Pokemon Black and White

Valeria's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she observed Haruka's ingenius technique of luring out the Scout Pokemon. Of course, there was no need for Haruka to waste her invaluable snacks on the rodents, Valeria had been there and done that. No, she hadn't emptied the entire contents of her knapsack trying to catch one of the common puny rats, she had done what any novice trainer would do and sent her starter in at the first shift and rustle of the tall grass. It took a full three minutes for Valeria to realize that this was totally unnecessary, as the creatures would pounce with the ferocity of a steroid infused athlete at the merest accidental stray off the beaten pathway. Valeria didn't tell Haruka this though, as she understood Haruka to be the obstinate type of girl who learned from hands on experience and hands on experience only.

Besides... Valeria grinned as she winked down at Malice, who seemed to smirk, bemused, her tail twitching in anticipation at Haruka's naivety. It was just so much more fun to see the surprise on her newfound friend's face when the Vampire-like overgrown rats sprang on her back.

"Hanako, come on! You're going to miss out on all the fun!" Valeria called back impatiently to her sister, who was eyeing her surroundings like a Venipede was going to come charging out at her at any minute, yank her up with his mandibles, and swallow her whole. Silently, she clutched her Oshawatt, who examined the overgrown grass with the same dread and apprehension as her trainer. Valeria sighed impatiently. Up ahead, Haruka skipped gaily, shaking her chips back and forth like a set of maracas, creating a rhythm with which to entertain herself until she was thoroughly mauled by a Patrat. Amazingly, though she often veered off the route and tore like a crazed lunatic across the grassy expanse, and then back to her companions, she had yet to run into a single Patrat.

"I think those little suckers are mocking me." Valeria muttered to Hanako, who suddenly perked up to listen. "Yeah, they're probably all sitting around in their little Patrat den drinking some cold ones and playing Poker, with their little snitch Scout keeping lookout to sound the alarm the second I accidentally step into the grass, so that the whole fleet can be deployed to tear me limb for limb."

Malice then chose to make a sound that was a half purr and a half yowl, rubbing the top of her mauve head against Valeria's hand in one swift movement as if to agree. By the time Valeria looked up from the Pokemon nestled in her arms, she noticed that Haruka had finally stumbled into a Pokemon. It was hard to determine what exactly she had bumped into, but from her excite whooping and hollering, you'd think she had discovered one of the legends of Unova.

"Oh my Zekrom guys, this one's a whopper! Man the harpoons!" Haruka called comically, and Valeria couldn't help but smile at the huge splitting grin that had broken up her face. Her little Sandile stood bravely at Haruka's heels, his large, stout tail swaying back and forth to simultaneously balance him, and help him gain momentum as her prepared to tackle his foe. Haruka's impending battle had sent a little rush of adrenaline through Valeria, and so inspired, she plopped Malice onto her should and charged into the grass.

"C'mon, Koko!" She called to her sister, laughing, and for a moment, they were ten years old again, chasing each other through the orchard behind their modest little home, Valeria leading the way as always, and even when they were playing Tag, pausing periodically to allow the more timid Hanako to catch up. Hanako followed obediently, Seychelles still clutched tightly in her pale little arms, though the promise of wild Pokemon challenging her to battle was obviously unnerving her. Hanako was constantly surveying her surroundings, hurrying so that she remained no more than two steps behind her headstrong sister.

"Now Koko, don't be disappointed when I tell you that there's nothing really worth catching on this route. I've already scoped it out the first time I traveled through here, and all that you'll find are Pokemon that Malice eats for breakfast, and other Pokemon that celebrities carry around in their purses. But there is one Pokemon you can find here who, unlike the other two, is actually worth battling."

Valeria paused to turn around and face her sister. Eagerly, she pulled out the Pokedex that Professor Juniper had given her, and used the touchpad screen to scroll down the list of Pokemon she had spotted to finally settle on a Pokemon titled "Audino".

"Audino: The Healer Pokemon." The Pokedex stated, matter of factly.

"It touches others with the feelers on its ears, using the sound of their heartbeats to tell how they are feeling." Hanako seemed to light up at the picture of the tranquil, pastel pink Pokemon, which in return seemed to smile amiably back up at her.

"Check this out, the first time I ran into one, I wanted to catch it, because apparently they're like, uncommon in this area, but I accidentally fainted it. But guess what happened after it went down?! Malice gained three levels! Three! This Pokemon is a goldmine for experience points!" Valeria shouted, to which Hanako only stared at her in alarm. Malice purred in agreement, her eyes shining zestfully, already honing in to be on the lookout for the Healer Pokemon.

"So while the boys are off catching mice and puppies, we'll be fainting Audinos and making our starter Pokemon stronger! And then when it comes time to leave this forest of small fry and catch something huge, Seychelles and Malice will be down for the count!" Valeria finished, to which Hanako just looked horrified, clutching Seychelles tighter.

"But... But Valeria-chan, isn't that kind of...harsh?" Hanako asked meekly, but Valeria was already strategizing.

"Okay, I'm going to go circle that huge Oak tree in the middle of the clearing, you scope out the remainder of this area and then cross the route to the other side if you need to. With any luck, if you find one, hopefully all the commotion will send its mate running and we can bag two of them!" Valeria called out behind her as she jogged over to the aforementioned tree. Malice remained on her shoulder, but was crouched now down over it, preparing in advance to pounce on the first unsuspecting Audino she saw. Hanako could only stand dumbly in place, wondering how she was ever going to attack one of the innocuous creatures. Moments passed, and for a couple minutes, the area became serene again, the fauna in the area again picking up their regular activities before Valeria had either scared them into hiding or stirred them into attack mode by romping through their homeland. Patrat again left themselves vulnerable as they foraged through the tall grass for food, appearing unconcerned by Hanako's hovering presence. Suddenly, the grass began to rustle a couple of feet in front of her. Hanako tensed, the breath catching in her throat as her heart began to accelerate. With Haruka and Valeria both focused on their individual endeavors, who would protect her if it was something volatile? She and Seychelles exchanged uncertain glances. The grass parted, and from out of the thicket leapt..

an Audino? "Audino!" The Pokemon chirped, and smiled congenially at Hanako. Hanako's heart decelerated, and her grip on Seychelles loosened slightly, but she made not a single movement towards the wild Pokemon. This was her first wild encounter, after all, and even if it was something as endearing as an Audino, she wouldn't take any chances. This didn't stop the friendly Pokemon from approaching her though, and Hanako stiffened as the Audino slowly walked up to her.

