Pokemon: Aschen Adventures (IC)

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
"I find that highly unlikely. Butterfree are harmless- they'll only attack you if you start throwing fire and pokeballs at them!" She shakes her head and starts to pack up her things, muttering something about 'trainers'.
After you release her, Screech squawks at you indignantly, then turns to preening herself. She seems to be pointedly ignoring you.

[Ajadea]

Adela shakes her head. "I wish... no fire-types." She regards Screech for a moment. "I know you aren't happy," she mumbles at the bird, sounding relatively apologetic. "I don't blame you..."

Baby steps. "Right." She inhales and sends Bane out, letting him splash into the water. Step one.

Now step two. Breathe out. "Tinna, Sweet Scent."

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I'm not entirely sure how Alluring works, but it's given by the move Sweet Scent and makes Tinna appealing to Pokemon somehow.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
Lana gives you a blank look as you ask about her. "...Hm." She gets up, heading over to the counter, returning with a second drink in hand.
"Here. And don't mention it."
It's an iced coffee with enough cream and syrup to please even the most timid of coffee drinkers. It's not bad at all, though, so long as you can stand the sweetness. She sips on her own beverage and begins.
"I never really saw my mom much when I was a kid. While she was down in Rogen busy doing the gym leader thing, I lived with my grandpa up in Volthselm. At the time, training wasn't really a... thing. I watched all the movies and stuff, even saw a few matches at the gym, but I had no aspirations to be a trainer. As I understand it, that was exactly how mom wanted it- she didn't want me to follow her in that. Sitting here, I'm starting to get why. Anyways, that didn't last long, he died, and since I really didn't have any other family I was shipped off to Sunsong to live with Ami. Donno if you've ever been up in Sunsong, but you've got one town up there of about 10,000 people. It's got a dojo, the gym, and that's it. Most of the people there are either trainers at the gym, or passing through in order to visit it. Ami spent most of her time there- so did her kids- and when they were home that's all they'd talk about. So, I started getting into it, enjoyed it, and by the time my mom had joined the Elite Four I wanted to stay. She didn't like it, but she okayed it, and moved into a villa out there.
Feels kindof weird saying it, but... I learned from the best. The gym leaders, elite four out here, they're all kindof a big family. A big, weird, dysfunctional family, down to the screaming fights and creepy alcoholic uncle. Don't know why, but they all stick together, keep in touch. If you ever wanna get the dirt on one of these guys... I've seen all the stuff the League doesn't want you to. Anyways, got pretty good, developed my style, then came out here to 'make a splash' in the bug catching competition. I like music, Goldenrod-style pizza, running, and my favorite types are Ghost and Dark."
She leans back, pulls down her glasses a bit, and takes a sip of her iced coffee.
"Your turn."

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
Tinna releases a pink mist that quickly diffuses into the air. You immediately smell it: a clear, sweet, pleasant smell. Alluring, to say the least. Even the girl with the sunhat halts at that.
Immediately the Butterfree overhead floats down to investigate the source of the scent, brushing by you brazenly. The dust from its wings makes you sneeze. It dances around Tinna for a bit, and the two exchange chirps and purrs before it moves on. You hear some giggling; it seems the girl is still watching.
Meanwhile, a Bidoof toddles and waddles out of some bushes towards you, while a Totodile pokes its head out of the water to survey the scene.

[Gorgondantess]

Neimi & TJ:
The Alakazam, seeing you simply stand and chat, seems to decide you're not worth his attention any longer. It turns to the floating Magikarp and waves a hand; it is neatly bisected down the middle, though still wriggling. This does not last long as its bones and viscera all are torn out, to land in a neat pile behind a rock. What it is left with is a bowl made of half a Magikarp's skin, and a pile of glistening white flesh piled within; it lifts this to its face, and begins to eat.
While the display was certainly... gory, to say the least, you're reminded of your own rumbling stomachs.

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Neimi: while your last post was lovely and I hate to quash your artistic license, I must point out one discrepancy: you have not seen any rivers, or bodies of water at all.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan accepts the drink without complaint, taking a small nip of the drink and then sets it down to listen to Lana's story in earnest. Listening to her though, he could kind of understand where Grey was coming from. It wasn't that she was boring it was just that Lana wasn't particularly marketable. As much as he hated to admit it, 'real' just didn't sell as well as drama did. Sipping his drink intermittently, he idly wonders if his own story was interesting enough to be eaten up by the rabid consumers.

