[IC] Pokémon: The Toppe Region

[Leaves]

Edward panted and started getting a bit tired. The hill was becoming steeper and steeper that he had to have his Abra walk beside him. Looking down at his pokemon, he frowned. "Sorry, buddy. This hill is a lot tougher than I thought," he smiled and his Abra made a cheerful noise as it crawled along. Walking along the trail, he passed a wooden arc with "Cloverhill" carved in it. Ed's speed began to deteriorate for the dirt road was getting steeper by each step.

It was until then that he noticed the sides of the trail. They were completely filled by an assortment of flowers. It was an attractive sight seeing so many colors. Edward was stunned to see how the sides of the road differ from before. Looking behind himself, he saw that the flowers were only blooming past the wooden gate.

He proceeded to run uphill; finding that walking was making no progress for him. "Last one is a rotten egg!" He yelled out to Xanthia. Once he climbed up to the top, a good two minutes of running, the dirt road had vanished. Ed was now standing over a bunch of flowers. He lifted one leg in order to stop ruining the plant life, although, they didn't appear to be squashed by his weight.

Crow had then started making screeching sounds. Edward picked his head up to see what his Abra was pointing out to him. He couldn't help, but smile at the scenery. It was just leaving a funny tickle in his stomach.

"Xanthia! Come check this out!" Ed crossed his arms and admired the view that was before him. "Well, I'll be." He whispered.

Cloverhill is an exceptional place to bring your camera! It's described to be a heavenly place, especially to read a book. The travel there won't be much, but a chore as the only sight is the forest to your left and right. Don't worry though, as soon as you pass the wooden gate, you'll see some energetic flowers once you start making the travel upward. Be careful now and don't fall!

Once you finish that tough, steep, walk you'll be rewarded with a beautiful sight! On top of the hill is where the establishment of Cloverhill actually resides; every inch of the land form is covered in flowers of all types. You might be worried for the flowers once your shoes make contact with them, however, you shouldn't fret. The locals and the buildings that are built today haven't never done any harm throughout the years. You best get your pokedex ready as you may see some grass pokemon! All grass pokemon are friendly on Cloverhill of course! Cloverhill even provides a pleasant view of Cape Town and Shellville! It's the trainer chill spot!

Oh! Be mindful as you might spot a four-leaf clover!

Edward searched throughout the top, not putting all of his weight into the floor. He noticed a pink building to the left that resembled something like a Poke Center. Next to the building was a similar building, but in blue. The trainer had figured it was a poke-mart. There were other buildings, but they seemed to mostly be houses owned by the locals. He looked around more and could see various pokemon. "We might both find our third party member," he yelled behind him to Xanthia.

There are really an assortment of grass and bug type located in Cloverhill. You'll have to keep an eye out as some of the smaller pokemon are likely to hide in the fields of flowers. That's why you should always watch your step as you might trip over a Tangela. Keep an open ear as Sunkerns and Seedots might be rustling past you.

There are more outgoing pokemon in Cloverhill. You can't miss the multiple Butterfree and Ledyba flying about or the dancing and singing of the Bellossoms. Rosalias are seen as their dancing partners!

Lotads and Petilil are seen around the trees of the hill. Shy Oddishs and Bellsprouts are hiding behind several trees while Heracrosses are busy sapping the syrup out of the bark. Caterpies are climbing the bark of said trees. The Cloverhill is a great place to find pokemon if you're interested in the bug and grass variety!

[Draconequis]

Moving up the hill, Xanthia kept a close eye on Anubis. Now that they were on the road, the Gengar had something new to explore. He focused on exploring instead of pestering Xanthia and Edward, which was such a relief.

Her eyes flitted to either side of the trail as the scent of flowers filled the air, blown by a gust of wind. It seemed almost unnatural how colorful and bright the flowers seemed to be. Knowing pokemon the way she did, Xanthia could theorize that there were probably grass type pokemon nearby. Already her mind was racing, and she was praying to see a Skiddo. The pokemon was not only adorable, it was said to be extremely loyal and sturdy. As soon as Edward said something about racing, she was off like a shot, sprinting up the hill behind him. She stuck out her tongue as they reached the top, breathing heavily as she leaned on her legs for a moment. "No fair. You got a head start." she felt her heart thumping in her chest as she caught her breath.

