[sup]A brief conflict...[/sup]
[center][h1]Route 104 North[/h1][/center]

	[color=B95DF0]"Now now Nick,"[/color] Theo said with a shake of his finger, [color=B95DF0]"There's no need to be so grumpy."[/color] While Theo didn't look over to see it, he very well knew the feeling of Nick's heavy intimidating Leer when it was aimed at him. [color=B95DF0]"I told you, go ahead to Rustboro if you want, I just think we could all use a bit of fresh air and exercise,"[/color] Theo continued with a click of his tongue. Chirps and warbles of agreement came from Melody and Harmony, who were both seated on Nick's back. Again, Theo could feel the grumpy stare coming from Nick, and simply laughed it off. How long ago had they set out from Petalburg, where Nick's grumpiness all began? Looking down at his wristwatch, Theo noted the hour-- it had been at least twenty minutes since they'd started walking. When Theo first suggested they should walk, Nick had flapped his wings to blow a breeze of disagreement-- then followed the snorting, stomping, and cawing. While Theo generally didn't many disagreements with Nick, there were usually numerous disagreements about travel means, especially when it involved walking. Of course, most trainers would probably give in to their giant-metal-bird Pokemon's demands to fly but, Theo figured that Nick could learn a little patience if he didn't always get his way.
	
	[color=B95DF0]"Plus, I hear the forest nearby has lots of good berries--"[/color]
	Harmony interrupted Theo with a loud cry of excitement-- causing the rest of the crew to wince slightly from the volume-- Harmony made soft apologetic noises soon afterward. [color=B95DF0]"Ah-- Yes. As I was saying-- lots of berries! Don't pretend you don't like berries, Nick,"[/color] Theo continued with a chuckle.
	[color=ed145b]"All Pokemon like berries! As a lot of them like battles!"[/color]
	The voice made Theo stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder. From the looks of the man, Theo immediately assumed he was probably a Backpacker or some sort, and most definitely a trainer-- the pokeball in his hand said as much. For a moment, Theo was rather confused as to where the man had come from, seeing as he hadn't been back there before-- must have been hiding in the thick bushes nearby. 

	[color=ed145b]"Never seen a Skarmory in that color before! Show me what it can do, huh?" [/color]And before Theo could protest, the Backpacker threw a Pokeball then shouted, [color=ed145b]"Go Nidoking!"[/color] Theo pinched the bridge of his nose then turned to Nick, not bothering to watch the Nidoking emerge from it's Pokeball. Nick bowed his head in acknowledgement but, it was Harmony that hopped from Nick's back, then confronted the Nidoking first. Melody slid from Nick's back as Theo quickly moved to unhook the saddlebag quick release. 

	[color=ed145b]"Huh? Looks like this Whismur want's to take you on, Nidoking!" [/color]
	Theo glanced toward the Backpacker and his Nidoking as the both of them started laughing. Nick turned to face the Nidoking but Harmony, trembling, shouted out then stomped his feet adamantly. [color=B95DF0]"Harmony? What are you doing, pal? Come here-- Nick's going to fight this battle,"[/color] Theo spoke up worriedly. As Melody moved to hide behind Theo's legs, Harmony made another shout, then shook his body in disagreement with Theo. "What? What kind of lousy trainer are you-- little Whismur won't even listen to you! Oh well, let's teach that Whismur why he should listen to his trainer-- Nidoking, use Megahorn," shouted the Backpacker. [b]"Kiiiiing,"[/b] shouted the Nidoking as it began charging toward Harmony, feet pounding into the ground heavily, and their horn glowing brightly with energy.
	[color=B95DF0]"Oh no, Harmony move-- Nick help--"[/color] Theo looked to Nick for help, but found that Nick was simply watching the coming fight attentively. Theo looked back toward Harmony--
	
	A swift sweep of Nidoking's horn caused dust and a powerful wind to kick up yet, their target went unharmed-- Harmony had smartly dashed between the Nidoking's legs. Now at the Nidoking's back, Harmony opened his ear cuffs, then shouted loudly-- with power of a building Echoed Voice attack-- so much so that the Nidoking found itself off balance. Taking a few steps back as the Nidoking fell toward him, Theo found himself surprised, mirroring the facial expression of the stumbling Pokemon. [color=ed145b]"Poison Tail, Nidoking,"[/color] urged the Backpacker. Without missing a beat, the Nidoking tilted himself onto his forearms, and his tail began to glow a sickly purple hue. With power Theo didn't predict the heavy beast would have, the Nidoking propelled itself toward Harmony in an arc, tail first. Harmony ran backward, trying to dodge, but was still hit by the very end of Nidoking's tail, the ground rumbling heavily beneth the crashing weight. This time, in a more pained tone, Harmony shouted his cry-- louder-- with enough force to cause the Nidoking to stumble ever so slightly back.

	Theo watched the battle with wide eyes. From the last attack, Harmony had clearly been injured and, if he wasn't mistaken, Theo could wear that Harmony looked a little sick. A bright red bruise was already forming atop Harmony's little pink skull but, a rather determined expression was still on his face. That was when Nidoking swung his tail again, charged with power still, and the Backpacker shouted in approval. 