"Dino?" It asked inquisitively, as concerned by Hanako's discomfort, its feelers twitched experimentally, moving along her body, presumably to detect from the pulsationd of her heart how she was feeling. The Pokemon's generosity was contagious, and soon she found herself smiling uncontrollably down at the adorable creature. Tentatively, she reached a hand down to pat the Audino on the head. Lapping the attention up, the Audino reciprocated the touch by moving its feeler along the palm of Hanako's hand. Hanako giggled, just as a familiar face poked through the thicket.

"Did you find anything?" Valeria inquired right before her eyes settled on the Audino sidled up next to her sister. Valeria's eyes almost popped right out of her head, she was so delighted.

"Koko! It's right in front of you! Why aren't you fighting it?!" Valeria shouted, dumbfounded. Decisively, she pointed at it.

"It's okay, Hana. I know it's your first time battling and all, so Malice and I will have no problem showing you how it's done!" Her legs parted and her shoulders squared as her courageous little feline copied her movements to the exact. Alarmed, the Audino glanced sadly up at Hanako, seeming to express its grief that their time together should be ended so prematurely.

"Dino..." It said softly as docilely, it gazed at the Feline who was already stalking towards it. The Audino looked one last time up at Hanako, and her heart almost skipped a beat as she choked out

"Wait!"

Valeria and Malice both paused in their advance, and stared at Hanako. Suddenly, all eyes were on her, including the Audino's and Seychelle's, and Hanako suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. It was now or never. She would have to do something, and she would have to do it fast, else the Audino become another one of Malice's conquests.

"Check this out, the first time I ran into one, I wanted to catch it, because apparently they're like, uncommon in this area, but I accidentally fainted it. But guess what happened after it went down?! Malice gained three levels! Three! This Pokemon is a goldmine for experience points!" At those words, Haruka quit her baiting, as it was getting her nowere fast with the patrats, and ran over to the other two girls and peaked down at the pokedex. The tiny pink pokemons image was adorable.

" Im changing that discription to the Guilt pokemon. Most people feel like crap after fighting them, since they end up healing you and trying to befriend the trainers pokemon as they get mauled. takes a hardened person to deal with them, good work Val! " Haruka chuckled and started skipping into the tall grass. " Time for the EXP Roundup! "

"So while the boys are off catching mice and puppies, we'll be fainting
Audinos and making our starter Pokemon stronger! And then when it comes time to leave this forest of small fry and catch something huge, Seychelles and Malice will be down for the count! "

" And Chompers too! GO CHOMPERS! " Haruka tossed up her pokeball, and in a flash of red light, the tiny gator stood, beating its little tail on the ground in anticipation. With a grin, Haruka picked up her little sandile and pranced into the grass farther, and began to hunt audino. It felt like hours, although it was just a few minuts, and so far no sign of a pink ball of cute guilt. Even Chompers seemed dissapointed at the fact he was missing out on a good battle. Haruka sighed and started walking back, when a yipping sound came from behind her. " Huh? "

" Pup! " Barked a small lilipup, who then snarled up at Haruka and her sandile.

" Well well Chompers, seems we have some training fodder afterall. No Audino, but it will do in a pinch! " She set down the little gator who let out a snarl of its own at the wild puppy. " Lets start out with a leer! "

" DILE!! " Chompers eyes flashed red, and the lilipup shuddered, but then let out another growl, which caused Chompers to shudder.

" Don't let it get to you Chompers! Bite down on it! Turn that dog into dog food!"

" SANDILE!! " The tiny gator waddled with surprizing speed at the lilipup, who tried to dodge, but chompers was faster and his jaws clamped down on the tiny dog pokemons leg. The Lilipup yelped loudly and began to struggle, unable to free itself from the small gators deathgrip of a bite.

" Now lets do what gators do best... Its no real attack, but ohwell! Start rolling on the ground!" Chompers began to go into a deathroll, tossing the tiny dog around. Finally after about twenty seconds, the small gator let go of the lilipups leg, who began to limp in an attempted tackle. " Lets put this pup out of its misery. Bite again!" Chompers charged the limping dog, and enclosed its little head between his jaws. With one clamp down, the lilipup was knocked out, and the battle won. " Way to go Chompers!! Return! " The tiny pokemon was returned to its pokeball and Haruka ran back to see the others. " Guys! I won a battle! Was a small fry pooch, but still! Chompers won a fight! "

"Um, Haruka-chan...Valeria-chan got mad and..um.. we'd better run to catch up with her.." Hanako called out quietly as she ran past, Haruka almost didnt make it out.

" Guess its a mad dash we have to make Chompers. Lets kick it into overdrive! FOR NARNIA! " Haruka laughed and chased after the others with her sandile snapping at the air, enjoying the speed. It wasn't long untill she made it to Accumula town and she fell to her knees, panting. " Whew..I pushed myself too hard there, didn't I Chompers? " She laughed a breathy laugh as she tried to catch her breath.

" Dile! Sand sandile? " Chompers jumped out of his trainers arms to look up at her, concerned over her tired looking condition.

" I'm fine Chompers! I just blaim my sugar addiction! Im so out of shape from it! " She giggled cheerfully and picked up her pokemon, and then walked into the crowd of people to see what was going on.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation," Haruka blinked, listening to the mans speech. She looked down at her Sandile and pet him gently.

" This guy is a wacko...I guess they have their hearts in the right place, since there are plenty of idiots in the world who don't respect pokemon, But Not all of us are bad Chompers. I love you buddy! " She grinned down at her pokemon who seemed to grin back and nuzzled her with his snout. " Hey! Theres Hanako! Lets head over to regroup! " As Haruka walked over, she heard Hanako speaking to her small oshwatt.

