Pokemon: Mind and Soul [IC/PG-13/Not Accepting]

[Alaina]

 

The girl listened to what Genny had to say, her expression turning into one of surprise as she learned more about her friend. "A contest star? That sounds super awesome Genny!" Jacklyn didn't know much, but she knew that being a star meant you were both good and famous at the thing you were a star in. Which meant Genny was some kind of super awesome person when it came to contest! "To think, we've been traveling with a famous person this whole time!" Jacklyn said mostly to herself. Looking back to the girl with a smile on her face she said, "well, I bet you look super pretty in a dress, so I'd love to see it too!" 

[Yui]

---

"I'm merely in the process of getting information before I jump head first into it. Besides, our pokemon are like partners, and, I have a partner that's more than capable."

 

That a fact? I think trying to rely on just one Pokemon is a bit stupid. I'll have to remind him to try and catch something down the line.

 

"As such, I feel no urgency to get a new one. How about you Kanon, why are you so eager to catch a pokemon right now?"

 

"I want to be a breeder," Kanon answered, like it was the simplest question in the world. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't really like people. They're noisy, rude, and get in your way when you're trying to chase your dreams. I like Pokemon though. Breeding them was my father's idea; he said it could help me get closer to people through Pokemon. Or something. But if I want to breed them, I need to understand them first, which is where being a trainer comes in. I'm aiming for the top of one thing so I can be the best at another thing. It's complicated. Kind of like people. Which is why I don't like them."

 

It was an odd process toward becoming a breeder, to be sure. But it just felt like it was what would work best. Kanon didn't have long to linger on it before Nomi's voice entered her ears, with a smug "Eh? Eeeh?" Looked like she was ready to roast some marshmallows.

 

Kanon, for one, was going to pass. For now, anyway.

---

[Blake]

"Oh my... Is that an invitation~?" Genny teased Jacklyn after the compliment, a smile on her face, "But I am not so famous, ma cherie, merely... how you say... like a B-list celerbrity? One that would be known in Hoenn, but nowhere else?"

 

Putting a small spin in her step as she continued waking along the path, Genny began to hum once more, noting Ivan's victory up ahead. "Ah, it looks like monsieur Ivan is getting a bit of pep back in his step! That's good, I would not wish for him to remain so gloomy. I really should buy him something nice in the next town... Same for you if you would like, Jackie. I have more than enough money reserved for fashion!"

[Alaina]

 

Jacklyn seemed a bit confused at Genny's response, but seemed to brighten up a bit more saying, "well, if you're only famous in one place, then that means you just need to get famous elsewhere to get super famous, right? So all you need to do is get famous here!" Nodding to herself, as she had come to this clear conclusion she looked back as the girl mentioned that Ivan had claimed a victory of his own,causing the girl's expression to brighten. As Genny mentioned something about getting her new clothing, Jacklyn awkwardly waved her off saying, "nah, I'm fine on clothing for now." Flipping her hoodie's bunny eared hood to show it off, the girl then bounded towards her other comrade. 

 

"Iiiiiivan!" Running at him, jumping into the air, she went to go high five him with both hands shouting,"goooood job!" Regardless of if he accepted or not, she then landed on the ground. Stumbling a bit before standing straight up, having her hands out to the side to keep herself balanced, she then immediately clapped them together. "So, do you guys want to keep going? It's getting out dark out an all, so we could set up camp and rest. Ooooooor we could go night time exploring!" Leaning and inching towards the path, it was clear which one she preferred. 

 

 

Ivan listened to what Kanon had to say, noting her particular disdain of people that she wished to make apparent. Yet, though her personality was coarse, the girl herself seemed to have only good intentions in wanting to go on this journey of hers. "Well, that's a noble goal, Kanon, and I wish you luck in your many pokemon captures to follow." Though he said that, he knew that he was going to have to be alongside her for them, as they were part of a team. And, though he understood her views, she was still a rough person to begin with. Between her and - 

 

"Eh? Eeeh?"

 

Her. He was starting to wonder if he had drawn the proverbial short end of the stick, or if this was just a part of his mission as well. As Archie seemed to be overjoyed at the sight of the snack Naomi had produced, Oswald merely sighed saying, "yes, I'm coming, I'm coming." Oswald was did not know of what to make of the girl's proud face, unsure if he thought it was cute or off putting that she found such a thing worthy to be so prideful in. Regardless, he sat down next to her, taking a marshmallow out from her bag, and looked between it and the fire. Having lived in the city his whole life, he knew that marshmallow roasting was a thing people did by fires, but didn't actually know how to go about it. So, instead, he merely looked quizzically between the marshmallow and the fire, unsure of how to proceed. 

