[h3][color=palevioletred]Eryn Montero[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Route 5  ||  Day 3: Afternoon  ||  [@PlatinumSkink][/i][/sup][indent] [/indent]
Running out onto the field, Eryn scooped Dei up around the egg she was holding.  [color=palevioletred]“Eek, Dei, you were amazing! A-ma-zing. Stun Spore’s got nothing on you,”[/color] she joked, looking him over. While his tail burned brightly and his eyes communicated his pride in his achievement, his movements were shaky at best, and his snort of smoke delayed.

[color=palevioletred]“Right. I’ll get you healed up in a sec, so take a well-deserved rest for now, okay?”[/color] she said, returning the Charmander. Then, turning to face the Rune Maniac, Eryn listened to his words, her grin slipping when he got to Tula. Half of her wanted to defend Tula and say she was fully capable, but the other half stuck with facts, namely the one, common knowledge one that said that Magikarp’s strong life forces didn’t equate to strong muscle power.

[color=palevioletred]“Well, that’s fair. I’m not going to agree that Tutu can’t do it, but I’ll agree that it’d be risky for her to since she’s untrained and not the best at defending or attacking. So, how about we trade numbers and  I’ll call you when she beefs up?”[/color] 

After trading details, Eryn headed back to town to heal her Pokemon up, after which she summoned them all for a small congregation in the Pokemon Center to praise them for a job well done in training. 

[color=palevioletred]“Tutu—flawless, and we’re going to be working towards that evolution. Probably still a bit off, but that’s never going to stop us. Dei was awesome, of course, and so were you, Eri. We’ll work on the disguises, but you’re doing great for someone who’s human half the time. And, last but not least, we have Kylie, our resident sweeper. Looks like a sweetheart but an absolute monster on the field. Bite against Magnemite—only you, Kylie.”[/color] 

Fishing out the Soothe Bell, Eryn held it up in front of each of her Pokemon. [color=palevioletred]“Hmm, how about… Tutu. Let’s see if I can—yep, yep, perfect,”[/color] Eryn said, leaning back and admiring her handwork. Around one of Tula’s fins was the tied ribbon of the bell, which jingled with the Magikarp’s flopping. 

[color=palevioletred]“Perfect. Now, let’s go get some dinner.”[/color]

Leading her Pokemon around town, Eryn found someplace that looked between affordable and homey, settling in at a booth with her Pokemon around her before calling out Tula on the inner side of her booth seat. The seating arrangement, then, was Kylie between Eryn and Tula, with Eri and Dei across from them, chattering away in their usual way. Eri’s voice was hushed given that he was in disguise as Eryn and speaking to Dei in the usual Pokemon way, but otherwise the group looked only a bit strange with two lookalike trainers. 

Over dinner, Eryn considered her current options with her Pokedex open in front of her. Currently, she had a few things she’d metaphorically signed up to do. One was to find the Moss and Ice Stones, but that would probably have to wait until some other day because after all that training, her team deserved some time off. Another was evolving Tula, but now that she was thinking about it, why couldn’t she just catch a temporary swimmer for her purposes? She wasn’t a bad trainer, after all, and worst-case scenario she’d displace a Pokemon for a day or two. Of course, there was the matter of finding a swimmer willing to get caught and released after taking her and Wilhelm into ruins, but Eryn had confidence that she was at least somewhat likeable. If it came down to it, she could probably bribe a wild with berries.

Most importantly, though, there was the matter of hatching the Onix egg. As much as she wanted to rush everything along, she figured waiting for the egg to hatch might be better done before she went anywhere risky. As such, Mt. Chill and Route 6 were probably best saved for later, as were the ruins Wilhelm had talked about. That left her with a few options, but none of which she was mad about. While she wouldn’t scale Mt. Chill until she had an Onix on hand, she’d pop by the Frozen Caves. The possibility of mining for treasure was pretty alluring, and she figured that’d be something to check out tomorrow. Another option was doubling back into the Wet Caverns, of which she’d explored very little. In fact, in a way, she’d taken the cop-out route. At the very least, she wanted to be able to say she knew how to get through the caverns, because what trainer who passed through them didn’t? Plus, there was the possibility of finding more Pokemon. She’d seen cool Pokemon inside, but currently she could count the number of species she saw on her fingers, and she was sure the caves held more than that. After all, hadn’t she read something about dragons back in Pureplain?

Her final option was the simplest, required the least travel, but she wasn’t mad at all. After all, she’d never gotten the chance to explore Lakewatch, the town of the water and dragons, and here she was eating in a diner instead of scouring the town for whatever it was worth. That said, though, she didn’t exactly know the town well, and the clear landmarks she could see didn’t hold much mystery. Aside from the Pokemon Center and Pokemart, there was the gym, which Eryn knew was a Major League gym run by Lesley, the dragon-type specialist. With over five years too many of school and postponed desire to become a trainer, Eryn had gotten along by watching runs and reruns about Pokemon, trainers, and the Leagues in general. While Dorian’s normal-type Major League gym was the closest to home, Lesley and her Salamence were much more notable, earning fans with the younger trainer generation. Given that Eryn was only just reaching the level where she felt comfortable entertaining the thought of earning some Minor League badges, she didn’t feel too keen on entering a Major League gym, but hey, what was the harm? That said, she figured she’d save it for another day to not spoil the mood. Her Pokemon had just trained and won a succession of battles, and she wanted to save further inspiration for when they needed it again.

