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    We woke up early in our motel room and decided that we wanted to go to this fishing shop, Basc N' Reel, down the street at opening hour. They were having a sale for both training and reeling season! It was so packed once we arrived the other day though, so it was best that we got there as soon as possible. We still had a couple of minutes left before that happened, so I tried calling that number I found by that old village yesterday. I stuck my ear by a rotary phone hung on the wall and turned the wheel around, dialing 7+ 444-777-0333. We were at the edge of our seats, dreading, yet curious as to who could be on the other side of the line? It finally picked up, but I could only hear a deep, scratchy, and naturally shady voice…

    "Luck has its victims, ey? Try to ring another day." he said as he hung up on us! Now I only heard beeps…I tried calling again, and then again.

    "Hey–" The same voice kept on cutting me off, trying to replicate the same tone as before, but I swore he was about to laugh at the third attempt. This wasn't some kind of voicemail…

    Miley stepped in. "Here, let me try!" she asked, with Gothita slung over her shoulder.

    "Sure…" I gave her the phone as I rang the numbers again.

    "Luck has–" the voice began, same as usual.

    Miley shouted at the top of her lungs, "Tu twendeache!" and uttered other Blawsth mumblings! Jake was giggling in the back while Shinji and Gothita mostly appeared appalled.

    "Eh–excuse ME?" the man on the phone shouted back. "Hm, toruk flosev tu, ey? Olbette, mi to denhazar cont tru, BUH-BYE." Once again with the beeping.

    "Eh, guess he has us blocked now." Miley said as she wrapped her arms across her neck. "Pssh… twendeache." she uttered.

    "Gothi…" her pokémon muttered.

    "What was that all about?" I asked.

    Jake's jolly little laughter was cut short once I asked that. "Erm, forget about it! We were just messing with that guy–bet he was standing on that phone the whole day, ey?"

    "Guess so…" I tried agreeing. Jake sighed as he cleaned a sweat drop off his face, going into the bathroom to perform his daily skin care ritual. I thought about what that word could have meant… Tuwindaysh? What was a tweedish? A new word to call Jakey, that was! Oh, I betted that he was dreading the moment I had the chance to call him that!

    Shinji sighed, and shrugged as he zipped by to go prepare our breakfast with Miley. "Guess we'll never find out what they were planning…" she commented.

    "Didn't you guys find anything else in that village?" Jake asked as he let the water run for a bit.

    "Well, I do have a few photos I took of some papers one of those guys had lying around in one of those buildings…" Miley answered. "But it's just orders and shipments, they're as basic as they come…I didn't recognize any of the locations though, they all seemed made up, but Blawsthy enough…"

    "They gotta be talking in code. I can't blame em', you know how Jensen is! He's a Sharkpedo and will run you down if he gets the chance to."

    "Sounds like you're talking from experience!" I chuckled. Wait, I thought back to the village… "Hey, I just remembered, in that other building we found Eevee in, I found some document with pictures of arms on it. They looked exactly like mine…" I mentioned as I decided to get the bandages ready for today. "Makes me wonder about how you guys found out about the game?"

    "Oh, Jake spotted it on some forum post online and thought it'd kick start Sammy's research, just before league season." Miley answered while boiling some eggs. "We also used it as an excuse to sneak off to the Badlands," she smirked. "And Mr. Meyer kept talking about it in a journal Jake found in his attic, but he never put out exactly how he played it, or what exactly happened right after? He had a bunch of pages ripped out, and scribbled on a bunch of words too!" Shinji smiled lightly as she announced this, and I just knew he told Francis not to mention it years ago! Dang it!

    "Hm…hey, Shinji?" I asked mischievously. He kept his mouth permanently creased as he cut the vegetables. "You don't have to tell us exactly how to play, but how do people know?"

    "Some guy couldn't keep his mouth shut, simple as that, shinevok." he answered calmly enough.

    "Pikachu-pi…" Pikachu urged, trying to juice a more concise answer from him.

    He sighed. "Stuff like Jake finding Francis' journal is how the word spreads. I've never seen such a buzz like this before…like somebody ransacked the Vespiquen's hive! So many pokémon left the realm so suddenly…I fear of this forum place you speak of. Seems like the hivemind of malice waiting to happen…"

    "Oh, no worries, ammani!" Jake said as he kept washing his face with the fifth cream on the counter. "It's just the internet! You can learn a lot about other regions, pokémon, weird stories, theories…" He made a quick realization. "Oh. Actually, yeah, you're so screwed, dude."

    Shinji sighed. "And why is that?"

    "Well, just take that journal story and multiply it by like, a thousand. A bunch of guys kept talking about how they followed the exact instructions, but they didn't get any pokémon from it! They kept calling the main guy a liar, twendeache!" He giggled as he looked back, but then remembered that I was in the exact same room as him. "Anyways, I doubt they'll ever get the same results we did. I guess we somehow did something right, and so did the main guy."

