HOME | DD

Description
Lingering was the last thing on my mind after what had occurred. I have no idea what that N guy's problem was, but I wasn't interested in standing around to be accosted by his Pokémon again. With Styx at my heels, I skirted out of the alley and away from the crowd. I felt as if I'd outstayed my welcome in Accumula town. I had no wish to have another run in with anymore acolytes of this Team Plasma group. They were the last kind of people I wanted to get involved with.

Only when the city had disappeared from my sight did I breathe a sigh of relief. Styx stood aloofly beside me, his eyes fixated on the path and where we'd come from, his ears lifted alertly. He didn't show it but through a few subtle signs, but I knew he was as shaken up as I was, though for different reasons.

"You could have left you know…" I murmured quietly to him, sitting down on the side of the path, a few dry leaves crunching around me. The Oshawott's twitching ears stilled. "Why didn't you? You could be free." I began again, my eyes were fixed on the dead grass that I was plucking at.

"S'cuz he likes ya, lassie." I started at a new voice, and turned to look over my shoulder. There was a small creature, maybe about the size of a Poochyena farther up the hill, lying on its side. The posture appeared to be more out of laziness rather than any injury.

"I'm sorry…who..er…what are you?" I asked him.

He rolled upright, his ears flicking up out of his bushy face. "S'funny, ye'd think a trainer'd know a Lillipup when they saw 'un. We's common as spring daisies." He chuffed a laugh.

"Oh." I murmured. I blinked as something occurred to me. "Hey…why do I hear you?" My voice rose a notch in surprise and alarm. Had one of my pokéballs rolled away when I wasn't paying attention?

He sat up, one hind leg scratching at an ear. "Beats me, lass. Loads of people could hear if they listened." He grumbled to himself for a moment. "But best not question it, hn? S'nice while it lasts." He chuckled.

"What do you want, dog?" I started at Styx's sudden and rather scathing tones from behind me. The Oshawott stepped up into the grass, his gaze affixed to the Lillipup.

"Feh! Someone needs ta be taught some manners." The Lillipup groused, staring at Styx with a faintly wrinkled lip.

"Uh..guys...?"

"What?" two snarling expressions turned to me.

Holding up my hands with a wince I asked, "Can we not tear each other to pieces on the side of the road?"

The Lillipup and Oshawott glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, then back at me. "Ehhh…fine, lass." The Lillipup shrugged and shook out his coat, picking his way down the hill towards us, until he sat at my side. "But ye really should teach him to behave better." He said in a conspiring whisper.

"I'll try to remember that." I huffed, cracking a half smile as I glanced over at Styx. Trying to teach him manners would be difficult. His demeanor seemed to naturally be coarse, and cold. Getting him to change would be like asking fire not to burn.

"Ye're both heading to Striation?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah…I think so…" I reached over to my backpack, pulling out the map. It unfolded with a loud rustle of paper and the Lillipup leaned over so he could see. "Yeah, Striation's up next." I amended.

The Lillipup gave a slow nod. "I see. There's a gym in Striation, ye know." He glanced at my belt. "Seems ye only got two members on yer team." He shifted his paws. "Think ye'll be alright?" he asked.

I glanced sideways at him, a small smile forming on my mouth. "Are you volunteering to fill the third slot?" I asked him.

He looked at me in feigned surprise. "Me? Naw, naw o'course not, lass. But…if ye need a third party member…I wouldn't be opposed…" he looked up at the sky thoughtfully. I could practically hear Styx rolling his eyes beside me, and it only caused my smile to grow.

"Well…" I started, reaching into my pack for an empty Pokéball. "It just so happens I am in need of a third party member, if you'd like to fill the slot after all." I offered the capsule to him.

"Well, I did have a few things I needed to do…" he appeared to debate with himself for a moment before turning eagerly back to the Pokéball. "But okay, I'll join up!" his form flared red as his nose pressed to the capsule, and he disappeared as the sphere clicked shut. There was a gentle ding, and my 'dex beeped at my hip, registering the capture to my account.

"That was a wasted capture." Styx growled.

"Oh come on!" I sighed, leaning back in the grass and showing him the pokéball. "He wanted to join us! I couldn't say no." Styx merely snorted in reply. "Ugh. Fine. Whatever…" I sighed and pulling his own pokéball from my hip, he disappeared in a flash of light. "Stubborn little thing." I grouched at the capsule before clipping it to my hip with the Lillipup's.

