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Leo got his first Pokemon before he left for Terra Venture (well, stowed away to go to Terra Venture at least). He'd been encouraged by a few people that having a Pokemon in his life would 'help him cope' since it became obvious he wasn't going to be one of the ones moving to the 'new world'. It irritated Leo and he almost just ignored the advice, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought maybe having a Pokemon for himself would be...nice. He knew Fire types were pretty cool and had always, in the back of his mind, wanted one, so he went out and bought a package of Pokeballs, deciding to go about getting a Pokemon the old fashioned way...catching one. Santa Palisades wasn't the biggest place in California, so Leo knew he had to be smart about things, and possibly even venture out of it to find what he wanted, but there were quite a few wild Fire types around the area if one knew where to look (a big reason Leo liked them so much, he was exposed to them growing up) and he wouldn't give up until he got the Pokemon he wanted.He searched for two days, sun up to after sun down to find a good Fire type, but it was like they were all hiding from him or something. It frustrated him a lot and he almost resorted to just going to an adoption center.But finally all his hard leg work paid off and he came across a male Talonflame. It was tangled in some thorny bushes and looked worse for wear. Leo darted over immediately, ignoring the angry sounds the Pokemon was giving him."It's ok. I'm going to help you, buddy, I swear." He murmured soothingly. He stripped off his shirt and used it to half-assed cover his hands, pulling at the thorny vines around the Pokemon. He took great care not to hurt the Pokemon anymore than it seemed to be, which seemed to calm the Talonflame down. It sat still as Leo worked, keeping up a steady stream of reassurances. It took the better portion of an hour, but finally he worked the Talonflame free. It flew out of the bushes and Leo looked down at his scarred and bleeding hands, ignoring the Pokemon for the moment as he tried to figure out if he needed stitches. Once he realized the wounds were superficial, he looked up and saw the Talonflame sitting on the ground looking at him curiously. "You're free to go now." He pointed out, slipping his shirt back on. It was torn to pieces and not really salvageable, but he didn't really care. "Go on." The Pokemon didn't move and Leo laughed quietly."It's almost like you...want to stay with me." He pointed out.Talonflame hopped closer and Leo stared at it before he realized he was squandering his opportunity. He took a Pokeball out of his pocket and held it up. When Talonflame didn't move, he tossed it at the Pokemon and caught it. Leo quickly picked up the Pokeball and grinned widely. He resisted the urge to hold it up triumphantly and ran off home to celebrate his first Pokemon. --------- After Leo got to Terra Venture, and he settled in, the Commander mentioned he might want to 'get more Pokemon' to help against the battle they were waging against those trying to attack the floating colony headed to their new home. He'd done well with Talonflame so far, but he had to admit, there was some logic in getting other Pokemon to help out. He didn't know what he wanted at first, but Kendrix mentioned to him 'if something works for you, stick to it', so he decided he wanted a full team of Fire types. They were known to have difficult personalities, but Leo knew better. He knew if you worked with them and gained their trust then they'd become the most loyal Pokemon you could ever know. That's what he wanted.He knew that would be what helped him in his fight.So he did what he did before and set off with a Pokeball and Talonflame to catch his second Pokemon. Terra Venture had let out a good portion of wild Pokemon for everyone to either catch or just let live in the area, and Leo knew they had plenty of wild Fire types for him to choose from. He made his way to the outer edge of the colony, planning on making his way around it and then work his way into the forested area. Fire types usually stayed in more dry areas, though, so he wasn't sure he'd find any there and he didn't want to come across any wild Beedrill or Forretress. He wasn't equipped to protect himself against them. Of course Leo's luck meant that he came across a herd of fighting Victreebell. He cursed under his breath and turned to sneak away but they heard him and attacked immediately.Talonflame fought against them as well as he could against the Pokemon, but it was soon obvious he was in over his head.Leo had just resigned himself to grabbing Talonflame and running as fast as he could screaming for help when a male Flareon jumped from the bushes into the fray.Leo hid in a bush and watched the fight, Talonflame and Flareon working in tandem together to drive the Victreebell away, their horrible screams echoing in their wake. He moved out of his hiding spot and when Flareon turned toward him, posture low and dangerous, he held his hands up."Hey now, I'm on your side." He said immediately. "I don't mean you any harm, that's my Talonflame you just helped out." Flareon eyed him and Talonflame seemed to back up his story to the Fire type Pokemon. Leo was glad for it as it seemed to calm Flareon down. He bent down as Flareon approached him and reached into his pocket, taking out a handful of berries he'd swiped from the canteen. "Want a snack?" He asked, letting the Flareon eat from the palm of his hand. His fur was warm to touch, but it didn't burn Leo thankfully. Once all the berries were gone, Leo stood and recalled Talonflame, who perched on his shoulder. Turning, he started walking away and got about fifteen feet when he heard leaves crunching behind him. He turned around and saw Flareon there, and the Pokemon stopped and looked at him inquisitively.Leo laughed softly. "Are you adopting me?" He asked, not really being serious.Flareon chirped happily and jumped at Leo, who caught him easily and held him to his chest. Flareon laid against him happily, his tail going a mile a minute. "Alright, alright. Well I did want a second Fire-type." Leo scritched the Pokemon behind the ear as he walked off back to the apartment he shared with the guys. If Flareon soaked Kai's bed in urine when his fellow Ranger pissed him off one day, well then Leo wouldn't admit that it only endeared the Pokemon to him even more. ---------- After Kendrix died against the Psycho Rangers, it took a while for Leo to accept Karone as her replacement. He and Kai had been particularly close to Kendrix and it wasn't as if Leo held it against the Pink Ranger, but seeing her just kept his grieving process going longer than it needed to. He kept to himself a lot, taking Talonflame and Flareon out to the desserted area of Terra Venture to train relentlessly, waiting for the next chance to take down Trakeena and everyone associated with her for what happened to Kendrix.He wasn't proud of it, but he and Karone soon developed a sexual relationship---an acquaintences with benefits sort of thing. She sought him out one day after he'd been keeping mostly to himself and got past his defenses after he tried to brush her off. He kept his cool for the most part, but she persisted, digging deeper and deeper as she shouldered the blame for what happened, saying things like 'I know I'll never take Karone's place'. Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore. "No you won't!" He yelled, causing her to step back, shocked by the outburst. He took a breath. "You won't, you're right. But no one's asking you to. No one wants you to. So just...stop. We don't need you to...to be Kendrix. Just...be Karone." Karone nodded slowly and flashed him a small smile. "I guess I can do that." "Good." Leo stepped forward. "I'm sorry for yelling." "It's ok. I'm shocked you've not...you know...before." Karone shrugged.He smirked wryly and shrugged, accepting when she stepped forward and hugged him. The hug lasted for a while longer than it probably should've and when she stepped away, they caught each other's eye. To this day, Leo didn't know why, but he put his hands on her face and leaned in to kiss her. There was a quick spark of passion and Leo was semi aware of his Pokemon wandering off to give them privacy, but he paid it no mind as he picked Karone up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her off toward a large area with a few boulders they could use. Afterward, Karone dressed and wandered back to the living quarters and Leo half dressed and sat down on the boulder, wondering what just happened. He wasn't upset, not really, and he didn't regret it. But a part of him wondered if he was just using Karone for comfort, if she was a placeholder.He shook his head clear, Karone had wanted it as much as he did, he knew that, so he tried to forget it.He stood up and went to call out to his Pokemon, laughing at the fact that they'd disappeared, when he saw a female Growlithe laying down across the quarry they were in. Leo's eyes widened and he held his hands up. "Easy now." He said. "I'm not trying to be in your territory." Growlithe stood up and Leo braced himself to get fried or tackled, yelling out for his other two Pokemon as the Growlithe charged at him. His body flew back and he landed with a thump, the breath knocked out of him. He gasped when Growlithe landed on top of him, which turned into loud laughter as the Pokemon started licking him in a friendly way, her tail going as fast as it could, stirring up hot air around them. Leo was already slick with sweat from his earlier activities and that only made him sweat more. "Ugh come on!" He gently pushed the Growlithe off and sat up as Talonflame and Flareon raced over. He held a hand up and stopped them in their tracks. "Whoa now, I'm ok. Don't attack, we're fine." Leo stood up and slipped his shirt on, patting Growlithe on the side. He took a Pokeball out of his pocket and looked at it curiously and back at the Fire-type Pokemon."Hey, are you looking for a trainer?" He asked curiously.The large Pokemon moved back and sat down, looking at him with a big grin, almost like she was saying 'go ahead'. Leo laughed to himself, thinking about how he got lucky so far with his Pokemon. He tossed the ball up in the air and then threw it at the Pokemon, letting it out once he caught it. "Come on." He jerked his head. "Let's go home, I need a shower...God I hope Kai and Damon don't catch wind of this...or...oh God, Mike. He'll never let me hear the end of it." ---------- The Commander gave Leo his fourth Pokemon, saying he needed another to round out his team. He was afraid he wouldn't be given a type he wanted, but the commander just smiled at him knowingly and dismissed him from his office. Leo still didn't work well within the military type setting, but he only bristled a little at the dismissal, making his way out of the building and off to the lake where he sat down, letting his other three Pokemon out. Growlithe laid down across his lap and Talonflame settled on his shoulder, while Flareon just sat nearby, laying down to take a nap. "You guys want to meet your new brother or sister? Or...non-binary Pokemon?" He asked, knowing some Pokemon didn't ascribe to a gender at all. He was getting better about that, trying to not misgender anyone or anything and be polite about what they preferred. His Pokemon all made sounds of agreement (except Flareon who was asleep) and Talonflame nuzzled his hair while he took the Pokeball from his pocket and held it up."Here goes nothing." He clicked the button and watched the Pokemon take shape.A female Pyroar sat not too far from him and Leo gasped, laughing. "Well the Commander took my type into consideration at least." He said. He gently pushed Growlithe off of him so he could stand up and he crouched down near the Pokemon. "Hi, pretty. I'm Leo. Don't burn me ok." He held a hand out to the Pokemon (marveling at her mohawk-like mane) and held his breath as she approached and nuzzled against him. He sat on his knees and buried his hands in her fur, giving her a few good scritches. "There's a good girl. I'm glad to have you on my team, yeah. You're going to be great." He tugged her close and kissed her forehead, letting her go. He stood up and beckoned her. "Come on. Hey, Flareon, wake up, lazy ass, let's head back and torture Kai some more." Flareon stood and jumped into his arms to be carried. "Yeah, yeah, I love you, too." He laughed. He got a wide grin on his face, remembering a line from a song he'd heard Kai listening to when he thought no one could hear through his headphones."Ain't nobody fresher than my motherfuckin' clique!" He proclaimed proudly.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Before Mike headed off to Terra Venture to become a part of the military resistance there, he knew he needed a battle Pokemon. All the best military types, policemen and firemen had Pokemon that helped them with their jobs and Mike knew he had to find just the right one to work with him. So he went to a local PokeCenter and took their aptitude test to be paired with one that would fit exactly what he wanted. He'd always been very...goal oriented, and smart about decisions he made in his life. He'd always been told he was very analytical and did things inherently right for himself, and those around him. So he knew he needed to be smart about what Pokemon he took in.He waited for about an hour while the team of experts looked his test over and when he was called back, he felt a little nervous, going back to the back room where the Pokemon were kept. He was handed a Pokeball and looked at it curiously before he clicked the button on the front.He looked down at the short Pokemon in front of him and then up at the professor. "It's a Boldore. A rock type. They aren't big, but they're capable of doing a lot of damage when they need to, easy for first time Pokemon owners." Mike wasn't very sure if it was the right Pokemon for him, but he nodded and thanked the professor, shaking his hand. "Thank you so much, I'm sure we'll work very well together." They did. When Mike first got to Terra Venture and started his training, he and Boldore had kinks to work out, and it was probably Mike's fault since he was a first time Pokemon owner and wasn't sure exactly where to start; but he got the hang of it though and soon enough he and Boldore became a force to be reckoned with. ---------Mike didn't get another Pokemon until Magna Defender released him from its hold. He took a few days to rest up and reconnect with everyone, before he took Boldore out to train some and get back into the swing of things. Boldore had stayed with Leo, who never used the Pokemon. So they had to get back to where they were before Mike's absence. Once they did, Mike used the Pokemon in battles with the fellow Rangers, and they became quite the asset to the team.But it wasn't enough. He needed at least a second Pokemon to go with Boldore to team with the female Pokemon and make a formidable team.This time Mike decided to go about things the way Leo had, catch his next Pokemon. So he armed himself with a Pokedex and Boldore and he started wandering around Terra Venture to find his next Pokemon.He wrote off a few he came across, not feeling like they fit in with what he needed, or they seemed too easy going, too pink...too aggressive at times. Boldore had to chase off a few that tried to attack him.But finally he came across a strange looking Pokemon that caught his eye and he took out his Pokedex. "Armaldo, the Plate Pokemon. Armaldo can withstand any attack with its hard shell. It is thought to have been able to break even stones with its powerful claws." "Fuck yes." Mike breathed out, excited by what he heard. He fumbled for a Pokeball and threw it at the Pokemon, who startled just before the Pokeball hit her.Mike cheered when it took and he raced over and grabbed the Pokeball up, staring at it."Time to learn everything I can about you so we can kick some ass together." He said to himself, turning to head back to his room and sit down and research. ---------- Kai got Mike his third Pokemon for his birthday, which was nice of him, but also sort of threw Mike for a loop. He knew Kai knew him pretty well and would've given a lot of thought as to what type of Pokemon Mike would like and would be able to use, that would fit in with his other two Pokemon. But he didn't realize he and Kai were that familiar with each other either.Mike stared down at the Pokeball curiously until Leo nudged him with a smile. "Well? Are you going to see what it is?" "Do you know what it is?" Mike returned, eyeing him."Nope." Leo blatantly lied, beaming at him brightly."You're such a shithead." Mike snickered. He pressed the button on the Pokeball and waited for the Pokemon to take shape.Once it did, he pointed his Pokedex at it. "Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokemon, and the evolved form of Cranidos. Its Headbutt attack is so powerful that it can pulverize even the sturdiest of objects with one hit." "Oh my God, Kai!" Mike laughed loudly. "Man, I love it!" "Her, you love her." Kai blurted out, making a face when Mike hugged him tightly, squirming to be let go. ---------- Mike munched on an apple as he walked around Terra Venture, keeping an eye out for something going on, or wrong, out of the ordinary or some such thing. It had been quiet for a while now and he knew things were bound to come to a head. Finishing the apple, he tossed the core toward a gathering of Tailow, who all jumped on each other, trying to get to the spare bit of food. Mike shook his head and made a note to himself to go and grab some more apples to bring out to them later on. His nice, leisurely stroll was interrupted by a loud shriek of a group of people and without thinking about it, he let out Rampardos, Armaldo and Boldore and raced off, wondering if Trakeena or someone else had attacked the area. He was half-way to morphing when he saw what was going on. A female Tyranitar had wandered up to a group of people and was chasing them around, tormenting them moodily. Mike knew Tyranitar didn't like much besides battles in the wild, and he knew he had to get the Pokemon out of there and the people to safety. "Rampardos, Armaldo, take care of Tyranitar, Boldore, come help me get the people to safety!" He barked out and he raced over to help herd the people away from the rampaging Pokemon and the upcoming battle that would be happening.Boldore was a calm Pokemon under pressure and helped Mike easily get everyone out of the area. No one was afraid of the Pokemon, as Mike walked around regularly with Boldore to get people used to seeing them and feeling comfortable and safe with them around. When everyone was off safe, Mike made his way back over to where he left the battle and saw that Rampardos and Armaldo had taken the Tyranitar down, and it was fainted on the ground. He walked over and touched it, deciding he needed to take it to the Pokehospital to get checked out. He took out a spare Pokeball and figured it was as good a fourth Pokemon as any and he caught it, holding the Pokeball in his hand as he walked off toward the cluster of buildings nearby, laughing to himself when his Pokemon surrounded him protectively.