And then the beauty of the land made Xanthia pause. She gazed out to the lush greens, the grass types and bug types skittering over the field. her eyes focused on a small herd of Skiddo who were nibbling at flowers and joyously bounding across the field with happy expressions on their face. She also took note of the Heracross as well, an excited glint appearing in her eyes. Heracross were known for being a bit hot-headed, but they were also a great ally to have if one was patient enough to train them.

"Hell yeah. But.. which would you go for if you were me.. a Heracross or a Skiddo?" She asked "What are you considering?"

[Leaves]

( @Draconequis Just for future reference, try not to auto spawn any pokemon as I try to keep everyone having sort of like a "nuzlock" experience. If you have any requests, I can always spawn it for you. :) )

Edward raised an eyebrow; he laughed under his breath when he heard Xanthia. "A Heracross?" The pokemon trainer tapped his chin twice, something he picked up from the professor. "I would have figured you out as a cutesy-type of pokemon trainer. Look at you defeating stereotypes of female pokemon trainers," the male trainer chuckled.

He looked toward the field and examined both pokemon. "Given your personality, I'd probably go with a Skiddo. You might be asking for too much with a Heracross. They are usually hot-headed and you already have..." Edward tilted to the side. "...Anubis." Edward's eyes widen and shrugged his shoulders. "But it is your call in the end. All that can be said is you don't regret your choice afterwards."

Edward picked through his pockets and took out a small ball. It immediately expanded to its normal size; its crimson and white colors showed off in the bright sunlight. "Well, all these pokemon are going to take a lot of time to train as they all seem to be first evolutions. "I am in a similar predicament. I'm not sure between a oddish or a petilil."

Edward had already knew what an oddish was thanks to his previous Johto poke'dex. A petilil was something out of his comfort zone given he doesn't know a thing about the pokemon species. He shook his head to the side thinking of which one to choose and the more he gave it some thought, the more he was over-thinking. "I'm going to get an oddish. Trying new things is scary..."

"C'mon, Crow!" He bellowed out as he began racing towards the trees. There were some oddishes hiding behind the maple trees.

[Draconequis]

@leaves (my bad, i will be sure not to auto spawn any more creatures XD. Actually my intention was to have her fail on catching the Skiddo and Heracross entirely and accidently catch a Larvesta XD And then act really mad about it while it lit her foot on fire. its cool if you don't want this to happen, just let me know and i will have her catch a Skiddo instead. Also totally didn't mean to randomly spawn creatures, i was just thinking that when you said 'grass or bug type' you meant anything from said family excluding legends XD sorry again ^.^)

Xanthia smiled at Edward. "Wait, but Heracross are cute in their own way." she folded her arms. "Wait.. but with Anubis how could you think i'd ever be a cutesy trainer? He's a Gengar!" Not to mention her other pokemon was a Magnemite. Magnemite was definitely more robotic than cute.

Hearing his name, Anubis cackled, drifting low and spreading his wide grin. Definitely not a pokemon someone could consider 'cute.' But he was strong.. so there was that. He floated over to a Rosalia and a Bellossom, pestering them by sticking his tongue out at them playfully.

Watching him wander off towards the Oddish, and Anubis being Anubis, Xanthia took a glance from the Heracross to the Skiddo. And she made her decision. Skiddo was a more reliable sturdy pokemon. When or if it evolved she could train it to carry her around when she was tired. She brought up Beep's pokeball, releasing the Magnemite in a stream of light.

Beep chortled, giving off electrical sparks as it enjoyed the fresh air, its body reflecting the harsh sunlight. Wiggling its magnets, it waited patiently for Xanthia to instruct it to do something.

"Anubis.. if you want to come, Beep and I are going to catch us a Skiddo." She stated, watching as the playful creatures leaped around the field, headbutting each other gleefully.

His eyes focusing on his trainer, Anubis abandoned the two grass type pokemon to float over towards Xanthia and Beep. He surveyed the playful Skiddo for a moment before grunting and sitting in the field with his back to his trainer, rolling the egg gently between his claws.

"Alright, suit yourself Anubis." Xanthia stated, moving towards the Skiddo. As she moved, Anubis watched for a moment before lifting up the egg and following ever so quietly behind her, his red eyes focusing on the creatures. One of these things was going to be his new team mate.. so he might as well at least watch.

