Pokemon: Keys of Anima! [IC/Accepting via OOC/Started]

[evilfusion]

Ampere withdrew a little, watching the Snover make a scene like a child having a tantrum. Midna glanced at the two Pokemon and sighed. "Ampere, leave it alone," she said seriously. Ampere obediently returned to its trainer's side, eyeing XmasTree with amusement. Refocusing on Emly, Midna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Cubchoo? Don't normally come across those too often," she said, shrugging. "But if that's what you want to do, then full steam ahead. I haven't really decided on where I'm going. Probably going to take a lap around the region, improving as I go along, things like that."

[Two-Hundred And One]

OOC: Aaaaand I'm skipping the meeting with Juniper. It's not important right now, but... I'll get to it in the OOC thread, I guess.

"All right, Ninjask, we're ready!" "Jask?" "Yes, I have the shiny."

Ninjask chirped. "Okay, let's get going!", Zach called out to the Bug Pokemon. "Jask!", the Pokemon replied happily.

Zach set out of the town, Ninjask and supplies in tow, into Route 1. Most of the other trainers had passed by already, but there were still a couple left, having a conversation. One with a Snover, the other with some... flying... eel-thing. Zach moved on, wading through the tall grass, when a Pokemon leaped out - a brown, chipmunk-looking thing.

"PATRAT!"

"Hm... this thing reminds me of a Bidoof... But with huge eyes..." Zach pulled out his shiny new pokedex. "Let's see... press that, and... presto!"

[font="Courier New"][b]-Patrat, the Scout Pokemon. Extremely cautious, they take shifts to maintain a constant watch of the nest. They feel insecure without a lookout.-[/b][/font]

"Hm, we might have stumbled into a nest." Zach turned toward the Patrat. "Uh, sorry, we don;t want an trou-"

"PATRAT!", it announced as it directed a Tackle at Ninjask.

"Uh, Ninjask, use... Scratch?"

"Jask!" The cicada scratched the rocketing rodent with its claw... and the Patrat was knocked out.

"Um... huh." He turned to Ninjask. "Alright, let's just keep going, then." "Jask."

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"OK then,"[/color] Emma acknowledged, [color="#800080"]"Let's get going, shall we?"[/color]

Both girls and their Pokemon remained unaware of the hidden Galvantula that lay underneath the bush. This spider-like Pokemon didn't seem to be doing much, just observing the two girls and their respective Pokemon. Desiring to get closer, it quickly scurried its way to another bush, trying its best to disallow either of the two of them to see it.

[scooterulez]

OoC: Just to end the waiting of other people.

[b][i][size="4"]DING!![/size][/i][/b]

[b]"Mr. Aaron Wulf, your Pokemon are done."[/b]

Aaron put the map back in his backpack and walked back to the counter, where Nurse Joy and Munchlax were waiting. [b]"Here you go and have a nice day."[/b] said Nurse Joy, handing back Aaron's Pokemon. "Thanks. Bye." He said picking up the balls and leaving with Munchlax right behind. Aaron stood at the entrance of the Pokemon Center and looked around, noticing that most, of the majority, of the sand has been cleared from the sidewalks and streets now, even though there were still piles left. And, to him, it looked like he was the only one that made it here from Nuvema. Aaron looked to his right and saw a truck carrying away the sand, that had been collected, towards a little tunnel entrance pass the park and a few buildings. "Well, it looks like we go that way Munchlax. Lets go." [b]"Munch."[/b] Munchlax replied. They started walking towards the tunnel passing people, who were still sweeping the sand. When Aaron passed the last building, he stopped having a feeling that someone was looking at him. He looked at the building and scanned the windows. He saw nothing that seemed like someone was watching him and looked back down, then he saw a man, in a black outfit near a tree near the park, smoking. How Aaron hates smoking. He tried to ignore the man and continued to power walk to the tunnel, even though he can smell the smoke, even from a distance. When Aaron reached the tunnel, which turns out to be a news report area, he turned around and looked at the man. The man was looking at him, but Aaron felt he was in a trance, that seemed to last for a while. The trance broke when he felt a tug on his pant leg. Munchlax was pointed towards the exit, "Yes, lets go." Aaron turned around, the man wasn't looking anymore. Aaron shook the weird feeling away, then turned around to continue to Route 2.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Snapping out of a trance, Victor turned to what felt like a tug on his pant leg. It turned out that the cellphone in his pant pocket was ringing, and was set on vibrate. Victor sighed after cancelling the call, seeing it unimportant.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Should really cut down on the drugs,"[/color] he muttered to himself, continuing to smoke his cigar.