"Seychelles, I know we've only been together a short time but, if you were unhappy with me, you would tell me right...?"

"Don't listen to his lies, he obviously only believes them half-halfheartedly," Haruka grinned and put her hand on Hanakos shoulder. Chompers wagged his tiny tail as he was dangling from under harukas other arm. She was irritated over how one-sided stuff like the man said could affect people, expecially the more sensetive like her new friend. "Pokémon have always worked side by side with humans, his idea of separating humans and Pokémon is cruel."

"So you don't believe Pokemon should stop being slaves to humans? How sad.." A males voice spoke from behind the two and Haruka blinked, turning to face the strange green haired boy.

"I believe that humans and Pokémon work side by side as friends, not as slaves," Haruka pouted, placeing one hand on her hip as she kept chompers held securely as to not drop the poor pokemon. The boy smirked, seemingly amused by her comment.

"Tell me, can you hear the voices of your Pokémon?" The green-haired boy said. Haruka looked at him like he was crazy, this only made him chuckle a little, "What about you miss, can you hear the voice of your Pokemon?"

" Voice of the pokemon? I don't know what you mean Buster! " Haruka glared.

"Shame, you both cannot hear them, but I can. The Pokémon tell me a lot of things about being with humans, none of them are good." Harukas eyes widened, and she clenched her teeth.

" If you are implying the pokemon I have is unhappy with me, you have alot of things wrong Mister! " She set down Chompers who growled at the man. The boy smirked and pulled out a pokeball.

"Let me hear the voice of your Pokemon, miss, through a battle,I can tell the one next to you is in state to fight a battle. It's a shame too, her Oshawatt has a lot of potential," N gestured at Hanako who backed away from them. Haruka stepped forward, smirking.

"Fine, I'll be pleased to kick your ass," Haruka said with disdain, gesturing to her Sandile, the boy sent out a Purloin. " Lets do this Chompers. No Backing down! No turning back! We do this together to prove to this chump that we arent to be taken lightly!

" DILE!! " Chompers slammed his tiny tail to the ground in a show of agression to the perloin.

" Okay Chompers, Lets start this off full force! BITE! " The small sandile waddled toward the purrloin and opened it maw, ready to clamp down on the feline. but the cat lept nimbly out of the way.

" Purrloin, Use scratch! " N called out casually to the purple cat pokemon who lept at Chompers, slashing with its sharpened claws. Chompers let out a cry of pain, but shook it off and growled.

" Grrr! Chompers! Lets try a leer attack then! And watch out for those cat claws! " Haruka shouted to her small gator who nodded and glared at the Purrloin, his eyes flashing crimson.The Purrloin hissed and shook slightly. " NOW! BITE AGAIN!" Chompers took the opportunity to lunge forward and latched onto the felines tail. Purrloin would let out a yowl of pain and attempted to claw its way out of the sand gators mouth. Chompers winced but wouldent let go. " Thats it Chompers! Keep hold! Now! Try the death roll again! "

" Scratch again Purrloin! " N called out. The Purrloin hissed and would scratched at the Sandiles face again as the pokemon attempted its roll. Chompers winced but kept hold, and rolled, pulling the feline along with it. Purrloin yowled again as it was dragged along the ground, being flipped like a ragdoll. Haruka smirked abit.

" Doing good Chompers! Now lets show them how much you hate people looking down on you! RAGE! " Chompers let out a loud cry of anger as its body glowed a very faint red. It would then smack the Purple cat pokemon in the face with its tail before pinning it down and smacking it a second time with his snout. The purrloin hissed and meowed, struggling under the gator before finally fainting. N stared at his purrloin in shock.

" See? You don't ever think less of my little buddy Chompers. Come here little dude and get a victory hug! Your so getting an awesome treat to celebrate our first trainer battle won! " The sandile ran to his trainer and lept into harukas open arms, and she cuddled him close. " But first.. Mister, you had better say sorry for saying such mean things about me, and my friends Chompers, Hanako and her oshwatt whos name I just can't pronounce for my life since I don't talk fancy. "

“Accumula…”

It didn’t take long for Will to lose Artie out of sight. They hadn’t been in the town for more than 10 minutes and they were nowhere near vision range. The two brothers had different interests, and seeing how the town was preened up for a festival which promised a lot of different kiosks and activities, the brothers parted ways to search for whatever would individually benefit them the most.

William loved carnivals, festivals, parades, and everything that involved lights, fireworks and decorations. He had been to Accumula’s festival many times before, when he was a kid. He enjoyed every single time more than the other, every journey had a different experience or anecdote to be told. Nevertheless, it had been a while before his and Artie’s last visit; because of their father issue.

Will, engineer by heart, first walked over to the enormous ferris wheels and spinning games to examine their structure as they were being built. The workers did not appreciate the youngster’s nosiness, and after a few eerie stares he understood that he had to back off from the railings. The small portable shops were being stocked and people ran in an out with cardboard boxes and crates, not really allowing him to go in.

After a while of senselessly wandering around, William got to a bookstore. It hadn’t been an easy find. During his travel to the shop, he even saw the girls from earlier today battling another green haired stranger. Naturally, he didn’t interrupt; he had no business to solve with them. He in fact silently scoffed before turning to his destination.

The small stand did not have many books, and all that actually were there were about the legendary Pokémon to whom the festival was dedicated to. Surprisingly, Willliam was very ignorant regarding this topics, so he took a book and walked around a corner, a small bookshelf, so the owner wouldn’t see him reading. He began ogling through the pages silently, minding his own business as he waited for time to pass and the festival to begin.


((Just a little filler, tiff and I have some plans on mind))

The man from Gotham, he wore the grey and blue.

"IF YOU THOUGHT THAT DAMN POKEBALL HURT, JUST YOU WAIT, YOU ASSHOLE!" A voice echoed out behind Artie. He glanced over his shoulder to see the girl from earlier.

