. However, Caroline had to keep Friday safely stored in her pokeball most of the time for fear of the spearow lashing out at friends and strangers. Friday only came out when Caroline could be alone with her. Though Caroline admitted to herself that she wasn't above releasing the tiny bird pokemon if she was in danger or in a pokemon battle. She was at least fairly certain that Friday couldn't inflict any lethal injuries.

"What are your pokemon like, Luna?" Caroline asked after she had finished eating.

[Aureylian]

Luna listened as Caroline talked about her Pokemon. She listened as she talked about all of their faults, their quirks, their personality. Those were the things that made each Pokemon special. Luna started to think about her Pokemon, about Niyati. It had been a wile since she had last seen her, or even thought about her. It was hard for Luna, she loved that little Vulpix. She didn't like thinking about her, because it was hard on her, but when Caroline talked about her Pokemon, about loving them and being protected by them, it made her think about Niya. About the times when Niya would protect Luna from the dangers outside, the few times she actually was allowed to go outside.

"What are your Pokemon like, Luna?"

When Caroline started talking to her again, she came back from her thoughts. Back to the present. "Well, my Abra does nothing but sleep, really. He just stays in his pokeball most of the time. My Gastly, well... she's just a little trickster. She loves playing jokes on people. She's the one to have around when you need a laugh. Lyra is very protective. She belonged to a friend of mine, then he gave her to me. To protect me here."

[Amissa]

"Ekansss," was Swiper's reply to Lyra, swaying from side to side in contemplation. "Good to know." Deciding that it wouldn't do to be antisocial, Swiper slithered up onto Luna's bed, nudging the girl's free hand in order to invite some petting. He just hoped she didn't have any silly fear of snakes that would keep him from winning her over. He glanced at Caroline, silently wishing that his trainer had the sense to network the way he did. Why did she have to be so shy?

Indeed, Caroline's quiet nature was becoming more apparent. After discussing pokemon, the one topic that every trainer had something to say about, she didn't really know how else to move the conversation. She just sat awkardly on the bed, smiling politely and nodding as Luna spoke. With one hand, she nervously pushed around Swiper's empty pokeball.

[Aureylian]

Caroline's Ekans slithered over to Luna. He nudged her hand she started to pet him. Luna had run out of things to talk about. She didn't really know much about Caroline, so she didn't know how to start a conversation. Caroline sat on her side of the room, playing with the empty pokeball.

Within a few moments, there was a knock on the door. Luna stood up and went over to answer the door.
"Hello, girls," It was Nurse Joy, "I'm glad to see you're still awake. I was wondering if the two of you would like to help me with a few things around here? I'm working alone and it would be nice if I had some help."

"Sure," Luna replied. Before she could answer, Luna walked over to Caroline and grabbed her hand. "Come on."

With their Pokemon following them, Luna and Caroline followed Nurse Joy down the stairs and into one of the many rooms. "Sometimes, trainers find Pokemon eggs on their journeys and they bring them to me to take care of," Nurse Joy told both of the girls, " and whenever they hatch, they are usually very shy. I was wondering if you girls would play with them a little, get them used to people." She opened the door and Luna saw two newly hatched Pokemon. One was an Eevee and the other was a Poochyena. They both seemed very scared, and Luna didn't blame them. They've never seen humans before.

Luna walked over to the small Poochyena and held out her hand. The little one sniffed her and cautiously walked closer. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

[Amissa]

Caroline didn't resist as Luna pulled her along down the stairs and into one of the rooms where Nurse Joy did her work. Upon entering the room, she gasped in astonishment and put a hand to her chest as she felt her heart melt into a gooey mess of love. She managed to keep from making any exclamations that might frighten the newborns but all that she could think was, Aww, they are so precious!

As Luna knelt and offered her hand to the baby poochyena, Caroline crouched beside her, unsure of how to win over the frightened eevee. The little darling sat curled up in a blanket and he did not look at all inclined to come near. Instead, he burrowed deeper into the blanket, trying to hide.