Pulling the pokedex from the small pouch on the other side of my belt, I flipped it open. The screen lit up and the query to register the Lillipup under a name for my account came up. Carefully, I ticked in the name 'Miles' and pressed the 'accept' button, registering it to my Unovan account. Three Pokémon…looked like I was well on my way.

Despite Styx's initial hesitation towards my garnering of our newest member, I was surprised at how well he, Everet, and Miles worked together. Though I had a team with two Normal types on it and only one Water type, the lack of variety didn't worry me much. There was a display of promise in each of them, and most of the training we did on the short span of route two showed me nothing but potential.

It was dusk when we reached Striation city, and there was little left of the day to do much besides settle down in the Pokémon center for some dinner and a rest. Unlike the facilities in Nuvema town, it was a lot more crowded, even for the off-season. I managed to nab one of the few remaining singles rooms, and settled in for the night. The next morning would only dawn with the disruptive alarm clock…
Flicking off the annoyingly loud buzzing piece of tech, I groaned and pushed my head back under the blankets. There was no respite for a trainer however…

"Uhm…master?" the voice came from beside my bed.

"Mmm?" I groaned out, not emerging from the warm solace of my borrowed bed sheets.

"When's breakfast?" came the query. I recognized Everet's voice.

"Wha…?" I asked, blearily peering out from under the sheets. Both Everet and Miles were sitting beside the bed, Styx was off to the side, near the wall where he'd slept. His dark eyes were watching me, and I looked back down to Everet and Miles.

"We're hungry." Everet whined. "Can we have food now? Please?" he asked standing up on the tips of his toes so he could see me.

"Yeah, of course." I agreed, sitting up.

One short scramble for my clothes and a brief interlude of repacking my things and we were ready to head out for some quick breakfast. The center's food court had set up a continental breakfast area for the trainers, as well as a station for the Pokémon food. I snagged three bowls of chow for my guys, and relayed it to them.

They dug in with gusto, but not before Miles squinted at me through his thick mane of facial fur. "Not gonna eat nothin' lass?" he asked me, tipping his head. I didn't miss in my peripheral that Styx looked my way.

"M'not hungry, breakfast just really isn't my thing. You guys eat though, I'll have something later." I shrugged him off.

"If ye say so." The Lillipup shrugged to himself, digging into his food. I leaned back in the booth, laying out on the bench, my legs partially sticking out into the aisle between tables. No one paid me much heed.

Everet, Miles, and Styx finished their food in record time. I was starting to wonder if I had a team of Pokémon or just a bunch of vacuum cleaners at the rate that their meals had disappeared. Thank Arceus that healthcare and food for Pokémon was free... When they'd finished and we'd packed everything away, I called them back to their pokéballs and left the center.

Slipping out onto the streets, I couldn't help but stop for a quick check for any sign of those people who declared themselves to be 'Team Plasma'. There were no powder blue and black uniforms to be seen anywhere. I felt myself give a small sigh of relief and grimaced. Was I really beginning to scare that easily? If I knew anything about organizations, it was that most of the grunts were simply pushovers, I wouldn't have much to fear...But that N character…he hadn't exactly been a pushover…

Clearly I need a distraction of some sort. Drumming my fingers against the strap of my pack, I glanced around the town, or at least what I could see of it. There was a few places that I could look into while I was here. Professor Juniper had a colleague with a lab in town, there was also the Dreamyard, which a pamphlet in the Center had said was famous for housing rare Psychic type Pokémon. Then there was, of course the gym. I let out a thoughtful hum and turned on my heel in a complete circle. The first thing that stood out to me was the bright silver insignia of the Unovan league upon an antiquated building, recognizable from its clone on my map. It looked like I'd found my distraction.

First gyms were generally a piece of cake, as far as most trainers were concerned. The gym leaders were rarely allowed to use strategy of any sort, and their Pokémon were relatively low in strength via the rules the league dictated for them. But regardless of that fact, I didn't think that I was ready to take on anyone yet, let alone a member of the Unovan league. Still…curiosity gnawed at me, and I decided it wouldn't hurt to perhaps take a look around the gym, and scope out what my potential battle would be like.

