[IC] Pokémon Treasure Hunt (Paced fandom RP)

[Ryougu]

The salty ocean winds make for a pleasant breeze on this sunny afternoon. Last night was a little stormy, but everyone made it through (mostly) unharmed. Today marks the third and final day on the way to Mokai. The crew rushes off to do all manner of preparations when land finally comes into sight. Everyone on the ship is gathered on the top deck, it seems there is some kind of announcement.

With everyone gathered (not actually all that many people, mostly crew), a young man steps onto a small pedestal and adresses the 'crowd'. "Good day, everyone! This is your captain speaking." To which the old man by his side turns to the younger man with an unsatisfied look. "I'm kidding. Beside me is our actual captain, who has been so kind as to agree to bring us here today. Thank you, mister Jones, we appreciate what you're doing for us. Relatively few people would have agreed to sail such a distance on such short notice. The captain, 'mister Jones' scratches his head and makes a little bow, receiving applause from the crew before leaving the gathering, presumably returning to the bridge.

The young man smiles as the captain leaves, once more turning his attention to the crowd gathered before him. "My name is Hiro, I am the one financing this journey. I was surprised to see so many of you looking to join in on this voyage, but I'm certain you have all found it enjoyable, yes? Though perhaps I should get to the point. Soon we'll reach Mokai island. While I'm sure all of you knew where you were going before you went aboard, I feel an introduction might be in order. Mokai island is an island with a lot of wildlife, so be careful out there. You might also have heard it was recently discovered, this is true and because of this not many ships set sail to Mokai island. Beware that once you set foot on the island you might very well be stuck here for more than a month. Those of you who do not like this foresight are free to stay on the boat and join the crew on their way back."

With his introduction finished, Hiro grabbed a luxury ball from his belt. "Of course, no journey is complete without a pokémon battle, so I've prepared a small tournament. Pick an opponent and let's go!"

[Todd Howard]

The cowgirl was on deck, simply observing the bright blue sea; She had never sailed before! Though, she wished it was under better circumstances. It had been so fast; She had ran from home, traveled through the sands, and made her way to Gateon Port. She had no idea where this ship was going, but once she was on, the only way off was to jump ship... And she wasn't eager to do that. Last night had been sort of rough, but she'd rather deal with the rain out here than the sandstorms back home; Those were a lot less fun. The waves knocking the ship around had been exciting, at the very least!

While she had tried to question some of the crew, they hadn't been much help; Something about an island called Mokai. But they didn't seem to actually know anything about it; All she knew was that some trainers were on board, heading for the island. Which meant it'd be a decent enough stop for her, if trainers thought going there was a good idea.

Turning as she heard a voice seeming to be addressing the crew, she eyed the boy up on a pedestal; Listening intently. As the other crew members clapped for the captain, she decided to as well; Just sort of following along, unsure of how far out this trip was for the crew. They had been out here for awhile...

As the boy explained a little bit about the island, she was perked up and listening; It sounded like it was her style; Wildlife! Exploration! That's what she was talkin' about, this sounded like a great place to go! Though, she wondered how they'd feel knowing she had originally had no intentions of coming here at all... She wasn't going to shout it out, or anything, but would answer with it if asked. This place was, according to him, recently discovered; She figured that meant not many people knew about it more than she did, the girl having hoped for a simple place, like Kanto. But instead she seemed to have gotten onto a more wild ride than she anticipated. No matter, she was raring to go! She was ready to take on that island and find a new life for herself, away from marriage, and crap! She wasn't gonna be some farm wife; Her momma had been respected in the house, don't get her wrong, but Marlene was young! She wasn't meant for marriage yet! She still wanted to live a fun life before settling down with the right guy.

"Ah ain't gonna be goin' back..." She muttered, knowing the only option aside from moving forward was going back home. And like hell that was happening. Finally, after he was done with his small speech, he took her and the crew by surprise; A tournament, on the boat?! Was that dangerous?

Dangerous sounded like a lot of fun.

Hopping forward and startling the crew around her, she snapped her trusty Mudbray's Pokeball off of her belt, thrusting it forward at the young man that had announced the tournament. "If yer' so eager then let's go!" She called him out, honestly not being a battler by trade... She had scared some Pokemon off her land before with Mudbray, but aside from that, neither of them were truly battlers at heart. But she was a traveler now, so training Pokemon was a must! She had to stay tough to look out for herself, and she was ready to take that first step, here and now!