The aged tower in the middle of the town was likely the ‘Descent Tower’ the town was known for, which led down to watery ruins below the town. It was also probably the place Wilhelm had talked about exploring, so Eryn figured that’d be something for another day. Otherwise, she’d seen a few things around town she could understand at a glance: the docks, Explorer’s Guide Service, and the Lakewatcher Base. The Explorer’s Guide Service, for one, hadn’t been subtle at all, instead covered with signs touting its services. Given the number of posts and slogans, Eryn was a bit leery of the place, and as much as she wanted information, she didn’t feel like it was fair paying for it, nor did she have enough funds to do so regularly. Paying now meant wanting more later, and it was a slippery slope. As such, she’d continue as she had: finding her own information and getting lost and found if necessary.

The docks were an obvious part of a lakeside town, and they tied directly into the Lakewatchers, the guardians of the lake and its dragons. Although she’d come with the desire to catch a dragon-type, Eryn figured now wasn’t the best time, given that she had an Onix to hatch and raise. She’d stay in town until the egg hatched, so any thoughts of catching another team member were saved for then. However, if the egg still hadn’t hatched by the time she’d explored everything around here, then Eryn might have to reconsider it. Until then, she’d continue with her current plan of exploring the town, and she kept her eyes on the door, watching for another trainer to enter. Hopefully there were some senior trainers around here looking to challenge Lesley who she could rope in for a conversation. Any trainer competing in the Major Leagues was likely well-versed with the landmarks around the area, and it wasn’t like they didn’t need to eat.
[center] [/center][hr][hider=Actions][u][b][color=palevioletred]     Actions:          [/color][/b][/u]
Healed Pokemon, gave Soothe Bell to Tula, and stopped for dinner in a cafe/diner of sorts (does food cost money because fingers crossed for no P used or Eryn will have eaten air this whole time), where she’s looking to flag down the next (experienced) trainer she sees enter the doors to ask them about the town and the area/landmarks around it, and about their progress with Lesley (if applicable). Will probably ask for their contact information too. Cuz yeah, free mentor. Eri will be introduced as Eri, Eryn’s friend. Uncanny resemblance has been mentioned before, they might be long lost twins or something, but Eri’s a bit shy (and refuses to talk to strangers).

After dinner (provided the trainer's not going anywhere she can tag along to), she’ll drop by the Pokemart and pick up a Potion and Super Potion, then head to the Lakewatcher Base to see what they’re all about and if they give tours at night. She’ll be more inclined to join them for a patrol than for a tour, though, given that she thinks tours are more for tourists than trainers.
[/hider]
[hider=Pokemon][u][b][color=palevioletred]     Pokemon Party:          [/color][/b][/u]
[indent][table][row][/row][row][cell][hider=Dei — Charmander][h3][color=palevioletred][sup]Dei[hr][/sup][/color][/h3][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/charmander.gif[/img][hr][sup][sup]Charmander  [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   Level 15   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   ♂   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]  Blaze   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]  100%[/sup][/sup]
[indent][sup][color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Scratch
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Growl, Smokescreen
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Ember[/sup][/indent][h3] [/h3][/hider]
[/cell][cell][/cell][cell][hider=Kyllene — Mawile][h3][color=palevioletred][sup]Kyllene | “Kylie”[hr][/sup][/color][/h3][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/mawile.gif[/img][hr][sup][sup]Mawile  [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   Level 16   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   ♀   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   Hyper Cutter   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]  100%[/sup][/sup]
[indent][sup][color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Astonish, Bite
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Taunt, Growl, Fake Tears, Sweet Scent
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Fairy Wind[/sup][/indent]
[h3] [/h3][/hider]
[/cell][cell][/cell][/row][row][cell][hider=Tula — Magikarp][h3][color=palevioletred][sup]Tula | “Tutu”[hr][/sup][/color][/h3][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/magikarp.gif[/img][hr][sup][sup]Magikarp  [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   Level 14   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   ♀   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]  Rattled   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/sup][/sup]
[indent][sup][color=palevioletred]||[/color]  (Struggle)  
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Splash  
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  N/A
[sub] [/sub][indent][color=palevioletred]—[/color] [i]Soothe Bell[/i][/indent][/sup][/indent]
[h3] [/h3][/hider][/cell][cell][/cell][cell][hider=Erebi — Zorua][h3][color=palevioletred][sup]Erebi | “Eri”[hr][/sup][/color][/h3][img]https://www.smogon.com/dex/media/sprites/xy/zorua.gif[/img][hr][sup][sup]Zorua  [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   Level 15   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]   ♂   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color]  Illusion   [color=palevioletred]◼[/color] 100%[/sup][/sup]
[indent][sup][color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Scratch, Pursuit, Fury Swipes
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  Leer, Fake Tears  
[color=palevioletred]||[/color]  N/A
[sub] [/sub][indent][color=palevioletred]—[/color] [i]Silk Scarf[/i][/indent][/sup][/indent]
[h3] [/h3][/hider][/cell][/row][row][/row][/table][/indent][indent] [/indent][/hider]
[hider=Inventory][u][b][color=palevioletred]     Inventory:          [/color][/b][/u]
[indent]Pokédollars — 8014
[list][*]Pokeballs — 6
[*]Great Balls — 2
[*]Old Rod
[*]Escape Rope
[*]Egg (Onix)
[*]Electric Gem
[/list][/indent][h3] [/h3][/hider]