Pokemon: Aschen Adventures (IC)

[OrchestraHc]

Looking back on that leg of his adventure, T.J. can honestly say, with all optimism still in tact, that was the worst helicopter ride he thinks he will ever have. What was supposed to be a pleasant way to waste the afternoon was a massive waste of three days and a busted ankle. He missed the bug contest, he missed Adela, who was probably mad at him if she ever saw him again, which he honestly hoped because he's a naive dope who'd want to apologize.

He's fairly sure there's nothing left for him in Moira, so the simplest choice to make is to continue on to Sandberg. It's only been about two weeks since he set out on his journey, but he still feels he hasn't made enough progress to justify his trainers leave. Fairly early in the morning, The young psychic sets off toward Sandberg, taking the road, simply because he has had enough of mountains for the better part of his year.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan sighs deeply as he stands to his feet, clipping the newly acquired Great ball to his belt and dusting off his pants legs. "Yeah...I'm coming along now." Whatever the case, he now had another Pokemon on his team. And a somewhat uncommon breed to boot. But then, that was one of the peculiarities of the competitive battling league. The supposedly 'rare' and 'uncommon' breeds were probably the most overrepresented Pokemon in tournaments. In most cases these 'rarities' were artificially produced through over-catching but that wasn't necessarily the case for every species he supposed. Realizing that he was now standing alone in the woods he scrambles toward Lana's quickly disappearing form. "W-wait up!"

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
You and Lana walk in silence for the better part of an hour. You get the feeling she's not exactly impressed with your actions, but then again, you might not be yourself. She finally speaks up, somewhat hesitantly.
"...So. What are you going to name it?"
***
As you continue to walk, discussing the future of your new teammate, a figure approaches from down the road. It's a girl, probably no older than sixteen, carrying behind her a large metal rolling suitcase. It rattles and shakes on the dirt road, making quite a clamor. A burning cigarette hangs out of the corner of her mouth, and she is wearing a hoodie despite the oppressive heat.
As soon as you're near, she stomps over to the two of you, aggressively taking a pull on her cigarette and huffing a plume of smoke off to the side. She gets right down to business.
"Either of you want a battle?"

[Ajadea]

Adela takes two of the cotton shirts, brick red and dust brown. Colors that at least theoretically, would not stain quite so easily. Always good to have backups. She rubs the cloth between her fingers, and raises an eyebrow. The amount of fabric softener these people had to go through in a day was somewhat alarming.

"I need pants. Cargo pants would be nice. Something with pockets," she says to the employee. She does the math in her head - at the prices here, one pair of pants would just about wipe out the rest of the cash. That was okay. Net gain - nice boots, extra shirt, and a little over G1000 when you factored in the cost of Pokeballs. And a Grimer. She would have to figure out what to do with that. Preferably at a distance.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
You head out on the long road to Sandberg. It's hot and humid, and your leg still hurts quite a bit, but it's certainly better than being up on that mountain. Still, it's a pretty lonesome road; at least up there you had Neimi, but here, traveling by the forest on the main road rather than on the path by the mountain most trainers take, you don't even have the benefit random pedestrian passersby.
Around high noon, though, you hear music trickling out from the forest. Tempted by the distraction and the cool shade, you decide to go check it out.
Heading to the source of the noise, you find a young girl plucking on a banjo under the shade of a large oak tree. A young girl with a mop of blonde hair, a straw hat, and an Abra perched beside her.
...Oh god.
She finishes her riff with a flourish, and looks up, grinning at you with crooked teeth.
"Like it?"

Adela:
The guy points you to the back of the store. There aren't any cargo pants, per se, but you find a pair of decent khaki cargo capris in the clearance section for only G650... If you choose to call capris decent, that is.

[OrchestraHc]

Her. "You," T.J. says without any nerves. He's not nervous when it comes to this girl. He's angry. "It's f-fine, I guess," he says as he stares at her angrily. "Your Abra looks healthy..."

[Bad Situation]

Nathan is quiet for the longest time while they walk, with a faraway look in his eyes. "I should be feeling proud. How many trainers can say their first Pokemon captured was an Eevee of all things? Tyrion doesn't count, given his conditions. But..." When Lana does speak however, he snaps out of his reverie and shrugs. "I don't know. Something...strong. And cute I guess? Eowyn?" He goes back to being quiet after answering but is forced away from his thoughts once again at the appearance of the female trainer.