"Oh. Oh shit. Um... catch ya bro", Artemis nodded to his brother before sprinting off into the somewhat crowded Accumula town. He weaved his way through the crowds, darting and diving in an attempt to elude the girl. He skidded to a halt right in front of a large crowd, the smell of burning rubber ever-so-slightly wafting off of the pavement. Artemis burrowed his way into the crowd and turned his attention to the speaker.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation."

'Oh great, another whack job. I just can't catch a break, can I?' Artemis mused quietly.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our "partners" at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"

'This must be that Pokemon Liberation group someone was talking about a few days ago. Pfft, I've got better things to do this listen to this crap.' Artie stumbled out of the crowd and walked briskly down the street, checking over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure he'd lost the crazy stalker lady. The street was lined with stalls selling a variety of goods and games for people to play. After trying his hand in a few games of chance and buying a raffle ticket, he arrived at a small purple tent; an oddity in the otherwise vibrant and packed street.

"Seems legit".

Inside was a round table covered with a purple table cloth. At the center sat a crystal ball, currently being ogled at by a crone of a woman.

"So... want to tell me my fortune?"

------

After what seemed like a long time, Artemis exited the tent and looked out into the fresh Accumula air. He paced down the street in a vane attempt to seek out Will, but did not succeed. After walking aimlessly for a few minutes around town, a shrill cry from a nearby alleyway caught Artemis's attention. He stuck his head around the corner, gasping in surprise at the sight.

"Well, well, well gentlemen, what do we have here?" Artemis recollected himself quickly in an attempt to defuse the situation. Two thugs appeared to be threatening a young child and his pet Lillipup.

"Stay out of this kid, or you're next."

"I was hoping you'd say that", Artemis retorted as he reached for his pokeballs. His trademark smirk soon disappeared from his face as a high-pitched shrill echoed throughout his mind.

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" called out a familiar voice from behind him.

"Oh. Fuck."



(((OCC: There ya go. If Miranda doesn't want that to be her I can change it, and I left the fortune and raffle up to Tiff.)))

Haruka left the fortune tellers tent, laughing. She thought the old woman was a wackjob. "What a weird duck! C'mon Hanako let's go get some cotton candy!" She giggled and smiled down at Hanako. The girl seemed deep in thought.

"Ah, um, I actually saw a book kiosk, over there...I want to go check it out..." Hanako murmered. Haruka raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Oh, well, okay then, I'll buy you one with my winnings then! Pink or Blue?"

"B-Blue please.."

" Allrighty! " Haruka pranced off to buy the cotton candy, but froze as she had seen some of the games. " Prizes! Must win must win! " She rushed to the raffle and threw down some money. " TWO TICKETS PLEASE! " She grinned and let her eyes wonder the prizes. "Accessorys, plushies, useful stuff..OH! an egg! Oh I'd love that egg! but I doubt I'll get it.. if I can win at all I'll be happy as a clampearl! " she giggled and went to get the cotton candy before going back to check the outcome of her raffle. She was distracted again and bought her pokemon a corndog to eat. " Here you go Chompers!Careful, its hot! " She pulled the breaded meat from the skewer and handed it to her small gator.

" DILE! " The small pokemon bit down onto the corndog and munched happily, then would freak out as it burned its tongue.

" I said it was hot! " Haruka laughed and got a bottled water for him. " Silly boy. S'okay. I eat too fast sometimes too! " She giggled and returned her pokemon to the pokeball after he drank his water. Then she rushed off to the raffle to see if she won.

Thud.

William had been skimming through many books during his stay in the little shop. He was a quick reader, and he loved to cheat the system by digesting as much information as possible without actually having to buy the book. Sneaky.

Most of the books were completely irrelevant to him: some weird mythological stuff. Accumula was known for being very superstitious, or so did Will think. He was a little confused in that aspect. He knew that there was something more in this world, a force that no human could control or understand, and the existence of Arceus was not arguable. But still.

After reading about Zororo—who –knows-what and Reshi—thingy for some minutes, and right before he could store some books away, a body bumped against Will.

Will’s towering frame barely felt the contact, but it apparently hadn’t been the case for the other mass involved. Within a second, a dozen books were flipped open, wrinkled, and scattered on the floor. Behind, almost beneath, all of them was a girl with a face he found familiar.

“Damn,” Will muttered under his lips as he crept closer. “Are you Ok?”

Without really taking a good look, William stretched his arm and picked the girl up by the hand. With his other hand he picked up a couple of books, again, not having stared at her.

“You should be more careful, these shop owners get all angry if… Wait a second.”

As he pressed the books against her chest for her to hold, Williams eyes met the nearly shaking ones of the girl. He saw vulnerability.

“You’re that girl from earlier today! The one that nearly got my brother killed. Although I think I should thank you for that…” The last part was sarcastically whispered withing William’s insides, but the rest of the sentence expressed clear and utter shock.

Will stepped back and turned to the sides pretty quickly. He wanted to make sure the valkyrie that accompanied this little fella wasn’t around. He was to pretty too be slapped across the face.

“I’m sorry” he said mindlessly as he stared at the girl, examining her as she seemed to stare at him in shock. “Uh… are you ok? “ He repeated. “Where’s the group you were traveling with?”

" GOLD PRIZE! " The raffel person rang the bell in celebration. Harukas eyes went wide as she stared at the egg on the stand.

" I...win that egg? OHMYARCEUS! CHOMPERS! WE GOT AN EGG! " She lept up and down in joy as she cuddled the small gator, who struggled against his trainers overly enthusiastic grasp. She set him down and he quickly gasped for breath.

" Dile..." He sighed, then wagged his tail as he watched Haruka take the egg case from the raffleman.

