thekichpy-blog - Tumblr blog

[thekichpy-blog]

Nella recognised Skylar was probably right; even as Hunter took flight she knew the chances of them finding the Team Cosmos members lessened every moment. This was not meant to happen, the bad guys weren’t supposed to win. In all the adventure stories her grandpa had read her as a little kid, the bad guys always got what they deserved in the end. Seemed like real life wasn’t like that after all.

“So what do you propose we do?” Nella asked bluntly, she wasn’t yet ready to give up.

"Well, Hunter's gone to see if he can catch them resurfacing. I guess the only thing to do is split up, try and cover as much resurfable ground as possible. Catch them in the act, as it were."

“Do you both have an Xtransceiver?” The two guys nodded. “Good, we can stay in contact on those. If we spot the Team Cosmos members we call each other first and don’t confront them alone. Got it?” Even though she hated her own idea – being beyond awful at avoiding confrontation – she knew that one on two, none of them stood a chance.

“Mark,” Skylar queried, “Do you have any other Pokémon?”

The quiet man nodded in response again, he fumbled around the excess folds of material and removed two other pokéballs from inside his robes; from them sprung a second abra and a fine looking kadabra. Nella was thrilled to see Kanto Pokémon. “Great.” she tilted her head to one side and squinted at the duo that appeared rather miserable at their loss of a comrade, “Can they use Teleport?”

Mark nodded again; Nella was beginning to wonder if he had lost the ability to speak. “Why doesn’t abra go with Skylar, then you two can teleport around if you need to?”

“What about you though?” Skylar pointed out the obvious flaw in the plan.

“Oh don’t worry about me, I can move around this terrain pretty fast.” She wasn’t quite sure about the accuracy of that statement, however, she was probably the one best equipped to travel swiftly and there were only two available teleporters. Having been in the area for a while now, she felt she could at least navigate accurately, even in this fog.

Skylar nodded, the quicker they split up the better their chance of reclaiming Mark's captured abra from Team Cosmos. "Keep in contact. Be careful. Let's go abra!" The two of them sped off northwards. Mark shot Nella a pained look before running off in another direction, accompanied by kadabra.

"Alright Basil," she addressed the determined looking eevee by her feet, "Let's do this."

A chance meeting.

[thekichpy-blog]

“They took him,” the man said miserably as he sank to the floor, “They took him and I’ll never see him again. How do you think I feel?”

Nella glared over at the man, pessimism was not something she would tolerate in such a situation. “With an attitude like that you don’t deserve to see him again. Stop your frettin’. We’ll get him back; they can’t ‘ve gone far.” Wishing she felt as confident as she acted, she turned her attentions over to Skylar who had been listening to the exchange and Hunter who hovered in the air, peering curiously at Basil.

Almost as though he could predict the question she was going to ask, Skylar hastily introduced himself. “I’m Skyler, and this fellow is my friend Hunter.” Nella tilted her head in greeting. Had the circumstances of meeting been any different she would have been delighted to encounter her first Pidove, but the situation they found themselves in was urgent and they couldn’t afford to waste time. “Nella, this here is Basil and this is…” She stared expectantly at the man crouched on the floor.

“I’m Mark,” he mumbled somewhat incoherently.

“Those Team Cosmos members stole Mark’s abra and then escaped like complete cowards.” A fog was beginning to settle on the Route, this weather would decrease visibility and make it even more difficult to follow the troublesome Team Cosmos members.. “Are you going to help get abra back?” Nella asked Skylar. It would be useful to have someone with a flying Pokémon.

“Of course, there’s no way anyone should get away with stealing someone else’s Pokémon.”

“And what about you Mark? Are you goin’ to sit there bein’ miserable or are you goin’ to try and get abra back?"

A chance meeting.

It had been a week since Nella and Basil had left Ecruteak. They left with a new load of supplies from the Poké Mart, including several potions, a few Pokéballs and a sparkly new Xtransceiver. Nella had spent at least half an hour browsing the different options for colours and patterns before settling on a nice sunshine yellow that Basil had loudly voiced his approval on.