    "Ah-ha…exactly like the journal…" Shinji passed Miley the vegetables as she quickly whipped up some egg sandwiches for us! She was real eager to go fishing soon as she almost forgot to put up her braids before we left the door!

    We ate on the go, and man those sandwiches were tasty! The sun tried flashing into Starmarniez Town, but it looked like we were getting another windy, cloudy day. Smelled like dew too. With it being a small town, there wasn't really much to do other than what it was most famous for, and that was being the number one fishing spot in Central Blawsth! They casted a fishing tourney just the other day, but it looked like we missed it. We decided to start our own anyway…

    "Eee! I can't wait to buy my first fishing rod!" Miley said as she couldn't stop jumping about like her Narwhammie in a puddle!

    "I know, right?" Jake answered. "I've been itching to fish again myself!" He started whistling as the cashier with a white apron walked up the porch and pulled out a key opening the door. He finally flipped the sign after going inside. "Alright, time to raid this place!"

    We stormed in like a herd of Tauros, finding specific spots for our individual needs. Miley was too busy looking at the charms while Jacob was looking at the pokémon already caught, being displayed in beautiful custom-made pokéballs. They were rare ones being traded. Dratini, Feebas, a fully grown Kingdra…I could already tell that he was tempted to buy one, but Miley nagged him for it as they went to go look for their own fishing rods.

    Shinji kept switching back and forth between two rods: black and white or some shades of blue? "Ash, which one would look better on me? The Soul Crusher or the Ice Dragon?" he said, holding the both of them. The latter had scaly bumps sculpted onto it, which really caught my eye! The other was your generic standard black design with some white wisp and a skull printed on the reel.

    "Hm, well…I'm no fashion expert, but I really like the blue on the Dragon."

    "Hm, you sure said it! Black and white's too on-brand for me, let's change it up a little…" As for me, I chose a plain green rod.

    We went to look at the charms. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the one Misty gave me years ago. It was sculpted to look like a miniature version of herself–so adorable! It was my favorite one too…I swear, I caught just about anything with it. Once again, looking through the hangers, I found miniature versions of the Big Four legendaries, Et Quarar. I pulled out the one similar to Toshinmac, with that goofy smile!

    "Hey, Shinji, what'd you make of this?" I hung it over his face.

    "Well, I'm flattered!" he said sarcastically. "But don't you think the one that looks like Jake is adorable too?"

    "Wait, one of Jake?" He pointed towards a set of punk faces and sure enough, one that had a similar haircut to Jake showed up. I laughed. "Wow, they caught his likeness perfectly! You know what, this might be the one." I decided to get it as a gag gift. I gave it to the clerk as I also got the Toshinmac one for myself while the Pokémon himself got a Draintini charm.

    We went back to the others who were trying to choose the perfect rod… "Purple's too obvious, so is red…" Jacob analyzed at one end.

    "Hm…Finneon or the ‘Whirl ‘X3? Finny or Poli?" Miley started asking herself near the other. She then asked Gothita, who was wrapped in her arms. "So, which one do you want?" Gothita pondered hard at this question…

    In the meantime, another customer walked in as the bell rang. She wore a black cap, with the two ends of her red dreads tied as a little bow on the back of her head, seeming pretty fashion forward with her outfit coordination! She went through the fishing rods near Jake's side and knew exactly what color to pick, as she chose a lovely Goldeen accented rod from the get-go. The girl noticed Miley struggling to find the perfect rod, still deep in her thought as she tapped her shoulder. "Go with the Poliwhirl. I love your jacket by the way–it's such a good shade!"

    "Aw thank you very–" Miley turned around and looked like she saw Toshinmac for the very first time. "C-Cianna?"

    "Wait, Miles, is that you?" she asked giddily. "I should have known from the braids! Girl, I know it's your signature style, but I really hope that you've been switching it up every once in a while!" she suggested.

    Jacob heard all the commotion and ran over. "Cianna, is that you? Oh, man, I haven't seen you in ages, how's it going?"

    "Aw, Jakey, come here!" She hugged him. "So you're travelling with Miley, ey?"

    "Yeah, and these two other guys!" he said, pointing at us.

    "Um…Is that kid allowed to train–" she asked quite literally.

    "Not a kid, he came straight from Kanto!" Jake corrected.

    "Oh, really? And is that a real Pikachu? I only heard about them in magazines but I've never seen one in real life! Can I pet it?"

    "Sure!" He hopped off me and onto her shoulders. "I'm Ash and this is Shinji!" I introduced ourselves.

    "Wow–hey, aren't those the hoodies they sold for a week at the Grimoire, are they back?" Cianna asked the Jester.

    "Um…" he said nervously.

    "Yeah, they are! They're only for a limited time though, so you better get to another mall quick in case you want one!" Jake answered for him.

    "Cool! So, you're all going fishing?" she asked.

    "Yeah, wanna join us? We're going to have a little tournament for ourselves since we missed the real one the other day…"

    "Ooh, yeah, that sounds like fun! Besides, I've been meaning to catch a water Pokémon for some time now. It also means I can catch up with you guys!" They paid for their gear as they headed out, with Miley falling shortly behind. "Hey, Miley, where'd you get that Gothita? Was it from your dad?"