Before I knew it, I found myself walking into what looked very little like a Gym and what looked more like a restaurant. I blinked a few times at the atmosphere around me, feeling more than a little confused.

"Hello, may I help you?" Came a cheerful voice behind me.

Turning, I saw that there was a woman maybe my age, holding several menus against her chest, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Yeah." I cast a look around again, "Is this the Striation gym?" I asked uncertainly.

The woman laughed. "Yes, and no." she held out an arm. "What you see here is only part of the gym. It is a business as much as it is a trainer's destination. But the stadium and true gym housing is all upstairs. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you." She offered, a tip of her head a final query.

"Y-yeah…Thanks." I nodded appreciatively, following her as she led me back past a curious band of diners and up a set of white marble stairs. Whether this was a gym or a restaurant, the designers certainly had great taste in décor…

At the top of the staircase, there was a large lobby, with white marble floors that matched the accents of the décor. There was a scattered seating area that was filled with rather comfortable looking love seats and arm chairs. Just ahead of that loomed a desk made of the same white marble as the flooring, to either side were heavy looking red drapery, marred with the bright silver emblem of the Unovan league. I stalled briefly behind my guide. This was supposed to be a gym?

"Something wrong?" my guide asked me, her cheery voice faltering a notch.

"No…No, sorry." I forced myself forward again after her.

"Are you familiar with the workings of the league system, madam?" she asked me.

"I'm relatively familiar with the rules of the Hoenn league, are they the same here?" I glanced at her.

"Very similar." She nodded and we weaved our way through the sitting area. "There are a few quirks to every gym, as I'm certain you know. Gym leaders tend to craft their gyms to their tastes and sometimes that includes challenges that the trainers must face before they are allowed to even see the gym leader, regardless if they have schedules a match. These can be anything from trainer battles, to riddles, to mazes, what have you." She waved a hand carelessly and stopped in front of the marble desk.

"Alec here will register you for your gym match." She gave a slight bow to me. "Good luck to you!" she called over her shoulder as she left for the lower levels of the gym once again.

"May I have your trainer card, miss?" The man behind the desk, Alec, was holding his hand out to me expectantly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure thing." I stated, tossing my bag onto the counter so I could fish it out. Alec glanced at it, his eyes flickering with brief distaste but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Pulling out the card I passed it over to his awaiting fingers.

Swiveling in his chair towards a computer, Alec's swift hands typed in my trainer ID in a flurry of clattering keys. "Your starter was the Pokémon Oshawott?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Then you shall be battling gym leader Cilan." His eyes narrowed and the mouse clicked several times before he spoke again, his eyes focused on the data upon the screen. "Our next available slot for a battle is ten am tomorrow morning." He looked up at me. "Is that manageable for you, madam?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah…that's fine." I nodded. I hadn't meant to actually register right away for my battle, I'd just wanted to get a peek at what I'd been facing. "Are there…any challenges or tasks I need to complete prior?" I asked him, remembering what the woman who'd shown me up had stated.

Alec smiled to himself, retrieving my trainer card and handing it off. "Not this time, but it'd be best to not get used to that." He turned his head, glancing towards the curtains off to his left. "Through there is the spectators entrance. There is a battle going on now, if you'd wish to get a look at what you might face."

"I'll do that. Thank you, Alec." I said, swinging my pack back over my shoulder.

After some fumbling to find the seam, I managed to push aside the heavy scarlet curtain, and climb up one flight of stairs. The spectators seating was rather empty, with only a few people here and there sitting and watching. I could hear the calls of a woman and man from the stadium that lay below and past the railing beside me. Craning my head to see, I saw there was a blonde girl fighting a man with hair a shocking shade of blue.

"Go Bianca, go!" I heard a shout from the stands, and my gaze flickered back from the contestant below. There was a dark haired boy with glasses leaning against the railing, staring intently down.
"Friend of yours?" I asked.

He started and looked up. "Oh…yeah." He adjusted his glasses, and looked back down at her.

"Is that Cilan she's fighting?" I asked with a quirked brow, leaning against the railing beside him.

"What?" he asked, his brows drawing together as he looked at me incredulously. "No. That's Cress."

"Who?"

"One of the Striation gym leaders." He said, his tone matter of fact.