Their journey along Route 37 and 36 was uneventful for the first few days, as they searched for new Pokémon and explored the varied landscape. Basil had levelled up thanks to the wild creatures that had boldly challenged them along the way. Everything seemed to be going well; even the weather was on their side. Then, on the sixth day, something unexpected happened.

As the duo was making their way through the grass of Route 36, they heard raised voices ahead. “That better not be another trainer.” Nella whispered; she had grown sick of the random challenges by tiny school kids with magikarps. As they continued to push through the tall grass, the sounds of a struggle became apparent.

“No! He’s my Pokémon! Let him go!”

“Kid do you have any idea who we are?” Asked a sneering voice.

“We’re Team Cosmos, and we take what we want. Hand the other Pokémon over now, unless you want trouble.”

Basil hissed and Nella nodded her agreement, “That certainly doesn’t sound good.” They quickly made progress towards the voices, moving swiftly and silently. As Nella and Basil emerged from the grass, they saw three men standing in the centre of the path a few meters away. Two of them were wearing identical blue outfits, matching hats, jackets and all. They, along with two rather intimidating ekans, were blocking the path of another man and his abra. One of the ekans had ensnared the abra and was showing no signs of releasing the poor struggling Pokémon.

“Hey! Buttheads!” Nella called, Basil backed her up with a bold cry. The two men in the ridiculous uniforms turned to face her; for a moment they held an expression of surprise, but it was quickly replaced by a patronising smirk. Both of them looked to be several years older than Nella and the man they were harassing, but Nella wouldn’t let that deter her from doing the right thing. Still, the growing realisation of the situation she was now in did frighten her more than she let on. Team Cosmos were no joke, and you didn’t want to be on their bad side, even if these two members looked and sounded ridiculous.

“Buttheads? That’s not very nice,” the taller man replied, “And what do you want?”

 “Why are you tryin’ to take this man’s abra? Go catch your own.” Nella figured there was no use backing down now.

“Did you not hear? We are Tea-“

“Team Cosmos, I got that.”

“Then you should know a little kid like you has no chance against us. Better run along now before we take your Pokémon too.” They turned their attention back to the psychic trainer who was attempting to reclaim his abra. “Team Cosmos will take good care of your abra, don’t you worry.” He turned to his partner, “We better scram before anyone else shows up or this could get messy.”

“No! Abra!” The young man cried out, only to be knocked back by a powerful flick of ekans’ tail. Faster than Nella could register, the Team Cosmos members both removed Smoke Balls from their belts and hurled them at the ground; releasing dark clouds of dust that hid the Team Cosmos members well. By the time the smoke had lifted, they – along with the abra – were gone.

[thekichpy-blog]

ごっちゃり

[thekichpy-blog]

A chance meeting.

It had been a week since Nella and Basil had left Ecruteak. They left with a new load of supplies from the Poké Mart, including several potions, a few Pokéballs and a sparkly new Xtransceiver. Nella had spent at least half an hour browsing the different options for colours and patterns before settling on a nice sunshine yellow that Basil had loudly voiced his approval on.

Their journey along Route 37 and 36 was uneventful for the first few days, as they searched for new Pokémon and explored the varied landscape. Basil had levelled up thanks to the wild creatures that had boldly challenged them along the way. Everything seemed to be going well; even the weather was on their side. Then, on the sixth day, something unexpected happened.

As the duo was making their way through the grass of Route 36, they heard raised voices ahead. “That better not be another trainer.” Nella whispered; she had grown sick of the random challenges by tiny school kids with magikarps. As they continued to push through the tall grass, the sounds of a struggle became apparent.

“No! He’s my Pokémon! Let him go!”

“Kid do you have any idea who we are?” Asked a sneering voice.

“We’re Team Cosmos, and we take what we want. Hand the other Pokémon over now, unless you want trouble.”