    "Um, no, we kinda found it in the woods near here…" she answered.

    "Well, that's the cutest Pokémon somebody left behind then! You're uber lucky, Miles!" Cianna was so bubbly and sunny, I wasn't sure why the clouds hadn't moved for her?

    "Hey, you seem to be pretty fluent in English!" I complimented her.

    "Yeah. Actually, I taught it to them! I moved from Unova, so learning Blawsth was really tough–but hey, it's a pretty fun language!" She smiled. "So, did you train young?"

    "Yeah, started out at ten…"

    "Oh, that's sweet! I was always disappointed that Blawsth didn't have the same rules, but, hey! There's plenty of things you can do before then, like, I was studying at the Belmout's Art School up in Northern Blawsth, and it was so worth it! The only downside? I couldn't see these guys for a long time! Hey, that reminds me, how's Sammy doing?"

    "You know what, time to check up on that guy!" Jake pulled out his Dex and gave him a quick radio call.

    "Savat?" Sam asked as the signal picked up.

    "Hey, Sammy! Remember me? It's Cici!" she greeted.

    "Cianna? You're done with school?

    "Yup! I went to Mahtverin as a surprise last week, shame I couldn't find you guys anywhere at the parade though…But, hey, we can exchange Dex codes now!"

    "Um, sure!"

    She brought out her black Dex, jeweled with some rhinestones in the corner as it carried two Beautifly charms dangling from the lanyard. She pulled out the slider keyboard and started typing the codes. "Okie! We're all set! So, what's been going on with you? You're at the Institute like you said, right?"

    "Yeah, yeah."

    "That's so amazing! So, I bet you're all doing that one assignment, ey?"

    "Yup! We've been getting top points and everything!" he announced proudly.

    "Oh, can I join?"

    Sam pondered for a bit. "Of course. The more the merrier!"

    "Yay! I'll send you some of the data I collected right now…" She transferred her results…

    "Hm, impressive!" Sam said, astounded. "And you've caught some of these?"

    "Yup, I don't even know how Docwah ended up following me, but it's so cute!"

    "You guys…" He almost laughed. "You've been slaking compared to her!"

    "Come on, Sammy, don't throw Night Shade at us!" Jake scolded.

    "Yeah, besides, I kinda went to Wensly before Mahtverin, I just didn't challenge the gym yet…" Cianna wrapped her hands low.

    "Well, you do have an affinity for finding these things compared to the others." Sam brought up. "My report will be ranked sky-high thanks to your findings! You take some good pictures too…Nicely framed, no blurs…"

    "I usually get them to be friendly with me before I take a pic. I don't get battle shots though…too messy and I don't like getting pics of them in pain!"

    "Hm, well that explains it! Very nice, I see that they taught you great things at that school! I'll chat with you guys later because I got my own work to deal with…Buh-bye!"

    "Bye, Sammy!" she waved back, even though there was no video feed.

    "So, what did they teach you at that school?" I asked.

    "Well, being the school the great Alice Belmout founded, I, of course, studied fashion! But then I got into a little bit of photography, dabbled in some writing courses for magazines…" She started twiddling with her fingers, with nails painted like a night sky–hey, kinda like Shinji!

    "Hm…Alice…" the Jester said to himself.

    "Yes, Alice! She was so awesome! I want to be just like her when I grow up! And ooh, nice nails–" She picked up his hand and instantly felt a shiver after brushing the tip of his finger against her palm. She put down her hands, clasped again against her skirt.

    "Thank you, I painted them myself." Shinji said solemnly.

    "So, what made you get into training?" Jake tried changing the subject.

    "Hm…I kinda…wanted to give this gym challenge a little go." she pondered. "I'm not planning on going full force on fashion yet, but a major part of modern fashion, besides looking cute, cool, and totally uber stylish, is to be in tune with the personalities of your pokémon as well! A trainer's personality is always reflected onto their pokémon, so you can always learn a lot about someone by taking a look at them, exactly how you can do the same by looking at somebody's threads. I was on a major art-block anyways, so one of my teachers suggested that I should try the league out for some inspo, since I'm old enough anyways! That, and wanting to be the champion has been, like, my second biggest dream growing up." she admitted gladly. "I'm planning on meeting and beating Champion Lucille, oh-ho-ho!" she laughed. "Anyways…let's go fishing!"

    As we went to the lake, she kept asking more questions. "What Pokémon did you guys bring? I bet you're still keeping Looney around, huh, Jakey?"

    "Heh, yeah," he answered. "You know what? Let's bring everyone out!" We all threw our pokéballs into the air, including Cianna!

    "Ash, I'm not sure if you know what this is but it's the Docwah Sammy mentioned earlier!" she explained, picking up the Pokémon that looked like an adorable plush doll! She also carried a Buneary, a Fuwai, and a Blitzle on her. "I only keep at least three pokémon at a time, but this Docwah really wants to be by my side! So, I made extra space for it!" It kept waving its arms towards Miley though. "Oh, I think it wants to meet your Gothita!"

