[X] My Assistant

[The Rose Crusade...]

Melinda soon drifted to sleep after brainstorming a couple of new battling ideas for her pokemon battle tomorrow. She occasionally gave a thought about how the boys were doing, but was quickly losing energy. As Mindy was finally about to drift off to sleep, she heard a faint moan coming from inside the room. From a laying down position, Melinda sat up in the bad to find Grondiir trying passionately to turn the knob of the door. After failing to open it again, the tiny pokemon banged its head against the wall and began to sob and spray tears everywhere. (Little did the tiny amphibian know that the door was locked.) Melinda quietly got up and stroked the dinosaur gently and assuringly. "Its okay lil' buddy," Mindy said with the in the sweetest voice and she could make after just being woken up. "What's wrong?"

The tiny bulb pokemon tried hopelessly to explain his situation, making hand signals with his vines and beginning to tear. At this point Mindy had no idea what he wanted, so she just opened the door like he was trying to. Grondiir rushed out of the room and started sniffing vigorously with his tiny nose. He seemed to be following a scent that ran him straight into Jaima's door. Melinda giggled and petted the pokemon again. "Don't worry Grondiir, of course you can sleep with Jaima,” she said with a smile, quietly opening the door and allowing Grondiir to slip through the opening. Melinda then proceeded in shutting the door the same way she opened it and returned to her room, locked the door, and fell asleep on her cozy bed.



Melinda did not dream that night, and it was strange. Every time when she went to bed she had always dreamt of something, but for the first time she did not. Instead, the night seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it the sun's first rays were gleaming through her window shades and right onto her face, blinding her for a few moments. Her pupils eventually recovered and he began her daily routine. She got up from her soft feathery bed and made it. She then brushed her teeth and combed her hair and proceeded in getting dressed. She slipped into her most comfortable outfit for the gym battle: a pair of black jeans and her green tank top shirt. After finishing brushing her long brown locks, Mindy pulled her hair back with a headband allowing the hair to fall behind her. Melinda picked up her green Pokégear and strapped it onto her right wrist. While doing so she realized that it was 5:20 in the morning. "Well, I guess that's normal. I am all hyped up for the match, so it’s only expected I wake up a half hour early." she reasoned.

Next, Mindy proceeded to her morning calisthenics. She stretched her quads and hamstrings especially, not wanting to cramp up during the fight. She then advanced into her morning workout that consisted mostly of crunches and leg lifts, with some push-ups to make sure that she was in tip-top shape for the battle. After finishing this procedure, she gathered her things and cleaned up the room. Melinda then left, making sure that everything was better than it was before she arrived. It was part of the Honey Scout code she followed, as she was a Honey Scout Leader back in Floaroma Town. Mindy made her way down to the cafeteria where the early risers like herself were beginning to have their breakfast. Melinda intended to eat very slowly and think more about the battle during breakfast while waiting for the boys to get up. She didn't expect them to wake up early like her, but she knew that they wouldn't be able to sleep much past nine o'clock.

[Living Arrow]

As Darryn got down into the main entrance hall and made his way over the the front desk, he caught a glimpse of Mindy sitting in the cafeteria. Her eyes looked up in time to catch him passing the doorway. He waved and smiled, holding up a finger to signal that he would be there in one minute and continued over to the Nurse's desk.

"Good Morning and welcome to our Pokemon Center!" Nurse Joy smiled sweetly and tilted her head to the side. "Did you sleep well, Darryn?" Darryn found the over-enthused woman to be a little annoying with her overly-nice antics but at least she was better than the old nurse.

"Uh, yeah. It was ok." Darryn replied, snatching a glance at the clock behind her. 08.17 the bright red digital display told him. "Nurse Joy, I was wondering if a parcel arrived for me during the night? I had a message saying that it would be here..."

"Oh yes!" The Nurse knuckled her forehead. "How silly of me to forget!" She rummaged in some drawers behind the counter and pulled forth a nicely wrapped parcel with Cleo's handwriting describing his Pokemon Center's address. "Here you go." She passed the oddly light package to him which he gratefully accepted and immediately began to open. He glanced to his right to see Mindy watching him mid-bite of her breakfast so he hurried up the unwrapping process and pulled out his sister's gift. The first thing that he took out was an Accessory Case - beautifully decorated in black and white with silver swirls over the clasps and corners - and the second was a neat box with one word emblazoned on the top. Poketch. Darryn grinned.

"Yes! I always wanted one of these!" He told Nurse Joy who was watching him with serene pleasure. "The different applications allow you to do all sorts of things! How many has this one got?..... THE WHOLE SET!? Yes!!!"

"That is very lovely, Darryn," the nurse said sweetly, "but I'm afraid that I have sick Pokemon to attend to. Have a good day and I hope to see you again soon!" She bobbed a curtsey and trotted off, leaving Darryn to gape at the unexpected gift from his sister.

"A Poketch?" A boy's voice said from behind Darryn. It sounded sarcastic at first, but Darryn didnt really care - he had a Poketch! He turned around to find a teen, approximately the same age as him, sneering at the parcel in his hands. "I take it you aren't a seriopus trainer if you're getting excited over one of those."

"Excuse me?" Darryn glared back at him. "How would you know what a serious trainer would be like, anyway?"

"Uh, maybe because I'm having a gym battle today?" The boy spat back, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, so am I." Darryn retorted angrily, not really thinking what he was saying. In honesty, he had no intention of battling Chloe in the near future - he simply was not prepared enough for a match of that calibre. However, he had made the statement now and there was no turning back.

The kid, still sneering, looked him up and down.
"Then I guess you can arrive after me and see me leave with a Stonebloom badge since I'm heading that way now."

Darryn's eyes widened. *But Mindy and Jaima are having battles today. This dunce could really hold them up if he gets to the Gym before they do... and who knows what will happen to the waiting list if he actually wins?*
Darryn glanced once more at Mindy who was frowning at him now and giving him a questioning look over her breakfast. He gave her a knowing look back and turned back to the boy.

"Look, if you think you're such hot stuff then maybe you should prove it to me in a Pokemon battle. The winner gets their battle with Chloe, the loser has to heal their Pokemon here." Darryn's bravado was the most sincere he could muster, despite it being as fake as Fantina's eyelashes.