He looks at Lana first but then turns to the new trainer and raises his hand. "Can't say I don't. Rules?"

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
"Fine?", she asks, a small smile creeping on to her face. "I think I can do better than 'fine'. And so can James, for that matter."
She grins again.
"What can I do for you, sir?"

Nathan:
Lana shrugs. "Sounds good enough to me. I guess. Not really sure- I went for the theme naming thing myself. Don't suppose you'd want one of those. Um, I know a girl who named all her Pokemon after food. That was cute. Cake, maybe?"
She shakes her head.
"No, sorry, that's stupid. I'm not very good at this part."
***
"No items, four Pokemon sound good? And of course we should spice things up with a bet... Uhh, G4,000 feels about right. Yeah."

[Bad Situation]

What luck. He even had 4 Pokemon now!

Two of which were very recent captures. One being a veritable baby of all things... "...two Pokemon. No items. G1000." Roland wasn't a weak Pokemon to be sure but as nice as the ant Pokemon was, it just didn't feel right to use him in battle alongside Tyrion and Ender. In all likelihood, he would be selling the steel type to settle up a little nest of money he would be able to fall back on in case things got tough.

[OrchestraHc]

"An ap-p-pology for tricking me would be n-nice," T.J. says as he looks away from her, avoiding eye contact. He doesn't like how she's smiling at him, but it doesn't matter because he's avoiding whatever trick she wants to pull on him. She's not taking anymore of his money.

Not without a fight.

[Ajadea]

Capris. Of course they were capris. Because there clearly wasn't any point in selling a single practical item of clothing in such an expensive store. Adela sighs. It was better than nothing. Her shins would hate her one day for it though. She grabs one of the capris anyways, and digs a plain pair of socks out of the clearance bin as well. They didn't look much different from normal socks, price tag excepted. And the excessive fabric softener that seemed to be Tanzo's trademark more than anything else.

She takes her purchases to the counter in one arm, perfectly ironed cloth crumpled into a precarious pile. Her other hand holds her Pokedex, screen showing the message from Rocket.

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I'm going to assume one pair of plain white socks costs less than or equal to G300? Even if it was washed in pure fabric softener?

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
She clicks her tongue. "Nah, I... don't get out of bed for less than G2,000. But I'll accept wagers in the form of other stuff- items, pokemon, um, stuff like that. Or we could do a double battle. You've got a friend... Or something like that."
Lana chuckles. "I don't think you want to battle me."
The girl raises her eyebrows skeptically. "That good, huh? I guess you'll just have to go easy on me."

TJ:
She takes on a severe look for a moment, absentmindedly plucking a string on her banjo.
"...Nah."
She begins to slowly play a chord progression, smiling again. "You lost. I won. And you should prolly leave off, too, unless you want to lose again."
She cackles gleefully and with her whole body, throwing her legs into the air and kicking as she does so.
"'Sides, I already spent all of your money."

Adela:
The socks are indeed less than G300, and the young man rings you up with no little relief. Heading back to the Pokemon Center, you put your new clothes on, and feel... pretty good. It's all very comfortable, very soft, and even you have to admit you look pretty good. The colors are well coordinated, the capris accentuate your legs nicely and oh my god you just thought about your clothes accentuating your figure this place has gotten into your brain.

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+2 Charisma as long as you're wearing your nice clothes. You don't actually have to admit that if you don't want to, but I was having fun with it. Also, I'm not completely clear whatall you bought.
What now?

[Bad Situation]

Nathan shrugs and nudges Lana's sides. "C'mon, think of it as getting your money back that much faster. And if she's good enough to get you to bring your A-game it might actually be worth battling her. I don't really have much in the way of collateral so..."

Then he coughs and looks away embarrassedly, "Sides' I think I'd like to see you battle at least once. That Galvantula thing doesn't really count."

[OrchestraHc]

"It's n-not ab-b-bout money. It's ab-bout making me think I killed your pokemon!" T.J. yells back indignantly. "You didn't w-win anything. You tricked me, ran away, and then ran aw-way again when you were actualy c-confronted. You're not clever. You're just coward!" He punctuates this with a telekinetic swipe at the girls hat, to throw it to the floor. "And you p-play the banjo terribly! Goodbye!" He turns around to stomp away back down the road. He's not even going to apologize.