    "Oh…really? Alright!" she smiled back a little, as they set the both of them down. Docwah hugged Gothita, after exchanging some pokéwords with each other. That Pokémon already had control of its psychic abilities and got a berry off a bush for Gothita!

    "Go-thi!" it replied back, amazed!

    "Hm, I guess it made a new friend." Miley said as the two pokémon ran towards a meadow. Gothita became very interested in Docwah's psychic powers. It was able to make some petals fly!

    All our Pokémon were becoming very friendly with Cianna's–even freaking Doradin of all creatures! It surprisingly went along well with her Fuwai, as the small bug avoided being pecked by climbing onto its head, effectively making it accept that it wouldn't get a single chance at pecking it, no matter how hard it tried. The little bird Pokémon ended up giving a small tour of the things nearby us–good job, Doradin! I thought about giving it extra premium pokéfood for being so well behaved…

    Cianna's Buneary was play-fighting with Pikachu, which reminded me of one Dawn had. I wondered how she was doing, it had been a while since our last call…That reminded me of something else. "Hey, does Blawsth have any contests?" I asked.

    "Oh, yeah, plenty! Why? Are you a coordinator too?" she replied back.

    "Oh, no." I answered bashfully. "I was wondering why you're more interested in training instead, since you're really fashion-forward and all?"

    "Well…Blawsth's contests really aren't my style. I wouldn't want to put my Pokémon into a flashy gig like that…I'm fine with battles anyways. I really like watching contests though! Especially the old performances, now those are what they call pregi!" Hm, neat. I dug her style!

    Jake and I went off to get fishing bait, which came in special flavors! One was made to attract water-type pokémon that knew some electric moves, another for psychic, grass too, some for a heavier selection, many homemade by the town's folks while there were some brand names… "Can we get the basic selection?" Jake asked politely, confused by how many pokémon that could possibly be caught in the lake!

    "Right away, sir! Now, would that be bug or kebble?" the cashier asked.

    "Ash?" Jake turned to me.

    I wondered for a good minute… "Bug."

    "No doubt about it, sir!" he said as he went through the bags, it was buried underneath all the special stuff.

    "Hey, Jake? Y'know, I really like that Cianna girl!" I mentioned as the cashier put our stuff into a small white box. Jake grinned mischievously as I said that.

    "Now, you boys enjoy your day!" The cashier waved back as we walked away.

    "So, you really like her, ey?" Jake began his casual teasing, trying to hide his chuckling as he set a hand over his mouth, carrying the box with his other. "How much, Ashy?"

    "Hey, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying, it's nice to meet somebody here who's…how do I say this? Normal!" Normal? No, I meant familiar…warm…My heart started pounding so suddenly, but I swear, I didn't like her like that! Swear on my Mom's grave!

    "Huh? What do you mean by that?" Jake raised his pierced brow, possibly already offended.

    "Well…how do I put this? She's very nice! And most people I've met here aren't that nice. I like being around her!" I admitted, scratching my cheek a little. I didn't like her though, why wouldn't my heart stop beating! It kept pounding, up and down, up and down, up and down–

    "Hm…Sounds like symptoms of the Elle-Oh-Vee-Eee!" Jake continued joking…

    I jumped forward to his neck and wrapped my arm around it, dragging him down to my level as I told him straight in the face, muttering, "Say that again and I'll wreck your punk face like Miley did the other day…Twinditch!"

    Jake grabbed my hand and flicked it off. "It's pronounced tu-when-deache and you shouldn't be throwing it around so carelessly. And with the way you're defending all this, I'm starting to think that you are a twendeache!"

    I raised my fist. "Jacob Meyer, we'll settle this at the fishing contest!"

    "Ooh! Showing off Cianna your smooth moves, I see. Maybe it'd be more impressive to show off your battling skills!" I just wanted to grab my heart and throw it out of my ribcage at this point! I growled as we got to the fishing spot by the docks…

    …And Cianna, who just got done talking to Miley, turned back to wave at us! "Hey guys–"

    Shoot! I quickly stopped grinding my teeth and tried smiling back. "Hey, Cianna!" I shouted in a friendly voice. Jacob started chuckling under that hand of his again. I shoved my elbow against his chest to cut it off! "We got the bait right here!" I said as I held his arm up.

    "Oh, sweet! Now, let's set this thing off! Wait, where did Shinji go?" She looked around.

    "Wait, you said Shinji!" Damn it! I ran back to Pikachu, who was still frolicking around with the other Pokémon. "Quick, where's Shinji?" I asked him.

    "Pika-pi?" he shrugged. Ugh…why couldn't I speak Pokémon!

    "Um…Right here." Shinji revealed from behind. I turned around and he held a small, slim rectangular red box that was wrapped with a golden ribbon. Then, I noticed that the beating of my heart finally started to go down a little.

