ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Hey Star.

...So...You guys are ok now?

Well, better, I guess. Sorry I had you clean up my vomit.

It's fine. I had to something with that mop.

How about you, Star? How are you doing?

Ok, I guess...

I've been messing with that note book again, and picking up Starites...

I wonder exactly what that kid was doing, tough...

Kim: *sighs in relief* Why didn't you do that from the beginning?

Scientist: *sneaking away*

~~~

Rex: Well, Umbreon use it through their pores, but you can probably also spit it from your mouth, too.

Aqua: <Eww...I like the pores thing better.>

Rex: Alright, then. Try that.

Aqua: *strains; a few purplish drops of liquid come out of her back*

Rex: Hmm...you're on the right track, but you might be forcing it too much.

Aqua: <Umm...how about this?> *tries again, even less coming out*

Rex: No, that's not it either.

Aqua: <Aww...>

-Looks at Kim, singed and panting-

Do you really think it would have worked?

-Coughs slightly-

Now let's get off this-

-Stops, sniffs the air-

Berries. Lots of them. A kind... A kind I've never smelled before.

Good luck!

-walks back to my room, and lays down on the bed, thinking-

In Crewe's Mindscape...

-in a room familiar to anyone who's battled Pryce, two girls stand in the small alcove where the Gym leader would normally wait for challengers. Both look more or less identical to Crewe, but one is around ten or eleven, and the other is around fifteen or sixteen. Despite the cold, both wear short sleeved shirts and jeans—the younger is in a maroon shirt, the older in a lighter, green one. The younger has a baseball cap, ponytail, and an empty Pokeball belt. The older also has a ponytail, but is bareheaded and has a bag, Pokegear, Poketch, and another empty Pokeball belt. They argue loudly, their voices echoing around the room-

-from the shadows, a pair of eyes watch them for a moment, then disappear-

Older Girl: It's all your fault, Battler. You wouldn't open up to Pokemon when you were in charge, so now she's opened up too far!

Younger Girl: No, it's your fault, Trainer! If you wouldn't get all lovey dovey with your Pokemon, she wouldn't get all lovey dovey with other people's!

Trainer: If she'd grown up close to her Pokemon, she wouldn't have felt the need to get close to this one!

Battler: Completely wrong! If she never got close, she would never have said yes!

???: Please, girls. Let's not argue about this. It's both of your faults.

-the two whirl on her. Another girl, this one changing in age between around eight to around nineteen, approaches. She doesn't have a Pokeball belt, or any accessories. She's wearing a gray shirt and black jeans-

Trainer: Oh, so next you'll say if you got your way, this wouldn't have happened!

Battler: Yeah, like you would've made it better.

???: Battler, I sympathize with you most, but you can be so stupid some times! I would have made it so none of this ever had the chance to happen!

Trainer: -snorts- Like going out into the world without Pokemon would have fixed things.

???: -sighs dramatically- Is it really so hard to understand? If Crewe never received her Pokemon, she never would have left home, and never would have met the others, and never would have encountered this situation!

Trainer: Yeah, like that wouldn't cause other problems.

???: Oh, I don't deny Crewe would have problems no matter what she did. But she would certainly have less. Those two doors prove it.

Battler: Those doors don't prove anything! We don't even know what's behind that second one!

???: But the first one has everything to do with Pokemon! It's the only reason she's locked in there! And you can't deny you can hear Pokemon behind the other door.

Trainer: Speaking of the doors... Shouldn't we be checking?

Battler: Oh yeah, don't want more screwups...

-Battler turns and presses on the wall at the back of the alcove. A small door, painted to blend in with the wall, opens to a hallway stretching left and right-

Kim: It worked just now... Eh? You're worried about berries at a time like this? You just got set on fire!

Glaze: *also singed* <I could go for an Oran Berry right now...>

Clover: *also singed* <Or twelve...>

~Elsewhere on the island~

Scientist: Hehe, they thought they were so smart, but they couldn't catch me after all! Now, all I have to do is round up those Rattata again and...

???: What's that about rounding up Rattata?

Scientist: ... *turns to see a few members of the coast guard*

Coast Guard Male: We got a distress signal from a beacon sent by a Ranger in the vicinity. I guess you're the reason they called us here.

Scientist: ...Nuggets. *is arrested*

Coast Guard Female: I'll go look for the Ranger and make sure everything is alright. *does just that*

In Crewe's Mindscape...

-the three turn left and start down the hallway, Battler in the lead and the other two following. They pass a small wooden door resembling Uncle Mike's door in the AU with the name HELEN carved into it. Trainer pauses to knock on it and receive a knock in turn, then follows. They follow a larger, obsidian door, with a large doorknob. As she passes, Battler absently touches the knob with one hand. It moves a little-

-Battler freezes and takes a step back, turning to face the door. She grabs the knob and turns it again. It tuns very slightly, then stops. She rattles it a little, then pulls on the door. It moves a little, then stops. Battler lets go and turns away, looking crestfallen-

Battler: Oh... I thought it might...

Trainer: Hey, it's closer to opening than it ever has been. Maybe whatever's in there will show itself soon.