Meanwhile, Emma and Minda finally managed to make it to Accumula Town. Aaron was just about to leave this town, but before he managed to get too far...

[color="#800080"]"Excuse me, mister,"[/color] Emma asked Victor, [color="#800080"]"But why's your coat so dusty?"[/color]

[color="#FF8C00"]"What, this?"[/color] Victor dusted off some of the sand of his coat, [color="#FF8C00"]"Got caught in a sandstorm, along with everyone else 'round here. I've been hearing rumors that a Tyranitar or a Hippowdon likely caused this..."[/color]

[color="#800080"]"You don't think a wild one's been running around, do you?"[/color] Emma asked.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Course not!"[/color] Victor replied, [color="#FF8C00"]"Seems enough of a coincidence that a wild Pokemon would come all the way even from Route 4, let alone Route 15. It'd have to be trained."[/color]

[color="#800080"]"But..."[/color] Emma developed a worried tone, [color="#800080"]"Who would do such a thing?"[/color]

[color="#FF8C00"]"Well, think about it,"[/color] Victor answered, [color="#FF8C00"]"Team Juggernaut suddenly raids a Pokemon Lab in Nuvema Town, then all of a sudden a sandstorm shows up here..."[/color]

[~Demyx~]

"[b]Mizu! Use Water Gun![/b]" he said, pointing at the Patrat. Mizu took in a deep breath, and then shot out water from her mouth. The blast of water hit the Patrat, shoving it into a tree. "[b]Nice job![/b]" said Kyle. But, the Patrat wasn't done yet. Getting up, it used a scary Leer on Mizu. Mizo practically ran into my arms. "[b]It's okay Mizu. He's not scary anymore. Now let's fight![/b]" he said. Mizu looked at him, then jumped out of his arms, and shot another Water Gun. This time, it shot Patrat into the lake they had been swimming in. He hugged Mizu. "[b]Good job Mizu![/b]" he said, and he got back up, and they soon began walking agan.

They hadn't actually walked for a while. Along the way, there were Patrat's that jumped out, but Mizu was able to blast them with Water Gun. Although, she had been tackled multiple times, and Mizu was feeling dizzy now. So he had returned her to his Pokeball. Walking some more, he was soon at Accumula Town. "[b]Woah! Our first town! And we got here by ourselves![/b]" said Kyle. Looking around he saw heaps of sand here and here, and he saw a man with a coat, and it was extremely sandy. Listening in to his conversation too two other girls from the lab, he heard something about Team Juggernaut and a sandstorm caused by either a Tyranitar or a Hippowdon. He then walked up to the three.

"[b]A Tyranitar or Hippowdon? Well there are Hippopotas at Route 4, but they're extremely rare. Maybe a Hippowdon just came here? After all, there wouldn't be much point of causing a sandstorm here,[/b]" said Kyle, lookng around.

[Hotaru987]

Yoko had skated her way down to the store in Nuvema to get some poke-related items, from potions to some pokemon food. She also brought a dark purple, and black backpack so she would be able to hold all of her things and more. With the rest of the money she had Yoko brought some tools to fix her skateboard just in case, extra wheels, a well as some skates. Yoko would probably end up taking money out of her brothers account if she ever needed any. Kain wouldn't care....Probably.

"So are you ready to start our pokemon journey together?" She asked Pichu, whom replied with a happy, "Pi! Pichu!" Yoko grinned, leaning back a bit to make a right turn, "Good, cause so am I." Yoko look on the map she brought ans saw that thier next destination would be Accumula town. She checked the route to take, and after that was set she headed on her way. Ready to take on whatever challenges that come her way.