Basil hissed and Nella nodded her agreement, “That certainly doesn’t sound good.” They quickly made progress towards the voices, moving swiftly and silently. As Nella and Basil emerged from the grass, they saw three men standing in the centre of the path a few meters away. Two of them were wearing identical blue outfits, matching hats, jackets and all. They, along with two rather intimidating ekans, were blocking the path of another man and his abra. One of the ekans had ensnared the abra and was showing no signs of releasing the poor struggling Pokémon.

“Hey! Buttheads!” Nella called, Basil backed her up with a bold cry. The two men in the ridiculous uniforms turned to face her; for a moment they held an expression of surprise, but it was quickly replaced by a patronising smirk. Both of them looked to be several years older than Nella and the man they were harassing, but Nella wouldn’t let that deter her from doing the right thing. Still, the growing realisation of the situation she was now in did frighten her more than she let on. Team Cosmos were no joke, and you didn’t want to be on their bad side, even if these two members looked and sounded ridiculous.

“Buttheads? That’s not very nice,” the taller man replied, “And what do you want?”

 “Why are you tryin’ to take this man’s abra? Go catch your own.” Nella figured there was no use backing down now.

“Did you not hear? We are Tea-“

“Team Cosmos, I got that.”

“Then you should know a little kid like you has no chance against us. Better run along now before we take your Pokémon too.” They turned their attention back to the psychic trainer who was attempting to reclaim his abra. “Team Cosmos will take good care of your abra, don’t you worry.” He turned to his partner, “We better scram before anyone else shows up or this could get messy.”

“No! Abra!” The young man cried out, only to be knocked back by a powerful flick of ekans’ tail. Faster than Nella could register, the Team Cosmos members both removed Smoke Balls from their belts and hurled them at the ground; releasing dark clouds of dust that hid the Team Cosmos members well. By the time the smoke had lifted, they – along with the abra – were gone.

[thekichpy-blog]

Finally exams are over and I'm free to write!

Or I will be when I can actually find the damn map of Johto.

[thekichpy-blog]

OOC:

I apologise for my severe lack of posting over the last two weeks. Unfortunately it is now exam season so I won't be resuming regular posts until I finish, you know future depending on this and all. Nella will be back shortly!

[thekichpy-blog]

[thekichpy-blog]

[thekichpy-blog]

Nella finally phones home...

“For the fiftieth time, I’m sorry mum.”

“And look at you. Head to toe in mud, dripping like a used towel. When was the last time you had a proper wash? And where's Basil? Is he in this sort of a state too? I knew you weren’t ready to go off by yourself.”

Nella deigned not to respond.

“Your grandpa read us the letter you sent, and if I remember correctly you promised to call as soon as you reached Ecruteak.”

To lie or not to lie. “I did only just get here! That’s why I’m so scruffy; I got caught in a bit of a storm on Route 38.”

“You mean to have me believe it took you near on three days to complete a journey that should have taken a day? That’s a little much even for you Nella Kichpy.” Her mother gave her a stern look over the video call. “You can joke all you like about Team Cosmos, but there are a lot of dangerous people out there Nella, I worry about you.”

“Well don’t. I’m fine. I’m just a little wet, not stupid, I’ll survive.”

Her mother’s gaze spoke volumes about what she thought about that statement. “I’m sure your grandpa would like to talk to you, but he’s out at the moment, I’m not sure when he’ll be back…” It was no secret where Nella inherited most of her personality from.

“I’ll call back later this evenin’ and see if he’s around, but I’m sendin’ a letter so if he’s not around just let him know that I haven’t forgotten him.”

Jana Kichpy looked a lot like her daughter. For this reason Nella could always tell exactly what her expressions meant, as they shared those too. “I really am sorry for makin’ you worry mum.” She attempted.

“I know, I know. I just… It’s hard to get used to you being gone.”

