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Posted by: Alex Slasher Mar 4 2010, 01:26 PM

The Lion Sleeps tonight

Dawn over Barley was always a pretty nice affair. Alex woke up, yawning as he stretched his muscles, not unlike a cat. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Today, he was leaving on the S.S. Empress to go to Fidona. Alex smiled as he turned his body to face the wall opposite him. It was a relatively small room, but Alex didn't care. It was only temporary, after all.

Alex presently got out of bed, and went towards his backpack. It was a relatively big backpack, but Alex was still shocked at the fact that it could hold his five change of clothes and on top of that all his other stuff, like his Pokemon, his wallet, his notebook, his phone, his food pack, his Ipod, his DS, Pokemon food and lots of other things. He rummaged around inside this backpack, and picked out his outfit for today: a Yellow T-shirt and blue jeans. The Yellow T-shirt had a picture of the three Hoenn starters on it. Alex owned all three of these, in the forms of Treecky, Blaze and Swamps.

Alex put on these clothes, and then got up, going downstairs into the hallway of the hotel. He saw the receptionist. He and his friends had already been acquainted earlier. She was a lovely old woman, full of a strong passion for life and very nice to all she met.
"Mornin', Mrs. Greaves!" he said
"Good morning, young Alex."
"Could you pass a note on to my friends? I'm just going out to replenish my supplies and all of that stuff. I'm having breakfast next door."
"Ok. That's fine. Will I be seeing you later?"
"Probably."
Alex left the Hotel Tuxen, heading out to the small food shop in the town, Jamison's. Once there, he bought some food. He ate quite healthily, so took a lot of dried fruit, as well as an apple for today's lunch. He also got a big pack of Doritos crisps, his favourite, as well as a large pack of Yorkie bars. Finally, he bought a bunch of Cokes. Thanking the store clerk, he left, going towards the small restaurant next to his hotel. He sat down, and before long a waiter came to the table.
"Can I get sir anything?" he asked.
"I'm no sir. But I'd like some cereal please, and some toast. Butter and Nutella to go with please."
"Certainly."

As Alex waited for his food, his eyes wandered to the door. As he did this, the door opened. In came the boy who Alex expected to see the least. Thomas Hawk. Thomas, or Tom as he was called, was quite a good friend of Alex'. They met quite recently, whilst Alex was near Gigarte, Tom's home town. The two boys had got reasonably close in this small time.
"Tom!" he exclaimed.
"Alex? Is that really you?" replied the blond, muscular youth, clearly happy and shocked at the same time.
"What are you doing in this neck of Furoh?" asked Alex.
"Oh, y' know, jus' going to Fidona. I heard there's a little co-ordinating contest or something, nothing major, it's just I need to fine tune my skills a little."
"I'm going there to get my badge. Also, me and my new friends are visiting Fidona ruins. It's gonna be real fun!"
"New friends?"
"Tikal Faylen and Tyson Parker. They're coming on the boat with me. I met them along the north route, not long after you left! We went to a little island where we freed some Pokemon from Team Deception."
"Cool. You'll have to tell me about this little adventure of yours. I'll tell you my travels after."
Alex began telling Tom the story of the Island.

Posted by: Protoman Mar 4 2010, 02:32 PM

Within the grassy forest filled with lush green trees and berries of every kind, Tyson Parker, along with his mulish Squirtle, Hydro, were searching for a new member of their team. Tyson, unlike most people, has kept his same two Pokemon within his recent journey, making him feel slightly annoyed at this.

"Aw man," Tyson groaned in frustration, not quite the happy camper in this situation, "what's the deal? Can I get a Caterpie or something?" As soon as he said this, a Caterpie scampered by him. "I didn't mean literally a Caterpie, but, okay! Hydro, you know what to-" With a swoop from above, a bird began to fly towards the bug Pokemon, attempting to peck it mercilessly. "Okay," Tyson stated in utter confusion, "that will work too. Hydro, use Bubble, followed by Aqua Jet!" With a nod, Hydro blew a few bubbles at the bird, making it turn around. The bird, now discovered as a Pidgey, had a rather aggravated look, flapping its wings in frustration. After Hydro came towards him, the Pidgey simply flew upwards to avoid the attack. Hydro stopped abruptly, looking at the bird until it dive-bombed him. Once the bird reached Hydro, he began to peck him relentlessly. Hydro, not knowing what to do, began to run around in pain.

"Hydro!" Tyson yelled out as the Pidgey continued to peck at the Squirtle. Hydro began to get aggravated, deciding to withdraw into his shell, causing the Pidgey to flap its wings and land slightly in front of Hydro's shell. After cocking his head to the side, the Pidgey drew a final conclusion: enter the shell. As he entered, he began pecking the poor Squirtle once again, causing the shell to bounce slightly. "Oh come on! Hydro, get him out of your shell!" By finally coming out as well, Hydro had had enough. Engulfing himself in a veil of water, with the Pidgey still there, Hydro took off, knocking the Pidgey into a tree. After sinking, Hydro looked at the bird darkly, preparing to hit it again, but was stopped by Tyson before anything else could happen. Pulling out a small red and white sphere, Tyson pushed a button on it, tossing it lightly at the Pidgey, tapping its belly with it. In a flash of red light, the Pidgey went inside of the sphere, letting it fall lazily to the ground. It jiggled once, making Tyson sweat slightly. A second jiggle made the sweat increase. The third jiggle made Tyson lick his lips in anticipation. Finally, a soft "click" was heard from the sphere, signifying the capture of a new Pokemon. With a feeling of success, Tyson breathed easy, happy to have a third Pokemon.

"Alright," Tyson said, tossing the Poke Ball containing his new Pidgey into the air, "front and center!" With a flash of brilliant white light and a spreading of wings, Pidgey was revealed, seeing Hydro and still was mad. He swooped down, pecking Hydro angrily, making the turtle run around in pain once more. "Hydro! Return!" Tyson called out, to prevent Hydro from getting more lumps. With a red beam touching his back, Hydro returned to his spherical home, with Tyson placing it back inside of his holster. Tyson looked around, picking up one of each kind of berry: Aspear for sour, Cherri for spicy, Rawst for bitter, Pecha for sweet, and Chesto for dry. The Pidgey simply stared as he spread out the five berries, waiting for the Pidgey to make his choice. As the Pidgey finally understood what Tyson was doing, he made his way towards the Cherri Berry, pecking it lightly at first, before completely devouring it. "Well," Tyson concluded, "you like spicy foods." Tyson returned the Pidgey to his Poke Ball, returning to where they were resting.

Posted by: rt117 Mar 4 2010, 06:33 PM

From behind Tyson clapping could be heard, a slender figure moving from the shade of the trees and towards him. Tikal had followed him out on his journey to capture another Pokemon, and so she had decided to watch from the shade of a lush green tree as the sun's light grew stronger with the passing time. After all, she didn't want to break Tyson and Hydro's concentration during battle, as she knew of his determination to catch a Pokemon before they set out for the next island.

"I guess it'll take some time for Pidgey to relieve its feelings against Hydro?" She asked, shading her eyes from the light with one hand, holding a small camera in the other. During the time they had spent getting to know each other after leaving the island, Tikal revealed that one of her past times included photography, something she considered herself to only be an amateur at.

After asking him the question she glanced down at the screen, flicking through a few pictures she had taken of the battle, one of which being the unfortunate humiliation of Hydro after the Pidgey took the fight to his home within the shell. She smiled slightly at the photo before flicking the power switch off and stowing the device away into her pocket. She would go through all of the pictures later, though she was a bit discouraged at the fact that she had forgotten to take any pictures of the beach yet even though they spent much time there.

Tikal smiled to herself, remembering they still had to wait for Alex to get ready, and even then there would still be some time before the ship came in, which would give her a chance to take a few more pictures before they set out. The gym battle that Alex looked forward to however was also something she didn't want to miss, never having seen a proper gym battle. She had always considered taking part in a gym battle, though she didn't think her Pokemon would be ready just yet. She made a note to herself to ask Tyson to help her train a bit once they reached the next island.

A light pink head poked over Tikal's shoulder to watch Tyson with big red eyes. Igglybuff had spent the majority of the trip to the forest searching around the berry bushes to look for Pecha Berries. And so now she sat on Tikal's shoulder, mouth full with the sweet pink-orange berries as they began to walk back.

Returning back to reality once again, Tikal took notice of her Pokemon, who seemed rather content with its finds. "So have you thought of a name for it?" she asked, plucking Igglybuff from her shoulder and carrying her in her arms. Igglybuff let out a happy cry as she was held, something that Tikal learned the baby Pokemon liked. She was not one to name her Pokemon, with the excuse that naming things was not her specialty. However she didn't realize until now that she was the only one of the group with nickname-less Pokemon.

Posted by: Metal Nate Mar 5 2010, 06:53 AM

Nate woke up in his home to his normal alarm, the sound of boats and ferries blasting their horns as they left the dock. He grabbed his bag, equipped with only a couple of potions, berries, and a couple of Pokeballs. He also got his belt, fit with three Pokeballs. All of them were empty, as he usually lets his Pokemon sleep outside of them. His room still stuffed with his other belongings, he grabbed the ones he would find useful on his upcoming journey. "Ipod, check...Food, check...Darnit, I know I have to be forgetting something." Then he remembered, "Ah crud, where did I put my PokeDex?"

He frantically searched his room, looking everywhere for this very important device. As he was looking he heard his father shout, "Nate, get down here and eat your breakfast!" Nate called back, "One second Dad!" He then continued to look for his device. His room was totally ransacked when his father walked in, PokeDex in hand taunting Nate, "Looking for this?" His dad then looked at the room, "Don't worry about the room, I'll have your mother clean it." They both started laughing.

Nate followed his Dad to the kitchen, where his mom, Yamii, Lockjaw, and Metal were all eating their breakfast. Nate was getting his favorite before he was leaving, sausage egg and cheese on a biscuit, as his dad wanted him to feel as if he would be missed. "So Nate," his father was about to ask a very important question, "where are you headed first, Fidona?" Nate completely forgot, he did need a plan of where to go, "Yeah, Fidona sounds fine." His father laughed and said, "Well you better go get a ticket for the S.S. Empress pretty soon." At that Nate jumped up, called all of his Pokemon to their transportable homes and headed to go get a ticket as he heard his parents yelling various goodbyes.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Apr 30 2010, 04:43 AM

Once Alex had finished his story, the boys left the restaurant.
"Sounds like you've had a pretty cool time mate." said Tom.
"Yeah. It's been cool. Anyway, what's been going on your side then?"
"Only a couple of minutes after you left, I got a call from my mum. She said I had to rush home. So Tweet flew me back quickly and I hurried into my house.
There I got a nasty surprise; A horrible man was trying to steal all our possessions. I fought him off, luckily- a Pokemon wound can really hurt. Once I'd done so, this guy came out and said congrats to me. He set he'd set it all up, and apologized a lot. He said he really could see my potential as a trainer. I was pretty shocked and happy at the same time. My mum was there so I knew it wasn't a sham. Then he said he was the Famous Jonny Togas! You know, the one who does those really cool TV battles. I told him I was a contest person, not a gym challenger. He said that was a shame, but then I told him about you and he got pretty excited. He ran off, presumably to look for you and "test" your skills. In that time I challenged the contest in Gigarte and I failed, unfortunately. But I'm not giving up! I will do it!" Tom paused here, with a slightly angry look in his eyes. Alex knew it; the look of defiance.
"Did he come back, the guy?" asked Alex.
"Oh Yeah! I forgot that bit. Once I'd been at home for a little while, he came back, saying he'd scoured Furoh but couldn't find you anywhere! Then we saw this thing on the news about an island where Team Deception had worked. There was no one on the island but a huge explosion had just occurred there. He raced off towards the island. I saw an advert advertising the contest in Fidona, and I figured I needed to go there to improve, and besides, I guessed that the island had something to do with you. So I flew here. And here I am now."

By now, Alex and Tom were at the harbour, waiting to get on the ferry, which would leave in an hour. They would wait for Tyson and Tikal, and then would get on the boat. Alex was daydreaming as he usually did about Pokemon, when a teen suddenly ran into him. Alex guessed his age at roughly the same as his.
"Hey, what are you so hurried about? This Ferry isn't leaving until 9:30!"
"Sorry." apologised the boy.
"Hey. It's nothing. So, you're going to Fidona too? What's your name?"
"Nate Redwood."
"Cool. I'm Alex."

Posted by: rt117 May 2 2010, 03:27 PM

"Hey Tyson! We should get going!" Tikal called to him as she began to walk back towards the path which would lead back into town. Tikal didn't have an idea on the time, and had wanted to stay a little longer to replenish her berry supply, as she didn't believe that strongly in the use of Potions for healing Pokemon. However she didn't want to keep Alex waiting if they headed out too late. "I'll race you there!"

Without even looking back to Tyson to see if he had been listening, she took off, sprinting back onto the path and towards Barley. She kept a firm grip on Igglybuff, a bit too tightly as the small Pokemon squirmed a bit in her grasp. "We're almost there, don't worry." she spoke quickly, not wanting to lose her breath.

From Alex and Nate's position they could see a girl running towards them, wearing a red vest covering an orange shirt, as well as a pair of tattered jeans. In her arms appeared to be a squishy light pink orb, adorned with a small tuft of hair. As Tikal spotted them, she came to a halt, nearly falling over in the process.

"I'm here...Alex...are we...late?" she panted, doubled over a bit as she caught her breath. Regaining her posture, she glanced behind her, having expected Tyson to be following. However he was nowhere to be found. "I hope he makes it in time..." she frowned, before turning back to the two, examining Nate with her light brown eyes, which were partially covered by her messy brown hair.