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"Iiiiiivan!" He heard a familiar and excitable voice shout from behind him as he recalled his Pancham into its Pokeball. Turning, he saw Jacklyn running right at him, both of her hands extended outwards. "goooood job!" Behind her was Genny who, while not running towards him, was smiling towards him. Both of them seemed excited for him, even though all he did was beat a Ratatta... it was weird. He didn't mind it. It actually felt good, being recognized for once. He felt a small blush form on his face, before fading as he shook his head. He snapped out of it when he realized that Jacklyn had no intention of stopping.
 
Thinking quickly, he put up two fists for a fist bump. He panicked for a second. "Crap! I just made it awkward!" He thought to himself. However, instead of thinking it was awkward, Jacklyn giggled as her hands tried their best to cover up Ivan's fists.
 
"Hah!" She shouted triumphantly, her grip tightening slightly. "Paper covers rock!" Ivan couldn't help but grin, before turning to Genny. He sure had crossed paths with an interesting duo. He let out a sigh, although it was clear that he was forcing it.

 

"Guess you got me, captain." He said, shrugging as the girl let go, jumping victoriously and almost falling over. As she regained her balance, Jacklyn pointed out that it was getting dark, and brought up two options. While she tried her best to lay the options for them, it was pretty obvious that she wanted to go out adventuring at night. Ivan turned up to the sky, noting that it was indeed getting dark. He thought about it for a second, although it didn't take too long for him to make his choice. "How about we set up camp for the night and do a bit of adventuring before resting." He spoke, turning to both Jacklyn and Genny. "That way we can squeeze in a bit of extra training while having a place to rest when we're done." Maybe he'd stick around with them for a bit longer.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kanon declined Naomi's gracious offer of soft white fluff treats. Naomi shrugged her shoulders at this. Whatever floats her camp fire...or something.

 

Oswald came over though and Naomi was looking forward to seeing how he cooked these treats. It occurred to her that she actually didn't really know what she was supposed to do with these things.

 

After several silent moments, where Naomi watched Oswald for any clues as to the process, Naomi came to the realization that he didn't really know what to do either.

 

Naomi glanced at the marshmallow in her hand and back at the fire. She leaned forward with the marshmallow in her hand, a determined look on her face, and was moments from putting the marshmallow, hand and all, into the flames.

 

Then Princess let out a grunt and shook her body, causing Naomi to pause. "Oh. You're right Princess. That'd be bad..." She pulled back, thoughts turning in her mind, before she came to a thought that might just work.

She got to her feet, with much struggle, and shuffled around the campsite. She found what she wanted and came back to sit by Princess again.

 

In her hand was a stick. She placed the marshmallow at the end of the stick and held it over the fire. She gave Oswald next to her a thumbs up, certain she was onto something.

[Yui]

---

Kanon watched in disbelief as Oswald looked at the marshmallow and the campfire, then Nomi almost burned her hand trying to stick the marshmallow into the fire with just her hand. Have they never been camping or something? Kanon was never a big fan of marshmallows - it was hard to eat just one, and eating too many gave her a stomachache - but these two were probably going to hurt themselves or even burn down the campsite if she left them to their own devices. Kanon was about to demonstrate to these buffoons how to roast a marshmallow, but Nomi seemed to be figuring it out.

 

Is this how it felt when cavemen first discovered fire? I feel like watching this would be the same as watching that. Comparisons of their intelligence (or lack thereof) aside, Kanon grabbed the nearest stick she could find on the ground, and made for the campfire.

 

"Yes, that's how you're supposed to roast a marshmallow," Kanon said. It was tough to tell by the tone of her voice if she was proud of Nomi for figuring it out herself, or disappointed in the girl for not knowing how to roast a marshmallow in the first place. "For best results, spin the stick slowly like this, or else one side will get burned to a crisp while the other is just lukewarm." Kanon reached into the bag, grabbing one marshmallow, before impaling the thing with the stick she'd found and holding it over the fire, spinning the stick slowly, as if she were roasting a pig instead of a marshmallow.

 

"I'm surprised neither of you knew how to do this. Have you never been camping before or something?"

[Blake]

"Ah... I am what you call a 'B-List' celebrity..." Genny gave a small laugh, with just the slightest hint of disomfort, "So I do not know IF I could make a name here... Especially since there are no contests here, it would seem. But you really should let me buy you some cl-"

 

She looked back to see her companion flip up a hood with bunny ears, barely managing to stifle a small giggle. Cute. Before she could compliment girl's hoodie, Jacklyn rushed past her with her hand in the air. He moved his fist up as Genny smiled and cocked a brow, watching the scene unfold before her, her smile widening a bit as Jacklyn managed to fix Ivan's mistake without even meaning to.

 

"Paper covers rock!"

 

 

"Guess you got me, captain."

 

Even Ivan seemed to be slowly warming up, between his small blushes and actions. He sighed, but Genny wasn't so sure it was genuine... The more she watched these two interact, the more she felt like maybe she had found a team worth journeying with. Jacklyn was a bit excitable, and Ivan reminded her of Team Rocket thugs... But maybe, just maybe, things would be good.