    "Shinji, where were you?" I demanded.

    "By the bead store. Cianna's pokémon wanted to get something for her since she's always so nice, so I spent those twenty dollars you left on the table. I thought you'd approve of it!"

    Wait, no wonder Jake ticked me off so much… "Were you using your powers? That's a little far from here…"

    "Hm, yeah, but it wasn't too much, and it was for a good cause! Force of habit, sorry! Anyways, fishing time!" I stood there for a good solid minute until the rest of the pokémon followed him.

    "Hey, Shinji, welcome back!" Cianna greeted us. "Wait, is that from the store over there? I saw that they use traditional Blawsth beads, but it was a little over my budget…Which one did you get?"

    "Oh, this one's for you, ammani! Your pokémon really wanted you to have it." He handed it out to her.

    She opened it and inside contained a bracelet with some small pictures of pokémon painted on it! "Wow–thanks, Shinji!" She wrapped it around her wrist, and began showing it off. "Hey, Miles, check this out!"

    "It's really gorgeous…'Fits you like a glove!" she complimented as she stared at it.

    "Yeah!" Cianna showed it to the rest of her pokémon. "Thanks you guys! I'll try adding some extra spice to your food next time!"

    "Alright, so let's get fishing!" Miley said, pulling the rod out of her bag!

    We all sat down in different spots, setting some rented blue trunks beside us, reeling our lines into the water. When I pulled my line in, I felt a nibble already! To my disappointment, it was just a puny Basculin, and it already let go of the line, quickly swimming away. I pulled my line again, and there wasn't a bite in a while.

    I looked at the others and Jacob was already close to catching a Poliwhirl who just sprayed water to his face. "Dang it!" He reeled his line out again.

    Miley felt a bite as it swam towards her. "Oh, Poliwhirl! Eee!" She quickly reeled it out, but it didn't accept the bait and refused to enter the ball. Miley was quick and called her own Pokémon out to battle. "Quick, Narwhammie, use Headbutt!" Poliwhirl knocked the pokémon across as Cianna's Blitzle ran along to catch it with Buneary on its back!

    "Woah, that was close!" Cianna called out, as the Poliwhirl jumped back into the water. "You better watch out, Miley. Some pokémon are too tough for Narwhammie…" she advised.

    "Yeah, I know, I know…" Miley muttered grumply. She went back to fishing, solely focusing on a single dot in the water that'd eat the bait as much as it could, swimming back into the depths before she could feel a single tug.

    Shinji already caught about three Basculin of varying sizes, but never below the medium range. He was good at just picking up his pace and going elsewhere when he didn't get what he wanted. And here I was, catching a mere Barboach. Well, at least that was one for the tank! I decided to grab my trunk and go where he was reeling, because he was having much better luck than me. Four, five pokémon? He'd probably catch his sixth soon. I wanted to say "Hey!", but that would probably disturb him and the water pokémon. He was just stuck in a trance, only reacting to the single tug on his rod.

    I waited until he finally caught a Goldeen and put it in his trunk. I laid down my own trunk and rod beside his. "Shinji, you seem to be swimming along just fine, huh?"

    "Oh, I kind of forgot that the competition was a thing. Y'know, kid, it's been a while since I've felt alone like this, but it's so peaceful. It's just me, the fishing rod, and the water. I wonder, what's the difference between a human and his pokémon?"

    I stared at him for one second–where did that one come from? "Hm, well…not that different! We all share bonds and emotions, why?"

    "Don't you think it's strange for a pokémon to be hunting others?" He turned around, and Pikachu already picked up my fishing rod. He caught an even bigger Seaking!

"You see, not that different," I explained. "I just wish he'd be able to talk to me. I bet he would never keep his mouth shut if he did!" I laughed at the idea, as the thought of Pikachu speaking full blown english cheered me plenty. We stayed there for a moment, reeling back and forth. I was making some good catches here and there, but I could never compete against Shinji. He was addicted to filling his trunk up–the pokémon just kept on coming to him!

    Jake came over to join us. "Hey…" he said, scratching his neck.

    "Hey, Jake! Not having much luck?" I answered back.

    "Y'know, I was only joking when I said all that stuff over there…" he tried explaining, referring to our small argument from earlier. "Never knew it would bother you that much…"

    "Nah, it's alright. It was so uncool of me to overreact like that. I didn't even know what words I said back there…like tuwindech." I admitted…I was so glad nobody caught my mouth rattling like a Ratzavok there…

    Jake chuckled. "Twendeache is a word for a chronic liar and coward, usually for people that can't find love or catch a single pokémon. Best you don't say it out loud though, or you might really regret it!" he warned slyly.

    "Oh…"

    He looked over our trunks, shocked by the one holding the most amount of guppies. "Dang, whose tank is this one?"

    "Shinji's! He's been catching none-stop since we got here!"

    "Hm, and he's not using his poké-whispering skills, is he?"

    "Nope. It's just me and my rod!" Shinji showed off.

    "Hm, I guess this is the right spot then!" As Jake sat down beside me, I just remembered something!