"You an' me, pardner! Ah ain't plannin' to pass up a challenge!"

[Liquidjeff]

Meanwhile...
Flynn was just being quietly reading a book near the railing

[Masterkeun]

Mable smiled gently having been playing with her Shinx when the tournament was announced. It had been a few days since Mable came on board relaxing and fishing the the salty sea air. Mable quickly at the idea of a tournament approached a portly man with a fishing pole. "Would you do me the pleasure of being my first battle?"

@Ryougu

[Ryougu]

Hiro grinned as Marlene immediately stormed from the crowd to challenge him. "That's what I like to see, you're on!" He declared, sending out his petilil.
replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-5547..
The battle violently rocked the ship as Li'l Bri (Mudbray) used magnitude, causing several other passengers to fall over or crouch to avoid doing so. The battle was close, but Hiro and Petilil emerged victorious. Hiro immediately started singing his praises. "Wow! That was great, your Mudbray fought so well despite being at a disadvantage, it was ama--" Hiro would've continued, but he was soon interrupted by a pair of crew members telling Marlene to follow and bringing her to the captain. Ah well, I guess that was to be expected...

After the ship had stopped rocking so violently, people started getting up and battling one another. One of the matches that took Hiro's now unoccupied attention, was a match between a shinx and a remoraid.
replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-5553..
This battle was a lot less severe, but no less interesting. Things were looking up for the Shinx as both pokémon soon looked exhausted, but as much as Hiro had been rooting for the Shinx, the Remoraid got the final hit in before Shinx could and won the battle. With a smug grin, the fisher returned Remoraid to its poké ball and returned to fishing. Hiro approached Mable and praised her Shinx, before telling Mable "That was a good battle! Better luck next time."

---

As the battles all wrapped up and the calm of the sunny afternoon once more returned to the ship, Hiro stepped onto his pedestal once more. He was relieved to see the crew members bringing back Marlene from her scolding, just in time for the next round. Or so he thought. "Alright! We've had some great battles just now, for the next round...Oh, it looks like we're out of time. Sorry people, we'll have to cut the tournament short, we're here!"

The next few moments were filled with controlled chaos. Crew members rushing back and forth between jobs, trying to dock the ship properly. Passengers were escorted off the ship and soon the relatively small number of passengers were left on the island shore. Crew members waved as the departed and one young man stood out. He had been reading a book earlier, but judging by the defeated look on his face he must have dropped it during Marlene's battle.

---

Now on the shore with a mere number of 3, Hiro adressed his two companions with a wide smile. "Welcome to Mokai island. Home of...not yet discovered! Let's go shall we?" Gesturing the two girls to follow him, he started walking through the loose sand of the beach. "The first village we'll visit is Dredear town. I recommend we stay together at least until we reach it, Mokai is mostly uncharted and I've relatively few resources on me. I plan to first go there to make a plan."

The beach itself was a pearly white and showed to be relatively big, as the first sight of solid ground was near the edge of one's sight. To the left and right, nothing could be seen other than sand. Sand, sand, sand, This beach was huge. "You could probably catch some pokémon here." Hiro remarked, and stopped walking. "We could look for pokémon here, but I suggest first heading to Dredear town to take inventory."

After half an hour of struggling through the sand, the group reached solid ground. The village was now close, only a 5-minute walk away. Just before the group could enter the village, a tan woman approached them. "Heya! You guys are new around here, aren't you? I could tell right away! Not many people go that far out on the beach, especially not without fishing gear. Where are you from?" The woman spoke with joy in her voice, and she looked even more excited.

---

Level progress:
Petilil -> Lv6
Mudbray -> Lv6
Shinx -> Lv6

[Todd Howard]

"Darn it!" Marlene grumbled, having thought she had it in the bag! That little thing managed to zap Mudbray's strength away, what awful luck that he got pinned against a grass type. Oh well, it's not like they could have predicted it! After returning her partner, she looked down at the Pokeball momentarily, smiling as she clipped it back onto her belt.

Her opponent-- What was his name again? Hero, or something-- Seemed to have enjoyed the match. She grinned at his words, but their moment was cut short as Marlene was confronted by a couple of the crew members, being told to come with them. They seemed pretty ticked of, too: She hadn't really accounted for what she could've done to the ship, having thought rocking the boat was fun! That other guy thought so too, right?