 

"Good job, Ivan!" Genny bowed gracefully, as if she was wearing a flowing dress, "You have taken your first step onto the stage! Just remember the phrase... qu'est-ce... Put one foot in front of the other?"

 

With the suggestion of setting up camp followng soon after, Genevieve nodded. She hadn't trained Etoile much, but she felt good... The empty route reminded her of when she first arrived to Hoenn. While she was no trainer, then or now, she still held fond memories for that first taste of true freedom...

 

Shaking herself from her thoughts as they settled on an area, she set down her bag, pulling a sizable rolled bag from the bottom of it. As she opened it and began working, it was clear that she was setting up a tent, humming softly to herself.

 

"Ah, Jackie! You can share my tent if you do not have one!" She glanced to Ivan, a slightly repentant expression on her face, "I am sure you understand, monsieur Ivan..."

[Alaina]

 

As Ivan gave his idea to the girl, she looked a bit pensive before brightening up and nodding. "Yeah, that's pretty smart Ivan. Alright gang, let's get camping!" With that, the girl brought out her backpack and all of the supplies with it. Detaching her sleeping bag from the pack, she then started to fish through the rest of her supplies for her recently purchased tent. As she was about to start setting it up, though, she saw that Genny was doing the same, and her face lit up as the girl offered to share tents with her. "Really? Sure, yeah! It'll be like a sleepover or something! And I'm pretty sure those are supposed to be super fun!" Walking over to help the girl she helped set up the tent, and despite having never left the big city in her life, seemed fairly well versed in how setting up a tent worked. As it was all done, the girl kept her sleeping bag outside the tent, looking into her bag for more things. Pulling out three snack bags of trial mix, the girl handed off one to each of her compatriots saying, "here. Since we're now on the trail, it's only fitting we have these now too right? Oh yeah, Ivan, if you need help, I can also set up your tent too." The girl nodded, seeming quite eager to do so, though it was a bit hard to tell if it was because she wanted to help or just show off that she could. 

 

 

As Oswald continued to stare at his sugary snack, and back to the fire, he eventually looked to see Naomi almost stick her hand into the fire. As he was about to shout at her to pull her hand away, the girl's own pokemon managed to stop her in time. Letting out a sigh, he then saw the girl pick up a stick, prodding the marshmallow with it. With a curious expression on his face, he watched as the girl gave him a thumbs up and went to see how she was about to proceed. He was startled as he heard Kanon speak from behind him, looking over to her. Clearing his throat, to answer he question, he said, "well, yes. Er, no, I have not. I grew up in a city, and have only ever cared to put efforts into more city like pursuits." He didn't quite want to tell everyone of his actual job, and simply left it at that for now. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kanon wanted to know if they never went camping before. Naomi rotated the stick slowly, like Kanon showed her, until the marshmallow looked to be the height of tasty. How she judged that was a mystery even to her. However when she took the marshmallow out she marveled at its golden brownness.

 

Only after this did she think to answer the girl. "Mmnope. Never really been outta m'house much fore now." She answered then popped the gooey deliciousness into her mouth.

Several more marshmallows would meet a similar fate that night.

---

The group traveled the entire next day, with Naomi sprawled out across Princess, and they managed to reach the next town without much of a problem.

 

The town they entered was small, with a knee-high fence surrounding it and marking the borders. The homes were small and simple, none more than a single floor, and many only one or two rooms large. There were only a couple buildings that were of any note for being different. The even smaller than normal shack near the northern border of the town that had a much large fence that separated its back yard from the rest of the town. A fence that was built in a way that made it impossible to see what was inside. And a larger building that was itself surrounded by a fence where many different Pokemon could be seen playing inside.

 

[spoiler=OOC]Not much I know. But moving NOK into the next town. Feel free to ask about stuff and look around.

Fernsworth
Description: A small town whose main claim to fame is the Professor’s Lab and its Daycare.

Major areas: Professor’s Lab. A shack-like house near the edges of town which has a large, fenced in, area behind it that is home to many different Pokemon species.
Daycare. Right in the center of the city, building itself is surrounded by a fence and it, like the Professor’s Lab, has many different Pokemon. However none of them are wild and all have collars with tags showing the trainer. Doubles as the Pokemon Center.
 

Encounters: N/A, catching Pokemon within the borders of the town is strictly forbidden.

 

[Yui]

---

"Well, yes. Er, no, I have not. I grew up in a city, and have only ever cared to put efforts into more city like pursuits."

 

"Mmnope. Never really been outta m'house much fore now."

 

"You should both spend more time outdoors. The fresh air's good for you and your Pokémon."

