Rollin' Down the River

[Bayhound]

Finally, no more rampaging Kyogres and onto the next town! Lesa was aboard Comet, of course, Celeste on Lapras, and Sawyer clinging to Floatzal, the last two lent to them courtesy of Becker. Although they could have all jumped aboard Comet, the Suicune was still just a puppy. His species may have had the ability to walk in and on the water just as well, or maybe even better, than on land, but three girls on his back, plus their bags, would have worn on him after a while. Then there would be breaks involved, and on an all-water route like this, they didn't really need to take longer than one day to get to their destination. Or... was it common for people to camp for a night?

She supposed there was the riverbank, but that was pretty soddy and not very solid. Sawyer didn't know about the other girls, but she did NOT want to wake up with her clothes stained a dark brown. Oh, the jokes that would follow... Still, they'd seemed to have made time rather well so far. Luca looked around, somewhat content to sit atop his trainer's head as she swam alongside Floatzel, her own eyes locked on Lapras. He'd graciously taken up the position of 'pack pokemon' and currently had all of their bags on his back, along with their eggs.

"Are we there yet?" she joked, kicking her feet around. "I can't wait to get to Quakita and dig around in the mines~ and even better, take part in that battle thing.' Her eyes seemed to sparkle at the thought of leveling her pokemon up, and Luca chirped, knowing the feeling. "Speaking of leveling up, shouldn't we have seen some wild pokemon by now?"

The Floatzel before her shrugged and kept moving, bringing up the rear of the group. "Floatzel, Float." Don't jinx yourself, kid. Of course, Sawyer being Sawyer, she had to overthink things, and in the end her mind put together some nasty plot that Team Necro had executed on the area. But honestly, they'd just gotten started. Maybe the pokemon just hadn't noticed them yet? Gah!

Suddenly, her Axew was fwopping his paws on her head. "Axew!" Calm down! he huffed, sighing as he relaxed again. The trainer sighed and nodded as if she understood him, trying to ease her mind and enjoy the water before they got to another city and once again found themselves rushing around.

[Catilena1890]

Celeste nervously clutched Vulpina to her chest as she looked into the water over the Lapras' shell.

"I second that, the sooner we get to land the better." She said while Ming-ming rolled her eyes from atop Lapras' head.

"Silly Celeste's scared of water." She chirped, earning a glare from her trainer.

"I am NOT scared, I just don't like being on the water on someone else's back. I prefer swimming myself." She said, turning her nose up while Ming-ming chuckled. The purple skunk turned to Sawyer and nodded at her, stretching out.

"It's probably me. Most pokemon take one look at a stunky or skuntank and flee. After all, my wild cousins are fairly aggressive, and spray without warning." She said in a matter of fact tone, looking over at Lesa.

"Thanks for getting rid of that Kyogre for us. Kinda annoying to be boxed up underwater when you have a giant blue thing mucking up the joint." Ming-ming told her with a smile. Before any response could be made, a horrible screech was heard, causing Ming-ming and Vulpina to clutch their ears in pain while the pokemon the three girls were on struggled in pain. A bright pink and purple blur rushed out screaming, and all of the pokemon who weren't being ridden on suddenly retreated into their pokeballs. Celeste gasped as a fog rolled in, and bright red eyes stared at the girls. Celeste grew very frightened, and fearfully clutched at her pokeballs, knocking one off into the water. She forgot her fear at the eyes for a moment and leaned over the lapras she rode on in terror.

"Reso! No!" She cried just as the eyes came closer. A pulse burst forth from the water and pushed the eyes back, and from the water leapt the brave ralts, clutching his pokeball tightly as he landed on top of the lapras' head. Thinking while the crearue was stunned, Reso threw his pokeball at Lesa, which hit one of her own pokeballs, causing Jupiter to appear. Reso and Jupiter bravely stood in front of their trainers, ready to defend their friends with everything they have.

"Ralts ralts! Raaaalllllts!" One good hit should do it! Let's goooooo! Reso said, feeling his trainer's fear intensely.

Mystery Creature: ?/?

[Basile]

Well, there was one thing that Lesa had to admit to herself. While it was nice having a ball to recall Comet into, she absolutely adored his ability to walk on and through water as if it were solid ground. While the others were getting wet from swimming, in Sawyer's case, or clinging to the back of a water steed, in Celeste's case, she was simply sitting like normal. Sure, her bum was getting a bit sore, but at least she was safe and dry. Okay, so she was feeling a bit smug at the moment, but hey, she had just received her fourth breeder's sign. She was allowed a bit of gloating, she thought. After all, if she wanted to, she could go and take the test to be an official breeder! The very thought sent a thrill through her body.