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kendrix got all of her Pokemon after she came back from wherever she'd been suspended in time after the psycho Rangers encounter. Before that, she never saw the need to have Pokemon in their battle against Trakeena, especially since Leo and Mike both had good enough Pokemon to make up for it. But when she came back and had acclimated herself back into every day life when they settled on Mirinoi, it was suggested she may get something out of having a few Pokemon, if not for protection, just for companionship on the long days she worked. At first she wasn't sure about it, since she was around people all day every day, but the more she looked around at everyone and their own companion Pokemon, or she watched Leo with Pyroar or Flareon, racing around with them or wrestling and the smile that was on his face, it made her want something similar.So she decided to get a Pokemon of her own.She didn't want anything to battle with or big and bulky for protection at first, so she decided to go with a companion Pokemon. She went to the PokeCenter they established on Mirinoi and talked with one of the Pokemon Experts on hand about what she wanted, and was given a questionnaire to fill out to be paired with a compatible Pokemon companion. After filling out the report, Kendrix was told to wait for a few minutes while it was looked over and she was paired with 'the best Pokemon for your needs'.It wound up taking almost an hour and she started wondering if she had some sort of defect that made it hard to pair her with someone. She took out her phone at one point and started texting Leo, asking him if she was defective and just couldn't be paired with a Pokemon. He was very sweet and kept reassuring her that they just wanted to make sure she had the right Pokemon for her and to not give her one she wouldn't want or couldn't deal with. Then he told her once she had her new 'Pokebuddy' to come see him so he could meet it. Finally the person came back with a Pokeball and held it out to Kendrix with a kind smile. Even before Kendrix knew what was inside she thanked them profusely and beamed at them, feeling relief that she even had a Pokemon at all.She got up and left the facility, going a few blocks to a small seating area near a fountain and sat down before she took the Pokeball out of her pocket and held it up. She took a deep breath and clicked the button on the front and waited as the Pokemon took form."DEDENNE!" It chirped happily when it reoriented itself and Kendrix gasped delightedly at the small brown mouse-Pokemon. "Oh you are so cute!" She gushed, bending down as the Pokemon scampered over to her and hopped onto her lap. "Hi little guy, aww you're just adorable. I think I'll call you...Gates." She decided.Gates seemed to think that was a great name and giggled cutely, cuddling against her as she took her phone out and snapped a few pictures of them, sending them out to Leo, Kai, Damon and Karone (she'd show Maya later, Maya wasn't very good with phones and didn't much like carrying a cell phone around with her). ---------- Kendrix looked up when there was a commotion going on in the technology department and frowned to herself, wondering what was going on. She'd been sitting at her desk feeding Gates some grapes while she waited for some tests to run, bored out of her mind, when she heard people start gasping and exclaiming in shock and fright. Getting up, she wandered over, her hand going to a morpher she no longer carried, instinctively, wondering if she was really the right one to be heading right into the thick of things. She peeked around a few people and saw that there was a very large male Electivire sitting near a bank of wires that led to the power system that powered the entire community, looking grumpy and glaring at everyone who was standing around gawking at it.No one seemed inclined to do anything, so Kendrix pushed her glasses up her nose and fixed her ponytail, pushing past everyone and going up to stand in front of the Electivire."Excuse me, can I help you? You're keeping people from their work you know, you shouldn't just be sitting there." She said. "And don't you even think of frying anything in here, we need all of this technology and it would take us months to rebuild it all." Electivire stood and stared at her openly before it let out a noise of curiosity and looked down at the package of grapes she had in her hand and she looked down at them as well and then back up at it."Is that it? Are you hungry?" She asked. "Do you want some food?" Electivire let out a happy noise and Kendrix let out a quiet laugh. She took out a spare Pokeball and tossed it at the Electivire, ignoring the way people clapped and exclaimed in excitement when she 'caught' the Pokemon.She let it out again and went back over to her desk, taking out a package of Poketreats. She handed it to the Pokemon and smiled. "These will have to do for now, but once I'm off work I'll go by and get you some real food and fill you right up." She promised. "I think I'll call you Torvalds." Taking out her cell phone, Kendrix snapped a picture of Torvalds and sent it to Leo and Kai with the caption 'guess who got a new Pokemon accidentally?' 'Oh my God, that's so cool!' Leo sent immediately, along with a selfie of himself beaming and giving a thumbs up to the camera.Kai simply sent a message back saying 'call me right now!!!!!' and she rolled her eyes, smirking as she put her cell on silent and went back to work. ---------- Kendrix walked home after a tough day at work, exhausted and ready to sit down with a good book and some dinner. They'd had an unexpected emergency that had kept them all fairly late at the 'office' and she was ready to crash at that point, but knew if she didn't get something in her stomach she'd wake up the next morning starving and with low blood sugar. Torvalds walked in front of her like some kind of adorable bodyguard (Leo and Mike both had been trying to train the Pokemon to act as such for her and she thought it was hilarious because he wasn't all that aggressive) and Gates sat in the crook of her arm, chirping happily as usual.She heard a distressed sound off to her right and frowned, wondering what was going on. Torvalds gave her a look and she ignored it, wandering off that way to investigate. She was pretty sure she heard the Pokemon sigh before he followed after her.Kendrix saw a Manectric sitting in an alley way, slumped over, obviously injured. It looked like it was running low on electricity and Kendrix feared it was close to death, which made a pang of sympathy go through her at the sight. "Torvalds, shock it." She said, knowing the Manectric needed a jolt of electricity on top of some good old fashioned TLC.Torvalds stepped forward and the Manectric, a male, growled and backed up a bit. Torvalds ignored it and shocked the Pokemon, Kendrix wincing in sympathy as it yelped.It seemed to perk it up though and she was happy about that. But she knew it needed more care so she took out a Pokeball and threw it, catching the Electric type. She let it out and smiled as it stood, staring at her. "Well let's go home, I'll give you some food and you can rest and relax and recouperate. What beat you up, huh?" Manectric let out a few sounds and she laughed softly."I bet it was a Water type, those are always so mean to Electric types." She said, walking off with them. "Hmmm, I'm going to call you Jassy."Jassy barked once at that and trotted along with her, which made her grin. She took out her phone and took a picture, sending it off to Kai and Leo. 'I give up.' Kai said simply, which made her laugh loudly. 'Dude, maybe that one will be your bodyguard.' Leo suggested, which made her roll her eyes.She got a text from Mike right after that. 'With Leo. Bro night. I agree. Maybe it will be your bodyguard.'Kendrix snorted and put her phone back, deciding not to reply to that. ---------- Kendrix sat with her friends at her birthday party, happy and having a great time. She had Gates on her lap and Jassy sat at her feet while Torvalds was out on the balcony enjoying the lightning storm that was rolling in. She looked up when Leo placed a small box in her hands, flashing her a smile. "Me and Mike went in together and got you one last thing." He explained.Kendrix raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "I'm afraid." She quipped, adjusting her glasses."Just open it." Mike rolled his eyes playfully, wrapping his arm around Maya's waist, as she gave Kendrix an encouraging smile. She shrugged and handed Gates to Leo, smiling as the small Pokemon hopped up to sit on his shoulder while she opened the box up. There was a Pokeball inside and she looked from Leo to Mike curiously. "What'd you do?" She asked."Just see." Leo waved a hand, which didn't make her feel any better. She knew how her boyfriend could be and was a little afraid of what he decided she needed for a Pokemon.Gamely, she clicked the button on the front and waited as the Pokemon took shape. She laughed incredulously when a male Jolteon stood there, looking up at her curiously. "A Jolteon?" "Yeah, a real protective type, too." Mike promised.Neither of them were all that surprised or happy when Jassy turned out to be pretty easy going."Overprotective idiots." She said fondly. "You know I was a Power Ranger just like you two.""We know." Leo promised. "We just think you should have some back up." Kendrix leaned up and kissed him. "I love him." She looked at the Pokemon. "I'll call you Barra." She decided."How do you come up with these names, Kendrix?" Maya asked.Kendrix grinned widely at her. "Leaders in technology." She explained. She got down on the floor and let Barra approach her, sniffing at her curiously. Barra let out a happy noise and climbed into her lap, giving her a tiny jolt, although no worse than static shock. She laughed and wrapped her arms around the Pokemon. "Awww, I love you, too, sweetheart!" "Oh no!" Leo cried. "Not again! That thing shocked the piss out of me when I got it!" "Maybe he just doesn't like you calling him an it." Kendrix pointed out smugly, as Barra hissed at Leo moodily until Kendrix stroked him gently. "It's ok, he's kind of a dunderhead sometimes, but we love him anyway. He's pretty." She giggled loudly when Leo rolled his eyes, unable to keep the fond look from his face.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Carter got his first Pokemon just after becoming a fireman. The foreman wanted all of them to have a Water type to help them fight the fires they dealt with, to help them not get overwhelmed trying to handle things themselves. They were all taken to a PokeCenter and told to take a test and get something they could 'handle', and not be overwhelmed by. Carter was nervous as he sat waiting for his turn to take the test. He watched his fellow firefighters come and go, some with Vaporeon, some with Golduck, some with Poliwhirl and Poliwrath. He wondered what his first Pokemon would be and soon enough the anticipation was winning out over the nerves. When he was called back, Carter practically sprinted into the back room, sitting at a table as the girl testing him came in. She gave a spiel about answering every question 'very truthfuly, so we can do our very best to match you with the exact Pokemon you're supposed to have.' Carter was always truthful, probably to a fault sometimes, so he knew he'd have no problem there. The whole test took about twenty minutes to fill out, and that was just because Carter read over every question and answer a few times before selecting one. He wanted to be sure and not take anything lightly. Finished with the test, he went and sat down in the waiting room again, brushing his hands over his pants a few times to get rid of the sweat from his palms. He hadn't even been this nervous on the last date he'd had, which was saying something.Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was really only about fifteen minutes, he was called back to the back again. Back ramrod straight, Carter stood in one of the rooms and listened to the Pokemon Expert give him all the instructions he needed as he handed over the Pokeball he had selected and Carter did his best to listen, even though he was nervous and excited and just wanted to see what Pokemon he had. "Well, go on then, see what you have." The guy finally encouraged.Beaming, Carter clicked the front of the Pokeball and waited as the Pokemon took shape from the bright light that came from within. "She's a female, they're easier to handle, and best for a job like yours." The guy explained as Carter looked in awe at the Wartortle in front of him.At first, it...she...looked fearsome, and moody, but Carter perservered and bent down on the balls of his feet. "Hi, I'm Carter. I'm your new owner."Wartortle looked at him curiously and toddled forward, laying herself over his knee. Carter laughed quietly and picked her up gently. "I guess that means you approve of me?" He joked. "Good, I approve of you, too." ---------- Carter came across his second Pokemon about a year into his job as a fireman. They'd just put out a fire in an abandoned warehouse on the east side of Mariner Bay, down near the section that had been damaged by a hurricane that blew through a few years back, and he'd been assigned to do a sweep of the lower levels to make sure there was no structural damage they needed to report. The building could be bought by someone and used if it was in good enough shape, but privately Carter thought that the city probably wouldn't pay money to have it fixed up if it needed to be, and no one in Mariner Bay would want to put enough money into doing it that they may as well build a new one from scratch.He was just about to report an all clear, when he noticed a beam had fallen down from the ceiling and was hanging precariously. He moved around a few old boxes and shipping containers that had been stashed in the room and saw that it was being held up by a female Poliwhirl. Carter could only tell it was a female because someone had stuck a bow on the top of its head, it was bright pink against the light blue skin. Carter noticed that the Poliwhirl wasn't so much holding the beam up, as she was pinned under it, so he darted over quickly, letting out Wartortle. "Wartortle, help me get this beam off this poor girl." He instructed. With their combined strength, and Wartortle using a blast of water, they freed the Poliwhirl, who got up quickly and scampered back a few feet. "It's ok girl, you're safe now." He looked up at the crack that the beam had left and reached up to press his comm. "Sir, there's structural damage to the second floor, northeast side." "Copy that, we'll tell that in our report." He got back. Carter looked over at Poliwhirl who was gazing back at him curiously. "I guess we should take you back to the station. We'll put out a report asking if anyone is missing you." The Poliwhirl stayed at the fire station for two days before the Chief waved a hand at Carter when he asked about her. "No one's claimed her, so congratulations, Carter, you have your second Pokemon."Carter looked at him agog for a few seconds before he looked down at Poliwhirl, who'd come over and hugged onto his leg. He couldn't tell with her faceless features, but he thought maybe she was smiling at him. "Yeah, I guess I do." He mumbled, laughing incredulously. ---------- Carter laid on a float in the ocean, soaking up the sun, listening to all the commotion around him. Captain Mitchell gave them the day off and he was enjoying himself. Poliwhirl was happily squirting water up in the air near where he was and Wartortle was blasting it with her own blast of water. Every once in a while it sprinkled down on Carter's bare chest, but it felt good, since it was so warm out, so Carter didn't mind much. In fact, he encouraged it. After helping Captain Mitchell save the little girl in the burning building and taking care of the monster that set it on fire, Carter thought he deserved a little relaxation for a while and the sprinkle of water to keep him cool