Gotta catch 'em all?! (July 2009)

[narakunohana]

Quest Name:

Gotta catch 'em all!?

Format:

Singular

Reward:

+3 exp

Scenario:

Here's the deal. Let's get out of the box here and try something new: what if your character lived in the world of pokemon?

Yes, Pokemon.

Would your tough-guy be the next Nurse Joy?

Would your shy-type character end up as the next Team Rocket blunderer mastermind?

... or if all else fails, would your character even want to become an actual Pokemon? (Ok, seriously - WTF?).

All happens inside a happy, alternate universe inside your head while napping. Your character doesn't know that what he/she was dreaming, actually is happening on some other plane of existence! Urgh, all the science is making my brain hurt!

Requirements:

• All entries must be in by the end of July.
  
• Your character is to live and thrive in the world of Pokemon as any sort of trainer (Battling Trainer, Breeder, Gym Leader, etc.) or even a pokemon themselves.
  
• You are to roleplay what occurs in a typical day of your character inside the pokeworld.
  
• Should you be interested in interacting in collaboration with another character for a poke-parody, it is welcome on the Parody Threads board. However, it cannot be exchanged for exp.
  
• Entries must be at least 350 words.
  

[Ryuu]

Ryuu was kneeling down on the raised platform located inside the room he was in, the door leading into the Hall of Champion's, firmly shut behind him. His hands rested on his thighs, his eyes closed, as he focused intently. He heard footsteps come up to the door, followed by the door flying open, but his eyes were still closed. As the door creaked close, the footsteps climbed up the steps of the platform and stopped right in front of him, but still his eyes remained closed. A few minutes of silence passed, before his eyes flew open, though the challenger stood unwavering and unflinching. Ryuu stood up, and stared down at the challenger before him, as he casually tossed one of his Pokeballs up and down in his hand. "... Impressive. You managed to defeat the Elite Four that stood before me. I am Ryuu, the Pokemon Champion, and a master of Dragon-type Pokemon. I have trained every day with my Pokemon, slowly building our strength up, and at the same time, strengthening the bond we possess with each other. Are you ready? This ends here! Prepare yourself Hiro!" Ryuu exclaimed, as he tossed the Pokeball in his hand up one last time, before catching it and throwing it out into the water that made up the outer edge of the room, as his Pokemon burst from the Pokeball, landing in the water, the Pokeball returning to Ryuu's hand, as he caught it.

Hiro tossed out his first Pokemon, which also landed in the water, as Ryuu smirked slightly. It seems the first fight was going to be a water challenge. "Kingdra! Twister!" Ryuu commanded, as his Kingdra heard his command, and attacked. Hiro retaliated with his Gyarados using DragonBreath, but Kingdra easily dodged the attack. Ryuu then commanded Kingdra to use DragonBreath back, which connected with Gyarados, but it still had enough strength to launch Hyper Beam, which connected with Kingdra. The attack had enough power to knock Kingdra out, who floated on surface of the water, down for the count. "... Kingdra. Return." Ryuu called out, as Kingdra returned to its Pokeball. Ryuu then tossed out his second Pokemon, Garchomp. Hiro commanded Gyarados to use Hydro Pump, but Garchomp dodged it, as Ryuu commanded it to use Dragon Rush. The attack connected head on, and because Gyarados was hurt from the previous battle, fainted right away. Hiro recalled Gyarados, and tossed out his next Pokemon, Hitmonchan, but Garchomp was just too powerful, and one by one, Hiro's Pokemon got knocked out, until he was left with only one Pokemon left.

He tossed out his last Pokemon, a Blastoise. Ryuu's eyes narrowed in concentration, as he commanded Garchomp to use Dragon Rush. Hiro retaliated with Hydro Pump, which hit Garchomp head on, but did not stop it in its tracks. The next attack however, did. "Blastoise! Ice Beam!" What...!? As Garchomp charged straight for Blastoise, it launched Ice Beam, which hit Garchomp straight on, effectively knocking it out. Ryuu recalled Garchomp, and tossed his next Pokemon out, but just as he had done to Hiro before, one by one, Ryuu's Pokemon fell before Blastoise, until Ryuu was left with his last Pokemon, Dragonite, who was already hurt, but refused to give up. His Dragonite breathing heavily, Ryuu wasn't ready to give up either. "Blastoise! Ice Beam!" Hiro shouted, as Blastoise launched its attack. Dragonite dodged, but the beam managed to hit it in the side, as it faltered, and landed on the ground, one eye closed in pain. "Blastoise, Ice Be--" "Dragonite! Thunder!" Ryuu shouted out, cutting him off, as Dragonite launched its attack, which came crashing straight down onto Blastoise. "BLASTOISE!" Hiro cried out, as his Blastoise fell down on one knee, looking ready to faint just like Ryuu's Dragonite.