[Leaves]

Edward titled his head onto his shoulder. "You have a point, but I think there's still some type of argument there," the trainer responded. He looked at the Gengar and focused on its appearance. Cute was not one of the first words Edward would describe a Gengar, that is true; however, there was something peculiar about Xanthia's Gengar. Edward snapped his fingers, "I got it." He murmured to himself.

It could be said the egg had gave Gengar a slightly cute rating. Or this probably was the sake of Edward trying his all to win an argument. Edward was going to comment, but laid if off as Xanthia proceeded towards her mission of capturing her new team mate. The male trainer sighed and crossed his arms behind his back.

"Well, Crow. I think it can be said that we'll need at least two more team members before we get our first gym badge," Edward picked up his glasses with a finger. His Abra responded with a cheery screech and an arm raised symbolizing a thumbs up. "That's the spirit, Crow!" The Johto trainer picked up his pokemon and began sprinting over to the trees.

He could clearly see an oddish near a few trees. It was casually walking around and smelling the flowers. "Get Ready, Crow!" Edward stopped his tracks, a cloud of dirt and rocks flew forward as he put on his brakes. He pointed forward towards the Oddish and placed his first command. Crow jumped from his owner's shoulders. "Crow, Shadow Ball!"

[Draconequis]

Xanthia raised an eyebrow as Edward continued to insist he thought she was the type to go for cute pokemon. All pokemon were cute in their own way if you thought about it for a moment. Come to think of it.. Edward's Abra was cute. Especially now that it raised its arms into the air in a thumbs up. Letting out a small laugh, Xanthia turned to face the Skiddo.

"Alright now.. Beep. Supersonic!" She ordered, placing her fingers in her ears.

Beep floated in front of Xanthia and let out a pulse of disorienting sound. The Skiddo let out a cry as the disorienting sound engulfed it. It staggered back and forth dizzily before tripping over its own feet and falling to the ground.

"Beep! Thundershock!"

The Magnemite beeped and shot a burst of electricity from its body, which headed towards the Skiddo.

The Skiddo made a cry as the electricity jolted it from its confusion and its entire body glowed yellow as it used grow. Without hesitation, it fired a seed, which implanted its self on Beep and swallowed the Magnemite in vines. Leech Seed. Great. Just about the only grass type attack which could actually do damage against a steel type. Either this was dumb luck, or the Skiddo before her had seen a steel type before.

Beep cried out as its body was jolted from the affects of Leech Seed.

"Another Thundershock, Beep!" She ordered.

Beep shook its body and electricity sparked between it and the grass type across from them. Of course, it wasn't very effective against the grass type. Xanthia was really just hoping to paralyze the creature, as she heard if you give a status to a Pokemon, it became much easier to capture. However, she had no such luck.

Instead, vines sprouted from the Skiddo's green mane, reaching out and slapping Beep repeatedly. Of course, this wasn't doing much either... considering Magmemite was both a steel and electric type pokemon. However, combined with the leech seed, it was doing far more damage than Xanthia liked.

"Anubis!" she called, hoping the ghost type might help her. "Beep, try a Sonicboom!"

She'd been hoping to get a status affect on the creature, but she'd tried twice with no results.. and two times were enough for Xanthia. Beep let out a wave of energy from its body in the form of what looked like a bunch of arrows. The energy collided with the Skiddo, forcing it backwards and making it pause in its constant whipping of Beep. Anubis floated over at the sound of his name, and cackled at Xanthia, pointing a finger and floating away on his back with the egg clutched in his claws.

"Ah you insufferable.. Another Sonicboom Beep!"

Magnemite sent off another jolt of energy, this time the Skiddo was ready and leaped out of the way, before lowering its head and charging at them both. It connected its entire body to Beep's body, and both of the Pokemon fell back. It was hard to know which Pokemon the Tackle had hurt more, as both fell back, staggering dizzily backwards.

Xanthia chucked a Pokeball at the Skiddo as it stumbled back and forth, watching as surprise filled its eyes and it was sucked into the Pokeball. She held her breath, watching as the ball shook once.. twice... three times.. aaanndd... in an explosion of red light, the Skiddo exploded from the ball, vines stretching from its back to slap Beep in the face.