in the hot sun was the best relaxation he could ask for.A big blast of water hit him in the face, taking him off guard and scaring him out of his thoughts. He sat up enough to not upend himself in the water and scowled over at where he thought one of his Pokemon had played a trick on him. "Hey! What's the big..." He trailed off when he saw a female Seadra there, looking at him amused. He wasn't sure how he could tell it was a female, but he could. "Oh you think that's funny, huh?" He asked, shaking his head. "Well...ha!" He splashed at it with a splash of his own, causing the Seadra to duck down under the water to get away from it. Carter looked around, figuring the Seadra left, but it popped up on the other side of him, spraying him again. Carter laughed loudly and began a splash war, his other two Pokemon coming over to see what was going on.He had to stop once he got sea water in his eyes (ouch!) but once he cleared them enough to see, he saw one of the empty Pokeballs he'd had in his pockets (you never know when you'll need one) had come out and was floating in the water. Seadra swam up to it and looked at it curiously, before she batted it toward him. He grabbed it and held it for a few seconds, looking at the Pokemon curiously. He debated for a few seconds with himself, clearing his throat."Do you...want to be caught?" He asked curiously.Seadra let out a happy trilling noise and moved back a bit. Carter smiled, amused by the sweet little Pokemon, and threw the Pokeball. When it took and Seadra disappeared inside, Poliwhirl swam over and grabbed it, bringing it back over to him. He took it with a bright grin. "Thanks, Poli!" He said, patting her. "I guess now you have another playmate." ---------- Everyone decided to go home late in the afternoon, and Carter made his way out of the ocean, packing up his things and slipping his button up back on, leaving it unbuttoned. He told them about catching Seadra and they all congratulated him for getting another Pokemon. He accepted the kind words as he finished packing up his things and he grabbed up his beach towel, yelping when he saw something underneath it. He stumbled back a bit, clutching the towel to him (it was a gag gift from one of his fellow firefighters and said 'find 'em hot, leave 'em wet', Carter stopped blushing over it ages ago). Once he oriented himself, he realized it was a Kingler, and it was looking at him curiously."You scared me!" He exclaimed, glaring at it. The Kingler snapped its claws and Carter shook his head. "Oh don't try and look cute, you know what you did." Kingler snapped its claws again and Carter decided to try and ignore it. He turned and gathered up his things, feeling something pop out of his pocket. He heard a strange noise and turned curiously, wondering what it was.He didn't see the Kingler anymore, but he did see a Pokeball laying where it had been. Poliwhirl picked it up and carried it over to him, holding it up.Carter groaned and laughed at himself. "Of all the dumb luck." He quipped as he took it and put it with the one that held Seadra. "Well thank you, Poli. Now come on, you and Wartortle need to help me feel out our new team members." He led them back off to where everyone was getting in the bright yellow jeep, still not believing that he'd gotten two Pokemon in one day.
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Chad's first Pokemon was a male Wailord. It had come to the Water type Pokeon park as a Wailmer and Chad had been tasked with taking care of it until maybe it could be released back in the ocean. Chad took care of it for about six months and he and Wailmer had grown pretty close. They even worked on an act where Chad would balance on Wailmer to the delight of the crowd and they'd speed around the enclosure to the wild applause. Wailmer evolved into Wailord right before Chad was brought into Lightspeed and he took the Pokemon with him. The owner of the park told him Wailord had grown close to Chad and probably wouldn't be able to be used anymore, and was too domesticated to be released back into the wild. It hurt Chad's heart, knowing it wouldn't be able to live free in the ocean anymore, but he decided he'd just give it the best life he could. ---------- After showing his old Sensei around the Aquabase, Chad felt pretty at peace with how things had turned out. He felt good about being a Power Ranger, like he was actually making a difference, and to come to terms with it and have his old Sensei be at peace with it as well felt good. He walked outside to a big tank he kept Wailord in sometimes so she could get some exercise and perched on the side of it, watching her swim around peacefully, doing lap after lap calmly. He zoned out as he watched her, letting his mind go quiet, ain an almost meditative state, when he realized there was something in the tank swimming with Wailord."What the..." He mumbled to himself, frowning as he leaned forward as much as he dared to try and see into the water. Whatever it was, was medium sized and pure white. Chad yelped when the thing popped out of the water in front of him and he flailed a bit, trying not to fall over the side of the tank and crash to the ground. Once he got his bearings back, he looked back at what it was and laughed."Oh my God, a Seel!" He shook his head at himself. "What are you doing in there, huh? Did you come to swim with Wailord?" Seel barked a happy noise at him and swam closer. He leaned over and gently stroked him. "Well you're free to anytime you want." He offered. "I don't mind at all. Maybe I'll get you two some toys to play with, too." Seel let out another happy noise and before Chad knew what was happening, it knocked him in the tank, swimming around him happily.Chad pushed his hair out of his face and grinned widely. "Well I guess in the mean time I'll do." He kicked his shoes off and started swimming around with the two Pokemon, feeling relaxed and content. ---------- Ryan...weirdly...got Chad his third Pokemon. His team had surprised him on the Aquabase with a birthday party and Kelsey had gotten his favorite cupcakes from a local bakery that he loved to indulge in sometimes. They had a blast just goofing off for a few hours, eating and listening to music. Dana got him a new wet suit he could use, Kelsey got him a new gi since his old one was worn out in places and pretty stained, Joel got him a signed picture...of himself, and Carter got him a pair of shoes he'd been eyeing and talking about, which Chad geeked out over immediately. Ryan came to him after everyone was pretty distracted and shoved a small wrapped present at him, looking a little uncomfortable."Ryan, you didn't have to get me anything." Chad said, although he was pleased anyway."I wanted to, that's what normal people do for birthdays." He pointed out. Chad wanted to make a comment about that, but Ryan was always saying things like that, like he just felt so out of touch with how 'normal' people worked that he overcompensated on some things."Thanks, man." He said instead. He opened the gift up and saw the Pokeball nestled inside. Ryan made a go on gesture when he looked up at him and Chad shrugged, taking the Pokeball out. He pointed it at a bare spot on the floor and clicked the button. The Pokemon slowly took shape and Chad gasped when he saw a Vaporeon standing there, blinking up at him. "It's a male." Ryan offered. "So I was told. You need a Pokemon that can kick some ass and help take care of you. Dana told me I was a little crazy, but she had a smile on her face like that was a good thing so I don't exactly know..." "It...is a good thing." Chad cut him off, smiling. "Thank you, Ryan, I love him!" He bent down as the Vaporeon came over to him and laughed when it practically tackled him, laying across his lap. "Oh you're wet!" He blurted out, wrapping his arms around the Water type. "Eh that's ok, I'm usually wet myself, so I don't mind. You and I are going to be best friends." Vaporeon endeared himself to Chad later when Joel was annoying him and the Water type Pokemon sent him running with a water blast. ---------- Chad sat on the lifeguarding tower looking around to make sure everything was ok. It was a little weird to not be a Power Ranger anymore, but seeing everything calm and peaceful made him feel good. It had been tough taking down Queen Bansheera and the Demons, but Chad was glad they'd managed and could leave all of that behind them. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out, seeing the text from Joel. Opening it, he smiled when he saw the tiny little baby laying on her father's chest. She was a little lighter skin tone than her father, but definitely looked more like him than her mom. 'Poor baby.' He sent with a cheeky looking emoji. 'Got all her looks from her dad, let's hope the little one gets her smarts from her mom!' The reply came quicker than Chad expected, almost as soon as he sent his own. 'Man screw you, my baby's beautiful!' Followed by a second text. 'Angela wants to know when you and your boo thang are going to adopt.''Ok first of all, I really doubt Ms. Fairweather called Ryan my boo thang.' Chad rolled his eyes. 'Second of all, we're not in a hurry right now, but we've been...talking about a surrogate'. 'You should totally get Kelsey to do it.' Joel told him. 'And for the record, it's Mrs. Rawlings now.''I am not asking Kelsey to be my surrogate! I love her like my sister, but do you know how weird that'd be?' He scrunched up his nose.'What about Dana then? Keep it all in the family.' He suggested.Chad sighed and shook his head. 'Carter would not go for that and you know it, man. He'd steal the baby and go into hiding or something. Plus no, that's weird, too, and so is your 'all in the family' comment. I'm ignoring that you said that.'Chad put his phone back, ignoring the series of texts Joel sent in response. He looked down as Vapreon raced over and looked up at him, wagging his tail in a stressed manner."What's up, bud?" He asked, frowning. "What is it?" Vaporeon paced around a bit and walked off, looking back at Chad. He sighed and radioed to the base to have someone keep an eye on his area and hopped down from his tower."Ok come on, show me." He walked off with Vaporeon, wondering what had the Pokemon so stressed out. Vaporeon led him about two blocks away to an alley next to a restaurant near the beach and Chad walked in carefully. He was pretty sure there were no more Demons around, but he didn't want to take it for granted. He saw a Golduck laying by a trash can, looking worse for wear and grimaced. "Oh dude...you are dried out." He said, shaking his head, hands going to his hips briefly as he tried to figure out what to do. He bent and put a hand on the wiped out Pokemon. "It's ok, you need some water, huh? Some...shit. You like fresh water, so I can't take you to the beach." He pressed his comm again, telling the base he was taking off early with a Pokemon emergency. Once he got the go ahead he picked Golduck up and raced back to his truck. He drove them to the lake he knew of in the area and carried the poor Water type into the water, laying him down.It took a few minutes, but finally Golduck perked up and he shared his gratitude mentally with Chad who just smiled."Glad I can help." He promised.Golduck watched him curiously and sent him a few images of he and Vaporeon teaming up together, with a curious feel to them. "So...you want to be my Pokemon then?" Chad asked.In response, Golduck tackled him into the water. Chad blurted out a laugh. "Why do all my Pokemon try and drown me?"
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Kelsey got her first Pokemon as a child. She was raised by a single mother, aunt and grandmother and was fairly tomboyish, getting out and riding her bike or going rollerblading more than she wore dresses and went to parties with her friends. So in a bid to make sure her child had at least one friend in her life, her mom got her a female Phanpy on her 10th birthday. She'd just had her fill of birthday cake and opened all her other presents: new rollerblades, a helmet, pads, and a few other toys and bobs when her mom handed her one last gift."What is it?" She asked, gazing up at her.Her mother laughed. "Well open it and find out, cupcake." She said playfully.Kelsey shook it gently and then ripped the paper off excitedly. She opened the box inside and gasped when she saw the Pokeball inside. "A Pokeball!" The three women laughed. "There's something inside the Pokeball, Kelsey." Her aunt said playfully.Kelsey looked up at her wide eyed and scrambled out of her chair. She clicked the Pokeball and when she saw the Phanpy in front of her she shrieked with happiness, going down to her knees. "Hi, I'm Kelsey! We're going to be really, really good friends! I think I'll call you...Skipper!"Skipper, the Phanpy, blew out a happy trilling noise and walked over to Kelsey for pets and attention, which she was happy to give. ---------- Kelsey got herself her next Pokemon. She was riding around on her rollerskates, Skipper trotting alongside of her, when she noticed a female Trapinch off the path in a sandbox for kids. She frowned as she watched some of the kids staring at the Pokemon, obviously pretty frightened even though the Trapinch wasn't really doing anything. She looked down at Skipper and then up at the scene in front of her and made up her mind. She pushed herself over to the sandbox and smiled when the kids looked up at her. "Don't worry, I got this." She promised. Taking out a Pokeball from her pocket, she threw it at the Ground type. When it slung it back at her, Kelsey frowned and huffed."I thought that'd work." She muttered. She picked the Pokeball back up and threw it again. Again the Trapinch tossed it back at her."You stop that!" She exclaimed. "You can't stay here in this sand box, you're scaring the kids, so come on, darn it!" Skipper pawed at her and she looked down at the Phanpy curiously. Skipper trumpeted and then tackled the Trapinch. Skipper had never battled another Pokemon before, so Kelsey was on edge, but she had boundless energy and could easily dodge the attacks. Finally Trapinch fainted and Kelsey whipped the Pokeball at it, finally catchng it. "Yes! Booyah! I told you!" She cheered, grabbing it up. She tossed it up and down a few times and smiled at the kids. "There you go, kids, you go and play. I'm going to take Polly and Skipper and leave you to it." ---------- Carter got Kelsey her third Pokemon after she and Nancy broke up. Nancy was going back into being an astronaut and didn't think it was fair to keep Kelsey waiting on her. It made Kelsey sad, but she understood her reasoning. It didn't mean she didn't mope around for a few days, though, turning down the chance to go out with her friends for dinner or whatever (Joel and Angela, Dana and Carter, Chad and Ryan...they were all couples and Kelsey didn't want things to be awkward with her being the only single one there). She even turned down the chance to go see the new Fantastic Pokemon movie. Newt Scamander couldn't cheer her up right then.After almost a week of pouting around the house, Carter showed up, smiling brightly at her, and hugging her tightly, even though she was poorly dressed in sweats and had her hair up in a messy bun. "Hey, are you ok?" He asked, looking at her sympathetically."Yeah I'm doing...ok I guess. Skipper and Polly are helping a lot." She admitted. "I was thinking about going to the park later with them." She admitted."Why don't we do that?" He suggested. "Dana's on her 72 hour rotation right now and I could let out Poliwhirl, Wartortle, and Kingler and they could play." She chewed on her lip, she'd just told him that so he didn't feel too bad for her. But...it sounded nice actually. "Alright, but let me go shower right quick and change." "Alright, I'll stick down here with the girls." He promised, going over to sit on the floor. Skipper happily trotted over and plunked herself down on his lap while Polly just eyed him curiously (she hadn't met Carter yet). Kelsey went upstairs and took as short of a shower she thought she could manage without not feeling clean and threw on her usual clothing, tying her shoes before going downstairs. She saw Carter bribing Polly with bits of Pokefood and smiled to herself. "Are you feeding my Pokemon sweets, Carter?" She teased.He looked up at her sheepishly. "Guilty as charged." He admitted, not looking much like he felt too bad about it. "Come on, let's get out of here." She said. Carter got up and scooped up Skipper while Kelsey grabbed Polly and they walked a few blocks to the park and staked out a bench to sit on while Carter let out his Pokemon and they darted off to play together. "So how've you been?" He put his arm along the back of the bench and gazed down at her. She shrugged and looked down at her hands. "I've...been better, I've been worse. I'm better than I was, but it still hurts a lot." "I'm sorry, Kels." He hugged her to him. "I know you liked her a lot." "Yeah but I'm happy she's going to follow her dream." She admitted. "It just...sucks I can't be a part of it." "You'll find your happy ending." He promised. "And maybe then you won't have to feel weird around all us couples." She laughed. "Was I that transparent?" "Only to Angela and Dana to be fair." He chuckled. "But...yeah, kind of." "Sorry, I know none of you would try and make me feel weird." Kelsey looked up at him. "But...I just..." "Would've anyway." Carter offered knowingly."Yeah." Kelsey said.Carter stared at her. "Ok so...I know you aren't me, and don't deal with breakups like I would.""How would you?" She asked playfully, looking up at him.He flushed. "Uh before Dana? Get drunk, get dragged out to a club...find a casual relationship..." Kelsey snorted. "That's the most polite way I've ever heard someone imply they'd have some one night stands." Carter yelped. "Kelsey!" Kelsey giggled at how red he got, pretty much the same shade of his old Lightspeed Rescue gear. "I'm just teasing, Carter." She nudged him."Anyway." He shook his head. "I have something for you." He held up a Pokeball he'd grabbed from his pocket."You got me a Pokemon? Carter you didn't have to do that!" Kelsey exclaimed."I know, but I wanted to add to your little brood. Don't worry, I know you have a Ground type thing going on." He promised. "And Chad and I have the Water type avenue handled so..." She grabbed the Pokeball and clicked the button, impatiently waiting to see what the Pokemon was. "A female Hippopotas! Oh I love her!" She got down on the ground and hugged the Pokemon to her. "Oh you are just too cute, you adorable little baby!" "What are you going to name her, Kels?" Carter asked, amused. Kelsey thought it over. "Hmmm...Shortcake!" She decided.Carter shook his head, smiling to himself. All Ground types, all female Pokemon, and all named after famous kids toys. Kelsey sure was something.