Ooc: I don't know what I should do with Kain (the elite 4 member) so ill post with him when I know.

[evilfusion]

In truth, Midna wasn't particularly interested in the man with sand on his coat, nor in sticking around the city, nor in speculating on who may have caused a sandstorm. She was, by nature, fairly impatient, and she saw little reason why she would need to stop in every city on the way here. Making her way from home to Nuvema was a hassle in itself, and this was just a small town that didn't further her agenda.

This tended to have a negative impact on her mood, and she didn't like how the man had made such a leap in logic and assumed they would realize something so arbitrary in an instant.

"I wasn't aware that such a small criminal group was common knowledge to everyone in the world," she noted, of Victor's statement. "For that matter, I never heard of them until they invaded said lab, which begs the question how YOU know they attacked the lab, if you were so busy getting caught in a sandstorm."

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"To be honest, I was about to ask you the same question,"[/color] Emma admitted. Victor responded to this via whipping out a badge to show both of the girls. This one was of the same type that Lumia presented earlier.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Team Anima, you'd think everyone of us would keep tabs on these things,"[/color] Victor declared.

[color="#800080"]'So he's from the same organization that just saved us earlier?'[/color] Emma asked herself in thought, [color="#800080"]'Hmm, maybe these guys are supposed to be the good guys after all. Then again...'[/color]

[evilfusion]

"Oh good, a member of Team Anima," Midna mused, subtle sarcasm rising from her words like vapor. "Another group I've never heard about until today. This journey is going to be chock-full of things like this, aren't they?"

She shook her head. "What sort of agenda would anyone have to cause a random sandstorm in the middle of a small town like this? I mean, I can understand them raiding the lab, since every novice trainer and her brother showed up there at the same time today, and it's a Pokemon Lab run by a professor, but this sort of thing just doesn't make sense." She sighed, stroking Ampere's head absently, the Eelektrik eyeing Victor suspiciously, as if the badge was a sign of ill-intentions.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#FF8C00"]"Does seem that way, doesn't it?"[/color] Victor asked Minda rhetorically, before taking a seat next to a laptop computer, making sure to dust off his hands before operating it, [color="#FF8C00"]"Alright, now let's see if we can find this guy."[/color]

Victor pressed a few buttons, and a map of Unova seemed to cover the screen. Pressing some more buttons caused a series of blips to appear all over the place, which slowly diminished as Victor continued to work with the computer. But a lot of these blips were still on the screen, and Victor seemed to only want one of them. Progress was going to be slow for sure.

[color="#FF8C00"]"This is gonna take hours,"[/color] Victor stated, [color="#FF8C00"]"Why don't you kids visit the museum at Narcene City or something?"[/color]

[color="#800080"]"And where is that, exactly?"[/color] Emma asked.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Take this exit behind me,"[/color] Victor instructed, [color="#FF8C00"]"Keep going until you hit Stration City and then take a left, you should be there in a few minutes."[/color]

[color="#800080"]"OK, thank you"[/color] Emma then turned to Minda, [color="#800080"]"Well, we don't have any better ideas. Let's just go over to the museum. Maybe we'll meet this culprit along the way."[/color]

[~Demyx~]

As the two girls slowly walked away to some museum, Kyle just sighed and walked away to a Poemon Center. Mizu had taken some bad hit's from a Patrat. He shouldn't let Mizu be like that. Opening the door, he saw a nurse motion him to her. Running towards her, he suddenly saw a strange Poemon stand next to her. Getting out his Pokedex, it shoved forward and scanned the Pokemon.