"OH GOD DAMNIT! Beep, hang in there! Use thundershock!" Xanthia glanced over to Anubis as Beep sent out a wave of electricity into the Skiddo. "Anubis. If you help me catch this thing i will let you play with the egg as much as you want for the rest of the day. I won't try and get it back from you."

Anubis lazily ignored Xanthia.

"Two whole days!"

This got Anubis' attention and he stood, making his way calmly over to Xanthia. He nodded and set the egg in her hands before striding into the battle and narrowing his eyes. Energy seeped from his eyes as he generated a Hypnosis. However, he didn't really care to select a target. So not only did the Skiddo fall asleep, but Beep did as well.

Xanthia grit her teeth as she stared at the smug look on Anubis' face. She sent out a second pokeball, swallowing the Skiddo in a stream of light. This time the ball shook three times and the red symbol in the center lit up. A successful capture. Her first capture of a pokemon.

Immediately after the ball ceased shaking, Anubis grasped the egg from Xanthia's hands and floated away with it, stroking the surface possessively.

Xanthia just glared at Anubis as he flew off, leaving her with Beep snoozing in the grass next to her newly captured Skiddo. "the worst." she grumbled, walking over to retrieve her new pokemon. She quickly returned the sleeping Beep to its pokeball. Hopefully they wouldn't be out here for much longer.. because her new pokemon was sleeping.. beep was sleeping.. and now that she'd lost her trump card.. there was no way she was going to be able to rely on Anubis.

Heaving a sigh, she started to register her new pokemon by placing its ball on the center of her Pokedex's screen. Immediatly, stats came up about the Skiddo, gender and level.. current moves, and habitat, as well as offering her the chance to nickname her new Pokemon.

"Female. I think i will call you Terra." she stated, typing the name into the Pokedex, before sliding the entire thing into her pocket and placing the new ball at her side. Well... now she was down to one pokeball, two dusk balls. She would have to pick up new supplies at the next town. Which should be right after this field.. she hoped. She didn't have any healing items.. the one thing she'd forgotten to pack on her journey. Like an idiot.

Moving over to the center of the field where her and Edward had separated, Xanthia waited, scanning the area for a berry or two. She just needed one for Beep.. and then she'd feel a lot safer about wandering around the fields. Though.. now that she was paying a bit more attention to Anubis and her egg.. she noted he was doing a good job of keeping thing away from them.. mainly by scaring the pants off of a few wild pokemon. Maybe this was to help Xanthia.. or maybe it was just because the mischievous creature liked to scare things. Honestly.. Beep was easier to read than Anubis.. which was saying something because they were known for emoting very little... if at all.

[Leaves]

Edward's Crow had formed his hands into a circle. His hands glowed jet black and he launched a heavy sphere of darkness at the oddish. The oddish was a bit frightened and unfortunately took the hit head on. Crow landed on the floor with skill and Edward responded with encouragement. "Way to go, Crow!" The male trainer flashed a smile and saluted a thumbs up.

Edward watched as the little grass creature was unhappy; it began hopping around frantically. The male trainer was uncertain if the oddish was angry or scared. Crow and himself had to take a step back once the oddish pointed its leaves toward the duo. Crow slouched a bit and fell to the floor; green sparks began floating around the psychic pokemon and traveled toward oddish.

"He's using Absorb! Crow, go at him with a back attack!" Crow stood back up ready to deliver another attack. He threw his hands to the side and he opened up a pink oval. The oval was pink, but had a mixture of colors. It had made a ripping sound and had made the abra vanish into thin air. The oddish was confused at the whereabouts of the pokemon.

He walked a little further to where Crow had disappeared at. The oddish studied Edward and the ground, but could not find an answer. It was until then that he had heard a ripping sound behind him. Crow used teleport! "Use Psyshock!"

Crow lifted his hands to his face, he threw a mental attack straight to the grass-type. The oddish stumbled backwards and had a difficult time keeping its balance. "Alright, I believe that's enough!" Edward's plan was to weaken the oddish to the point of where capture was inevitable; any more attacks would probably be insulting towards the grass-type.

Edward chucked the pokeball he had prepared and sent it hurling toward the weaken oddish. The device landed next to the pokemon; a red beam touched the plant monster and took it within its grasp. The pokeball jiggled a couple of times, but had been sealed. Edward and Crow both jumped up feeling accomplished.