And yet, at the same time, it made her sad. She had seen so little of Varaia, and she really didn't want to separate from her friends. So she would stick around and continue the journey with them. There was no hurry for her to take her breeder's test.

So, for the moment, the girl was content to stay by her friends' side and laugh with them. "Yeah, even I wouldn't be particularly thrilled about encountering some wilds in the middle of this river. It would be kind of hard to battle with no ground to stand on. So thank you for keeping them away, Ming-Ming." Of course, half of her response got drowned out by a horrid screech that made Comet buck and let out his little squeaky roar.

Rather than terrified, Lesa was simply shocked out of her senses. She blinked and stared, instinctively holding on Comet's mane as her eyes glazed over from the intensity of the shriek. Of course, when Celeste shouted out Reso's loss, the girl seemed to shake herself and turned just in time to see a small red and white blur streaking in her direction. Instinctively, her arm came up to shield herself, but instead the object hit her belt and released one of her pokeballs. She caught it as it fell, and glanced from the the balls to Jupiter who was shrieking back at the angry red eyes.

The bird didn't wait for a command from her trainer, simply cried out in her own shrill pitch as two streaks of blue cut through the air in a hopefully powerful Air Cutter attack.

"Pidg pidgey pidg!" How dare you attack us!

[RESULT: 9]

[Catilena1890]

The shriek cired out again as a whooshing sound was heard, and the fog lifted, clearing everyone's vision again. Looking up, Celeste saw a strange purple and pink creature and tilted her head.

"Was that a Rayquaza?" She asked as Ming-ming removed her paws from her ears.

"Not a Rayquaza I`ve ever seen. Course, the only one I`ve ever seen smells worse than I do." She mumbled while Vulpina stared at Reso. Celeste turned to the ralts gratefully and was about to speak to him when he was engulfed in a white light, shocking her.

"Reso! Oh my arceus are you okay? What's happening?" She asked as Ming-ming smirked.

"He's fine Cel, he's evolving." She said while Reso grew. His arms grew longer while his "helmet" spilt and lengthened. The dress he wore became a tattered skirt, and his legs grew longer. The light faded and Reso opened his now-exposed eyes, staring lovingly at his trainer.

"Kirlia!" Look at me! He chirped while Celeste pulled out her pokedex.

"Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ralts. Kirlia is able to sense the feelings of its Trainer, and when it becomes happy, it will start to dance." Said the pokedex as Reso twirled around on the lapras' head. Celeste grinned widely as she turned to her friends while her pokemon danced.

"Reso evolved into a Kirlia! This is so exciting, I just saw my first evolution!" She said happily, vibrating with the excitement of her pokemon evolving.

Pokemon Evolved:

Celeste:


Pokemon Name: Reso (Kirlia)
Gender: Male
Pokemon Personality: Resourceful, crybaby, dependable
Pokemon Ability: Synchronise
Pokemon Health: 25
Pokemon Level: 20
Move Roster: Growl, Echoed Voice, Confusion, Teleport, Lucky Chant

Experience

160/180

[Bayhound]

Sawyer was somewhat amused as Ming-Ming stretched out on the Lapras's back, sighing a bit as she heard what the skunk was saying. Bummer... she kind of hoped she could find a water pokemon around here to include in her team. After all, the next few gyms as far as she knew would put Paisley and Luca to the test - even Diablo would have a tough time against rock and ground types. But there were other ways of acquiring pokemon before they got to Quakita, and... there was her egg. She glanced over at her bag that was too on Lapras, hoping it was alright. Maybe... the next city would help her figure out how to nudge it into hatching.

Her attention was too turned towards Lesa as Celeste's pokemon bespoke her, but before she could speak, an ear-splitting screech severed the mood as it split through the air. Much to her disappointment, Sawyer actually had to hunker down and cover hear ears, and when she was finally able to look up, whatever it was was gone. Frantically, she looked over to where she last saw her Axew, only to see that he'd been withdrawn into his pokeball and nowhere in sight. "...Luca?" she called, looking around somewhat deliriously. At least Floatzel hadn't abandoned her, although he was shaking. She gave the water type a thankful pat before sinking down into the water, the liquid covering her mouth as the fog rolled in and two crimson eyes stared hard at them.

"What are we--" the trainer was interrupted as Reso popped out of his pokeball and bravely stood before the mysterious beast, then hurled his own ball at Lesa's belt, freeing one of her pokemon. Sawyer rose from the water and cheered the both of them on as they prepared to strike back, her jaw agape as Jupiter launched a powerful attack and sent the creature squealing away. She was surprised as everyone as she saw the form, but kept her mouth shut. Definitely some sort of.... odd Rayquaza. Those markings weren't mistakable. But their day wasn't done with excitement yet. The girl's attention was stolen back to Celeste and Reso as he was suddenly shrouded in a white light, and at first, her friend's confusion had her worried. Then she realized what was going on.