"I'm not stupid, you know? Even the winner will have to stay behind to heal their Pokemon."

"Not if you're ask good as me." Darryn snapped back. His anger towards this guy had grown considerably since his first statement. "I'm Darryn Kellor - that's a name that would pay you well to remember."

"Puh-lease." The guy said flippantly back. "I'm Tyron Jildare and I've never lost a Pokemon battle." Darryn gulped. He was too far in to back out, now.

"Then it's about time you fought a real trainer, like me. Unless you're chicken?"
The boy's angular face, marked with a pair of deep brown eyes and topped with very stylish brunette hair screwed up into a snarl. His designer jacket was being drawn especially tight over his elbows as he tensed what looked like to be very nice muscles under his shirt.

OK." He snapped. "You're on."

With a gulp, Darryn shrugged towards Mindy and began to follow the guy outside and curse his stupid mouth for getting him into such a stupid situation.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima walked after Darryn and also spotted Mindy eating. As Darryn went to the nurse, Jaima walked to the cafeteria. He loaded his plate with fruits and potatoes, took a sausage and an egg, and walked over to join Mindy. Since she was just finishing, they traded small talk between Jaima's bites of food.

"I hope you're not upset about Grondir coming to sleep with me. We haven't been apart since I got him." Mindy laughed and relayed the events of the night before. When Jaima glaced down at Grondir, the bulbasaur looked embarrassed. Jaima chuckled.

A commotion near the desk brought Jaima's head up, and he glanced in time to see Darryn and another trainer exchanging heated words. "What in the he--" he started, blinking as the words "stonebloom" and "real battle" came drifting from the desk area. Jaima stood and crept closer, bringing his now empty plate to the receptacle.

"OK. You're on!"

Jaima didn't wait. He wqent back to the table and recalled all his pokemon. "Darryn's gotten into a battle. We'd better make sure it's on the up and up."

[The Rose Crusade...]

After finishing telling Jaima what had happened last night, she to noticed the unrest stirring coming from Darryn’s direction. Melinda could only hear what was being said, because the way the two were positioned, Jaima was facing the commotion and Melinda had her back to it. "Oh geese, what has Darryn gotten himself into now...?” Mindy thought. "We had better go see what he's up to," she told Jaima. Melinda quickly finished up the remains of her breakfast and put the tray on the conveyor belt. Mindy gathered her belongings, not knowing if she would be returning to the Pokemon Center before the battle. All of her pokemon were fully rested and ready to go, so there was no reason to see the Nurse again. She followed closely behind Jaima as he went out the door and walked a good distance behind Darryn, trying to puts bits and pieces of a conversation together. Darryn had a look of annoyance on his face, while his opponent seemed full of himself. The couple followed the angry combatants to a makeshift battlefield very close to the Stonebloom Arboretum, the official name for the gym stadium. As the two trainers took positions for the beginning of a battle, Jaima and Melinda both sat down on a nearby bench in order to watch the battle. The two had plenty of time to spare before their gym battle and plus they wanted to see what this whole hullabaloo was about.

LA, I think its time for that super post you were talking about.

[Living Arrow]

"Two Pokemon each, no time limit." Tyron stated the rules as he crossed to the far side of the battlefield.

Darryn felt a little less nervous with his two friends sat on the sidelines of the battlefield – their faces were both calm showing him that they both had some sort of confidence in him. Well, at least he hoped that they did. Any sort of confidence from them would have been greatly appreciated considering the lack he had in himself. His battle with Mindy had resulted in his loss and even Jaima had prevented a win in their 2-on-2 match and had pulled out a draw. That meant only one thing. Darryn had never won a Pokemon battle before… Ever…
A lump rose in Darryn’s throat as his opponent squared up against him on the opposite side of the field. This particular battleground was a gravely arena with sparse clumps of grass, marked out by white spraycan borders. Darryn frowned at it for a moment, battle plans forming in his mind.

“Well, whaddaya waiting for?!” Tyron yelled impatiently across the field, an Ultra Ball gripped in his fist. “Send out your Pokemon!”

Darryn gave a start.

*Of course! I made the challenge, so I have to make the first pick… but what if he has a Pokemon with a type advantage? I’m not sure Caterpie could cut it against a Pokemon she was weak to… but then, Eevee will be skidding everywhere on this gravel field…*

“What’s the hold up?!” Tyron Jildare hollered across at Darryn as he slowly picked a ball off his belt.

“Just gimme a second!” Darryn shouted back, maximising the Premier Ball and holding it out. “I was just picking out a way to beat you, that’s all!”

“If you can!” Tyron retorted quickly. Darryn’s eyes glared at his foe’s smirk and his teeth started to grind as he span. His arm came up and around in a graceful arc and the ball was flung out into the battlefield.

“I call Pidgey to the field!” Darryn announced, a tinge of worry going out with the bird as he materialised on the uneven ground, blinking dumbly in the morning sunlight. Tyron watched the bird appear in all his semi-featherless glory.

“What is that?” Tyron quirked an eyebrow and folded his arms. “It looks ready to be plucked and roasted – not ready for a Pokemon battle.”

“Shut up!” Darryn yelled back, his face flushing red. “This Pidgey is more than enough for whatever you have in that ball!”

“Oh, yeah?! Well, I’ll prove you wrong then! I choose Chikorita!” Tyron announced his Pokemon. Darryn gasped as he realised that Pidgey would be in an advantageous position and immediately began think about how to attack such a grass Pokemon before he even saw the thing appear. In a flurry of leaves upon her entry, the Chikorita performed a backflip and swung her leaf rapidly in circles before stamping her feet and taking on a serious battle pose.

*Holy sh- that’s a good looking Chikorita! Look at its clear eyes! It’s gleaming skin! It’s been raised so well… Is it at a high level? What attacks might it know? How should Pidgey attack?*

“If you’re going to stall again, then we’ll make the first move! Chikorita! Razor Leaf!”