"Fine, fine! Let's go." Marlene gave in, simply following them to meet up with the captain. Once there, her scolding was about what was to be expected; Oh! You could've sunk the ship. Oh! That was dangerous. Oh! If there were any damages she'd have to pay for it once they docked. Great. "Alright, whatever. The thing's still floatin', that means it's fine, right?"

As far as anyone could tell, the boat was fine. Which was good, as Marlene wasn't rolling in cash.

Being returned to the other trainers, she felt kind of sour about losing her first Pokemon Battle. Though, it couldn't be helped; That guy just got the better of her! Surely she'd get him next time, especially if she caught something to deal with that grassy Pokemon! She pondered to herself what she could possibly catch... She did have five Pokeballs, after all. Just some that were laying around the house, but she'd snagged them so she could possibly build a little team of cool Pokemon. Who knew what kind of Pokemon she'd find ahead? It was exciting, to say the least.

---

Having been practically kicked off the boat by the crew due to her recklessness, she ended up left on the island with a few of the other trainers that had been on the boat; One being that Hero guy, who beat her. The other girl, she had no idea about; Mostly because Marlene had gotten hauled off right after her battle. Feet meeting the sand, she was reminded of the desert back home that took up the majority of her region; It felt natural, and she traversed it with a slight amount of sadness; She'd not be seeing those deserts anytime soon...

"Sounds like a plan t' stick together then!" Marlene responded to Hero in agreement, figuring she could do with going to the village anyways. Pick up a few things for the road, among other things, possibly. As much as she wanted to catch a Pokemon, she decided against it, simply trying to keep with the group instead. She could catch one later.

Man, this beach was huge; It almost looked like home here, aside from the water. She barely ever saw the ocean before sailing; It added to a bit of the excitement of being on the boat. But now she was back on her feet, and considering how those sailors were... She was glad to be walking around again. "Ah agree. Plenty of time t' look for some critters later, ah'd like t' take a look around yonder." She spoke in agreement, as she stopped not too far ahead of the two trainers.

It'd taken a bit longer than she liked, but finally they were out of the sand, and onto solid ground. Felt more like the farm, now. And that was annoying; She needed to quit thinking about home, but, she just couldn't. Everything that could remind her of home did; Despite her having no regrets or thoughts about turning around. Not that she could, it was too late to leave. At least for awhile...

Blinking as she heard a voice, she turned, eying the approaching woman. "Howdy!" She greeted happily, smiling at the woman. "We sure as heck are! Ah'm from Orre mahself, name's Marlene!" She came to the realization that she hadn't introduced herself to the others yet, and used this as an opportunity. "Good t' meet all ya'll! Was kinda' rude to not introduce mahself sooner, ah apologize."

[Masterkeun]

Mable smiled shaking the hand of the sailor and admiring his Remoraid. The pokemon had a simplistic beauty with its gray scales. "It was a pleasure sir thanks for battling with me." Mable happily sat with the man discussing fishing as Hiro came over. Mable beamed turning to the man happily "Thanks, this was my first battle, but I definitely need more practice your battle was amazing!" Mable beamed at Hiro wanting to discuss strategies holding Shinx in her arms gently as Hiro walked off to make his anouncement
--

The island was beautiful and Mable was already glad she'd came. Mable already was kicking off her shoes and rolling up her pants to wade in the water by the time the boat started to take off. Mable waved enthusiastically to the sailor's having loved there stories and the open ocean. Mable sighed happily content as Hiro pointed out they should probably head for the nearest village for food and water. Mable beamed walking beside the group in the cool water enjoying the feeling against her skin having rarely seen anything as beautiful. The sun shining down at the right angle made the sand seem white and at another made it gleam like a rainbow.

The grounds probably held a few eggs Mable thought happily. There were so many pokemon whose eggs she hadn't seen yet. Would she finally discover the difference between a Krabby egg and a Corphish egg? Mable happily spent her walk noting areas where eggs might be scanning small holes from the water hoping to spot pokemon as a few magikarps swam nearby.

Mable beamed at the woman bowing sweetly "How do you do ma'am. I was born in johto, but traveled around quite a bit afterwards. My names Mable." Mable blushed as Marlene spoke having rudely not introduced herself either. "I'm sorry to Marlene I saw your amazing battle on the boat! Mable quickly tries to shake her hand.