And then, as if on cue, it was his 'turn'. "I suppose it is," he says with a shrug. Pausing for a moment to compose his thoughts, he downs the rest of his drink slaps it to the side, leaning back against the chair and crossing his arms.

"Well, I guess you could say I come from Kanto Old Money. The Frosts. You might know them as the ones who got Red's 'sloppy seconds' when my great-grandfather married into the Oaks. Not much to say about that, save for my barely tangible relation to Blue, I guess. I grew up in Pallet Town, on a big estate out in the countryside. Which...is most of Pallet I guess? I'm the second of three boys, and the third out of six children. I'm the only trainer in the family though I hear that I'm a bad influence on the twins. So give it a few years and you might see a few new Frost faces in the training world. Though, that's not to say the only one with a job pertaining to Pokemon. We have more than a few researchers in the family. Businessmen too. You hear a lot about us 'high society twits' going bankrupt but considering my family's current affluence it would seem that my great-grandfather made quite a few...investments to ensure our comfort."

Humming to himself slightly, he continues on with the rest of his story. "Anyway, my grandad, a retired trainer, took a special liking to me because of my interest in Pokemon. I was reared on stories from the 'Golden Age' of Pokemon training. Or in other words, training 'back in his day'. He's sort of a kook but a good man. He's the one who convinced my parents to let me become a trainer anyway. I knew pretty early that I wanted to be a competitive battler so with my grandfather's support they enrolled me in a prestigious trainer academy. By the time I graduated they finally let up and offered to buy me a full team of rare and well-bred starters. Thankfully I managed to talked them out of it so I could do it the old fashioned way. And before you say anything, yeah that was my pride talking but looking back on it now I wouldn't have it any other way. A good trainer can bring out the best in his team, regardless of their individual power or typing! Red said this to Blue in volume 3, of Trainer Blue Adventures. I happen to have every volume of Trainer Blue by the way. Even the ****ty reboot. The originals are even signed. If you ever wanted I could even let you borrow them sometime." Nathan sniffs proudly, as if this were some kind of achievement. And then, realizing that he was doing it again, he coughs and looks away to hide the reddening on his cheeks. "And yeah, I guess if you hadn't already noticed I tend to get pretty passionate about Pokemon. Used to get picked on in school before I started scaring away the bullies..."

Clearing his throat he finishes, "I guess that's it. I could go on, but I don't think you want to...hear about my terrible first day as a trainer..."

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. was just making sure the creature didn't react terribly poorly to being photographed before moving on, as flash cameras and wild powerful creatures don't exactly mix.

The young psychic shuffles slowly towards the powerful pokemon, leading ahead of his Ursaring rather than behind it, head low, and thoughts full of humility. Like, more humility than usual. There's also a very genuine spark of reverence in his mind as he approaches the incredible psychic creature. He wishes he could be that powerful.

"Hello," he awkwardly greets. "I'm s-sorry to interrupt your m-m-meal, b-but I- I m-mean we, are lost. D-do you know where m-more humans are?"

[Ajadea]

Adela flinches at the sudden approach of the Butterfree. She manages a brief, wondering, stare as it completely fails to try and rip apart her soft defenseless brain. Then it nearly hits her in the face with its wing as it passes by and she sneezes several times in quick succession. Her eyes are watering slightly when she finally gets them open. She looks around again. The Butterfree is gone, leaving a trail of dust floating in the air. Sunlight catches them, and Adela is vaguely reminded of those fantasy books with too many sparkles in the pictures. Standing here for real, breathing in the vaguely honey-scented air, she can't bring herself to mind it too much. "I... wow, Tinna..."

Soft padding footsteps break the trance. She quickly notices the Bidoof, and passes it over. They were almost legendarily weak and she really had no use for it. But then she sees the Totodile, red spikes a sharp contrast against all the blue and green and sunlight. Bane was a Water-type in theory, but in practice he was mostly a Magikarp. Having a proper one couldn't hurt.

The Totodile certainly looked curious and perhaps even friendly (or at least as friendly as something that spiky could be), but perhaps more importantly, it looked fast. She could deal with its anger issues later. Adela crosses the distance between her current position and the Totodile and kneels in front of it. "Bane, Bite!" She brings her hand down to strike it without a moment of regret.