-??? knocks on the door and doesn't receive an answer. The three move on, coming to a third door. This one is ever so slightly ajar. ??? steps up and knocks on it smartly. There's a shuffling sound inside and the door closes. Trainer and Battler exchange looks-

Trainer: I guess she heard us.

Battler: She can't really be mad at us...

Trainer: Hey, we said it was a mistake. She probably is mad at us.

???: No matter. Everything's just fine here, girls. Care to explore the right hallway?

Battler: No, I don't want to stumble upon any monsters or whatever.

Trainer: Let's just go back to the Gym.

-Battler and Trainer leave the hallway. ??? watches them go, then slowly follows, glancing back at the last two doors-

-Looks at Kim-

I know Oran Berries. These aren't Oran Berries. These are new. Come on.

-Begins walking deeper into the forest, coming to a massive dish in the middle, the walls too high to cross-

We have to find a way inside.

Kim: Uhh...alright... *picks up Glaze, petting him gently* Just hang on a second. Maybe some of these berries can fix you up.

Glaze: *nods*

Clover: *looks around for an entrance due to being in a bit better shape*

Hmm... Yeah. That is sort of a mystery, isn't it?

-sighs and leaves the room-

Well that was probably the least helpful soul-searching I've ever done.

Kumquat Park

-I'm chasing Shahinne around the grass, because she has somehow managed to steal Copahue's toy and won't return it. To make things worse, she showcases her newly learnt Double Team which means I'm having a hard time chasing her-

Ichtacya — looks from a bench — <I wonder how Aqua is doing~>

Algira — <I miss [Helios]...> — flashes happiness — <But now I have a means to solve it, tee hee~>

-Algira flutters around and lands on my backpack again. Copahue is watching curiously-

Ichtacya — eyebrow cocks — <What... what are you trying to do?>

Algira — <I'm pulling the Pokégear. Trainer can [use] it to communicate with other Trainers...>

Ichtacya — <Oh... Wait! I remember! Back when Shahinne's dad!>

-Copahue sort of flinches, and ruffles his plumage-

— Come on, Shahinne! Come back here...!

Shahinne — <♮ ♪~> — flies away, two shadow images following.

— ...

Algira — pops the Pokégear from the bag — <See? Here it is! And now...> — starts to jump on the buttons.

Ichtacya — <Hey! Perhaps I can call Aqua too!>

Algira — <BACK OFF I GO FIRST!!!> — buzzes furiously, standing on the Send button.

-Ichtacya growls and tries to paw Algira off the Pokégear, but Algira relents and pushes the device away from the Leafeon-

Copahue — <Girls...?>

Algira — swings around, dragging the Pokégear — <Let go! I'm using it now!>

Ichtacya — claws her way in — <Whatever! Betcha Trainer hasn't even given you permission to use it!>

Copahue — <Girls?> — sweatdrops.

-As they start fighting over the device, the Speed Dial service is activated, and they start randomly pressing the entry selection buttons...-

-A call is made to ????-

Rex: *Pokegear rings* Oh? Who's this? *answers* Hello?

Aqua: *continues to practice*

Ichtacya and Algira — <Eeeeek~!> — to each other — <   See what you did?   >

Copahue — <Ahem... how do you intend to answer that?>

-Algira simply sits on the speaker-

Algira — <Helios? Is that you?♥>

Ichtacya — shoves her to the side — <Don't be dumb! It's obvious it's Rex!> — to the speaker — <Hello Rex!>

Copahue — cocks head — <You girls realize that the poor human is only to hear buzzes and barks, right?>

-Is awake, but still sleepy, wanders to a chair to eat some breakfast-

Rex: *blink blink* Helios? Who's that? And yes, this is Rex.

Aqua: *recognizes Ichtacya's voice* <Oh, it's Ichtacya!> *leaps up to try to speak into the receiver, accidentally tackling Rex to the sand* <Hi! Oh...sorry grandpa.>

Rex: *half-seriously* Have you no respect for the sick?

-to the speaker, tail waging-

Copahue — <What.>

Ichtacya — <Hey! it's me! Silent's most [cute] walk-along! :3>

-Algira stares at her, annoyed-

Ichtacya — hears Aqua — <Hey! It's Aqua! Hello there, how have you been~> — listens to a thud — <...[Who] is sick?>

-I'm still trying to chase Shahinne around, or more technically her ghosts; the real one is hidden under a bench, chirping happily-

-Pets Glaze, feeding him a Rawst Berry-

It's OK, Glaze. Now... There!

-A small opening can be seen, enough for one person at a time to get through-

OK, let's go.

-Begins crawling through the passageway-

Aqua: <Oh, umm...grandpa got a cold...anditskindofmyfaultbuteverythingisbetternow!>

• beat*

Aqua: <So, how are you? >

Rex: *wonders why Pokemon are calling each other on the phone*

~~~

Glaze: *bites off half and gives the other half to Clover*

Clover: *smiles and takes it*

Both: *recover from their burns*

Kim: *crawls after Ori* So, you collect berries?

edited 10th Oct '11 1:43:23 PM by Hobgoblin

-Smiles-

That I do. Where... Where I come from, they're the only things that can be used as medicine. I have every kind, Leppa to Rowap and beyond... Or at least, I thought I did. Almost there...

Algira — <...>

Ichtacya — <...> — drops head.

Copahue — <...> — glares at me trying to chase the Shahinne ghost-images around.

-Ichtacya and Algira look at each other for a moment-

Ichtacya — <Err... we're fine here [too]... no one is sick...> — wags tail — <But I've missed you~ and Rascal~>

Algira — <You could just ask in what island they are in...> — flutters around.

-Meanwhile I have managed to cut all of the ghosts so I go for the last [Shahinne] remaining-

— Now just stay there...

-I leap in to try and grab her, and she dissolves in the light, as it was a ghost, too. I end up sprawled on the grass, arms stretched, my face down on the grass with some blades between my teeth-

— Great... she's got smart... — [noms] grass.