[Ajadea]

Adela pulls the last buckle on her boots tight and stands up, taking a few experimental steps in her new outfit. It wasn't bad, actually. The boots were a little stiff, but she could definitely run in them. They'd get broken in soon enough. And the clothes were soft and simple, though not exactly plain. Good colors, though she had to admit red and blue weren't exactly the most original color combination. The cut of the capris wasn't horrible, actually - if nothing else, her legs looked pretty nice and oh my god she was thinking about color coordination and her figure and that place had gotten into her brain.

She steps back abruptly and scrubs her face and temples with the palms of her hands, as if to remove the corruptive influence from her mind, and resolves firmly to never set foot in Tanzo Exchange again.

Alright. Could be worse. She heaves a sigh and goes to make her own posting on the bulletin board: Grimer for sale/trade.

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Let's see if we can get something slightly more interesting than Grue in here.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
"...You may have a point," she ponders mellowly, before you throw her hat to the ground. You don't stick around to see what she does after that, though, as you charge back the way you came.
Well, you certainly accomplished a lot there! You definitely showed her. Yep.

Adela:
You post up your trade notice, before waiting a few minutes. Nothing happens. Oh yeah, this might take a while. In the meantime, there are still the postings from before.

A few Pokemon for sale/trade (an Abra, an Eevee, a Larvitar, a Pineco [and now a Grimer!]), a job to deal with an escaped Salamence, a job to deal with a nest of Grimer (still there), something about exploring an island (looks long term), and some battling challenge- a 'gauntlet', they call it.

[Gorgondantess]

Chat summary:

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Pre-Battle:

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Lana stiffens, then sighs. "Fine. I'll throw my hat in."
Nathan smiles, "Great." Turning to the other girl he asks, "Are the rules still the same? 1000 from both of us and 1 Pokemon each or would you like renege on that?"
She shakes her head. "Actually, in that case we'll need to put up some odds. It's two versus one- you'll both be able to use your best Pokemon, but I'll have to use my second best. I'll put 1,500 against 1,000 each from you."
"I thought we agreed I'd be going easy on you," Lana retorts dryly, looking not too impressed.
Nathan looks at Lana expectantly. "She's altered the agreement."
"...Pray I don't alter it any further," the girl says, staring at the ground and shuffling her feet. You're pretty sure she's blushing.
Nathan sighs, "Thank you. Anyway, those terms sound fine. Unless my friend has something she'd like to do about it..."
Lana shakes her head and laughs.

"Ah, I should probably introduce myself though." He holds his hand out, "Nathaniel Frost."
The girl doesn't seem to know what to do with it. "Right. Nathan."
"...this is the part where you give me your name. We shake hands. Everybody has a lark with it... no?" He nudges Lana in the side with an elbow, "Man, what is up with all the girls I know who just seem to have something to hide?"
Lana chuckles. "A lark? What are you, a Kantoan? Anyways, I'm not giving my name. I hope you weren't expecting otherwise." She smirks.
Meanwhile, the girl seems to be having trouble keeping up. She doesn't seem used to talking to people on friendly terms. "Uh... C. Belle. Heron." She puts out her hand, takes it back, then puts it out again.
Nathan simply blinks before firmly grasping the hand and giving it a few firm pumps before letting go. When he's closer to Lana he does say, "I am a Kantoan, for your information."
Lana snickers. "I know. But you don't always act like one."
He scoffs, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, the, uh, stereotypical Kantoan is basically a stiff, conservative, backwards prude." She raises her hands defensively. "Hey, it wasn't my idea."
"Well I could be a stiff conservative prude if I wanted to. I mean, my father is... and uh, so are my older brothers...
Well, whatever. This battle isn't going to fight itself. Nice to meet you Belle. Or 'Cee', maybe?"
'C', having shaken your hand, lights another cigarette, looking both exhausted and relieved.
"You should be careful with those things by the way. They are hell on your lungs." With that, Nathan winks and gives Lana a thumbs up. "See?" Face going serious, he turns back to C and says, "I'm serious though."
"Y-yeah, well, right now it's pretty nice... Um. We should probably battle now."