[Ryougu]

"My name's Hiro, I'm sure we'll--" Hiro started, only to be interrupted by the woman. "Ah, Marlene and Mable, darling names. I don't know much about Johto nor Orre, but I'm sure you'll find it lovely to be here. Come, let me show you around!" She said, grabbing the girls by the wrist and pulling them through town. Showing you a simple wooden building with the roof painted orange. "Here you'll see the Poké Center Infirmary. Pokémon and people alike are brought here to recover from injury and sickness. You'll recognize it by the orange color of the roof. And here's the market, which is...Well, really just a market!" She chuckled, but soon moved on to the next building. This one was different from most others, because it was made of stone, rather than wood. This is the Ramotse's house. He's in charge of maintaining order in this area, as well as guiding the village's residents when a disaster takes place. There's one more place on the list..." The woman went on gleefully. Arriving at a plain hut, the woman smiled even wider. "This is...My house. Would you care to come inside and have a drink?" Apparently this was the end of the tour.

---

Meanwhile, Hiro watched the girls be dragged off to the village. He was about to follow after, but he was stopped by a pale man in casual attire. "Don't worry, kid. Your friends'll be fine with her, she just isn't very fond of men. Come with me for a second." Rather than grab Hiro's wrist and rush off, the man turned and calmly walked into the village. "You gonna come, or what?" In complete silence, the man walked into the Ramotse's house. Hiro looked around, but the girls were already out of sight, dragged off somewhere by the woman. "This is the mayor's place." He mumbled, barely loud enough for Hiro to hear. Turning away from Hiro, he yelled "Oi, old man! You around!?"

When no response came, Hiro turned around, uncomfortable about intruding. He reached for the door, but he was halted when the young man asked him what drink he wanted. "Uh, tea please." Hiro responded. This man's careless attitude somewhat surprised Hiro, so he took a seat and waited for the man to return. When the man returned, he immediately started asking Hiro questions.
"What's your name, squirt?" "It's, uhh...Hiro."
"Alright, Hiro. What brings you here?" "That's a long story., I--"
"Don't bother, not in the mood for long stories."
Hiro sighed, this man seemed to be a lot less friendly than the woman before. A few moments passed in silence before the man asked another questions.
"You been a trainer long?" "N-no."
"Gather up your friends and meet me outside town."
With this command he downed his drink, got up and left the building.
Hiro quickly did the same, finishing his tea and then went looking for the others.

[Todd Howard]

Blinking as a gentle but firm hand gripped her wrist, Marlene was taken by surprise that they were being dragged off. A gasp escaping her out of surprise, but she didn't really resist, rather just deciding to try and keep up. As they went along, she felt so informed! These infirmaries seemed to just be differently named Pokemon Centers; Buildings she'd seen before, back home. Usually they were in major cities, though, she doubted by Hero's talking earlier that she'd find cities here: Mostly villages like this one, more than likely. She noted to check out the market later; They could possibly find something useful for the road.

"Rah-Moot-Ooose?" Marlene butchered the title-- Or perhaps, family name-- helplessly as she tried to pronounce it, feeling sort of embarrassed just by the attempt alone. That was just someone who kept the peace though, right? Maintained order? That must've meant he was a pretty tough guy, maybe even a tough trainer, at that. It made her curiously wonder what he was capable of... Though she noted that if she couldn't even beat Hero, she stood no chance with Lil' Bri against a guy like that! She'd pass on a fight if she could help it.

Making their final stop, Marlene blinked once more, taken by surprise at the ending stop: The woman's house. She glanced at Mable, then back at the woman, figuring after the tour it'd be rude to say no. She considered that maybe waiting on Mable to decide would have been better, as all three of them would be split apart if she decided to not drop in, as well. Aaah... Sure! Ah'd be happy to!" She answered, instinctively.

She glanced towards the ground for a moment, eyes seeming unfocused and wide as she realized she answered anyways, despite her original thoughts. Too late to change her answer, though.

[Masterkeun]

Mable followed Marlene as the woman dragged them through the village. The wooden houses were interesting and without a forest in sight Mable wondered if they were all palm bark. Mable blushed as they reached the Infirmary wishing they could stay to heal there pokemon as the two girls were dragged away. Mable smiled gently petting Shinx as the two focused on the building. It was a few minute into the tour before Mable looked around noticing they'd been split off from there guide Hiro.

Mable beamed happily as Marlene accepted the request stepping inside to warm and cozy home. Shinx gently hopped down curling up by the door as Mable waited hoping the woman wouldn't mind her odd attire. Is there any chance you know what kind of pokemon live around here? I'm also curious, can we buy food and pokeballs at the store? Are you having any issues with strong pokemon? Marlene is very strong from what I saw on the boat."