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Adela - Karate Chop Accuracy - (1d20)[15]Damage - (2d8+9)[16]
Bane - Bite Accuracy - (1d20)[18] -- Flinch! Damage - (2d10+11)[29]

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
Lana listens intently enough throughout your story, though she laughs when you start nerding out.
"Hnh. Guess we're both royalty, then." She sighs. "As much as I hate to admit it, my... parentage has definitely given me an edge. Hell, I donno- maybe there's a 'trainer' gene. It's a nebulous enough thing, Pokemon training- who knows? If so, I guess we're both in luck."
She shakes her head, smiling. "Well, you've already seen my first day of training. Yours can't be that bad... can it?"

Adela:
As you poise ready to pounce on the unsuspecting Totodile, you hear a commotion from behind you. The girl is charging down the hill towards you and the river.
"Run, Totodile!"
As soon as you've turned back, it's already too late; the Totodile has slipped away downstream. The girl, now right by you, glares defiantly while holding a hand on to her sunhat to keep it from blowing away.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan stares back at Lana, directly in the eyes with an expression completely devoid of sentiment. "I won't get into specifics but lets just say that being strung up by a Galvantula and hung over a river is probably...the fourth worst thing to ever happen to me." It went without saying that gold through bronze happened over the course of his first week of training. Gold and silver alone occurred on the same day no less. "It's no exaggeration that I would be dead today if not for Ender. He's easily the cornerstone of my team and if today was any indication, he's proved time and again that he's the most dependable."

Slumping against the table with his elbows he chuckles darkly, "Though lately, I'm not sure if I'm getting good enough as a trainer to deserve a Pokemon like him. Every battle I've ever lost was because I was inadequate as a trainer and he's suffered through these defeats because I just wasn't good enough to pull out the win... I don't have much experience and I don't really have the benefit the cash advantage a lot of other trainers do. I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to challenge the League as I am now, you know?"

[Gorgondantess]

"...That bad, huh? Well, I guess I stand corrected."
She shakes her head. "You talk about personal inadequacies, and then about not having the benefit of money. That's not being inadequate, that's not having money. That can be changed. Experience, too. All you have to do is keep at it. As I understand it, once you reach the higher echelons of training things like money start to have a lesser impact, and skill more. Strategy, teambuilding, that's what's important.
"I met the Champion once, you know. Kamon. Well, I've seen him several times, but I never actually talked to him. My mom, though, for the longest time she made it a point that she'd take me to go meet him. Never happened until about a year ago. Even then, he didn't really say anything, but he did give me one piece of advice: he told me that while winning battles can certainly make your Pokemon stronger, it's defeat that makes you stronger."
She shrugs. "I donno. Red's biography said he never lost a battle, more or less, so maybe he's full of shit. But if he's right, then I'd say you're halfway there already."
She smiles, and leans forwards towards you, then settles back in her seat.
"Something to think about, at least."

[Ajadea]

Adela whirls around as Bane's jaws snap shut on empty water. "What the hell was that about! I could have caught it!" A certain burgeoning rational part of her mind tells her that actually punching the girl is a very bad idea. Her hands curl into fists anyways, and she doesn't much feel like expending the mental effort to relax.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
"Yeah, and you could've killed it as well! Have you even thought about that? That maybe these creatures don't exist just so you can capture them and force them to fight each other?"
She sees your clenched fist, and raises her head, leaning in closer, daring you to lash out. "You people are all alike. Cold, careless, you don't care what you hurt, who you hurt, so long as you can grab onto whatever little scrap of power and glory you can find."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan keeps his head cradled in the palms of his hand, smirking at Lana amusedly until he scoffs good-naturedly at the last bit, "Well I certainly don't feel stronger..." Leaning back himself, he chuckles and looks up at the ceiling. "...still, I feel better getting that off my chest..." Turning his gaze back to Lana he flashes her a small smile. "Thanks. You may not realize it but you've helped me make two very crucial decisions today."

The smile quickly disappears into a cocky grin and he scratches his chin with the ball of his thumb. "Strategy and teambuilding huh? I guess I've got that in spades. A better head on my shoulder than most of the idiots I've battled." He offers her a conspiratorial wink and sits back to cross his arms. "So...what now?"