"Dragonite! Thun--" "Blastoise! Blizzard!" What...!? Blastoise, although it was exhausted, did as Hiro commanded, and launched its attack, as Dragonite was swept up in the blizzard. Once it subsided, Ryuu saw his Dragonite was knocked out. "Well done. It seems the bond you possess with your Pokemon is true." Ryuu commented, as he held his Pokeball out. "Dragonite... Return." Ryuu said, as Dragonite returned to its Pokeball. "You fought well my friend. Have a good rest." Ryuu then looked at Hiro, as he returned his Pokeball to his belt. "I underestimated you. You are truly a powerful opponent, and worthy of the title of Pokemon Champion. Go on into the Hall of Champions, and be proud to be inducted into its history." Ryuu congratulated Hiro, as he opened the door behind him, and stepped aside, to let Hiro through, who disappeared through the door. Continually strengthen your bond with your Pokemon... And no one will be able to break it...

[Tash]

"Hey, yeah. Miss you too, fratello. You take it easy, 'kay? Mhm. Ciao ciao."

Tash said with a smile as she took a drag from her joint. It had been a while since she'd spoken with her brother, she mused as she'd hung up the phone. They'd ended up talking about old times. Kid stuff. Tony was the same loveable punk as ever. Impulsive, quick witted, loyal to a fault. He was workning as a roadie over the summer; hauling ass cross country with Jah Works. His days sounded like a whirl of girls, ganja, and guitars. She missed her brother, even if she'd only told him she did once. She didn't need to. He just knew. Twins. That shit and all. He just knew.

She looked at the clock on her massive iPod dock. 3:04pm. She had a dinner date with her parents tonight, but not until eight. She didn't hplan on thelling them that she'd skipped school today. Swimming was basically PE, right? Reading (A Clockwork Orange) was Literature. Weed was........study hal? There. A fulland productive day. The school kept sending her parents report cards with her 3.4 gpa stamped on them so they weren't asking any questions. Which was how she liked it. She was an expert slacker: it was a high art, really. You had to know when it was worth putting in the effort and when you could afford to, well, slack.

3:05pm. Look at that. Time was just flying. Absolutely flying. Tim for one more productive activity before driving out to meet at the restaurant. Time for......a nap. She took one final and glorious breath of smoke, swallowed, and stubbed out the little spliff on the bottom of her shoe. Down the garbage disposal you go little man. Set yourself an alarm. And now...the couch. Why do I even have a bed...zzzzzz.....

She awoke with a start. It was dark. She couldn't see a thing, but she felt weird as hell. All off and jenky. She reached out tentatively, her balance off and felt curving walls on all sides. Was she in some sort of ball?! What the shit was this? Tash shook her head and twitched her...whiskers?! Woah! woahwoahwoah. Wait. Tash growled and swung her head around, trying to see through the gloom. It was a no go. Well she was definitely a quadruped. Fur, flexibility, paws, claws, teeth, tail. God, what was this?!

Suddenly her prison walls split at the seams and light flooded in to blind her. Her ~Aaghh!~ of pain as her eyes were pounded like light sounded like a cougar's angry wail. She bounded out of the hateful little chamber, fur standing on end and teeth bared to find herself face to face with......her brother?! At the age of eight?!

"I've caught you Persian! You are mine to train now!"

~Oh, fuck me sideways. I'm a kitty Pokemon.~
Her mind raced. She hardly remembered a thing about Pokemon. All that came to mind were jumbled snippets she'd overheard her brother and his friends raving about years ago. Wasn't fighting really important in this damn game? That thought made her panic a little. Tony had loved Pokemon as a kid. But she had always been completely lost when it came to actually playing the game. She was more interested by the pretty pictures on the cards...

Some other kid appeared seemingly out of nowhere and released a creature that looked like an obese turtle with a garlic clove on its ass. Hell no way was she fighting that thing!!!! It would sit on her and that would be the end of it. She wanted to scream but the best she could manage was a ferocious sounding yowl that only seemed to encourage her brother and her opponent. Great. Just peachy. Fan-fuckin'-tastic.
~I will die.~ She thought. ~I will die in an alternate universe. Crushed. By the Tank the Turtle from Hell.~

"Persian! Raindance!"

Tony commanded her as the T from H charged her like a runaway freight train. She stared at Tony in utter confusion.
~Dear god. Gesu. Why me? Couldn't you pick a girl who knew something? Anything?! About Pokemon? Merdemerdemerdemerde!~
She leaped straight up into the air as Satan's Tortoise motored close. Wtf?! Was that even a move?! What the hell was she doing.

~Reeeaaaahhrrr!~
Okay. Fucking language barrier.
Something snapped in her desperation and all of a sudden it was pouring rain. Tank slipped.

~Ooh did I do that?~
Apparently she had. She spent a little too much time gloating though because the words "skull" and "bash" registered as the scaley fatass plowed into her. Oof. She saw stars. Ooh that would bruise. She was dizzy.

"Persian! Thunder!"

This time she let go and didn't think. That seemed to be what worked.

BOOM

Garlic Ass went flying and she was blinded again by light. What had she done wrong this time? The last thing she rememberd thinking as she felt herself rocketing through the air?
~Why Pokemon? I was always more of a GI Joe type of girl....~

Eeep eepeep! Eeep eepeep!