[Ryougu]

After leading the girls inside, the woman quickly bolted off to another room and soon returned with a tray of cups, in them; tea. It seemed to be a thing here to drink hot tea despite the heat. Only after returning with the tea, the woman answered Mable's questions. "A lot of pokémon live around here. Down at the beach are a lot of ground, rock and water types. Little ways north there's a forest. I think you can figure out what to expect in a forest. And yes, of course you can buy poké balls and food at the market, you might have to check different stalls, though." The woman paused to drink and perhaps receive more questions, before continuing answering Mable's. "There aren't many issues with strong pokémon, and if there are, the Ramotse [Rah-Mot-Say] usually takes care of it." Remembering Marlene's clumsy attempt at pronouncing the word, she seemed lost in though for a moment, then said "I think the word translated to something like 'Mayor', does that word mean anything to you?"

Their conversation went on a little bit before it was interrupted by a knock on the door...

---

Meanwhile, Hiro was looking around town franctically, asking whomever he could find if they'd seen a woman drag along a pair of girls. Luckily a few people had identified the trio that way and pointed him to the woman's house. Hiro thanked the person and went over, knocking on the door when he reached it. *knock knock* "E-excuse me! Mable, Marlene, are you there?"

[Todd Howard]

"Huh." Marlene followed along, listening as the group sat for tea. She didn't care for the stuff, personally, and the fact it was hot was unappealing in this weather, but she drank it for the sake of not upsetting the woman. She'd never actually finish it, however. As she processed the Pokemon possibly open for them to catch, she went back to thinking about Hero. Mudbray was a ground type, and obviously got trashed by his Petilil... Rock and Water wouldn't do much better.

The forest, however, sounded appealing. Cool stuff tended to live in there; Survivalists. She wanted something tough, and figured she would be in better shape looking in the woods than scouring the beach. That'd have to wait for a bit, however...

as Mable brought her into the conversation, Marlene blinked. "Uh..." She wasn't able to form words, unsure if getting into trouble with strong Pokemon would be a good idea considering her and Lil' Bri's inexperience. Thankfully, the woman confirmed it wouldn't be necessary.

"Mayor? Yeah, Ah geddit!" Marlene responded to the woman as she helped clear things up about the Ramotse. Gosh, people in different regions sure made some things complicated!

She enjoyed chatting with the girls for a bit, but paused as she heard a knock. Hearing Hero's voice, she hopped up. "Sounds like our pal came an' tracked us down!" Pulling her hat up from behind her head to the top in order to wear it, she tipped her hat to the woman in appreciation. "Thank ya kindly for the information! Ya'll were a big help!"

Afterwards, Marlene rushed over to the door, opening it. She grinned at Hero, seeming happy to see him. "Glad ya found us so we didn't hafta' go lookin' fer you!" She exclaimed, before bringing up the topic of conversation that caught her interest the most. "Before we leave, might be a good idea t' check out the market; me an' May-bell saw it on the way here, an' personally ah think ya never know if ya could find somethin' for a bargain till' ya go scan the stalls!"

[Masterkeun]

Mable sat staring out happily at the beach. A water and rock pokemon could do her team a lot of good. The forest though might have grass of bug which could be fun. Mable wondered if there would be time to hunt any ground types on the way to the forest. Mable knew it would be a good idea to stick with Marlene. She seemed really confident in what she needed to do. Shinx wouldn't fair great against a ground type like her Mudbray, but it couldn't hurt to try to catch one.

Mable sipped her tea despite the heat enjoying the citrus flavor. It was a great blend, but after awhile made Mable a little to hot. While Mable listened closely Hiro arrived knocking. Mable agreed happily with Marlene "She's right Hiro who knows they may have specfic ball types like dive or net balls that could help a lot." Mable beamed knowing it would be smart to stay close to the stronger trainers. The forest could be dangerous and it was a good idea to stay close on the unfamiliar island.

[Ryougu]

"Aww...Going so soon?" the woman pouted. "Ah well, can't hold you up here forever. Have fun now!" She waved. Hiro waited for the girls to say their goodbyes and closed the door. "The market, huh? I guess it'd be wise to stock up... Oh! But there's someone waiting for us at the edge of town, so we should try to not let him wait for too long." Hiro scratched the back of his head, he felt as if he was forgetting something--other than the man who'd told to meet him. He thought deeply, but with a sigh Hiro accompanied the girls to the market. He couldn't remember.