    I clasped the rod between my legs as I went through my hoodie's pocket. "I forgot to mention it, but I sort of got you this thing, back at the shop! It's kinda stupid looking, huh?" The charm dangled between my fingers as he looked at it for a quick second.

    He wanted to laugh hysterically again. "Y'know, since Miley wasn't gonna buy it, I placed my bet on either one of you guys! It's based on my Dad, so that's why we look alike!"

    "Huh? Wait, that's your Dad?" I asked.

    "Yeah, they really liked making random Nuvantics merch every now and then. It was from back when he was still in the band, they all loved fishing and went out of their way to win every contest related to it once they got the money to travel from gigs!"

    "Woah." Huh, I couldn't tell if now it looked even more dopey or not…I set it beside him. "Maybe we should test it out soon!"

    "Yeah, good thinking–woah!" His line bent all the way towards the tip of the water as he quickly got up, struggling to get a hold on the thing!

    His shoes were frictioning against the wood and it became a tug-of-war between him and whatever was in the water. And it was going to drag him in any second! I quickly held onto him as I tried pulling him towards our end. "Hang on!"

    We both fell backwards as a massive Whicash flew onto the grass behind us. And I felt like I just had a million bones crushed! "Oh…Getzoot…" Jake got up as he tried making me stand. "Trigash mi!"

    "No problem, Jake. I'm not ending up in a hospital again…" I said as I brushed some dust off my legs. I looked behind us as a Whiscash flopped about. "Now that's a big one…"

    A man in beige cargo pants and pale salmon sweater walked up. "Did you boys catch this? Want to trade?" He pulled a set of pokéballs.

    "Um…" Jake crossed his arms.

    A woman in a long green skirt and brown jacket pulled her collection out too. "Hey, let's bid on it!"

    Another one came passing through. And another. "You know…I think I'll just let the bait guy decide!" Jacob finally answered.

    As he went to go discuss things with the vendor, I sat by the picnic tables nearby. Miley and Cianna were already there, with their tanks half-empty as Gothita and Docwah were playing a game of chess on the counter, with their minds. "Hey, did you guys really pull that out?" Miley asked, pointing at the Whiscash still flopping about.

    "Yup! Jake doesn't know what to do with it, so he's letting the bait seller decide." I answered.

    "Hm…And he's not getting any of the money?"

    "Does he need any? I'd imagine that he gets some royalties out of his dad's music…" I pointed out.

    "True, but he can't rely on that forever. Hey, after counting the Pokémon, do you guys want a quick picnic? Cianna brought some cooking supplies with her and there's a grill nearby–I'm thinking some roasted leek and some potatoes will be real good, and we got steak!" she said, showing off the trainer's own tote bag. "She knows how to make some awesome pokéfood too! Better than the one they make at the Center."

    "Oh, Miley, please, that's an insult to all the Joys working there…" Cici nervously brushed off. It must have been really good then!

    "Well, you can't hide the truth much, ‘cause Narwhammie was yippy-kai-yaying its hooves around like it was shallow lake!" Ohoho!

    "Anyways, I'm sure Pikachu and Doradin will enjoy it!" Ciana looked at me for a second. "Hey, Ash, now that I mentioned it, Miley's been telling me about that battle you had yesterday. I know this is going to sound, like, totally crazy, but you and your Pikachu feel pretty familiar…" No, no, no! Not now, Cianna–just when we were becoming really good friends, please! I kept begging internally that she'd zip it, that she didn't mention Sinnoh, or Hoenn, but I didn't want to be a prude to her!

    "Really? Where from?" I asked nervously.

    "Some trainers I've met kept saying that there's this guy who's been to a bunch of different regions ever since he was ten. He travels around with his uber strong Pikachu with piercings on his motorbike all day!" Phew, must've been that guy that passed by us when we first left Miley's… "He never tells anybody his name, but they say that if you ever ask him for anything, he'll force you to bring out your Pokémon to battle!" It had to be the trainer Jo mentioned! "He's got a bunch of rare Pokémon too, ones people have sworn to have never seen before! Apparently, he also passed by here already and entered the competition when it was still fresh, and guess what?"

    "What?"

    "He kept putting all the small pokémon back into the water…He still won!"

    "Huh?"

    "Which actually makes, like, a bunch of sense when you think about it. Because everyone else ends up catching the small-fry instead! That guy's a genius, I have to meet him some day!" She slammed her palms onto the table as she laughed. "Oh, ho, ho!"

    A part of me felt like meeting this guy too…If he was anything like Jo, he may serve as real competition! Finally, somebody who was on my level! "Earth to Ash?" Jake waved his hand.

    "Hm?"

    "Dude, you've been staring like a Gothita since I came back…"

    "Oh, yeah. Sorry…" Hm, that food smelled pretty scrumptious! Wait, how long was I staring for? "Is it lunch time already?"

    "Duh. Want me to grab you some grub?"