"Oh, I don't believe we've ever met. My name is Tikal Faylen, and this is one of my Pokemon, Igglybuff." she introduced, relaxing her grip on the Baby Pokemon, who gave her a glare before waving her tiny arms in greeting.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 3 2010, 02:13 PM

"It's no Probs, Tikal. Hey Tyson!" Alex said, gesturing towards the boy, who had just arrived. "And the ferry is about to leave just about now, actually! He exclaimed, and they all started to rush aboard the boat, which would very soon leave. They had to run pretty fast, but luckily, they made it on on time.
---
As they were running, Thomas slowed down a little to speak to Tikal.
"H-ey Th-ere!" Thomas said, panting slightly from the running. He gained his breath a bit before continuing.
"My name is Thomas. Thomas Hawk. People call me Tom. And as you can guess, I don't do much excercise. I'm a co-ordinator. What about you?"
---
Once they made it onto the boat, a jolly looking man with a sailor's hat and bright orange uniform came up to them.
"Aharr! Here dey arr, Cap'n!" he exclaimed in his jolly sailor's language.
A Plump man wearing a captain's hat and a cloak appeared from a cabin.
"Fergus, I do wish you'd stop the whole pirate act. It's getting annoying. Anyway" he said, turning to Alex and his friends "Hello. Welcome to the S.S. Empress. I'm Captain Gareth, and this here is the chef, Fergus. As you may see, we are a rather small vessel, in fact I do believe there are only ten other passengers other than yourselves on this boat. Therefore, there is a small, old-fashioned Crew- Myself the Captain, the Navigations officer, the chef, and three other sailors, the crew. I'll get another sailor to show you to your rooms. JHONNY!"

Very quickly, a Mischievous looking young sailor came dashing in.
"Aye, Aye, Cap'n!"
Captain Gareth sighed, and Jhonny lead the Travellers towards their cabins.
"We like to annoy the captain by acting like pirates." he said, chuckling. He lead them down some confusing corridors until he showed them two doors.
"OK, so Thomas Hawk, Nate Redwood, Alex Slasher, you shall reside in Cabin 3. Tikal Faylen, Tyson Parker, Cabin 4. Have a nice trip!" then Jhonny left, leaving the travellers to settle in their new rooms.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 3 2010, 04:17 PM

Tikal smiled lightly as she watched Thomas struggle to catch his breath. If he got tired out simply from trying to catch up to the boat, then he was really out of shape. Especially since she had run from the outskirts of the city, to the port, and then to the boat with only a minute to catch her breath. Then again living outside the city was considered to be more of a healthy lifestyle than its alternative.

"My name's Tikal Faylen, and I'm only a trainer right now. I hate to ask, but what exactly do you 'co-ordinate'?" she replied, seeming a bit confused about his position. Tikal had never been to a Pokemon Contest, let alone ever hearing of one. She was still learning after all.

Before he could answer, Fergus had appeared to greet them, and soon they had been shown their private quarters for the journey. Tikal peeked inside the room she would be sharing with Tyson, noticing that it seemed rather cramped. "I guess he wasn't lying when he said that this was a small vessel." she thought, before releasing Igglybuff from her arms, allowing the small Pokemon to explore the room and kill some time.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 4 2010, 10:14 AM

Alex, at the heart of it, was still quite a young child really. He loved playing around, and was very childish most of his spare time. He was a master of trivial things. Simiarly, Thomas still hadn't lost all his childishness, although was more mature than Alex. Perhaps it was Alex' way to escape his harrowing experiences of loss, close-call deaths, desperation that he'd felt on much of his recent adventures. When he lost Blaze, he very nearly lost his calm and cool completely, but regaining his friend made him calmer once more. In contrast, Tom had had very few serious things happen to him, so needed less escaping from his new self. But he was still a child inside.

So that is why as soon as the twqo boys entered the room, they started squabbling as to who would have the Top bunk. In the room was a bunk bed and a normal bed.
"I want it!" said Alex.
"That's not fair!" whined Tom. "why should you get it?"
"Because I got the tickets!"
"Yeah, but not for ME!"
"Whatever. It's still mine!"
"Not, it's mine!"
Alex smiled slyly.
"Let's have a battle to decide! One on one, four Pokemon Each. I won't use Treecky."
"I accept your challenge, Alex Slasher!"
"Ok then. Go, Leo!" shouted alex throwing his Pokeball. Out came his Shinx, clearly fired up.
"Oh, so you got another one. Geez Al, you're good! But anyway, let's go, Rai!" Tom threw his Pokeball and the Electric Mouse Pikachu came out, his cheeks sparking up already.
"This is going to be a good one!" exclaimed Alex.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 4 2010, 02:54 PM

At the commotion coming from the other room, Tikal decided to go see what they were arguing about, and so opened their door quietly and poked her head inside. From her place she could see the two facing off, Alex's Shinx and Tom's Pikachu looking prepped for battle.

In a heartbeat she remembered that they were still on a boat, and that the crew might not appreciate making a mess of the small cabins they had been given. She definitely did not want to get kicked off before they even left after all, and she wouldn't appreciate them being the cause for that. However despite her worry she was more than willing to watch them, as it'd give her some ideas for her own strategies.

"Do you think they'll mind you two fighting in your room? At least take it outside so that you don't make a mess of the place." Tikal finally spoke up. she wanted to make sure that they knew that what they were about to do could get them into trouble.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 6 2010, 04:30 AM

Alex turned round, listening to Tikal's remark.
"Erm... Good point Tikal. Let's take this outdoors, Tom."
A couple of minutes later, they were all outside on deck, Rai and Leo facing eachother, both still looking fired up for the battle.
"Leo, Quick attack!" shouted Alex, and the little Shinx started running, zigzagging across the decks with huge Speed, before launching himself at Rai, who could only watch as Leo's momentum crashed into him. This all happened in three seconds. Even Alex was shocked at the Speed Leo had.
"Um... Well..." he said, before regaining his composure and ordering a second move.
"Use Bite!" he exclaimed, and Leo once more rapidly charged at Rai and use Bite. Rai, who'd only just recovered from the Quick attack, took a step back, and winced. He was flinching! Bite's secondary effect had worked! Alex excitedly turned to Leo, and was about to call another attack when he realized that although Bite had worked, so had Rai's Static. Leo was Paralyzed! Alex remembered that Tom had hinted that his attack strategy was different to Alex's attack, attack, attack strategy, but Alex hadn't guessed he was a Status battler!
Leo, luckily, was an Electric type, so Paralysis did not affect him as much, so Alex ordered a Charge Beam. Leo shot a beam of light at Rai, but Rai was no longer where he had beam. Tom's starter Pokemon was already building up the same Speed that Leo had used on him, using Quick attack. Leo frantically shot wildly around where the Electric Mouse might be, but it didn't work; Rai crashed into Leo, and he staggered back. He shook his head, concentrating on the battle.
"OK then Leo, let's play him at that game shall we?" Alex said, and Leo nodded, starting up a Quick Attack. But as Alex watched, he could see that Rai was doing the exact same thing, except that the Pikachu was also doing something else. He was building up power. The two Pokemon crashes into the air in the middle, and Rai let loose a powerful Thundershock. It connected powerfully with Leo, and both Pokemon fell down. Only one would get back up to win the battle. And that Pokemon was Rai. Alex bowed his head.
"Well done, Leo! Come back!"
"You too, Rai!"

Alex couldn't decide who to send out next. His hand hovered over his three remaining Pokeballs, until finally, he decided.
"Go, Rose!" shouted Tom, and Alex smirked. He now had a type advantage.
"Blaze, GO!" he yelled, throwing the Pokeball into the centre of the battle ring. By now, all the people on the boat apart from the captain were watching the battle. Alex saw Tom's face drop. Tom knew fully well that he'd have to work extra hard now. Blaze, by himself, was an experienced and powerful battler. He was Alex' starter Pokemon, a Torchic. Presently, the two Pokemon faced off, circling eachother. Alex knew what he'd do straight away. He knew Rose could have one of two abilities; one of which was Poison point, he didn't want any physical contact therefore, so tapped his foot once. Blaze nodded slightly, acknowledged this. The face off continued, and Alex knew that Blaze was building up his power, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Go for the sleep powder, Rose!" shouted Tom, who it seemed was getting bored of nothing happening. But Blaze was ready. Before Rose could even form any Powder, Blaze let loose a hugely powerful roasting Ember, that hit its target right on cue. Rose was visibly weakened by this, and Alex tapped his foot three times. Blaze ran at Rose, and used Peck. It was over quickly. Rose fainted, and both Trainers returned their Pokemon.
"Alex, I've been thinking. We should make the next two our last one. After all, what happens if we each win another one? Then nothing gets decided."
"Good point. I'll leave Swamps out of the battle then."
"OK, then Tweet won't fight."
Alex knew Tom's last Pokemon; Staa the Shiny Staryu. Likewise, Alex knew that Tom knew he had Stryk, his Starly. It was going to be tense.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 6 2010, 08:50 AM

Following them up and out onto the deck, Tikal had made sure to get the best spot for the match, being their first spectator of course. With her camera in hand, she moved into a crouching position before the fight began, taking a few snapshots of Leo and Rai. As the battle began she got a few more, but because of the constant movement of the two electric types, most of the images had ended up becoming blurry.

A bit disheartened at the results, she tried to keep Blaze and Rose in frame when their turn came. Tikal was a bit more successful on this part, as the two Pokemon were not constantly running around the deck and ruining her shots. As the fight ended, she took a bit of time to go through the photos she had already taken before moving back into her position.

As Tikal got herself ready, she felt Igglybuff bump into her leg, the Pokemon clearly looking a bit distressed about being on a boat. It had been obvious why she was so afraid, given the events that had led up to her capture. With a smile she nodded and pulled out her Pokeball, returning the small Pokemon. She would let her friend back out once they were back inside the cabin, and there was no visible water around them to remind them where they were.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 8 2010, 02:33 PM

Stryk came out, as she always did, with a very defensive fierce piercing look to her eyes. In contrast, Staa the Staryu had no expression on its face. It was a non-gendered Pokemon, it didn't do emotions! The contrasts between these two Pokemon didn't stop at their facial expression however. Their stances were totally different. Stryk flapped around in the air, circling the Staryu. Staa was grounded and didn't move. Their movepools were different too!
"Stryk, Wing attack, quick!" yelled Alex jubilantly. Stryk simply zoomed down from the sky at Staryu. But Tom was ready too.
"Staa, use protect!" he said. Staa started spinning around on the floor in defence. Stryk tried desperately to break the defence, but she couldn't!
"Quick attack, before he can use it again!" exclaimed Alex. Stryk dived at Staa, taking it down.
"Combo with Peck!" said Alex. Stryk pecked viciously at Staa, injuring it further.
"Quick, counter with Water gun!" shouted Tom. Staa blasted Stryk back into the sky with its powerful blast of water. It kept shooting out water though!
"Evade the water gun, and wing attack!" said Alex Stryk dodged this way, flew the other, until finally whacking the Staryu with a powerful wing attack. This battle was over quickly. Staa had been battered very quickly and very fiercly, and the battle was over. Alex had won the battle and the top bunk in their cabin!

Alex and Thomas each called back their Pokemon, before stepping into the middle of the arena and shaking hands. They were good friends, so the only thing that mattered here was that they'd eazch learned some more about battling. Alex had learnt the importance of status problems, and Thomas had learnt that the Speed stat is a vital one. The pair broke through the crowd, heading back to their cabin, for it was nearly lunchtime, and both boys were feeling hungry after their battle.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 8 2010, 07:38 PM

"That was pretty quick." Tikal stated as she pushed herself up to her feet, eyes stuck down on her camera's screen to look up at them to notice they were no longer there. Because Alex and Tom's battle had been so short, she was a bit disappointed in the fact she wasn't able to get as many decent pictures as she had wanted. Maybe when Alex started his first Gym Leader battle she could get the perfect shot. However that required patience, and when it came to something she loved, she could not be that patient.

By the time she finally rose her head to talk to them and show them the images on her device, she found that both of them had gone. "Didn't even say anything..." she mumbled with a frown, her finger moving towards the power button to turn the camera off, knowing its location on the device without needing to be looked at. Tikal shoved the camera into her pocket before scanning the dispersing crowd in an attempt to find them.

"They probably went back to their cabin..." she thought out loud, before running off to the stairs leading to the cabins. While she was a little annoyed at being left behind, she would feel much better once she showcased her art to them, as she could never get upset when it came to her photography. If they made any negative comments though... then they would get it. But for now she didn't think that would be a problem.

"You know, it's not polite to leave a girl behind!" Tikal called as she spotted them standing in the hall way and opening their cabin door, sliding to a halt just beside them. Remembering a promise she had made earlier, she pulled one of her Pokeballs out and released Igglybuff, who now seemed a little more calm now that there was no risk of falling into any more open water.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 11 2010, 10:34 PM

With a stretch and a yawn, Tyson finally awoke from his brief nap on his lounging chair. He got up, promptly went to his quarters, and made himself finally wake up, just to flop onto the bed. With a soft thud, Tyson simply stared at the decorated ceiling. It was a peachy color, showing a picture of a flock of Pidgeotto flying within the sky. Tyson, thinking about his Pidgey, Aero, gazed at the Poke Ball he used to catch it.

"What am I gonna do," Tyson asked himself, feeling almost totally disgruntled about how his Pidgey acted at first. He soon got over this, putting the red and white sphere back in his holster. Finally awake, Tyson stood up, walking out of his room to where the others were. "Hey guys," Tyson stated before getting no response at all from Alex. Tyson shrugged and sat next to Tikal, trying to keep her company, since he wanted to become more than "friends".

Posted by: rt117 Jun 11 2010, 10:49 PM

Having not gotten much of a response out of the two, she turned her attention over to Tyson, who had finally decided to wake up and join them. "Had enough sleep?" she asked with a giggle, before greeting him properly with a warming hug. She wasn't really sure how else she could have greeted him, what with the start of their new relationship and all. It was something she would need to start getting used to. "You missed out on a great battle you know. This will keep you caught up..."

Releasing him, Tikal rummaged through one of her pockets before pulling out her camera, the silver finish on the case making it shine slightly in the light. With the press of a button the device came to life, the screen on her side flickering and showing the last picture she had taken. Tikal began to scroll through the pictures before it until she found the first one she had taken of Alex and Tom's battle, just after a rather embarrassing photo of Aero 'savagely' attacking Hydro while in his shell. "You know how to use one of these, right?"

Posted by: Protoman Jun 11 2010, 11:11 PM

"Of course," Tyson said, grinning widely and scratching the back of his head. In a flash of light, Blaze and Hydro both came from their containment chambers to greet Tikal and her Igglybuff.