The Battle:

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Nathan decides to use Tyrion, his Drilbur (using a potion on him before the battle), while Lana uses Neptune, her Seadra. On the other side, 'C' uses a Breloom and a Metang.
"Might want to take care of that Breloom," Nathan whispers as a suggestion.
"No shit," Lana whispers in response, smiling.
Tyrion opens up by Digging, while Neptune uses Dragonbreath on the Breloom; in response, the Breloom Leech Seeds Neptune, and the Metang just moves out of reach of a dig attack. Tyrion is thus forced to use Dig on the Breloom, but with Break Through it's a solid hit.
Nathan clucks his tongue. "Ball's in your court, Rae- uh, Lady."
Neptune fires a Signal Beam at the Breloom, but it misses; Breloom responds by using Mega Drain on Tyrion, while the Metang moves in and uses Metal Claw on Tyrion as well. Tyrion uses Slash on the Breloom, and Neptune uses Dragon Breath on it; it's almost down. Breloom Headbutts Neptune, and the Metang uses Metal claw on him, but it misses. In response, Tyrion unleashes a brutal Fury Swipes, taking down the Breloom and damaging the Metang; Neptune then unleashes a Bubblebeam on the Metang. Severely damaged, 'C' orders it to plough into Tyrion with a kamikaze Take Down, knocking him out but sustaining enough recoil to fall unconscious itself.
Tyrion earns an even 5400 exp.

Post-Battle

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'C' bites her lip, and recalls her Metang. "...Alright. You won." She seems to say it grudgingly, even now.
Nathan nods his head and withdraws Tyrion before walking up to her with a smile and an extended hand. "Thanks for the battle. I think I learned a lot."
She looks away. "...Bet you say that to everyone you beat."
Nathan rubs the back of his head sheepishly and smiles embarrassedly, "Well... yeah, but I do mean it. I kind of jumped the gun when I declared Tyrion's first attack. I didn't accommodate for what should have been a very obvious response on your part."
She shrugs, face gone blank. "Whatever."
Still, he keeps the hand out to her. "You're good though. I don't think I'd ever be able to field two Pokemon at once. If I had battled you on my own I don't think I would have done so well without bringing out my starter... I know all it sounds lame and all but it was a good battle, okay?"
She quickly lights another cigarette, and pointedly blows some smoke in your direction before shaking your hand. "Whatever you say."
Nathan coughs a bit but doesn't let this deter him. Instead his face brightens up, "Say, where'd you get that Metang? Yours was pretty well trained. I've been meaning to catch one of my own as a matter of fact."
She shakes her head bitterly. "I found it on the side of the road. It's not very good, though."
Nathan's face drops at this. "...Really? You just found a Metang? And it's not very good?"
"...Did you see it doing much damage?"
His face draws closer to hers but then he shrugs, "Yeah, might be a bad nature. But it's still a good Pokemon."
"Nope, it's Adamant. I'm sure it'll be great when it's a Metagross, but in the meantime it just cost me G1500."
"Heh, guess so. Metagross though? I guess if you're already planning that far ahead I should give up now. And here I was hoping you would trade me or something..."
"Hnh. I may be bitter about it, but I know how much these things are worth."
"Yeah, I was kind of hoping you were an idiot though but I guess I should have expected otherwise from the battle you gave me... What if you told me where you found it though?"
"I told you: I found it at the side of the road."
"This same road?"
"Nah, it was like... back in Moira. In the forest."
"...Moira? That's weird. I didn't think a Metagross would spend much time down there..."
"No, like... in a pokeball."
"...That would explain it. I wonder what happened to the guy who lost it though...?"