"Here, this might help. I prepared these before I went up to see you," Nurse Joy said as the held out two baby bottles. "You can feed them with these. I trust that you girls can manage on your own for a few minutes. I have other pokemon that need my attention. If you do have any problems, I'll be right in the other room." And with that, Nurse Joy went off to complete her other duties, leaving the two girls and their pokemon alone with the babies.

Caroline took one of the bottles and crawled closer to the eevee. "It's okay, sweety. I don't want to hurt you. Are you hungry, baby?" The eevee poked its head out of the blanket, curious but not completely won over.

"Ekansss ekansss ekanssssss," Swiper said to the eevee as he curled himself up in a corner of the room. "She wouldn't hurt anyone. Certainly not a pokemon and especially not a mere infant like you." He, however, was another story. He was officially a tame ekans by now, but the babies were practically bite sized. If he were still in the wilderness, these little ones would be an easy meal. Now he was simply disinterested, finding nothing to gain by entertaining the two youngsters. He was satisfied to observe from afar.

The eevee crept closer, moving stealthily away from its nest in the blanket as though stalking some elusive prey. When he reached Caroline, he sniffed the bottle that she was holding before eagerly suckling on the tip. This delighted Caroline and she smiled, looking positively enchanted.

[Aureylian]

"Here, this might help. I prepared these before I went up to see you. You can feed them with these. I trust that you girls can manage on your own for a few minutes. I have other Pokemon that need my attention. If you do have any problems, I'll be right in the other room."

Luna nodded and took the bottle from Nurse Joy. She then held it out to the small Poochyena, who sniffed it very cautiously. Nurse Joy left the room and the Poochyena watched her as she left. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." She said again, more sincere than the last time. The young Bite Pokémon crept a little closer and then took the bottle. Luna gently lifted the little one onto her lap so she could feed him better. It didn't take long for the baby to finish the bottle. Luna looked over at Caroline, who was happily feeding the young Eevee.

Once the little ones were done with their bottles, Luna let out her Growlithe, who she had called back into her Poke ball. Lyra looked at the young Pokemon and kept them in her sight. The little ones watched Lyra carefully, sniffing her to see if she was safe. When they knew that she wouldn't hurt her, they started to play with her. They spent a while just playing around, then they eventually fell asleep. Luna called Lyra back into her poke ball and looked over at Caroline. "I guess we should go now? Let them sleep."

This post has been edited by Ozzy: Feb 27 2010, 01:29 PM

[Xal]

"You ok, Squirt?" Karuto asked the Squirtle who was stood by his side. When the rain had picked up the pair of them took shelter in an alleyway, watching the path for passers by. Anyone else might have found the dark alleyway a little spooky but Karuto just saw it as an irritation. He wanted to be out there making problems for Magma, not hiding away from the world. It was just rain, it wasn't like it could hurt him. All the same, there was no use getting dripping wet. It's not like there was anything he'd achieve by going out there, and he'd rather not have his clothes soaked through. They were in bad enough shape as it was.

The pair of them looked over their shoulders as one of the bins rattled ever so slightly. For a moment everything was completely silent as Karuto tried to listen out for any more clues. After a few seconds past he shook his head and sighed.

"Don't worry about it Squirt. It's just the wind." He mumbled. That close call had already happened about a dozen times in the half hour they'd been waiting there and it was starting to get tiring. He wasn't scared of what could be there, just wary. His whole life he'd had to keep on his toes but not out of fear. With all the Magma grunts running around it would be simply foolish not to.

Seconds later though the bin rattled again, but much louder than the first time. Something had to be up.

"Get ready, Squirt..." Karuto muttered, cautiously stepping towards it. As he got closer the rattling picked up again, causing him to flinch and step backwards. Embarrassment flooded through him and was almost instantly followed by irritation. In his frustration he stormed forwards and kicked the bin angrily, causing the Ratatta hidden behind it to run away into the shadows of the night. Karuto sighed and rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe that he'd been shaken by a Ratatta. Since he'd started staying away from home he'd found himself much more on edge and far more easily rattled by this kind of thing.