[Ajadea]

"Pokemon aren't harmless little victims, you know! They're dangerous. And yeah, maybe I would have killed it, or Bane would have chewed its head off. Maybe in a couple years, it'll grow up and eat someone." Adela's fists shake as the desire to punch the stupid girl in the face wars with the desire to avoid proving her right. "There's stuff out there, that'd kill me, or you, sooner than not. If capturing, say, that Totodile, and letting it get bashed up a couple times, keeps the other stuff out there from killing people, I really don't have a problem with that."

[Gorgondantess]

Ajadea:
"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, silly me, I didn't know you were attacking that Totodile to protect me, my mistake. You weren't at all thinking of yourself when you were going after it. Have you ever stopped to consider that there's a reason Pokemon attack you? I've never had problems with that in my life, and I come out here almost every day. You're getting attacked because you're throwing your pokeballs about, or at the very least invading their territory. When that Totodile becomes a Feraligatr, it'll retreat to deeper waters and eat Magikarp while troubling nobody that doesn't go looking for trouble."

[Ajadea]

Adela shoves the other girl away roughly, though she refrains from adding a nice shiner to her face. "Whatever. I don't have time for this crap," she says, doing her best to sound dismissive. She returns Screech with a sharp gesture, Pokeball slipping slightly in her too-tight grip. "C'mon Tinna. You too, Bane. Let's go." She begins walking up the riverbank in the direction the Totodile had went, leaving the girl behind. It couldn't be that fast, right?

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Having Tinna keep doing the Alluring thing as many times as she can. Trying to lure in the Totodile, but obviously Sweet Scent attracts a large variety of creatures.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
As you shove the girl, she stumbles, tripping on a rock and falling into the river, arms flailing, with a shriek. She's absolutely drenched, and her stupid hat fell off and is being carried down the creek. You leave before she can give any further protest.
As you head down the river, the Bidoof follows, and various other Pokemon make their appearance, though it's all things you've seen before. The Totodile, sadly, seems to have made good its escape and slipped off during your altercation. You're just giving up chase when you see something new: a Ralts timidly sidles out of some tall grasses towards you, drawn to Tinna's sweet scent.

Nathan:
"Oh? And what would those be?"
Seeing that you're not exactly forthcoming with your information, Lana shakes her head.
"Full of secrets. Keep it up and I might have to start describing you as 'mysterious'."

"What now?" She shrugs. "Well, like I said, I'm personally planning on heading to Sandberg. I mean, that's not exactly set in stone... but, uh, well, that's the plan as it is at the moment, and I don't exactly foresee that changing.
...What about you?"

TJ:
As you approach, the Alakazam lets out an animalistic bleat, and your mind is suddenly and powerfully bombarded by images- primarily that of you and Neimi, though also of the environments in the area. However, much like being thrown a ball without expecting it, you fumble the connection, dropping much of the images and gaining little from the contact. It doesn't help that the metaphorical ball is going at a metaphorical 120 kph.
It occurs to you that there is a good chance that this Alakazam, living here so high in the mountains, not only doesn't speak the common tongue, but perhaps has never even seen a human before.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan shrugs theatrically, a confident smirk plastered across his face as his upturned flicks away at the air. "Isn't that what girls want in a guy though? Flighty, mysterious and loaded to bursting with trust issues?" At the question, he drops all pretenses and stares at her blankly. "No idea. I need to catch more Pokemon to fill out my roster, and then work on training them to a competitive level. Any tips? I was thinking of looking for some more steel-types but I hear Beldum have become incredibly scarce on the mountains recently. Though, a fighting or psychic-type might do well to round out my team's weaknesses. Or I could go the extra mile and find a dragon-type and get the best of both worlds...though, getting a dragon this early would be more of a pipe dream than anything else."

Raising a single dragon-type would be difficult but better now than later in his career. Having a powerful reptilian Pokemon as the ace up your sleeve was the tried and true for many trainers. They were useful to be sure, but there was more than one reported case of a League-hopeful devote season after season to raising their proud and pernicious companions, effectively barring any potential improvement to their already powerful Pokemon. That was the problem with dragon-types. They were frustratingly difficult to train and evolve. Their famous draconian dispositions meant they were usually kept out of inexperienced hands which meant that most trainers who got their hands on a dragon-type were close to finalizing their team rosters.

But obtaining and then taming a dragon-type early enough would mean a severe advantage over the other trainers at his level as well as ample opportunity to train it into battling-form alongside his other team members. Ice types weren't great starters, due to their crippling weaknesses and at his level few trainers really thought far enough ahead to counter potential dragons.