"Hmm?! Wha-?! Huh?! Merde! Palle!" She sat bolt upright on the couch, flipping herself on all fours. Ridiculous knee jerk reaction. That was when it dawned on her that she'd lost both fur and whiskers.
un sogni Thanks sweet baby Jesus. Just a dream.
She silenced the alarm and dragged herself off the couch to change her shirt and shoes. As she headed out the door she fired off a text to her brother.


::Remind me to remind you. Never reminisce about your childhood glory days to me while i'm faded. Ever. Ktxbai. <3::

[Hiyami]

Hiyami sighed as she finally saw to the last of her patients. She eased into her surprisingly comfortable seat behind the counter of the front desk when she heard the heavy doors slamming open for the third time that day. She sighed, before getting back to her feet. Taking care of the Pokémon would be so much easier if the trainers were less panicked about them. Half the time they were rookies so they were always trying to push their way into the back, though only authorized personnel was allowed.

“Welcome to the Virid-” She was cut off.

“Please, can you help my Charmander?!” the obviously rookie trainer asked her desperately, practically shoving the aforementioned animal into her arms. “We ran into a bit of rain, and he was already tired, and then he just collapsed, and I don’t know what to do, and please, please help him!”

Hiyami ignored the trainer, promptly looking the Charmander over. She sighed, relieved. He just needed food, some bed rest, and warmth. She carried him through the entryway to the back, going to the first available room and turning up the heat. She helped the Charmander settle in with some fireproofed blankets and pillows, watching as he tiredly made a little nest out of the whole thing.

She set him up with a drip, just to be safe, and made sure she placed a full pitcher of water and two cups on the table before moving the table away from the small hospital bed that the Charmander had quickly fallen asleep in. Satisfied that he’d be alright, she turned off the lights and left the room, returning to placate the trainer.

She’d only just let the trainer into the Charmander’s hospital room after a long lecture on what was expected from a trainer, how to treat their Pokémon, and how to care for Charmanders, and had just been settling into her seat to check over the paperwork when it happened.

“Nurse Mitsukiri! Nurse Mitsukiri!” And Hiyami only sighed before logging right back out and getting to her feet. She found herself tending to a batch of Pokémon, though they were easily tended to this time around thanks to the machine that one of the professors – she never bothered with their names – had invented. Unfortunately, the trainer himself was quite the chatterbox and by the time he left, Hiyami had both a mounting headache and a six person line. Some were a bit more critical than others, and just when she’d finished with the last of the trainers in line, another emergency case burst through the doors, though this time, it really was an emergency. A Pidgey had gotten struck by lightning, which wouldn’t be too bad on its own because the Pokémon Center had the tools for that. On the other hand, however, the Pidgey had fallen from high up in the air, from the middle of a storm – meaning that it was wet – and had landed in front of the trainer that had brought the bird Pokémon in.

She hadn’t wasted a moment, calling for her partner in nursing, Chansey. She’d considered calling for her other partner, Blissey, but had stopped herself, because Blissey was technically Joy’s, and she didn’t want to get into a debate over utilizing the Pokémon with the woman.

All day, call after call came in, some worrisome, others not as much. Hiyami had finally gotten off and had settled into a couch to relax when she heard it.

“Miss Hiyami! Miss Hiyami, where are you?” Hiyami had only sighed before standing up, resigned to her fate.

She pasted a smile on her face – it was expected, and practically required, of all nurses. This time, she noticed it was Shizuru who was approaching her. Immediately, Hiyami’s eyes narrowed.

Shizuru was very… negligent with her Pokémon. She owned a baby Dratini which, as a dragon-type Pokémon, required quite a bit more care than the typical everyday Pokémon. Admittedly, it wasn’t that Shizuru did it on purpose – she loved Bubbles – the Dratini’s nickname – very much. She just wasn’t good at taking care of her.

“What is it this time?” Hiyami asked, steeling herself for the worst. Perhaps Bubbles’ scales had fallen off. Perhaps she’d gotten stuck in a drainage pipe again. Quite a number of thoughts ran through my head, but they were all too quickly swept away in the woman’s next words.

“Actually, Hiyami,” the woman said, nodding grimly. “I think this one needs to be a house call.”

Hiyami hadn’t said anything, but merely gone behind the counter to grab her away kit, which was filled with portable versions of most of the hospital equipment. She scribbled in the check out, in a hurry, and called to Nurse Joy that she’d be coming back later.

The walk wasn’t too long – just one or two blocks away – and Hiyami was quite surprised to see, when she got there, that she’d been had.

“Get in the water!” the other woman told her cheerily. “It’s about time you’ve had a break.”

Hiyami frowned, disapprovingly. “Shizuru, you can’t just take me away from my work for a pleasure jaunt.”

And Shizuru only shook a finger at her. “Who says it’s just me? Besides, I know you’re off right now.”

And Hiyami blinked as she looked towards the pool again and saw quite a number of Pokémon, and even some the frequent Pokémon center visitors.

“Wh-what is this?” she asked, astonished, taking a step backwards.

“Why, isn’t it obvious, dear? It’s our thank you to you.”