"Squirtle Squirt!" Hydro said, folding his arms after seeing the picture that embarrassed him entirely. Blaze saw the camera and began to sniff it, not knowing what else to do. Tyson smiled at this, knowing how Blaze felt to come in contact with something new. Another flash revealed Aero, Tyson's third Pokemon, who looked at Hydro and swooped down onto him again, commencing the brutal pecking he started back in the forest. Tyson began to sweat at this sight, plucking Aero gently from Hydro's shell. The firey Pidgey glared at Hydro, then turning his attention to Blaze. The Pidgey looked at Blaze, cocking his head to the side and continuously gazing at the Cyndaquil, who simply gazed back and smiled. The Pidgey, understanding this as a sign of friendship, became happy as well.

"Go figure," Tyson said to Tikal, "Blaze is more of a friend maker than Hydro. How ironic." With a chuckle, Tyson simply patted Hydro, who kept a grimace on his face. With Aero finally calm and no longer bothering Hydro, the group sat down and devoured the berries that Tyson picked. "You're a great photographer, Tikal," Tyson complimented her, placing his hand onto hers. "You should keep doing this as well as being a Pokemon Trainer. No one can stop you from going as far as you can."

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 12 2010, 06:59 AM

Alex simply hadn't heard Tikal. He was wondering where she was; she'd been at the battle, hadn't she? And then there was Tyson. Where was he? He'd been asleep for ages, Alex knew that, but he MUST be awake by now!
"I'll go look for Tikal and Tyson," said Alex to Tom and Nate. Tom shook his head.
"Leave me out of some investigation, will you?" he asked, smiling mischievously at Alex.
"I'd never dream of it!" Alex said, chuckling slightly. Tom was a very kind person, dedicated to his Pokemon and a master at battling, but he was also the one person who Alex knew who could really lift a mood.
"OK then. Go, Tweet!" said Tom, throwing his Tailow's Pokeball. The swallow Pokemon came out in a cheery mood, with a cute grin on its face. It started zipping around the room.
"Nice. Tweet is going to become a really good Swellow! I think I'll give Treecky a run around, along with Swamps." Alex said, and threw his two Pokeballs. Swamps came out in a similar mood to Tweet, cheerful and cute looking, and immediately started nuzzling Alex Alex. Alex smiled, picking Swamps up and placing him on his shoulder. Treecky however, was in his usual grumpy old man mood. He seemed to be a little grateful to Alex for letting him out, but as usual he was sulking. Alex didn't know of a nature like Treecky's! It was quite interesting, as Treecky completely obeyed Alex and respected him a lot, he was just grumpy all the time!
"Dude, have you seen Treecky's sulk?"
"He's just grumpy. He'll always be like that, I reckon. Just the same way that Stryk will always be a vicious mother hen, and Blaze will always be a shy but loving Pokemon, and Swamps will always be soft and nice and love me a lot. Actually, that reminds me. I don't really know Leo very well, do I?" Alex threw Leo's Pokeball, and out came Leo, smiling maliciously.
"OK then. Looks like you're the Naughty one!" Alex exclaimed, laughing.

Tom and Alex then headed into Tikal and Tyson's cabin, after having knocked to make sure they weren't busy. They saw Tikal looking at a digital camera. Alex went up and sat down on the other side that Tyson was on to her, and looked at the camera. What he saw made him feel extra cool. There, on the screen, was a picture of him doing a pose that emanated cool, which he didn't even realize he did!
"Tikal, you are an extremely talented person, you know that, right?" he said, gazing at her work in awe.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 12 2010, 07:48 AM

Tyson looked up and saw Alex looking at Tikal's camera. With a smile, he cleared his throat briefly, trying to get Alex's attention.

"Well, look who's here," Tyson said with a little hint of humor in his voice, "thanks for joining us, man." Aero, who had just noticed Alex, flapped fiercely before swooping towards him. He landed on Alex's shoulder, pecking lightly at his neck, just to show that he was present and accounted for as well. "What's the plan, man?" Tyson asked Alex, who apparently had been named leader of their group.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 12 2010, 11:57 AM

Tikal grinned sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head, not quiet expecting such a positive review. Sure the pictures were good, but she hadn't thought that they were as great as the two made them seem. At least they liked them though, so that was all that mattered. "Thanks!" Tikal replied finally, feeling a bit better now with her progress. She watched in amusement as Tyson's new Pokemon too to 'greeting' Alex. Deciding to let her friends out, she turned off the camera and stowed it away in a pocket, before pulling out three other Pokeballs.

In bright flashes of light, Tikal's Charmander, Totodile, and Nidoran were set loose in the room. Nidoran was fast asleep, hunched up in a ball with his ears twitching cautiously. It was clear he was still exhausted after the battles on the island. Totodile was the far opposite, jumping up in down as a form of cheer, before rushing over to greet his fellow Water types. Charmander simply yawned, a few embers escaping his mouth, before wandering over to meet Blaze.

Igglybuff, who had taken to sitting on Tikal's shoulder as she presented Tyson and Alex with the pictures of the battle earlier, took to floating down to see the others, having the least amount of experience with the group. She was obviously a bit shy and nervous, especially near Totodile. From her observation she decided to go greet Blaze first, obviously being the friendliest of the group. However she kept close to Charmander, just in case something were to go wrong.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 13 2010, 05:06 AM

"I like your Pidgey, dude!" said Alex, smiling at Aero pecked him curiously. Alex then went on to answer Tyson's question.
"I still can't believe I'm like, the youngest out of us three and I'm regarded as the leader!" he exclaimed "Anyway, tomorrow evening, we'll get into Fidona. We sleep the night in the Pokemon center, and then in the morning you and I shall take on the Gym. Then whatever happens, we go watch Tom's Co-ordinators' contest thing. Then we go visit the famous ruins, before going on a little walk through the forest."
"Alex, you sure the walk on the forest's a good idea?" asked Tom.
"Yeah? Why wouldn't it be?" replied the 14 year old.
"Well, um... never mind."

Alex sat and closed his eyes, thinking. His first Gym was coming up. He knew from many people what type it was; Water/Fighting. He'd Use Stryk, Treecky and Leo.
It'll be fine, you'll see, he thought to himself as he felt his nerves starting to build. This point of his life important to him; it would determine how good a trainer he was, if he could just beat the Gym leader. He was thinking up mad battle strategies in his head, his mind working as fast as a bullet. What would he do here? And what if that happened. Alex was determined to achieve greatness.

Tom Hawk, meanwhile, was doing similar things in his head, thinking silently about his co-ordinators' contest. He'd use Rose, he knew that, and probably Rai. He tried to think of clever battle strategies, but at the moment, he was just psyching himself up. Getting ready, for two days time.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 13 2010, 04:19 PM

"Sounds cool man," Tyson said before receiving a surge of pain rush through his skull. In complete pain, he gripped his head, preventing himself from screaming. Blaze, Hydro, and Aero all looked at him, hoping he was going to be alright. Tyson rushed back to his quarters, knocking the door open and collapsing onto his bed in pain. With his head throbbing and making him weak, Tyson slowly fell into an unconscious state within his bed. Darkness surrounded Tyson, causing him to panic at first. He then calmed down, looking around him as the scenery began coming back. However, he was not on the ship, but in Fidona, standing face to face with the Gym Leader and with Aero flapping above.

With a wide grin, Tyson was about to give a command to Aero, but the scenery turned dark once more. Within a blink of his eyes, he saw the outside parts of the ruins, and was standing next to Tikal and Alex. Without another word, all three of them began walking into the ruins, where everything turned dark once more. He then saw himself holding four Poke Balls instead of three, making little to no sense as to what that meant. Shortly afterwards, a white flash of light blinded Tyson, allowing him to be awakened by Blaze, Hydro, and Aero. With his eyes squinted, Tyson looked at his team, happy with the development he had seen.

Finally, with the pain gone, Tyson went back to his friends, sitting down in a beach chair near Tikal and the others. Hydro, Blaze, and Aero all scampered out, ready to play with the others in whatever game they were willing to play.

"Hey you guys," Blaze said, smiling rather widely, "Let's play tag!"

"No way," Hydro said to his friend, "You guys are gonna do that by yourselves."

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 14 2010, 10:16 AM

Alex had hated it when this had happened before. He hated it now. He hated the fact that Tyson was in writhing agony. He hated it that Tyson said he couldn't be cured. Most of all, he hated the fact that he was helpless. He couldn't do a thing. And that scared him. The fear of the unknown...
---
Tom Hawk recognized Tyson's pain straight away. His mother. His mum had the same thing. He couldn't remember, but the doctor had called it something like "Cerebral Time Jump." Then he had turned to Tom and said:
"Basically, kid, it means your mum can see the future. Glimpses of it. From time to time."
Tom had remembered being really happy and proud.

Then his memory shifted again. a time when his mum and dad, a now-divorced couple, were arguing.
"... about Tom?"
"No, he can't."
"Dr. Siccus said it could be passed down to the child!"
"Exactly. COULD. Probably not."
"If he does have visions like me, he's in trouble..."

Tom knew that the CTJ as it was called could strike at any point in your life, it just hadn't affected him yet. And he was glad for that.
---
Alex, Tyson, Tom and Tikal sat in Tikal and Tyson's room, talking about Pokemon, for the remainder of the day. Alex and Tom then went to their room to sleep. For a fresh start the next day.
---
The next morning, Alex' eyes snapped open to the yelling of a sailor.
"ARGH! 'Elp!" bellowed the man.
Alex rushed to his clothes.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 14 2010, 03:56 PM

The moment Tyson bolted out of the room, Tikal got to her feet and quickly followed him. She had only seen this happen a few times, but it still scared her as she was completely unaware of anything he could be going through. When he blacked out, she stayed by his side for several minutes, trying to make sure he could be as comfortable as possible. When she found herself to be of no more use, she left him with his Pokemon before going back to meet the others.

Her heart was heavy as she slumped down in one of the chairs, staring at the door as she waited for Tyson to wake up and come meet up with them once more. The moment the door had begun to open she leaped from her seat, racing to the door and nearly tackling Tyson, though soon regretted doing so as she realized he could be feeling weak as a side effect. As the day came to a close and everyone went back to their own cabins, Tikal recalled her Pokemon and helped Tyson back into their room, the excitement of the day having worn her out fairly quickly.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 14 2010, 08:29 PM

After hearing the bellowing of an apparently burly man, Tyson's eyes snapped open. He saw Blaze at the end of the bed, rubbing his head lightly, which somehow woke him up. Tyson simply shook his head, smiling at how the Cyndaquil sniffed and yawned lightly at his awakening. He started to go and nudge Tikal, but was stopped by Tyson.

"Let her sleep," Tyson whispered to his best friend. Blaze nodded and lightly yawned again, flames licking all over his face and mouth as he released small puffs of smoke. After hopping down the bed and landing silently, Blaze began to follow Tyson to the deck, where Alex and Tom were already present. "Ah, glad to see you made it," Tyson said smiling. His face soon turned back serious, meaning he heard what had happened as well. "So who was it? I'm ready to start training here."

Posted by: rt117 Jun 15 2010, 07:14 PM

Tikal yawned as she rolled over, a sudden cry causing her to awaken. It wasn't the shout from above that woke her up, but a more high pitched muffle to her side. Springing up from the bed and onto her feet, she found that the source of the noise had been from the unfortunate Igglybuff, whom she had accidentally rolled onto in her sleep.
"I'm so sorry..." Tikal frowned, kneeling by the bed and gently picking up her Igglybuff, who looked rather upset with the turn of events. However a few berries later, and the Pokemon was back to her cheery self.

After getting her Pokemon taken care of, Tikal glanced around the room to find Tyson and Blaze long gone from the room. "Strange, I wonder where they went off to without me." she spoke to herself. Normally if something happened then she would expect Tyson to at least leave a note, but searching the room revealed none. She collected her Pokemon and some of her other belongings before taking off out of the cabin to go look for them on deck. If they were about to do something exciting again, then she would hate to get left out of the fun.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 17 2010, 11:47 AM

Alex's clothes were on in an instant. He. Quickly scooped up his bag, racing for the decks. He picked up a Pokeball. He didn't care who it was; if someone needed help, any of them would be good. He ran as fast as he could, eventually making it to the deck.
He looked around, looking for the source of the noise. This included looking back, where he saw Tom following close behind. Alex kept looking but couldn't see anything. Moments later, Tyson barged through the door, before smiling and saying "Ah, glad to see you made it." then his face turned to a serious frown, and he looked at Alex and asked
"So who was it? I'm ready to start training here."
"I honestly couldn't tell you." replied Alex, a concerned look on his face.
"Well I can!" exclaimed Tom, who was pointing and looking up. Alex followed Tom finger to where he was pointing. There, at the top of the mast, was a man. He was being pecked at by a Murkrow.
"Help me, ARGH! Please!" shouted the man.
"What's a Murkrow doing on a boat in the middle of the ocean?" Asked Alex.
"We're about to find out," said Tom, picking a Pokeball from his belt "Go, Rai!"
"Ok Then. Let's go all out Electric!" exclaimed Alex. "Out you come, Leo!"
The little Lion Cub and Electric Mouse Pokemon each came out, and both started growling at eachother, obviously still feeling sour from their battle the day earlier.
"Leo, calm down! It's just Tom's Pikachu." said Alex. Leo seemed to acknowledge this, and went up to Rai, and the pair started to speak to one another.
"Shi-Shi! Shinx!" cried Leo.
"Pikapika!" replied Rai. Alex really wished he could understand Pokemon.
---
Leo was actually just saying hello, with Rai replying with the same courtesy.
"So, you Rai huh? How long you been with Tom?" asked Leo.
"I used to be a Pichu you know," replied Rai, seeming to ignore the question "None of Alex' Pokemon have evolved yet, have they? Tom had two evolved Pokemon. Anyway, I was Tom's starter Pokemon."
"Evolution!" exclaimed the Shinx. "What's it like. I heard it can be really scary but cool at the same time."
"I didn't lose much. I stayed cute, and my colours changed to a darker yellow, and I grew a bit, and I got stronger. You really can feel the Power difference. It's not too bad though."
"You know, I thought you were a real jerk when I first met you. You're OK though."
"You're not bad either, kid."
---
Once the two Pokemon's conversation had finished, Alex and Tom asked their Pokemon to deal with the Murkow. Each sent a powerful electric attack to it, and it froze, the volts of electricity whizzing through it. It comically then dropped to the floor, its body smoking a little from the sheer power.
The man, surprised, then dropped down from the low mast, and walked up to Alex and the others from the group, which now included Tikal, who Alex hadn't seen join them.
"Thanks!" he said "That Murkrow was trying to steal my gold necklace. My name's Harry, I'm one of the Sailors."
"It's no big deal, dude." said Alex.
"Follow me, I'll get your breakfast." said the sailor.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 18 2010, 07:27 AM

"Sweet," Tyson exclaimed, rubbing his stomach in a hungry manner, "my favorite meal of the day, and I get it for being present." Blaze, who was also hungry, rubbed his belly with his forepaws, imitating Tyson entirely. Tyson then looked at Alex and Tom, then at Leo and Rai. "It looks like they're good friends," Tyson said, smiling widely, "but I wonder if Blaze can make friends with them?" Without another word, Blaze began to wander to both of the electric type Pokemon.