"So there's Cress and Cilan, any others I should know about?" I asked, feeling a smirk curling my lips.

"Chili." He stated, his eyes riveted on the scene below.

"There's three gym leaders then?" I asked. "I've only been told to fight one of them. Is that luck on my part or…" I trailed off, wondering if this kid would fill in the blanks.

"The challenge is based around the elements of your starter." He murmured, glancing at me distractedly. He nodded towards the battle below. "Bianca you see, picked Tepig as her starter. So she's facing Cress, who specializes in water types." He plucked up a pokéball from his hip and held it up. "My partner was Snivy, a grass type, so I'll be facing Chili next." He murmured.

I nodded, watching as the small fire pig below us duked it out with a Lillipup. "Nervous?" I asked him.

"Not at all." He stated, though I noted his grip on the railing tightened a bit. "I've studied strategy and tactics my whole life." His tones were confident.

"There's a difference between knowledge and application, though." I murmured, mostly to myself.

"True enough." His smile was wry.

There was a bright flare of a fireball below us, and we started and stepped back as the few members of the audience elicited a gasp. When the waves of greasy smoke and embers dispersed enough to see the field below, the Tepig was the only thing left standing.

"That's it then." The boy beside me grinned. "She's beat him."

"Hah, you'll have to congratulate her for me." I smiled. "Good luck to you too…"

"Cheren." He held out a hand.

I grasped it, and shook it firmly. "Era."

"Thanks, Era." He smiled a bit. "I'll pass on your congratulations. Thanks for the well wishing." He skirted around me and towards the stairs, no doubt to go down and prepare for his own match.

Glancing back down at the field, I saw that Bianca and Cress had meet in the middle of the charred battlefield. Cress passed off the gym badge to the girl with the ceremonial words that every leader knew so well, and I gave a soft chuckle as she jumped for joy.

Turning, I decided I'd take my leave as well, following Cheren out. My destination wasn't however, the challenger's floor. I headed back downstairs and out the door, once more on the streets of Striation. A battle tomorrow morning, and from the sounds of it, the leaders would be pitting types against me that I wouldn't be able to counter. It looked like it was time to do a little training then.

Description
Lingering was the last thing on my mind after what had occurred. I have no idea what that N guy's problem was, but I wasn't interested in standing around to be accosted by his Pokémon again. With Styx at my heels, I skirted out of the alley and away from the crowd. I felt as if I'd outstayed my welcome in Accumula town. I had no wish to have another run in with anymore acolytes of this Team Plasma group. They were the last kind of people I wanted to get involved with.

Only when the city had disappeared from my sight did I breathe a sigh of relief. Styx stood aloofly beside me, his eyes fixated on the path and where we'd come from, his ears lifted alertly. He didn't show it but through a few subtle signs, but I knew he was as shaken up as I was, though for different reasons.

"You could have left you know…" I murmured quietly to him, sitting down on the side of the path, a few dry leaves crunching around me. The Oshawott's twitching ears stilled. "Why didn't you? You could be free." I began again, my eyes were fixed on the dead grass that I was plucking at.

"S'cuz he likes ya, lassie." I started at a new voice, and turned to look over my shoulder. There was a small creature, maybe about the size of a Poochyena farther up the hill, lying on its side. The posture appeared to be more out of laziness rather than any injury.

"I'm sorry…who..er…what are you?" I asked him.

He rolled upright, his ears flicking up out of his bushy face. "S'funny, ye'd think a trainer'd know a Lillipup when they saw 'un. We's common as spring daisies." He chuffed a laugh.

"Oh." I murmured. I blinked as something occurred to me. "Hey…why do I hear you?" My voice rose a notch in surprise and alarm. Had one of my pokéballs rolled away when I wasn't paying attention?

He sat up, one hind leg scratching at an ear. "Beats me, lass. Loads of people could hear if they listened." He grumbled to himself for a moment. "But best not question it, hn? S'nice while it lasts." He chuckled.

"What do you want, dog?" I started at Styx's sudden and rather scathing tones from behind me. The Oshawott stepped up into the grass, his gaze affixed to the Lillipup.

"Feh! Someone needs ta be taught some manners." The Lillipup groused, staring at Styx with a faintly wrinkled lip.

"Uh..guys...?"

