Ask to Join The Sinnoh region adventure (Journey in Galar Sequel)

[AriaNights]

“A Shinx?! That’s amaHEYHEY—?!”

The loud cry of Evilane sent the ‘professor’ scuttling behind the other two, though taking comical care not to disturb the Shinx outside of his terrified cracking of his voice.

...After a solid few seconds of delay, however, he stared down the Leafeon — and breathed a sigh of relief. The trainer a little bit behind them was familiar, and he was fairly certain that today was not the day he’d be beaten to a pulp.

“M-Man, that really...”

“...Abra.”

Grant’s Turtwig, clearly sharing his opinion, shuddered and jumped onto his shoulder — the two collectively catching their breath, having likely forgotten the initial wonder of seeing a Shinx.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"Another shinx! Super cool! This one clearly isn't the one I saw earlier today..." Dolan said. "Dittooooo" Aloi cheered. Dolan heard the loud voice ,and covered his ears, shuddered to himself. "Oh dear..." Dolan said softly looking over. Despite that Dolan was too excited about the upcoming adventure, "The sooner we get to Jubilife City the sooner we get to see the Jubilife Broadcasting Station! It's very cool!" Dolan said excitedly.

 

[BlueMew392]

"Aww~, it's so cute and precious!" Victoria cooed as she looked at the picture of Shinx in the Pokédex and then the real deal.

She was then startled a bit by the loud cry and Grant's scream, leading her to turn behind her to see what was going on. "Evilane!?" She said as soon as she saw the cybernetically modified Leafeon.

Shinx's ears twitched a bit after hearing the loud cries and screams and finally noticed the group. It then began to run off along the path in an attempt to flee.

Victoria quickly turned back to Shinx and saw it trying to run away. She then heard Dolan suggest proceeding forward to Jubilife, but she jerked her arm up in front of him to prevent that. "That can wait," she said, "I've yearned for the day I would catch a Shinx for myself and then raising it into a luxurious Luxray. Today is that day!" She took off after Shinx, and it didn't take long for her to catch up to it. She took out Piplup's Pokéball and tossed it, "Piplup, go!"

The ball opened, and Piplup appeared in front of the wild Shinx to stop it in its tracks. "Pi Piplup!"

Shinx stopped after seeing the water-type appear and block its path and began to growl at it a bit.

"Piplup, use Pound!" Victoria ordered.

Piplup then charged at the Shinx and landed a Pound attack with its flipper.

 

[LightNexus]

While Makura and Umbreon were strolling the route, he noticed Dolan and the others. "Oh look. It's Dolan and the others. Must be checking out the Pokemon in this route. Might as well try and join them." he thought to himself. Makura and Umbreon walked over to Dolan and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Dolan. Looks like you guys are enjoying yourselves. I see that girl chasing that Shinx over there too. You mind if I join you guys? We're kinda getting bored walking alone anyway." He told Dolan.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Dolan stopped as he looked down to see Victoria's arm, "Okay. Sounds cool!" Dolan said excitedly.

"Piplup is a water type? and shinx is an electric type? Uuughh..." Dolan said ,but reserved his opinion as he didn't want to say anything to discourage Victoria. He smiled as the match began.

He then saw Makura walk over and talk to them. Dolan smiled, "Sounds cool, too! I'd be delighted if you joined us!" Dolan said excitedly. "Dittooooo" Aloi cheered upon seeing umbreon once more.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia stared at Liam. She tilted her head, and put a finger on her chin. "I am a trainer, he isn't." She motioned to Jake. "I do mind if you come with us. I'm not stopping you, but I'm not welcoming you either. Just know that I wont talk to you. What was your name again?" She continued walking, and looked at Liam. "Do what you want with Jake, just don't involve me in it. I'm capable of commiting a murder if I need to." She looked away again. Mudd nodded to Liam in apology, then walked back to Kia's side.

 

[BloodRedRobot]

Jake rolled his eyes slightly as he listened to Kia's statement, before she started to leave.