"Hey guys," Blaze said as he formally introduced himself to both Pokemon, "my name is Blaze. What's yours?" Not only was Blaze Tyson's first, but he was also one of the friendliest Pokemon in Tyson's party. Aero was also friendly, but he had a bad attitude towards Hydro. Hydro, on the other hand, has a major attitude problem and is mean to almost all other Pokemon. The only Pokemon that he isn't mean to are fellow water types and Blaze.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 22 2010, 07:39 AM

Alex started to laugh at Tyson.
"Dude, breakfast for me is NOT the best meal of the day. It's important, sure, but lunch is WAY better. Mmm, I can taste the Doritos already..."
"Typical Alex. We just saved a guy from severe Murkrow pecking, and all he can think about is food!" exclaimed Tom. Alex playfully punched him on the arm. Bith boys continued teasing eachother until they got to the food room, where the Sailor who Alex and Tom had helped got out some eggs, bacon, and sausages, as well as soime white bread which he began to toast.
"Mmm, full english. Dude, you got any veggie sausages and Tomatoes to grill?" asked Alex.
"Uh-huh. I'll just go get them." said the sailor. He went into a small cupboard and took out a pack of Quorn sausages, and began frying them in a separate frying pan.
While this was going on, Alex and Tom let out all their Pokemon, and Alex prepared a meal for them all, Tom helping him. The bird Pokemon, Stryk, Tweet and Blaze, got a spicy bird seed and Tomato cake each, which they began eating hapily. Then, for the water Pokemon, Alex prepared some interesting sweeet sushi, which he knew that Swamps loved. The grass Pokemon got a very plain rice cake each. The electric Pokemon, Rai and Leo, got a spicy berry pie.
---
Blaze was spaking to his fellow bird Pokemon.
"So, Stryk, what do you think to evolution. I'll evolve soon, and I'll be a combusken. I'll be so cool."
"I'll be a Staravia, Blazey darling. Is that cake too spicy for you?" replied Stryk.
"Stryk! Honsetly! You're like a mother hen!" exclaimed Blaze.
"I've got a while until I evolve," sighed Tweet.
"Never mind, buddy. The important thing is that you do eventually evolve and become stronger." replied Blaze.
"Still, It's a huge thing, getting huge and bigger and more powerful and cool than cute, sweet and innocent." said Swamps, coming over to join the group.
"Swamps! Hey dude. Yeah. It'll be different. But it'll be awesome."
The Pokemon kept on talking out evolution, having a friendly debate about whether it was good or bad.
---
Meanwhile, Alex was eating his full english breakfast with huge enthusiasm.
"Yum! Oh my god, this is so tasty!" he said as he ate a sausage. "If this is the prize we get for saving people, then I'm prepared to become a superhero!"
"Alex, you could never become a superhero, and you know it." said Tom, who is contrast had impecable table manners, and was cutting up a grilled tomato.
"Whatever," said Alex, who carried on, talking about other things "So, this evening, we'll roll into Fidona. What do you guys think about that?"
Now that they were talking about a serious subject, Alex began eating very sophisticatedly.

Posted by: Protoman Jun 22 2010, 06:06 PM

After taking a bite of his strip of bacon, Tyson looked at Alex and Tom, realizing this actually was a serious matter. Swallowing hard after hearing the subject, Tyson put his fork down and looked at the others.

"I think we should train a little while still on board this boat," Tyson said, trying to make a direct point. "We might not be ready for the Gym Leader, so that's why I say we should train." Blaze, Tyson's Cyndaquil, simply stared at him from his platter, encouraged by his trainer to give it his all. Aero, who had already made it to the other bird types, simply looked at them, waiting to get a chirp in edge wise. Hydro, who already was finished with his food, simply walked towards Tikal, stopping after seeing Nidoran in her lap. With a scowl, he went back to where he came from, sulking as he did so.

Posted by: rt117 Jun 22 2010, 07:44 PM

As the subject came up to discussion, Tikal listened quietly the the points made. She agreed with Tyson's thinking, as any kind of practice beforehand would be good for them. However it would also mean that their Pokemon would need a good rest before battling if they wanted to keep in peak condition. The conversation at hand also brought up the idea of Tikal trying her luck with battling the resident Gym leader of their destination. It may be her only chance to get to for awhile, though with Alex leading the group, she would be sure to have more opportunities.

"Maybe I should give this Gym Battle a try as well... though I'm not sure if I'm ready or not." Tikal thought to herself, becoming lost in her thoughts. "If I'm not, then I'd only be setting up my Pokemon for a big disappointment. Maybe I should just take pictures instead."

Tikal had somewhat of a bad habit of putting herself down often. She never thought she was as great as she was at things she liked, especially battling. She had faith in her Pokemon's abilities to compete, but not in herself to guide them efficiently enough for a good battle.

At least there was more to having Pokemon than just battling, which kept her going through each day. Plus now she had Tyson by her side, who might be willing to help her train and get better. Even if he was not the world's best trainer, Tikal was certain he could give her a few pointers, so long as he didn't go easy on her when it came to a proper battle.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jun 26 2010, 08:04 AM

"Uh-huh." said Alex, replying to Tyson's comment. "Except there's not much to train against apart from each other, and frankly, every time I try to battle someone, something goes wrong. That is, apart from yesterday."
"Excuse me?" said the sailor who'd just cooked their breakfast.
"Yes?"" asked Tom in reply.
"There's a training room downstairs. We get loads of trainers on the boat, so we recently installed a training area. All sorts of cool Pokemon down there for you to fight."
"Great!" exclaimed Alex, who'd finished his food. He quickly scooped up Blaze and beckoned his Pokemon to follow him, and he headed down to the training room.
---
The training room was a huge contrast to the rest of the boat. It was sleek, new and full of technology, and everything was pure and white.
"So, how does this thing work?" asked Alex to his Pokemon.
"Tor-tor!" said Blaze.
"That machine over there? D'you reckon?"
"Mud-Mud." said Swamps.
"Well... erm... OK." Alex went up to the machine and turned it on. On the screen he saw "Trainathon2010". Then the screen booted up.
There were three options; "Single Battle Mode" said the first. "Double battle mode" said the second. The last simply said "Training Tips." Alex pressed the double battle mode and another screen came up. This showed the 17 Pokemon types. Alex pressed Rock and Grass. Then, there was a Level range selection. Alex chose 10-15. Then, Two Pokeballs appeared on the machine. They opened, and out came a Geodude and a Roselia. They jumped to the other side of the room. Alex suddenly realized; he'd started a battle!
"Ok then... Blaze and Swamps, go!"

Posted by: Protoman Jul 7 2010, 06:20 PM

With a low whistle, Tyson looked at the machine compltely impresed by its design.

"Now this," Tyson saidin total astonishment, "is technology, right Tikal?" After looking her way, he noticed her not paying him any attention, causing him to simply shake his head. He looked at his three Pokemon, wondering the perfect combination for his next battle. Maybe I should use Aero, Tyson thought to himself, trying to make sure he had the right team up. him and Blaze would make a good team up...but Hydro and Aero need to work out their differences. I dunno...but I gotta make a decision.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jul 8 2010, 11:42 AM

Alex nodded at Tyson and Tikal's arrival into the Trainathon Dojo. As Tyson decided on his battle, Alex turned back to his.
The Geodude opposite punched his fists together and lifted them above his head, a rock in between. Geodude then used rock throw, and the rock hit Blaze.
Meanwhile, the Roselia opposite used Mega Drain on Swamps. the Mud fish Pokemon winced in pain but soon got back to normal again. Alex lifted his left hand and tapped once, and then his right and tapped twice. Both Pokemon nodded and both leaped into action. Well, they didn't leap, because both attacks meant they were stationary. Blaze sent out blasts of fire, using ember, and swamps spouted water rapidly, using Water Gun. Both attacks found their mark, and both Pokemon opposite were visibly hurt.

Posted by: rt117 Jul 8 2010, 02:11 PM

Tikal nodded slightly in response to Tyson's comment about the machine. As curious as she was to try her luck against it once Alex had finished, she was at the same time uneasy to battle it. What if she found that she wasn't as great as she hoped she was after the battle?

She pushed her worries aside and frowned visibly as she tried to think about who she could use from her own lineup. Nidoran immediately came to mind, but then again she knew he would try to take on the opponent himself. There was also Igglybuff, but she wasn't all that comfortable with the thought of the baby Pokemon fighting. That only left her with two Pokemon: Charmander and Totodile. In theory they could cover a wide variety of each others weaknesses, so the pairing didn't seem all that bad.

"I want to go next." she blurted out to Alex, two Pokeballs already in her hand.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Jul 9 2010, 11:40 AM

Roselia and Geodude, however, did not faint; they stayed standing. They looked about to attack, so Alex wasted no time. He quickly issued the same orders as before, and both his Pokemon one again attacked. This time their attacks hit once more, and the opposite Pokemon turned into Pokeball gas, before returning into the pokeballs that then returned into the machine.

Alex had heard Tikal's comment, and was surprised at her willingness to fight. He nodded his head.
"It's easy to use. If you want, you could do the same types as I did; a little challenge, I think, as all Pokemon had a weakness to another. Good training, actually. But if I were you, I'd go for something easier. I'd say bug and fire. Anyway, be my guest, go ahead!"

Posted by: Protoman Jul 11 2010, 04:50 PM

After hearing Tikal state that she was going to the machine next, Tyson was taken aback and slightly disappointed. He scowled slightly, but smiled widely, knowing how Tikal would need the training later on if she wanted to battle against a gym leader.

"I so have to get in that machine," Tyson said, grinning slightly and looking in Alex's direction after he walked out. "How was it? Easy? Hard? However you wanted it to be?" He smiled anxiously, looking at his two Poke Balls. He had come to a final decision: Aero and Hydro would have to find a way to get along for a match or two...rather skeptical about this, Tyson didn't want to risk a battle within the group, but had no choice if he was going to battle the leader.

Posted by: rt117 Jul 11 2010, 05:27 PM

Tikal nodded and quickly walked past Tyson and Alex towards the machine, still not quite sure if she wanted to do this, but it was better to do it now than later. Glancing over at the same screen Alex had looked at, she too selected the option for a double battle, though hesitated slightly when it came to level selection. Anything on the higher end of the 10-15 selection would probably be too challenging for her Totodile and Charmander, but anything from 5-10 could be too easy. With her finger hovering over the two options, she eventually chose the level 10-15 spectrum, deciding to go with Alex's advice.

That brought her to the next step: Type decisions. While Fire and Bug seemed like a good idea, she was not all that fond towards Bug-typed Pokemon, even though battling against one could make her more eager to get rid of it. Grass was another option, but then that would put Totodile in jeopardy due to his weakness. Steel was possible, though an opposing Pokemon with a secondary type of either Rock or Ground would defeat the purpose, and Steel types always seemed to take attacks better. That only left Ice, which was a gamble due to the number of Ice types that were also Water types. However if that was the case, then Totodile would have a slight advantage, being resistant to both.

It seemed like forever until she finally decided, selecting Fire and Ice as her opposing elements. Tikal quickly stepped back from the machine as two flashes emerged. One silhouette was of a quadruped Pokemon with a large hump, the other a bipedal Pokemon in the shape of a tree. As the light faded, the identities of the two were revealed to be a Numel and Snover. The Numel was good news, as Tikal remembered that it had two elements, both of which were weak to water. However the Snover had two elements as well, one of which while helpful for Charmander, was dangerous towards Totodile.

Pressing the buttons on her two Pokeballs, her Charmander and Totodile emerged, seeming perky and eager. Charmander blew a few sparks of flame at the Snover, while Totodile simply sprang up and down with a grin. Tikal smiled as she found that they were confident. "Don't let me down you two, give them all you got!"

Posted by: Protoman Jul 18 2010, 08:27 AM

"Charmander and Totodile," Tyson said to himself, impressed by Tikal's choices, "really good choices. Especially considering the conditions." He looked at Alex, half hoping he'd get an answer to his question, but soon realized that wouldn't be coming any time soon. He instead decided to root for Tikal, in hopes of making her fight harder. "Let's go, Tikal! You can do it!"

Posted by: rt117 Jul 25 2010, 10:28 PM

Tikal smiled slightly at Tyson's confident cheer, hoping that she herself could be as confident as he was. Deciding that the Snover would be the biggest threat to her duo, she decided to have the two focus on it first. "Totodile, use Leer to distract Snover!" She shouted, as Totodile narrowed his eyes as the opposing Pokemon. The moment their eyes met, the Snover was unable to help but stare back, giving Charmander to chance to strike. "Now Charmader use Ember!"

With a nod, the Lizard Pokemon opened its mouth and let loose a hail of embers directly at the Snover, landing a critical hit. However with this, the opposing Numel made a dash towards Totodile, stunning him with a Headbutt. As the Snover recovered from the Leer, a cold burst of wind filled the room as ice began to fall, pelting everyone but Snover. Tikal was forced to cover her head with her arms, only barely able to make out the Snover stretching its arms out and recovering with Synthesis.

