[PW!] Route 202 - Welcome to Trainer Territory

External Since: Aug 14, 2007 Posts: 164

"Route 202 - Welcome to Trainer Territory"
Steffan Alun & Chet Weaver

It was a fresh new day, and Karl was ready to move on. Keiko, keen to find
somewhere with a bit more to do than Sandgem Town, followed in his
footsteps.

"I don't feel comfortable leading," said Karl awkwardly, one of the world's
natural followers.

"You know the way better than I do!" insisted Keiko. "Come on, let's
hurry - I wonder if there's a contest house in the next town."

"I don't know this place at all ..." started Karl, but it was no good.
"Alright, alright, but let me know if you see a Shinx."

"What's a Shinx?" asked Keiko.

"Looks like a blue cat, apparently," said Karl. "According to the nurse,
they're meant to be fairly common in this area."

"Oh, talking to the nurse behind my back, were you?" asked Keiko jokingly.

"No!" squealed Karl, Keiko's sense of humour going right over his head. "I
mean, you said I could have personal space ... and ... and ..."

"Relax! giggled Keiko. "I'm joking."

They marched through the long grass of Route 202. There were fences ahead,
but they were too high to climb from this side. They'd have to brave long
grass all the way.

Karl kept one hand on Pride's PokéBall, prepared to fight if a wild Pokémon
turned up. Suddenly, however, he spotted something far worse than a wild
Pokémon.

"Oh, no," he moaned.

"What's wrong?" asked Keiko.

"Up ahead," said Karl. "A bunch of yongsters. I think I bumped into them
the other day ..."

"You think you did?" asked Keiko.

"They all look alike," said Karl. "Suppose we'd better try to avoid them."

But it was too late. Already, one of the youngsters was marching up to
them.

"If you make eye contact with a trainer, you've got to fight!" he said.

"Why?" asked Karl, alarmed. "Why can't we just go on our way?"

"You made eye contact," said the youngster. "You're asking for it!"

"Hang on," said Keiko. "We were looking to your right. We didn't make eye
contact!"

"You have now!" insisted the youngster. "I'm going to beat you with the
Pokémon I just caught."

"But ..." started Karl, but then he stopped. If the youngster had just
caught this Pokémon, how bad could it be? "What happens if we win?"

The youngster laughed.

"Alright," said Karl. "What happens if YOU win?"

"When I win, I get some of your money," said the youngster.

"So we get some of yours if WE win," said Keiko. "Yeah, I know how it
works."

Karl nudged Keiko, and they turned their backs to the youngster.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of stealing money from a little kid," said
Karl.

"He'll earn it back soon enough," said Keiko. "Pokémon training pays well."

"You're sure?"

"Certain."

"Alright, then," said Karl. He took a deep breath.

"So," said Keiko. "Will you fight him, or shall I?"

Karl's expression of horror made his feelings on the matter quite clear.

--
Steffan Alun
Pearl Friend Code: 1117 7548 4978
Seen: 119 Caught: 108
Current Project: Evolving Croagunk

External Since: Jun 01, 2007 Posts: 80

On Aug 16, 3:20 pm, "Steffan Alun" <iceduckathotmaildotcom> wrote:
> "Route 202 - Welcome to Trainer Territory"
> Steffan Alun & Chet Weaver
>
> It was a fresh new day, and Karl was ready to move on. Keiko, keen to find
> somewhere with a bit more to do than Sandgem Town, followed in his
> footsteps.
>
> "I don't feel comfortable leading," said Karl awkwardly, one of the world's
> natural followers.
>
> "You know the way better than I do!" insisted Keiko. "Come on, let's
> hurry - I wonder if there's a contest house in the next town."
>
> "I don't know this place at all ..." started Karl, but it was no good.
> "Alright, alright, but let me know if you see a Shinx."
>
> "What's a Shinx?" asked Keiko.
>
> "Looks like a blue cat, apparently," said Karl. "According to the nurse,
> they're meant to be fairly common in this area."
>
> "Oh, talking to the nurse behind my back, were you?" asked Keiko jokingly.
>
> "No!" squealed Karl, Keiko's sense of humour going right over his head. "I
> mean, you said I could have personal space ... and ... and ..."
>
> "Relax! giggled Keiko. "I'm joking."
>
> They marched through the long grass of Route 202. There were fences ahead,
> but they were too high to climb from this side. They'd have to brave long
> grass all the way.
>
> Karl kept one hand on Pride's PokéBall, prepared to fight if a wild Pokémon
> turned up. Suddenly, however, he spotted something far worse than a wild
> Pokémon.
>
> "Oh, no," he moaned.
>
> "What's wrong?" asked Keiko.
>
> "Up ahead," said Karl. "A bunch of yongsters. I think I bumped into them
> the other day ..."
>
> "You think you did?" asked Keiko.
>
> "They all look alike," said Karl. "Suppose we'd better try to avoid them.."
>
> But it was too late. Already, one of the youngsters was marching up to
> them.
>
> "If you make eye contact with a trainer, you've got to fight!" he said.
>
> "Why?" asked Karl, alarmed. "Why can't we just go on our way?"
>
> "You made eye contact," said the youngster. "You're asking for it!"
>
> "Hang on," said Keiko. "We were looking to your right. We didn't make eye
> contact!"
>
> "You have now!" insisted the youngster. "I'm going to beat you with the
> Pokémon I just caught."
>
> "But ..." started Karl, but then he stopped. If the youngster had just
> caught this Pokémon, how bad could it be? "What happens if we win?"
>
> The youngster laughed.
>
> "Alright," said Karl. "What happens if YOU win?"
>
> "When I win, I get some of your money," said the youngster.
>
> "So we get some of yours if WE win," said Keiko. "Yeah, I know how it
> works."
>
> Karl nudged Keiko, and they turned their backs to the youngster.
>
> "I'm not sure I like the idea of stealing money from a little kid," said
> Karl.
>
> "He'll earn it back soon enough," said Keiko. "Pokémon training pays well."
>
> "You're sure?"
>
> "Certain."
>
> "Alright, then," said Karl. He took a deep breath.
>
> "So," said Keiko. "Will you fight him, or shall I?"
>
> Karl's expression of horror made his feelings on the matter quite clear.
>
"Right then," Keiko said. "You can have the next one. Skyler, you
ready?"