---

The market was a mix of voices, faces and smells. Salesmen trying to get as many customer as possible by simply outshouting each other, lots of people walking around from stall to stall, haggling, negotiating or simply chatting with each other, adding to the din of voices. Considering how calm it'd been in the rest of town, the amount of people currently at the market was astonishing. Lot's of stalls sold food, trinkets, and other small stuff. Only a few stalls really stood out. Instead of the colorful fabrics that provided shade for the other stalls, one of these stalls had a mossy green cloth. Behind the stall sat a moderately old man with sharp look. The stall was mostly unvisited, save for the occasional customer approaching, buying something and quickly leaving again. The old man didn't speak a lot either, he seemed to answer some questions, but other than that kept silent. The wares displayed on his stall ware spherical objects with a black ring around it and a button in the middle...poké balls. Rather than the standard great- and ultra balls, it seemed the man was selling apricorn balls, which was confirmed by looking over the stall, revealing that the old man was handcrafting them as he sat there.

Another notable stall was one with a big logo emblazoned upon the front. The logo seemed to resemble a kind of pickaxe, and closer inspection would reveal that equipment for exploration, as well as some mundane items were sold here. Large coils of rope, small glass bottles with a yellow-ish liquid inside and jars of honey were presented here.

---

Poké Ball-Shop:
$200 Poké Ball
$500 Level ball
$500 Lure Ball
$500 Moon Ball
$500 Friend Ball
$500 Love Ball
$500 Heavy Ball
$500 Fast Ball

Adventuring-Shop:
$1000 Escape Rope
$400 Repel
$300 Honey

[Todd Howard]

"Sure are a lot of balls." Marlene mumbled to herself, walking around. She didn't personally get why they were so special; They just looked kind of... Odd. Not as slick as the ones back home, more hand-crafted? How was that a thing? for the moment, she passed up on the poke balls, and didn't see much else of appeal, either; the rope was possibly useful, but she wasn't sure she wanted to pay what the salesman wanted for it; So she'd pass.

She did, however, grab some basic stuff from the occasional stall that seemed like it'd last awhile in her pack; food and drink would be essential since she didn't know how far the next village was from here, after all.

-175

Dang, nothin' interestin'. Usually markets like this have that one shady stall, like in the stories... She thought to herself, mildly disappointment. But her expectations were simply fantasy, after all. Oh well.

Just then, a certain shout caught her attention; A shout about one thing the woman cherished over almost everything else:

Food.

Approaching the stall, she sniffed, getting a rich savory scent from the stall. Drool leaked out the corner of her mouth as she got close, questioning, "Hey! What's this?"

"Mokai Berry Stir Fry, mon! Family recipe!" The man answered, enthusiastic. "A good mixtu-ah of delicious fresh picked berries an' spices passed down my family for generations! Topped off with da savory meat of magikarp!"

"Woah." Marlene replied, drawn in. "That sounds great, pardner! Sign me up!"

"Got'cha, mon! One Mokay Berry Stir Fry, comin' right at'cha!" The man replied, his rhythm on point as he got to work.

-$25

Once Marlene was served her food, she began eating with comical tears running down her face due to the terrific taste. She'd be distracted long enough for the others to finish shopping...

[Masterkeun]

Mable beamed down at the balls knowing she might need plenty. Mable smiled buying four more choosing just the basic balls. Mable spent sometime quizzing the pokeball maker on the kinds of apricorns he needed to build more balls. Mable watched giggling as Marlene raced towards the fresh food eating up. Mable glancing at Hiro wondered how long the three of them would be off on the road. If the next town was far enough they may need hard supplies. In this train off though Mable went over to the dry goods vendor buying some very basic traveling rations to last two weeks. If they had to travel further they could eat food along the road as long as the fruits were edible. Mable stretched rejoining Marlene as she enjoyed her fresh food.

Mable smiled at her waiting politely until every piece was devoured. "Where to next Marlene? Wanna check out the beach or do you think it's best to head straight for the local forest?"

[Todd Howard]

Slurping noises and such aside, Marlene slammed the bowl down with a satisfied expression once she was finished, licking her lips. "That was the best meal ah've ever had!" She declared, fist rising into the air. Soon enough, however, she deflated; Actually realizing that Mable was now with her. At her question, Marlene carefully considered it. Looking towards the shore, she could see a few Pokemon wandering about; One in particular she'd seen before. A Krabby.