Tikal quickly realized after the hail began how much harder it would be to focus on the one Pokemon alone, even with its present danger. As long as the Numel was fighting, it would be impossible to keep the Snover distracted long enough to knock it out.

"Alright let's try something different... Charmander use Ember again, but Totodile, use Water Gun on the Numel!" Once more Charmader's attack found its target, and so did Totodiles, but Numel's retaliation was less than pleasant. The Pokemon reared up before slamming its front legs into the ground, causing the whole room to shake. It was only fortunate that the Magnitude attack was on the weaker scale of the spectrum, though it knocked Tikal, her Pokemon, and Snover off their feet. Snover quickly jumped back up and lashed out at Totodile with Razor Leaf, throwing the Pokemon against the wall. Tikal was starting to worry as she saw that Totodile's movement was slowed. He couldn't keep this up.

Tikal started to think fast. If Numel got another good hit with Magnitude, then her Pokemon wouldn't last much longer. However from the looks of things, the Snover probably wouldn't last as long either. If only there was some way to keep from being hit, while at the same time using the opponent's attack against them...

That's when it hit her, with a smile she quickly realized a way of how to do just that. "Charmander, use Smokescreen and blind them!" Tikal called, covering her mouth as the room began to fill with thick smoke. With the opposing Pokemon blinded, the Numel reared up once more to attempt another Magnitude. Before it could land the attack however, Tikal also shouted: "Totodile, Rocket Water Gun!"

Seeming to understand the term "Rocket" added onto the attack, Totodile quickly grabbed Charmander's paw, and let loose a Water Gun attack under them, sending them rocketing upward. Numel slammed its front legs into the ground, soon realizing after using Magnitude that its targets were not affected. However the Snover was, quickly falling back to the ground, and not getting back up. The smokescreen quickly faded, Totodile and Charmander landing in front of Numel triumphantly.

"Good job guys, now let's try and finish this! Totodile use Water Gun, and Charmander use Scratch!" The two Pokemon struck simultaneously, nearly knocking out the Numel. However, the Pokemon wouldn't go out without taking someone with it. This was obviously when it made one last attempt to knock out one of Tikal's Pokemon, launching itself at the already weakened Totodile with Take Down. The two Pokemon toppled to the ground, neither rising after.

Tikal quickly rushed over to her fallen Pokemon as the Snover and Numel vanished in flashes of white light, pulling out her Pokeball as she smiled sadly. "Good job you two, you both need a break." she spoke, soon returning her two Pokemon before standing and returning to Alex and Tyson.

Posted by: Alex Slasher Aug 2 2010, 09:39 AM

Alex looked seriously at Tikal, who was visibly very upset at having Totodile K.Oed.
"Don't worry, Tikal," he said "I'm sure with more practice you'll be able to win more convincingly..." Alex wanted to say more, but at present he was too confused. What on earth had happened there? He hadn't really followed the battle, and even if he had, he was not sure that he would have been able to. Alex knew the move that had been most devastating in the battle. Magnitude. It was such a powerful move and it also relied on luck. Alex, unlike his companion Tom, was not extremely fortunate, instead needing lots of clever tactics an good moves to win a battle. It had showed when Alex had won against him. Alex was a gifted trainer. He just hoped, with all his heart, that he'd be able to win against the Fidona gym leader. He turned his thoughts to that fight now.
"Tyson, do you mind if I go to my cabin while you do your battle?"
Tyson looked slightly annoyed.
"OK then..."
"Thanks..." replied Alex. He left the training room and went back to his room on the ship.

Posted by: rt117 Aug 2 2010, 09:53 AM

(ooc: actually she won that battle. The reason she's upset is because Totodile got KOed right at the end :P)

Tikal nodded quietly in response to his comment, her eyes still cast downward. It had been a very close fight indeed, but there was still plenty of room for improvement. At least she and her Pokemon had the time to improve now before they reached their destination, and things would become more serious.

"I guess it's better to have it happen here than in a trainer battle." she replied, raising her head and trying to smile. The attempt was strained, but for their sake it was worth a try. There was no need to bother them with her mood anyways. Watching as Alex took off abruptly, Tikal began to wonder what was on his mind. Probably the upcoming battle, but it seemed rather strange to go back to the room instead of continuing to train. Maybe he just wanted some time alone. With that, she then turned to Tyson, once again still trying to keep a smile on her face.

"Now I believe it's your turn?" she asked, remembering how he was about to go before she butted in.

Posted by: Proby Sep 13 2010, 11:08 AM

It was the next morning on the S.S. Empress, and there were clouds on the horizon.
"Great, some lovely rain for our first day in Fidona," grumbled Alex. He hadn't slept fantastically the evening before, and he had yet to eat any breakfast. That, combined with the nervousness he felt at the gym battle today, was making his mood increasingly bad.
"Yep, Alex, and you'd better remember; Water Pokemon do well in the rain. as we found out last night..."

Alex looked at Tom. Why, oh WHY, did he have to remind Alex of yesterday evening? It was NOT a good experience. Alex really didn't want to think about it, but did so anyway.

After Tyson had triumphantly succeeded in his battle against the Trainathon2010, The group had decided to have a nice relaxing evening on deck. However, it seemed that Luck was not on Alex' side. The boat suddenly lurched to the side as Alex was looking over into the sea. Alex had then toppled over the side of the relatively small ship and into the sea.

Unfortunately for him, he landed right in the middle of a Finneon and Lumineon school, and the fish Pokemon were extremely displeased. They started attacking Alex, who, in shock, swam to the surface of the water. There, he took of his backpack, which he still had on. He took out two Pokeballs and threw them. Leo and Treecky came out and Leo started to fight the Finneon with his Electrical attacks. Treecky needed a little more convincing, but also started to attack them. It was at this point that Alex noticed it has started to rain. He put the two Pokeballs in his drenched trouser pockets and put his bag back on his back.
Alex soon noticed that the Finneon were extremely quick, and were hitting Leo and Treecky, who were both swimming, faster than either could hit them. Alex later learned that this was because of their Swift Swim ability, which boosted speed in rain.

He ordered an attack from Leo that hit the water. Within seconds, the Finneon were knocked out and sinking back down below the ocean, but so were Alex and Treecky. Luckily though, Alex, along with his Pokemon, were saved before they started to drown by the ship's crew.
Alex had then spent the rest of the evening in clothes that were both charred and soaked.

So that was why Alex was grumpy that morning, and why the rain was worrying him. Any good water Pokemon with the ability would no doubt cause him a world of trouble.

Posted by: rt117 Sep 13 2010, 04:00 PM

Unfortunately for Tikal, she had missed out on the previous day's excitement, only hearing about it later on from Tom. She had spent time training with the Trainathon2010 for the most part, only calling it a day as soon as she noticed her Pokemon were exhausted. She hated to wear them down like this, but she had wanted them to be prepared for anything that was thrown at them once they reached shore. After all, anything was possible, like with their last stop.

During the training, Tikal had put thought into the Gym challenge that Alex had been so eager about. Maybe it was worth a shot for her to attempt it. After all, what did she have to lose? Plus it would be a big boost of confidence to her and her team if she were to win. With this new frame of thought in mind, she had been more eager in battling, taking some decent photo-finishes of her Pokemon towards the end of battles.

After practice, she took her Pokemon back to their cabin, letting them rest up while she went up to the deck to get something to eat. It had been then that she was informed of Alex's mishap. While struggling to keep herself from laughing at his misfortune, Tikal managed to get a burger for herself, before a variety of cheese and crackers on a plate, which she took back down to the cabin for her Pokemon, who were more than happy when she returned with food.


With last night now behind them, Tikal quickly caught up to Alex, trying to keep her camera dry. She would hate to have it ruined, since she hadn't even had the chance to get her new photos off of it. "Shouldn't we be heading off?" Tikal asked the two, completely oblivious to the absence of Tyson. Her mind was too focused on the brewing excitement of today that she hadn't noticed that he wasn't standing next to her.

Posted by: Proby Sep 30 2010, 08:52 AM

Minutes later, Alex stepped off the boat, and onto the island of Fidona. It was a place full of life, even in the rain. This helped to lift his mood a little, although the nerves and his aquatic experience still lingered at the back of his mind. He had to focus today. If he didn't get this right, he was sure of both looking like a fool and doubting his ability as a Pokemon trainer. His goal was to be the Champion of Furoh. He needed to achieve that.

Presently, the group made their way under the huge trees of Fidona. The City itself was amazing; the Fidonians had created houses within trees, all of which were suspended over ground or buried underneath, aside from two buildings back to back in the middle of the city; the Pokemon Center and the Shop. These were not made like anything Alex had ever seen. They were completely made from natural resources, using wood, vines and leaves. They had the look of buildings who had a lot of care and attention put into their making.

The buildings were not the only thing that caught he eye; there were plants everywhere. Some were clearly Pokemon, who benefited well in the warm forests Fidona had to offer, such as Glooms and Vileplumes. Others were not Pokemon, but beautiful and startling all the same.

The city was a lot busier than Alex would have thought. There were tanned Fidonans training their Pokemon all over the place, or simply just going about their daily lifestyles. For the first time, Alex could see Pokemon totally suited to normal human jobs. He could see a Scizor going out into the forests with its owner, supposedly to cut down trees for firewood. It was quite a busy place. It was of course nothing like the huge Petropolis that Alex had spent a small amount of time in. There were not people everywhere, but Alex had only imagined a tiny population. It was truly amazing.
What Alex didn't see, were any pale skinned people, like him, Tikal or Tom. He was a stranger in these parts. He could see from the slight wariness on the people's faces that he wasn't so. He could tell that he was obviously a trainer to others who wanted to challenge the gym, because he knew from the stories that those who came here not doing that would receive a hostile reception.
---
Tom, who had lived most his life in Gigarte, a reasonably busy city, was completely amazed and in awe at the beauty and naturalness of the place. He fully used his senses to take in his surroundings. He smelt the fresh air, he gazed upon the beautiful scenery, he felt the well-crafted wooden buildings, and listened to the sounds of nature. He was in heaven.
---
Alex paid a quick visit to the Pokemon Center to refresh his Pokemon, and they all sat down for a meal. They were all enjoying Fidona already, but Alex had only one thing on his mind; the gym battle. He finished his meal, and they left the Pokemon Center.
Alex searched around the city, looking for the tree house that looked like it belonged to royalty. He'd researched a little on Fidona's history and the location of the gym, and it had said it was located in the Taminagi Palace, the house for the Royalty, which was just Maxi Z! at the current time. He finally thought he'd found it, the largest and grandest house high above the city. Alex sighed. It was going to be a long ascent.

Posted by: rt117 Sep 30 2010, 07:43 PM

For the most part of their disembark from the ferry, Alex seemed fairly quiet, as if not even there at all. While having later learned that with the closeness of his first gym that he was overly anxious, Tikal could not help but think that there was something more to this as well. Perhaps Alex was worried, or even doubtful of his chances?

Of course she would not dare to bring that up with him, but she had felt almost the exact same way while training with her Pokemon on the ferry. However over time she had managed to develope some form of confidence, and while not having such grand dreams that Alex had, she too was now interested in Gym battling. If not to help her with battle expertise. The training on the ferry had been fairly helpful, but it would only be during a Gym battle would she see whether or not she would taste the bittersweet fruit of endeavor.

As Alex made his way towards the Gym, Tikal quickly caught up with him with her Igglybuff in her arms. She had not noticed him take off for the Gym earlier due to his reflective silence, and it was only when she was about to ask him a question when she took notice of his disappearance. "Are you up for this?" she questioned Alex, standing beside him in front of the the seemingly endless flight of steps. At the top rested an older-looking building, Tikal's eyes fixated on the steps before them, and the fact that they had to climb every single one. "Why couldn't they just build the Gym down here..." she groaned.

Posted by: Protoman Dec 10 2010, 11:44 AM

"Wait up," A voice called from behind them. Tyson started to rush towards them as he began to catch his breath. Fortunately, he made it before they went inside. Unfortunately, he looked as if he didn't even try to maintain a decent image before arriving. With his hair a mess and his clothes rather wrinkled, Tyson caught his breath and finally was able to speak to them both. "Sorry I'm late," he exclaimed, still completely tired from the running he had been doing. "I just had a last minute touch up in the battle simulator on the ship. Not only that, but I went to the Pokemon Center, where I found out you guys had came and left already." Tyson pulled out his three Poke Balls and stared at each of them, trying to discover what his strategy will be.

"This is confusing," Tyson said to himself as he looked at the machine. Scratching his head, he steps inside and sets the machine to water and fighting. "I've gotta learn how to counter Blaze's weaknesses," Tyson stated plainly, seeing as how Fidona's Gym Leader was known for using Water types as well as Fighting types. After watching the news cast, Tyson knew he had to be fully prepared. A Medicham and a Lotad appeared in front of Tyson, making him more worried than before. "Aw come on," Tyson bellowed, rather upset at the fact that he had to fight TWO dual type Pokemon instead of one. Instead of griping, he dealt with it, revealing Aero and Hydro. The pair looked at each other, disgusted at what they saw, and focused more on the opponent. The Medicham's fist sparked and crackled as she looked menacingly at Hydro. The Lotad simply ducked down, gazing dully at Aero. "Aero, use Peck and then Gust, Hydro, dodge the attack and use Aqua Jet!" With a nod, both Pokemon sprung into action. With several pecks to the Lotad, a large gust of wind soon followed afterwards, knocking the Lotad backwards. Meanwhile, with a swift dodge, barely missing contact with the lightning, Hydro collided into Medicham's side, cloaked in water while doing so.