The grass type threw herself into the air and swung her leaf down hard, sending a barrage of leaves towards Pidgey who balked at the sight of the incoming attack. Darryn froze for a moment, not knowing how to counter the move but realisation hit him just in time.
“Pidgey! Fly up!” Darryn’s command fell on deaf ears and instead, Pidgey rolled to the side. The dodge was effective, but it didn’t really carry the visual grace that Darryn wanted out of his Pokemon.

“It fell over!” Tyron started laughing manically, his Chikorita a perfect imitation on the battlefield. Pidgey, too, seemed to be laughing – probably at his own luck, rather than his own clumsiness – which made Darryn even more annoyed.

“Pidgey! Gust attack!” He commanded, his Pokemon blinking back tears of laughter and throwing his wings into overdrive. The foe’s Chikorita was caught completely off guard and the squall of wind, sand and tiny pebbles hit her face-on. Tyron’s shock was written all over his face, giving Darryn a jolt of glee.

*Don’t under estimate my Pokemon just because yours have a better appearance, Tyron.* He mused.

“Chikorita! Use Vine Whip!”

“Pidgey! Sand Attack!”

Darryn watched as the snaking vines shot out from the Chikorita’s neck and straight at Pidgey. He also saw the fear in Pidgey’s eyes and the speed with which he flung sand and grit straight at the foe in retaliation. The Chikorita’s eyes were blinded just before the vines could hit their mark, resulting in yet another failed attempt to attack.

“Now do a Gust attack, Pidgey!” Darryn laughed, watching as his Pokemon miraculously took the upperhand and flung a mini tornado at the grass type who howled as she was flung high into the air.

“Damnit!” Tyron cursed, hissing something under his breath. “Vine Whip again, and don’t miss this time!” He yelled at his Pokemon. The Chikrita span in the air and fired her whips back at Pidgey. He squawked with surprise, not being able to dodge in time, and yelped as the vines squeezed around his body.
“Now slam it!” Tyron ordered, his Chikorita swinging Pidgey violently over her head and pounding him into the ground. The bird let out a puff of feathers and a winded cry as he hit, only to gasp as the grass type swung him aloft once more.

“Leave my Pidgey alone!” Darryn cried, horrified at the brute force with which his Pokemon had been driven into the ground.

Tyron ignored him, calling out to his Pokemon once more. “Now use a Wring Out attack!”

“No!” Darryn yelled, watching helplessly as his Pidgey cried out. Vines squeezed tightly around his chest, crushing his wings to his body and preventing him from being able to use any sort of retaliation.
Darryn was vaguely aware of Jaima calling something from the sidelines, but his attention was too focused on his suffering Pokemon to notice.

*How can he just continue to hurt my Pidgey like that without backing down an inch?!*

Another call came from the sidelines, this time it was Mindy. They were both trying to get his attention, waving and shouting advice. Darryn’s ears pricked up.

“Pidgey, return!” He called, holding up the Premier Ball and thankfully watching as his Pokemon dematerialised and was sucked back to the device. His relief turned to utter anger as Tyron danced back and forth. “How can you just attack like that?!” Darryn yelled at him accusingly. “It was obvious that my Pokemon couldn’t get free and you carried on anyway. What kind of trainer are you?”

“A better one than you.” Tyron snorted. “Send out the next victim.”

Darryn grit his teeth. Despite the obvious difference in appearance, he had noticed how the battle so far had effected the Chikorita. Its breathing was certainly drawn and it looked worse for wear since its opposition against Pidgey. Darryn was not a fool. Good looks or not, that Pokemon was hardly any stronger than his own and had only held out since it had an affinity for defence. Clearly its speed was lacking – meaning that all of his own Pokemon would be able to outspeed it.

*I can't send Eevee - he'll just skid all over on this field... but Caterpie has feet adapted for clinging to things... I just hope the fungicide has worked enough so far to let her move freely on this gravel...*

“I call Caterpie to the field!” Darryn called, hurling the Net Ball into the arena. His rag-tag bug Pokemon appeared and cowered at the sight of the Chikorita facing her. “It’s OK, Caterpie! Use your speed and this match is yours!”

“Don’t be so sure!” Tyron snapped from the other side of the field. “That bird had a type advantage, too, and see where that got it?”

“Unless you’re an idiot, you’ll know that my Pidgey was hardly incapacitated – there’s still fight in him and the match isn’t over yet. It seems that you focus too much on appearance to throw your opponent off – that Chikorita might look impressive but she’s taken a beating so far.” Darryn ran a hand through his hair and looked down his nose at his opponent. “You’re not winning yet, Tyron.”

“Chikorita! Use a Tackle to show them who’s in charge!” Tyron ordered the surprise attack, but Caterpie was ever-watchful of her target. The bug type shot out to the side and flung herself wide of the incoming grass type.

“Nice dodge, Caterpie!” Darryn laughed. “Use String Shot on the field!”

*Here’s where my combinations begin, Tyron. Let’s see how your fancy Pokemon cope with these!*

“Razor Leaf!” Tyron ordered. The leaves slammed into Caterpie as a web of thin but strong and sticky strings fell all over the gravel. She tumbled backwards but recovered very quickly since the attack wasn’t very effective on a bug type. “Now another Tackle!”

“Pull on the strings, Caterpie!” Darryn called, hoping that his Pokemon understood the plan that he had formulated. Caterpie grabbed onto a piece of the edge of her silky web and pulled with all her might. The sand under the Chikorita’s feet was pulled out from under her, resulting in her falling face first into the ground. “Yes! Now hit it with a Tackle attack!” Darryn called.

“Keep it away with your vines, Chikorita!” Darryn’s eyes widened as the vines shot out, flailing at the oncoming bug Pokemon. Luck and speed were on Caterpie’s side as she slid between the vines and slammed herself into the Chikorita. The grass Pokemon soared through the air, screaming as she went but before she even landed a Razor Leaf was sent hurtling in Caterpie’s direction.

“Use String Shot and spin!” Darryn called out, hoping once more that Caterpie understood the move that he intended for her. The ball of silk burst from the bug’s mouth, hitting the leaf in mid air, but it still came rushing towards her. With a string connecting leaf to Caterpie’s mouth, Caterpie span and dodged sideways. The leaf shot past her then pulled back around her body in a wide circle before she let go of the string and let the ball of silk and leaf fly right back to the grass Pokemon. “Awesome move!” Darryn punched the air as the attack hit home in the Chikorita’s face. “One more Tackle!”