The next day was one filled with travel further down the route, until finally the group had made it to the next town. It was a homey little place, with a little fence and little houses. Was there even anything important here? As Kanon looked around - not a difficult task - only one place really stood out as worth visiting. There was a building, larger than the others (not exactly a high bar), with a fenced backyard full of pokemon playing and having fun. She definitely wasn't going to say it aloud, but she wanted to go there. It seemed to be a daycare or something.

 

"Well, we're here. Doesn't look like there's much here in the first place though." Kanon cast another glance in the daycare's general direction. "Maybe we should see if anyone over there can tell us more about this place."

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

The two seemed to agree with his plan, although there was slight reluctant with Jacklyn. Still, she seemed to have convinced herself as she rushed to get her supplies. "Well, better get started..." Ivan said, grabbing his own tent and getting ready to set it up. It was then that he realized - he had never set up a tent in his life, nor did he know how. Usually he spent his nights either in the run down houses in Po Town, or with a sleeping back under some shelter... never had he needed a tent. He got a bit nervous, turning to the others.

 

"Ah, Jackie! You can share my tent if you do not have one!" She glanced to Ivan, a slightly repentant expression on her face, "I am sure you understand, monsieur Ivan..." 

"Huh? O-oh yeah! No problems h-haha..." He responded, noting that she, and soon after Jacklyn, were already making good progress on their tent. "Crap!" He thought to himself, turning back to his miserable pile of cloth he called a tent. Almost as if she could read him mind, however, Jacklyn walked up to him with a bag of trail mix in her hand.

 

"here. Since we're now on the trail, it's only fitting we have these now too right? Oh yeah, Ivan, if you need help, I can also set up your tent too." He wasn't able to tell if she noticed he was having troubles or just wanted to show off her abilities to set up tents. Either way he was thankful.

 

"If you insist..." He said, grabbing the trail mix and trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He moved over a bit to give the girl some space to help him work with the tent, which currently only had a single peg attached to one of the corners.

 

 

[Alaina]

 

As Ivan gave her the go ahead, the girl seemed to pump herself up as she went over to set up the tent. While the boy had seemed to have some kind of a start on the tent, the girl took over from there. After staking the corners of the tent into the ground, the girl proceeded to use the tent poles to keep the tent up and in a process that seemed to take very little time at all, the girl had set the tent up. Gesturing to the completed tent, she looked at Ivan and said. "tada! It's all set up now!" With a proud expression on her face, she then said, "isn't it amazing?" continuing to gesture to the tent. After that was all said and done, the girl then said, "well, everything's all set done to sleep here, now all we need it a fire." Reaching into her magical bag of supplies, the girl pulled out a foldable metal stand, placing it on the ground in the center of their camp ground. Taking out a small log as well, she placed it on the table, before looking at it like she was trying to figure out how to do something with it. With a look of realization she nodded, sending out Rus, looking at her flaming bunny. "Rus, help me out here," she pointed to the log. Leaping up, the Lepash let out a few sparks onto the log,causing it to ignite. As it did, the girl said, "look! Now we also have a camp fire! Thanks Rus," with the Lepash looking proud, the girl went down to pet him. After doing that, she looked to the others saying, "so, you want to do anything else tonight guys?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

"Well, we're here. Doesn't look like there's much here in the first place though. Maybe we should see if anyone over there can tell us more about this place."

 

It looked like Kanon was indicated the large area in the center of town. Naomi couldn't help but be curious about it herself. There were so many Pokemon wandering around that surely it must be something important.

 

Plus she could get there without leaving Princess's back! The group made their way towards the center of town. Somehow, despite it only being a short distance, Naomi fell asleep twice on the way and Princess seemed to be struggling to balance the girl on her back.

 

As they reached the fence they'd be able to see that there was an open path that led to the main building, which had a sign saying "Pokemon healing for any trainer, free." on it. As they went across the path they would be able to see all sorts of Pokemon wandering around the fenced in area.

 

Naomi found herself staring at one such Pokemon, an orange critter with a large mouth. She seemed facinated by it and, as she leaned forward to get a better view, she fell off and over the fence. She landed on her stomach and, with a sigh, decided she might as well chill out here for now.

 

The Pokemon seemed to grow interested in the girl who had fallen into their area and some started towards her. A  tall, blonde, man, in his late twenties, wearing a pair of heavy leather gloves approached the girl. "Excuse me little miss but ya aren't supposed to be in here." He looked up at the group. "Hey there y'all, I'm Bobby. I run this here daycare with my brother. Is there something I can help you with?"

 

Naomi, from her position on the ground, raised a hand. "Kanon wants to know more about this place." She said, proud of herself for being so helpful.

 

"Oh does she? Well it's a nice town. Not much to know, though. Though we are home to the Pokemon Professor, Professor Cedar. Other than that it's what it looks like. Not too interesting for kids I'll bet. Most just pass on through." He eyed the group. "Y'all fixing to have us take care of one of yer Pokemon?"