"Yo, Xanthia! I got an oddish!" He yelled at the female trainer.

[Draconequis]

Xanthia turned to stare at Edward, holding up the pokeball. "I caught a Skiddo. Should be nice to add her to my team. Another pokemon who doesn't give me attitude and all." she called back in his direction.

As if he knew Xanthia was talking about him, Anubis swooped down, cuddling her egg, cackling as he pointed a finger in her direction.

"Ha ha.. keep laughing you jerk!" She waved a fist angrily.

Anubis just stuck out his tongue before drifting back into the air, keeping on eye on Xanthia and the other on Edward.

After watching her Pokemon for a while, Xanthia drifted slowly over to Edward."I'm definitely going to need a pokemon center. Mainly because Anubis can't control himself and put Beep.. my Magnemite.. to sleep." She sighed. "When i left i forgot to grab my bag of healing potions and berries." she shrugged. "I'm thinking that we could go for a little break at the center, restore our new captures and then come back out here to train them. Unless you wanted to stay here longer to try and catch another pokemon?" Her eyes drifted to a Butterfree which floated aimlessly past the two as if it had no care in the world.

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

Edward walked over toward Xanthia while Crow jumped on his back. The male trainer stumbled a bit from the leap, but managed to keep his balance. He eyed the pokeball and rubbed his chin. "A Skiddo? I never seen one before in my region." The trainer looked to the side and saw a group of them a distance away.

"Hopefully that pokemon doesn't give you trouble," Edward laughed. "I got an oddish and I'm not sure exactly what its personality is at the moment." He turned around and pointed to the direction toward the pokemon center.

"Well, the pokemon center is there. I think I'll join you," Edward patted his abra on the head. "Crow did take a hit so it is always good to have him at full health. I think I'm going to have to stop by the poke mart and buy a backpack." Patting his pockets, he demonstrated how difficult it was having full pockets. "It would makes things much easier."

"I'm not sure about training here," Edward had commented. "I want to make it to the gym location before sun down." He checked his watch and frowned. "I'll say one thing: we might be able to get there at the start of night fall. If there's a hotel, I would like to cash in and get my gym badge in the morning at least."

Twiddling his fingers, he apologized. "I'm really excited for this gym battle." He smiled.

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia nodded. "Well.. i can't say i've ever raised one.. but i did see a couple. There was a farm next to where i used to live in Unova. And they imported Gogoat and Skidoo from Kalos i guess. Used to use them to sell milk to people." She scratched the back of her head. "Generally Skiddo are a bit more docile. But i won't know what her personality is until i let her walk around with me for a while."

Xanthia started leading them all towards the Pokemon Center, nodding as he said something about buying a backpack. "They do come in handy." she adjusted her backpack on her back. "I'm actually surprised you aren't carrying one. My mother made sure that i was fully stocked.. because trainers can't always make it to a Pokemon Center every night." She explained. Then she raised an eyebrow as Edward said something about making it to the gym before sundown. "Well.. i was plotting on finding the gym tomorrow morning. I'll be spending the night at the Pokemon Center, to save some money for buying healing potions." Her mother had informed her each Pokemon Center would allow trainers to spend the night for free. They had some space on the third floor set aside for weary trainers, and all they asked for in return were donations. It wasn't fancy or as nice as a hotel, but it had the basic amenities, a bathroom with a shower, a small cafeteria to buy food. This early in their travels, she doubted it would be very crowded.. especially in a town as quiet as this one. She nodded. "I'll be up training tonight.. just enough to get used to Terra's personality and battle style." she shrugged. "I feel like going into battle without getting to know your pokemon first can be.. a bit dangerous." She sighed. "I'm pretty excited for my gym battle as well.. i just.. i don't feel ready. My mom said never challenge a gym before you feel ready. And..I'm.. just not confident in Beep or Terra to sweep an entire gym of trainers on their own."

She heaved a heavy sigh, "Well, i guess no point in dwelling on that now. You know what? I think i will head off with you first. Go find that gym. Get in a few battles before nightfall, and then get up tomorrow and challenge the gym as soon as it opens." There was a spark in her eyes. "That reminds me. You are headed off to the gym circuit too, right?" She grinned widely. "So let's make a friendly competition of it, shall we? In each town, whoever manages to beat the gym first has to buy the other a drink."