"He's just evolving, awesome!" she mumbled, her smile growing as she watched the Ralts transform. "Congrats Celeste, you too Reso! Can't wait to see what kind of new things he'll be able to do now." She was about to say more, but suddenly the Floatzel was eager to get moving, Lapras and Comet just as eager. Apparently they'd had enough and wanted to get to dry land, and in no time at all, they finally got there with no wild pokemon interactions thanks to Ming-Ming. On land and now dry, the group and Sawyer waved off Lapras and Floatzel as they returned to Torrentia, the trainer pulling out Luca's pokeball and calling him out.

"You okay little buddy?" she asked, the small dragony-lizard nodding after a small shudder. "Good." She picked him up and gave him a cuddle before gathering her egg and backpack, nodding to Lesa and Celeste. "Ready to keep going?" I think I can see Quakita from here.

[Catilena1890]

As soon as they hit land Celeste, Vulpina, Reso and Ming-ming all leapt off of the lapras. Reso and Ming-ming watched in mild amusement as Celeste and Vulpina faceplanted the ground in joy, delighted to be on solid ground again. Sitting up, Celeste reached into her bag and pulled out her egg, hugging it tightly as it warmed up in her arms, reassuring her it was safe. Looking up, Celeste smiled at Lapras and Floatzel while her pokemon returned to their normal spots.

"Thanks for helping Comet get us across the lake. We really appreciate it." She said while Vulpina yipped on top of her head. Celeste tilted her head to the side a little bit, feeling something wasn't quite right.

"Oh that's right! It's safe Pendra, you can come back out." She said, pulling out a pokeball and releasing it's inhabitant. The red and green pill bug looked around curiously before it noticed Celeste, scuttling over to her and climbing onto her back.

"Veni, venipede." She whispered quietly while Ming-ming cleared her throat.

"She said she's sorry for running out on you like that." She translated, and Celeste smiled and pet the bug pokemon.

"It's okay, Reso helped us. And look! He evolved!" Shesaid as the kirlia walked up, re-greeting his friends. With a smile, Celeste turned to her friends and cuddled her egg close.

"So, we ready to get going?" She asked as she recalled Reso into his pokeball.

[Bayhound]

Lesa must have been stricken into silence, because as the girls waited for her reply, she simply patted Comet's shoulder and nodded. That was a little unusual considering what had happened - the three of them always sort of mumbled and chattered about when odd events like these happened. But if she wanted to stay quiet this time, Swayer wasn't about to try and prod her for conversation. Celeste and her group were eager and energetic as always, and after a slight chuckle, the Blizzara native gleamed and pointed a daring, if somewhat dramatic finger towards the rock town on the horizon. "Alright, then. Let's go!"

Luca had wiggled out of her grasp and scuttled over to stare up at Reso's new form before he followed his trainer, still somewhat distracted by the Kirlia after they started off. Reso had really worked hard to evolve, and he was proud of the former Ralts for finally evolving. But when would he evolve? Hadn't he worked hard too? Confused and slightly disappointed, the Axew looked himself over before sighing and forgetting about the whole thing. There was no sense in worrying over it right now - they had a new place to go, and he was excited to try out that battle thingy Sawyer had told him about a few nights ago. That would make him stronger... maybe then he would evolve!

Sawyer and the gang trekked the remaining distance with little interruption from native pokemon or trainers, Ming Ming's stench being the clear culprit of that. Honestly, the trainer didn't think she smelled that bad... why couldn't a few pokemon at least come out and give them a nice little battle? Maybe once they reached Quakita she would come back and try to snag a water pokemon, since it was a vital element that her team was missing a the moment. She also held her egg away from her chest to give it a closer inspection, receiving a slight tingley shock from it as she did. It was blue... and black. Very dark looking. She knew that whatever was inside would help her tremendously throughout her journey, but the possibilities were killing her. Was she doing something wrong to keep it from hatching? Celeste's hadn't either... maybe they simply needed to get somewhere before anything transpired.

Gah, too much thinking! The girl shook her head and whooped in joy when they finally stepped on a civilized path, doing a little happy dance as she saw the large buildings that could be none other than the Gym and Battle area. Her amber eyes were full of excitement as she looked back to her friends, nearly wiggling at the new possibilities they had in store. "FINALLY! Quakita. I can't wait to get started~ there's a mine, and the Gym, and the Pokemon Center, and and and--" Luca pulled on her pants leg to get her to stop.

"Axew axew!" Let's not have a heartattack here!