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 

It was the start of a new day.  Oswald stretched his arms above his head as they entered the perimeter of the town.  It seemed like a sleepy little town...nothing to exciting going on here or there.  Definitely not a place where he would see those gang members from the last town over.  It was a nice dynamic this small little town had with the harbor one down the route.  He caught himself smiling a bit, as Archie started to wag his tail back and forth, the bead on the end shining in the light of the high sun.  One thing caught the two girl's attention, and Oz couldn't help but look in that general direction.  A fenced in square where pokemon ran around freely.  Naomi was the first one to walk over, promptly stumbling over the fence as Naomi often did.  This girl drove him wild.  If there were any cliffs around here...Arceus help them.  

 

"Kanon wants to know more about this place." 

 

Oswald snorted.

 

"As if you didn't wanna know too, Naomi."  

 

"Oh does she? Well it's a nice town. Not much to know, though. Though we are home to the Pokemon Professor, Professor Cedar. Other than that it's what it looks like. Not too interesting for kids I'll bet. Most just pass on through." He eyed the group. "Y'all fixing to have us take care of one of yer Pokemon?"

 

Oswald looked to Archie, who just swung side to side when a nice breeze caught his wool.  

 

"No, no.  I don't think any of us do.  But the Professor of this new land...we should definitely visit them while we're passing through."  Oswald hopped over the fence, and reached his hand out to Naomi for the umpteenth time since they'd met.  "Up."  He said, trying his best not to get too flustered this time.  He would seize this opportunity to say something, before Naomi could say something even cuter!  

[Yui]

---

"Hey there y'all, I'm Bobby. I run this here daycare with my brother. Is there something I can help you with?"

 

So it was a daycare, just like Kanon thought. And something like a pokemon center too, judging by the sign. Free healing for any trainer. Did they have one of those machines like the centers had? That sounded awful convenient for a daycare to have. In case a pokemon got hurt or something.

 

"Kanon wants to know more about this place."

 

"As if you didn't wanna know too, Naomi."

 

"Oh does she? Well it's a nice town. Not much to know, though. Though we are home to the Pokemon Professor, Professor Cedar. Other than that it's what it looks like. Not too interesting for kids I'll bet. Most just pass on through. Y'all fixing to have us take care of one of yer Pokemon?"

 

"We're just passing through," Kanon commented. "It's not all that interesting, like you said, not to mention we have an entire region to cover." She cast a quick glance at the lazy potato on the ground, and Oswald who was helping her up. "Sorry about her, by the way. She's... she's something, alright."

 

Kanon's mind couldn't help but think about how this was where the professor of this region lived. She remebered hearing about how professors were usually the types to just randomly give kids free pokemon then send them off on adventures. They sounded a bit creepy the more Kanon thought about it. If some old guy came up to her promising free pokemon and grand adventures, she'd probably be more likely to call the police than try taking the geezer up on his offer.

 

Because obviously, posters about a region she'd never even heard of were far more trustworthy.

 

Why did I choose this backwater region anyway, other than it being an all-expenses-paid trip? If I had the choice of any region, I'd rather stay in Hoenn. Or maybe visit Johto. I've heard it's nice there.

 

"What kind of person is the Professor?" she asked. It wasn't really something she thought about asking so much as just suddenly blurting it out. She immediately wished she hadn't asked.

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

"No, no.  I don't think any of us do.  But the Professor of this new land...we should definitely visit them while we're passing through."

Naomi flashed a smile at Oswald as he helped her up without any prompting. "Thankya. Makes it lot easier when I don't gotta say it." She said, nullifying what she said by speaking anyway. She leaned over the fence and, grabbing onto Princess's horn, had her Pokemon pull her over it and back onto the correct side of the fence.

 

"Sorry about her, by the way. She's... she's something, alright."

 

Naomi wasn't sure what Kanon had meant. Who was something, and what? Princess? Yeah, Princess WAS something wasn't she? Naomi patted the Rhyhorn happily. "Good girl." she told the large Pokemon.

 

"It's no problem." Bobby said. "Happens more than you'd think. Just means I gotta calm these critters down a bit."

 

"What kind of person is the Professor?"

 

"Eh? Professor Cedar? Well she's a mighty fine woman, yes, mighty fine indeed. Smartest gal around that's for certain! Though she hasn't really come out and about much these days." He shook her head. "Dreadful thing, that..." Looking over at the kids he laughed a bit. "Oh but don't you worry about that. Kids like you should focus on your adventure. Now iffin you be done here I'm gonna get back to work. If you need anything else my brother should be in there." He nodded at the building. "Nice to meet ya folks."

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"Thankya. Makes it lot easier when I don't gotta say it."