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

Edward listened as Xanthia shared bits of information about her region. He never saw a farm of skiddos; he was not ever sure what a gogoat happened to look like. “I guess gogoats are the evolved forms, or another pokemon in general?” Edward asked.

The pokemon trainer shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to wait until I got to this region to buy a backpack,” he looked over to the poke mart and could spot various merchandise in the window. Ed turned over to Xanthia and played a small frown. “I get you; you’re cautious.”

Edward crossed his arms behind his head and leaned to the side. He listened more to Xanthia’s plan and his smile was growing wider as she was
beginning to change her mind. “Hell yeah! Just wait a quick second.”

Edward put one finger up and backed up. He quickly stormed into the poke mart. After a few minutes, he came back with a laptop bag wrapped around his right shoulder. “I know I said backpack, but the laptop bags are cheaper and I don’t carry that much. You ready to go to…” Edward pulled out his map and placed his finger on the next destination. “Shellville?”

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia nodded. "Yeah, they are the evolved form of Skiddo. Essentially they are just a larger version of a skiddo. I think they use them as transportation in major cities."

Xanthia waited for a moment as Edward vanished into the Pokemart. She didn't really need.. oh crap.. yes she did. Checking her meager money supplies, she didn't really have enough to buy much of anything, not to mention they wouldn't sell her any hyper potions or full heals just yet, considering she was a newbie trainer. Whatever, she would just have to rely on the Pokemon Centers until she had a couple of battles.

In no time at all, Edward was back, a laptop bag hanging over his shoulder. "Hey, your choice how you carry things. Personally, i like backpacks because the weight is more balanced across your back and easier to carry." Xanthia responded with a smile.

Then she raised an eyebrow. "Let's make a pit stop at the Pokemon Center first. I waited because i figured you'd want to heal Crow too."

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

"Um, actually, yeah. Crow could use a heal," Edward had hesitated. His abra did not lose that much health, but it still had got attacked by the new party member. He held out Crow's particular poke ball and had pressed down on the middle button. It was then a sudden red beam had taken the pokemon off his back.

Edward rotated his shoulders back and forth to stretch them out. He held his hand out and bowed. "Ladies first, of course," he smiled. He proceeded to look at the sun. "We still got time. Pokemon centers don't take that much time..." he mumbled.

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia nodded before turning towards the small Pokemon center which was just behind the Pokemon Mart. She smirked as Edward said 'ladies first,' a light laugh escaping from her lips. "Chivalry at its finest."

She moved past the automatic doorway and into the Pokemon center, her Gengar continuing to swarm her head as she set her pokeballs on the counter. Anubis stopped floating to land on the counter, balancing the egg on his feet as he stretched out his mouth to make a face at the nurse, before cackling and lifting the egg back into his arms.

The nurse raised an eyebrow before wheeling Xanthia's pokemon away, coming back moments later with them at full health.

"You probably shouldn't let your Gengar keep a hold of that egg." The nurse stated.

Xanthia scowled at the woman. "Probably. But it makes him happy and i made him a promise. I'd rather him be occupied by the egg than constantly putting his claws in where they don't belong." She grasped her pokeballs, setting them back at her waist. In a flash of color she released her new capture.

The Skiddo was awake now, her ears twitched as she stared up at her new trainer. THen she let out an excited 'baa.' and immediately headbutted Xanthia in the stomach, driving the wind from her lungs.

"Ooof.. Oww.." Xanthia doubled over, holding her stomach. "Yaaay."

Terra just gave Xanthia a happy look, bobbing her head excitedly as she bounded around the room, a playful ball of energy. Clearly, this Skiddo was very young from the way it was prancing around the room.

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

"That's going to hurt..." Edward flinched and squinted at the pokemon. He rubbed his stomach and imagined the pain felt onto him. He walked over to the front desk and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm with her and I would also like to heal my pokemon," he shook his head over to Xanthia and the Skiddo.

Edward handed over his pokedex along with his identification. "I just caught myself an oddish," Ed mentioned. He was making small talk, but he doubted the nurse really cared. This was probably the twentieth trainer she has helped today. He handed over the pokeball with Crow inside.