“I’ll write loads of letters, and I’ll call you whenever I can…” Nella trailed off uncertainly, she didn’t want her mum to worry, “Oh hey! I have an even better idea! I’ll get an Xtransceiver. Then I can even call you on the road so you won’t have to worry.”

“That does sound like a good idea,” her mother agreed.

“You sound surprised,” Nella grinned.

“Does the fact that I’m surprised surprise you at all?”

“I take offense from that statement. I’m sure I can find one in Ecruteak; I’ll go check it out tomorrow. It’s still rainin’ and I should probably get washed up anyway, as you lovin’ly pointed out.”

“I speak for the noses of Johto when I say I think that’s a great idea. Anyway, I should get back to making dinner,” she smiled for the first time since they had started talking, “I’m proud of you honey. For being so brave and determined… For everything.”

“Thanks mum.”

“Make sure you call when you get your Xtranscommunicator thing.”

“I’m not even going to begin to correct that.”

“Alright smartarse,” her mother snorted, “I’ll talk to you soon. Call this evening if you want to try talk to grandpa.”

Nella nodded and said her goodbyes and ‘send my love to’s. That conversation could have been much worse. When she had realised that she still hadn’t phoned home, Nella didn’t waste any time, she didn’t put it past her mother to genuinely send out a swat team to come after her. An Xtransceiver could be very useful in future, as well as preventing her mother hurting herself; Nella wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought of it before.

All that could wait for tomorrow though. The last two days had been filled with more new experiences than she could have ever imagined, and she hadn’t really had time to reflect on everything. Not that she was complaining, Johto was shaping up to be a very interesting experience. 

[thekichpy-blog]

In which Nella befriends her first wild Johto Pokémon!

“Well hello there,” Nella smiled, “And what kind of Pokémon are you my little friend?” Sennnnntret the little creature chanted in response. “Just so happens I’ve never seen a sentret before so I’m very pleased to meet you. That’s a pretty nice tail you have there, so many stripes. What is that, one, two… four stripes! Would you mind if I did a quick drawin’ of you?”

The Sentret gave a little twirl and hugged its fluffy tail, chanting its name contentedly. Nella took its lack of escapist action as agreement to her request. She was careful not to make any sudden movements as she set out her art things so as not to startle the Pokémon. While she arranged her pencils Basil and the Sentret were getting well acquainted.

Soon the two of them were engaged in a romp, hoping in and out of the grass calling out as they searched and chased each other down. Nella preferred drawing this wild energetic action to still subjects, life in motion she called it.

The rain started soon after. Nella had just begun shading in the rings on Sentret’s tail when a giant splodge of water fell onto the page, followed quickly by another. “Huh, what in entei’s name?” She looked up and through the gaps in the overhanging trees she could see an ominous black cloud with no end, descending on Johto.

“Oh magikarp’s tails,” Nella cursed, snapping her sketchbook shut sharply before any more damage could come to it. The Sentret flinched at the sudden movement and cowered behind Basil. “Basil let’s go. I don’t have any immediate plans to drown.” She packed her things away in much less time than it had taken her to set things up. Pencils, rubbers, pens, everything was thrown in. It could be salvaged when they weren’t in danger of becoming part of the ecosystem.

“It was great meetin’ you Sentret,” Nella never forgot her courtesies, “And thanks for lettin’ me draw you. You better get back to your burrow or whatever it is Sentret’s live in before you get washed away.” Nella rarely returned Basil to his pokéball, but it would be quicker to get back to Ecruteak without having to wait for him.

It took about 5 minutes of running, 5 inches of mud up her leg and 5 falls for Nella to realise she had no idea where she was going. The prospect of returning before the sky started falling apart was a distant memory, the new goal was getting back at all. On this occasion not even Basil could help her get back on the right track, they were too far for him to see the road from atop the trees, and his sense of direction was almost as hopeless as Nella’s otherwise. Why didn’t grandpa give me a compass Pokémon or somethin’ that cancelled out my legendary levels of suck…

Seeeentret. “Wha- Oh Sentret! What are you doin’ here little guy? You look miserable, and look even your tail’s defluffed.” She easily recognised it as the Sentret she and Basil had befriended earlier. Sentreee, Sennnnnntreet! The Sentret began to hop away but turned back to face her and continued shrieking insistently until she began to follow him.