 

Oswald sighed at that relatively pathetic statement.  The girl was so lazy, she'd prefer not to even  talk.  When she got up, she hopped the fence with the assistance of Princess.  He did the same, minus tugging on Naomi's Pokemon's horn.  Instead, he tactfully hopped over with relative ease.  He straightened himself, and his uniform, and looked back towards the man.  He was beginning to speak again, at the behest of Kanon's question.

 

"Eh? Professor Cedar? Well she's a mighty fine woman, yes, mighty fine indeed. Smartest gal around that's for certain! Though she hasn't really come out and about much these days." The man shook his head  "Dreadful thing, that..."

 

He stopped mid sentence, and a foreboding part at that.  Oswald made a mental note...something ominous was afoot surrounding the professor.  

 

"Oh but don't you worry about that. Kids like you should focus on your adventure. Now iffin you be done here I'm gonna get back to work. If you need anything else my brother should be in there.  Nice to meet ya folks."

 

"Nice meeting you as well," Oswald said, extending his farewell,  "I'm sure we'll be in need of your services someday or another."  Then he stared at the other two.  "I'm not sure about you girls...but what he said back there, about Professor Cedar....I kinda wanna poke around that for a bit."  He was sounding too business-like, too stern.  He had to maintain his cover!  "Just because I'm a curious guy, you know!  If we can help her, we should!"  He gave off a cheesy smile, and waited for their response.  

[Blake]

Genny had accepted the bag of trail mix with a small nod, though Jackie quickly moved about to set up Ivan's tent, in the blink of an eye. The perfomer watched the other two as she unrolled her sleeping bag, top of the line for comfort, inadvertently flaunting her wealth. With a stretch, she sat the trail mix down, rubbing Etoile's head as Rus and Jackie lit a fire, yawning softly.
 
"look! Now we also have a camp fire! Thanks Rus," Jackie announced, beaming as she per her Pokemon, "so, you want to do anything else tonight guys?"

"Non, I think mon papillon and myself will turn in for the night... After all, early to bed, early to rise! Campfires always make me sleepy, too... Bonne nuit, Jackie, Ivan."

Sealing the tent with one last smile, Genny got comfortable and slid into the sleeping bag, holding her baby pokemon tight as she began to drift off, the excitement of the day catching up with her. As sleep swallowed her, she wondered if she had made any slip-ups, but those were lost as her gentle snores escaped the tent. If the other two took notice of her small slip-up before she fell asleep, she would be none the wiser.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

And somehow, like magic, the tent was up in no time. Ivan gave the girl an applause, before standing up. As he did he noticed Genny, who had already set up to rest for the night. Ivan simply stretched, before tossing his sleeping bag lazily inside the tent. He wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet. As he did, he watched Jacklyn set up a campfire with the help of her Pokemon. "so, you want to do anything else tonight guys?" Something told him that Jacklyn was more than eager to do some exploring. 

 

"Non, I think mon papillon and myself will turn in for the night... After all, early to bed, early to rise! Campfires always make me sleepy, too... Bonne nuit, Jackie, Ivan." He wasn't quite sure what to make of the girl and her rather odd way of speaking. He was almost sure that it had to be an act - no one talks like that, right? Then again, she was a foreigner...

 

It didn't matter, right now he had an excitable girl to respond too. "I was probably gonna go looking for a bit of trouble in the grass, train up the little guy a bit before hitting the hay. Wanna join?" As he spoke, he tossed out his Pokeball, releasing the little panda. While the effects of the previous battle showed, it was clear that the panda was ready for more as it eagerly looked at Ivan for further instructions.

[Yui]

---

"Eh? Professor Cedar? Well she's a mighty fine woman, yes, mighty fine indeed. Smartest gal around that's for certain! Though she hasn't really come out and about much these days Dreadful thing, that."

 

That what?

 

"Oh but don't you worry about that. Kids like you should focus on your adventure. Now iffin you be done here I'm gonna get back to work. If you need anything else my brother should be in there. Nice to meet ya folks."

 

That what? The question of what must have happened to the professor wouldn't stop clawing at the back of Kanon's mind, as if it wanted to rip the ponytail right off her scalp. She wanted to investigate. Maybe help solve the problem if she could. Not for the gratitude, and definitely not to be rewarded. It just felt like it was probably the right thing to do. Kanon wouldn't be able to let it go if she heard that something really bad had happened to someone and then just shrugged it aside. Even if she didn't do anything about the problem, Kanon needed to know just what it was.

 

"I'm not sure about you girls...but what he said back there, about Professor Cedar....I kinda wanna poke around that for a bit. Just because I'm a curious guy, you know!  If we can help her, we should!"

 

"What happened to the professor isn't really any of our business," Kanon shrugged. "But I agree. The world always needs people who help people, so while we're in this backwater region, we may as well do something good for the people here."