    "Sure!" He left to get a plate for me. That trainer though, the one Cianna mentioned, he had to be the most insane trainer ever if he was anything like Jo…

    "Here you go! What were you thinking about anyways?" Jake said, handing the dish towards me.

    "Oh…ya' see, Cianna mentioned this trainer to us a little earlier…He's got a Pikachu, like me and everything, but he has a freakin' motorbike and wins every battle…"

    "Wait, you mean that guy you wanted to catch up to the first day? You wanna fight him, ey?"

    "Yes-sir-ree!" I said as I was about to dig into those vegetables!

    "Sweet. We're going to count the fish right after this–should I let Shinji know?"

    "Uh-huh." Jake went off, and in his absence, I thought we needed to get to Stahlotoh soon if I wanted to catch up to that motorbike guy. It was a match made…for me!

    Jake came back running with Shinji, who was being dragged against the ground. He tried getting back up to untie a Pokémon tangled in his fishing rod. "Zoot!" he said as the Pokémon sprang free!

    It was the first to try out Cianna's amazing pokéfood. "Oh, you want some? Don't worry, I made extra!" She gave it a bowl of kibble as it munched on it delightfully.

    "Orc-kah!" Its skin was a light shade of navy covered in splotches of créme. After quickly finishing its meal, it hopped onto Cianna's shoulder.

    "Awe! You got little X-spots on you, we're like twinsies!" she noted, referring to the sleeves on her dress.

    "Cianna, that's gotta be the most insane find ever! How'd it end up all the way here?" Jake pondered as he tried his hardest to clean dust off himself.

    "Hm, I don't know, but it really likes this food! Maybe I'll keep feeding it…" It refused to leave her shoulder, so she got a pokéball. "Here, want to join the party?"

    "Kah!" it cheered. It pressed its fins onto the button to rest inside.

    "Wow! Hey, Miles, you'll never believe what I caught!" Cianna said as Miley was too busy handing out the rest of the kibble to the pokémon.

    "Oh…What?" she asked nervously.

    "It's an Orkasha! In this lake too?"

    Miley's jaw dropped. "No..."

    "Ye-ah!" It hopped back on her shoulder.

    "That black splotch in the water, that was supposed to be mine!"

    "Well…technically Shinji caught it. Guess he's uber awesome like that! Hehe, this guy really likes pokéfood!" Cianna pointed out.

    "Sha-sha!" the Pokémon cried.

    Shinji popped up after trying and spitting out a pokékebble from his mouth. "I think this guy wants to battle." he pointed out.

    "Huh? Against who?" Cianna asked.

    "Her…" He pointed at Miley, who simply laid her head low.

    She raised it back up. "Alright, who'll it be?"

    "Ork!" it pointed.

    "Gothita." Shinji interpreted. It was going to be its first battle, and we hardly knew anything about it.

    Miley gulped. "Let's finish our meals then, because it's on!"

    "Wait, but what about the fishies?" Cianna asked with her hands clasped. "We gotta count those first."

    "Hey, how about you all eat while I check!" Shinji suggested.

    "Hey, that guy's really not all that hungry, ey, Miles?" Cianna asked.

    "You see, I have this medical condition that makes it difficult to process anything other than berries, haha!" he tried explaining. "But thanks for being concerned anyways!" He held a thumb up.

    "Wow, that's, like, so weird. I'm glad that doesn't stop you from living a normal life though, and you know what? Since you've been so nice to me, here's five dollars!" She pulled out her wallet and handed him a bill…

    Shinji held it in his hand and I bet he wanted to zip away so badly when he came over and put it onto my palm. "Here you go, kid!" he handed out quickly.

    "Aw gee…thanks…" I muttered.

    He checked all the trunks and made the obvious conclusion. "Miley and Cianna fifteen, Jake nineteen, Ash twenty, and as for me, fifty!"

    "Wow." That was a load of guppies.

    "Anyways, time to let these little guys go!" he said, releasing every last Pokémon in those tanks. He caught two shiny Pokémon!

    We went back to the battlefield near the lake. Miley stretched on the bench on our side while Cianna played fetch with her Orkasha. Gothita struggled to make any good movements alongside its trainer, simply stumbling backwards as Miley wrapped her arms behind her neck.

    "Gothita, ready for your first match?" she asked in a low tone.

    "Gothi–ta!" It got up, with a fierce look on its face.

    "I'm gonna finish this once and for all..." she muttered.

    "So, hey, what's the deal between you and Cianna anyways?" I asked innocently on the bench.

    "Beedrill's wax got nothing to do with you…" Pssh, alright. I was going to ask Jake next but he already stepped in as referee though, so I guessed I had to ask some other time. I pulled out my Dex, getting ready to gather data as Cianna put Orkasha's stick away.

    "Hey, Miles–you ready, girl?" she shouted from across the field.

"I sure am, are you?" the trainer taunted.

    "This battle will go down in Pokéhistory!" Jake announced. "Ladies, 'you ready? Only one Pokémon can battle, and if it loses, you gotta suck it up!"