He then looked at Liam. "Before you ask....yes. She's always like that. Trust me. I know. You get used to it." he shrugged a bit.

"I guess you can come if you'd like....b-but just a warning....i'm not the most social person and she's...well....Kia is Kia." he said, before he started to follow the aforementioned girl.

He then stopped. "..."

He turned to Liam again. "...she might be serious about the murder thing though. I'm....to be honest I wouldn't put it past her. I haven't seen her do it, but...still." he swallowed before he followed Kia and Mudd.

Sonny cast Liam's pokemon a half lidded look of disinterest, before he turned and followed the rest of the group, paws still tucked away.

Jake stopped a step or two behind Kia, as they walked.

""Ya know...i'm starting to think maybe I was the one who was supposed to end up with Mudd and you were supposed to have Sonny." he said jokingly as he looked at the Marshtomp.

"That or your personality rubbed off on Sonny when he was a Scorbunny, or when you and him were in Glimwood Tangle together...or something like that. Either way....I think your spirit pokemon might be a Raboot. Or you're what Sonny would be as a human. Just...the opposite gender. Because in my opinion...me and Mudd are more alike."

He said, as he looked at the water type with a small smile.

"Just me though."

 

[Salasa]

"Yeah, well that doesn't really matter. I'm not reeeeaally a trainer, I'm a Coordinator...but I wouldn't mind branching out either. Who knows, it might help with the battle parts of the Pokemon Contests. And for not wanting to talk to me, you really seem to enjoy talking to be." He gave a little snicker, taking off his glasses for a moment to clean them. "Liam, Liam Strait...murder! Fun, lemme know if ya need a sniper because lemme tell you, I've never handled a gun before in my life." He grinned as he followed Kia. Rudy was curiously gazing at Sonny, ending up in his face, hanging upside-down from Liam's arm with a cheeky grin. Blake, on the other hand, seemed to be staring at everyone...his eye always seemed to follow. However, he was idly floating alongside Liam, so there was little issue for now.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia thought for a moment, and glanced over her shoulder at Liam. She started to mutter. "Purple streak... Mostly black clothing... Sort of looks like someone from a goth band." She looked forwards again. She heard Jake's comment about their Pokemon. "This is the second time you've ever been right. Maybe Mudd prefers you to me or something. I know he's an amazing Pokemon, but you can't have him. Too bad I can't say the same for your Raboot. I meant it when I called Sonny an idiot, by the way."

 

[Salasa]

"Goth band? Well, I used to play the saxophone if it helps. Maybe the BEST goth instrument, lemme tell you." He was happily laughing, and took a look at Rudy, who was still messing around on his outstretched arm. "Don't worry, I'm at least well dressed on the stage. So, I'm guessing you're gonna be trying out the Pokemon Gyms? Ever tried a contest?"

 

[AriaNights]

“Just that... Sorry for the ruckus!”

Grant looked back to watch the fight with Victoria, seeming to have brushed aside the Leafeon encounter for just a moment longer to observe the battle.

...As Dolan noted, the type matchups didn’t look pretty, but Grant shook his head.


“Don’t think it’s nothin’ to worry about. Even if the little guy knows something that’ll mess up Piplup, it probably won’t do too much. And besides, she does have experience.”

...That, and they’d be able to back her up if things went south.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia sighed. "I wasn't talking to you, goth boy. Also, no I don't plan on trying a contest. It's not something I would willingly do. You could probably tell that from the first part of this conversation... You aren't also an idiot, are you? I don't want to have to deal with another one." She looked forwards and she could see some of the bigger buildings of Jubilife. "Hey, we're getting close to Jubilife. Unless if that's a random city that appeared when we just happened to be heading to Jubilife."