(Authors Note: If it's not apparent, I really adore Carter and Kelsey's dynamic and the season didn't give us nearly enough of it for my taste!) ---------- When Kelsey was introduced to Bridge, she felt like they were kindred spirits in a way. They got along from the start and became fast friends. Bridge lived in the future, sure, but he could hop around when he wanted to and took advantage of it by coming to hang out with Kelsey and her Pokemon as often as he was able in between SPD duties. He got along with her Pokemon really well and she adored his Pokemon. And before she knew it, Bridge had become a pretty important part of her life. Kelsey had always been bisexual, equally into the ladies like she was the men (she harbored a massive crush on Chad for the longest time before he gently spilled the fact that he was gay to her and turned her down easy), and Bridge was absolutely her type: cute, funny, quirky, kind, compassionate, and he was Jewish, which was really cool. Kelsey didn't really have a faith to speak of, but enjoyed bits and pieces of all sorts of other faiths and had always been fascinated by the Jewish culture so she and Bridge got into spirited debates about things he liked and disliked about being Jewish (the fact that Sky once got him Chinese food for a Christmas present being on the dislike list). Pretty soon Bridge asked her out and Kelsey accepted. They went on their first date to a local vegan place (Kelsey was vegan, Bridge just...followed his culture's dietary restrictions) and Kelsey talked him into trying her veggie burger. His face was hilarious and she couldn't help but coo over him as he spit it out in a napkin and apologized profusely about not liking it. "To be fair, I don't think I'd like kugel much so it's ok." "Oh my guh, though, kugel is the best!" He exclaimed. "Really, I'm going to make you kugel and I know you'll love it." She loved it. She begged him to make it anytime she thought she could get away with it.Once they made it to a year, Bridge showed up at her place and took her out to a mid-fancy restaurant. It was a great semi-vegan restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious. After that they went to an ice cream parlor that had non-dairy options for her and then walked around Mariner Bay a bit. Kelsey always wanted to visit Bridge where he lived, but he wanted to get her ready for it first, not just because of all the normal aliens that walked around but he knew the moment he introduced her to Sky and Syd they'd tell all sorts of embarrassing things about him, not to mention what Jack and Z would do. They stopped at a bench and sat down, looking at the lake in front front of them. Bridge shifted restlessly before he turned toward her. "So I got you something." He admitted."Oh yeah? What?" She asked. "I got you something, too." Bridge held out a Pokeball and Kelsey laughed, holding one up as well.Kelsey took hers from Bridge and eyed him playfully. "Well let's see what you got me." She clicked the button on the front and giggled loudly when she saw the Camerupt in front of her. "Aww Bridge, she's perfect!" She got down and gently stroked the Pokemon."I know she's a primary Fire type, but she's a Ground type as well and I really thought about what I could get you and I thought maybe..." He rambled."Bridge." She looked up at him, smiling softly. "She's perfect." He let out a sigh of relief and beamed. "Well I'm glad you like her!" Kelsey looked at Camerupt and thought it over. "I think I'll call you...Cabbage." Bridge blurted out a laugh. "Cabbage?" "Cabbage, you know, like Cabbage Patch dolls." Kelsey looked up at him."Oh those really old..." Bridge trailed off. "Are they that old in this time?""Kind of." Kelsey offered. "But they're also still really popular so...kind of timeless." "Like you and me, baby." Bridge said, trying to be suave.Kelsey snickered and knee crawled over to him. She put her hands on his knees and leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you, Bridge." "You're welcome, Kels." He murmured.Kelsey pulled back. "So are you going to see what I got you?" "Oh yeah!" Bridge looked at the Pokeball in his hand and took a breath before clicking the button.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ryan very obviously didn't have the most normal life growing up. When you're kidnapped at a very young age by an evil Demon and raised in the Underworld, things could never be construed as normal by any imagination. So he didn't get to experience normal things like going to school, playing with toys, or getting Pokemon companions. His father had a Nidoqueen, and he vaguely remembered times when he and the purple Pokemon would play games with Dana, making them up as they went. It was one of the fond memories he had of his childhood that he kept to himself on stressful days. When Ryan came out of his brainwashing and joined Lightspeed, one of the first things Dana suggested was that he needed to get his 'first' Pokemon. It implied he'd get more later, and he wasn't sure about that, but he thought it couldn't hurt to at least check it out. Carter suggested he could go to a PokeRescue and find one that had been taken in and adopt it, giving it a nice home and Ryan thought that sounded nice, so he grabbed Chad, who was one of the more calm personalities on his team, who had no preconceived notions about Ryan whatsoever, and they went off to the PokeRescue of Mariner Bay.He walked in and explained that he wanted a Pokemon that was overlooked and would probably not get adopted. Chad looked a little uncomfortable at his wording, so Ryan figured he was probably a little too blunt, but the woman took it in stride and led them back to an area in the depths of the building, explaining that it was for their more strong Pokemon 'personalities' that took a 'special kind' of person and Ryan barely kept from rolling his eyes as he looked in a few of the enclosures (specially built so the Ghost types couldn't just phase through them). He wrote off a few just on look alone and read the little placards on the front of a few others. He could hear the woman chattering on, but it was mostly background noise. He looked over at Chad, who gave him a small amused look and nodded imperceptibly, like he knew what Ryan was thinking.Ryan was knocked out of his thoughts by a Pokemon rushing the enclosure it was in, letting out a loud shriek and then giggling wildly. Chad jumped at least a foot in the air, adopting a fighting pose, but Ryan didn't even startle. "That's Misdreavus." The woman said, sounding resigned. "She's...mischievous." Ryan stared at the Pokemon, looking it over. It was a strange blue-grey-green color and had some dusty pink streaks in different places in what looked like hair shaped. Big red eyes stared back at him and Ryan grinned, gesturing to the red balls around the Pokemon's neck."I like your necklace." He offered. "But you're going to have to try a lot harder to scare me next time." He leaned over and read the placard on the enclosure, while Misdreavus tried hard to get his attention. They were mostly found in caves and were nocturnal Pokemon. They liked to startle people and used the balls around their neck to absorb fear. That intrigued Ryan and he looked over at the woman next to him. "I want her." He said. "Please." He tacked on after a few seconds, remembering what Dana had told him about people liking when others were polite.The woman looked a bit startled and she nodded, grabbing a Pokeball. She went to capture the Pokemon, but Ryan waved her off."Leave her out, it's fine." He plucked the Pokeball from her hand and the woman let Misdreavus out. She spun around he and Chad quickly, screaming in Chad's face and giggling before she hovered in front of Ryan, staring at him. Ryan smiled at her and reached a hand up so she could touch it. "Us weirdoes have to stick together, huh?" He laughed softly when Misdreavus giggled again and followed the woman back to the office area to fill out paperwork...well in the end he made Chad fill it out since he didn't know any of his 'information' but he knew the other man didn't mind. Ryan was content to play with Misdreavus in the meantime. Later that night, he knew Misdreavus was right for him when he had nightmares. He dreamed about his time with the Demons, twisting and turning in bed, sweat pouring off his bare upper body as his mind tormented him, making him moan and groan. He shot up in bed when Misdreavus screamed and he looked at her wide eyed, panting. He noticed her balls around her neck were glowing a bit and he remembered what he'd read about Misdreavus eating people's bad dreams and shook his head. "Thanks, but I think you'll have to work a little harder to take all of my bad dreams." He offered.Misdreavus looked up to the challenge. ---------- Ryan stumbled out of the main area in the Demon's Lair after his confrontation with Diabolico, wondering how he was going to get rid of the Arbok tattoo on his back. He knew he couldn't just not morph, but he also didn't want to die either. Misdreavus wound up chasing both Diabolico and Loki off when they tormented Ryan, shrieking loudly and delightedly when they fled. He stumbled along, Misdreavus following behind him and stopped when he heard a low rumbling chuckle. He looked around and growled quietly. "You already did your damage, Diabolico, leave me alone!" He screamed, clenching his fists. Ryan looked over when his shadow flickered in the low light on the stone walls and frowned. He raised his arm and waved it, and watched the shadow do the same, but then it grew larger and larger and Ryan gasped, stepping back. Misdreavus however, darted forward, shrieking, enraged, and pulled a Gengar seemingly out of nowhere, dropping it at Ryan's feet."Look, I've already had someone messing with me today, I don't need a mischievous Pokemon doing it." He glared down at the purple tinted Pokemon who stared up at him with red eyes defiantly. Ryan pointed at it and growled. "Don't make me make Misdreavus kick your ass." Gengar snarled back at him, chuckling darkly again and after the day Ryan had had, he'd had enough."Get him, Dreav." He commanded.Misdreavus jumped and Ryan stepped back as the two Pokemon battled. Gengar used all the tricks she knew, but Misdreavus matched them easily, almost like she was mocking her best efforts. It amused Ryan and he thought the Gengar could probably use to be taken down a peg or two. Misdreavus finally knocked it out and Ryan, after a second of thinking, grabbed a Pokeball from his pocket (a gift from his dad) and caught the Ghost-Poison type. He let it out and Gengar looked up at him, pleased."Joel's so going to hate me." He muttered, shaking his head. He pointed at Gengar sternly. "No trying to scare my sister...or Carter...or Kelsey...Chad's kind of unscareable at this point so..." Ryan rolled his eyes and walked off, Gengar and Misdreavus following him, playing a loud, shrieking, growling game of tag with each other, already fast friends even though they'd just battled each other. ---------- Ryan got Gourgeist from Vypra after defeating her in battle. Vypra stole the Pokemon from a PokeCenter and tried to use it to battle against the Power Rangers. She ran off at the last minute, leaving the Gourgeist behind. Dana and Kelsey both were hesitant to approach it and Joel wanted nothing to do with it, preferring to go back to the base to flirt aggressively with Angela some more. Ryan knew that the Ghost-Grass type couldn't just be left to her own devices, otherwise she'd probably happily wreak havoc all over Mariner Bay. So he took it upon himself to send out Gengar to battle the Pokemon.Ryan stood back with Misdreavus, who zipped around happily, amped up from the emotions of the battle going on. Ryan called out moves to Gengar when he had the chance to, but he knew Gengar had it handled, so mostly he just stood back and waited patiently (and a little anxiously) to let what happened happen. He always had Misdreavus if the Gourgeist happened to beat Gengar.Finally after what seemed like forever, Gengar finally knocked the Gourgeist out and Ryan darted forward, taking out a Pokeball and capturing it. He cheered to himself in his head when it took and he clipped it to his belt, going back to the Aquabase and to his bedroom. He let out Gourgeist out and watched her get used to the area around her before bending down so they were level. "Hi, I guess you're my Pokemon now." He offered. "So...no running amok around and causing chaos...unless you're getting cues from Misdreavus or Gengar. " He tapped her gently and laughed when she lett out a shriek of happiness. ---------- Ryan wasn't looking to get a forth Pokemon after the defeat of Queen Bansheera and her minions. He had Gourgeist, Misdreavus and Gengar and they were plenty for him. He adored the strange menagerie he had and they'd gotten and couldn't imagine his life without them. Misdreavus made sure he got a good night sleep, watching over his dreams and happily feeding on the nightmares he had that would plague him at certain times; Gengar made him laugh with his antics, acting like a massive goofball to cheer Ryan up, and going after anyone that upset him; Gourgeist was a calming presence to Ryan, a calm Pokemon that was almost like a bodyguard to him, not that he needed one. But it was nice to be taken care of for once.Which is when he got his fourth Pokemon courtesy of Joel of all people.He and Joel were ok with each other, he liked Joel a lot, and they could be friendly with each other, but Chad was his boyfriend, and Carter was basically his brother-in-law at that point, Kelsey was like a sister to him. He and Joel were...friends. Not close friends, but friends.So when Joel came into his room at the house he shared with his dad (Dana had moved into Carter's apartment) and threw a Pokeball at him, he didn't know how to react. He watched Misdreavus speed around Joel, giggling wildly and freaking the man out and smirked a little to himself. "What's this?" "It's a Pokemon, dude." He quipped. "Can you make your thing leave me alone?" "Maybe don't call her a thing." Ryan offered, snorting. "You know she only bugs you because she can. She doesn't rattle Carter or Chad." "Yeah well I'm not good with Ghost types." Joel waved a hand. "You gonna check the Pokemon out or not, man?""Why'd you get me a Pokemon?" Ryan asked, fiddling with the Pokeball."I saw it out terrorizing some people, thought it seemed up your alley so I caught it." He offered. "Now it's yours." He looked past Misdreavus to Ryan, who was lounging on his bed, still in his pajama pants he'd slept in. He raised an eyebrow at the wording and rolled his eyes, knowing that was just how Joel was. Over the top, kind of a jackass, but harmless overall. So he clicked the button on the Pokeball toward the end of his bed.The Pokemon took shape and he raised his eyebrow when he saw it. It was a dark grey color with bright red eyes and a zipper smile and a star shaped tail. It was...unique looking.Taking out his Pokedex, he pointed it at the Pokemon. "Banette, the Ghost type Ragdoll Pokemon. An abandoned Plush doll became this Pokemon. They are known to wander around garbage dumps in search of the child that threw them away." Joel smiled at him. "See, right up your alley." "Gengar, get him." Ryan said, not looking away from Banette. He saw Joel dart from the room and Gengar give chase, laughing darkly the entire time. "Hi, Banette, I'm Ryan. I...guess you're my new Pokemon friend now, huh?" Banette eyed him curiously before darting toward him. Ryan tensed, but didn't move and when Banette saw that he wasn't afraid, she settled against him, beaming up at him with the spooky smile she had. Ryan found himself enchanted with her already. "How do you eat I wonder?" He asked himself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Wes got his first Pokemon right before he went into middle school (early secondary according to a penpal he had that lived just outside of London). He'd been wanting one for quite a few years, but his parents wanted to make sure he was responsible enough to have one and could take care of it first. His mom had gotten sick a couple of years prior and started going downhill and she and his dad thought Wes could use a companion, they didn't say it but so he could have something to help comfort him when she passed away eventually. Hs dad had a Seviper and his mom had a Clefairy, but besides when he was at home, Wes didn't associate with either much. Seviper sort of intimidated