" To think...we're going to raise a baby pokemon! I wonder what kind it will be! " She giggled and started walking to the bookstore with her prize held protectively to her chest. Chompers following as quick as he could. With a gentle touch, haruka carefully placed the protective egg case into her bag and walked to find Hanako. " Lets find the others Chompers. " She lifted him into her arms and headed toward the bookstore. She stopped outside as she noticed a banner with the image of reshiram. A slight grin played across her lips at the sight of it, and her eyes danced with a dark and yet pleased emotion. " I find this to be a most ideal day, don't you think Chompers? " She giggled, her eyes filling with the normal overly cheerful glimmer . the started walking again but bumped into Valeria. " Oof! OH! There you are Val! Hanako-chans at the bookstore, and I WON AN EGG! " She grinned ear to ear with pride in herself for her victory. " SO! wanna do anything fun while here? "

She had to frantically search for her voice for a few moments because it would be rude not to respond, "U-Um..Haruka-chan went o-off to buy cotton candy..and I-I really d-don't know where Valeria-chan is...I-I c-came here too look a-at some books..I g-got a bit carried away though… I-I'm very sorry for bumping into you... I-I'm a-also really sorry a-about what happened with Artemis, it's..n-not that I w-was trying to be m-mean or anything..it's just... I j-just..have a r-really hard t-time with people... And Valeria knows that...so she tends to be a bit overprotective...Valeria-chan i-isn't actually a bad person..."

This girl was so funny. In a weird way, of course. Will hadn’t ever seen anyone stutter and shake so much while talking, it was sincerely frightening. Although some could be intimidated by William’s stance, he had not done anything to intimidate this female in front of him. Not only was her shaking unusual, she fervently held her hand up against her face, as if covering or rubbing something.

Will was somewhat confused, and his troubled expression easily told him away. Still, he didn’t like being in anyone’s bad side, so he tried to keep a friendly posture with the frightened girl.

"Um...Where's Artemis...? He was traveling with you was he not... Um...if it's not to much trouble...would you like to..um..See the carnival with me...? I should look for Valeria t-too. If y-your busy I understand and.. .I know we didn't exactly start out on good terms..."

Too many things going on at once. William could tell that this girl wasn’t an avid socializer because she spoke too quickly. It’s like she hadn’t uttered a word to someone in years and now she wanted to get all out.

She made a point, William did not know where Artemis was to be found, but he didn’t really care or worry. He could just ring him up later, for he was a big guy that could take care of himself. Chances were he was hooking with some girl by now.

Her invitation took him by surprise, as well. William looked sideways, as if to make sure she was really talking to him. Why should he accompany this young lady? She hadn’t exactly been a friend to him, and “voluble” was not the best word to describe her in these very moments. But a weird spark ignited inside Will, and without connecting his tongue to his brain he uttered a: “yeah, sure.”

~What did I just say?~

William supposed this girl needed some help. She was so scared of people, he felt it was a need to get her back to her group. Otherwise, the tumult that would arrive to the festival later would eat her alive.

“What’s your name?” He asked kindly as he began to walk out of the bookstore, motioning for her to follow. He noticed she did not remove her hand from her face. “Does your face hurt or something?” he asked as he pulled his lighter out. He didn’t light it, he just flickered the Zippo’s lid open and close.

“Yeah, sure,” Will replied calmly. Hanako gave a little bit of a sigh of relief but somehow the boy accepting her offer made her feel a bit happy. She gave a small smile when the boy asked her name in a calm tone as well as they were leaving the store after paying for the book she had bought.

"H-Hanako Ikezawa is my name, nice t-to meet you," She still kept her right hand covering the ugly half of her face. A nasty habit that was hard to break, she even made such a movement when talking to Valeria. William had apparently picked up on the notion however.

“Does your face hurt or something?” he asked as he pulled his lighter out. He didn’t light it, he just flickered the Zippo’s lid open and close. She shrank away a little bit, normally this would be the part where she would hide behind Valeria who would then defend her.

"N-no..It doesn't really hurt, not anymore a-anyway, I just..like to spare people the s-sight of my ugly face.." Hanako shrank a little bit further and lowered her hand giving him just a little bit of the burn scars that weren't covered by her hair. They scars themselves were a horrible dark brown, that would remind someone of charcoal or decaying wood, the two then walked in a sort of awkward silence for a bit after that, Hanako had never been good at small talk so she had to think of something, "H-have you been to this festival before?" She asked looking at William but still somewhat avoiding eye contact to keep her hand from covering her face.

Valeria

"Alright, alright, let's not do anything we'll regret," he said as he inched slowly towards the pair of thugs. "Everyone just needs to calm down and RAWRGH-" He bellowed, striking at the captor's head. Valeria coughed, gulping down air which stung her lungs. Malice yowled and lept off the attacker and onto Valeria,"Here's a pro-tip kid: as funny as it is to punch a man with a closed fist, I'm relatively sure it broke my thumb. So", he winced in pain once more, "don't do that," The thug has regained his senses and edged towards Artemis with his cohort, "Heh, I don't think that is such a good idea amigos."

"Oh yeah? Why not?" One of them jeered.

"Well it's obvious really. I have a gun."

Valeria's eyes widened. Did he have a gun this whole time? With Koko-chan, and when she was chasing him? She could have easily been dead meat!

"Oh. Shit," Artemis whipped out a pistol that had been sitting on his hip and chuckled,
"You guys didn't expect that did you? So, chop chop. Piss off." The grunts bolted from the alleyway, in a desperate scramble to get out of there as soon as possible. Artie rushed over to the kid. "Hey, you alright there? It's okay, you're safe now," Artemis followed the kid's terrified eyes to his pistol, "Oh this?" he chuckled again, "This is a prop gun I won at the festival a few hours ago. See?" He pulled the trigger and a little sign popped out of the end and unfurled. "It says BANG, see? It's not a real gun. Now, let's get you home aye. Piggyback?" He let the kid jump on his back and walked over to Valeria.

She instantly went into a defensive stance and quickly stood up, "What do I owe you something now?"

"Are you alright? We can go to the Pokecenter if you're hurt, I don't think this town has anything better," He looked over to the Malice, "You've got quite a little ferocious pokemon there. She's got a nasty bite." He ruffled the fur on the cat's head., "Anyway, I'll get this little tyke home. See yah later." He sped off in the direction the kid pointed.