 

[Salasa]

"Oh but you were talking about me at the least, which means I can say whatever I want without worrying about it." Liam thought for a bit, putting his hand up to his chin. "I might be, but I promise I'm at least the fun kinda idiot. That's gotta count for something, right?" He smirked a bit, walking up ahead of the two to motion to the city. "You got that right, it's Jubilife, the JubiLIFE of Sinnoh, if you will! It's got basically everything, if I'm bein' honest. You two seem totally hopeless without a map...and I'll be glad to be your guide through the region. Anyways, why not do a Pokemon Contest? Think they're for pansies, by chance? Well they're fun, they let you experiment with Pokemon moves in more ways than just as attacks!"

 

[BlueMew392]

The wild Shinx was knocked back by Piplup's Pound and shook its head. It then retaliated by hitting the water-type with a Tackle attack.

Piplup was knocked to the ground after receiving the Tackle.

"Piplup! Are you alright!?" Victoria asked with a concerned tone.

Piplup quickly got back up and nodded. "Piplup!"

"Great! Now, use Bubble!' Victoria instructed.

Piplup launched a Bubble attack just as its trainer ordered.

Shinx was caught off guard by Piplup's resilience and was hit, immobilized for just a bit by the Bubble attack.

"Use Pound, once more!"

Piplup charged towards Shinx as it was immobilized and hit it hard with a Pound attack, knocking the electric-type to the ground.

"Fantastic, Piplup!" Victoria said to the water-type, which looked very proud after hearing the compliment. She then directed her attention at the knocked down Shinx and knew it was time to catch it. "Now then, I've been waiting to use this for an occasion such as this," she said as she reached for a Pokéball. What she pulled out instead was a Luxury Ball. "A Shinx that will one day evolve into a luxurious Luxray, deserves to be in a Luxury Ball!" Victoria said and threw the ball at Shinx.

The Luxury Ball bounced off the Shinx's head, opened up, and sucked the electric-type into it. It landed on the ground and began to shake, with the button glowing red.
1...
2...
3...
Ding!
The ball stopped shaking, and the button stopped glowing.

Victoria was filled with joy after seeing that her capture was a success. "Yes!!" She exclaimed before she went over to the Luxury Ball and picked it up, "We did it, Piplup! We caught a Shinx!"

"Plup Piplup~!" The water-type cried out in joy.

 

[AriaNights]

“That’s —!”

Rather comically ignoring the environment around him, Grant clapped happily as the Luxury ball shook for its final time.

While he had seen people capture Pokémon before, rarely had they done so with such comical passion — and succeeded, no less, without a hitch save for a small hit!

“That’s wonderful! Congratulations on your newfound ally!”

In his joy, he stepped into the grass to check out the ball before Victoria picked it up...

“Man, Luxury Balls really fit well with the colour scheme, t—“

...A bit of colour left his face, as he took a sharp breath in.

“—...Something’s... pecking at my leg, isn’t it?”

 

[BlueMew392]

"Indeed. I'm pretty sure the design of it is one of the reasons why they are sold at a bit of a higher price compared to normal Pokéballs," Victoria said, looking at the Luxury Ball in her hands before turning to Grant.

She noticed him looking a bit pale and spooked. After hearing his question, Victoria looked down at his leg, seeing a Starly pecking it. "Why, yes," she said with a small giggle, "It's a Starly."

 

[BloodRedRobot]

Jake perked up and looked ahead at the buildings of Jubilife.

"...huh. Looks a bit like Wyndon." He commented as they walked.

"At least...from here it does." He added as he adjusted his backpack.

"Where all are we stopping there?" He asked.

"I don't have anywhere I need to be, but if you do..."

He said as Sonny looked towards a bush that suddenly cracked.

"..."

The Raboot stared at it for a few seconds before he continued on.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Hello everyone to Jubilife City. Today we are welcoming new trainers to explore and see the sites of the festival. It is to celebrate the current music of the region. Today we have with us Storm Cromwell. He will be performing one of his hits for us." The town was alive with screens all showing a singer who had by his side was an espeon. Storm started out softly to show his range of emotions in the song.

