[center][h2][color=39b54a]Juana Perez[/color][/h2] -[u]Feyhollow Town -> Zephyr Strip[/u]-[/center] [hr] Juana, on the other hand, had decided to get those peck wounds from the Hoothoots treated. Some local medicine helped clean out the wounds and relax her body (thanks to a helpful woman and her Lilligant). Her back and torso were now bound with bandages, and she would have to buy a new shirt. (Or, rather, several.) Good thing they were going to a mall! When the time came, the three Trainers met at the station platform. "Yeah, let's go," Juana agreed, holding up a railpass she bought and registered in her Pokédex. "Looks like the train's coming." The train was a diesel engine with a silver body and two parallel green stripes running along its side. It let out a low honking that startled a few bird Pokémon, as it stopped at the station with the squealing of brakes. "In Unova, you could get anywhere by train. The Tubeline Bridge connects the train lines across the rivers so they can get from Gear Station to Opelucid City and back," Juana said, hopping on the train. She found a couple of seats for Cillian and Tora as well. "I never thought that I'd see so much right after leaving," Juana marveled. "In fact I should probably tell Mama and Papa about it while we're moving." She thought for a second. "...Save for the part where I was pecked badly by wild Hoothoots. Mama would fret for a week." As Juana made the call, she thought back to how nervous Tora was acting. She’d been overlooking the glances back, but if somebody was following and/or stalking her, then Juana knew it was her business to support her friend. [hr] Eventually, the three of them reached the Zephyr Strip. The train lurched as the passing view through the window slowed down; the passengers could see the remains of the decrepit station and the stark contrast between it and the refurbished train that was the mall itself. “It’s amazing what a little construction can do for an old worn-down train like that,” Juana remarked, stepping off the station platform and marveling at the once-decrepit train-turned-mall. “I’m going to go shop for some clothes first, ‘kay? Peck holes are [i]so[/i] not in style.” Juana winked and walked towards the mall. Thankfully, each train car was labeled with each different type of store; she easily found a boutique in what was once a sleeper and walked in. The atmosphere was totally different from that of Feyhollow. Juana never realized how much space was in a coach until you took all the junk out and replaced it with displays, counters, shelves, and the like. The fluorescent lights shone neutrally above the patrons as easy-listening played through a speaker. Juana found a nice tan flannel shirt that didn’t cost too much, so she decided to purchase a couple of different colors (in case). She also decided to buy a backpack; her tool belt wasn’t cutting it as nicely as she hoped it would. (She would still keep the belt, of course.) There was, however, a little bit of trouble at the register, as the power spontaneously flickered and the clerk had to re-scan Juana’s items. “What gives?” Juana asked. “Recently, the Zephyr’s power grid has been acting up. I don’t know if it’s because of a Pokémon, or because of some failure in the generators, but the locals have been kind of used to flickering here and there. It’s been happening more often, though; I live down the street from the station and my family’s been talking a lot about how there have been more outages,” the clerk replied. Juana shrugged. “Well, I read that Magnemites like to hang around breaker boxes and mess with stuff.” “I do hope it’s just that,” the clerk sighed. She handed Juana the purchases. “Would you like a bag?” “No thanks.” Juana walked over to a changing closet and took off her torn white tee; she buttoned up the tan flannel and rolled up the sleeves. “Lookin’ good,” she remarked, twirling around, before opening the door and heading to the boutique’s exit. She started walking back to her friends, when she noticed something shining in between the boutique car and a Mediterranean diner. She walked curiously over to the shining object… it was a sword, with a long blue tassel hanging from the end of the pommel. Set in one side of the hilt was a blue gem, and it was stored in what appeared to be a wooden sheath. Juana knelt down to pick it up; surely there was an antique shop around this place that would appreciate their stock being—OH MY GOD IT MOVED The sword reeled back and let out a dull thrumming, slightly annoyed. “Ay, sorry!” Juana yelped. The sword waved around, irritated, before floating towards Juana. “Wait a second… That’s a [i]Pokémon![/i]” Juana yelped, before throwing Bounsweet’s ball. The sword slashed, but Bounsweet countered with a Rapid Spin to parry the blow. Bounsweet dodged the sword’s strikes while Juana looked up what this thing was. [i]”Honedge. Sword Pokémon. Steel/Ghost type.”[/i] Juana looked up and saw that Honedge was, with deadly accuracy, making all its hits upon Bounsweet. “Bounsweet, retaliate with Razor Leaf!” Juana called. Bounsweet jumped back and fired a storm of razor leaves upon the Honedge. The sword didn’t make a sound, but it did feel the impact, albeit not very painfully. However, Honedge slipped into the shadow of the train to escape, before popping up behind Bounsweet and ramming into it with the flat of its blade. Bounsweet went tumbling forward. “Turn around!” Juana called, as Honedge threw itself into the air for a Tackle. Bounsweet fired a leaf into Honedge’s gem, flattening the leaf against the eye of the sword. The sword hovered around frantically, while Juana pulled out one of her Poké Balls. Juana hurled the ball at the sword; Honedge disappeared in a flash of light. The ball dropped into the gravel, shook once, shook twice… *Click.* [i]“Honedge. Sword Pokémon. Steel/Ghost type. Ability: No Guard. Nature: Quiet. Takes a lot of siestas. “If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person's arm and drains that person's life energy completely.”[/i] Juana looked at her hand and was suddenly [i]very[/i] glad she didn’t touch Honedge. “We should get you both healed back up.” Juana said. “I think the Pokémon Center’s near where the station platform is.” Juana picked Bounsweet up and the fruit Pokémon took its usual place upon her shoulder. Juana held Honedge’s ball in her hand and walked back towards the station. [hider=Notes]-TP: HHG +1, post +1; total: 81 -CP: +1, total: 46 [hider=Inventory] -Poké Ball x1 (1 used -Potion x2[/hider] [hider=Pokémon] -Bounsweet Lv. 10 -Corphish Lv. 6 -Skorupi Lv. 3 -Dewpider Lv. 4 -Togepi Lv. 2 -Honedge Lv. 1[/hider] -Interaction with [@Dusksong]'s Cillian and [@Silver Fox]'s Tora -Juana meets requirements for becoming a Skilled Trainer [@balthazar007] [@Dusksong][/hider]