Hiyami eyes were watering – she was touched. It was a very kind gesture, and not one that most nurses got to see any day. It reminded her of when she’d been just a couple years younger. She’d wanted to care for the Pokémon and to tend them and help the trainers on their ways. But recently, things had changed. The Pokémon had become more guarded, and the trainers far more brusque. There was much less chatting at the Pokémon center these days. In fact, it was hard to get anyone to help out when they needed some muscle to help them crate a bunch of heavy boxes.

But here… Here, seeing this… Hiyami was truly touched.

She walked closer to the edge of the pool, fully intent on thanking the inhabitants of it for the surprise.

And then, suddenly the world was tipping and Hiyami realized that she’d been shoved towards the pool. One step, two steps – and then she braced herself for impact, her eyes squeezed shut.

Impact that never came.


--------------------


Hiyami woke with a start. Not the kind you got from nightmares or anything like that, but the kind of waking up you did when something suddenly happened in a dream, or the world was tilting like standing on a boat or something like that.

Her eyes wide, she stared at the ceiling, reorienting herself.

“Woah. Some dream.”

[Malix]

Malix wipes the sweat from her forehead. The sun overhead glares down ferociously, and her brain is cooking under the mass of tangled red hair atop her head. The summer was merciless here in Vermillion City, but life went on, and there was always work to do.

"This is the last one! Take it on up, and we'll call it a day!" she calls. Her faithful Machamp gives a four-armed salute, and lifts a massive cargo container to the dock surface with surprising ease. Delicately avoiding the mooring lines, smaller crates, and loitering Wingulls, brutish final evolution of her little Machop, caught so long ago, turns and heads up a plank, back onto the massive cruise liner parked in the harbor.

Malix watches him go. He wasn't her strongest pokemon for fighting, but he was a hard worker and she needed that help here at work. It had been three years since she signed on as a dock worker for the Vermillion City Docking Authority. It was hard work, but it paid awesome, and it was putting her through school with plenty left over. Plus, it was wholesome work out in the sun, so she took pleasure in it. The warm sun, the spray of the sea....ahh, this was the life.

There was a great HOOOOOOOOOT that shook the docks. The whistle of the ship rent the air with a ferocity belying its function as a cruise liner. The proud ship S.S. Anne would be pulling out of port. Malix had been there every day for the past week overseeing shipment after shipment of supplies being loaded onto the ship for its luxury voyage through the balmy seas of southern Kanto.

Malix becomes aware of persistent shouting some distance down the docks. Her attention captured, she turns to check out the commotion.

"Geodude - STRENGTH! That's it, just 87 more times! STRENGTH!"

There was a young trainer down near the end of the wharf, with his Geodude, both of them clustered around...

"HEY THAT'S MY TRUCK, BACK OFF BRAT!"

Furious, Malix dashes down the plank surface. "WREAKER, GO! BRICK BREAK!" she shouts, and unleashes her prize fighter - a Bug/Fighting type Heracross. The young trainer, inexperienced and weak, had no chance to react, and the attack swiftly K.O.'d the geodude in seconds flat.

"Explain youself!" Malix demands angrily. Her Heracross ruffles its wing-jackets fiercely.

he crouches over his unconscious geodude, shielding it protectively. "Ahh no, don't hurt us! We're just looking for Mew!"

"...Mew?"

"Yeah! I read it on a website...if you use Strength 100 times on the truck at the dock near the S.S. Anne, Mew comes out! Look, I have like a hundred pokeballs all rady to throw here. That mew is so rare...it shall be mine!"

Malix laughs, and drags the kid to his feet. "Kid, you can't believe everything you read on the internet...that's just silly. What's your name?" She waits as he recalls the Geodude into a Pokeball, and then walks him towards the shore.

"Red, miss, I'm Red, and I'm on the League Challenge...and someday I'll be the POKEMON MASTER!" Red strikes a ridiculous pose.

Malix pauses a moment. "....I believe you kid. I'm Malix. Here, it's not a Mew, but take this with you and win one for me." She digs in a pocket and fishes out a Star-shaped item...a Revive.

"GEE THANKS!" the spirited kid says gleefully, and takes off into the distance, soon lost in the shimmering heat of summer.

Malix watches after him for some time, and her Machamp comes up besides her. "MAAAAA-CHAMP...." it grumbles, and looks out at the distance with her.

"The trainer spirit is strong in him....do we still have that spark, Bastion?" Her expression is somber, and her eyes gaze into the past.

The Machamp knows how to answer that question. He pounds his chest and bellows, "MACHAAAAAAAAMP!" Malix laughs aloud, strong and clear, and nods. Yyyyyep.

Malix calls the Machamp back to his Pokeball, and after a last survey of the worksite, she climbs into her truck. Sitting for a moment, her fingers brush one pokeball in particular on her belt.

Besides, Red....you're a bit too late!

She pulls it from her belt and cracks it open.

"MEW!"

The truck drives off as the sun sets on another perfect day in Kanto.

[Matrim Gallagher]

Matrim Gallagher, School Captain.......

not anymore......

"May-TRUM!" Maytrum yelled out as the poor little kid didn't know what he was in for, honestly, sending a plant type pokemon against a fire type? This kid must have been a retard....