There was a club in Gateon Port called the Krabby Club. They loved that Pokemon!

Getting distracted, Marlene's attention was snatched by the sound of wings flapping above; Instinctively looking up to notice a flock of birds with grey and black feathers heading towards the forest. It sparked within her; Yeah! A flying type would help hassle Hero's Petilil! She felt like a genius!

"Ah wanna go hunt down one of them birds, but... Mudbray ain't gonna be able to do anything to a flying type." She spoke, less talking to Mable, more thinking to herself. She ended up looking at Mable, a decision being made. "Let's go check out the beach! Ah bet there's plenty of neat Pokemon there. Kind'a wanna grab one of them water critters!"

[Ryougu]

Hiro exitedly looked at the wares sold on the market. A lot of the odd trinkets caught his attention, but he decided against buying them because he was aware he didn't have a ton of riches to back him up. Though careful with his money, Hiro spent $500 on rations. He'd hate to run out of food mid-journey. He wandered a little further down the market, still marveling at all the oddities sold here. Eventually wandering over to the Poké Ball-Shop, Hiro was amazed to see Apricorn balls. He'd seen them in a few trainer magazines, which had claimed them to be a rarity and scarcely available outside of Johto. Even if it was for the sake of just having one, Hiro bought a single Heavy ball for $500. With half his budget blown, he decided it was time for him to leave the market.

---

As Mable questioned the shopkeeper, he glanced up at her, but didn't stop working. After Mable had asked all her questions, the man started a spiel worthy of a shopkeeper. He explained how the Level Ball worked better if your pokémon's was stronger than the one you're trying to cath and how it was made of Red Apricorns. He went on to explain Moon balls were made of Yellow Apricorns and that it worked best on pokémon like jigglypuff who evolved with a moon stone. Next was the Lure Ball, made of Blue Apricorn, which was amazing at capturing pokémon that lived deep in the sea. Then came the Friend Ball, a ball perfect for sympathic trainers made of Green Apricorn, the shopkeeper even went as far as to claim Pokémon would be grateful to be caught in one. He followed with an explanation of the Love Ball, which he claimed to be a romanticist's Poké ball. It supposedly works well on Pokémon that might fall in love with yours. Odd as it might've been, the man kept going with the poker face of a god. He explained the heavy ball, made of Black Apricorn to catch the heaviest of Pokémon. And last but not least, he described the Fast Ball. He said it was simply the best ball to use against fast or evasive Pokémon, it's made of white Apricorn.

As the man finished his spiel, he also finished the ball he'd been working on. Finally his facial expression changed. He smiled apologetically and said "That probably was a little much, wasn't it, little miss? Take this--" He handed her the ball he'd been working on, a Love Ball. "--I love my craft and it's been a while since anyone asked me that question. Consider this my hope you'll find something you love doing as much as I love making poké balls."

---

Arriving just in time to hear the girls' conversation, Hiro was glad to hear they'd chosen the beach. "You'd like to catch pokémon the beach too? In that case I guess it's unanymous. Let's go there right after meeting up with...err, I don't think he mentioned his name. But let's go to the beach after meeting up with the person I told you about. Are you both fully prepared?"

[Masterkeun]

Mable beamed at the old man happy when she saw Hiro come over. "Of course, but you haven't said much about him." Mable followed Hiro over to the old man letting Shinx enjoy the warm sand. Mable knew what the old man had meant. In the back of her mind Mable knew what she wanted to be. Mable wanted to become the owner of a hatchery for pokemon eggs. In her mind it was a beautiful area filled with every type of pokemon where wild pokemon could bring there eggs to keep them safe.

[Todd Howard]

Marlene nodded, seeming as ready to go as she ever was. Though, curiosity got the better of her, and she wasn't exactly certain of who they were going to meet. This seemed kind of odd, all things considered. Call it suspicion from living in a region where your main population was a bunch of criminals. Disorganized, non-threatening criminals for the most part, but criminals, nonetheless. "Ah'm ready, but do ya know what he wants? Did he just... Want to meet with us? Makes me kinda' suspicious, pardner." She showed concern, but grinned anyways. She had punched out a crook or two in the past, this would be no different if it was the case! At least she hoped so.

She couldn't always get herself out of trouble.