Tyron watched with utter astoundment as Caterpie threw herself upon Chikorita and sent her sprawling to her trainer’s feet, unconscious. His face flushed red with anger and embarrassment as he called his first Pokemon back and selected a Pokeball from his belt.

“You may have won against the first of my Pokemon, Kellor, but this one won’t be so easy!”

Darryn gulped, watching with bated breath as his opponent threw the ball onto the field.

I've decided to split the battle in two so that you guys can comment etc.

Tyron said under his breath "He's winning?"

And Mindy and Jaima were both calling for Darryn to recall Pidgey while he still had a chance.

[The Rose Crusade...]

Melinda intently watched the battle unfold on the low-grade battlefield, hoping that maybe the battle might give her new strategies for her pokemon. Darryn's Pidgey was taking quite the beating from the opponent's showy Chikorita, even though Darryn had come up with some amazing strategies, the Chikorita was just better offensively and speed wise than the fat bird. It looked like Pidgey was about to pass out form a strong Wring out attack when Melinda and Jaima had both decided that it was time to intervene. "Darryn! Call Pidgey back! There's no way it can stand this!" Mindy cried. Jaima called out similar things, but his voice was much louder and had a larger boom effect, so the two concluded that Darryn would probably only hear Jaima. It seemed that Darryn slightly acknowledged the two observers, his main focus obviously being his pokemon's safety. The two were now standing up, yelling at the top of their lungs when Darryn finally got the message and returned Pidgey. Jaima and Melinda responded by sitting down again, glad that Darryn got Pidgey out of there in the nick of time.

Caterpie was doing an amazing job with holding Chikorita back with the help of Darryn's tricky battling tactics. Mindy and Jaima cried out with joy when the grass pokemon went down and cheered their friend on enthusiastically. "Wow! Darryn really knows what he's doing!" Melinda exclaimed to Jaima. "WAY TO GO DARRYN!" she screamed to him, "DON'T GET COCKY NOW, WATCH OUT FOR HIS NEXT POKEMON!" Melinda shouted, eagerly awaiting the appearance of the mysterious trainer's next pokemon.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima's scalp was in pain from him pulling his hair during Darryn's battle. He agreed with Darryn that the other trainer was being far too rough, but he also knew that in a non-friendly battle, there was nothing that should surprise him. He vowed to himself to start teaching his pokémon more defensive techniques after watching the chikiorita slam Darryn's pidgey to the ground. He practically screamed his throat raw trying to get Darryn to call Pidgey back. He finally got the point and did so, though Jaima figured he heard the higher registers of Mindy's voice rather than his own.

Caterpie was amazing as she fought the Chikorita off, finally tackling it into submission. The combined efforts of Pidgey and Caterpie had finally defeated the other trainer's pokémon, and Darryn took a moment to take stock. From the way the other trainer was reaching to his belt, Darryn was only going to get a moment.

He replayed the words he heard from the confrontation in the pokécenter and bit his lip. The boy Darryn was fighting had mentioned the Stonebloom badge. He'd already proven he had a grass type, and if the boy was as good a trainer as he seemed to think he was, he'd be accounting for the grass type as well. If he was going for a type advantage, he would have either a fire type, a flying type, or an ice type. The former two would give Caterpie a very hard time, but Pidgey might be able to fight them to a standstill. It would be close, and Jaima had every confidence in the Pidgey, except for the fact that he was already weary.

If it was the ice type, Pidgey was in danger, but Caterpie had a chance.

An image appeared in his head, of Shadow hitting a rock and shattering it, then jumping around triumphantly. It looked like a choppy flash animation, but it got the point across.

"You're right, Mer. Of course, and that would be a good thing." Jaima knelt and stroked the green helmet like crest on Mercury's head. Shadow was looking at her, blinking with an incredulous look on his face. Another image appeared, of the foe trainer walking around as if dizzy, and Darryn raising his hand in triumph. A tiny plush ralts was nearby, with line like waves coming from it's head.

Jaima chuckled. "No, that wouldn't be right. And it would be an insult to Darryn. He can handle himself."

He stood and looked at Mindy. "I think Darryn's going to do what he set out to do," he said, hoping he was wrong about exactly what he thought it was Darryn had set out to do.

[Living Arrow]

"I choose Koffing!"

Darryn nearly puked when the wave of toxic gas puffed across the battlefield and into his nostrils. The Poison type that appeared seemed to be smiling merrily as it sauntered lazily into the air and floated there without making a move. Every now and again, a puff of smoke would eminate from one of its pores to correct its motionless hover on the field.

*A Koffing knows all sorts of attacks... this could be tricky...*

"Let's make the first move this time! Caterpie - use Tackle!" Darryn ordered his bug pokemon. Caterpie gurgled and squirmed rapidly towards who her opponent who finally realised what it was doing in such a place. It suddenly frowned at the incoming Pokemon and gave an annoyed "Koff!" before Tyron issued a Gyro Ball attack. The Koffing span itself with jets of propulsion gas and rocketed at the incoming bug. The two collided and rebounded, Caterpie rolling over and over in the dirt as Koffing span up into the air and came to a slow halt where it laughed with more "Kof kof koffing!" Caterpie groaned terribly, struggling to get back to her feet.

"See how your speed has been turned against you?" Tyron sneered at Darryn. "Being able to land weak hits quickly is nothing compared to powerful hits at a slower rate. Check out your bug. Despite its abhorent flaking, it has the even more pressing issue of fatigue to deal with."

Darryn frowned at his own Pokemon, wishing that Caterpie was able to take more hits before falling the way she did. He doubted very much that Caterpie would be able to defeat the Koffing on her own, but Pidgey was always in reserve for backup.