him, and Clefairy was nice, but she helped out his mom a lot, so he didn't want to pull her from that for very long if he could prevent it. So his dad and mom got him his first Pokemon, sitting him down the summer before sixth grade to present it to him. They went through this whole speech about responsibility and being a good Pokemon owner, but between being so excited he could barely sit still and having his dad's Seviper staring at him, Wes could only half pay attention to what they were saying. He got the gist of it though, and understood that it was a big responsibility and that he needed to take care of the Pokemon. Finally, after what seemed like forever, his dad gave him the Pokeball and smiled at him (his dad still smiled in those days). "Go on, Wes, see what it is." He encouraged. Wes grabbed the Pokeball and licked his lower lip, pressing the button on the Pokeball. A bright white light came out of it, and within it, the Pokemon took shape.It was a white Pokemon with some pink tones to it, dark pink eyes and a pink tongue hanging out. He looked at his mom curiously. "What is it?" "She is a Swirlix, sweetheart." She answered, flashing him a smile. A fairy type, very easy to take care of." She took her Pokedex out and pointed it at the Pokemon."Swirlix, the Cotton Candy Pokemon." It chirped. "Swirlix only eats sweets, making its fur as sticky as cotton candy." Wes reached forward and touched Swirlix, confirming it was in fact kind of sticky to the touch and he laughed delightedly. "Cool! She's amazing! Thanks mom, dad." "You're welcome, sweetheart." His mom bent his head forward and kissed his hair, while Swirlix came forward and leaned into his chest happily, humming to herself. ---------- Wes caught his second Pokemon by accident. He was still in middle school a few years later, and it was summer break before his last year before high school. He was out with Swirlix, making his way around the neighborhood, goofing off and making fun for the two of them. His dad had gotten him a package of Pokeballs for his last birthday and encouraged him to 'add to his collection of Pokemon'. He'd shown that he could be very responsible with Swirlix, and took very good care of her, so his dad and his mom thought Wes was ready to have a second one if he ever wanted, but his dad thought he needed to do it the 'old fashioned way'. Wes thought that was a little boring, but soon thought of it as an adventure and a challenge.He walked around with Swirlix, holding a Pokeball in his hand, gesturing wildly with it as he rattled on to her, boasting about how he was going to 'catch another Pokemon, something really awesome, you'll see, Swirlix.' "Then I'll take the Pokeball and do like this." He made a swiping motion with his hand and the Pokeball slipped from his grip, whizzing through the air quickly.Wes looked up, gasping in shock at it flying from his hand. It hit a Pokemon before he could tell what it was and took, the Pokemon disappearing inside the Pokeball.He raced over and looked at Swirlix with wide eyes. "Uh oh." He said. "I just caught my second Pokemon." He picked the Pokeball up and mumbled 'please don't be a Seviper, or Ekans, or any kind of snake type' to himself as he gathered the courage to see what was inside.Finally he clicked the button, waiting to see what he'd caught. The Pokemon was bright pink, with a white belly. It had long ears that had black inside them, bright blue-green eyes and a pleasant smile. "Wigglytuff!" It chirped.Wes took out his Pokedex out and pointed it at the Pokemon."Wigglytuff." It chirped. "The body is soft and rubbery. When angered, it will inflate its size and hit its opponent with a body slam." Wes' eyes widened and he beamed. "Oh cool! Come on, Wigglytuff, I gotta show you to mom!" Wes turned and got on his bike again, leading the way back home, Swirlix floating beside him while Wigglytuff scampered behind the two of them. ---------- Wes inherited his third Pokemon, and he almost wished he hadn't. His mom died his last year of middle school, after getting progessively sicker. She'd only ever had Clefairy and once she passed away, his dad didn't want to get rid of her, so he gave her to Wes. Wes didn't want her at first, the Pokemon a reminder of his mom and what he'd lost. He could barely stand looking at her. But wherever he went, Clefairy was there, trotting along right along with Wigglytuff. It angered Wes and he did what he could to try and lose her, but she was a smart Pokemon and kept up with him pretty easily, never losing her pleasant disposition. He never saw her in a bad mood, it made him even more surly.The days and weeks passed and Wes couldn't let go of his grief. He missed his mom a lot and would've given anything to have her back. He and his dad had grown distant with each other and if it wasn't for their help, he would've felt even more alone than he already did. The butler basically became his own dad, and he and his own actual dad became ships passing in the night. Clefairy and Wigglytuff never left hm, Swirlix clutched to his chest, and finally he couldn't hold in his grief anymore.Late one night, he couldn't sleep, curled in his bed. His mind raced and all he could think about was his mom, desperately trying to hold onto his last few memories of her, not wanting to forget completely.Clefairy toddled over to his bed and climbed up, patting his hair as he laid there. Something about the action triggered him and he curled onto his side, and folded in on himself, his grief getting the best of him, and he sobbed all of his pain out.Clefairy never left his side, even though he spent most of the night crying and mourning, letting out his pain. ---------- Eric gave Wes his fourth Pokemon, which was unexpected, but a very pleasant surprise for him. It was one day at their boarding school (his dad had shipped him off after his mom died, and he had to admit that he wasn't all that upset about it), and Wes was sitting in the courtyard of the campus, perched on one of the picnic tables. He had Swirlix on his thigh as he looked over his Algebra book, and Wigglytuff and Clefairy were handing him bits of fruit and other things to eat, which amused him. He played along though, eating whatever he was handed, which was mostly bits of kiwi and melon, with the occasional slice of celery and baby carrots. It wasn't too bad a snack, he had to admit, even if he would've preffered cookies or a bag of chips."Collins!" He heard, and he looked over his shoulder at Eric, approaching with his Pokeballs hanging off his belt buckles, three of them, glinting in the sunlight. "You know, you're a hard man to find." "I've been here for the last couple of hours." He said, amused. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He looked down when Wigglytuff offered him a carrot and he shook his head. "No, thanks, allergic." He looked back up at Wes then. "I have something for you. Found it. Thought with it being your birthday the other day and all you would get something out of it." He tossed it at Wes, who caught it and looked down at his hand."A Pokeball?" He asked, laughing incredulously."Probably got something in it, why don't you find out?" He turned to walk away. "Gotta go. Studies and stuff to do." Wes watched him go a little incredulously, not sure what to make of the encounter. He looked down when Clefairy nudged him and gestured to the Pokeball and laughed to himself, clicking the button. If it was some huge Fighting type that was going to attack Wes, if he survived the encounter, he was going to kill Eric.It was a Sylveon. A sweet faced, adorable Fairy type who pranced around and jumped up to sit with Wes, mewling at him gently.Wes shook his head and rubbed the Pokemon's back. "Well hi, sweetheart. Aren't you an unexpected surprise?" He smiled. "Not an unwanted one though." The next day he tried to seek Eric out, to thank him for Sylveon, but he was told Eric had pulled out of the school and left. He didn't know what to make of that and it haunted him for a long time.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When she joined the Time Force Academy, Jen Scotts knew it would be hard. Anyone who was everyone knew that it was. They were the ones that kept the world safe from mutants that plagued it, set upon it by the darkest depths of society. You had to be tough, you had to be the best, if you were a part of Time Force, and Jen desperately wanted to prove that she was the best and could hang with those who were a part of Time Force. Her father had raised her by himself from a young age and he always taught her if you wanted something, all you had to do was go for it, and believe in yourself and it would be yours. That was the philosophy Jen lived by, and it had served her well.Time Force used Pokemon as training partners. They gave you a team when you started and it was your job to train with them, to get used to them, and to bring out the best in each other. Time Force officers and their Pokemon were the stuff of legends and the bright white uniforms worn by the officers and the vests by their Pokemon were the normal visuals all over the city, and one people had come to know meant safety and admiration. So when she finished enrolling in the Academy, she lined up to receive her Pokemon just like all the other recruits. While in the line, she met Katie, who was bright, kind, funny, and just the best person she'd ever known; Trip, who she wasn't sure would ever be able to stay in the Academy for long, because he just didn't seem to have that killer instinct you needed to be a Time Force officer; and Lucas, who wouldn't pull his face out of a mirror long enough to say much more than he used to race cars and it was either join Time Force or be put into containment. Jen wondered about that and made up her mind to research it more later on.Finally it was her turn and she saluted the officer respectfully and put her hands behind her back while he looked up her file to see what Pokemon she would receive. He rifled through a few sets and found the one with her name on it and handed her the container that held the four Pokeballs. She took it reverently and thanked him as profusely as she dared before beating a hasty retreat. She walked up to her new quarters and put the container down, staring at it. She didn't have anything else to do for the rest of the day, so she decided to change and make a call to her father for a while, working up the courage to see what her new Pokemon team was.Finally out of options for stalling, she walked over and picked up the first Pokeball.She clicked the button on the front and watched the Pokemon take shape. When she realized what it was, her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat.A Primeape.It glowered at her from where it stood, its digitless hands curled into fists. Jen prepared herself for an attack, one she wasn't sure she'd come out of in very good shape, but nothing happened. The Primeape seemed to read her body language and it calmed down, going to perch on top of her kitchen counter. It grabbed a banana from a bowl and started eating it. Turning away, Jen grabbed the second one and thought maybe it couldn't be as bad and felt a little better when she clicked the button.She gasped out loud at the large, towering Machoke standing in front of her, but it paid her no mind. She looked it over and thought if it was going to be training with her, either she needed to get good, fast, or she had no chance of even making it out of the Academy alive. She looked past it when Primeape came at her and she flinched, but Machoke held up a hand and Primeape stopped. Machoke stared it down and Primeape sat down to watch the both of them.Machoke handed her the third Pokeball and Jen took it with slightly shaking fingers and pressed the button on the front. Hitmonchan stood there and it glanced at Machoke and glared at Primeape before staring at her. Jen gulped and shook her head. She wondered if she got the toughest team in Time Force history. How was she supposed to train with Pokemon like this? She didn't even know where to start. Glancing down, she saw the fourth Pokeball and figured in for a penny, in for a pound.Picking it up, Jen pressed the button and waited. Inside was a Pokemon she wasn't sure of. It was a pale brown color and looked fuzzy sort of, and it had pink bands in different places and a nose that reminded her of a clown or something.Jen saw the Pokedex in the box the Pokeballs had been in and she picked it up, pointing it at the Pokemon."Gurdurr." It chirped. "The Muscular Pokemon and the evolved form of Timburr. Gurdurr trains its muscles by carrying a steel beam. With its amazing strength, even professional wrestlers can't move it." Jen didn't know what to make of that. All she knew was the gauntlet had been thrown down. If she truly wanted to be a Time Force officer, she was going to have to go above and beyond to prove herself.Game on.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Katie bounded into her quarters at Time Force, a big smile on her face. She threw her jacket on a chair in the room and went and changed before plopping down on her couch. She grabbed the first Pokeball out of the container she'd been given and twirled it in her hand, gazing at it. She was a little nervous to find out what Pokemon she'd been given, but the excitement was taking it over. She clicked the button and wiggled to find a more comfortable position as the Pokemon took shape.It was a Tyrogue and she laughed quietly to herself. It wasn't the biggest Pokemon, about two feet tall or so. Katie wondered if it was going to be a good training partner for her.Getting up, she approached it and smiled. "Well you aren't the biggest Pokemon ever, we'll have to figure out what you can do for me, I bet I can teach you a lot of stuff, though." Tyrogue gazed up at her and held a hand up at her. Unthinkingly, Katie reached down toward him. He took her hand and squeezed it, and then Katie realized her mistake. It grabbed her with the other hand and she found herself flying through the air, landing against the opposite wall in the room.She laid there for several seconds, not exactly hurt, but definitely pretty stunned, before she flipped herself over and sat up. "Ok I probably deserved that. I guess you have some stuff to teach me, too." Getting up, she walked back over and grabbed the second Pokeball, a little less excited, but still far too curious about the other Pokemon in her arsenal.Clicking the button on the front, she waited until the Pokemon took shape and grinned widely at the little Hitmontop that stood there. He wasn't much bigger than Tyrogue, but she didn't want to underestimate him like she had Tyrogue. She'd seen them in battle before and knew they could pack quite the punch. Before she could say anything, Hitmontop and Tyrogue squared off with each other. "No!" She yelped as they started fighting each other, tumbling around the floor in the living room area. They matched each other blow for blow, and Katie found herself a little bit fascinated by the entire thing.After about fifteen minutes, they suddenly stopped and turned to look at Katie, just gazing up at her.She rolled her eyes. "I get it, I get it. That was an exhibition, I know. Well thank you, I'm very impressed." Tyrogue threw the third Pokeball at her, like he was telling her to let out another challenge for them and she shook her head, clicking the button. Mienfoo stood there and Katie squealed. Her aunt had a Mienfoo and she always loved the Pokemon and had wanted one of her own. It squared off with Tyrogue and Hitmontop and they had a brief three way battle with each other. Katie almost wished she had popcorn so she could sit and watch.All too soon it was over and she smiled at the three of them. "I can't wait to start training with all of you, I'm so intrigued with your skills." Excitedly, she grabbed the last Pokeball and clicked the button on the front. The Pokemon that took shape was far bigger than the other ones and Katie watched, wide eyed, as it took shape and gulped. Blaziken. It towered over the other three and when they saw it, all three of them sat down and stared up at it, like they were looking at a Mentor or a Sensei of sorts.Blaziken turned and stared at her and suddenly Katie was far less excited about training."Oh fu..