"There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and its bringing me out the dark
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling
We could have had it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
Baby I have no story to be told
But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there 'cause mine sure won't be shared
The scars of your love remind me of us (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
The scars of your love they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling
We could have had it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could've had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
But you played it with a beating
Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turned my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow
we could've had it all
We could've had it all (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
It all, it all, it all, (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
We could have had it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could've had it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
But you played it, you played it, you played it, you played it
To the beat"

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia stared at Liam, her straight face quickly becoming annoyed. "If I say I'm not doing something, I'm not doing it. I don't need a reason, I just don't want to." She turned to face Jake. "Why are you asking me? I have no idea what any of the cities look like, or where they are. How would I know what I would do in Jubilife if I don't even know what's in Jubilife?" She scratched her chin and looked at the city. "I'm not the only one who can hear someone singing, am I? Must be coming from the city. I hope there isn't some sort of concert going on right now. That would be a pain to experience."

 

[AriaNights]

“A Starly? —Oi, could ya knock it off already?!”

Grant jumped backwards, revealing the mildly-annoyed Starly for all to see, who then pursued him. It seemed he’d accidentally squished a small worm it was pursuing — and its form of justice was harassing the perpetrator.

“—Wait. This is the perfect opportunity to add another member to my research team! Abra, watch what happens very carefully!”

“Abra!”

“—Turtwig! Get out there and show ‘em what you can do!”

“—Turt!”

...It seemed he never actually held either of the two in a Poké Ball — they simply hung around him. In that case — the turtle prepared itself for combat with the Starly in front of them.

“...Albeit I don’t like this matchup, but until Abra learns how to fight, I haven’t much choice...”

 

[Salasa]

"Woah-ho-ho, calm down there champ! Don't need to get snappy with me." He chuckled, glancing at Blake and waving a hand in front of his face. "Stop starin' so much, they're not THAT bad." He continued to laugh, clearly enjoying himself. "...hmm? Uh...yeah, sounds like singing...hey, music ain't that bad! Surely you've met SOMEONE that plays music that you can tolerate. If I had to guess, you barely even tolerate your own Pokemon...joking, of course." He added hastily. He had a few issues with knowing when to stop, but he figured that was maybe a little too far.

 

[BloodRedRobot]

Jake went quiet for a few seconds to listen.

"....sounds like it." he thought aloud as they approached the city.

"....doesn't sound like Seth. Doubt its him. Unless he's really good at doing a different voice." Jake chuckled lightly as he adjusted his backpack strap.

Sonny, having arguably the best hearing of the group (huge ears = great hearing), winced and got ready to protect his hearing, in case it got too loud for his ear drums.

The horn of the boat was one thing, but a roaring crowd of human fanboys and fangirls, accompanied by Arceus knows how many speakers and microphones, which amplified the music?

No thank you.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia went back to a neutral expression. "You're starting to get on my nerves Goth boy. Even though you may be partially right, you don't need to say it. It's not the music that I don't like, it's the people that will be there. Getting through big crowds without getting lost is an accomplishment." She turned her head around to look at Jake. "It would be too much of a coincidence for Seth to also be here. It would be much better if it was Seth instead of you though, he isn't as mind-numbingly annoying as you. Well, he's not even annoying to begin with. He's sort of like a big brother, actually."

 

[BloodRedRobot]

Jake blinked in suprise and looked at her.

"...huh. Didn't know you thought of Seth like that." He said to her with a slight yawn.

"When'd that start?" He asked as Sonny looked over at Mudd, and glanced him over.

"...."

Sonny adjusted an ear out of his face and continued on.

 

[BlueMew392]

Victoria watched Grant engage a battle with the wild Starly. She knew Turtwig was at a disadvantage and was curious to see how Grant would handle this. Still, she wanted to be on stand by just in case. Just because she handled her battle without any trouble, doesn't mean he will have the same results.