With the fight going Tyson's way so far, he began to grow pleased. It was the first time so far that Aero and Hydro were able to put aside their differences and work together...so it would seem.
"A;right guys," Tyson said, "finish up the match!" With a nod, Hydro began to move forward for the tackle, but without knowing, Hydro was pecked in the back by his partner, Aero. Throwing the Squirtle into a frenzy, Aero simply laughed at his handy work. With a quick Water Gun, Aero stopped laughing abruptly, attacking Hydro instead of his enemy. "Uh-oh," Tyson mumbled, depressed at how he was so close to getting them to work together. A swift Thunderpunch, connecting to the cheek of Hydro, sent the poor Pokemon on a one way trip to the K.O. Coral. Aero, laughing at his misfortune, soon got an Ice Punch in the stomach, putting him in the same place as Hydro. With a deep sigh, Tyson made both Pokemon return, knowing that their defeat was their own undoing.

Posted by: Proby Dec 10 2010, 02:01 PM

Alex looked back in surprise.
"How... Never mind" he said. He didn't want to know how it was possible that Tyson was still here. He was just happy that he was. Tikal seemed to be looking rather happier at Tyson's appearance, as was Tom. Everyone liked him. He was a likeable guy.
Presently he looked up at the leviathan climb before him. He really didn't like heights much. He was fine with them if he didn't look down, but there had been an occasion of two when he'd thrown up. Water was fantastic. Heights? Not so keen. Begrudgingly though, he started his ascent, and couldn't help but think; what was a part water gym doing high in the sky? It just didn't make much sense. But then again, not a lot made sense in Fidona. Not to Hoenn born Alex, who'd lived in a simple coast-side town for most his life. He sighed. Ah, memories, so tender and sweet. He wanted to return to Hoenn someday. When he was successful and all. or at all. And that's how he coped with the climb. Thinking of home.
---
Tom, meanwhile, directly below Alex on the ladder, was getting annoying looking up at the boy's backside. Those shorts really didn't make it much better either, as "camouflaged" as they were. he sighed heavily. It just wasn't fair sometimes being the sidekick. That's how Tom saw himself. He didn't like it but it was true; in many ways he was Alex' pawn.
Tom started to think about his upcoming contest, as simple as it was. All he had to do was dress up a Pokemon and make it Display its beautiful, cool, cute, smart or tough moves. It wasn't hard. But he just couldn't decide. Rose was a great show Pokemon, and was very accessorizeable. Rai was immensely cute and would get some good votes. Staa gave the wow factor with its Shiny, while Tweet knew some killer move combinations... he couldn't decide. He'd probably end up randomly choosing on the spot then being very apologetic to his other Pokemon.
He sighed.
---
Finally, Alex reached the top of the ladder. Then he groaned; he's gone up the wrong one! He'd gone up the ladder to someone's house, and the gym was opposite. Right, the quick way to do things. He threw his Pokeball, and out came Stryk. She was looking cheerful as ever.
"Stryk, fly me to the other side!"

Posted by: Protoman Dec 10 2010, 02:28 PM

With Tyson noticing Alex groaning, he followed Stryk to the other side...at least he tried to. Just before he could take too many steps, Tyson tripped a wire, making a net that was covered up rather nicely capture him.

"Huh, wha," Tyson asked, totally confused as to how this happened, "lemme outta here! I'm stuck in this net!" He kicked and squirmed, but to no prevail. He wriggled around, still not escaping the rope prison that held him. Pretty soon, he thought of a way to get out of the net. It would hurt, but it would be effective. "Aero, let's go!" Tyson said before releasing Aero to the outside.

"Pidgey," Aero squawked before noticing the major bind that his owner was in. Stifling back a laugh or two, the Pidgey flew towards the net, pecking it frantically. Tyson began to brace himself for the landing to come, soon noticing that it was taking too long to come.

"Aero," Tyson said, not entirely sure he should have asked his Pidgey to try and cut him down. "The rope must be too thick, I'll just get another Pokemon to..." SNAP! With a resounding thud, Tyson hit the ground, landing on his back and rear end. "Thanks." Tyson said, holding back as many tears as he could. Finally, he got back up, and looked back at Tikal and Tom. "You guys coming?" he asked before making sure he was alright.

Posted by: rt117 Dec 10 2010, 06:48 PM

Tikal watched as the two simply headed off without them, each facing their own predicaments. While Alex's was rather humorous (almost causing Tikal to burst out into laughter), Tyson's was more concerning. Why would someone set a trap up in the trees? Didn't Gym leaders want challengers? Her thoughts turned to the idea of someone else having set it up, causing the girl to frown.

"Maybe someone else doesn't want us to compete. Then again who would do such a thing? I don't think Deception would go as far as to set up mere traps." she thought to herself, her face a mixture of puzzlement and frustration. As Tyson fell onto the steps however, she quickly shook off her state of bizarre confusion, and rushed to his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a look of concern, glancing from the remains of the net back to him as she held her Igglybuff a little tighter. She was half expecting a net to fall onto her, and so her attention was divided between him and the tree canopy. "Who would set up traps?" she added as her gaze moved back to him, almost hoping that he knew the answer.

Posted by: Protoman Dec 10 2010, 07:09 PM

Tyson scratched his head a little bit, blushing a little from embarrassment. He got up, dusting himself off a little as he moved. He smiled weakly, trying to make Tikal relax a little bit.

"I'm fine," Tyson responded, still unsure of how it happened. "I'm guessing we're being tested mentally first." He scratched his head, before Aero landed on his shoulder. He looked at Tikal and worried that she might be in grave danger. "Tikal, I need for you to stay close to me, okay?" He was hoping that he made the right decision in keeping her near him. He could get caught by the traps and be alright, but could she? How would that look if she got hurt while he was supposed to be protecting her? He soon noticed her moving forward, leaving him to think to himself. Barely noticing, Tyson quickly caught up to her, hoping he wasn't too late for any more traps.

Posted by: rt117 Dec 10 2010, 07:30 PM

"Well... the sooner we get up these steps, the quicker we can get there!" Tikal smiled cheerfully, trying to brighten the mood as she then turned to rushed up the steps. Thanks to her now-strong enthusiasm, she was less fearful of what may be. Without fear for who or what set up the trap, she continued forward, oblivious to the fact that she was basically leaving Tyson behind.

With her eyes on the structure that rested up top the steps, she was unaware of what she was walking towards. As her foot came down on a lose stone, the building soon flashed from sight, replaced by a tall earthen wall.

"Wha-"

Hitting the ground hard, she was momentarily stunned as she tumbled down into a small pitfall trap, finding her knees mere inches from her face. She blinked as she tried to shelter herself from a small amount of debris which fell upon her head, suddenly realizing that her Igglybuff was nowhere to be found, and soon began to glance around frantically. She was more than afraid of the possibility that she landed on top of the poor Pokemon, until she noticed the Baby Pokemon glancing down at her with crimson eyes, at the mouth of the hole.

"...Iggly?" The Pokemon asked, a worried expression upon its face as it looked about ready to cry.

"Go get help!" Tikal called up to it, finding herself to be stuck in her current position. With wavering eyes, Igglybuff vanished from her sight, to run down the steps and grab onto Tyson's leg and gain his attention.
This was not good at all.

Posted by: Protoman Dec 10 2010, 10:01 PM

Tyson looked at Igglybuff, noticing the pink puff pulling on his leg. He knew things weren't right, so he followed the Pokemon as fast as he could...which meant not very, considering the fact that Igglybuff was small. Bouncing up the steps, the small Pokemon came to the pitfall its trainer had fallen down, before waving its tiny arms as if to draw him to that point. Inside, Tikal shifted uncomfortably, finding her inability to move, making her worry greatly. Tyson looked down, unsure as to how this happened. Tikal shifted again as she glanced up at the mouth of the hole, briefly catching a glimpse of a worried Tyson.

"Tikal, are you alright?" Tyson asked, hoping she didn't break anything.

"I think so... but I cant move!" she called up to him, her Pokemon sitting on the edge of the hole to keep her company.

"I have an idea, hang on," Tyson responded, searching frantically for something to use to make the dirt around Tikal looser. He thought about using Hydro, but he was afraid of drowning her. He then found a large branch, hoping it would be able to wedge Tikal out.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, unable to see what he was up to from her position. However she could hear a bit of rustling. A wave of guilt soon hit her, as she wondered if this would ruin his chance at battling the Gym leader.

"Can you move your arms," Tyson questioned his companion in trouble. He had to make sure her arms were movable before trying anything. Tikal shifted her arms, before shaking her head.

"No... they're stuck under my legs..." she whimpered to him, making Tyson sigh in frustration.

"Great," Tyson said sarcastically, throwing the branch to the side. "hang on, I think I can loosen the dirt with Water Gun..."

"Alright..." Tikal replied, trying to reach down to her pocket to fetch her Pokeballs. However she sighed in realization that her hands were incapable of reaching them. Meaning that she was completely helpless, she tried to cover her head before she could get any water in her eyes. With a flash and a snap, Hydro appeared next to the hole, inspecting the situation. With a smirk, Hydro smirked and looked at Tyson for his orders.

"Water Gun," was all Tyson said to the Squirtle. Gushing from his mouth, Hydro began to fill the hole with freezing water. Feeling the icy cold water hit the back of her head, Tikal began to shiver a bit as the dirt around her started to loosen. However it didn't take long for the hole to fill up with water, giving Tyson another problem on his hands. Before she knew it, her entire world was submerged in the icy water, finding herself rather troubled. Especially as she began to run out of air as the world turned dark... "Tikal," Tyson yelled to her, deciding to dive in and pull her out. With as much stamina as he could use, he saves Tikal before clambering out of the hole himself. "Tikal, speak to me!" Slowly, she started to come to, the only thing she was able to see was the look of concern of Tyson's face.

"...I didn't drown...did I?" Tikal asked, being hugged before Tyson was relieved.

"No," Tyson said in relief, "I got to you before anything worse could happen." He was covered in water, shivering from how cold it was on the inside of the pitfall trap. "Can you stand?"

"I think so..." Tikal replied, freezing cold as well. Slowly, she steadied herself with her hands as she pushed herself lightly to her feet, wobbling slightly. At that point, Igglybuff rushed forward, clinging to Tikal's leg with a happy cry. The slight imbalance was enough to knock her over. Tyson rushed towards Tikal's side, hoping she would be alright.

"I've gotcha," Tyson told her caringly, placing her arm over his neck and bracing her while they walked. Tikal smiled weakly as Tyson held her up, leaning lightly against him as Igglybuff clambered her shoulders to sit on Tikal's shoulder.

"Going down these steps is going to be a pain..." she joked.

"Yeah," Tyson chuckled, "but since we've made it to the top, I'm guessing we're halfway there?" He kept her braced on him, pulling out Hydro's Poke Ball. "Return," he said, causing the red beam to hit the forehead of the Squirtle. He continued to help Tikal as they continued to try and catch up with Alex.

Posted by: Proby Dec 12 2010, 01:00 PM

The flight was not comfortable. Alex couldn't wait until Stryk evolved into a Staravia. then everything would be OK. He would have nice, smooth flights. Flying was WAY different. It didn't affect his vertigo as much, because the sensation of flying with the win in your face was exhilarating and made you completely forgot about the world below. But yeah. Alex couldn't wait till any of his Pokemon evolved. He felt a little sorry that they might never be the same afterwards, but hopefully they wouldn't change too much.
---
"Alex!" Tom exclaimed. It was really annoying being left behind all the time. But Tom knew that he'd eventually catch up. He always did. In fact he often was several steps ahead of Alex. He sighed, before throwing his own Pokeball. Out came Tweet.
"You know the drill, buddy." he said. Tweet nodded. The little bird Pokemon was used to this. He'd done it plenty of times. Tom Climbed on his back and he flew calmly over to the Gym entrance.
---
Alex was still mid flight and was having difficulties. Stryk was getting weaker. They'd never attempted a flight this long before, it was always nice short ones not too far away. Stryk was getting lower and lower in the sky. Alex was panicking.
Suddenly, her heard a sound of something moving through air. Fast. Stryk heard it to, as she stopped abruptly mid flight. Just in time. A dart coated in purple goo zoomed past.
"Poisoned darts. S***." swore Alex. "Right, old girl, you're going to have to do some energetic flying.
Then he noticed Tom Hawk on Tweet was right beside him.
"Why did you stop, Alex?"
"Poisoned darts." was all Alex needed to reply. Suddenly, Tom's expression turned to steel and both trainers got their Pokemon to start flying again. Both birds, along with their trainers, were filled with adrenaline mixed with a fleeing sensation. They were now on high alert.

Just in time, because now, the poisoned darts were coming from all over the place.
---
The next few minutes were a frantic rush. The bird Pokemon both masterfully dodged every dart like professionals. Almost every dart.
"Tay! Tay-low!" cried Tweet suddenly.
"****! He's been poisoned!" shouted Tom.
It was in this instant that the two boys made it to the other side. Both dismounted from their aerial steeds. Tweet flopped down almost immediately. Tom hurriedly rummaged through his bag.
"I got no antidote or anything!" he exclaimed.
Luckily, Alex' restock back in Port Barley had not been for nothing. He quickly opened his bag and pulled out a spray. He ran over to Tweet and pulled the trigger. Within seconds, the Taillow went from a shuddering almost purple Pokemon to a calm and navy blue bird.
"Alex, you're a life saver. Literally..." said Tom.
Normally Alex didn't do this, but the experience the two had just shared was completely insane in many ways. It was very awkward, and happened very slowly, but they slowly moved into what is known as a "man" hug.

Posted by: rt117 Dec 12 2010, 02:19 PM

ooc: neither of us mentioned anything about Tom though :/

With some relief of the fact that they were close to their destination, Tikal slowly made her way up the steps with the help of Tyson. "Thanks for your help." she told him with a weak smile. "My leg's a little better now. Really... I can walk on my own..." she added, trying to stand on her own. However as she began to wobble a little again, she winced and swallowed, before quickly taking hold of him once more.

"On second thought..." she started, looking to him with a grin. "Maybe I could do with more help..." she replied with a change of heart, smiling sheepishly. Of course she didn't mind the closeness at all, rather enjoying it, even though it made her blush rather noticeably. The idea of falling all the way down the steps was the part she wanted to best avoid.

At the sight of her slightly-reddened face, Tikal's Igglybuff let out a chortle, which sounded something more like a laugh. Tikal sighed and covered her face with a free hand. "Dont you start now too." she groaned, before smiling weakly and poking her Pokemon playfully. Igglybuff puffed out before grabbing her finger with tiny hands.