"What?" two snarling expressions turned to me.

Holding up my hands with a wince I asked, "Can we not tear each other to pieces on the side of the road?"

The Lillipup and Oshawott glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, then back at me. "Ehhh…fine, lass." The Lillipup shrugged and shook out his coat, picking his way down the hill towards us, until he sat at my side. "But ye really should teach him to behave better." He said in a conspiring whisper.

"I'll try to remember that." I huffed, cracking a half smile as I glanced over at Styx. Trying to teach him manners would be difficult. His demeanor seemed to naturally be coarse, and cold. Getting him to change would be like asking fire not to burn.

"Ye're both heading to Striation?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah…I think so…" I reached over to my backpack, pulling out the map. It unfolded with a loud rustle of paper and the Lillipup leaned over so he could see. "Yeah, Striation's up next." I amended.

The Lillipup gave a slow nod. "I see. There's a gym in Striation, ye know." He glanced at my belt. "Seems ye only got two members on yer team." He shifted his paws. "Think ye'll be alright?" he asked.

I glanced sideways at him, a small smile forming on my mouth. "Are you volunteering to fill the third slot?" I asked him.

He looked at me in feigned surprise. "Me? Naw, naw o'course not, lass. But…if ye need a third party member…I wouldn't be opposed…" he looked up at the sky thoughtfully. I could practically hear Styx rolling his eyes beside me, and it only caused my smile to grow.

"Well…" I started, reaching into my pack for an empty Pokéball. "It just so happens I am in need of a third party member, if you'd like to fill the slot after all." I offered the capsule to him.

"Well, I did have a few things I needed to do…" he appeared to debate with himself for a moment before turning eagerly back to the Pokéball. "But okay, I'll join up!" his form flared red as his nose pressed to the capsule, and he disappeared as the sphere clicked shut. There was a gentle ding, and my 'dex beeped at my hip, registering the capture to my account.

"That was a wasted capture." Styx growled.

"Oh come on!" I sighed, leaning back in the grass and showing him the pokéball. "He wanted to join us! I couldn't say no." Styx merely snorted in reply. "Ugh. Fine. Whatever…" I sighed and pulling his own pokéball from my hip, he disappeared in a flash of light. "Stubborn little thing." I grouched at the capsule before clipping it to my hip with the Lillipup's.

Pulling the pokedex from the small pouch on the other side of my belt, I flipped it open. The screen lit up and the query to register the Lillipup under a name for my account came up. Carefully, I ticked in the name 'Miles' and pressed the 'accept' button, registering it to my Unovan account. Three Pokémon…looked like I was well on my way.

Despite Styx's initial hesitation towards my garnering of our newest member, I was surprised at how well he, Everet, and Miles worked together. Though I had a team with two Normal types on it and only one Water type, the lack of variety didn't worry me much. There was a display of promise in each of them, and most of the training we did on the short span of route two showed me nothing but potential.

It was dusk when we reached Striation city, and there was little left of the day to do much besides settle down in the Pokémon center for some dinner and a rest. Unlike the facilities in Nuvema town, it was a lot more crowded, even for the off-season. I managed to nab one of the few remaining singles rooms, and settled in for the night. The next morning would only dawn with the disruptive alarm clock…
Flicking off the annoyingly loud buzzing piece of tech, I groaned and pushed my head back under the blankets. There was no respite for a trainer however…

"Uhm…master?" the voice came from beside my bed.

"Mmm?" I groaned out, not emerging from the warm solace of my borrowed bed sheets.

"When's breakfast?" came the query. I recognized Everet's voice.

"Wha…?" I asked, blearily peering out from under the sheets. Both Everet and Miles were sitting beside the bed, Styx was off to the side, near the wall where he'd slept. His dark eyes were watching me, and I looked back down to Everet and Miles.

"We're hungry." Everet whined. "Can we have food now? Please?" he asked standing up on the tips of his toes so he could see me.

"Yeah, of course." I agreed, sitting up.

One short scramble for my clothes and a brief interlude of repacking my things and we were ready to head out for some quick breakfast. The center's food court had set up a continental breakfast area for the trainers, as well as a station for the Pokémon food. I snagged three bowls of chow for my guys, and relayed it to them.

