An eastbound path through Central City took Olivie and Buck through the heart of the commercial district.  Here, extravagant advertisements peered at pedestrians from every angle, and one could scarcely find a single place to look that wasn't agog with colorful imagery.  No stranger to this jungle of glamour, showiness, and bustle, Olivie plotted a course down its main avenue, where a sidewalk of purple bricks framed a bizarre, mint-green street.  The entire place, she had to admit, oozed personality, but it certainly came off forced and a bit disingenuous.  Still, she could not fault those who made a living on this avenue: every day, people flocked to this part of town to purchase, be their objectives everyday items or boutique products.  Someone like Olivie, who had all she needed at the moment and whose interests lay elsewhere, did not linger for long.

Only once did she stop, at a point where a torn-down building had been made into a little plaza full of small stalls, just like one would expect to find at an amusement park or marketplace.  In particular, the brunette's eye was caught by an odd-looking creature sitting alongside a man behind the counter of a caricature-drawing stall.  Her curiosity invigorated by the sight of the critter, Olivie withdrew her Pokedex from its place on her thigh ring and flipped it open to see just what the new Pokemon was.

“Smeargle,” the device told identified.  “The Painter Pokemon.  Smeargle marks the boundaries of its territory using a body fluid that leaks out from the tip of its tail. Over 5,000 different marks left by this Pokémon have been found.”

Before she continued on her way, she cast one more glance at the Smeargle.  No doubt, given its location, the man beside it had taught it to paint caricatures.  Olivie had zero interest in anything like that, so she wasted no time in moving on.

By the time she could no longer see the flamboyant colors of the commercial district's artsy avenue when she looked over her shoulder, Olivie could see the edge of town not far ahead.  Following along the side of the road, she passed the invisible boundary that lay beyond the fences of the last few buildings, then stopped.  To either side of the road as it sped away from the city lay vast, green fields that swayed gently in the wind.  Since Central City had something unusual for a substantial urban center in that it still cultivated surrounding farmland, these particular fields must, Olivie assumed, be scheduled for an off-season on the crop rotation.  Such practices prevented the farmers from inadvertently exhausting the soil's nutrients.  Very little trivia about farming passed through the girl's head, however.  Her focus lay squarely on the defeat and/or acquisition of new Pokemon.  Her newly-purchased balls were practically begging to be used.

[color=954535]”Here we go,”[/color] she declared, getting Buck's attention.  The next instant she plunged herself into the field, veering sharply away from the road to wade out into the bladed lake of green.  Though the sounds of the city still reached her, the chirps of Bug-type Pokemon captured her attention.  They blended with the whistle of music through the grass to create a simple but pleasing ambiance.  Every once in a while, the sound of feet could be heard in the tall grass around her, but Olivie could neither identify nor confront any Pokemon that sensed her first and opted to flee.  Instead, she hunted for a likely spot, leaving a trail of crushed grass behind her that Buck could trod happily upon as a personal highway.

A smear of brown lay in the middle of the field, and after spying it Olivie made her way there.  When she grew close, she discovered that the thing she'd spotted was a miniature granary—an open-air shed-like structure meant to keep tools and harvested crops out of the rain until they could be picked up.  This one looked to be completely derelict, but a collapsed granary made for a choice opportunity in Olivie's mind.  Surely some Pokemon lived here.

Her guess proved correct, for as she stepped out of the grass into the little clearing in which the neglected shed stood, dark shapes moved within its inner shadows.  A wicked smile appeared on Olivie's face as she reached for her fighting gloves, and Buck, now knowing what that meant, waddled around her until he stood between his trainer and the partially-destroyed structure.

Out of the granary moseyed two Pokemon, both in a threatening, defensive stance.  The first, a round, bipedal bug with a blue carapace and a long horn, glared at Olivie with yellow eyes.  Its companion attempted to look as fierce, but the cartoonish roundness of its eyes prevented it from achieving this.  With an air of absolute confidence the girl brazenly ignored the insects' display, instead consulting her Pokedex briefly to figure out exactly what these loathsome little freaks were.  [color=954535]”Karrablast and Paras, huh?  Hope you little worms don't crush too easy.”[/color]  Though they may not have understood her words, the bugs reacted to her town with aggressive hissing noises.  Olivie cracked her knuckles, though she resolved to let Buck go first.  Time to see what her partner could do.