"Need some help with it?" Victoria asked Grant.

 

[AriaNights]

The little Starly let out a cry to ‘intimidate’ its foe, as Turtwig sized up its opponent — glancing back at its Trainer with a look perhaps mirroring Grant’s own concern. However, Grant glanced to the Turtwig and gave it a confident nod — then, glancing to Victoria, he gave her a goofy smile as a response.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine! I always said that when I get my third Pokémon, I’ll start naming them! And it looks like Starly’s gonna be lucky number three!”

...He says that, but his smile is faltering a little with worry.

Trying to hide the fact he was already breaking a nervous sweat — mostly since he’d never actually battled before this point, he decided to take the initiative and give Turtwig an order.

“Turtwig! Let’s use Tackle, then!”

...His words weren’t anywhere close to as assured as Victoria’s, admittedly, but he was attempting to make up for it with vigor. He was only partially succeeding here.

Regardless, following Grant’s commands, his Turtwig decided to ram itself into the Starly — who practically got bowled over by the turtle, before backing off.

“That’s the spirit! Now, let’s prepare to s— Ah!”

Before he could plan his next attack, the Starly fought back by pecking at Turtwig’s head viciously — causing the poor thing to backpedal nearly into Grant’s legs, flinching from its newfound injuries as the Starly hopped back.

“...That did a bit more damage than I thought...”

...Grant took a step back, crouching down to quickly inspect the Turtwig’s injuries — as the Starly carefully watched the two.

 

[Salasa]

"Ok, seriously, I don't get why I'm suddenly goth. Like check it out. The only black things I'm wearing are my pants. Jacket? Brown. Are ya colorblind or something?" He frowned a bit, crossing his arms. "And if you're gonna give me an insulting nickname, at least make it interesting." He gave a pause at the comment on the people being the issue. "...Yeah, that makes sense. I don't like huge crowds either. Even though I do Coordinator stuff. Strange, ain't it?" He grinned a bit. "So...this Seth guy. You two buddies, or more?"

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Well I hope we are not more then just friends as that would be really weird as I see her more as a little sister." Seth was there as he wanted to see his old friend, Storm as he was due to have a bit of singing showcase. It seemed that the short blond was younger then his age showed. He was wearing a pair of black ripped jeans, a pink cardigan over a black shirt with a v-neck tee with a logo of the Sinnoh region contest center. On his feet he wore a pair of black boots that he wore over his pants leg, and that laced up the front. "Do you guys really think I would let you go without a goodbye?"

Storm was just getting out of the broadcasting station, when he heard more of his song come on the speakers. It was great to be recognized, but he hated that they used his old band songs, as he had a falling out with them sometime ago. Looking down at V he was glad to see that the espeon was just as cheerful as ever. It just lifted his mood to see his companion in such high spirts. walking around he noticed that a lot of the city was taken up with stalls of food, games, and venders hacking their wares and chatting with the people of the city and guests that showed up for the festival.

 

[BloodRedRobot]

"...why do I feel like this is gonna be another Matt situation?" Jake said to no one in particular as he heard Liam's response.

"Rab." Sonny rolled his eyes a bit.

"..."

Jake shivered a bit at the thought as he swallowed.

"...not...not again." He said to himself, as he took a breath.

"Anything but that."

Sonny covered his ears more as they approached the concert, as he winced as his ear drums started to sting.

 

[BlueMew392]

Victoria smiled back at Grant after looked at her with a smile of his own. She continued to watch the battle. It was going well, until the wild Starly landed some super effective Peck attacks on Turtwig, making Grant lose control. "Oh, no. Piplup!"

"Pip!" Piplup nodded and quickly got in front of Turtwig, preparing to battle if it needed to.

Victoria went up to the two and crouched down as well to look at the grass-type's injuries. "Is it alright? Those were some nasty direct hits, and super effective at that," she said as she looked at the Turtwig before looking at Grant, "I could take over, if you want?"