"Swablu!" confirmed her cotton-puff hat as he hopped off her head and
onto the ground. He freaked out as soon as his feet touched the dirt
and he hopped into the air. He hovered in the air, flapping his
cottony wings madly as he tried to wipe the dirt from his feet.

"Ha, this should be easy!" the youngster declared. "Go, Shinx!"

The youngster tossed out a PokeBall. In a flash of light, a blue and
black cat appeared before Skyler. It set eyes on the Swablu and
raised its hackles.

"Shiiinnnnx!" the cat growled.

"It's so cute!" Keiko cheered. "Especially the little bindings on its
feet! Hey, mind if my friend scans your Pokemon?"

"Huh?" the youngster replied, caught off guard. "Sure, I guess."

Keiko gestured to Karl, who took out his PokeDex. He let the entry
play as he made notes.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokemon," the PokeDex droned. "Its forelegs have a
muscle-based system of generating electricity. Its body shines if
endangered. All of its fur dazzles if danger is sensed. It flees
while the foe is momentarily blinded."

"Did you get it?" Keiko asked.

"Uh, yeah," Karl replied. "But I think we still need to find a
female."

"Okay, I'll make this quick," Keiko turned back to the battle.
"Skyler, use Aerial Ace!"

"Swablu!" Skyler chirped as he soared into the air. He soon came back
down in a near suicidal dive.

"You shoulda switched out while you had the chance!" the youngster
taunted. "Shinx, use Spark!"

"Shinx!" Shinx noted as it began to charge its fur with electricity.
As soon as Skyler swerved towards it, flying parallel to the ground,
the Shinx charged towards him at full speed.

"And Electric attack?" Keiko remarked. Then she realized how dumb
that probably sounded after hearing the PokeDex's report. She knew
she had to come up with a way to keep Skyler from being hit by it, but
any change in velocity at this point could turn up badly. She was
going to have to try a combination. "Skyler, use Secret Power!"

Skyler's eyes soon glowed white. Without warning, a cloud of
yellowish dust burst out from the grass around the Shinx. The Shinx
sneezed and came to a stop as the Stun Spores tickled its nose. Less
than a second later, Skyler rushed in and veered upwards, knocking the
Shinx off its feet. The Shinx struggled to stand, but gave up and
collapsed.

"Guess I don't know my own strength," Keiko chuckled nervously. "Uh,
you wanna go again?"

The youngster recalled his Shinx. He looked at his PokeBall, then
back at Keiko. "Nah, I'm good." He started inching away. "Uh... See
ya!"

"Hey, wait!" Keiko exclaimed. "We had a bet!"

"We did?" the youngster remarked. "Oh, oh, yeah." He reached into
his pocket for some P-Bills and handed them to Keiko quickly.
"There. I... uh... gotta go now. Bye!"

"When we find a female Shinx, I'm going to catch it," Keiko said to
Karl. "I love those things already!"

"You just took that one down in one hit!" Karl balked. "With a Flying-
type!"

"I know, I expected it to be a lot stronger, too," Keiko replied as
Skyler resumed his perch on her head. "I didn't realize how much
stronger my Pokemon got adventuring in Hoenn. Maybe I should've tried
the gym thing again." She pondered this for a second, then shrugged
and began tromping through the grass. "Hey, let's find that lady-
Shinx! One's gotta be around here somewhere, right?"

-- Chet Weaver