Sentret would run a few paces then check over his shoulder and more obstructive tail to ensure Nella was still following. His calls carried on persistently for when she couldn’t see him through the green. Nella couldn’t hope to understand him, but she had a feeling he was trying to help and she had no more bright ideas of her own.

After 10 or so minutes of wading through waist high grass the greenage began to thin out, a hopeful sign that they were close to the road. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the path came into sight. Sentret stopped at the edge of the trees, alert and wary; Nella dropped down beside him. She was already wet beyond human limits, what were another few pints at this point? “Gosh, thank you Sentret. I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me if you hadn’t come along. Let’s see if I’ve got anythin’ to repay you for your troubles.” She scrounged up a couple of ripe white apricorns as a reward. “It’s been a pleasure meetin’ you, I think I may actually be startin’ to like Johto.”

Sentret seemed more than pleased with that and began nibbling his prize immediately. He watched Nella step out onto the road, he watched her raise her face to the weeping sky for a moment, he watched her call out a last thanks with a smile and then he watched her walk away. He’d see Nella again sometime, someday. For now, the warmth of the hollow tree called.

[thekichpy-blog]

And who do we have here?

The two of them hadn’t wasted any time after the Pokémon Centre. It was time to go exploring! They found their way back to Route 38 easily enough and raced through the first part. More Pokémon were likely to be around the quieter areas of the route, where people didn’t trek often and there was nothing to disturb the residents.

Nella was well practised in the art of traversing tricky terrain and she and Basil climbed swiftly through the grass, over rocks and across streams until they were well and truly off the beaten trail. Here the grass was thicker and longer, making going more difficult, but it wasn’t a challenge a Sevii Islander was unfamiliar with. The majority of Six Island was wild and untamed and it made Nella feel right at home.

Perhaps it was the nostalgia which distracted her for the moment it took to stumble over something hidden in the grass. The ‘something’ moved with her, tumbling out of the grass. When she stopped rolling and opened her eyes, she found herself face to face with a Pokémon she had never seen before.

The creature gave a frightened cry when it saw her and tried to wiggle away, but Nella was pinning it down unintentionally. “No, no, no! I’m not goin’ to hurt you little fella. Shush, shush it’s okay,” she pushed herself up quickly to free the trapped Pokémon. After it happened, Nella wondered what she had expected. The moment the Pokémon could escape it dashed back into the safety of the long grass; away from her.

She sat there alone for a while until Basil found her. “Oh sorry buddy, I forgot it must be hard for you to see where you’re goin’ in this,” he nipped her fingers affectionately in response. “I found a Pokémon,” Basil’s ears pricked up, “But it… ran away.”

Basil turned his head to the side to watch the grass. He let out a chirruping sound and hopped off Nella. “What is it Basil?” He chirruped more insistently and moved towards the edge of the flowing green sea. “Huh?” She crawled along behind him and stopped when he did, looking at where he was peering intently. From the grass a pair of large black eyes stared back. Slowly, she started to see two long ears emerging along with the rest of the Pokémon’s curious face, body and fantastically large striped tail. So this was the Pokémon she had tripped over! What a Pokémon!

[thekichpy-blog]

[thekichpy-blog]

What is with the people here?

It occurred to Nella as the gateway to Ecruteak came into sight, that she and Basil hadn’t encountered any wild Pokémon in Johto yet. They had heard plenty of them and caught occasional glimpses of an unknown flying type soaring overhead; but no close range encounters.

She felt a vague sense of disappointment, but Basil’s wellbeing came first, and after that last battle she didn’t want to risk him getting hurt. Route 38 would still be there the next day. Not to mention there was a whole new city to explore up ahead!