Valeria crossed her arms and gave a little snicker, "You okay, Malice?" The cat yowled signaling she was okay, "That's good, because in that blind rage I ran off without Koko-chan, and knowing her and crowds she'll probably be having a tough time without me," Valeria said giving the cat Pokemon a pat on the head, "You did good though, you make me proud to be your trainer."

She exited the alleyway when Haruka's voice called out to her, "" OH! There you are Val! Hanako-chans at the bookstore, and I WON AN EGG!" She grinned ear to ear with pride in herself for her victory. " SO! Wanna do anything fun while here?"

"Sounds great!" She smiled amiably at Haruka, "But we should probably retrieve Koko-chan first, she doesn't do well in crowds, then we can all get some food or something, I am starving!"

—"N-no...It doesn't really hurt, not anymore a-anyway, I just... Like to spare people the s-sight of my ugly face...”
—“What does that me—… Oh.”

As William and the girl walked around absentmindedly, he saw how he lowered her hand to reveal the scars on her face. The charred skin almost appeared to be fresh, as in burned just some minutes ago. Will could almost imagine the boiling warts that appeared when she had the injury occur. He cringed at the sight, thinking that the scars still hurt her in some way. The girl was obviously embarrassed about her wounds; she was probably often judged or ridiculed for them.

William remained quiet for some moments, ashamed of having asked about her face. He felt really insensitive, and now felt like he had to make it up for her. Before he could say anything else, however, the girl spoke.

"H-have you been to this festival before?" She asked without really looking up to him.
William remained thoughtful for a while. The answer was an obvious no; he wasn’t from around, but still he thought about the answer. For a minute, he just looked to the sides, seeing how the games were being set up. As a little engineer, he loved watching machines being built. It wouldn’t be long before it got dark, also, and the lights being armed was a delightful sight. It appeared William was trying to reminisce something, but nothing entered his head.

“No,” he finally answered. “I actually hadn’t been to this town before. I’m new to the zone. It all seems really nice, I’m excited. Have you?”

Trying to alleviate the recent stress and awkwardness, he stretched out his hand, lighter in palm, and said “I’m William, by the way. I’m sorry for asking about your face.”

"Dude, why didn't you get his number?!" Valeria demanded of Haruka, raising her hands up in a perplexed motion while the two girls both sucked down another bag of cotton candy apiece. It was inevitable that after bumping into one another, and after not having seen one another for an extended period, that the two would talk about boys. Namely a particular attractive green-haired one that Haruka had had the good fortune to wollop in battle.

"Look, I don't know! I mean, he was cute and all, but he was spouting all this garbage about Chompers and Seychelles not being happy with me and Hana, which reminded me of the Pokemon liberation crap that these nutjobs were going on about earlier. That kind of thing is just kind of a turn off, you know?" Haruka blinked up at Valeria, and Valeria nodded somberly.

"He sounds like the type of man my parents have always wanted for me to bring home. You know, me and Hanako always had wild Pokemon around our house to play with, but my parents wouldn't let us capture a single damn one of them? Always went on about how Pokeballs were psychologically damaging for a Pokemon. But at least you kicked his ass. That's what most important."

Haruka nodded appreciatively, finishing off the last of her cotton candy and pitching the bag in a waste container. The throng of people populating the festival was growing ever thicker, and the two girls were becming just as minute and unrecognizable in the crowd as anybody else. And while it felt like the two had been weaving in and out of the booths, kiosks, and stands peppering the town of Accumula, the duo still hadn't caught sight of Hanako. This light-hearted conversation she was having with Haruka was really only serving as a distraction from her mounting anxiety. What had happened to her sister? Had those goons Haruka had mentioned advocating Pokemon liberation gotten to her? Dread for the worst case scenario was making her innards churn. Suddenly, Valeria took notice of Haruka's backpack.

"That's some bulge you got there!" Valeria exclaimed, and for some reason, Haruka glanced questionably down at her pants which caused Valeria to burst out in raucous, obnoxious laughter. Wordlessly, she gestured towards Haruka's backpack.

"Oh yeah! The egg I won! It's vair nice, yes?" In a flurry of motion, Haruka pulled the case out of her backpack. Valeria felt a twinge of jealousy as she gazed upon the supposedly rare specimen.

"I meant to buy a ticket, but I, uh, got caught up with something." Valeria responded, her explanation provoking her to think about the unexpected scenario that had happened with Artemis earlier. Despite her hitting him dead on with a pokeball, punching him, knocking him to the ground, and kicking him at his most vulnerable moment, it was now to him she owed her life or at least her relatively unscathed physique.

"Oooh, did that particular 'something' maybe have anything to do with a boy you met in the streets?"

Scarlet crept across Valeria's cheeks, and she glanced hastily away, turning her face in the opposite direction Haruka was facing. Valeria was thinking about those wide, deep-set eyes, that mess of shaggy chestnut hair. In her prior blind rage, Valeria had failed to notice just how radiant Artemis was. Malice smirked down at her trainer from her shoulder, winking at Valeria, giving the adolescent indication that she knew exactly what was on her mind.

"In fact, it did." Valeria responded simply, hoping that Haruka wouldn't press the issue. Valeria had no problem confiding in Hanako, but to anyone else, especially when it came to the verbal expression of emotions, Valeria tended to downplay them, glossing them over with a carefully constructed veil of humor or negativism. But this time, she just didn't particularly want to discuss this weird, contradictory, ironic turn of events. It was then that Valeria finally spotted Hanako, accompanied by a much larger man. Valeria's first instinct was to put herself and some distance between Hana and the man who stood beside her. Adrenaline coursed through her body, and she balled her hand into a preparatory fist. Hanako didn't do so well around people, much less the male gender. Valeria plunged forward, fury pounding in her head, Malice stiffening on her shoulder and beginning to yowl. She was less than ten feet away from the couple, her lips moving to in preparation to yell to distract the man from her endangered sister, but suddenly, she skidded to a halt. She noticed the flicker of a smile on her sister's face. As rare and illusive as a smile from Hanako was, this was quite literally the first time that a strange man had elicited it. Valeria could do nothing more but stand and stare at the storybook scene.