After a small amount of asking for directions, then the short walk there, the team found themselves at the door of what was apparently Professor Cedar's house. Although, calling it a "house" felt generous to Kanon. It wasn't anything more than a little shack. The place didn't even have any windows. Kanon had checked. More than once. This professor must have been one of those types that locked themselves up in dark rooms all day, alone. Kanon understood wanting to be away from people, but if it had to be in this shack, she'd rather just suffer some social interactions.

 

It was here that her investigation would begin. Kanon walked up to the door, and knocked as hard as she thought would be safe without somehow damaging the place. "Professor Cedar. Open up."

---

[Alaina]

 

Jacklyn was a bit disappointed as Genny said that she was going to go and rest for the night. The night was still young after all, and there was any number of things that they could be doing in that time. Which is all the more why she lit up when Ivan ask her to join in his training session. The girl jumped with joy as she said, "I'd love to! Wooo!" Pumping her fists into the air, she looked back and said, "well, if you'd like to sit back, night Genny! Ivan and I gonna have lots of fun now." Beyond the girl's general pep, there seemed to be genuine happiness behind her as she said, "let's gooooo!" 

 

Walking through the wild, she said, "well, Rus has already done his part for the day, so my poor little fire bunny needs some rest. But here, say hello to the newest edition to the crew. Come on out, Cherry!" As the Buneary came out, it looked a bit wounded from its fight with Rus earlier but was otherwise more confused then anything else. This was only accentuated as the girl grabbed the bunny and presented it to Ivan saying, "look, isn't she just the most adorable little pokemon you've ever seen? Yes you are, yes you are,'"the girl started cuddling against the Buneary, before the pokemon had punched the girl in the face with its ears. As she let go of her new teammates, rubbing her face, she said, "alright Cherry, let's go! We're gonna get to training!" 

 

While the Buneary was confused by this, the group had eventually stumbled upon a starly. Looking back to her adventuring companion, the girl said, "don't worry Ivan, leaves this to me! Cherry!" The buneary looked confused at the girl. "Lets' go battle!" 

 

"Bu?" The buneary tilted its head. 

 

"You know, battle. Like a good old," the girl jabbed a few times in the air, saying, "woosh, woosh, pow. Like that. Whatever. Just go and do one of your attacky things!" The buneary became more alert, and while confused, seemed to have a general idea of what was going on. While Cherry was a bit confused by this command, the Starly went to go and attack the Buneary, flapping its wings and taking off into the air. Charging at Cherry, the Starly tackled into her, causing the Buneary to recoil backward. Knowing that Cherry was a bunny and Rus was a bunny, the girl figured that there was probably some overlap in the moves that they knew. So, shouting out, "Cherry, use pound!" the Buneary respond by leaping up and slamming their shoulder into the bird. 

 

Flapping backward, the Starly tried to stabilize itself before Jacklyn shouted out, "come on Cherry, keep up the good work!" Cherry nodded, oddly fired up and getting into the fight. The Starly, however, merely let out a strange noise that resembled a growl, causing Cherry to twinge a bit, but not stop its charge as it followed up with another pound, slamming its body into the Starly. While the attack was weaker than the first one, the Starly still looked worse for wear. "Once more with feeling Cherry!" As the Starly seemed to be struggling to keep itself airborne, Cherry merely jumped up, kicking with its small feet into the Starly delivering one final blow. 

 

As the Starly landed on the ground, unconcious, the Buneary seemed to be a bit weary, but looked towards Jacklyn. With an extreme look of pride on her face, the girl ran over, grabbing her Buneary and tossing it into the air. "Wooooo! Way to go Cherry!" Catching the Buneary as it fell, she hugged it tightly, the Buneary seeming to be fine with this before looking to Ivan. "See, isn't she the best?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

Naomi was waving at the orange Pokemon when Princess brought her attention back to her companions. It seemed they had been making some kind of decision as to what to do next. Naomi wasn't sure what they decided but she was fine with whatever so, after looking at the two, she nodded. "Let's do whatever you said."
 
With that laissez-faire response the girl, atop of Princess once again, followed the two of them out of the daycare and towards what seemed to be a small shack near the outskirts of the city. "It's like a witch's hut." Naomi said to no one in particular. It reminded her of a witch in one of the stories she read. Who tricked the brave knight into staying the night where she tried to absorb his life for her witchcraft.
 
However the person who opened the door upon Kanon's knock didn't resemble the witch in that story. She was a tired looking woman in her early 40s. She blinked behind her glasses at the trio. Her eyes were squinted as though the sunlight was too bright for her.
 
It was possible that it was. Given that the shack had no windows and, as they could see behind the woman, the single light bulb on the ceiling didn't give much light.
If the group were to glance behind the woman they'd see a ten by ten room with not much more than a hard looking, twin-sized, bed, a desk with a PC, and some sort of device attached to the side of it, some appliances to store and cook food, and a closet in the corner.
 