[i]Audino, the Hearing Pokemon. It touches others with the feelers on its ears, using the sound of their heartbeats to tell how they are feeling.[/i]

"[b]Wow! So, will you please recover my Pokemon?[/b]"

---

"[b]Finally![/b]" he said as the Nurse Joy gave him back Mizu's Pokeball. Gripping it, he said his thanks, then he almost left the center until he saw a pile of maps. Picking it up, he saw that it was one of Unova. Keeping it, he was sure it was free. Then, he skimpered out of the Center and looked at the map. "[b]Striaton City is just north from here, but we would have to take Route 2 first,[/b]" he said. Then, he called out Mizu. The Oshawott gladly came out and grinned. "[b]Alright Mizu, I guess the next city is a gym city. You think you're ready for that?[/b]" he asked, expecting a confident Oshawott to shine, but Mizu just gave a face of misbelief. "[b]I know Mizu But we may be able to catch a Pokemon on this next route. Are you ready to help out?[/b]" he asked. Mizu still looked shocked, but she seemed willing to help. After all, a new Pokemon would mean less work for her. Thinking of that, Kyle looked and saw the opening to Route 2. He ran past there, and Mizu followed.

Unknowningly to him and Mizu, something was following him...

[Two-Hundred And One]

"So, this is Accumula?"

Zach looked around the town. It was a bit small, and sand was absolutely everywhere. "Um... did a Hippowdon rampage through here or something?" He looked up at Ninjask. "You seem fine, to be honest... Let's head to the next town, okay?" "Jask." "All right. Maybe we should catch some Pokemon, though... we'd see them in battle a lot more, and that should show off how they survive.... But first, we'll need some Pokeballs." He pulled out a map of Accumula. "Let's see... um... Oh! Hey! The shops are inside the centers here... that's convenient." Zach turned toward the Pokemon Center, entered, and bought some Pokeballs. "All right! Let's go catch stuff, Ninjask!" "Jask." Zach ran out of the center and onto Route 2.

[evilfusion]

Midna stared for several long seconds. "Okay, then," she said finally. Although she did think Stration City had more to offer her than some random museum in the town afterwards, and she wanted desperately to question why the man had been so ironically specific with the choice of passtime. However, she didn't care to complain that much, because it was an excuse to leave this city.

"As for finding a culprit," she said to Emma once out of earshot of the man. "That seems like a bad idea. Whatever has the power to create such sandstorms is powerful and probably a ground-type, and the only Pokemon I have is Ampere, an electric type."

[scooterulez]

After passing through the tunnel and checking the weather, he entered Route 2. He noticed the path goes straight, for a while, then turns to right, but he saw a ledge, that was about a few feet off the ground, in the middle of of the path. Aaron looked down at Munchlax, "Well, it doesn't look like it will be problem to get over that ledge." They walked over to the ledge and Aaron tried to climb over the, not so high, ledge. Aaron got over with no problem then helped Munchlax up. "I hope that's the only ledge that we have to get over here." Aaron spoke to soon, they walked down the path for about 40 to 50 feet and as soon he turned the corner, there were 2 ledges, not one but 2, about 20 feet away. He noticed to his right there was another path, but it was a grassy area. "Screw it! Let's go through the grass instead."

Aaron and Munchlax went through the grass path with no encounters, again. "Man. What is with the Pokemon here? It's like they hate me or something." Then after he said those words, there was rustle behind them. "Oh great. Not again." A cat like Pokemon jumped out and headed for Aaron, but Munchlax got in front and got into a ball. The Pokemon used the Scratch attack on Munchlax, which didn't really do anything to him. "Cool. Thanks for protecting me. now to see what this Pokemon is." He got out his pokedex and it said:

[i]Purrlion, the Devious Pokémon. They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect.[/i]

"Huh. I guess that's what it was trying to do. Well not today Purrlion. Munchlax, let me battle with Puppy real quick." Munchlax got out of it's ball position and stood by Aaron. "GO, PUPPY!!" Aaron threw the ball and the Lillipup, Puppy, came out with his little Lillipup growl. Aaron pulled out his attack guide and searched through the lists of attacks. "Ok, uhh... Oh heres one. Puppy, use Leer!" Puppy stared at Purrlion, then a very quick glow came from Puppy's eyes, which made Purrlion react to it, knowing that it worked. "Ok Puppy, use Tackle!" Puppy charged at Purrlion and rammed the, Leer struck, Pokemon to the nearest tree. "Dang. For being a low leveled Pokemon, he really knows how to tackle something." Puppy jumped back a few feet towards Aaron. Purrlion got up and ran in the other direction, away from Aaron. "Yeah that's right. Next you do that to me, you're going to get it! Come on guys, let's get to the Gym." Aaron turned around and started walking towards the very clearly visible city, Striaton City, with Munchlax and Puppy at his side.