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Eric wound up getting his first Pokemon by sheer dumb luck. He'd gotten away from the trailer park, not willing to be around the guy who was very obviously a drug dealer, having customers come all hours of the day and causing all sorts of a ruckus. It was tiring for the pre-teen to deal with so he bailed the first chance he could get. He knew the poor excuses for parents he had wouldn't miss him at all, so he wasn't too worried as he made his way through the woods near the trailer park, kicking at stumps and mushrooms he passed by, muttering moodily to himself. Looking up when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, he glared when he saw a Skuntank standing there. "Don't even try it." He growled out, already pretty jaded, even at a young age. "You'll regret it, trust me." Skuntank glared back at him, lifting his tail threateningly a few times until he saw that Eric wasn't budging. Skuntank rushed at him and Eric kicked out at it, moving out of the way in the same instance. He grabbed out a Pokeball from his pocket that he'd swiped from one of his deadbeat neighbors and threw it at the Poison-Dark type to scare it off. But he watched in horror as it caught it instead and it disappeared inside the Pokeball."Damn it all to hell!" He burst out, kicking a tree and then wincing. "That's not how I wanted to get my first Pokemon!" ---------- Eric's dad got him his second Pokemon about a year later. He was sitting on his couch working on his homework when his drunk old man came home and threw a Pokeball at him. Eric caught it and stared at it for a few seconds before grimacing up at the older man. "What's this?""The fuck do you think it is?" He asked. "It's a Pokemon. Let it out and find out what it is." He walked toward the back room with a smirk that Eric didn't really care for.Sighing resignedly, he clicked the button and let the Pokemon out.Eric gasped, his books and notebook falling to the floor when he saw the large Zoroark there, looking at him with a dark look. He was intimidated by the Dark type immediately and he knew the Pokemon could pick up on it by the way it bent over like it was going to attack him. Skuntank moved out in front of Eric, looking ready for a battle and Eric prepared to hightail it as quickly as he could, but then he thought clearly and grabbed the Pokeball, recalling the Pokemon.Swearing creatively, Eric picked his books back up and went to do the rest of his work elsewhere, leaving the Pokeball behind.Weeks later he hadn't really warmed up to Zoroark, nor had Zoroark warmed up to him. He had pretty much even given up on it ever happening. He and Skuntank got along pretty well and that's all he needed.One day his old man was drunk off his ass and went after his mom, who was in a drugged out haze. So Eric exploded and went after him, trying to get him to stop wailing on his defenseless mother (he didn't much like her either but she was more pitiable than anything and didn't deserve his dad's anger). His dad got even more pissed off and before Eric knew what was happening, he was laying on the floor, covering his face from his father's blows.Skuntank tried to chase his dad off, but his dad, seeing red, threw the Pokemon across the trailer. He hit the wall and jumped up, going over to nose the other Pokeball out of Eric's jacket pocket from where it hung on the coat rack.When he got it out he pressed the button with his nose and Zoroark emerged immediately.Zoroark saw what was happening and even though he and Eric hadn't bonded, he recognized Eric as his owner so he stepped forward and grabbed Eric's dad by the back of his shirt and tossed the man away from Eric, who scrambled under the kitchen table. He watched as his father cowered away and started thrashing, letting out loud screams and pained howls, even though Zoroark was just standing there looking at him. He remembered that Zoroark could cast illusions to torment people and he figured that was what he was doing to his father.After that moment, his father never bothered him or his mother again, and wound up splitting and never coming back. ---------- Wes got Eric his third Pokemon, which Eric didn't know how to respond to. It was after the Ransik threat had been taken care of and things between them were better than they had been, even if Eric tried to keep him at arms length anyway. They both joined the Silver Guardians, the new version, and had been paired together over it. He had to admit, as far as co-captains went, Wes wasn't the worst one in the world. He knew how to talk to people, and get the best out of them, helping them work better as a team, where Eric was better at training them, helping them get the skills they'd need to go on the job and not get killed right away. They were on break, having gone by and gotten some takeout from a local place and then gone to a park to eat. Eric had immediately stripped out of the upper part of his uniform, wanting to get as much of a tan as he could, even though since he had some Asian heritage, he already had a sort of darker skin. Wes had followed suit, but Eric thought maybe he wanted more to preen like a peacock than anything. Wes let his Pokemon out and they were running around the park happily, which didn't annoy Eric as much as he wanted to admit that it did."Are you going to let out Skuntank and Zoroark?" Wes cut through his thoughts."Nope." Eric said honestly, digging into his chicken salad."Why not?" Wes questioned."Because they make people nervous and aren't the playing type." He pointed out. He used his Pokemon for the job and not much else, unless he was home and could let them out in a place where they'd be comfortable. They liked sitting and watching his Pikipek he kept in a cage outside. "Oh." Wes went quiet at that and they ate their food in silence for a little while. Eric saw him looking at him out of the corner of his eye every once in a while but he mostly ignored it until he was finished with his food. He set aside the trash to throw away and heaved a sigh. "What?" "I got you something." Wes admitted."I wasn't aware we were the type to get each other things, especially on days that aren't birthdays or special occasions." He cracked."That's rich coming from the guy who got me Sylveon." He smirked smugly and Eric wanted to wipe it off his face."I found it and thought you'd like it, it's fucking pink after all." He smirked back at him. "Pink Pokemon that could kick your ass." Wes shot back easily."Not likely." Eric promised, rolling his eyes. "Well out with it, what'd you get me?" He caught what Wes threw at him and looked down to see that it was a Pokeball. "Turnabout is fair play, huh?" He huffed an amused laugh."Something like that." He agreed."I'm not going to find something fucking pink in here am I?" He asked.Wes laid back on the grass, arms behind his head. Eric saw a group of girls across the park a ways pointing and giggling and he rolled his eyes. "Why don't you let it out and find out." Wes said, bringing him out of his thoughts.Eric raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that promised swift and painful payback if Wes got him a Pokemon he didn't approve of and he let the Pokemon out.It took a few seconds but finally there it was. Mightyena.Eric was impressed, although he'd never say so. Dark type Pokemon. Very badass and badass looking, but would listen to commands when needed. Wes had actually done a good job.Mightyena turned and looked at him and Eric held up a hand to stave off an attack, when the Mightyena let out a happy sounding howl and jumped at him, knocking him back on the ground, licking at him excitedly. "I'm going to kick your ass, Collins!" Eric growled loudly, trying to push the overexcited Pokemon off of him.Wes, the jackass, just laid back on the ground howling with laughter. ---------- No one knew Eric was dating Jen, and both of them wanted to keep it that way. Even though Wes and Katie had developed a thing, and they knew deep down they wouldn't be judged really, they wanted to keep it to themselves for a little while, not wanting anyone to interfere in the relationship and put unwanted attention on them. She'd left Alex not long after returning to her time, not feeling the same spark after Alex came to the past and acted like he did. She couldn't understand why he'd changed so much, even though she knew deep down there had probbaly been changes to the time line due to them being in 2001 for so long. It still put a strain on things so Jen left him and decided to come back to the past for a little while to get over it.She wound up getting a job with the Silver Guardians and Wes, asshole that he was, put her on rotation with them.Eric had to admit, Jen's Pokemon were pretty great to work with. They listened really well to her and the criminals of Silver Hills didn't know what they were up against when faced with them. Eric didn't even have to do much, except the occasional take down himself when there was too many people to deal with at one time. It was nice.Jen let Eric spar with them, and he had to admit, after getting his ass kicked a few times, he felt like his skills were getting better and better and he knew one day he'd need that, and would be put to the test against some idiot criminal that thought they could square up against a legit badass like himself. On their six month anniversary (and who ever celebrated a six month anniversary) Eric hastily got Jen a present of two dozen of her favorite flowers (pink geraniums), and a flash drive of some songs that reminded him of her (it was not a fucking mixed tape, Collins, he wasn't that corny, thank you very much!) and took her out to a nice Italian restaurant.On th way home they got gelato from a cart and Jen tossed something at him. He caught it instinctively mid bite and looked down at the Pokeball he held in his hand. "Really?" "I couldn't let Wes one up me." Jen offered, smirking."Ugh." Eric rolled his eyes."You know you love Mightyena." Jen nudged him. "Don't pretend you don't."Eric maneuvered his cone of gelato so he didn't drop it and shrugged. "She grew on me, I guess." "Well aren't you going to look and see what it is?" Jen asked. "And don't worry, it's not pink or girly." Soothed by her genuine words, Eric pressed the button on the front and watched the Pokemon take shape. Eric raised an eyebrow at her when he saw the Umbreon in front of them, padding along easily with them. "Umbreon, huh?" "Yeah, Dark type, likes the moonlight, sweats poison." Jen offered. "I thought it fit you." "I don't sweat poison." Eric pointed out, snorting."Have you smelled you when you start sweating? It's definitely not pleasant." Jen smirked."Oh really, yeah?" Eric asked, smirking at her. "Hey, Umbreon, how well do you listen?" Umbreon turned to look at him, twitching her tail curiously.Eric gestured to Jen. "Spray this one with some of that poisonous sweat of yours." Jen gasped and shoved him, taking off. "I hate you, jackass!" Eric cackled as Umbreon chased after her, a playful yeowl coming from her as she ran along. He followed them at a sedate pace, smiling serenely to himself as he listened to Jen shriek and curse him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sky got a Dragonair when he was four years old. His parents surprised him with it on his birthday. They'd been talking about it and thought that the sweet blue Pokemon would be perfect for their little boy. He'd been very serious, even as a baby, and was very responsible. He picked up all his toys when he was done playing with them, made his bed every morning unprompted and even knew more than most of the children at his school. So they knew he would be responsible enough to own his own Pokemon, which he'd wanted ever since he turned three and could figure out his own wants and needs and could vocalize them (even though he started talking at not even two years old). They sat him down after he'd opened all his presents and his father handed him his last one. "Go on, sport, see what it is." He said, echoing his own father's words, somewhat, when he was given his own first Pokemon. Sky opened the box up and let out a pleased gasp when he saw the Pokeball inside. He looked up at his parents wide eyed and hopeful and his mom laughed and rubbed his hair. "Well, aren't you going to see what Pokemon is in it?" "There's a Pokemon in it?" Sky asked, delighted."Sure is, Schuyler." His mom chuckled. "Go on, look." Sky clicked the button and when Dragonair came out and flew around the room he clapped excitedly. "Can I ride her?" He asked."Only in the house or if one of us are there." His mom said, poking him playfully on the nose.Sky climbed off the couch and went over to Dragonair, rubbing her gently on the snout, smiling up at her. "Hi, I'm Sky. I think I'll call you Rambo." His mom gave his dad an exasperated look. "Your fault for showing him that movie." His dad grinned roguishly. "Not a bit sorry." He promised. ---------- Sky got his next Pokemon once his dad died. He'd been on an assignment during the early days of SPD going up against an alien being called Mirloc who managed to take him down and kill him. Sylveon was the only one of his dad's Pokemon left, the others had all passed away over the years, either from battle or old age and when his dad died, Sylveon was the only thing Sky had left of him. His mother had hugged him close the next few days after his dad's death and she sat him down the day of the funeral, after he dressed in his best suit and smiled gently at him, tears swimming in her eyes."I'm giving you Sylveon." She said."Mom, no, you should..." He started, wide eyed with his own tears and grief."Shhh." She touched his shoulder gently. "I have my own Pokemon, only one left of my original team, but it's all I need, sweetheart. You should take her. Let her stay with you, I know he'd like to know that you're taking care of her.""Alright." Sky let his mom hug him close and he fought not to cry.When they went to the funeral, Rambo had to stay in his Pokeball since he was too big for the church, but Sylveon padded along with him. She went up and stared at his dad, laying peacefully in the casket and then came back over and sat by Sky, who put a hand on her, both of them seeking comfort from each other.When they got home, his mom smiled gently at him. "You know, I know your dad never gave her a nickname, but you could, you know."Sky looked over at Sylveon. "Would you like that?" He asked quietly.Sylveon chirped at him sweetly and nudged against him, rubbing her head against his chest. Sky rubbed her back and laid his head against hers. He tried to think of a female action hero, or one that could be male or female, or neither even. "Rooster." He said finally."Rooster?" His mom asked, amused."Rooster, after Rooster Cogburn from True Grit." Sky explained, talking about his dad's favorite John Wayne movie.His mom laughed wetly, kissed him on the head and went upstairs to change while he let Rambo out and he, Rooster and Sky all curled up together on the couch, Sky quiet and subdued, missing his dad. ---------- A few years later, Sky was in SPD himself, determined to do his dad proud. His dad had been the red Ranger, and Sky kept a picture of them, his dad morphed, with him in his quarters and it was his dream to one day follow in his dad's foot steps. The training was hard, and tedious sometimes, but he liked it. Because it gave him a goal. He wasn't there to make friends, and he wasn't there to slack off. He wanted nothing more than to join the A-Squad and be the red Ranger, fighting against whatever alien forces came their way and attacked them.Then came Emperor Gruumm. Then came Jack and Z.Cruger gave Jack the red morpher and it made Sky so angry he couldn't see straight. That morpher was his. It belonged to him. All he wanted was to do his mother proud and be the red Ranger and show her that he was making something of himself. She was in bad health and in an assisted living facility and he hated being away from her, but she encouraged him to follow his dreams. His dream was to do both of them proud, but how could he do that as the blue Ranger? Blue was second in command. He had to listen to some half-wit criminal that wasn't even worthy of the red Ranger powers, who thought it was a good idea to not take anything seriously and coast by on the fact that he was red alone.When Cruger asked him if he'd follow Syd as the red Ranger, he spoke out of spite, saying of course not, she was a girl. He knew his mom would've laid into him for that one, not let him live it down for a very long time, but he couldn't help it. His ego was bruised and he was pissed off.Later on he got a call from the facility his mom was at and his heart dropped into his chest.She'd passed away.Sky left the base immediately, telling someone there was a death in the family, and he was gone for hours, seeing to his mom's last wishes, mourning her, unable to bring himself to go back to the base until late, his mom's Mienfoo, her last surviving Pokemon, tucked against his side.As soon as he stepped on the living quarters floor, Syd marched up to him. "What do you mean by saying you wouldn't like me as a red Ranger because I'm a girl?" She demanded, folding her arms over her chest. "Haven't I proven myself enough? Are you that misogynistic..." "No." He cut her off, too tired to deal with it right then, but knowing she wouldn't leave him alone. "It's not that you're a girl, I...I misspoke. But Syd...you're...girly." "You aren't making any sense." She said dryly."You spend so much time doing your hair and your makeup and you worry over your nails." He said, trying to be diplomatic and not petty like he wanted to be. "You're a good cadet, and you do well enough in training. But red Rangers have way more responsibility than you're willing to take on. You can't worry about things like if your hair's messed up, or you chipped a nail, or a black eye. It's your job to look over the entire team. The red has the most responsibility, and damn it, Sydney, they die sometimes, ok? Are you ready to die in the line of fire just to be a red Ranger?" "I...never thought of it like that." She said quietly. He smiled sadly at her. "Exactly. Besides, you're a perfect pink. Of all the Ranger teams that came before us, there was never a girl who wasn't a badass in some way, and pinks were known as the baddest of the badasses. No, I wouldn't follow your orders as a red, but it has nothing to do with you. I just think your role is better suited for the color you are." "Oh well...when you put it like that..." Syd played with her hair as she stood there talking to him and he fought not to roll his eyes. "Hey, when did you get a Mienfoo?""He's...this is Cavendish." Sky named him after one of his mom's favorite movies. "He...he was my mom's. She...she passed away...today."Syd's eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God, Sky, I'm so sorry!" "It's...it's ok. Just...look I want to be alone right now, so..." He adjusted Cavendish in his arms."Sure, of course, let me know if you need anything." She