"Anyways, we have a Gym to, so let's try to catch up to Alex and Tom." she concluded, glancing to Tyson as she forgot her face was still red.

Posted by: Proby Dec 14 2010, 02:33 PM

Alex and Tom's awkward hug didn't last long. Soon they were back to standing around with their hands casually in their trouser (or shorts, in Alex's case) pockets.
"So, you think we should carry on?" said Alex after a few minutes of this.
"Umm... yeah..." replied Tom.
"Kay. Let's go."
"Uh-huh."
Alex and Tom looked towards the door. Alex got his hands out of his short pockets and took of his bag. He went in the front section and pulled out a Pokeball. He looked at the Fire emblem on the Pokeball. It was something simple, and he'd done it himself. He smiled, before throwing the ball in his hand. The ball flew through the air a a little before an echoing click was heard and it opened. Out came Blaze looking as cheerful and determined as ever. Alex hoped Blaze didn't change too much upon evolving. Blaze was the Pokemon he was closest with. They'd been through thick and thin together. He sighed. It didn't matter. Either way he'd still love Blaze and he was sure Blaze would love him back.
Alex caught the Pokeball as it rebounded from the movement of opening and being propelled back. He put it in his bag.
"Right, bud. This is IT!" he said to his partner. He looked to his right and saw that Rai was out of his Pokeball. He nodded at Tom, and felt his expression harden as he prepared himself. This was the Gym. He picked up Blaze, went up to the door and opened it. He stepped; but there was nothing there. He panicked as he felt himself falling. Oh, the cunning rascals! How DARE they do that!
---
Meanwhile, Tom and Rai were at the stop of the trap, wondering what had happened. Puzzled, Tom went over to the door. His eyes widened and he looked at Rai.
"Umm... do we follow him?" he asked.
"Pika!" replied his Pikachu. That was a "Yes".
"Ok..." he picked up Rai and went up to the door, and jumped.
---
It was a slide in the middle of a tree after a few metres, so fortunately Alex' small fall didn't hurt too much. He started to slide down. He looked back and saw Tom.
It was actually quite a pleasurable ride, and Alex and Tom gently slid down the slide. Eventually they reached the bottom. There was another door. Alex was much more wary of this one, so opened it carefully. He sighed a sigh of relief as he saw it was normal ground level Fidona outside. He looked to his right and saw Tikal, supported by Tyson, making their way up some stairs leading to the Taminagi palace, the location of the gym. Alex, still holding Blaze, ran towards them, with Tom following close behind.
Finally, he got to the same step as them and saw that Tikal was injured.
"Hey guys! What happened, Tikal?"

Posted by: Protoman Dec 23 2010, 06:32 PM

"No time," Tyson exclaimed, "right now, we need to get to that gym." After gently scooping Tikal up, Tyson began rushing towards the large hill that faced them. He ran full speed, with Tikal in his arms and Alex and Tom right behind him. He was breathing heavily, maintaining his speed and balance as well(since now he had to carry his own weight and Tikal's as well). After about ten minutes of running, they finally made it to the Gym doors. Tyson, breathing heavily, placed Tikal gently on her feet.

"Hey guys," Tyson heaved, sweat pouring from his face like rain, "we made it here...let's go in." Almost falling completely off the hill, Tyson managed to tumble on the path they had treaded up together.

Posted by: rt117 Dec 30 2010, 11:01 AM

"Hey wait, what are you-"

Before she could finish, she blinked and simply watched as she was carried away to the top of the hill. After a few moments of utter confusion, she immediately clung onto Tyson's shoulder for fear of the two falling back the way they came. It was a rather long ways down anyways. Fortunately her Igglybuff had the same idea, still holding onto her hair.

As she was set back down onto solid ground once more, Tikal reached out to try and steady Tyson, though not so stable herself. "That wasn't entirely necessary... but thanks..." she smiled. It would have been much easier for him to simply act as a support, but that worked as well. Plus it meant they were up top now, so long as there weren't any more surprises to come their way. Smiling lightly, she asked:

"Ready?"

Posted by: Proby Dec 30 2010, 11:13 AM

"Oh, I'm ready!" shouted Alex.
With one mighty shove, he opened the doors to the Taminagi palace.
"Whoa... this place is pretty impressive." he remarked.
"Uh-huh. Hopefully there won't be any-" a spear suddenly flew past right in front of Alex eyes.
"Traps" finished Tom. "Right, Alex, we have to be careful."
"You're telling me!" exclaimed Alex. This was... not good. Not good in the slightest. He hated it when things happened out of the blue, well, if these things were dangerous anyway. He hated that feeling of the hairs on your back standing on end. Funnily enough, he was getting that feeling now.

He looked down to his left where he saw Blaze, who was still out of his Pokaball. No matter the circumstances his little Torchic was always cheerful and determined at the same time. He had that fighter's look in his eyes. That look of "You stop me from doing what I want to do and I WILL destroy you". Alex liked that look.

So with Blaze by his side, Alex was less afraid of the dangers they faced in this gym. He picked his starter Pokemon up, and held him at arms width, facing him.
"We are gonna do this, right here, and right now. Nod if ya understand."
Blaze nodded, and cried out a sharp, quick "Tor!"
"Well then, the time for Dilly-dallying is over. Let's kick some aquatic and fighting BUTT!"
And with that, Alex picked up a large flat piece of wood hanging on the wall. That was all he needed; a shield. Other than that, Blaze and pure determination were the key.
With that, he held the shield in front of his eyes and charged down the narrow corridor in front of him.
---
Tom sighed. Alex was just being a fool... again. They were the same age, as Tom repeated to himself frequently, but for some reason, whatever reason, Alex was just a little kid in terms of maturity. Maybe it was because he hadn't experienced the tough, harsh things life can throw at you, or maybe it was the opposite; maybe this was Alex's way of battling them. Tom would never know. But then, he also knew that some people have extreme mature moments but also relax a lot. It was a common occurrence in men. They were very mature at work and other occasions, but at home completely relaxed and became quite childish.

He looked at Rai, his Pikachu, on his shoulder, who, like Blaze, was still out of his Pokeball from the earlier slide.
"Well, I guess we should probably follow him."
"Pika..." agreed Rai.
---
The headlong charging proved not to be a bad idea. Alex winced at he heard the spears flying across the room behind him.He was running too fast for them to hit him quick enough. He sighed as he reached the end of the corridor. There was a door at the end. He opened the door. Quickly, he remembered the traps and put his shield above his head; just in time. Moments later, hot gloop fell down onto his shield.

"This place is a health and safety hazard..." he muttered.

The next room was tiny. Inside there was an Amazonian woman.
"Hehe..." she said "You've just charged mindlessly into a dead end. Unless you beat me at a Pokemon battle, you're in for a rough time..."

Alex sighed, and shuddered. He didn't know what a "rough time" would be, but he didn't plan on finding out.

"Go, Machop!" shouted the Amazonian woman.

"Machop eh? Well, may as well train up Swamps a little seeing as he won't be much use in the fight..." Alex muttered to himself, before shouting "GO SWAMPS!"

Out came his Mudkip looking as happy as ever. It was getting far too common that his Pokemon were just cheerful. Alex sighed. Evolution again. Why did that keep cropping up like some annoying little ant? He had NO doubts!

"Machop, Karate chop!" ordered Alex's opponent. The Machop ran towards Swamps.
Alex knew what to do. He simply started humming "It's Raining Men" and Swamps nodded. He dodged the Karate Chop and used the Machop's momentum as he ran past to fire water at his back, making the Pokemon pound into the wall. Alex had different approaches for different Pokemon. For Blaze, all he needed to do was clap his hands or stomp his feet. Swamps and Leo's strategies involved humming music, whilst Stryk and Treecky just followed spoken words, in Stryk's case weird words that didn't mean anything, in Treecky's case just the attack name. "It's Raining Men" meant "Dodge and Water Gun combo!" There were countless different tunes and stomps/claps/words for each Pokemon, but Alex and each Pokemon knew them all.

The Machop was knocked out as soon as it hit the hall. Its trainer was visibly shocked.
"OK, you got away with it this time..." she said, and fell to her knees. Alex knew that she was probably one of the weakest trainers though, and Swamps was one of his strongest Pokemon anyway. He knew he'd need to do much more to find and beat Maxi Z!. He turned round and left the room.

After a while, Alex came to the end of the gym. There was a a door outside. He looked behind and saw his fellow adventurers there and ready.
"Ok guys... let's try to get some badges!" he exclaimed, with fire in his eyes.
---
As the trainers exited the palace, they faced a stone stairway leading down to a private beach area. Sand stretched from the base of the staircase to the shores of a large tidal pool. Palm trees dotted the landscape, with a refreshment stand being attended by an Amazon. This would have made for a beautiful vacation spot…had it not been for the buckets of water pouring down from the sky. The rain was thick, hiding the vast ocean that stood as the backdrop of the outdoor arena. Even in this weather, Amazon guards stood watch on the cliff sides overlooking the area. Though the role was entirely ceremonial, the guards stood defiant to the water, standing still without complaint.

As the challengers walked further into the beach, they could see the source of the violent weather. An azumarill was prancing on top of a large wooden platform, practicing its Rain Dance technique. Next to her was a tall, muscular man, who circled the pokemon as he watched her maneuver. His voice thundered through the giant rainstorm.

“Right! Left! Up! Down! Bring the rain!”

The man looked over to see that his guests had arrived. Immediately, he told the azumarill to cease. The rain slowed to a drizzle, while the clouds faded into a light gray color. As the weather cleared, so did the surroundings. The beach had two cliffs on the left and right, keeping it from prying eyes on the other side. These cliffs stretched into the ocean, forming a safe harbor for various water pokemon. Cutting into the shoreline was a large tidal pool, big enough to fit 50 people comfortably for a pool party. Within the pool, a coral reef lined the sandy bottom, perfect for providing hiding places. Even at ten feet below the surface, the reef’s features were easily seen through the crystal clear seawater. Small waves licked the beach, not even reaching the lounge chairs along the shore.

Finally, more of the host’s details came into view. He shared the skin tone of the other Amazons, though his long black hair was a bit of a mess. He quickly dived into the tidal pool along with his azumarill, swimming ashore to greet his guests. As he walked up the beach, he reached out a hand to Alex, Tom, Tyson, and Tikal.

“All hail King Maxi!”

Several Amazons quickly kneeled at his presence. The man quickly raised his hand to release them. He seemed a bit annoyed at the royal treatment. As he watched his Azumarill sit down upon the unused throne in the back, he refocused his attention on the challengers.
“Greetings challengers. I am Maxi, Gym Leader of Fidona. May I ask who has come all this way for a battle?”
---
Alex could only gawp. This place was just... amazing. Once he finally managed to draw his eyes away from the gym battlefield, he looked at Maxi, answering his question.
"Umm... Hi. You're Maxi, right? Umm... I'm Alex, and this is Tom, Tyson and Tikal. I'm kinda new to this, but... I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE!"

Posted by: Protoman Dec 30 2010, 02:04 PM

After the door opened and Tyson saw the spears flying at a rapid rate, he already knew that this would be much trouble for him. He simply dodged each spear barely, one of them taking his bandanna and the other knocking his rubber band apart from his hair. Both of which caused Tyson to swear under his breath. No longer concerned about it, Tyson knew that the worst case scenario here would be for him to get one of his headaches while dodging a spear. After he reached the doorway, he automatically dove inside, dodging the magma colored liquid by the rubber on his shoes.

"Phew," Tyson breathed in relief, "that could have been very bad." After Alex had left, an Amazon stood before him, carrying a Poke Ball.

"If you want to pass," the woman stated, "you'll have to defeat me in battle."

"Okay," Tyson said, not nervous in the least bit.

"Go, Poliwag," she yelled before releasing the sphere from her grasp. It opened up, revealing the small, tadpole like Pokemon. Tyson reached back and pulled out a Poke Ball, tossing it into the air as well.

"Hydro," Tyson stated calmly, "clear the path!" Hydro, bursting out of his Poke Ball, bounced around happily before getting serious.

"Hmph," the Amazon scoffed at Tyson's choice of Pokemon, "you do realize that they are on even grounds, right?"

"Maybe so," Tyson stated calmly, but he smiled, almost to say that he knows he made the right choice. "Hydro, use Tackle!" Without another moment of hesitation, the Squirtle charged towards Poliwag, tackling it immediately.

"Double-slap," she yelled, causing Poliwag to start smacking Hydro around a lot. Tyson thought about his next move, unsure as to whether or not he should do this.

"Withdraw," he stated calmly, making Hydro go into his shell. The Poliwag simply looked in confusion, unsure as to how this was a strategy. "Now face me!" Hydro, also slightly bewildered, simply followed instructions.

"Double-slap again," the Amazon yelled, making Poliwag go back towards Hydro and start smacking his shell. Tyson simply smiled, knowing he had the upper hand now.

"Now use Water Gun to get Poliwag off of you," Tyson said, hoping Hydro would use Water Gun towards him. When the Squirtle did so, he was sent colliding into Poliwag, shell first. Poliwag went tumbling into the wall, K.O.ed. The Amazon simply returned Poliwag and stepped to the side, allowing Tyson to pass by. Tyson rushed in, right behind Alex, noticing the amazing scenery surrounding them. A low whistle escaped from Tyson's lips as he stared in astonishment around them. He then heard Alex challenge the gym leader. With the Gym Leader's physique, he almost started to take back his challenge. However, he decided to tap Alex on his shoulder lightly.

"Lemme go first, buddy," Tyson said smiling, hoping Alex would agree.

Posted by: rt117 Dec 30 2010, 07:57 PM

Having been nearby Tyson, Tikal barely avoided the traps and danger, almost having to result in hiding behind him in the process. However after watching their battle she sighed in relief, and attempted to slip by with Tyson. Standing in her way was another strong Amazon, waiting for Tikal to make her move. With a stern look on her face, she simply glared at the young girl.

Tikal fell back quickly as her way was blocked by the rather intimidating Amazon, almost falling over in the process. Trying to look past to get Tyson's attention, she found that he was preoccupied, and shrunk back a bit. With the woman pulling out a Poke Ball, she simply looked at Tikal, waiting for her to make the next move.