"Oddish! Oddish Odd!" The Oddish said, which loosely translated to it wanted to kick May-Trum's butt so that he could be caught by his trainer, a young boy who seemed quite determined to get some fire poke'mon so he could easily get a Rainbow Badge from a nearby gym that specialized in plant poke'mon.

"Trum Trum!" Maytrum called out, growling as the trainer called out for his Oddish to use against him. Maytrum wasn't worried since Oddish was a lower pokemon on the evolution chart, and it was a plant type, which were weak against fire types such as Maytrum.

"Oddish! Use Wrap!"

"Oddish, Odd!" Oddish replied, shooting out vines which wrapped around Maytrum, binding him and stopping him from attacking. The attack went on for awhile, and while Maytrum was being hurt, it wasn't anything bad.

"Trum! Trum! Maytrum!" He called out, which loosely translated to 'You'll never beat me like this'. But time after time he ordered his Oddish to use wrap, and Maytrum wasn't as fast as this Oddish had been. Eventually Maytrum was worn down and against, "Trum..... Trum Trum...."

"Pokeball, GO!" The trainer yelled as he tossed a Great Ball at Maytrum, hitting him in the neck which stung, and he was zapped into the pokeball where he fought a bit to get out, but it was a failure. The structure of the ball was too sound, he was too warn out. Maytrum, a very uncommon pokemon, had just been caught by a kid who was in over his head using a cheap trick with Oddish. "Alright! Now I can show Erika at the Celadon City Gym who's boss!"

And with that Thomas Joseph McDonald, pokemon trainer, set off to Celadon City Pokemon Center to heal up all his pokemon. Maytrum had to admit, it felt nice to be revitalized like that, no matter how cramped the pokeball was. Of course, then he took them straight to Celadon gym, and he challenged Erika once more.

"One more shot Erika! I've got a trick up my sleeve this time!" He said.

"I don't know kid, I hate to see your Oddish in pain again, he's a really sweet and gentle pokemon," Erika replied sweetly, truly meaning well with her sincere words. You could tell she really cared for her pokemon.

"Don't worry, Oddish may be little but he's strong! Stronger than any Machamp and tougher than any Onyx, let's fight again Erika!" He said, and with that he called out Oddish, and Erika called out Tangela. And after a tough fight, Oddish beat Tangela using his wrap technique. Then Erika called out her Weepinbell, and Oddish attempted to use wrap on it, but Weepinbell dodged the second time around, and used the same move back on Oddish, defeating it after a few goes. T.J. called Oddish back, and threw out Maytrum, "GO MAYTRUM!"

"Trum! Trummmm!" Maytrum called out, growling across at the Weepinbell.

"Maytrum, use your Ember attack!"

"Maytrum!" Maytrum called out, using his Ember attack by spinning around in the air, the flame shooting from his mouth as he did this attack. He landed on all fours just in front of Weepinbell who had been knocked out.

"Weepinbell, return!" Erika called out, pulling out her next pokemon, "Gloom! I choose you!" And with that she threw out her last pokeball, and gloom came out of it. "Gloom, use sleep powder!"

"Maytrum, use your Slash attack!" But it was too late, Maytrum was fast asleep. And Erika proceeded to have her gloom vine whip Maytrum again, and again, and again until finally Maytrum woke up, weakened and hurt, "Maytrum, use rage!"

"Trum! Maytrum!" Maytrum said, and attacked Gloom with a hard and quick attack, getting angrier and angrier with each strike, Gloom continued to use Vine Whip but Matrim was already enraged, and angry, and he was going to keep going on and defeat Gloom. Mostly because it was still angry from the fight with Oddish, but also because he thought status effecting attacks like poison powder, sleep powder, sing, and stuff like that were cheap. He much preferred a straight fight. And after just three strikes from Rage, Gloom was knocked out, forcing Erika to call it back and end the match.

"Fine, you win. It looks like you went and got yourself a really powerful pokemon. Here, here's the rainbow badge. Be careful not to let this Pokemon get too advanced or else it may not listen to you anymore...."

"Don't worry, me and Maytrum have an understanding isn't that right May---" He was cut off by a sudden roar, Maytrum was evolving! A bright line shone and Maytrum started to grow. As he did, the white silhouette would show that he had wings, and a long golden tail, not at all like the one he had before. He became bigger, and when the white light faded, Matryphon was shown to them all, and they all gaped in amazement. "Maytrum....?"

TJ pulled out his pokedex and scanned him.

"Maytryphon, a flying fire-type pokemon. Maytryphon tends to fly into the air and use his attacks from above. It has great strength and power, and can be almost impossible to tame when seen in the wild. However, if a trainer evolves their Maytrum it becomes loyal, and is much more likely to let you ride atop of him."

"Thanks Dex! I'm going to try it..... ok Maytryphon, will you let me ride? I don't mean any disrespect or anything, I just want to know what it's like....."

Maytryphon who didn't have a call which involved his name, simply let out air and bowed his head. TJ got aboard and held on as Maytryphon charged his way out of the gym and took to the air, flying high above the Celadon gym giving TJ the experience of flying.