In the distance of a tree, the Purrlion watched Aaron walk to the city. The Purrlion faded into the shadow of the tree and followed Aaron, hoping to get back at him.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"Ah, but XmasTree here is a Grass-type,"[/color] contradicted Emma, [color="#800080"]"It should be able to deal with that evil sandstorming Pokemon just fine. You should see what it can do someti-... oh crap."[/color]

A Wynaut jumped out of the grass. Emma shuddered, knowing that the two girls just had to stumble across not only a rare Pokemon, but also one of the most powerful. She backed away shyly, but before she could turn and run, an aura emitted from the Wynaut's black tail. This somehow managed to freeze Emma in her tracks. But how did the Wynaut know that Emma was trying to escape? And why did it want to fight? Confused, Emma pointed her Pokedex at the Pokemon.

[color="#4B0082"]"Wynaut, the Bright Pokemon,"[/color] the Pokedex declared in a female-sounding mechanic voice, [color="#4B0082"]"It grows strong by pushing up against others en masse. By being squeezed, this Pokemon gains endurance and is trained to dole out powerful counter attacks."[/color]

However, this information was no good. Emma tried pushing random buttons on the Pokedex, but to no avail.

[color="#800080"]"WHY ISN'T THIS THING LETTING US ESCAPE??!!"[/color] Emma yelled frantically.

[evilfusion]

Midna was about to counter the comment about the precious Snover when she spotted the source of Emma's distraction. She examined it closely, dimly aware of Emma's Pokedex data. Unlike her companion, she didn't freak out. "Why are you trying to run away?" she wondered. "It's a Wynaut, you can't just run away from a Pokemon with Shadow Tag."

Although having said this, that left an interesting problem. Either they needed to defeat it, or they needed to catch it, if not both, assuming it wouldn't just let them pass. Ampere was eyeing the Wynaut hungrily, and while Midna was tempted to remind her Eelektrik that she probably couldn't eat it, she decided not to bother.

"Eh...may as well, nothing better to do," she sighed. "Ampere, think you can fight it?"

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color="#800080"]"I didn't know that!"[/color] Emma said in a tone of astonishment, before shrinking back to the terrified little girl that she felt she was. Something told her that if that Wynaut were to evolve into Wobbuffet, she was going to have it in her nightmares.

Meanwhile back at Accumula Town, Victor face-palmed himself, realizing that if the attack at Nacrene City were to commence, the two girls would likely grow suspicious of him, and perhaps lose their trust for Team Anima. And if they did that, then the Lieutenants would never be able to obtain the artefacts, at least not without resorting to brute force, of which Victor was unsure of the other Lieutenants' ability to perform, but of which he was pretty damn sure wasn't gonna work either way. He had to change the location of the attack immediately.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Change of plans,"[/color] he told the thugs at Nacrene City, [color="#FF8C00"]"Your new target is Castelia City. Rob whatever or whoever you want, but for the love of God, REMEMBER not to strike until those kids get there!"[/color]

[color="#00FF00"]"Roger that, boss,"[/color] And with that, the phone hang up.

[color="#FF8C00"]"Now where in the hell is that Caldwell chick at?"[/color] Victor asked himself rhetorically.

[evilfusion]

Midna stared at Emma for several seconds. "You're really not going to do anything to help fight, are you?" she asked flatly, extending a hand. "That's fine, just give me a Pokeball and I'll try to catch it. I don't have one of my own, and it'll make the fight much more favorable if I can win it with a Pokeball."

That said, she honestly had no clue if her companion actually HAD a Pokeball. "Ampere, start with a Thunder Wave, please," she told the eel Pokemon, which obediently crackled with electricity before sending circular ripples of charged energy at the opposing Wynaut.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Unfortunately, Wynaut had managed to perform Safeguard before the Thunder Wave could connect, shrugging off the attack like it was nothing. Minda had no idea how powerful this particular Wynaut was.