They dug in with gusto, but not before Miles squinted at me through his thick mane of facial fur. "Not gonna eat nothin' lass?" he asked me, tipping his head. I didn't miss in my peripheral that Styx looked my way.

"M'not hungry, breakfast just really isn't my thing. You guys eat though, I'll have something later." I shrugged him off.

"If ye say so." The Lillipup shrugged to himself, digging into his food. I leaned back in the booth, laying out on the bench, my legs partially sticking out into the aisle between tables. No one paid me much heed.

Everet, Miles, and Styx finished their food in record time. I was starting to wonder if I had a team of Pokémon or just a bunch of vacuum cleaners at the rate that their meals had disappeared. Thank Arceus that healthcare and food for Pokémon was free... When they'd finished and we'd packed everything away, I called them back to their pokéballs and left the center.

Slipping out onto the streets, I couldn't help but stop for a quick check for any sign of those people who declared themselves to be 'Team Plasma'. There were no powder blue and black uniforms to be seen anywhere. I felt myself give a small sigh of relief and grimaced. Was I really beginning to scare that easily? If I knew anything about organizations, it was that most of the grunts were simply pushovers, I wouldn't have much to fear...But that N character…he hadn't exactly been a pushover…

Clearly I need a distraction of some sort. Drumming my fingers against the strap of my pack, I glanced around the town, or at least what I could see of it. There was a few places that I could look into while I was here. Professor Juniper had a colleague with a lab in town, there was also the Dreamyard, which a pamphlet in the Center had said was famous for housing rare Psychic type Pokémon. Then there was, of course the gym. I let out a thoughtful hum and turned on my heel in a complete circle. The first thing that stood out to me was the bright silver insignia of the Unovan league upon an antiquated building, recognizable from its clone on my map. It looked like I'd found my distraction.

First gyms were generally a piece of cake, as far as most trainers were concerned. The gym leaders were rarely allowed to use strategy of any sort, and their Pokémon were relatively low in strength via the rules the league dictated for them. But regardless of that fact, I didn't think that I was ready to take on anyone yet, let alone a member of the Unovan league. Still…curiosity gnawed at me, and I decided it wouldn't hurt to perhaps take a look around the gym, and scope out what my potential battle would be like.

Before I knew it, I found myself walking into what looked very little like a Gym and what looked more like a restaurant. I blinked a few times at the atmosphere around me, feeling more than a little confused.

"Hello, may I help you?" Came a cheerful voice behind me.

Turning, I saw that there was a woman maybe my age, holding several menus against her chest, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Yeah." I cast a look around again, "Is this the Striation gym?" I asked uncertainly.

The woman laughed. "Yes, and no." she held out an arm. "What you see here is only part of the gym. It is a business as much as it is a trainer's destination. But the stadium and true gym housing is all upstairs. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you." She offered, a tip of her head a final query.

"Y-yeah…Thanks." I nodded appreciatively, following her as she led me back past a curious band of diners and up a set of white marble stairs. Whether this was a gym or a restaurant, the designers certainly had great taste in décor…

At the top of the staircase, there was a large lobby, with white marble floors that matched the accents of the décor. There was a scattered seating area that was filled with rather comfortable looking love seats and arm chairs. Just ahead of that loomed a desk made of the same white marble as the flooring, to either side were heavy looking red drapery, marred with the bright silver emblem of the Unovan league. I stalled briefly behind my guide. This was supposed to be a gym?

"Something wrong?" my guide asked me, her cheery voice faltering a notch.

"No…No, sorry." I forced myself forward again after her.

"Are you familiar with the workings of the league system, madam?" she asked me.

"I'm relatively familiar with the rules of the Hoenn league, are they the same here?" I glanced at her.

"Very similar." She nodded and we weaved our way through the sitting area. "There are a few quirks to every gym, as I'm certain you know. Gym leaders tend to craft their gyms to their tastes and sometimes that includes challenges that the trainers must face before they are allowed to even see the gym leader, regardless if they have schedules a match. These can be anything from trainer battles, to riddles, to mazes, what have you." She waved a hand carelessly and stopped in front of the marble desk.

"Alec here will register you for your gym match." She gave a slight bow to me. "Good luck to you!" she called over her shoulder as she left for the lower levels of the gym once again.