Immediately afterwards he had slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot!" Edward dug into his new laptop bag and pulled out the pokeball containing the weed pokemon. His new party member needed to be healed, of course. "It'll just be these two," Edward tapped on the desk.

"So did you gain any gym badges in your home region?" Edward asked to Xanthia. The pokemon trainer then turned back around to receive both of his pokemon at full health. He nodded his head to the nurse and said his thanks. "Come to think of it, I didn't name my oddish."

He rubbed his chin and looked at the pokeball. "I don't really appreciate it that it's called a weed pokemon. I think your name will be Rhododendron, after the flower. It'll be Rho for short," he was uncertain if he was telling Xanthia or himself. He just liked speaking out loud.

"You all set?" He asked.

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia stood for a second, catching her breath as she watched the Skiddo leaping across the ground, making small happy baaing noises as she bobbed her head excitedly. She groaned, resting her hands against the counter as she stood back up to full height.

"Ah... this is why i get to know my pokemon.. so i can be prepared for what they have to offer." she grunted, rubbing her stomach.

Anubis just cackled, pointing a finger in her direction gleefully as he shook his entire body with laughter.

Xanthia was about to say something to her pesky ghost type when Edward spoke. "Oh.. my hometown? No. I didn't see the point in getting a badge from a different region. It doesn't transfer here or anything. Besides.. there's no way that i could have gotten a badge with Anubis as my only pokemon. He doesn't really like to do anything i ask.. as you have seen."

Rubbing her stomach again, Xanthia glanced over at the gleefully bounding Terra, a smile stretched across her face. She reached out and brushed her hands against the creature's horns and it paused, gathering her emotions through its horns. Terra seemed to immediately calm, and then looked sorry as she sensed her pain from headbutting her trainer. She let out a gentle baaing noise, licking Xanthia's hand happily.

"I'm good to go." Xanthia stated, rubbing behind the creature's neck, causing Terra to close her eyes happily, her nub-like tail wiggling.

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

"Excellent, Donnybrook badge, here we come!" Edward rushed out of the doors of the pokemon center. He stood outside and waited for Xanthia to step out. He took a good look at the direction of the next destination. The trainer couldn't make much of Shellville; it was too far of a distance. All he could see was lights and buildings. It wasn't much of a walk; it would probably take them less than a day to reach the civilization.

Picking through his laptop bag, he grabbed his map and began checking to see if he's right. "Shellville's to the Northwest. We take the westernmost road outta here and then it's a straight shot down the coast," Edward muttered. He folded the map into fours and placed it back into his inventory.

He looked down the molded path of gravel leading down the hill. It was surrounded by a spread of flowers. Edward shrugged his shoulders and remembered Crow wasn't on his back. Sitting down on the floor, he chose to lightly roll down the hill through the flowers. It was a dizzy experience as his body hurled down; gaining some air time when he kept bouncing.

"Oooooh," Edward moaned. He had came to a complete halt from hitting a wooden pole. Rubbing his side, he looked up to what it was connected to. It was another gate, but it read "Come back soon! -Cloverhill"

Ed's body did have a few scrapes and bruises, but he was a-okay. He threw a thumbs up at his partner. "Hurry up, Xanthia. You're going as slow as a Slowpoke!"

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia followed quickly after Edward, Terra skipping gleefully behind her with a joyous cry of pleasure. She scowled as Edward said she was going as slow as a Slowpoke. "Hey, you try getting headbutted by a Skiddo and tell me how easy it is to walk after!" She protested.

Then she strode ahead of him and towards Shellville. "I'll show you who is the slowest when i end up with a badge before you do." she laughed, darting down the road.

Terra skipped merrily along after her trainer, making cute noises as Anubis swarmed overhead, holding the egg and cackling.

[Leaves]

@Draconequis

And so the two trainer raced towards Shellville...

Edward wiped the sweat off his brow. He fished the map out of his inventory and gave it a quick read. "Says that we are almost there..." Edward told Xanthia. Looking up, he saw some buildings from a distance. "Over there! We're almost there!"

Edward was prepared to quit; it has been a while since he had a break from walking. The previous boat ride to Toppe had made him lazy and unready for the walks ahead. He crouched down and rubbed his ankles to sooth the pain. "My feet are acting up, but I'm glad we've almost made it. Got to take the positive with the negative, am I right?"