 

[AriaNights]

“I mean, that would be nice —“

Grant stopped himself with a pinch to his cheek, but took a sharp breath and a step back as he signalled Abra to follow. Like it or not, this battle wasn’t one that was looking good for him, and to be frank, he didn’t know much about battling.

...But he couldn’t learn by watching. He wasn’t as smart as his Psychic-type partner.

“I’m... gonna need some advice. I don’t want to pass the battle over, but I don’t know the first thing about this.”

He sighed. Now was no time to let pride overtake him. As the Starly looked on in a strange form of confusion in the events going on, Grant took a stand again.

“—In such a situation, what exactly should I do?”

So, he’d ask for her take on the situation before he did any more. He didn’t have much choice.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia spun around to face Liam. "My nicknames aren't supposed to be insulting, but if you couldn't tell, I'm just an insulting individual. Plus, the fact that you don't like the nickname makes it a better nickname, Mail." As she heard Matt's name being mentioned, she put her fists in front of her face in a boxing stance. She looked around and relaxed, seeming weirdly disappointed that she didn't get to punch someone in the face. In an attempt to justify herself, she shrugged. "That was part of my natural instincts. Also, hi Seth. Also also, why the hell is Seth in front of me?" Once again the tone of her voice made it hard to clarify whether she was being sarcastic or was generally mad. Her face didn't give any clues either, as it was just as neutral as before.

 

[Salasa]

He raised his hands up, chuckling nervously. "Woah, Woah...I mean, it's just that it's...like, not at all what I'm goin' for. I mean, I woulda told you my LAST name if you really wanted to go the insulting route, but...eh, Mail works. Make it "Mailman" and we got a deal." He chuckled a little. "Well, I hope I'm not like this 'Matt' fella...I mean, I'll try not to be the worst, but I can't guarantee nothin'." Rudy blinked, glancing up at Seth. The little Aipom hopped up to Liam's shoulder to give Seth a cheerful hello. "Oh, well...I guess that answers that. Howdy ho, name's Liam! I guess I'm the newbie in this merry band of..." he glanced at Kia with a little snicker. "Mostly merry band of trainers."

 

[BloodRedRobot]

Jake's eyes widened as he looked at Seth, in surprise.

"Oh, uh, hey!" he said in confusion, as Sonny turned to look at Seth with a mildly "oh" expression.

"...you were saying?" Jake looked at Kia with a playful smirk.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna stay in Galar for a while after the tournament?" Jake asked the older trainer with a raised eyebrow.

"...if this is about me dipping after the party...in my defense...I'd been the only other one who didn't beat the gyms, intentionally, and I was starting to feel awkward. But! I did let you guys leave your pokemon in the Wild Area with Baltimore and the others. Last time I checked, my dad says they're doing well."

Sonny mimicked Jake's speech and mannerisms, down to the eye and hand motions.

"So yes, I bailed after the party, and to be honest I'm shocked Kia hasn't strangled me for it already, but here we are."

He added as he motioned to the group (as did Sonny).

"...also...you haven't seen...Alex, by any chance, have you? O-or Salasa." he added the last part quickly as he cleared his throat and shifted (the Raboot copying his motion).

"...and wait, have you guys been secretly forming like...a sibling relationship when I wasn't looking or wasn't around?" He thought out loud, as he looked at the two.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Seth just laughed at the way Jake was acting. He was glad to see that the younger male was still the same as he was before. "Well I am actually here to meet up with an old friend of mine. Also to get a couple of things from my apartment here Jubilife, as you know that I was from this region before my grandma moved us to Unova."

Turning to Laim, Seth held out his hand for the boy. "It is nice to meet you. I see that Kia has not killed you yet, so you might not be as bad as she says you are." He said this with a smirk looking right at Kia. It was one thing that Seth knew and that was to give her the same treatment she dished out.