	[color=B95DF0]"You have to jump--"[/color] Theo cried and Harmony obeyed. As Nidoking's tail swung harmlessly under Harmony, Theo urged his Pokemon to, [color=B95DF0]"Up the pitch, Harmony! Don't let him hit you like that again!"[/color] Quickly, Theo slammed his hands over his ears, then Harmony unleashed his cry. The note was high-- almost too high for human ears to perceive-- but there was a soft ringing in Theo's ears anyway as Harmony screeched at Nidoking. In response, Nidoking stumbled away from Harmony, momentarily distracted, with his large hands covering his ears. Heavily, Harmony landed, then stumbled about slightly, panting. Theo could definitely see it now-- Harmony had truly been poisoned by Nidoking's attack. All of the blood drained from Theo's face upon this realization and he suddenly felt faint. For a moment, Harmony looked as if he were done but then, he tilted his tiny body upward, toward the Nidoking. A breath, deep, through the stores in Harmony's ears, was taken in a moment and next, Harmony let out a sound so loud, so powerful, that Theo could see the energy of the power clearly-- bright blue circles of sound. This was the attack that had brought down an Onix, Theo realized with sudden surprise-- Harmony has just used Hyper Voice. 

	Nidoking's feet were driven backward several inches before being lifted another few inches off of the ground entirely. Once Harmony landed, on his feet, he soon fell down and to the side, whimpering pitifully. Theo rushed toward Harmony as the Nidoking landed heavily on his feet before his trainer. As Theo scooped Harmony into his arms, he could feel the heavy fever heat wafting from Harmony, the toxins causing him to draw up in pain. Angrily, Theo looked toward the Backpacker, as he cheered and congratulated his Nidoking. [color=B95DF0]"Nick-- we have to fly after all,"[/color] Theo spoke up, his voice cracking with emotion, as he held Harmony in his arms. Melody shouted and screamed at the Nidoking-- clearly throwing some choice Poke-words at him. In response the Nidoking seemed to stop celebrating and, Theo thought, it almost looked sort of guilty. [color=ed145b]"Hey! We ain't done-- I wanna see your Skarmory battle,"[/color] yelled the Backpacker. As he seated himself upon Nick's back, Theo shook his head at the man then said, [color=B95DF0]"Why? I'm just a lousy trainer, remember?"[/color]

	[color=ed145b]"Who cares-- I'm sure that Skarmory compensates for ya! No wonder it's a shiny-- I bet you're one of those rich folks, huh? You just gonna leave? Not even the courtesy to give a prize?" [/color]
	Heat went to Theo's cheeks and he clenched his jaw tightly. He stared down at the smirking Backpacker as Melody climbed up then dug around in the saddlebags. Soon, coins were flying all about. "What the-- what kind of Jigglypuff uses Payday-- wait a second," the Backpacker spoke up in confusion.
	[color=B95DF0]"Take your damn prize!"[/color] Theo barked with more fury than he expected-- his shout even surprising him a little. [color=B95DF0]"Nick, we have to go to Rustboro-- fast,"[/color] commanded Theo in a gentler tone. [color=ed145b]"Sore loser,"[/color] the Backpacker shouted. At that, Nick spread his golden wings, then treated both the Backpacker and the Nidoking to a dust-filled and very unnecessary gust of wind, before taking off.[hr]


[sup]Licking the wounds...[/sup]
[center][h1]Rustboro City[/h1][/center]
	Though Nick couldn't reach top speeds, he still managed to get Theo and the rest of the gang to Rustboro quickly. A few moments of circling eventually brought them down near a PokeStation. Theo dismounted, Melody reached into his Saddlebag and withdrew a hand-sized metal device. To most, it was likely an antique looking object, but for Theo, it was his only means of giving his Pokemon medicines. In the Johto region, where he'd picked up the device, it was called a MediPush, and acted as a medical-only placeholder for people that didn't posses the usual Pokemon storage equipment. Melody followed Nick to the PokeStation, keeping up with his jog. Theo took the MediPush from Melody and brought the device into the PokeStation with him. Immediately the systems recognized Theo's identity, based on the presence of the MediPush, and he was prompted to select from a list of medications. Once a poison Antidote was loaded into the MediPush, Theo pressed the device to Harmony's side. Concern etched itself into his face. Midway through the flight here, Harmony had stopped trembling entirely, and it seemed like his fever had rose. Part of Theo was worried that the medication wouldn't be enough-- that Harmony would be gone for good-- but that was ridiculous wasn't it?

	Pokemon could survive far worse beating than that but, then again, Harmony didn't battle as much as most Pokemon. He wasn't supposed to, as far as Theo was concerned, and he wanted to keep things that way. Battles only resulted in his Pokemon getting injured-- worrying him-- and he couldn't stand the though of a knocked-out Pokemon never waking up again. People liked to talk about it as if it didn't happen that often, but that fact that it could happen at all was enough risk in itself. How could other trainers stand to see their Pokemon hurt so terribly like this? A heavy sigh left Theo as he selected a stronger medication-- one that would give Harmony enough of a jolt to at least wake and move, perhaps. As he applied the MediPush again, he felt Harmony wiggle around a little, then let out a sigh of relief. Theo's head was starting to hurt. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Theo turned and walked out of the PokeStop, saying to Melody, [color=B95DF0]"He's moving again."[/color] She immediately perked up, then followed Theo toward a nearby bench, where Nick assumed he should be waiting, it seemed. With a shake of his head, Theo sat down behind the bench, in the soft grass, then finally noticed the city. 

	Thoughts of exploring had eased their way out of Theo's mind for now. Here, he was going to sit in the grass, and wait until Harmony had a bit of rest. Giving a nod to Nick, Theo watched as Nick began removing his saddlebags. [color=B95DF0]"Feel free to go as far as you want and--"[/color] Theo shot Nick a firm stare [color=B95DF0]"--Don't go harassing that trainer and his Nidoking, Nick."[/color]
	Nick snorted and made soft clicking noises with his tongue.
	[color=B95DF0]"I mean it,"[/color] Theo replied tiredly, stroking Harmony's head reassuringly, [color=B95DF0]"Leave them alone."[/color]
	Nick snorted again, then spread his wings, ran briefly, and gently took off into the sky. Theo stared after him and sighed. Melody hopped into his lap to snuggle up with Harmony and, Theo included, began to take a nap.