"Whoooooooooooooohooooooooooo!" TJ called out, and with that they set out on their next journey, flying to the next gym on the list so they could collect all eight. After all, TJ had work to do if he was going to become a pokemon master.

See you next time!

[/b][/size][/right]

Matrim woke up and looked around real quick, the feeling of flying making him a bit dizzy. Of course he awoke only to find that he had fallen out of his bed, "Whoa.... weird dream....."

[The Maytrum Evolution Chart]

[Trizen Takano]

Well, here it was again. Another day, another battle and certainly another adventure for young Trizen Takano. But today was no ordinary day. It never was in the world of Pokémon... or at least that's what they made you believe on watching that ridiculous television show.

Trizen would be one of few selected over the past year to join the Pokémon League as an official Gym Inspector. It was more of a surprise to him if anything when he was first selected since he had not even applied for the position. But seeing that the League does keep track of its trainers in such a discrete manner, it seemed like the boy was an appropriate choice. His record was quite impressive, and though Trizen was more keen on studying Pokémon than training them rigorously, it seemed that it was his perception on efficient and methodical training methods that peeked an interest from the League. For the past six months, Takano went from village to village, city to city, island to island, to visit each gym and evaluate accordingly. Some days were slower than others, but fortunately his last few whiles have been spent in Kanto. It seemed every kid under the age of four wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer. Nine more years and they would get their wish.

Today, the Inspector was to arrive in Viridian City. It was a good sized city with a good amount of activity. If it wasn't obvious there were a lot of Pokémon Fanatics. On visiting the Pokémon Centre to update his PokéDex, he saw the assortments of people who would be treating their Pokémon for the dumbest of reasons. Paper cuts, hunger strikes, the whole nine yards. There was even one boy who entered the Centre and complained that he couldn't understand why his Pokémon kept repeating his own name. After rolling his eyes, Trizen figured he'd better head over to the gym and get this over with.

While walking towards the gym, he let out his two Pokémon he generally carried with him: Haunter and Primeape. They were classic choices, but he enjoyed their company as well. Not to mention they were pretty laid back on seeing them. Confident in their abilities and persona. It wouldn't be long until the three of them got to the gym.

"Good... now that we're here we could finally get this over with..." Trizen said to the other two, then suddenly a flash of blue light came bursting out of a compound some distance away and something was flying away. It looked like a Pokémon, but since when did Pokémon carry jetpacks?

Whatever that was, in complete sync, Trizen, Haunter and Primeape shrugged their shoulders. Now attempting to open the doors, they were locked!

"Seriously? Locked? Why?" Trizen looked to Haunter who would nod once and make his way through the walls as was his custom. The Ghost Pokémon took a brief look around. On coming back to his master, he shook his head. Trizen was not amused.

"This place is gonna get closed down. Who does this uh..." He took a moment to glance at his clipboard, "Geo..Gio...vanngi? Vanni? Jeez. Who does he this he is? He's gonna get a write up."

Anti-climatic? Of course it was. This was Trizen's normal day as one of the League's Gym Inspectors. It was BORING. But, such was life when they paid well and covered his expenses. If anything, Trizen used it as his way of getting to know the world of Pokémon and the people in it. But otherwise, it certainly wasn't very interesting.

Walking away down the sidewalk away from the gym, Trizen saw a group of three headed his way.

"Hey, just to let you guys know, the Viridian Gym's closed."

"Really? That's weird." The hatted one responded.

"I guess that means we should turn back and stay somewhere for the day then."

"Yeah, Brock's right, Ash. It's probably a smarter idea then having to waste our time going to a closed gym."

"No, I'm going to get my badge here! Right Pikachu!" The yellow Pokémon on his shoulder shrugged. He looked excited, but he seemed sarcastic with the smug look on his face. He looked like the logical one between himself and his trainer.

"Suit yourself. There's no one there, but good luck anyways." Trizen said on nodding his goodbye to the travelers. As the groups parted ways, Takano looked back to the group and rolled his eyes.

The boy's Haunter was giggling a bit while his Primeape shook his head just as well. "Yeah I know. They're a sad group of kids."

[Adrian]

"We'll be right back with more of our Pokemon Marathon!!!" the man on the television said excitedly, but Adrian heard none of it, as he was already fast asleep. It had been a long day, and at the end of it, the only thing to watch on the tube was this show. Adrian doubted he'd have even given it the time of day any other time, but he was tired, and he figured the best thing to put him right to bed. Admittedly, Adrian could understand the business model: Make a show to hook the kids and help sell your video games, toys, and trading cards, it's been going on for years now with most Saturday Morning Cartoons. It was just irritating that Pokemon could just be... so... damn... stupid!