Ed kept glancing at the building up ahead. He couldn't make out much of them. The sun had already set and everything was pitch dark. His and Xanthia's eyes have well-adjusted to the darkness to see the path clearly. Although, it was still creepy to be wandering around in the dark. "I'm just ready to get out of this dark. I'm getting paranoid; I think the entire wild life is stalking us," Edward joked.

The rustling in the trees and bushes kept Edward on the edge. It was dark now, the sounds of bug pokemon and nocturnal bird pokemon rang throughout their surroundings. It was an eerie environment.

---

Edward had suddenly tripped over a rock. "What the-" He stumbled forward and looked back at the object. He glanced at the rock only to notice it levitating off from the ground. Geodude! It screeched.

As if it was some strange chain reaction, two more pokemon had emerged from the dark fields of grass. A Houndour leaped out and landed next to the Geodude. It readied a stance and growled at the two trainers; it showed off its dangerous fangs and haunting eyes. The dog-like monster looked ready to strike.

There was rusting behind the two trainers. A Mankey had appeared from behind. The pokemon performed a back flip and began punching the air around him. Strategically, the Mankey was blocking off the opposite end of road. This was an ambush, but too planned out for a bunch of wild pokemon.

From a distance away, some more bushes were shaking. A person's head popped out of the grass. All that could be seen was a yellow bandanna wrapped around his forehead. "Listen up! Give the Geodude all of your belongings! We can do this the easy way, or the Houndour cooks you and the Mankey tenderizes. Your choice."

[Draconequis]

@Leaves

Xanthia was sweating and tired. Her mom had made sure to keep her fit for this adventure, however running and walking with the extra weight on her back.. not really something she'd trained for. She'd been hoping to spend the night under the stars. Whatever..she would be able to do this another time, on a route which was longer and filled with more peril.

"Yep." Xanthia agreed, nodding, watching as Terra skipped energetically around the route. They had come so far and the thing didn't show any signs of getting tired. It had even chased a couple of grass and bug type pokemon across the field while making excited little 'baaing' sounds. "We will be alright." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a small flashlight, pointing it aimlessly at the path, flicking it on and then off again, cursing under her breath as she flicked it on.. and then it died. "Dang batteries.. never mind. Whatever." she stuffed it back into her bag, and then focused on the pathway again. The sounds of the night were soothing to her.. bug types and night time pokemon sounds echoing. At this point, Terra came back closer to Xanthia, staring up at her with dewy eyes until Xanthia returned the grass type to her pokeball.

Meanwhile.. Anubis was enjoying himself immensely, realizing that the egg was keeping him from using the shadows to become completely invisible. he set the egg in Xanthia's hands and then vanished into the night, allowing his cackling to fill the air as he worked on frightening helpless pokemon away.

Xanthia curled her hands gently around the egg, pressing her face against it to feel its warmth and hear something shifting inside. Probably still had a ways yet.. but she couldn't help but feel a bit excited about it. She snickered as she watched Edward trip over something in the path. "Clumsy.." she commented, a teasing light reflected in her eyes. And then she saw it. A geodude? She reached for one of her Pokeballs, preparing to fight, until two more pokemon emerged from the darkness surrounding them. A Houndour and a Mankey facing them furiously, trapping them in one place. They could always just go around the thing if they went off into the dark grass...

And then some kind of shadowed faces poked out of the bushes, and a person's face poked out of the bushes in the distance. She scoffed, narrowing her eyes. "You should tenderize meat before you cook it, idiot." she responded sharply, her eyes glinting with a fearless light. She held the egg protectively. "I'm not giving you any of my stuff, you can try and light me on fire or hit me all you want. You aren't getting anything!" She sent out Terra in a stream of light. "Go! Terra!" The goat was on the ground, blinking wearily and then flicking her eyes from pokemon to pokemon. She remained remarkably still, waiting for something to happen or some kind of command.

From there.. Anubis decided that it was time to play with the person in the bushes. They looked like fun to scare. He flickered into existence behind the person, his eerie red eyes glinting in the night as he twisted his face into an oddly cheshire cat-like grin. He opened his mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth as he gave an eerie cackle, ghostly drool echoing from his mouth. Several balls of ghostly fire appeared around his body as he retained the evil smile.