*But I can't call back Caterpie and back down now - she's got to learn to take more hits if she's going to get any stronger!*

"Caterpie! Try to pull yourself together!" Darryn called reassuringly to his pink bow-wearing bug type. She nodded in his direction, her compound eyes drawing down into an angry grimace at her opponent.
"Riiiiii!" She screamed wildly, arching her neck backwards and firing a net of thick String Shot into the air. The string slowly fell back down upon her in layers and before Darryn could make sense of what was happening, a new Pokemon was standing before him. "Metapod!" It said proudly.

"Caterpie! You evolved!" Darryn clapped his hands and punched the air. "I knew you could do it! Way to go, Caterpie! Sorry, Metapod!!!"

The bug type remained motionless, its focus completely pinned on its battle. Its crisp outline was nothing like the crispy, broken outline of its former self. Her eyes shone brightly, her exoskeleton gleaming and shining as though it had been freshly polished. Her form was sleek and powerful now - a complete transformation from the shabby bug that she had been before.

"Don't think that gives you any more of a chance of winning!" Tyron snapped from his own side of the field, his face an annoyed picture of envy over the fine Metapod that had materialised from Darryn's Caterpie. "You only just said that appearance isn't everything - so don't forget it!"

"Like I'd forget!" Darryn replied. "Use Harden, Metapod! Then slam it with a rock-hard Tackle attack!"

"Counter with Sludge, Koffing!"

Metapod gleamed gold for a moment, her edges becoming hard and defined before her muscles tensed once and she rocketed across the arena. The ball of poison sludge hit her head on, but her body continued its path, crashing straight into the purple ball with an audible crack.

"Haze, quickly!" Tyron ordered.

"String Shot before it can move!" Darryn countered.

The sticky strings sailed through the air as it turned misty, clouding up the battlefield as it poured out of the Koffing. The round pokemon disappeared into the Haze before the strings hit. Darryn clenched his jaw. Metapod had no way of dispelling the fog. Not only that, but his own Pokemon had disappeared from view and recall had become an impossibility.

"Try and sense where it is then use a Tackle!" Darryn called into the clouds. From the other side, Darryn could hear Tyron calling to his own Pokemon.
"Get on the ground and use Gyro Ball!"

The sound of the two Pokemon clashing in the Haze could be heard clearly despite their forms being completely hidden mere feet away from their trainers' eyes. The Haze suddenly swirled and Metapod went flying into the air.
"Pooooood!" She screamed, crashing down next to Darryn's feet.

"No! Metapod!" Darryn took up his newly evolved Pokemon in his arms and looked into her dazed eyes. "You put up a really good fight and I'm so happy you evolved! Now, take a long rest." He held up the Net Ball and Metapod zoomed back inside with a sigh of relief. The Premier Ball at Darryn's hip was flying upwards in a matter of milliseconds, his anger at Metapod's defeat fueling his drive for battle. "I call Pidgey to return to the field! Gust attack!"

The blue-grey haze was caught up in the wind, drawn into a narrow squall that spread right across the field. Pidgey panted heavily as he maintained the power-consuming move while in flight, only stopping when the foe Koffing was hurled sufficiently far back for him to land without being disturbed.

"That Pidgey can't beat my Koffing." Tyron said matter-of-factly. "It can't even fly. I suggest you forfeit right now, Darryn."

"Oh, yeah?" Darryn squinted at the Koffing. "Looks like your Pokemon took some damage within the Haze, too, Tyron. I doubt it has the energy of your Chikorita, either. In fact, if I didn't know better I'd say that it was just as tired as my Pidgey. Not only that, but my Pokemon has a move that you haven't seen yet. One that will claim the match."

"Unless that featherbag knows Hyper Beam, I couldnt care less what you think!" Tyron stamped his foot.

"In that case!" Darryn clenchedhis fists together. *This has got to work!* "Pidgey, use Roost!"

"What? No! Koffing, Gyro Ball!" Koffing came hurtling towards where Pidgey was sitting with frightening speed as the green aura of healing set around the bird's squat form. Fresh feathers sprouted in the sparse areas on the flying type's body with haste, his eyes opening just in time to find the Koffing bearing down on him.

"Jump, Pidgey!" The Koffing slammed into the gravel where Pidgey had been standing as the bird took flight and flapped desperatly upwards.

"Don't let it get away! Use Sludge!" Pidgey was struck hard in the back by the flying ball of poisonous gunge, but he managed to turn the hit into some sort of propulsion and sped up his flight. "More Sludge!" The balls of purple-black goop soared high towards Darryn's Pokemon, but without order, Pidgey knew exactly what to do. Just like Caterpie had done so, he turned the attack back on his foe by spinning and using Gust to crush the ball-shaped Pokemon into the dirt while sending the Sludge right back at it. Tyron gasped in shock as the combo thudded mercilessly into his Koffing.

"Keep going, Pidgey!"

Pidgey flapped once and dove, leveling out awkwardly at ground level and throwing a Sand Attack over the poison type. The Koffing spluttered with surprise, spinning this way and that as it tried to dodge the incoming Pidgey. It was too late, Pidgey nailed home a Tackle attack right between the Koffing's eyes, sending it unconscious into the ground where it released a cloud of exhausted poison gas and fainted.
Tyron's face dropped as he held up the ball for his Pokemon to return to. Defeat obviously didn't sit well with him as he sneered at Darryn and stormed across the field towards him.

"You do realise that that was a complete fluke?" Tyron spat, coming nose-to-nose with Darryn in the process. Darryn theatrically wiped away an imaginary spot of spittle from his cheek and raised an eyebrow at his defeated rival.

"A fluke? I think not. The fact of the matter is, you have to deal with this fact: I have no intention of entering into a gym battle. I'm justnot ready yet. And for you to lose to me shows that you are not, either. I suggest you get back to the Pokemon Center and think about some other strategies to use that aren't as obvious as those you tried with me. Then, when you have at least one badge and catch up to me, maybe we could battle again."

"Why you-" A dumbfounded Tyron started but Darryn was already pushing past him to congratulate Pidgey. The fat Pidgey squawked and laughed, fluttering up to Darryn's arms where he congratulated him on a great job done. With an angry mutter, Tyron gave Darryn a seething frown and stormed off, back towards the Pokemon Center. Only when he was finally gone did Darryn's shoulders drop and he went to his friends who had been watching the whole time. his false bravery had been pretty much the only thing that had kept him going until Caterpie had evolved but from there on out, it had all been real and for that, he was proud.