 

[Clunpsy]

Kia glared at Seth. "I don't have that bad of a temper... I give people three days to live before I decide to end their existence." She smirked a bit, before pulling a straight face again. Mudd saw Seth and gave ah happy wave. The Marshtomp was a bit surprised to see him, but figured that Kia had jinxed it in some way. Kia turned to Jake. "No nothing dumb like that happened. It's just a coincidence, I guess. So, Seth, are you gonna stick with us or are you gonna head to a different region after you get your stuff and meet your friend?"

 

[Salasa]

"Salasa? Wait, I swear I've heard that word before...uhh...oh, right! It was some guy's kid. He was kind of a weirdo, but he was also pretty cool at the same time. I think he had a Grimmsnarl with him..." He paused for a moment. "Hmm...I met him, like, a year ago. Did he have red hair? Short?" Liam thought for a bit. "Hmm...well, anyways, guess I better set my death watch if I have three days left. But anyways, it'd be cool to have someone else join up! What do you do, uh...battles? Concerts? Maybe something from a different region?"

 

[BlueMew392]

Victoria could tell that Grant wanted to hand the battle over to her but not wanting to do so at the same time. After hearing him ask for her advice, she nodded with a smile and stood back up.

"Very well," Victoria before standing back up, "So, during a battle, it's important to pay close attention to both Pokémon. You cannot just keep your eyes locked onto Turtwig. You also have to direct them towards the Starly, to see what action it's going to take and to study its movements." She's clearly showing that this is not her first time teaching a new trainer the art of battle, as she gestured at the two Pokémon a bit. "Right now, Turtwig has taken a sustainable amount of damage. Another super effective attack will most likely put it out of commission. So it's very crucial to pay attention to Starly's movements. That way you'll be able to predict when to either dodge, launch an attack, or both. And one more thing....." Victoria turned back to Grant with a smile. "Keep calm and believe in your Pokémon. Now, are you ready to give it a try?"

 

[AriaNights]

“...Let’s give this another shot, then.”

Grant took a long breath out, fumbling with something in his pocket as Turtwig stomped back out to meet its feathery foe. At this, the bird seemed to prepare some form of attack — but Grant was quick on the uptake, his brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes in focus.

“Turtwig, slide out before nailing ‘em with another Tackle!”

—A momentary glance to the Starly told him that he moved not a moment too soon, as the bird moved in for a peck — which the turtle managed to avoid, if only by a hair, before ramming into the Starly’s side. The poor bird staggered back, starting to feel the pressure — despite its strengths, it was still a little bit weaker than the turtle it fought, and it was learning the hard way that even it couldn’t take too many hits from a Pokémon like that.

“—That’s more like it! Turt, I’ll be trying to catch the little guy. If it breaks out, prepare to dodge, pronto!”

“Turt!”

With that, Grant finally slid a normal Poké Ball out from his pocket, and took a sharp breath in — shooting his shot at the bird with a quick toss.

...As the ball absorbed the bird, dropped, and began to shake, Grant crouched down nervously — with Abra doing the same — as if their gaze would help them.

“One...”

...

“Two...”

...

“Three..?”

...
A nice little ding informed Grant that a rather terrifying battle had been brought to a close. The researcher plucked the ball off the ground and brought it to his face — grinning quite happily as he looked it over, before stuffing it into his pocket.

“—Man, now that’s what I’m talking about! A new ally already! —Thanks, Vic! You really got me out of a pinch here!”

The researcher laughed quite happily, only realizing that he gave her a nickname after he spoke.

“—Er, Victoria. Whoops.”

 

[BlueMew392]

After watching Grant successfully battle the Starly and catching it, Victoria heard his slip up of the nickname, making her a bit surprised. She blinked twice before proceeding to giggle a bit. "It's fine," she said, excusing the slip up, "And you're quite welcome. You've managed to handle the battle well and catch the Starly." She gave him a smile.

Victoria then drew her attention down towards Turtwig. "But is Turtwig alright?"

Piplup approached the grass-type to see if it was alright. "Piplup?"