"Valeria, what's up?! What happened?!" Haruka asked, rushing up beside Valeria, as Valeria extended a hand and stopped Haruka short. The pair waited for Hanako and the man to walk by them before Valeria stepped out in front of Hanako.

"Hey Koko, we've been looking everywhere for you! It's like playing "Where's Waldo" trying to find you in this mess! Who's your friend?" Valeria interrogated lightly, sizing up the male who was a good nine inches taller than even she was. Suddenly, Valeria's eyes opened in realization and she felt just a little bit shy. The man who was escorting her sister around the town was none other than the twin brother of Artemis. Valeria grimaced. She typically didn't feel remorse for her actions, especially when they were necessary for protecting Hanako, but she definitely regretted ever attacking Artemis. She was sure that this boy hated her now, just as she would loathe the perpetrator who ever laid a hand on Hana. She knew she had to square things up with him, but she didn't know how. So she decided to begin with a simple invitation.

"Hey Hana, do you guys want to come grab something to eat with me and Haruka before the fireworks show? I know you don't have an affinity for loud noises, but it'll be more than worth it! We have so much to catch up on, anyways. So what do you say? You guys down?"

“No,” he finally answered. “I actually hadn’t been to this town before. I’m new to the zone. It all seems really nice, I’m excited. Have you?”

Hanako nodded a little bit, "O-Once," She recalled the memory and a small smile crept across her face, "V-Valeria convinced me to s-sneak out with her during one of my p-parents benefits...It was..v-very interesting," Hanako's smiles were always elusive and usually only Valeria only got to see them but she couldn't help smiling at the memory, "I s-still have the Zekrom p-plushie she gave me..."

“I’m William, by the way. I’m sorry for asking about your face,” He said, this made Hanako shrink away a little bit but gape at him in astonishment as well. A mixture of fear and surprise came across her face. She then noticed he was holding his hand out, warily she put fourth her right hand to shake lightly, but instantly drew back he hand when she saw his eyes dart to the scars on her right hand. She quickly pulled down her sleeve to cover the hand and shrank away from William.


"Y-you didn't really do anything w-wrong, it's just..." She said, "S-some people aren't...aren't as nice about it as you are..." Hanako put her back to her face covering the scars with her hand.

Change the subject, change the subject, change the subject.

She watched him eye things being built and tried to draw a conversation from that, "D-do you l-like watching stuff being made...?"

But the conversation was cut short when Valeria had come up to the two. She hadn't seen Valeria and was quite relieved to see her to be honest. It meant that she no longer had to attempt at small talk, "Hey Koko, we've been looking everywhere for you! It's like playing "Where's Waldo" trying to find you in this mess! Who's your friend?"

Her eyes seemed to widen as she realized who it was and then she shrank away a little bit. She obviously regretted what she did to Artemis now.

Such was the nature of Valeria, however.

"I-I'm sorry...I-I lost you after you t-took off and then t-there was a book kiosk I-i wanted to see..." She gestured to the book she was still gripping tightly in her hands.

"Hey Hana, do you guys want to come grab something to eat with me and Haruka before the fireworks show? I know you don't have an affinity for loud noises, but it'll be more than worth it! We have so much to catch up on, anyways. So what do you say? You guys down?"

"Y-Yes," She said, "I-I'm sure...it will be fun..." Hanako said half-heartedly. To be honest, the thought of fireworks frightened her but she had managed to work up the courage to talk to a person other than Valeria today, and a male none the less, feeling a twinge of pride for her bravery she believed she could enjoy the fireworks very much.

Haruka smiled, walking with Val and talking about her exploits at the festival, including the amazing battle she won. She giggled when Val told how her parents were. Truthfully, she knew how the parents must have felt though. Pokeballs must not be comfy, which is why she liked keeping Chompy out. With her mind wandering, she nearly jumped at Vals next comment.

"That's some bulge you got there!" Val exclaimed, and Haruka looked down at her pants confused, then smirked when the girl started laughing. " Well, I AM really happy to see you I guess~ " She laughed aswell now and smiled when Val motioned to her backpack.

"Oh yeah! The egg I won! It's vary nice, yes?" Haruka grinned with pride as she reached in and pulled out the eggs container, the fragile little unborn pokemon sitting protected behind the reinforced glass.

"I meant to buy a ticket, but I, uh, got caught up with something." Val sighed,looking deep in thought. Haruka raised a brow.

"Oooh, did that particular 'something' maybe have anything to do with a boy you met in the streets?" She smirked wide as she noticed Valeries face going as red as a tomato berry.

"In fact, it did." Valeria responded simply, and Haruka could tell she wanted to drop the issue. She wondered what happened of corse, but she had seen valeries temper first hand and did NOT wan't to have it aimed at her. It wasn't long now before the two found Hanako and Haruka raised a brow noticing that a certain twin was with her. Val noticed aswell and charged forward, like a tauros on a rampage before freezing. Oh yeah, what ever happened between her and this guys bro had to be interesting to stop a force stronger than an angry gyarados. She walked over and heard the offer to get food and fireworks.

" Dude, this will be EPIC! " She grinned and hugged the two girls as they walked. " I can tell we all are gunna be a great team! And we need a team name.."

"D-do you l-like watching stuff being made...?"

~Stuff being made?~
Well, that sure was an awkward question. William was not sure of what this girl meant. It took him a moment of realization before remembering that he had been absentmindedly watching the machines under construction. He supposed that was what the lady in front of him wanted to say, since her strangely articulated sentence and all the little signs that had been occurring revealed she wasn’t an avid socializer.

“Uh… Yeah,” he muttered idiotically and snapping back into himself. “I’m an engineer!” He bragged, proud of himself. Pride was one of William’s flaws, he had never been the most humble person on earth, but he tried, everyday, to change that. “Machines are my best friends, I’m awkward with people,” he joked. “I’d rather sit with a screwdriver and an engine aaaaaaaall day long.” Before he could say anything else, anyway, the valkyrie broke into the scene.