"Well then... you want to trade?" She opens up her metal briefcase, displaying the contents. "Doubt you can afford the Metang... but I've got all this." Inside are dozens of pokeballs of all sorts- some of them with pictures of Pokemon on them- healing items, food, a few pokedexes, and various other accouterments. Inspecting the briefcase's contents more closely, you can see that she has just about anything a trainer might need, and many things one wouldn't. Among these are various custom pokeballs, and seven pokeballs with listed contents: a Wynaut, a Sandslash, a Butterfree, a Charmander, a Deerling, a Yamask and a Croagunk.
"Ooh, a Charmander. Can I get its specs?"
"Hasty nature, level 11, no egg moves or anything."
Lana chimes in, "Everyone wants a Charmander,"
"I know. They are as cute as the dickens."
"And twice as expensive!"
"Hm, what about the Croagunk? My Durant is 21 and it's not as uncommon as Charmander but it's almost as good of an investment."
Belle nods. "You'd have to give me a lot more than the Durant for the Charmander, but I'll give you the Croagunk in a straight trade for it." She ponders a bit. "Mmm... actually, the Croagunk is Adamant, so... the Durant plus the G750 I owe you. It's level 17, not too much of a difference."
It's a tough choice: the Croagunk's great, good typing, good movepool, and the Charmander's more of a vanity Pokemon than anything else, but... Charmander...
You would be the envy of all the trainers you pass. You would be able to pick up so many chicks at the Pokepark- like having an adorable puppy, but better.
Nathan contorts his face in agony before settling on the Croagunk, pointing to it with his finger. while clamping his eyes shut. "I-it's better for my team..."
Lana seems to be pretty amused. "Dude, you just caught an Eevee, and you want another adorable pokemon?"
"You don't understand Rae, Charmander are huge in Kanto. Everybody wants one. It's that one Pokemon everyone at the school is always buzzing about. 'Sides I...kind of feel responsible for it after what I did to its mother..."
'C' raises her eyebrows. "I... might be willing to give up the Charmander for an Eevee."
He shakes his head, "Yeah, no."
"Both, then."
He lifts his hands apologetically, "Sorry? Anyways, Durant for your Croagunk." He reaches for the steel ant Pokemon's ball and unclips it, holding it out for her. "I named him Roland but I haven't had him long enough for it to really be an issue for you or the next trainer."
"Right. Enjoy your new... frog."
"Enjoy your new ant?"
"I'm sure he'll just go to some other trainer." Transaction done, she looks pointedly at Lana, but she shakes her head.
"No thanks. I'll just take cash."
'C' sighs, and doles out the money.
"Any obedience problems I should know about?" Nathan asks.
"...Uh... Well... I've never really tried it?"
Nathan shrugs and sighs, "Alright. Thanks for the battle and the trade, then."
"Sure thing... Nathan."
"Nice meeting you Belle."
She closes her briefcase, then gnaws on her cigarette a bit before waving a hand. "Yeah. Later." And with that, she leaves.
When she leaves Nathan looks back to Lana and sighs, "I'm already beginning to regret not getting that Charmander..."
She smiles. "Well, you could always just take out another loan..."
Nathan looks at her blankly, "I said I was from Kanto, Rae. Not Johto."
"Sure... but seriously, though, if you want a Charmander, I wouldn't get one through HER."
"Yeah, it still feels like I missed out though. I mean, I like steel-types and all but owning a Charizard is every Kanto boys dream. Those kinds of wishes don't just die."
Lana crosses her arms, looking vexed. "Well, maybe we should just take it from her."
"...Is that a dig at what I did to that Jolteon?"
She shakes her head. "...No... not that you don't deserve it, but no. You did see how she acted... didn't you? That girl is just in it for the money. She's got talent, and loyal Pokemon- Pokemon that'll fight for the end for her- and at the end of the day she just wants to make a quick buck. She catches whatever Pokemon she sees, taking it from its home, not to battle with it, not to raise it, but to sell it."
"...Nooo, but I'm beginning to realize I'm a poor judge of character..."
She sighs. "I guess it doesn't really matter what you do with a Pokemon, but... that kind of thing just..." She shakes her head.
"You disagree with it, then?'
"...Yeah."
"I'll keep that in mind the next time I do something stupid in front of you then. Sorry." He rubs the back of his neck. "Want to...talk about it?"
Lana smiles, then laughs. "It's not like I had an abusive father who also happened to be a seedy Pokemon trainer. It's just something that rubs me the wrong way is all."
"Oh, well alright then. Though if you did have an abusive father who also happened to be a seedy Pokemon trainer we can totally talk about it."
She shrugs. "I donno. Maybe I do."
"Well, I'm uh...here for you in case you ever want a feelings jam."
"If I do, it definitely won't be about my father, at least."
"Eh, I don't want to pry. Talk to me when and if you want to."
"No, I... I don't even know who my father is."
"Oh, so that's what you meant..."
"...Yeah. He might not even know... though I guess he might suspect?Anyways, the only person who knows is my mom, and she's not telling anyone. And I'm not eaten up about it or anything. I've gotten by fine without this long."
"Yeah, and now you've got me watching your back!"
Lana gives you a skeptical look, then laughs. "Guess that's just something I'll have to learn to live with."
"Y-you don't have to be so mean. I was being half serious."
"Eh... sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood. Really, though, thanks. I'm glad to have someone along for the ride, at least."
"Well, I'm happy to be along then."