"Thanks guys!" He grinned at them both. "I only won because you two were cheering me on. Thanks for the advice back there, too - I know Pidgey is grateful. Right, Pidgey?" He asked the bird in his arms. Pidgey gave a tired, but thankful coo to the other two trainers and rested his head on Darryn's arm. "And Caterpie evolved! How cool is that?!"

He went on to explain to the pair how he had been drawn into the battle by Tyron's antagonistic attitude and why he had felt it important to make sure the boy hadn't arrived at the gym before them. With the short story over, he recalled his resting Pidgey and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know about you two, but I think it's about time you earned a pair of Stonebloom badges!"

[The Rose Crusade...]

Mindy and Jaima intently observed the intense pokemon battle. Once Metapod began its evolution process, Jaima and Melinda got very excited. They were cheering for the entire Kellor team: Metapod, Darryn, and Pidgey. The entire group performed magnificently against Tyron's formidable Koffing, being led by the clear guidance of Darryn. "Wow," Mindy exclaimed for the second time, "Darryn is an amazing strategist! Just look at his Pidgey gusting down the sludge!" Mindy knew that she would use that one in her battle against Chloe with Combee. When their friend walked over to the battle watchers, Mindy congratulated him with a hug. "I'm so proud of you Darryn! Great job!" she said embracing him. Melinda let go when Darryn began to explain the situation and how the whole battle got started anyway. The couple both agreed with Darryn; someone like that needed to be taught a lesson. When Darryn recalled his tiny bird pokemon to its pokeball the gang began their trek up a small hill to the Stonebloom Arboretum, where the gym battles would take place. Melinda then remembered that had been daunting on her since the night before. "Hey Jaima?Who's going to battle Chloe first?" Mindy asked. She didn't know if she wanted to battle first or second, so she left the decision up to Jaima.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima was impressed. There was just no other way to describe it. Darryn's Metapod and Pidgey performed admirably, and Darryn's strategies were brilliant.

The opponent, however, had Jaima's attention at the moment. He was obviously threateningDarryn, or trying to. Jaima glared at the boy as he passed by, Just before he left, Jaima announced, in tones loud enough to be heard, what an idiot he was to think that a poison type would have much of a chance against any of Chloe's team. He hoped it got on Darryn's opponent's nerves.

Mindy's question broke through Jaima's bout with testosterone. "Oh! Ladies first," he said, biting his lower lip. He wanted a chance to see Chloe's moves. "But if you wanna go first, I can go.

[The Rose Crusade...]

It took Melinda awhile to decide whether she wanted to go first or second. By being the latter, she would have a chance to see Chloe's strategies before having her chance. But if she went first, she would be getting it over with sooner and have more or an adrenaline rush not knowing what was going to happen next. The two possibilities played with her mind, like a devil and an angel on your shoulders, both wanting her attention. In the end after much hard-thought decision she took out a tow-sided coin. One side had the head of a Vespiquen, the other the head of a Seaking. "Heads, I'll go first. Tails, Jaima starts," Mindy, announced. She showed her friends the two sides of the coin and then shakily placed it on her hand.

By now the group of three had finished their walk and were standing right in front of the Stonebloom Arboretum. Its structure was truly magnificent, not a straight like could be seen as it was all curved, which was very visually appealing. They were just five steps away from Chloe, the mysterious master of rock and grass. Melinda shuddered again; her nerves were getting the best of her. She flipped the coin hastily now, six eyes watching it fly up and come crashing down. Its course soon ended however, and the coin had stopped. Darryn bent down and concluded to the two that the coin had landed heads. Mindy could tell that he was happy with the end result, and so was Mindy to be honest. By now, she just wanted to get this whole ordeal over with. "Well guys, there's nothing else for us to do out here. Let's head inside." Melinda said solemnly. She as trying to get in 'the mode' and be very relaxed and not stress out. As the three walked inside Melinda made a connection to the feeling of how Dorothy felt when she went to see the Wizard. With her three, well here were two, but nevertheless best friends around her, they were all facing together the scariest thing ever to happen to them. But Mindy was sure that they would overcome their fears, as Dorothy did, they'd just have to.

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima motioned for Darryn to one side of the double doors, and then motioned for him to open it. Together they pulled the doors open, leaving Mindy in the center, ready to enter. Jaima released his pokemon, and all of them opened their mouths and gave out low, thrumming cries. Grondir walked to Mindy's ankle and tapped it with a vine, smiling up at her. Jaima half smiled at Mindy. If it was going to be a battle, she might as well make an entrance.

Short, but I had to post SOMETHING

This post has been edited by Jaima: Nov 3 2008, 08:08 PM

[Kilvaer]

Chloe reclined on a felt-lined arm chair, haughtily reproachful at the idea of leather in any shape or intention, as she dolefully played with her ballpoint pen and scribbled nonsensical lines on the schedule her assistant had left her to overlook. The recent lack of actual work that required a meticulous eye to perfect the terrible details. Chloe was, in many vexing instances, a perfectionist; this quality is one that is only ever (and not always) appreciated after its paroxysm whose brevity seems to extend eras with its precision. Sadly for the self-righteous botanist-turned environmental corporate woman, such frivolous expenditures of incessant doting were not available to her; clicking the pen with her thumb would have to suffice.

A curt knock to the door followed by an unapproved entry introduced Chloe's small, purblind assistant Jeannette. "Um, Ms. Davenport?"

"Yes, Jeanette?" Chloe replied dryly, an exaggerated bleakness on her face as she stared pointedly at the frightful girl.

"Um, well... Uh... You have visitors - trainers. They want to, um, challenge you. Is your agenda free?" she asked nervously, as usual, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Mumbling swiftly to herself, she muttered, "Well, I know it is since I did your agenda, but I don't know if you want to, and I..."

The mostly stoic woman had already tuned out the noisy chippering of her secretary and she gazed lifelessly at her entertainment, being the black pen which she still clicked, albeit less now that Jeannette was there. Sighing with a regret as she rose from her chair, arms supporting her above the desk, she moaned out, "Tell them I'll be right there, Jeanette."