"Hey Koko, we've been looking everywhere for you! It's like playing "Where's Waldo" trying to find you in this mess! Who's your friend?"

William puffed up and hardened, almost as if expecting a slap from Valeria. Surprisingly, she seemed to be the one that flinched. At such notion, William backed down and smiled, letting her know she was in friendly territory. Not waiting for Hanako to begin, he burst:

“My name is William, nice to meet you! I won’t stretch my hand out because if I’m anything like my brother, you’ll probably snap it in two.”

"Hey Hana, do you guys want to come grab something to eat with me and Haruka before the fireworks show? I know you don't have an affinity for loud noises, but it'll be more than worth it! We have so much to catch up on, anyways. So what do you say? You guys down?"

William did not expect the girl to do this, so he just awkwardly tilted his head to a side and lifted a brow. He imagined he was going to lose Koko sooner or later, in the tumult, but the invitation kinda tied him further with the girls. Not to mention it was still going to be a while before the fireworks show.

Hanako agreed, then both girls turned to the newcomer. William did not know what to say, he just faked a grin. It was very crooked, however, flashing almost only his lower line of teeth. Faking it, however, he managed to articulate some words in a very convincing tone.

“Sure, it’ll be fun, let’s go! Lead on.”

He then noticed a third girl happily yelling it would be epic. William shrank. Gently falling behind, William reached into his pocked and pulled out a small earpiece which connected wirelessly to his phone. Without the need to pull the phone out of his pocket, he whispered:

“New text message…. Artie.”

When the earpiece recognized the command, it converted William’s voice to text.

“Dude, where the hell are you?”

William then looked around.

“You won’t believe what just happened. Hurry up, come over here near the hot dog stand under the Ferris wheel. Bring some band-aids… Send.”

*beep beep bedoop*

Artie's phone chimed to life. He'd dropped the kid off at home but hadn't wanted to impose on the family. They'd given him a small token of their appreciation, a few pokeballs they had lying around the house. Artemis had thanked them for their kindness before swiftly leaving. He needed to catch up with his brother and decide what they were going to do next.

'I figure that other girl is still bitter about me flipping her off... I'm such a classy gentleman.. Just like Dad....' Artemis smirked to himself before opening the message.

"“Dude, where the hell are you? You won’t believe what just happened. Hurry up, come over here near the hot dog stand under the Ferris wheel. Bring some band-aids".

"Sounds eventful. I'm in." He meandered over to ferris wheel, stopping only to pick up some bandages and a toffee apple from a nearby street vendor. Artemis glimpsed his brother from out of the corner of his eye.

'Heh, my player of a brother's got female company', Artie thought to himself, not recognising the girls from earlier. 'Maybe I'll give him some help..'

"I hope he's telling the story of how my brother here saved my life from what, at the time, seemed like a countless wave of thuggish poachers", Artemis spoke as he arrived, interrupting any conversation that was taking place, his face adopting it's trademark charm as he weaved his tale.

((OOC: Tiff, if you want to do anything with those free pokeballs I got, feel free.))

Artemis received x2 Premier Balls.

----

"Dude, this will be EPIC! " Haruka grinned and hugged the Valeria and Hanako as they walked. " I can tell we all are gonna be a great team! And we need a team name.." Although out of habit Hanako instantly flinched away from Haruka's touch, leaving her awkwardly hanging onto Valeria.

In an attempt to ease the awkwardness Hanako put fourth her two cents on the matter, "T-that seems...fun.." A badly hidden smile showed her approval of the subject, "I-it could be like out of o-one of those super hero manga's..."

"Hah~" Haruka laughed pleasantly, " I didn't take you to be a manga fan, Hanako," Hanako nodded slightly.

"I-I don't read them too much, b-but sometimes fantasy shoujo manga's..c-can be quite..enjoyable," Hanako admitted. She enjoyed the fluff aspect of most shoujo manga's, even though she herself didn't believe in the aspect of love and kept everyone excluding Valeria at arm's distance from her, so it was nice for even just a short period of time that she could think differently.

This is when Artemis suddenly materialized next to William. The sudden materialization of a second male character caused her to flinch away a little bit, "I hope he's telling the story of how my brother here saved my life from what, at the time, seemed like a countless wave of thuggish poachers," He had a smooth grin on his face, which shockingly only caused Hanako to shy away even more from Artemis.

Hanako's gazed darted around like a scared rabbit. She had begun to notice how many people were truly at this festival and a feeling of panic began to rise within her. Valeria had noticed this by now too and in an attempt to save her sister from an oncoming panic attack she offered kindly, "Let's watch the fireworks elsewhere, it's too crowded here for my tastes~" Valeria smoothly laughed and took Hanako's hand, giving her a friendly wink.

Relief was clearly plastered over Hanako's face, and the group soon found a place away from most of the festival on Valeria's suggestion. Hanako sat down on the grass and watched the fireworks being released. There were many "aaa's" and "oooo's" erupting from Haruka. Hanako had amiably let her recently caught Audino out of its poke ball so it could watch the fireworks as well. Hanako smiled as they released fireworks that were shaped like different Pokémon. A quick smile would come over her face when she saw an Audino or Oshawott firework.

The atmosphere was relaxing as the fireworks soon burst into their grand finale and ended, leaving the lingering smell of exploded gun powder in the air accompanied by a small breeze. Hanako looked down at her two Pokémon, Seychelles had fallen asleep in her lap and Elizabetta was gazing up at her. Hanako gave the small pastel pink Pokémon a pat on the head.

"It..would be nice if we could do this again sometime..." She heard herself mutter. She returned her Pokémon to their Pokeballs, stood up and stretched.

Although it had been a shaky start, things had worked out in the end, right? That's all that mattered. For the first time since she started this journey, she felt a twinge of confidence that she could do it. No matter what it was.

Little did Hanako know, that this adventure would bring about so much more for her than just the ability to change, little did she know how right the fortune teller was. The trials that were to come for this group, would have the power to change the world, and for better or for worse..had yet to be decided.

----End Chapter 2---