[color="#800080"]"Alright, here's your Pokeball,"[/color] Emma handed out one of her Pokeballs, [color="#800080"]"But don't blame me if Ampere faints on you... Also you owe me one."[/color]

Meanwhile, the Galvantula that was following the two girls earlier had stuck around Accumula Town, making its way to Victor's location, where he was pacing up and down, still waiting for Felicia to arrive.

[Two-Hundred And One]

Zach headed up the road, where he found two girls fighting a wild... Wynaut?! [i]Wow! Those are... really rare...[/i] He ran up to the girls, taking note of their Pokemon - a Snover and some floating eel-thing. "Hey, can I catch that? Or... do you already want it?", he said, taking into note how rude it was to catch a Pokemon another trainer is battling. "I wonder why they're here, though... Aren't they from Hoenn?" He looked at the cute little blue blob. "I always thought they were neat, to be honest... How it learns to counter attacks instead of actually performing them..."

Ninjask sighed, and got off of Zach's comfy head, ready to fight... but was visibly creeped out by the Wynaut.

[evilfusion]

Midna frowned, noting the ineffectiveness of the Thunder Wave. Ampere looked slightly apologetic, glancing back at Midna for another instruction.

"Why would I blame you?" Midna wondered, taking the Pokeball. "It's almost a do-or-die situation since we can't just walk away." She considered the situation quickly, checking her Pokedex for a list of Ampere's techniques. As a Tynamo, it had only known a few, but maybe she had learned something since evolution that might turn this into a decent fight.

"Okay, try Binding it," Midna suggested. Ampere gave her a strange look, but floated over to the Wynaut, aiming to constrict it with its body.

Midna glanced over at the newcomer. "Well, considering it's sort of trapping us, yeah, I planned to catch it."

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Wynaut didn't like being squeezed. It summoned all its strength in performing a counter-attack, virtually throwing Ampere off of it. Emma could only count the number of turns that Safeguard was active. Maybe a well timed Grass Whistle would put it out of its commission for good. But the guarantee of this technique working, or rather lack of it, was a problem.

Nonetheless, a familiar person just happened to show up, asking if he could catch the Pokemon before he realized Minda was fighting it. In truth, Emma just wanted the thing to faint.

[Two-Hundred And One]

The girl with the flying eel - which, on second thought, looked a little familiar - already planned to catch the Wynaut. [i]Aw...[/i] "Well, I think it's already spotted me anyway..." He confirmed this by trying to take a step back, only to find an aura emitting from the blob's tail stopping him in his tracks. "Yep, Shadow Tag has activated. Weird how this power came to be though, when you think about it... a Pokemon that can't attack trapping its opponents and forcing them to fight. Wonder how that came to be..." Realizing he was going off track, he turned back to the girl with the eel. "I could distract the Wynaut for you, I guess. Ninjask, use... [size="1"]whatwasitcalledohright[/size] Double Team around the Wynaut!"

"Jask!", the bug Pokemon replied as it created copies of itself, positioning them around the Bright Pokemon.

[scooterulez]

Striaton City, the city of the first gym, was a bit bigger than Accumula and it had a Trainer School, even he knew that he was never going to step a foot in that kind of building ever again. Aaron, along with Munchlax and Puppy, walked up to the Gym, pulled the door handle, only to find that it was locked. [b]"Hey. Are you wanting to go battle the gym leader?"[/b] Aaron turned around to find some guy in very black glasses about 5 feet away talking to him. "Uhh, yeah. Where is he or she is?" [b]"Yeah [i]he's[/i] over at the Trainer School"[/b] "Are you serious?!" The man nodded his head. *groan* "That's just great. Come on guys, lets go to the stupid school." Aaron walked over to the school with a moody expression on his face. He stopped at the doors of the school, took a deep breath, and entered.

OoC: I'm not going to post any more til' someone gets to Striaton.