said. "I'll tell the others not to bother you. Hey do you want me to get you out of training?" She offered."Actually no." He said honestly. "I'll be there as usual, I...I can't just sit around and do nothing." "I understand." She patted him on the arm and walked off, letting him go to his quarters in peace. ---------- Sky and Syd laid together in their quarters watching a movie, their Pokemon milling about the room. After Gruumm was defeated and Jack left the Academy, things went into a new normal almost. Sky was finally the red Ranger, and Bridge was his blue, with Syd as pink still. They'd been promoted to A-Squad officially, even though they still considered themselves B-Squad. A boy from Mirinoi had taken over green Ranger while a girl from K0-35 was the new yellow. She was apparently a Legacy Ranger, her dad was on a team of Rangers that called themselves the Space Rangers and Sky had to admit, Endera was a pretty good yellow, she had some big shoes to fill, though, and hadn't quite filled them yet. Syd sat up from Sky's arms and stretched after they got through watching the latest episode of a new show both of them were addicted to where aliens worked in a medical facility and one of the characters reminded them of Bridge and smiled down at him. She reached down and ran a hand over his bare chest and up to his face, cupping his cheek. "Remember when we hated each other?" Sky sputtered a bit at the question and then laughed softly. "I never hated you." He said sincerely. "I had a stick up my ass and only wanted one thing from being here at SPD. I didn't care about interpersonal relationships or anything.""How do you feel about them now?" Syd asked, grinning at him.Sky raised an eyebrow and pulled her back down, kissing her softly, slowly, before pulling back and speaking against her lips. "I'm all for them...except when Bridge interrupts our personal time to ask inane questions like if fruit feels it when we cut it up, or what would happen if a Poison type and a Fairy type had a baby." "Is there a Poison-Fairy type?" Syd scrunched up her nose."Not that I'm aware." Sky shrugged. "I have something for you." Syd said out of the blue."Why?" Sky asked, making a face."I know it was your birthday the other day, and I know you haven't celebrated it since your mom passed." Syd said quietly. Sky tensed. "But I wanted to get you something anyway." "You didn't have to do that." Sky mumbled."I know." Syd grinned. "That's what makes me so nice."Sky huffed out an amused laugh and patted her hip. "What'd you get me then?" "This." Syd slipped a Pokeball out of her bra and expanded it, holding it up for him to see.Sky eyed it. "A new Pokemon?" He asked."To go with Rambo and Rooster and Cavendish." Syd explained needlessly. "I thought they could use a friend and you could use an even number." Sky laughed softly and flushed. "I'm not that OCD am I?" "Not anymore." Syd teased. Sky swatted her on the ass for that and sat up, looking down at the Pokeball."It's not going to bite." Syd joked, sitting up as well and Sky preened internally when her eyes swept over him briefly. "Well not in the Pokeball anyway."He eyed her and playfully raised an eyebrow. "Did you train a Pokemon to attack me as soon as it sees me, Sydney?" He asked, mock sternly. "No." Syd laughed. "Although I'm a little mad I didn't think of that.""I bet you are." Sky let the Pokemon out and waited for it to take shape. He pointed his Pokedex at it when he didn't recognize it."Noibat, the Soundwave Pokemon." It explained. "Noibat's ears emit ultrasonic waves that can disturb its prey's sense of hearing and damage opponents." Sky smirked. "Oh good, a Pokemon that can deafen me when you're going on and on about girly shit." He teased.Syd mock gasped and swatted at him. "Listen jackass..." Sky grabbed her wrists and grinned widely at her. "Oh is that the way you want to play it?" "What..." Syd trailed off and shrieked in laughter when he grabbed onto her and started tickling her. "Skyyyyyyyyyy, nooooooooo!" Sky laughed hard as he fought to keep her pinned, grabbing all her ticklish spots. Pretty soon both of them were in tears of laughter and he stopped to let both of them breathe and he leaned down and kissed her. "Thank you, I love her." He said sincerely."What are you going to name her?" Syd asked curiously.Sky thought it over and laughed quietly. "Elle." He decided and Elle happily swooped around the room, almost crashing into Sky's back at one point.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Bridge was given his first Pokemon just before it was decided he was going to start school. He was already the weird kid, the one one who had to wear gloves otherwise he saw 'pretty colors' around people and 'got reads' on them. Kids didn't understand that, adults barely understood it---sometimes not really even understood it, and poor Bridge just had to deal with the fallout from having a genetic power that he couldn't control. He spent as much time as he could away from people, wearing his gloves so he wasn't overwhelmed by auras and emotions and everything they brought onto him, and his parents knew that school would be hard on him. So Bridge was taken to the local PokeCenter and given a verbal test to be paired with the best possible Pokemon for him. He got called back to the room and the Pokemon Expert lady smiled at him and offered him to take his gloves off. "I'd like to keep them on, please." He said quietly. "Alright." She sat down across from him. "Let's begin." The entire thing took about twenty minutes, a truncated version of the test for children, not as extensive as the one for adults, but no less thorough, and Bridge was sent out to sit with his parents while a Pokemon was being chosen for him. As the minutes ticked by, Bridge got fidgety and nervous. He rambled on and on to his parents about all the possibilities of Pokemon he could get and just when they began to get slightly frustrated, they were called to the back."Alright, Bridge." The same woman from before smiled at him. "How would you like to meet your new Pokemon?" Bridge beamed up ather and nodded, suddenly speechless.She handed him the Pokeball and he took it in his small hands, clutching it to him. He looked up at his dad who nodded encouragingly at him and he let the Pokemon out, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He gasped happily when he saw the male Sunflora inside."Sunflora!" It chirped, wiggling around happily."Oooh! I love Sunflora!" It was true, it had been one of the Pokemon he'd hoped to get. "Well I hope you and he get along very well." The Pokemon Expert lady smiled gently at him.Bridge walked out with his parents, chattering to his new Sunflora and letting him chatter back at him, like they just immediately got each other. ---------- When Bridge knew he was going to join the SPD Academy, he knew he needed a second Pokemon. He had Sunflora, but Sunflora was more of a pacifist and didn't really have a killer instinct. Neither did Bridge, but he knew with the training he was going to endure, he'd at least be able to develop enough kills to become a really good SPD Officer. Knowing he wouldn't be good at catching his own Pokemon, a practice that was falling mostly out of favor those days anyway, he went back to the same PokeCenter that he got Sunflora at, this time sitting down to take the adult test (and he absolutely did not call it the big boy test in his head). Sunflora sat with him, humming quietly to himself, an action that actually soothed Bridge and calmed down his nerves. He wound up getting the same Pokemon Expert from before, an older lady that was grey around the edges of her hair. He remembered her and after seeing his gloves she remembered him and they spoke briefly with each other about Sunflora and how he was working out for him (the answer? Amazingly!). Bridge filled out the test, taking his time and answering each question the best he could. He fidgeted and flipped his pencil around in his hand as he read each question, fighting the urge not to bite on it like the ones he used that he owned.Finally he was finished and he turned the test in, popping out to grab an apple protein bar and a drink while it was processed. He came back and munched on the bar before he was called back. His palms sweat in his gloves and he knew he'd have to pull them off and wipe his hands off once it was just he, Sunflora and whatever other Pokemon he got. The woman smiled kindly at him, holding out a Pokeball to him. "I think you'll be happy with your new Pokemon." She said. "Funnily enough, some of your answers handn't changed much since you were a child, so it was the ones that did we had to rely on so you didn't just get another Sunflora." "I would've been ok with that, I mean, it probably wouldn't have helped, but having a whole field of Sunflora sounds fun at least." Bridge took the Pokeball and looked from it back up at her. "What is it?""Well look and find out, Bridge." She chuckled. "He's yours now, of course." Another male, then. Bridge was ok with that.He let the Pokemon out and grinned widely when he saw that it was a Cacnea. He liked the color green, and he knew Cacnea would be a perfect Pokemon for him to use in SPD. He bent down and smiled at the Pokemon. "Hi, I hope you like me, because we're going to spend a lot of time together." He reached forward to pat the Pokemon, not thinking."Bridge, I wouldn't..." The lady cautioned.He yelped and pulled back, making a face. "Ok that was absolutely my fault." He said, waving his hand around. ---------- Bridge clicked the Pokeball button and smiled at Kelsey as she watched him in anticipation, wondering what his reaction would be when he saw the Pokemon there. As it took shape, he gave a delighted gasp. "Oh a Tangela!" He exclaimed, laughing and looking over at Kelsey. "Oh you know me so well." "I'd like to think I do. So do you like her?" She asked, rubbing his arm."You know I do, she's perfect!" He leaned over and pecked her cheek before getting down on the ground, letting out his other Pokemon so they could get to know each other. ---------- "I got you a Pokemon." Sky said, standing in the doorway of Bridge's room. Bridge startled from where he sat on his bed looking over some of the SPD manuals. Ever since Sky had been promoted to Cruger's position and he'd taken up the red Ranger mantle he wanted to do a good job and make Sky (and Jack) proud. So not only was he looking over all of the manuals he could get his hands on, he also got in more training to make sure his skills were on par with what a red Ranger's skills should be. He cocked his head at Sky, who just smirked at him, arms folded over his chest."Why'd you get me a Pokemon?" Bridge asked."To be nice?" He offered. He shrugged a shoulder at Bridge who raised an eyebrow in response. "Hey, I can be nice." "You can, but I don't fully buy it." He pointed out, ready to go on a long winded diatribe.Sky cut him off before he could, tossing the Pokeball at him. He bent down when Sunflora toddled over to him and let her run her leaves over the sleeves of the shirt he had on. He glanced up at Bridge expectantly. Bridge let the Pokemon out on the end of the bed and waited as it took shape."A Leafeon?!" Bridge yelped, looking at the Pokemon wide eyed. "I've always wanted a Leafeon!" He looked at his other Pokemon. "No offense to all of you." "I know." Sky scooped up Sunflora and walked over to the bed, sitting down. "I thought you needed something to give you some confidence. Not that your others don't, but maybe having a Pokemon you've talked about getting almost since I met you will help you realize you're going to be a great red Ranger." "I just want to make you and Jack proud." Bridge mumbled, letting the Leafeon come over to him and sniff at him. He got a whiff of dried leaves and smiled softly. "You already do, Bridge." Sky reached out and squeezed his arm. "Why do you think you were my second in command?" "Because Syd told you where to stick it when you offered her blue?" He asked.He rolled his eyes, but didn't deny it. "Bridge, you were the best blue to have on my side and having my back when I needed it, and you're going to be the best red. I know it." Bridge beamed at him, knowing Sky didn't just give out praise willy nilly. "Thanks, Sky. You know, the Cruger position suits you, in fact." He looked around like he was afraid of being overheard. "I think maybe you'll be a little better at it." Sky laughed loudly at that, not expecting the comment to come from Bridge of all people. "Thanks, Bridge. That means a lot to me." He said sincerely.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"She needs a bodyguard Pokemon." Syd's manager, a non-binary Asukan alien explained as Syd sat in a meeting with people who were over her modeling career. To be honest, she wasn't paying any attention to the goings on, more interested in looking at the new makeup that had been set out to be tested by her. There was a few companies that wanted her as a spokesmodel and she was going to test out each brand and figure out which one she was going to lend her face to. Well, her people were going to figure it out mostly. But that didn't mean Syd wouldn't have a say in what she was doing. She wasn't going to promote any brand that made her look bad, or messed her skin up in any way. That would be terrible, not to mention it would make her look bad...and no one made Sydney Drew look bad. "I'm not saying she doesn't." Her mother piped up, full of condescension and haughty attitude. "All I'm saying is she needs one that looks good. God forbid she go out in public with...with a...a...an Ekans or a Gastly..." "Ewwwww!" Syd piped up, hearing the tail end of that. "As if I'd be caught dead with a Gastly.""Yes, darling, I know." Her mother soothed. "That's what I'm saying." "I agree." Her manager soothed. "But she also needs something that can protect her. I'm sure we can come to a happy medium. Something that won't ruin her reputation as a model, but will also protect her should any crazed fans decide to try and get to her.""It just needs to be pretty." Syd reiterated. She looked between them. "Above all that other stuff, it needs to be pretty." Her mother and manager decided to call in a Pokemon Expert to help them find the right Pokemon. Syd tapped her nails against the table as they talked, careful not to destroy her manicure and rolled her eyes a few times at what the woman was suggesting. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and leaned forward."Excuse me." She said. "What part of 'it needs to be pretty' do you not understand? I need a pretty Pokemon, I have an image to protect. I can't have it tainted with a Muk or something." The harrassed looking woman huffed softly. She was doing her best to keep everyone happy, but it was quickly proving to be quite a difficult task. "Ok...I think I have just the Pokemon." She said finally. "It's a pretty Pokemon...and it has the ability to protect Sydney should she need protecting." She grabbed her large bag she'd brought with her, that had a good assortment of Pokeballs in it and rooted around until she found the one she wanted. She let the Pokemon out and it landed on top of the table they were gathered around. Syd looked up curiously and sat forward when she saw the Pokemon. It stood on two legs and held itself with poise and a little arrogance. It was mostly white on the body and had blue legs and on the top of is head. The tips of its hands were blue, almost like it was wearing gloves and a blue bit of fur curled around its neck like a scarf. "I love it!" She shrieked happily, clapping her hands. "What is it?" "A female Mewostic, they..." The Pokemon expert started, but she was promptly ignored by Syd and her mother, who were fawning over the Pokemon. She, instead, turned to Syd's manager. "They have organs hid inside their ears that can emit enough psychic energy to take down a 10 ton truck or a large building. The female learns moves that are all out offense, and it will attack if provoked, despite looking prim and proper like it does." "It's perfect." She smiled at her. "Thank you so much, I'll send a check to you for payment." Syd didn't pay any attention as she fawned all over her new Pokemon and demanded her manager find a photographer to take pictures of them together to put out there to show the public how good they looked together, before turning to her mother to demand they coordinate an outfit to match Meowstic. ---------- Syd pouted at her mom and manager as she sat backstage at her not-quite sold-out concert, folding her arms around Meowstic, who sat in her lap primly, looking unconcerned about anything. Syd knew she was just as upset as she was though, she had to be. "I don't get it. I'm amazing, why aren't my concerts being sold out?" She huffed quietly, sitting back in her overstuffed faux-leather chair. "Maybe you're being under promoted, Syd." Her manager suggested, even though she knew better. She was being paid to keep her client happy, though, so she'd do whatever was in her power to make that happen. "Maybe we need to focus on promoting you more, and making sure your fans know where you're going to be." "Aren't you already doing that?" Her mother asked. "How do you account for her less than stellar album sales?" She looked over at Syd. "Syd, sweetheart, maybe being a popstar just isn't for you. You should go back to modeling, you were good at being a model, you were successful." "I'm good at being a popstar, too, mother!" She exclaimed, glaring up at her manically. "You just don't support me, you never did support me! You just want me to fail so you can put me in that awful SPD program!" "I've never pushed you to do that, and you know