    "Orkasha, I choose you!" The Pokémon came forward, as the fin bobbed around.

    "Go, Gothita!" Right off the bat, Orkasha began taunting the other Pokémon, angering Gothita into attacking with its stubby little arms first! Orkasha deflected with its tail, taunting again.

    Gothita looked back with a scorn on its baby face, gritting its teeth as Miley tried to keep it back on track. "Don't listen to it!" she warned.

    "Yeah, Orkasha," Cianna scolded somewhat. "It's Gothita's first battle, so we can't go too rough on it."

    Miley grunted at this exchange while Gothita went ahead to tackle it again, only to be hit with a Water Gun attack as it was launched across the field! "Gothita, use Confusion!"

    As the land whale started running with its jaws wide open, Gothita started using its psychic abilities. Miley smirked once Orkasha stopped running and started looking around, dazed with its head spinning, believing that she got the perfect accuracy.

    The Pokémon simply shook its head as it sent another water attack from a distance. "Sha!"

    It was so agile, and it cartwheeled about as Gothita missed its psybeam attack! "Grah! Gothita, think!" Miley panicked.

    "Heh, that new kid's a chipper off the old Wailord's block, ey?" Shinji asked me. "Targeting Miles in that taunt only gave it more ammunition…"

    "Huh?" I asked.

    "Sometimes a Pokémon's biggest shield is its trainer, and usually it's the other way around too," He looked back at Pikachu. "Wouldn't you agree?"

    "Pika!" he saluted, looking back at me. Orkasha began taunting Gothita again, but the little Pokémon turned back at Miley and her scowl.

    "Doc-wah!" Docwah cried from the sidelines, waving its arms around for Gothita! It looked back at the Pokémon, clenching its arms tighter. Gothita came back with a vengeance, knocking Orkasha's gaping jaw shut as it set the taunting aside.

    With the land shark vulnerable, Gothita creased its mind as it caught it in another state of confusion! Orkasha got up afterwards. "Yeah, let's do this, Or–" Cianna's words were cut short as her Pokémon started hitting the ground aimlessly, getting itself injured!

    This was Gothita's chance to finish it off as Miley shouted, "Now, use Psybeam!"

    A ray of Gothita's mental prowess hit the Pokémon endlessly, as it struggled to get up. It tiptoed on its tail dizzily, falling forwards towards the ground.

    Orkasha laid motionless as the dust settled… "Orkasha is unable to battle, and the winner is…Miley and Gothita! Sorry, Cici!" Jake apologized.

    Cianna sent her pokéball out. "Return. You really love putting up a good fight, huh? I'll make some extra pokécrunch for you!" she promised, looking into the ball as Orkasha rested inside. She looked up. "Miley, Gothita is incredible! You're going to make an awesome trainer–"

    "Ey? Cianna…you're not half bad yourself," she said as she looked at the lakefront. Gothita hopped snug into her arms again. Miley looked back at the other trainer, walking towards her. "From here on, we're rivals now! No backing out, ey?"

    Cianna stood there, wrapping her hands forward, and looking up again. "You can bet on it! Oh, ho, ho!" she laughed.

    We waved back at Cianna in the far edges of Starmarniez, as she walked into the woods with Docwah in her arms. "Have a safe journey!" we bidded.

    "You too! Don't forget to call, ‘kay? Buh-bye!" she said, leaving, with Docwah waving back at us. Miley started frowning as Cianna went along, farther and farther from the distance. She stopped at some point while she let Docwah rest on her hat, and she pulled out her PokéDex to type something out. She put it back into her pocket and kept walking.

    There was a beep from Miley's jacket pocket, and she pulled her own Dex out. There was a message in her inbox…

haiz milez ;D

nex time we meet we hav 2 totes batle agin! had a bunch of funzies wif u guyz! ash, shinii, ur all liek, my NEW FAV BESTIES NOW!!! all ur pkmn 2!!! luv ur gothita milez, its liek, the CUTEST THING EVA <333 i just wanna gobble it up LOL

<3 cici!

    There was another message attached…

P.S. u may wanna catch a new pkmn before u challenge shafter…I DONUT THINK NARWAMMIS GONNA LIKE THOSE SHOCKS u culd try to practice with ashs pika, dat n liek, hes the gretest trnr ive seen so far that isnt lucy! :0 hkwhd! alr, best of luck 2 u all BUH-BYE!!!

    Miley smiled again as we started reading the message. "What does H-K-W-H-D mean?" I asked.

    "You know what you're doing!" Jake answered. "And we should take on your Pikachu, as much as possible!"

    "Alright…" I said as the sun started to peek through the clouds. "Let's get back to that battlefield and practice then! You ready, Pikachu?"

    "Pika!" He pounded a fist into his hand. We heard a Murkrow caw as we decided to dive into a little bit of training! The sunset shone until we crashed out, but I was making sure these trainers and their pokémon were in their best shape possible! You could count my word on it.

▶TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Notes: Gym leader match! Gym leader match anybody?

(End of chapter art commentary is here!)

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