In the small building that led from Route 38 to Ecruteak City, Nella stopped to have a quick word with the woman behind the desk. From that exchange she received a handy city map, labelled with all the major attractions the city had to offer, including the Bell Tower which a Ho-oh was rumoured to nest atop.

Ecruteak wasn’t a particularly large city, but it packed quite a lot of things into a small amount of space. As well as the Bell Tower, a second tower could be found within Ecruteak’s confines. It was said that ghost Pokémon haunted the Burned Tower’s grim corridors and deep within lay Pokémon even more sinister and spectacular. But no one went there, whether they were too afraid or just didn’t believe the rumours Nella didn’t know. Though the idea of searching out these illusive unnamed Pokémon sounded like an adventure, she wasn’t a big fan of ghost types. Speaking of ghost types, her eyes moved over to the Gym. It was marked clearly on the map, labelled with the barely visible words: Ecruteak City Gym, Ghost-type specialist. Although Nella’s only Pokémon was a normal type and therefore immune to ghost type moves, she wasn’t under any delusions that she could face a gym with only one Pokémon.

All that could wait though, first up she needed a Pokémon Centre. Even with its bright orange roof and directions, it still took Nella 15 minutes to find it, having made several wrong turns and nearly walked into two houses accidently.

The Pokémon Centre desk was empty when she arrived. That’s odd, she looked around, frowning. In Kanto this never happened. I’m not impressed by what I’ve seen of Johto so far… the people are rude, obnoxious, I haven’t seen any new Pokémon and I don’t even know if the food’s any good!

“Oh I’m sorry to have kept you waiting; we’re very busy at the moment. Is there something you need?” a nurse came trotting in, her face certainly didn’t look sorry but Nella wasn’t going to pick a fight.  

“Uh yeah, no problem. I was just wonderin’ if you could maybe check my eevee over and fix him up, we were in a battle on route 38 y’see and I just want to make sure he’s alright.”

After a few awkward moments listening to the impatient tapping and grumbling of the nurse on one of the machines, she handed Nella back the pokéball. “There’s nothing wrong with him, frankly couldn’t even tell he’d been in a battle,” she said sharply.

“Never hurts to be careful,” Nella spoke plainly, “Thanks for your time.”

The nurse watched her exit silently, “I wish everyone had that attitude. I wish...” Slowly she glanced back to the operating room where the result of not being careful lay. She resumed working with a sigh.

[thekichpy-blog]

A chance meeting! Battle on!

Almost. Nella had been so close to not having to deal with another trainer before her arrival in Ecruteak. Apparently life had other plans, for it had gifted Nella with an opponent. It was a local girl; some might call her a beauty, others a pest.

“I’m Olivia.”

“Uh, nice to meet you Olivia. Can I help you with somethin’?” It was a question she didn’t really need an answer to, but she could still hope she was wrong.

“A battle. I want a battle.”

Self-entitled little furret face. “Well you see, as much as I’d love to battle you, I really need to get to Ecru-“

“Look I don’t know how they did things where you came from,” Olivia cut her off mid-sentence, and gave her foreign clothes a scathing glance, “But here in Johto you don’t turn down a battle.”

Nella would have loved to teach this girl a few lessons in Kanto tradition but she had no idea how strong her Pokémon were. From what Nella could see there was only one pokéball strapped to the girl’s belt; maybe she could take her on? “Fine, whatever you say Olivia. Basil!”

Basil, who had been watching the exchange while crouched in some bushes, leapt out with a shrill cry of eeeveee. He stood between the two girls, eyes fixed on the enemy trainer as he waited for his opponent to appear. Olivia looked at Basil for a second and then laughed; the sound was horrendously high pitched and made Nella flinch.