Realizing that he was rambling again, Nathan clears his throat embarrassedly and scratches at the back of his neck. Clearing his throat, he returns to her questions. "I haven't really put much thought into it but right now I'm thinking of heading to either Platinum Valley or maybe Voltshelm. Haven't been back in real city for a while you know? I guess my plan is to sweep through Route 117 for training and then from there I guess I'll decide on whether or not I want to continue down it or go north for Platinum Valley..."

After looking upward, as if in consideration he snaps his eyes back down to Lana without a moment's pause. "What do you think?"

[Ajadea]

Adela smirks at the shriek and watches the hat float down the river, until she passes it. The triumph, however, is short-lived, and quickly replaced by crushing boredom and sore legs. A small army of small and uniformly useless bugs must have passed her by at this point, not to mention the persistent little Bidoof. And there was no Totodile in sight.

What there was, was a Ralts.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite near enough to the riverbank.... not enough so that Bane could bite it, anyways. Adela exhales slowly. She might only have one shot at this.

She draws her one and only Ultra Ball, and lobs it at the Ralts.

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Curve Ball - Deal 3 damage
Capture! - (1d100-12)[11] (Including Capture Point)

[OrchestraHc]

It doesn't speak human language. As T.J. realizes this he stumbles back to his Ursaring and steadies himself. This may make things complicated. T.J. puts his hand to his head as he tries to concoct a mental image. The human town of Moira, the Helicopter ride, the fall to earth, the long and fruitless walk, the night, the charmeleons, and finally, emphasized like a beacon of light in the darkness, the alakazam. Stung together in his mind like charms on a bracelet, he repeats them again and a third time, until he is confident they can stand without words. When he is sure of himself, he sends this chain to the Alakazam.

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Double checked the telepathy power on the wiki.

Telepathy
At-Will
Target: Any other human, some may be immune to Telepathy
Effect: You may read the surface thoughts of other humans, as well as project your surface thoughts to other humans. You may also project telepathic message to your Pokemon, but may not read your Pokemon’s minds.

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
The ultra ball barely even wiggles as it clamps tightly shut around the Ralts. Money well spent.

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Level 9, female, timid, no egg moves or other such malarkey.

[Ajadea]

It wasn't a Totodile, but it certainly would do. Adela picks up the motionless ball and lets her Pokedex do its work. Ralts... crappy stats, only slightly better movepool, evolve into the slightly less crappy Kirlia through training... no one gave a damn about Gardevoir... ah there. Evolve Gallade - Dawn Stone, male only. An evolutionary stone would be difficult to get, but it would totally be worth it once she got it to the Kirlia stage.

And, naturally, that was when her newest capture's status screen loaded. There was a little pink symbol next to its species name.

Nothing was easy, was it? Adela glares at the Ultra Ball in her hand, as if she could change its gender by sheer willpower alone. But it was better than nothing. She sighs and takes a second look at the painfully delicate-looking Gardevoir's information. Purely psychic, a better rating than Masquerain (though that said little), well.... it could be worse. She pulls up the screen and types in a name with one finger.

"Welcome to the team, Minuet. Let's see what you can do."

She sends out the Ralts and lets the flash of red light fade before she speaks. "Right. Let's see what you can do." She points at the annoying Bidoof. "Confusion!"

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Disclaimer: I actually rather like Bidoof. Unfortunately, it currently makes a better punching bag than team member.
Attack - (1d20)[4]
Damage - (2d8+14)[22]

[Gorgondantess]

Adela:
You command Minuet to attack the poor, unsuspecting Bidoof. At first it looks like it's chasing it's tail, thrashing about at the whims of psychic energies, but in seconds it's managed to hit its head on a rock, roll down the hill, and crash into the river, floating downstream belly up. Not bad.

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120 xp to Minuet. As always, very cute nickname.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
Lana shakes her head. "...Hm. Well, you're not really liable to find too many Psychic or Fighting types down that way. The desert by Sandberg has plenty, though- Xatu, Sigilyph, Claydol, Beheeyem, plus all the Fighting types you could want, and plenty of work for a trainer in the desert, and it's really your best bet for finding Beldum so long as you don't want to travel all the way to the top of the mountains, and... Yeah."
She scoffs a bit.
"Well, suit yourself, anyways. Volthselm's all the city you'll need I imagine."