"I guess that means I have to battle..." she frowned, unsure of who to choose. If it was a water type, then maybe she could use Igglybuff, but a fighting type would mean she could use any of her other Pokemon.
"Erm... you go first."

With a light toss, the Pokemon revealed was a Makuhita, which simply looked at Tikal, smiling. At the sight of the fighting type Pokemon, Tikal could feel her Igglybuff shrink and hide behind her head with a little waver.

"Well that's one Pokemon ruled out." she frowned, before considering her best option. Pulling one of her Pokeballs from her pocket, she revealed her male Nidoran in the flash of light. With a few twitches of its large ears, its pink body stiffened at the foe. With the Amazon simply nodding, she placed her hand forward, to show that Tikal could make the first move.

"I was afraid of that." Tikal said to herself with a weak smile, before glancing down to her Pokemon. "Start with a Leer and weaken the defences." she instructed calmly, not wanting to alert her Pokemon to her unease. Still stiff, the Nidoran's eyes flashed dangerously, staring at the Makuhita with a hard, almost evil glare.

"Focus Energy," the Amazon said calmly, after the Makuhita's defences were lowered. The round bellied
Pokemon simply clasped his hands together, causing him to focus more and his muscles to tense up.
"Now Bulk Up," The Amazon bellowed, making Makuhita swell up like a balloon, soon releasing it. He simply waited for Nidoran to attack.

"Use Focus Energy as well." Tikal called, knowing the move wasn't so original. But she knew that her Nidoran's move pool was not as diverse, and so had to consider her strategy carefully. The Makuhita simply stood, waiting for Nidoran to attack him.

"Attack with Peck!" Tikal decided finally, having realized the battle would otherwise go nowhere. With a battle cry, the Pokemon bristled its poisonous barbs and charged forward, its small yet sharp horn poised at the opposing Pokemon. With the peck attack landing, Makuhita simply grabbed the Nidoran, throwing it into the wall.

"Nidoran!" Tikal called, running over to her Pokemon in sheer worry. Collapsing onto the ground, her Nidoran slowly got back to its feet, before shaking its head and glaring at the Makuhita. Though her worry was clear, Tikal saw the determination in her Pokemon's eyes, and nodded. It would be wrong to pull him from the fight when he was determined.
"Alright then... distract with Leer!"

"Tackle then Arm Thrust," she called out, having her Makuhita rush towards Nidoran, tackling it out of it's gaze before hitting him three times, the third time landing on the horn of the toxic rabbit. Gritting her teeth, Tikal found it harder to watch the battle.

"Peck while its close!" Tikal called, watching the Makuhita attack. Bearing the weight of the opposing Pokemon's arm, Nidoran's spikes bristled as he threw his head up to dislodge the attack, and slam his horn square into the foe, making sure that Makuhita came into contact with its poison-seeping spikes. Makuhita simply could not take the Peck attack, causing him to double over in pain, finally signalling victory for Tikal, who blinked in sheer surprise. Surely there was more to the battle than that. After all, her Nidoran had only gotten in two hits and somehow it had accounted for a knockout. Though with a smile, she bent down and scooped her worn Pokemon up. After a few moments of wincing, Makuhita finally got back up, shaking his head and ready for another battle.

"Quick, another Peck! Try to poison it too while youre at it!" she smiled to her Nidoran as she set him back down. Though a little uneasy on his feet and worn out, he shook his weariness away and charged forward, aiming for the small welt he had made before as he collided with his foe. With a quick side step, Makuhita swept Nidoran's feet out from under him, in an attempt to harm him. With no feet to catch him, Nidoran cartwheeled to the ground in a heap, a growl escaping his throat as he moved to get back up. The poison seeping from his points made him slightly sticky, covering the floor with the same substance. Makuhita simply glared at Nidoran, slowly moving towards him to finish what he started.

Noticing the poison oozing from his spikes, Tikal got an idea.
"Shake yourself off!" she called to her Pokemon, watching as the Makuhita edged closer. Getting to his feet, the small Pokemon began to shake like a dog, spraying the poison everywhere, and coating the floor around him with the sticky substance. Before Makuhita could take another step, he was ensnared within the purple ooze from the Nidoran. He started to feel weaker as the fumes from this gunk began to seep through his nostrils.

"Perfect!" Tikal smiled, seeing the Makuhita struggle with the rather foul-smelling poison. "Now Peck from behind!"
Running around the ensnared Pokemon, Nidoran charged in from behind, where the opposing Pokemon would be unable to defend itself. With the Makuhita in a situation that he couldn't get out of, he seemed to be ready to accept defeat. As the two collided, Nidoran landed a few feet back, though looked rather exhausted from the results of the battle. Fortunately for him however, the Makuhita was not in a better condition. Without warning, the Makuhita collapsed, allowing the Amazon to make him return into his Poke Ball. After stepping to the side, she allowed Tikal to pass.

"Finally." she smiled, moving over to her Pokemon while she attempted to avoid the stickly puddle. Pulling out her Pokeball, she aimed it at her Nidoran, which was resting almost peacefully on the ground. "You need a good rest..." she told him quietly, before returning him and quickly running by to reunite with Tyson.


Tyson looked back, almost surprised as to Tikal's late entry.
"What kept you," Tyson asked, unsure if Tikal had to face the same dangers he had to endure.

"They made me battle." Tikal replied, a little unhappy with that fact. She then smiled. "I won though, but my Nidoran is really tired out, and I'm worried he wont be able to fight."

"That's not good," Tyson said, pondering as to why this was done. He gave Tikal a Potion to use on her Nidoran.
"That should make him feel better.

"Thanks." Tikal smiled, feeling a bit better as she re-released Nidoran, and attempted to apply the potion while avoiding the sticky ooze. "You need a bath." she frowned, wrinkling her nose at the smell. Tyson simply smiled, wanting to laugh at Tikal's statement.

Once having fully applied the potion, she stood upright with her Pokemon in her arms, deciding to let him rest outside his Pokeball. Igglybuff returned to her original position, though was rather aware of the smell.

Posted by: 2gamers Jan 8 2011, 09:19 PM

(Joint post by Proby and myself)

Posted by: Proby Feb 1 2011, 10:51 AM

Posted by: rt117 Feb 2 2011, 11:53 AM

Tikal watched as the Lapras returned, Alex quickly running off with a look she recognized as despair. In all honesty she had considered him a better trainer than her, which made his apparent defeat all the more nerve racking for the beginner trainer. Seeing that Tyson had not moved, she rubbed the back of her head and stepped forward towards the Lapras. She had come all this way for the gym battle, after having braved the pitfalls and traps on her way and defeating her earlier challenger for the right to participate.

It still didn't mean that she couldn't be nervous though. Carefully moving onto Lapras' back, she cleared her throat, and in an almost uneasy voice, replied:
"I'm next."

She had to carefully consider her options as she made her way towards the platforms, thinking about who to use to gain some advantage. Nidoran of course was an obvious choice, being the strongest of her Pokemon and seeming to have some type advantage. Totodile was of course also considered due to the type of arena they would be facing in. That left her with Igglybuff and Charmander. At the sight of water, Tikal could easily guess that her fire lizard would find his phobia standing before him, which left her down to Igglybuff. While not having such a great advantage, Tikal intended to make use out of one of her Balloon Pokemon's greatest strengths.

Finalizing her team as the Lapras arrived at the platform, she gave the ferry Pokemon a small pat and thanks, finding herself somewhat in love with its species. Unfortunately her affection towards it would have to be set side, climbing onto the platform before standing straight up, and looking at the almost intimidating form of Maxi, almost wishing she had made Tyson go next. Though at the thought of him, Tikal suddenly smiled, her confidence almost returning to her with the idea of winning for him.

"I challenge you to a battle!"

Posted by: 2gamers Mar 26 2011, 09:20 AM

Posted by: rt117 Apr 17 2011, 11:44 AM

Posted by: Proby Apr 19 2011, 06:01 AM

Alex was indeed located at the Pokemon Center. he was angry. Furious even, at himself. He didn't understand how he'd lost. He'd trained hard, really hard, at trying to make his Pokemon as strong as possible. heck, he'd even had luck in that battle just then, with Stryk evolving as it happened. Alex looked at her now. All of his Pokemon were outside his Pokeballs, playing, having deserved such a feta after their hard attempts today, apart form Stryk, who, as usual, stood on the table next to Alex, who was sitting down in his chair. Both were watching the antics, Stryk with a motherly eye of someone who wants to make sure nobody gets in trouble, Alex very vaguely, because most of the time thoughts were racing through his mind.

He was absent-mindedly juggling Pokeballs around his fingers, and thinking. What did he need to do now? How could he train his Pokemon from here, to be strong enough to take on a Gym leader. He was angry at himself and despairing slightly. he was just about to leave when Tikal entered the Pokemon Center.

"Oh hey Tikal. Listen, I was thinking, we ought to get somewhere to sleep for the night... how did your battle go?"

Posted by: rt117 Apr 19 2011, 03:33 PM

Playing with the Gym Badge in her pocket as she walked into the Pokemon Center, Tikal began to consider her options for what to do from here on. Even though she had managed a victory, the battle had been too close for comfort. And if she planned on going for another gym fight, she and her Pokemon would need more practice before taking on the next challenge. And if she knew Alex, he probably would have been looking for someone to practice with to try again for the next gym fight. With any luck he wouldn't mind a little practice with her, though it would need to wait for another day.

"Hey." she smiled, walking by Alex briefly to confront Nurse Joy about getting her Pokemon healed. As they were taken away, she turned and walked back over to her friend, before taking a seat nearby. As he suggested their next move, she nodded in agreement with a smile. "That sounds like a good plan." the girl replied, before moving her hand from her pocket at his question.

"I think this will explain everything." Tikal added, opening her hand to reveal the glittering Gym Badge resting on the palm of her hand. "It was a really close match, but the moment things started to go in my favour, it went all downhill from there." she explained, before pocketing the badge and settling into her seat once more. "It was too close though in my opinion, so I think my Pokemon need more practice for next time."

Looking over at his team with a smile, she then asked: "How about you? Do you think you'll try again tomorrow?"

Posted by: Proby Apr 20 2011, 05:01 AM

Alex nodded at Tikal's answer to his question. Then, she answered his question. As she showed him the glistening, shiny Gym badge, he couldn't help himself from everything falling down further. His head sank, his shoulders sagged, his expression turned even more despairing. He wanted to feel happy about Tikal's success, but he couldn't. Not knowing she'd outsmarted Maxi Z!. It sounded arrogant even in Alex's head, but he had the most training talent. His Pokemon were already much stronger than Tyson and Tikal's, and even Tom's, who'd been training for much longer than Alex, but he'd lost when they'd won. Alex knew that Tikal was an excellent trainer. He just considered himself better, even if it were by a small amount.

"Well done, congratulations" said Alex, trying his best to feel happiness at Tikal's victory. But he couldn't. he was just too distraught at his loss. He needed sleep.
"I'm tired. Let's get those rooms." he said. Tikal seemed to nod at him, but he wasn't paying much attention. He called back all his Pokemon, put them in his bag, and headed to the tourist place.

When he got there, he saw a receptionist smiling warmly at him. Tikal was close behind. Alex didn't know where Tyson was. Tom had left earlier. He'd slipped away during Alex's gym battle and presumably already ahd rented out a room.
"Umm... hi. We're trainers. We'd like to rent out a room each. In Tree-house places if possible? And do you know if another trainer named Tom Hawk came here?" asked Alex.
"Yes and Yes," said the Receptionist, "My name is Cara. I'll lead you. There's two rooms close to Mr. Hawk's in the 'Original Fidonian Experience' hotel."
Cara lead them to some natural spot on the edge of the city using a car where there were tree-houses. She showed them to their rooms, pointed out Tom's, which was between Alex and Tikal's, and then wished them a good night, before leaving.
"See you in the morning. The festival, and we'll check out the culture if Fidona." he said to Tikal, before going into his room and quickly getting into bed.

Alex lay there in bed. Tomorrow was a new day. A new dawn. His birthday. The Fidonian festival, which included the contest part which Tom had been working towards. It would be a new day. But for now, Alex just wanted to sleep. Within minutes, his head was on his pillow and his eyes were shut.

Posted by: rt117 Apr 21 2011, 04:34 PM

It was obvious from the tone in his voice that Alex was still rather upset over his loss at the gym. Especially with how he reacted when she showed him the Gym Badge. Part of her just wanted to tell him to get over it, and that he would have another chance soon. But something told her that her words would probably sound harsh, and likely would only worsen the situation. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day for them, especially since she was looking forward to do some exploring, and maybe get some nice pictures in while they were at it. Tikal was beginning to feel that her album was rather lacking in her own battles, but it was rather hard to take pictures while taking part in a battle.

As they got their rooms and retired for the evening, Tikal took a few moments to glance out to the sunset, beginning to feel rather worried. She hadn't seen Tyson since she left to begin her Gym Battle, and thought that he would have caught up to them by now. Maybe he was at the Pokemon Center now, having finished his battle, but would he know to come here? What if they were separated? Somehow she knew that she wouldn't sleep well tonight. But she had other ways to coax herself to sleep.

Walking into her room, she pulled one of her Pokeballs from her pocket, releasing Igglybuff out onto her bed. Opening her big red eyes, the Balloon Pokemon looked up to her trainer with a smile, literally jumping at her. With a smile Tikal caught her friend, before sitting on the bed and releasing the rest of her team. "All of you did great today." the girl commented, giving them all an approving nod before laying back on the bed. "We should try to get some more practice in though, because it was a rather close match back there. I'm sure Alex won't mind a little training."

Clasping her hands together, she rose her head to look at them. "But before we can do that, we need to get a good night's rest." Tikal told them, before glancing to Igglybuff. "Do you think you can help with that?" she asked with a grin, knowing her Igglybuff could not resist singing one of her lovely songs.

Almost immediately, Igglybuff let out a happy cry, before bounding onto her lap and turning to her fellow team. The next few moments were a haze, as everyone drifted off in a sound sleep with the aid of the Baby Pokemon's soothing lullaby.