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. swore he'd have unkind words for her, and if she's going to act like pretending her own Pokemon dying is just a move in some game they were playing, he's not going to give her the time of day. She doesn't deserve a Pokemon if that's how she treats their death. He would have gone farther if the shade wasn't so inviting. He stops for a drink of water before he continues on. If it's possible to follow the path from the shade, he'll follow it until he inevitably has to leave it behind for the turn to Sandberg.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan looks down at Tyrion's Pokeball and does a little fist pump when he thinks Lana isn't looking. The training he was putting in with the small mole Pokemon was definitely beginning to bear some fruit. Hopefully the evolution would come sooner rather than later. For now though, Tyrion deserved some rest. In the meanwhile of course, it was probably time that he dealt with introducing himself to his two new team members. He pulls Eevee's ball away from his belt and holds it in the hand opposite of Croagunk's. "Hey, mind if we take a little break? Now is as good a time as any to get to know my two new Pokemon."

If Lana has no objections, Nathan releases Ender as well as his two recent 'captures'. It would do well to introduce them to each other as well as prove to his Pokemon that he was in fact, a semi-competent trainer who could treat them well.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
Lana nods. "Yeah, go for it." She yawns, and stretches her arms. "Hey, it's getting late; I'm gonna go set up camp while you meet your new... uh, friends, alright?"
She's right; it's starting to get late, shadows lengthening and the sun setting below the horizon, creating a vista of blues and oranges and purples in a cloudless sky. If there's one thing you have to say about Aschen over Kanto, is that it has some pretty magnificent sunsets, if only that.
Releasing your oldest and newest Pokemon, Jiraiya seems quite happy to be out of the poke ball, alert and inquisitive. He immediately approaches you and sniffs you out before going for your pack and beginning to paw at it; that ends after Ender snaps a quick jolt of electricity at him, more to deter than to harm.
Eowyn, on the other hand, sits curled in a ball, practically catatonic and trembling pitifully.
***
Lana finishes setting up her tent within ten minutes or so, and is already gathering stones to make a fire pit. Looks like she's pretty experienced with this stuff. Her tent is very nice, and rather large- it could comfortably fit two.
She approaches you nonchalantly as you're finishing with your new teammates. "Hey, do you need a tent?"

[Ajadea]

Adela sits for a while below her posting. No one approached. After a while she sighs, pulls out her Pokedex and dials up a number on the board. "Hello? Yeah, I'd like to apply for this island-exploring thing. What do I need to do?"

[Bad Situation]

Nathan watches the poison frog faff about with some amusement, stifling a laugh when Ender warns the Pokemon away from the bag. Seeing the the small bundle of fear cower in front of him however sobers him up greatly. Sighing out miserably he crawls up to the Eevee and holds out some food from his bag, gingerly stretching out his other hand rub at the Pokemon's head. "I guess this is something like taking responsibility, huh?" When he thinks he has their attention he clears his throat. "I should get this out of the way sooner rather than later I suppose. My name is Nathan, your new trainer. I'm pretty new at this and all and I know the conditions behind your respective captures were far from ideal but I'm going to do my best to do well by you. I'd like to think I'm a good trainer or at least, decent enough for Ender to follow me. Which I hope shows you what kind of a person I am. With any luck I'll be training you guys into a championship team so I hope you're ready!"

Though unsteady at first, Nathan works himself up into a passionate speech and stands up straight, making pointlessly wide motions with his hands but then realizes who he's talking to and suddenly shuts up. After a while he remembers what he'd wanted to say in the first place and begins a pointing game. "A-ah, anyway. Me? Nathan? You and you? Eowyn and Jiraiya. Understand?" he asks with a hopeful nod.

[Gorgondantess]

TJ:
As you head up through the woods, you hear a commotion ahead. Approaching cautiously, you see a familiar sight: That group of trainers from the Pokemon Center! The ones from the double battle... The older guy Jack, the twins, as well as the rest of their group- about 8 others. Jack appears to be heatedly screaming at one of the other older boys, who's politely responding. All the other boys are gathered around watching, though when you approach they stop, and the twins flee to the back of the group.
Jack's vehemence is instantly wiped off his face and he puts on a smile. "Hey, you're TJ, right? Good to see you on the road! I thought you'd already be in Sandberg right now- or did you decide to join in the competition after all?"