“He’s cute, but that’s all he is. He’s no match for my Pokémon,” with that she plucked the ball from her belt and smiled down at it. “This’ll be easy. Corsola! Go!” With an exaggerated flick of the wrist, the pokéball swung open to reveal a pretty, pink Corsola. The pokéball had been covered in seals, which showered the Corsola with petals and shimmering stars as he emerged.

How tacky, Nella thought sourly. She pitied the Corsola slightly, he couldn’t be held responsible for his trainer’s ill manners and bad taste. Nella had seen Corsola before; occasionally they’d pass by Six Island in huge schools. She knew enough about them to know they packed a serious defence, both from physical and special attacks.

Basil only had three moves; and only one of those was an attack. It was a weak attack, and not very useful against a well armoured Pokémon. She was trying to estimate what level the foe was when Olivia’s painfully high voice pierced her thoughts.

“Enough with the standing there! I’ll give you the first move; you probably won’t get more than one anyway.”

Nella thought of several retorts she could make, but she concluded no retort was as potent as defeat. “Right, Basil, the quicker we get this over with the better. Use tackle, and keep usin’ it. Don’t let up!”

Basil understood, a low level Corsola’s best move was harden. A move that increased its defence dramatically. The more time Basil allowed the Corsola, the higher its defence would rise and the more difficult it would become to inflict any serious damage. So he did as he was told, diving head first into the battle, knocking into the corsola with all the power his tiny body could muster.

“Good job Basil! Again!” Nella cried out.

“Corsola, use harden!”

“Basil keep up the assault!”

The Corsola attempted to use harden, but every time he began to harden his shell Basil smashed into him and sent him spinning, interrupting the effect. Basil may not have attack strength on his side, but my boy has speed, Nella thought triumphantly as she watched the eevee.

“I won't lose,” Olivia hissed, “Corsola, use recover and attack with bubble.”

Nella opened her mouth to warn Basil to dodge but with an amazing burst of speed the Corsola spat out a stream of high velocity bubbles before Nella could make a sound. As Basil was thrown back the Corsola used that time to recover himself, he had been near defeat but now was visibly more stable.

“Basil. Wish! Then keep attackin’, yeah, just like that!”

“Eevees can’t use wish,” Olivia scoffed, “No wonder he’s so weak, his trainer’s a moron.”

“You’re right,” Nella smiled with pride and satisfaction as the battle continued, “Eevees generally can’t use wish. But you see… I don’t know what eevees are like where you come from, but in the Sevii Islands our eevees are special. Basil was bred to have wish, he comes from a long line of Sevii island eevees, all of which are gifted with the move. We may not fight like they do in Johto, but our Pokémon are a hundred times better.”

Olivia stared at Nella with disbelief, and then turned her eyes to the battle where her Corsola had been battered once more to the point of collapse by Basil’s relentless entourage. The Kanto girl issued the final command. “Finish him off Basil.”

Olivia didn’t stick around after the battle was over. Without a word she all but flung the prize money in Nella’s face before stalking off towards Ecruteak and the nearest Pokémon Centre. Basil wasn’t in the best of states, but the glow of victory and a few uses of wish out of battle put him well on the way to recovery.

“Good job little guy, I’m proud of you.” Nella tickled him under the chin and handed him one of the apricorns she’d saved. “We better get movin’ before someone else finds us and pulls an Olivia.” Basil squeaked his agreement and set off at a run, awfully energetic for a Pokémon who had just finished a battle.

Nella couldn’t help but laugh. She’d won her first trainer battle!

[thekichpy-blog]

A night on the road.

Nella had been travelling all day. The darkness had begun to settle on Route 38 and she had determined, with a little encouragement from a skittish Basil, that it was time to set up camp.

This was the first time on her journey she had camped out on the road, and to make it worse the two of them were all alone. She found herself wishing they hadn’t spent so long exploring Route 39 and hunting down tasty apricorns. Often enough she had camped overnight on Six Island, but she had known the island and its inhabitants well and the weather was almost always warm and pleasant. Here the night brought on a chill and she could feel unfamiliar eyes peering at her from the trees and long grass. At least I'm not hungry, Nella struggled to find a positive thought as she decided what to do.