The woman adjusted her glasses and spoke to the three. Her voice was low, scratchy, as though it hadn't gotten much use, and she spoke her words slowly. "I am Professor Cedar, yes. What have you come here for?"

[Mr. Hyde]

 

After they all agreed upon the idea, they set off for the Professor's house.  It wasn't much of a walk, but as soon as they arrived at their destination, the total tone of the little town had shifted into something almost eerie.  This small house, or rather a cottage, wasn't very aesthetically pleasing.  It was an obvious hideout for someone more along the lines of a hermit, and not a renowned professor.  

 

"It's like a witch's hut."

 

"Watch what you say, Naomi!  This is a distinguished professor!  Not some sort of broom-stick riding hag!"  Oswald had somewhat of a reputation to uphold...getting in a good impression with the region's professor would surely get his foot in the door somewhere.  However, as soon as the door opened, his total perception of the situation changed.  This woman looked completely and utterly depressed, almost zombie-like for that matter.  Being the nosy one that he was, Oswald focused his vision past the woman and into the house.  The inside of the house wasn't much to look at either, but the stacks of books around the place must have been her research!  That was a good sign, right?  Then, his eyes lead him towards the bed.  Twin size...single perhaps?  The throaty sound of her voice then brought his attention back to the woman in front of him.

 

"I am Professor Cedar, yes. What have you come here for?"

 

Oswald became a tad flustered.  He really hadn't imagined what he would say once he got here.  But hey, he was pretty good at improv!

 

"Oh!  Nice to meet you Professor!  I'm Oswald!  And these are my,"  He choked on the word as he tried to cough it out, "Friends!  Naomi and Kanon!  We're just new adventurers here in Korova, and we'd figured we'd stop by and pay our respects to the region's leading professor!"  He chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek, but suddenly his demeanor became serious.  "We were wondering if there was anything we could do to help around.  If there's anything amiss, or strange going on...we wanna know about it."  He looked back to the girls and nodded at them, a confident look on his face.  "Right?!"  

 

Archie baa'd in agreement.   

[👀 REP 👀]

---

And somehow, like magic, the tent was up in no time. Ivan gave the girl an applause, before standing up. As he did he noticed Genny, who had already set up to rest for the night. Ivan simply stretched, before tossing his sleeping bag lazily inside the tent. He wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet. As he did, he watched Jacklyn set up a campfire with the help of her Pokemon. "so, you want to do anything else tonight guys?" Something told him that Jacklyn was more than eager to do some exploring. 
 
Just as he had expected, Jacklyn's eyes lit up at the proposal, excitingly accepting Ivan's offer. Po happily jumped around with the girl, causing Ivan to smirk. "Well, let's go then!" He clasps his hands, not wasting his time to say goodbye to their sleeping companion before embarking on their small night-time adventure.
 
As the duo went on forward in their adventure, they encountered a Starly in the wild. Ivan was about to tell Po to tackle it, but Jacklyn beat him to the punch. This was her battle. As he watched the Pokemon fight, Ivan considered sending Po in to sneak in some training in for him. However, he decided against it as he kept on watching, his eyes locked onto the Starly. "Maybe I should pick up one of those..." Ivan thought out loud, watching the bird dance around the rabbit. Not entirely successful, mind you, as it eventually got defeated by the Buneary. 
 
"Not bad." Ivan chuckled. As he did, a pair of glowing eyes emerged from the bushes. This one was his. "Now it's my turn!" He pointed to the bush as the Patrat that was in it popped up, eyes glowing in the darkness. "Po, tackle it!" Without missing a beat, the Pancham charged towards the Patrat, causing it to panic a bit.
 
The Patrat took the blunt of the hit, recoiling backwards from the strike. Instead of counter striking, however, its eyes seemed to glow as its eye lids shifted into a rather nasty looking Leer. Po was unnerved by the glare, however Ivan was not. "Don't just stand there! Tackle again!" He barked. Po shook its head, before charging forward again. 

This time the Patrat was able to react, however the panda was too close to dodge. Instead, the rat brought its arms up to brace for impact, causing it to slide backwards. While it looked worn out, it wasn't out for the count. This time, instead of just glaring at the panda, it charged forward to land its own Tackle.
 
Po was unprepared for the attack, send backwards a bit from the strike. Po's breathing was heavy, as it looked like it was about to pass out at any moment. However, it stood strong. "Finish it!" Ivan commanded as Po nodded, stumbling forward before tossing its weight at the Patrat.
 
This last hit proved too much for the Patrat as it collapsed onto the ground. The Pancham seemed pleased with itself, however it wasn't far from joining the Patrat. Seeing this, Ivan returned the panda back to its Pokeball, a grin on his face. "Good job buddy." He said quietly, before turning to Jacklyn. "Well that's about as much as my little buddy can handle. Dunno what you want to do, but we should probably get back to camp soon."