"May I have your trainer card, miss?" The man behind the desk, Alec, was holding his hand out to me expectantly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure thing." I stated, tossing my bag onto the counter so I could fish it out. Alec glanced at it, his eyes flickering with brief distaste but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Pulling out the card I passed it over to his awaiting fingers.

Swiveling in his chair towards a computer, Alec's swift hands typed in my trainer ID in a flurry of clattering keys. "Your starter was the Pokémon Oshawott?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Then you shall be battling gym leader Cilan." His eyes narrowed and the mouse clicked several times before he spoke again, his eyes focused on the data upon the screen. "Our next available slot for a battle is ten am tomorrow morning." He looked up at me. "Is that manageable for you, madam?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah…that's fine." I nodded. I hadn't meant to actually register right away for my battle, I'd just wanted to get a peek at what I'd been facing. "Are there…any challenges or tasks I need to complete prior?" I asked him, remembering what the woman who'd shown me up had stated.

Alec smiled to himself, retrieving my trainer card and handing it off. "Not this time, but it'd be best to not get used to that." He turned his head, glancing towards the curtains off to his left. "Through there is the spectators entrance. There is a battle going on now, if you'd wish to get a look at what you might face."

"I'll do that. Thank you, Alec." I said, swinging my pack back over my shoulder.

After some fumbling to find the seam, I managed to push aside the heavy scarlet curtain, and climb up one flight of stairs. The spectators seating was rather empty, with only a few people here and there sitting and watching. I could hear the calls of a woman and man from the stadium that lay below and past the railing beside me. Craning my head to see, I saw there was a blonde girl fighting a man with hair a shocking shade of blue.

"Go Bianca, go!" I heard a shout from the stands, and my gaze flickered back from the contestant below. There was a dark haired boy with glasses leaning against the railing, staring intently down.
"Friend of yours?" I asked.

He started and looked up. "Oh…yeah." He adjusted his glasses, and looked back down at her.

"Is that Cilan she's fighting?" I asked with a quirked brow, leaning against the railing beside him.

"What?" he asked, his brows drawing together as he looked at me incredulously. "No. That's Cress."

"Who?"

"One of the Striation gym leaders." He said, his tone matter of fact.

"So there's Cress and Cilan, any others I should know about?" I asked, feeling a smirk curling my lips.

"Chili." He stated, his eyes riveted on the scene below.

"There's three gym leaders then?" I asked. "I've only been told to fight one of them. Is that luck on my part or…" I trailed off, wondering if this kid would fill in the blanks.

"The challenge is based around the elements of your starter." He murmured, glancing at me distractedly. He nodded towards the battle below. "Bianca you see, picked Tepig as her starter. So she's facing Cress, who specializes in water types." He plucked up a pokéball from his hip and held it up. "My partner was Snivy, a grass type, so I'll be facing Chili next." He murmured.

I nodded, watching as the small fire pig below us duked it out with a Lillipup. "Nervous?" I asked him.

"Not at all." He stated, though I noted his grip on the railing tightened a bit. "I've studied strategy and tactics my whole life." His tones were confident.

"There's a difference between knowledge and application, though." I murmured, mostly to myself.

"True enough." His smile was wry.

There was a bright flare of a fireball below us, and we started and stepped back as the few members of the audience elicited a gasp. When the waves of greasy smoke and embers dispersed enough to see the field below, the Tepig was the only thing left standing.

"That's it then." The boy beside me grinned. "She's beat him."

"Hah, you'll have to congratulate her for me." I smiled. "Good luck to you too…"

"Cheren." He held out a hand.

I grasped it, and shook it firmly. "Era."

"Thanks, Era." He smiled a bit. "I'll pass on your congratulations. Thanks for the well wishing." He skirted around me and towards the stairs, no doubt to go down and prepare for his own match.

Glancing back down at the field, I saw that Bianca and Cress had meet in the middle of the charred battlefield. Cress passed off the gym badge to the girl with the ceremonial words that every leader knew so well, and I gave a soft chuckle as she jumped for joy.

Turning, I decided I'd take my leave as well, following Cheren out. My destination wasn't however, the challenger's floor. I headed back downstairs and out the door, once more on the streets of Striation. A battle tomorrow morning, and from the sounds of it, the leaders would be pitting types against me that I wouldn't be able to counter. It looked like it was time to do a little training then.