"I don't care about the rain. Let's go." He muttered, putting his hands in his pockets and pacing out of the alley, not bothered by his shoes being consumed by the puddle he stomped through. He looked down the road and saw two dark figures who looked like a person and a small pokémon. The pair of them tiptoed through the shadows and squinted in an attempt to get a better look. Was that a Magma goon?

"Look, Squirt. A Magma." He said, crouching down and pushing Squirt back. He didn't want to draw attention to them, not from a Magma grunt anyway. He looked around and he didn't see any of his Magma friends nearby though, which gave him an idea.

"Do you think we can take them?" Karuto asked, but the look on Squirt's face indicated a clear 'no'. "Come on, look at them. They don't look too tough, they're easy pickings. We might not get an opportunity like this again for a while."

Squirt still didn't look convinced but Karuto wasn't bothered by that. He wasn't going to miss the chance to beat a Magma in battle because a Squirtle had stage fright. Water splashed everywhere as he leapt out of the darkness and into the middle of the road, followed reluctantly by Squirt.

"Hey! Who are-" The grunt span around and was about to bark an order at his Poochyena, but Karuto was too quick.

"Bubble!" He shouted, and Squirt instantly followed his command. The bubbles hit the pokémon but he didn't seem even slightly fazed.

"Get him!" The grunt roared, flinging his arm forward. The Poochyena flew forwards and tackled Squirt, knocking him to the floor.

"Use bite! Again!" Poochyena carried on his attack and Squirt seemed completely helpless.

"Come on, don't give in so easily! Bubble again!" Karuto ordered but it was no use. Squirt was taking a horrendous beating, and it was all Karuto's fault. He couldn't believe that he'd been so foolish, there was no way Squirt could beat a grunt.

"No... No!" He shouted, just in time to see the Poochyena climb off. Was the battle over? No, it looked more like he was getting ready for another attack.

"Not if I can stop you..." Karuto muttered, pulling Squirt's ball from his belt and recalling him. Squirt disappeared not even a second before the Poochyena lunged forwards again, teeth bared and growling. For a brief moment Karuto's eyes met the grunt's and then the pokémon's. There was a moment of silence and then all hell broke loose.

"Get back here!" the grunt shouted, but Karuto was long gone. He dashed back into the alleyway and ran faster than he'd ever ran in his entire life. Terror gripped him as water splashed around his ankles, not daring to look back and see if he was being chased. As he ran past bins he knocked them to the ground to slow down any attackers but knew that it wouldn't be much use. He was desperate though, he'd never got himself in such a big mess. He was so scared that it was more than a minute before he realised that he'd left the alleyway and was charging down one of the main roads.

"A pokémon center... that's where I need to get to." Karuto thought aloud, just to hear the sound of his voice and remind himself he hadn't died from terror alone. He finally gathered the strength to look over his shoulder and nearly passed out from the relief of not seeing anyone there. With relief come a sense of reality however, and the painful raindrops that felt more like hailstones were part of that reality. His hands fell to his knees as he panted heavily, trying to get his breath back after that mad dash. The grunt probably just couldn't be bothered with him, Karuto either couldn't have been worth the trouble or he'd got somewhere else he needed to be. Karuto wasn't going to question his good fortune though, just thank the heavens for it.

When he'd recovered he started walking. By now he was drenched to the bone so he didn't care in the slightest about wading through the deep puddles. It wasn't long before he found his way to the pokémon center and stepped in, leaving puddles of his own as the water ran from him and onto the previously clean floor. He approached the desk and unclipped Squirt's pokéball from his belt, holding it in his outstretched hand.

"My Squirtle's badly injured. Can you help him?"

This post has been edited by Xal: Feb 27 2010, 05:09 AM