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Also, let's assume you caught the Charmeleon from in the cave, if you want. Subtract a poke ball from your sheet and copy over the stats from Nyna's page (though you can alter the stat allocations and nature if you want) and it's yours.

Adela:
You dial the number.
"Rocket Trainer Connect Rogen branch, this is Annelise. Is there anything else you needed today Ms. Wyatt?"
...Huh. You ask about the island job.
"Right, Ti-3. We've recently set up a research facility on the island, and would like to expand to an island-wide operation; as such, we're shipping in trainers to keep the local wild Pokemon population in check, as well as performing some more detailed topographical mapping. Ti-3 is located many miles below the southern equator; as such, it's currently in the middle of winter, and is quite snowy. Most of the Pokemon you find there are entirely unavailable in Aschen: Piplup, Sneasel, and Snorlax, to name a few.
Basically, we're offering a similar job to the Grimers, but on a wider scale: any Pokemon you remove, you'll be paid for based on their threat level. It's an environment easily no more hostile than the bug-catching competition you recently participated in, and much more diverse- we've rated it for level 3 trainers, and you've cleared 3.6, so you should be fine so long as you're not reckless. We'll provide transportation and cold weather gear, as well as any medical treatment for you or your Pokemon, and supplies at employee prices. Our main building currently has a recreational facility as well as a gym, and we hold weekly tournaments for the trainers there. Ultimately, you'll be doing what you'd normally be doing as a trainer, but in an exotic environment full of rare Pokemon, and you're getting paid for it. If you're interested, there's an office within three miles of your location where you can fill out the paperwork, and we can have you on a boat within 24 hours."

Nathan:
The Eevee is more or less completely passive as you approach her- she doesn't react to the food at all. As you scratch her head her trembling slows a bit, but she still doesn't stir. Jiraiya, on the other hand, starts edging in towards the proffered food, and as soon as he thinks he can get away with it paws at your hand, begging for scraps. Ender just zaps him again.
As you dole out your names, Eowyn predictably doesn't react, while Jiraiya reaches out sluggishly and tugs on your finger a bit. You... guess that's good?

[Bad Situation]

Nathan continues scratching at Eowyn's ears before plucking her up by the scruff of her neck and depositing the furry bundle in his lap. Then, drawing out his Pokedex he looks for videos of Pokemon battles to show his team.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
At the very least the Eevee is easy to to handle, light enough to easily pick up with one hand. She trembles in your lap, and you grab your Pokedex and pull up a video of a trainer battle. You flip through a few amateur fights, an instructional video from Goldenrod Gym, before finding a somewhat relevant video: an impressive looking early 20s Laura Tierra, replete with a mane of sandy hair and stylish trenchcoat, battling for her 6th gym badge. The video is almost 50 years old, and takes place in Axelo gym (huh), with a gym leader you don't recognize. She opens up with a Gliscor and cycles through a Bronzong and a Magnezone, whittling down the opposing team with good use of status effects and momentum moves, before finally setting up with her Tyranitar and eviscerating the opposing team with her Garchomp and Excadrill. All told, it's a perfect fight: she loses not one of her own Pokemon. It was that battle that put her on the map as a notable trainer; she became a gym leader within the year.
By the time you're finished watching, Jiraiya is faffing around some more, while Eowyn has curled up in your lap, fast asleep.

[Bad Situation]

When the video is finished playing he looks up at his team excitedly, "See? Wasn't tha-oh." Somehow he probably should have expected this. Figuring his team got the point at least, he pulls out his Pokeball to return Jiraiya to stasis and thinks to replace Eowyn as well but thinks better of it at the last moment, stuffing the Pokeball back into his pocket. She probably didn't want him comforting her but the fact remained that the Eevee was practically a baby by most standards who probably didn't know how to live on its own just yet.

When Lana approaches him about a tent he holds his fingers up to his lips and silently shushes her and points down at the Pokemon in his lap. Though, when she brings up the issue he embarassedly looks away. "A-ah, not as such no. I've always just sort of crashed somewhere off the side of the road in exhaustion with Ender to keep me safe. Usually beneath a tree and once in a ditch."