Adrian found himself leaping awake some indeterminable time later. The TV was no longer showing Pokemon, but rather some program Adrian was unfamiliar with, displaying high school kids using some high-style kung-fu action to fight each other, over what reason Adrian could not discern. Something seemed odd about it, but Adrian passed it off. He shook his head to shake the sleep from his mind and rubbed his eyes to rub the physical manifestation from his sockets. His PC was going bugnuts, sending him signals that someone wanted to communicate with him. He rolled out of bed and sauntered to the computer, hitting the 'accept' button as a familiar face filled his screen. He slumped into his chair, blinking a few times at the bright lights as he adjusted his microphone to initiate the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, whaddya want?" Adrian slurred into the mic, aware of who he was speaking to, but too tired to really give a damn at the moment.

"I would strongly suggest you refrain from speaking to me in that matter, boy," the middle-aged man on the other end replied sternly. Adrian sighed and cracked his neck. As much as he hated to admit it, the old man was right.

"I'm sorry, Giovanni. It's just early, that's all. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to suit up, Shadow-Boxer, and head down to Route 18. A truck's passing by that supposedly has a whole shipment of Pokemon fossils its carrying from Fuchsia to Celadon city for study, and if that's true, you know what needs to be done."

"Sure do, boss. Those rocks needs to go from being theirs to yours, am I right?"

"Naturally, Shadow-Boxer. You're the best one suited to the task, and you've never failed me yet. Now get some clothes on and take care of this for me. You will be rewarded handsomely."

"You got it, boss," Adrian said, and shut down his computer. Flying to his closet, Adrian threw on his usual outfit, a black backwards baseball cap with a red "R" insignia on the front, a red shirt and black jacket adorned with the same "R" where the chest pocket on the jacket would be, black pants, and black fingerless gloves, both emblazoned with the 'R' on the back of the hand. Flipping open a compartment in his closet, he revealed his wall full of hanging pokeballs, each one labeled with the monster kept within. He took the top two, without thinking, clearly choosing his two favorite monsters for the trial ahead.

--------------------------------------------------------

The truck sped across the bridge, its driver clearly worried about either making the shipment on time, or, perhaps more accurately, worried about someone trying to steal it. The driver would have to snap out of it when, suddenly, a Hitmonchan was standing in the road in front of him, right at the end of the bridge. The truck swerved to avoid it, while the Hitmonchan thrust his fist into the grill, doing no damage but making a loud thumping sound. The truck stopped and the driver exited, thinking he had hit the Pokemon. Hitmonchan came up to him, waving its gloves angrily in the air and glowering out angry "Hit! Hit hit mon chan!!" at the driver. The driver, clearly not able to speak pokemon, could only bluster about, trying to apologize to the Pokemon, not sure if it was wild or not, completely unaware of what was happening back at the truck.

Adrian had appeared from behind a tree, and released his other pokeball. With a pop, his closest pokemon Gengar came forth, turning to the boy with a wry smirk that matched his own. Without a word, Gengar knew what to do. He phased through the wall of the truck, coming back with an armful of fossils. Adrian nodded, and peeked aroudn the edge of the truck, where the man was still pandering to his Hitmonchan.

This went on for some time, but there truly were a lot of fossils in the truck. Adrian had already radioed for a truck pickup, but the driver of the fossil truck was already getting tired of the Fighting-Type in front of him, and turned to leave. Adrian mimed a punch to Hitmonchan, and with a pleased nod, Hitmonchan reared its fist back and delivered a Mega Punch to the back of the man's head. At about that time, a large black truck with the R pulled up, and a small group of similarly dressed men and women exited to help Adrian, the Shadow-Boxer, in the hijacking of the fossils. Within moments, they were loaded into the truck and on their way.

Adrian recalled his Pokemon and grinned to himself. Being one of Team Rocket's premiere thieves wasn't an easy job, but it was certainly worth the trouble. Too many of the operatives were complete bumbling morons, after all, and their foolishness only ever served to make the Shadow-Boxer look all the better by comparison.

[Demetra Katsaros]

My mom needed a nap, and as a good daughter, I let her have the room to herself for some kind of peace and quiet. However, I wasn't sure if that's what she managed to get, as our roommates' sons were shouting at each other, playing some kind of video game.

"I don't want to kill your fun," I began, "but I'm trying to do some important homework, so could you please keep it down?" I ran my hands through my hair, massaging my scalp until my fingers became entangled in the long curly locks.

Surprisingly, the kids complied. They finished whatever level they were on, and flipped the channel to a Japanese cartoon with monsters that repeated their own names. "Dude, the original Pokemon were so much better," the older brother claimed, leaning back into the couch.

"I like them all," the younger replied. "I don't have a favorite, because I think a lot of them are really cool."

"That's because you don't remember original Pokemon. Like, the first season was so good, and then it just kept getting worse and worse. Even the games got tackier."

Their discussion ended as they watched the dubbed characters on the screen interact. "Woah, it's really her! Cynthia the Champion!"

The hallway door opened, and my mom walked out, not very sleepy-looking. "I don't think I'm tired anymore," she announced, probably directing her statement toward me. "I'm going to start making dinner. Anything you want in particular, Dem?"

My eyebrows furred together as I raised my head. "Oh, uh, I don't know. I don't care very much. We've got ingredients for a spinach salad, though, if you want that."

"Sounds good. You can use the room now, if you like."

