[centre] [h1][color=39b54a]~ROUTE 29~[/color][/h1] [h3][color=f7941d]~Avery Grant~[/color][/h3] Not even to the first town, and already their little group had shrunk from eight to seven. The musician, Avery didn’t remember his name, hadn’t joined them. Maybe he had his own plans? Perhaps he wanted to just live out his days in New Bark with his Totodile. Or maybe he was waiting for someone. Avery walked along the path, humming softly to himself. In any case, Avery wished the guy good luck. A shame though, it would have been nice to have live music at any point. But when the wind blows, it is not the trees that swim. Wait, Brain, that’s not right. He who jumps softly into the wall, loses all but nothing. There we go! Perfect. He mentally highfived Brain. They had been traveling for quite a bit, their little gang. Well...not a BIT bit, but a small bit. A bite-sized bit. Half a bit? Telling time was never the guy’s forte. And despite having a clock built into his Pokegear, well...Avery wasn’t really thinking about it that hard. Someone asked a question, but Avery didn’t quite hear it. Too busy watching the clouds, he was. But he did catch the next part. “I say we go north. Blackthorn would be a good first stop.” Blackthorn? Avery checked his Pokegear, switching it to the Map function. It was… Well it was a pretty good walk. Maybe three or four bits. AT LEAST. He could do it though. Legs and Heart wouldn’t be too fond, but they’d deal. Hopefully. He watched the Nidoran checking all of the trees and bushes it passed. Good plan, little guy. Who knows what danger could be hiding around any corner. Why, it could even be… Avery hopped, spinning around as he did so. He landed facing directly behind him. Huh. No evildoers. Well, that was kind of disappointing. Still, he must remain vigilant! At any moment, he might be called upon to save his new friends from all manner of trouble. It was a hard job, but someone had to do it. Wait, focus Avery. What was he supposed to be focusing on? Oh! Where to go. Blackthorn? But… Wait...Blackthorn? But, didn’t Elm say to go to Cherrygrove? Avery was honestly confused. He could have swore that Elm suggested Cherrygrove, but...well, he had been wrong before. Maybe he did say Blackthorn. Blackthorn. The more he thought about it, the more it sounded right. And Abigail had said it. What reason would she have for changing the destination so abruptly? Clearly there was none. So CLEARLY she hadn’t. Then Melody started talking. She mentioned voting, which Avery didn’t quite get the point of. Then she mentioned Blackthorn. Well, that cleared that right up. Elm had said Blackthorn, and Avery had just misheard him. Happens all the time. “Yep, yep. To Blackthorn!” Avery announced to the group. Or reminded, might have been more appropriate. Surely they all heard Elm more clearly than he had. The guy was already back to his happy-go-unlucky self. Any signs of his prior...err...meltdown were gone. All save for a touch of redness still in his eyes. Give it a few more hours, and he’d probably forget about it altogether. Avery continued onward, not waiting for the group to reply. The lad wasn’t exactly used to group dynamics. He made just a little bit, but... But… But then something felt...off. He stopped. He looked up. He saw something looking back down. It was like a...a giant pinecone? It had to be two feet large. Avery smiled wide. Jackpot. Pinecones, surprisingly enough, actually hid some pretty tasty seeds within. Once you got past the shell, it was smooooth sailing. Although… Avery couldn’t remember the last time he had seen a pinecone with EYES. No, the closest he’d seen to it was a Pokemon in one of Elm’s old boo- Oh. Hey Brain, that’s a Pokemon? Sure is, Avery. Think we should try to catch it? Brain didn’t respond. Well, no news was good news. Avery carefully and slowly removed his pack, opening a pouch on the side. Pokeballs. Probably the only thing he could reliably find in the thing. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out another Pokeball, one rather occupied. The grin across the guy’s face was one for the books, people. He whispered to the ball. “Heya Blue, wanna help me make a friend?” He didn’t get a response from Blue either. The good news kept-a-truckin’. He sent out the Phanpy, who looked about, slightly dazed, before turning to Avery with a quizzical look. Avery held up one finger to his lips. Sure, he probably knew that the Pokemon had no way of understanding him, but when one’s in the moment, one goes with the flow. He bent over, scooping up a handful of rocks. He grabbed one in his left hand, inspected it, turned it in his hand...then he launched it. Straight up. Straight towards the Pinecone. Well… Straight might be pushing it. Avery missed. Wide. He threw another. And missed again. So on and so forth, until on his sixth try, Avery nailed the Pinecone. It fell to the ground with a thud. So...now he was supposed to throw the Pokeball, right? Well, throwing forward beat throwing up anyday. He quickly reached for the bag, pulling out a vacant home. He planted a quick kiss on it, then threw it, straight and true. And hit it. Hole in one. The ball opened, enveloping the Pinecone in a red light, then it was gone. The ball hit the ground, shaking. Once. Twice. Th- Nope. The ball burst apart, and there stood the Pinecone, upright, erect. Angry. It leaped forward, aiming to impale Avery with its small spike. But good ol’ Blue intercepted. He laid into the Pinecone from the side, knocking it off its path. Then the Pinecone seemed to forget about Avery entirely. There was only the little blue elephant, and it must be dealt with. It leapt forward once more, now aiming to make a Blue-kabob. Blue wasn’t having any of that. It took the Pinecone head on, charging in fearlessly with a tackle of its own. The Pinething’s spike drove into Phanpy a bit, but not enough to pierce its thick hide. Blue used this to his advantage, driving the Pinecone back, slow at first, but picking up speed. Pinebro was between a rock and a hard place. Quite literally. Blue had forced it into a tree quite violently. It seemed a bit dazed. But not dazed enough. It launched into Blue, catching the wee dude off guard, causing him to stumble back in a roll. Up until now, Blue had been acting entirely of its own accord, but Avery finally got his head out of his ass and stepped up to the plate. “BLUE! C’mon, guy, let’s get him. Once more. Like last time!” Well, apparently the Phanpy got that much. Whether it understood his words, felt his intentions, or just so happened to have interests that lined up, Blue rose to his feet and without delay, charged Pinedude once more, and once more was it pinned against the tree. It uh...wasn’t looking too hot now. Avery almost threw another ball right then and there, but stopped. Another idea wormed its way into his head, and it sounded fun. “Blue! FLIPPIT!” Blue didn’t quite understand. It just waited, holding PineFranco against the tree...but then out of sheer coincidence, raised it’s head vigorously, sending Pineissimo into the air, soaring towards Avery. He quickly bent, scooping up a Pokeball. But… It was too late to throw the thing. Pineadalia was already on him. So he instinctively rose his arms out to block the impact. Pineco hit the ball, and the ball opened. In the next moment, it was gone, and the ball in Avery’s hands was shaking. Once. Twice. Thrice. A soft click came from the ball. A so- Oh. He did it. Avery laughed his Averylaugh, and smooched the Pokeball. It worked! A half-bit into his journey, and Avery was now the proud trainer of two Pokemon! One of which he caught all on his own. Blue the Phanpy and… and… Uh… … Green. Green the Pine Thing. Yes. Satisfied, Avery almost continued on his way, but stopped suddenly. Brain was laughing at him. Silly Avery, Elm said to stick together. He smiled. He was practically giddy. He turned, and waited for his buddies to catch up with him. And his new buddy. [/centre]