[Ajadea]

Rocket again?

Well.

Huh.

Busy lot, those Rockets.

Adela nods, then realizes that it wouldn't be visible over the phone. "Uh, yeah. That would be great. Wonderful. Send me the address. I'll be right there." Definitely a busy lot. Authorizing pest cleanings and island exploration. She wouldn't be surprised if they were involved in the Salamence business as well. Which reminded her, she needed to offload Grue on someone. Might have to put him up online, since she was going to be on that island. Piplup, huh? Rare lot. They'd sell well. She makes a mental note - definitely go get a Piplup or two.

[Gorgondantess]

Nathan:
"Right... well, I figure it's smart to use a tent. Don't want a Nidoran gnawing on your toes when you sleep, right? And, uh, mine fits two. If you want."
Despite Lana loudly traipsing in, the Eevee sleeps soundly. She smiles when she sees the bundle of fur, and speaks with a hushed tone.
"I know you're from Kanto and all, but how could you want a Charmander when you have that?"
She crouches down and slowly approaches, scratching at the scruff of Eowyn's neck.
"So, give any thought as to what you're going to evolve her into? Or are you just going to let things run their course?"

Adela:
"Right, then! I'll send you the directions right now. See you soon!"
...Right then. You head out into the streets, following the directions that pop up on your Pokedex. At the very least, going to a snowy island in the middle of nowhere will be a welcome break from the heat... though you'd imagine it could also be even worse.
Finally you reach your destination; a building taller than it is wide, probably about six stories tall, all pristine glass and white metal. You enter to the standard blast of sterile air conditioning, and are greeted by a girl who looks no older than you in business attire. You recognize her voice immediately.
"You must be Adela! I'm Annelise. Follow me up to my office, and we'll get you all set up. Nice boots, by the way."
She flashes a smile almost as white as the building itself and leads you to an elevator, and to an office on the third floor.
"I think you'll find this job very, mmm... edifying. Almost all of our trainers who are active in expeditions like these and return to training as normal go on to become quite successful. I'd imagine all the rare Pokemon you'll find will give you quite an edge."
Getting situated in her office, she pulls out a sheet of paper and hands it to you, as well as a pen. "All we'll need is your signature, and please do take the time to read over the terms of the contract."
The whole thing is pretty standard, basically a condensed version of the one you signed for the bug catching competition: they're not liable for any damages incurred to you or your possessions, if you get maimed or killed it's your own damn fault, blah blah. Included is a description of how you'll be paid (based on some Pokemon price index, as well as a bonus for treading new ground and scanning it with your Pokedex), the duration of your contract (two weeks, at the end of which you can sign on for additional weeks with a signing bonus), and that they will be providing you with all necessary wilderness gear and transportation to and from the island, and finally if you have read and understand all this, all they'll need is a date and a signature.

[Bad Situation]

Nathan quirks and eyebrow upward and half squints at the suggestion but replies all the same. "Well, I appreciate the gesture but are you sure? Aren't you worried about me attacking you in your sleep? Us Kanto men are devil in human skin, if some of those rumors I've heard about us are true."

When the attention turns toward Eowyn however, he just gives the small furry Pokemon a soft belly rub. "Nothing set in stone yet, though I think I'd like an Espeon or Umbreon if possible. Knowing what species her mother was, I know she has the aptitude for being a Jolteon but I personally think Ender has that particular role down pat." If the Magneton responds to its name, Nathan waves and shakes his head with a smile. "The circumstances of her capture weren't exactly ideal for an Espeon evolution but I think I'd like to try. I'm not a huge fan of the other evolutions though I can appreciate the tactical significance of a Vaporeon and Leafeon if it comes to that." He shoots a sardonic smiles at Lana at this point, "That all depends on whether or not she takes well to battling though and if I can train the timidity out of her. If that's the case, the only evolution in store for her is Glaceon so she can stay as cute as can be. She can be my mascot or something."

[OrchestraHc]

T.J. cringes slightly when he sees the twins run away. "I went on a... a helicopter ride." he says, not looking for sympathy, not that he'd expect any. "Up in the m-mountains. I got to see some B-Beldum in a weird sort of ritual. I'm on my way to Sandberg now. Is that what you guys are doing?"