Jeannette's gibberish immediately quieted as her boss spoke. "Oh! Uh, great then! I'll go tell them right now! Thank you, bye." Bowing as she exited the door backwards, Jeannette scurried away.

Chloe heaved a sigh of dread, dragging her feet towards a cabinet to the side of the office where rows of belts lined with Pokeballs were laid out expertly. Rolling her neck as her body finally caught up with her mind, (reluctantly), she pulled out a belt and tied it across her waist at a fashionable angle and then striding off to the Arboretum's more tourist-central portion of the building complex.

The Teutonic woman positioned herself at her end of the arena.

"Welcome to the Gigarte Arboretum, an official link in the chain of the Furoh Pokemon League. I am Chloe Davenport, and I will be your opponent today."

[The Rose Crusade...]

Both Melinda and Grondiir jumped when they heard the booming voice from the other end of the room. Jaima and Darryn had been led to stands obviously meant for the audience of the large battle room by gym trainers. The battlefield itself was very elaborate: lush greens and shrubbery completely engulfed it. Trees full with leaves covered this battlefield. Mindy and the tiny toad pokemon stepped meekly into the challengers box at the edge of the artificial, yet very real. It almost reminded her of Floaroma Town, but without the wondrous and almost dreamlike fragrances. Melinda would have to incorporate this detailed and scenic background into her battles. There were definitely flat grass parts for intense straight on battle, but one could easily retreat into the dense forest and make the battle much more interesting. Melinda looked down to see Grondiir shaking, even vibrating like a massage chair. On the outside, Melinda was seemingly cool and calm, but on the inside she felt the same way as the Bulbasaur. Alas, she knew she would need to get over her case of the butterflies to become victorious. Mindy kneeled down to comfort the pokemon:

"Listen Grondiir, we have nothing to fear. We have trained hard for this, and all you have to do is just trust me 100%. Jaima is backing up on this, and he doesn't even know half the things you can do. Let's give a show, how about it Grondiir?" she spoke calmly and collected, getting past her personal fears. It was obvious that the girl's kind and calming words had done the trick, and Grondiir had a very concentrated look on his face, knowing that he wanted to impress everyone with what he could do.

"Bulba!" he cried out, taking his first steps onto the battlefield.

"Alright, let's do this Grondiir!" Mindy cried out. "Chloe Davenport, I challenge you today for a Stonebloom Badge! I propose a single battle using two pokemon each. Ready when you are!" Melinda announced loud enough so that the other gym leader could hear her clearly. A meek-looking woman was in the middle of the field, obviously the referee, and seemed to agree, looking to Chloe for confirmation.

[Kilvaer]

The referee nodded to Melinda, turning to her employer with an inquisitive gaze. Affirming the notion with a simple nod, Chloe looked at the confident little Bulbasaur representing its trainer's mettle, boldly exchanging eyes with the older woman. She smiled out of courtesy as the battle's hostess, lacking any true sincerity partly due to a mechanical personality brandishing it.

Her hand glided down rigidly to her waist, letting her fingers run along the cool, smooth surfaces of the little containers. Her fingertips settled on the glossy scarlet and white casing of her Bonsly, whom she promptly released onto the terraformed battleground. The small critter stumbled across the grass with surprisingly heavy thuds, giggling to itself as its weight balanced. "No time to waste now, Bonsly. Perform at your highest."

Bonsly shook its leaves with a terrible shudder, offering an inconsolable vengeance in its tiny body that could not be taken seriously by any person who comprehended such body language. Calling out to the small pokemon without much enthusiasm, Chloe said "Bonsly, use brick break."

Half-turning to confirm its orders, Bonsly deftly bent its tiny knees and lunged its incredibly hety body forward, using its momentum as its pummeling force. The Bonsly uttered a shrill battle cry as it pathetically soared through the air, almost immediately reaching the zenith of its arch as it progressed to its preliminary offensive.

[The Rose Crusade...]

Melinda immediately realized the danger of the oncoming attacker. "Here we go Grondiir, listen carefully! You have to completely trust me for this to work! Pull out your vines!" The tiny toad pokemon whipped out its long slender green vines and held that at a ready position. "Now jump up, grab the Bonsly with your vines and throw him right back using his momentum, okay? Go!" For a split second the Bulbasaur thought of not doing what Melinda had ordered, but got a strange sensation, a soothing picture from a psychic source, telling him it would work. Grondiir pushed off its vines to jump higher than usual and caught the rock pokemon as it was zooming right underneath him. What Melinda didn't take into account was the extreme weight of the rock type. While Grondiir held its grip on Bonsly however, something unexpected happened. Grondiir began to be pulled by it through the air by the moving rock pokemon

The Bonsly obviously didn't see if it had hit Grondiir or not as it slid across the grass of the battlefield, barely slowing down at all. After all, it was traveling extremely fast for its size and weight. Eventually its rampage ended when Bonsly slid into the trunk of a tree. Grondiir, never letting go of Bonsly, flew through the air just behind Bonsly, and when the little shrub stopped moving, the dinosaur pokemon let go and kept on flying. Grondiir panicked for a moment, but reacted quickly and grounded himself wit his vines, landing moderately safely in a patch of soft bushes, seemingly in much better shape than his reeling opponent. For now, it has seemed that the two's hard work and training was paying off against the stone plant.

Melinda silently cursed for not realizing that Bonsly was a rock type and therefore being much heavier than originally thought, making her first mistake; and yet it was an easy one to make. After all, it looked like a tree. Nonetheless, she saw this as a moment of opportunity. "Good job Grondiir! Use his dazedness to your advantage, use Razor Leaf!” Immediately, Grondiir obeyed without question unloading a steady barrage of razor-sharp leaves straight towards the reeling Bonsly.

[Kilvaer]

Bonsly, in the speed of its attack, neglected its unfortunate direction and plummeted against the base of a tree, leaving a substantial dent in its side. The small shrub rose to its two awkward feet, shaking its still dizzy head from the impact. A few moments later, a flurry of leaves cascaded from further within the forest, compelling the young Bonsly to whimper with fake tears.