"I think I will." I gathered my books and made my way to the bedroom, where a clean desk was waiting for me against the wall. Yet somehow I suddenly felt very tired, as if the thought of my mom unable to sleep here made me want to give it a shot. Sure, I had a long day, hence why I was unable to start on my school work until now, but I was used to busy schedules. Nonetheless, a short nap to perk me up wouldn't be a bad thing- 24 minutes of midday sleep was actually a good pick-me-up (and yes, twenty-four was a number that researchers found to be the perfect amount of time).

Even before I completely dozed off, images of that damn anime were in my head, annoying me in a half sleep, and when I finally reached that stage where I couldn't differentiate between the outside world and the one that I was dreaming, those cartoons in the background had obviously affected me.

It began with Brock professing his love for me, small hearts floating around to visually emphasize his affection. "Officer Jenny!" What? I glanced down- I was in a small woman's police uniform. Ewww. I had no interest in being a cop. The criminal law system disgusted me. Of course, we weren't exactly in the America I knew anymore, but my own world was the only one I was truly able to relate with, therefore it was my comparison standard. Besides, what could I possibly get done in this tiny outfit? The blue skirt was so tight and short that I could barely move my legs. But Brock seemed to like that. "If loving you is a crime, then I should be sentenced right away!"

Oh God, cheesy pick up lines. "Um... I think you have me mixed up with my cousin." That was the appropriate response, right? "I'm a different... uh... Officer Jenny." Now why would all my aunts and uncles name their daughters Jenny as well? Or was Jenny short for Jennifer? Either way, family reunions must be a mess, especially since every girl went into the law enforcement field.

"Officer Jenny! Team Rocket is getting away!" Hey, that wasn't my problem, right? Wasn't Ash the one who dealt with them more?

"Not on my watch! Growlithe, flamethrower!" Oh yeah, that'll solve everyone's problems: shooting fire at a hot air balloon.

Bang bang bang! Huh?

My eyes fluttered open to realize somebody was knocking at my door. "Dinner's ready!"

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec." Fucking kids and their fucking Pokemon.

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

Victor sat at home in his room, staring at the ceiling with a passive smile. in the ash tray next to his bed a fat joint still smoked, its thin trail rising up toward the ceiling. Victor giggled as he watched it, he felt so tired! he laced his hands behind his head, his eyes shutting. soon his breathing deepened, and he passed out.

He awoke with a slight start. "What the hell..." he asked himself... he felt... funny. not haha funny, but like... 'why do I have paws where my hands used to be' funny. Victor rolled up from where he was laying down, finding himself on a bed in a nice cabin that looked like it was made out of real logs... what a novel concept. Victor looked sideways toward a mirror. oh yeah... there must have been something more in that joint.

Victor's reflection stared back at him, his entire body was covered with his blonde... fur... his cheeks where a rosy red, and the gentle curve of his faux hawk rested between two giant animated looking ears. at least his blue eyes where the same. "Right... back to bed" he said, hopping back into the tiny bed and rolling over.

"RISE AND SHINE!"

"no..." Victor mumbled to himself, rolling over and looking at the door.

"Did you get a good sleep little buddy" the voice sounded again... sounded like a cute girl...

the door burst open and towering above Victor was a young looking girl with all of the innocence and joy of the world painted on her face. "Great..." Victor replied sarcastically, flicking one of his big ears. this was so lame... why pokemon? he'd had much better hallucinations than this.

"Come on now! todays my first gym battle!" she said, picking him up. "whoop-dee-doo!" Victor said, he knew the girl couldn't understand him... probably.

Soon they where walking toward a large building in the distance, and thank god it was the cerulean gym. Victor knew very little about Pokemon... but he knew that the chick who ran this gym was an idiot and would be a pushover.

inside they went, and thats when Victor decided... no, you know what? I don't want to.

Clearly this girl should have gotten one more gym badge before she got him, cause he was just a bit too high level to listen to her.

off he went, bounding out of her arms toward freedom, his tiny legs both agile and useful now as he dodged off and away into the wilderness.

as he pushed through the undergrowth he met another Pikachu... this was just getting better and better. "'Scuse me, bro, I gotta get back to where I came from... Victor said, begining to walk by. The pikachu moved in his way. "No! this was leads to my home, and you are not a wild pikachu, and if your master comes looking for you then I don't want them coming after my family and-" The pikachu began rambling off, Victor just shook his head, and suddenly he realized something... he'd had this dream before. and everytime he'd try to run away from the girl, and everytime he would come back to her because he found something in the wild that annoyed him... great...

Victor began the long trek back into town, the girl was overjoyed to see him. "I know I know... I love you too" he said lazily as she picked him up and began taking him back to her home. Yup... this was the average day... and this girl was never getting her gym badge...

[narakunohana]

Participants:

Ryuu - 795 words
Tash - 939 words
Hiyami - 1,153 words
Malix - 718 words
Matrim - 1,094 words
Trizen - 770 words
Adrian - 959 words
Demetra - 720 words
Victor - 599 words

Congratulations on completing the "Gotta catch 'em all!" Monthly Event! For this feat, you receive +3 exp for your efforts!