[Bad Situation]

Lacing his fingers together, Nathan snickers at her advice. "Hehehe, if I didn't know any better I would you were trying to steer me toward Sandberg." But then, her advice did have merit didn't it? She was much more experienced with the region on a whole and as such, would know what she was talking about. If she was right about her assessment, than his roster would have a better chance to grow in the West than it did in the East. And if anything, she could be helpful in picking out spots...

Eyes flashing with an idea, Nathan offers Lana another smile. "Hey, I know this is sudden but how about I come with you to Sandberg? You obviously know more about Aschen than I do, so what if I tagged along with you for a while? I could learn more about the place and become a better trainer through osmosis and you could...experience my company? Ah! And the money I owe you. You could keep tabs on me that way right?"

Traveling alone was boring anyway. He knew this very well. There was only so much you could talk about with a giant steel orb after all. He would have offered the 'safety in numbers' argument, but knowing that she had a full roster full of evolved Pokemon rendered that idea moot.

[Ajadea]

It feels like there should be a moment of awed silence. But the leaves continue to rustle slightly in the wind, and the river continues to cheerfully burble along, oblivious to the corpse that had just splashed in a second ago. Bane, however, is not quite that blind, and cheerfully begins munching on the Bidoof's flesh. The air soon fills with the sound of frenzied snapping and splashing as he fights the current tooth and scale for his dinner.

"Well. Nice job, Minuet. Very good." Bane chooses that moment to rip off a large chunk of flesh with a loud squish, and Adela tries to suppress her cringe. Her gaze slides over to the river and immediately flees the other way at the first glimpse of frothy pink water.

She can't help but think this would be much less awkward if there was anything else to attack. Hitting things solved more social problems than most people gave the tactic credit for.

"Bane, return." She's sure he has a piece of Bidoof stuck in his mouth still, but she doesn't particularly care. She jams the Pokeball back in its place and rubs her ears until the last echoes of squishing flesh and crunching bone depart her mind. "Tinna, return. Come on Minuet, let's go." She starts walking in the direction she came, hoping to return to the borders of civilization while she could still see where she was going.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
Lana glares at you for a few seconds before shaking her head and muttering something about 'two perfect idiots'.
"...Yeah. Yeah, alright, you can tag along. That is a thing that you can do."
She pauses to take a sip on her drink, then peers out the window. It's getting late in the afternoon at this point. She stands up, and tosses her drink in a nearby garbage can. Nothing but net. She shrugs, and regards you coolly.
"Anyways, I'm gonna head back to my hotel room. See you in the morning, Frost."
And with that, she leaves. Anything you'd like to do for the rest of the day?

Adela:
You head back to civilization, catching neither hide nor hair of that obnoxious girl. Good riddance, anyways. You make it back to town without being harassed, bothered, or otherwise hindered by either Pokemon or people. Anything you'd like to do for the rest of the day?

[Bad Situation]

Standing up to copy Lana's move, Nathan chucks his own cup at the trash can, watching as the almost empty cup bounces off the very edge of the bin and splatters to the floor. Quite embarrassedly, he gets up and throws it away proper. Standing near the trash he clears his throat and shoos Lana away from his shame. "Go."

Retrieving his new Pokedex from his bag, he dials one of the numbers provided on the card and waits for a response from Grey himself before speaking very quickly, unwilling to hear more than he has to. "Sorry, deal's off. Well, I'm not sorry so to speak but I'm not quite ready to sell my soul to you yet. You understand. Try again in a few years, I guess. When I'm a teensy bit more jaded and cynical than I am now?" The sad part was, in a few years it was very likely that he would become jaded and cynical. It happened to people who were unable to get very far in the league.

Well, it was too early to think about those matters.

Regardless of the response, Nathan hangs up after a hasty goodbye and marches out of the cafe and toward the Pokemon Center. "Ender is strong...but I need Tyrion up to snuff as well. You can't carry a team on your starter alone. Not for very long at least..."

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
The Alakazam replies with its own images: Magikarp. So many juicy, succulent Magikarp. It goes on to direct you to a stream full of wriggling, sumptuous Magikarp, and a clumsy looking caricature of yourself retrieving an armful of them, and returning to the Alakazam with the Magikarp so it can eat some more Magikarp.