"Bonsly, use Protect!"Choe cried out in some surprise, having not expected the unorthodox move after having just been launched by a small missile. Bonsly, distracted by the oncoming threat, turned away from the coming onslaught and cried out in fear as the advanced leaves struck at its side ferociously. "Bonsly! Use Protect!" Chloe cried out more desperately; this time the Pokemon heard her, and instantly activated its ability after having endured an unfortunate "bruising" beforehand.

Gritting her teeth with frustration, Chloe clapped to gain the Bonsly's attention and said, "Use Rock Tomb to slow Bulbasaur down!" Almost immediately, Bonsly balanced itself on its one foot, the other raised a few inches off the ground. A pugnacious shriek from the small shrub sent a shudder through the gym as its tiny foot stomped down, forcing a rigid outcropping of rock to pierce out of the floor and entrench Bulbasaur in mere seconds.

[The Rose Crusade...]

"Bulbasaur watch out!" Mindy cried. She could do nothing but watch in horror as the grass pokemon was pounded by rock after rock or an intense and obviously advanced attack. While Grondiir had successfully damaged Bonsly after a barrage of razor leaves, it appeared that the little shrub has some fight left in him. The tomb of rocks completely caught both Mindy and Grondiir by surprise, the tiny toad pokemon wailing as the rocks neared and eventually clamped down upon it. Rock large rocks imprisoned Grondiir, three on the ground in a triangle and one on top of the rest, creating a pyramid-like structure. Grondiir cried and screamed from the inside, suddenly gaining a feeling of claustrophobia. Melinda tried in vain to quiet it down and trying to figure out how to pry the pokemon out of its tomb at the same time, but it was no use; Jaima's pokemon had stopped listening to her. It was only when Mindy stopped shouting that Grondiir stopped wailing. In a low tone, Melinda spoke clearly and definitively, "Grondiir. I do not know how to get you out of there, but you need to listen to me. I think there are some attacks that you haven't shown Jaima or I yet. Maybe you don't even know you can use them. But I know that there is something you can do Grondiir, I just know It." she finished and waited several moments. The opposing team began to calm down to almost a state of relaxation. It was obvious Chloe had been victorious in this part of the match. It was also clear that Chloe had shut down many teams with this one technique, and was about to do so again.

After a few minutes of silence, Chloe was obviously growing bored, and started saying something about how Melinda should forfeit, being a good trainer knows when to quit, and all that crap. Mindy stuck to her statement, however, and believed in Grondiir the Bulbasaur. Suddenly from the depths of the tombs there emitted a bright green light. Grondiir's battle cry could be heard vigorously as it echoed through the rafters for several seconds. The cry had gotten everyone in the room off to their feet, and had given Melinda chills down her spine, goose bumps, and the raised the hair on her neck. Without warning, the tombs exploded! The four rocks imprisoning Bulbasaur suddenly flew out with an extremely powerful force. They flew in all four directions: the one resting on top lodged itself into the ceiling, one smacked a tree, one just barely missing Melinda, and the last soared straight into Bonsly, flying the tiny shrub pokemon at an blinding speed right into the back wall of the building with a loud smash. The dust soon cleared from where the behemoth pyramid once stood, and if one were quick enough, one could have seen a green aura fade form Grondiir. One would have also seen tiny vines retract from his feet and back into their normal forms. Surprisingly enough, the tiny toad pokemon didn't seem like it was about to faint. Even after such a powerful and devastating attack like the one just shown, it wanted to go on, taking steps forwards the middle of the battlefield, waiting for its next opponent.

Melinda just stared in awe, wondering what in the world the technique was that Grondiir displayed, and let the dinosaur pokemon do its own thing.

While entombed and after hearing Melinda, Grondiir figured he'd use that time to recover. He used ingrain while in the tomb, realizing that even though he couldn't get out, therefore no one would try to get in, so there would be no disruptions between him and the recovery technique. After a few minutes of recovery, Grondiir spent much of his regained energy into an extremely strong attack that was in his bloodline for generations. Nature Power was the technique Grondiir used, and being in a rock environment in the stone tomb, he was able to use rock slide.

This post has been edited by The Rose Crusader: Nov 6 2008, 01:48 AM

[Living Arrow]

"What was that?!" Darryn yelped, jumping up from his seat in the stands. Pidgey almost fell off his shoulder with the abrupt motion and Eevee was forced to leap away from his seat on Darryn's lap (Metapod lay resting in her Net Ball for the time being). Despite the fact that Darryn had been on the edge of his seat from the outset, his Pokemon had gotten comfortable where they were. "There is no way Grondir can know Seed Bomb! It's far too young for a move like that yet... What is it?!"

Darryn's Pokedex was in his hand quickly and the first Pokemon to appear as #001 was, luckily, Bulbasaur. Darryn pointed the scanner towards the field where it briefly scanned the leaf dinosaur and reported back its findings.

[Nature Power. Upon different terrains Nature Power's effect takes different forms.] The dex intoned. Several extra options were available on Darryn's screen, which he hurriedly clicked with his thumbs. [To obtain a Bulbasaur with such a move, a male of the following must be in union with a female specimen of the Bulbasaur line. Lotad, Lombre, Ludicolo, Seedot, Nuzleaf.]

"Wow! Did you know that Bulbasaur came from descendants that were of different Pokemon species?" Darryn asked Jaima, holding the Pokedex towards his friend so that he could see. "It's like your Swellow - abilities have been passed down from certain parents! So cool!"

"Way to go, Grondir!!!" Darryn yelled from the sidelines. "Keep it up, Mindy!!!"

This post has been edited by Living Arrow: Nov 6 2008, 02:57 PM

[Master Houndoom]

"I...I had no idea," Jaima stammered. His eyes hadn't yet returned to their sockets, and he'd taken to wringing his ponytail in anxiety as he watched the match.

"He was a gift. Well, more like a reward. I'm not even sure Grondir knew..." His voice was full of awe, and a little sadness. He absently patted Mercury's head, eliciting a crooning sigh from the ralts.

He'd be better. He'd make sure his kids met their potential, if they wanted.

"Mindy's amazing," Jaima sighed, unable to hide the pure admiration in his voice.