First things first, they had to find a reasonable spot to set up camp. Nella stepped off the cobbled path and Basil gave a shrill squeak of protest. “Come on, we can’t sleep in the middle of the road Basil.” He continued shrieking his disapproval. “Look I’m going to make a campfire under those trees over there,” she gestured at a small opening in a cluster of trees, “if you feel like joining me you know where I am.”

She knew he would follow, Basil didn’t like the dark. He certainly wasn’t cut out to be an Umbreon. If Nella was glad of one thing now, it was that her mother had taken charge of packing her bags for the journey. Nella had complained almost out of habit while it was happening, but now as she smoothed out her sleeping bag on the ground she felt incredibly grateful.

The fire she had started cast a comforting glow to her surroundings. Route 38 had quite a bit of dense woodland, it stretched much further than Nella could see in the dark. If it had been light she probably would have succumb to curiosity and ventured in further to explore but now she didn't stray too far from the road for fear of getting lost. She had been watching Basil slowly edging towards her since the fire had started. “Come here silly,” she called from inside the warmth of her sleeping bag. The little brown and white creature darted across the clear ground and wriggled into the sleeping bag beside her.

For a while they lay in silence. Or at least, they lay in their own silence listening to the calls of wild night Pokémon in the surrounding trees and the scurries of movement as a new world woke up. They don’t seem that scary anymore¸ Nella thought calmly as she stroked Basil’s soft ears and listened. She fell asleep listening to the whistle of Basil’s breathing and wondering what strange, unfamiliar Pokémon were watching the two strangers from Kanto.  

[thekichpy-blog]

A letter to Grandpa

Hey Grandpa!

I’m writing to you from Olivine City! Can you believe it? I’m in Johto.

The trip over was good. The only misadventure to report was us almost missing the boat, we were the last people to get on; you can blame Basil for that. I stayed up on deck the whole trip, even over night. As well as being quieter and calmer I had the pleasure of seeing a bunch of water and flying type Pokémon following us, including a flock of Wingull! Some of the passengers’ Pokémon were also up on deck enjoying the good weather and fresh air; most of them were Pokémon I’d never seen before, I think there was even a Mightyena (I didn’t want to get close enough to find out though). The human company was a little more disappointing, the only people who came up on deck were people being sea sick, of course I wasn’t sea sick.  

Tell dad that I’m making sure to eat well, not that it’s difficult, Olivine has such good food. I don’t know how but I’ve eaten something new every day for the whole week we’ve been here. Basil’s enjoying it too, but I’m worried he’s going to become bigger than a Snorlax if we don’t set off for some hard training soon.

Mum made me promise to keep her up to date with my plans, so I trust you to pass the next bit along to her before she sends out the entire population of the Sevii Islands to search in case Team Cosmos has abducted me (or whatever else she’s worried about).

Tomorrow I’m off to Ecruteak City. The name is quite a mouthful isn’t it? I’m still not sure how to pronounce it. I got directions from the Pokémon Centre and even had someone highlight the roads on my map, so don’t worry about me getting lost. It’s not a very long trip, it should take me little over a day (which means camping!). I’ll call you when I get there, but don’t start dispatching the armed forces if I’m 5 minutes late. Hopefully I’ll see some new Pokémon, I haven’t really been out of the city yet so both me and Basil are just itching to explore. You travelled through Johto when you were younger didn’t you? You should tell me what to look out for!

As I promised I’ve been drawing a lot. Not any new Pokémon up close yet, but I’ll send you those as often as I can. Maybe after tomorrow’s trip I’ll have something nice to show you. Basil says hello, or at least I think he does, he just keeps trying to eat the letter. Take care and don’t drive mum and dad too crazy.

Lots of love,

Nella.

Attached: Lapras (he was following us for a while in Kanto)

[thekichpy-blog]