it." She said quietly. She looked over at Syd's manager. "There has to be some way we can get her sales up." "I think I have an idea." She promised and immediately started making some calls. Soon enough the same Pokemon Expert from before was there and unlike last time, she came ready to just listen to exactly what they wanted and figure out the best Pokemon for the job. "We need a Pokemon to make Syd's sales higher." The manager explained. "One that can help us get her name out there better.""I have just the one." The lady reached into her bag and took out a Pokeball. "But beware, this isn't a Pokemon to take lightly. It can use psychic powers to control people with hypnosis." "Perfect!" Syd stood and grabbed for the Pokeball. "That's exactly what I need. I mean, just until people realize I'm amazing on their own anyway. Have a few people believe the hype and get others to believe it, it's simple, really." "That would be perfect, Syd." Her manager smiled. "Why don't you see what it is?" She let the Pokemon out and looked it over. It was a tiny little Pokemon, mostly black with white bows all over it, a purple face and red lips. "Kind of goth, but...I like it! What is it?" "She's a Gothorita." The Pokemon expert explained. "Perfect!" She repeated, beaming. "Mother, I need a matching outfit again, but not this goth. Maybe just...inspired by it." She went over and took Gothorita's hand and led her out of the room, chatting happily about how 'popular' she was going to be. ---------- Syd's pop star status was cut short when she was stopped by SPD. At first she blamed her mother, but she had nothing to do with it. Her manipulation of everyone using Gothorita had gotten on their radar and finally they confronted her, making her get Gothorita to let go of her control of everyone. Once that happened, they gave her a choice: join SPD Academy and make something of herself, or face prosecution for her crimes and be sealed in a containment card, and her Pokemon contained in their Pokeballs forever. Neither one sounded particularly great to Syd, but she'd come to really care about Meowstic and Gothorita, even past what they could do for her, and she didn't want to condemn them to life in their Pokeballs. So she agreed to join the Academy. She hated it at first. She hated everyone who put her in this position.Then she met Sky Tate, not realizing that he would be the one that would change her life forever. She was training as hard as she could, but it was still difficult. She'd let herself into the training area and started going through the drills they'd gone through that day. She stumbled and knew she wasn't as good as those in her class and it frustrated her. She punched a punching bag, making sure not to use her abilities so she didn't have a weird hand until she could get rid of it and groaned loudly. "You know, you're never going to get through the Academy with that kind of an attitude, or not taking this seriously." A voice piped up from the doorway.She tuned and glared at Sky as he stood there, arms over his chest. "I never asked to come here, it was here, or being put in a containment card. If I had my way, I wouldn't be here at all, I'd be living my life the way I want to live it." She spat."Yes, because, God forbid the princess that enslaved half the world not get her way." He snarked right back. "Poor you, you aren't allowed to be a spoiled brat anymore, that must be so hard for you." "You have no idea what my life is like." She pointed out snidely."And you have no idea what mine is like." He shot back easily. "I don't need to know your side of things, I know it's skewed anyway, and I'm not going to let you try and paint yourself as a victim in things. You were given a second chance, a chance to turn things around and instead of embracing it and actually making something of yourself, you're in here throwing a pity party of one. Key words: of one. No one else cares that you're in here feeling sorry for yourself, so you have two choices. Continue on that path and realize it goes nowhere, or pull on your big girl panties and change yourself." "I don't need to change myself, I'm perfect the way I am, jackass." She shot him a spiteful look, putting her hands on her hips. "Keep telling yourself that, see where it takes you." He turned to walk away. "See you around, princess. Hope you don't self-destruct too quickly." Syd shrieked at him frustratedly, and turned and kicked at the wall.A few days later Syd was still thinking about Sky's words and she made her way to Dr. Manx's office, knocking on the door. Kat looked up and smiled at her. "Syd, come in, hello." The feline-like alien was oe of the only people to treat her with absolute kindness around there, despite how Syd tended to act. "What can I do for you?" "You're the one that doles out Pokemon to people, right? Syd asked, not sure how to approach what she wanted."I am." Kat agreed. "You came in with two of your own, right?" "Meowstic and Gothorita." Syd confirmed, smiling. "But they...they don't know this world, they aren't prepared for it. I was hoping you...could maybe get me one that could...help them navigate it." She really meant herself, but she had trouble saying that.Kat smiled at her knowingly. "Well you seem to prefer Psychic types, hmm?" "Well I was given them, I guess you could say I have a type." Syd said, even though her type had been 'attractive and pretty'. The doctor nodded and turned toward a display, bringing up a list of all the Pokemon they had on hand, selecting Psychic types and scrolling through the choices. "Ahhh, I have just the one." She grabbed a Pokeball from a tab that came out from one of her pieces of equipment and held it out to Syd."Just like that?" The blonde woman asked warily."Well yes, I trust you, and I think this will absolutely be a big help to you." She said honestly.Syd took the Pokeball. "What is it?" Kat laughed softly. "Well open it and find out." Syd did so and gasped when she saw the Espeon there. It was a gorgeous Pokemon, but seemed very...good at what it did. It just screamed competent."He's a male, so he may be good at balancing out your girls." Kat explained. "Sometimes male Pokemon can sort of...bend other Pokemon by sheer force of will. Besides, he's been trained very well and can be of good use to you...r Pokemon." "Thank you so much, Dr. Manx." Syd said sincerely. "I appreciate this a lot, you have no idea." She turned to leave."Syd." Kat called before she could get far. "For what it's worth...I'm rooting for you." "Thanks." Syd said quietly. "That means a lot to hear." She left the office before she could do something embarrassing like cry. ----------Sky got Syd her forth Pokemon on their one year anniversary. With Sky in his new position, they didn't get a lot of chances to hang out and do couple things, which was tough, but it made all the moments they did get to do them all the more special. They slipped away from the base and Sky drove them to an area they could sit down and have a nice picnic. They let their Pokemon out and let them run around and play while they ate and chatted. It was a nice time and Syd wished they got to have more of them, but she understood that work came first. At least for now. "Hey." Sky brought her out of her thoughts. "I got you something." "Did you?" Syd asked, sitting up out of his arms, turning to look at him. "I got you something, too.""Here, me first." Sky handed her the Pokeball from the picnic basket and she raised an eyebrow at him. "See what it is." He said with a playful smile on his face.Syd clicked the button and when the Pokemon took form, she srunched her nose up. "What is it?"Sky took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon. "Swoobat, the Courting Pokemon and evolved form of Woobat. Swoobat can fire a variety of soundwaves from the holes of their noses, some powerful enough to break rocks." "The Courting Pokemon, huh?" Syd teased. "I thought you'd already courted me." Sky rolled his eyes, blushing a little bit. "To be fair, I didn't know it was called that when I got it. I just thought you...needed another Pokemon. Since Espeon warped Gothorita and Meowstic and made them little soldiers, I thought you could use a nice, cuddly one." "They're all cuddly." Syd snickered. "And badass soldiers. Remind me of someone. But hey, what makes you think he won't warp this one, too?"Sky shrugged. "I think maybe it'll take after you." He teased.Syd swatted at him before she looked up at Swoobat, flying around happily. "Oh my God!" "What?" He asked, taken off guard."Sky...that Pokemon is blue and pink." She turned to look at him with a wide grin."Is it?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh I didn't notice." She giggled loudly and swatted at him again. "Sky, you sentimental idiot!" She leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you."Sky smiled at her. "I love you, too." He murmured. "Now...what'd you get me?" He teased.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Nick didn't get his first Pokemon until he was on his way to Briarwood. With how he moved around so much, he never really had much use for one, and had never really had the urge to have one just to have one either. He wasn't looking to go into the Pokemon League, nor was he looking to become a Breeder, so he didn't see the need to have one for himself. Stopping along the beach just outside the town, he felt unnerved for some reason, but drawn to the place anyway. He couldn't explain it. He found a nice area that seemed to be desserted and grabbed out a tent from his pack, setting it up. It took a while, but when he was done, he put his things inside and stretched out, resting for a while. He'd been riding for a long time and needed to take a break, even though it was a little strange to do it right outside of where he was going in the first place. He didn't care though, he felt like he needed to prepare himself before he got to Briarwood proper. Something about the place just seemed strange somehow and he had a feeling it was going to change his life for good, better or worse. Taking out his backpack, he rooted around in it, pushing aside his baby blanket and a few other items until he found his stash of snacks in the bottom. He took out an apple and munched on it, wondering what he was going to do once he got to Briarwood. He had a place to stay, he didn't have to worry about that. But he had no other plans in place. Not that he wasn't used to living his life that way, but he was going to be there for a while, he could tell. He could at least find a job or something to do while he was there, to help out with bills and everything.Later that day Nick used the sea to take a shower of sorts. No one was around so he stripped down and swam around for a while, using an environmentally friendly bar of soap to clean himself from the grime of travel. It felt good and he spent as long as he dared in the water, until the sun started dipping low in the sky and he felt the temperature start to drop. He got out and wrapped a towel around himself, huddling in his tent to dry off naturally. He rooted around in his bag for a sandwich and his fingers brushed over something furry.He let out a (manly) yelp and pulled his hand out, looking down at the bag with wide eyes. A purple furry head popped out and gave him a look and Nick groaned."A Rattata, really?" He asked, making a face. "Hey, get the hell out of there." He reached in and plucked the small Pokemon out, putting it on the blanket beside him. "You need to ask first before you just take food that isn't yours." The Rattata chittered moodily at him and Nick rolled his eyes. About that time the wind picked up outside and Nick instinctively hugged his almost dried towel around himself, making a face. The Rattata huddled closer to him and looked toward the flap of the tent warily.He chuckled. "Don't worry." He said. "I'm not going to throw you out in the cold. But no more eating my food without asking first. That has to last me at least through tomorrow. Here though." He took out a package of beef sticks and handed half of one to the small Normal type. The Rattata grabbed it happily and started munching on it, making little chittering noises as it did so. Nick found himself smiling fondly. Rattata wound up going with him to Briarwood, stashed in his bag since he didn't have a Pokeball. Nick was glad for the little Pokemon once he got there, because his life descended into chaos. -------- Nick wandered around Briarwood, Rattata up on his shoulder, bummed about what transpired at the Rockporium. He couldn't believe he was being accused of stealing from Toby of all people. He'd never do something like that. Of course, he did barely know the people, so what would they know? He barely knew them as well, maybe they were a lot different than he thought. It just sucked. He came here because of some unseen force tempting him and now that he was here, it seemed like he just didn't fit in. He'd been doing his best ever since his first doubts about magic and everything associated with it, but it didn't seem like it was good enough. He didn't know that he'd ever be good enough, at least that's how it felt to him. Rattata moved over and nuzzled against his neck and it made him smile. Reaching up, he gently scritched him on the cheek. "Well at least I have someone on my side, huh?" He murmured quietly. "I'm glad you stowed away in my backpack now." He brought Rattata down and held him in front of him, looking at him. "What do you think, should we just...go?" He asked. "It's obvious no one wants us here, so...maybe we should just leave." Rattata chirped at him a little and Nick didn't know what the Pokemon was trying to say, so he just hugged him to his chest and kept walking. He heard a small noise coming to the left, sounding like something in trouble. He walked over that way and saw a group of Hidiacs gathered around an Eevee that was screaming his head off for help. Nick quickly put Rattata down and ran over. "Hey!" He barked out. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" The Hidiacs turned toward him and Nick, using his anger and frustration at his so-called friends attacked first, kicking and punching viciously, taking down Hidiac after Hidiac. He managed to take care of them all on his own and once they were gone, he walked over to the cowering Eevee and bent down. "Hi, little guy. It's ok now. I know that was kinda scary probably, but you're safe now. I wonder why they wanted you for." He gently picked the Pokemon up and he chirped happily as he nuzzled against Nick. Nick laughed quietly. "You know, I could use another Pokemon. How about it?" Eevee chirped happily and he walked over and picked Rattata up, putting him back on his shoulder. "Come on, let's..." He winced immediately as a voice shot through his mind, telling him to go to the beach. "Not again!" -------- "Nick, could you stay back, please." Udonna called out as the others were getting ready to leave and head to their shift at the Rockporium. He had Eevee in a little bag against his hip and Rattata was, as always, on his shoulder. He stopped in place and turned around, nodding at her and gesturing for the others to go on. "I'll catch up." He promised. He walked back over to her. "What's up, Udonna?" "I have something for you." She held out a Pokeball on the palm of her hand with a small smile."You got me a Pokemon?" Nick asked, surprised. "Really? Why?" Udonna chuckled. "I've seen that you will need something a little bigger to help protect you." She laughed quietly when Rattata hissed at her, much to Nick's embarrassment. "I mean nothing by it, little one, you are a fine protector yourself, but it would be nice to have a little help, would it not? Eevee is a lover, not a fighter." "Aww I think he'd fight if he needed to." Nick rubbed Eevee's sleepy head. "Phineas just startled him after all." "I have no doubt." Udonna promised. "Take this anyway, I'd feel better." Nick took the Pokeball and glanced at his watch. He grinned mischievously at her and let the Pokemon out. When he saw that it was a Kangaskhan his eyes widened. "Whoa, Udonna, hey...are you trying to tell me I need a Pokemon I'm going to babysit for?" He joked.Udonna laughed indulgently. "Of course not, Nick. Kangaskhan don't let anyone touch their offspring. I just think she'd be great at...giving you a little more help watching your back."Nick studied the stern, grumpy looking Pokemon and smiled indulgently at Udonna as he got it back into the Pokeball. "Thanks, Udonna. I really appreciate it." He gestured. "I, uh, gotta go. Toby already thinks we slack off enough without me being late for my shift." "Of course, Nick." Udonna patted his arm and walked off to...wherever she disappeared to. Nick put a hand on Eevee to hold him in and let Rattata hang onto his shirt as he took off to the Rockporium, hoping he wasn't too late. ---------- Nick laid in bed with Xander, hugging him around the waist as Xander laid half on top of him. Both were naked after their love making and were relaxing quietly, in no hurry to do anything else. Nick's Pokemon were in other parts of the house playing with Xander's and he idly heard them moving around and making various happy noises. He'd check on them later after he maybe took a shower and got something to eat. It was close to their bedtime anyway so he'd tuck them in and get them settled and then maybe talk Xander into another round before bed themselves. Xander pushed away from him and sat up, smiling down at him. "As good as birthday sex is, mate, and I loved it, don't get me wrong, even if I am gonna be walkin' funny for a while." Nick laughed incredulously, feeling his skin flush. He swatted at Xander who swatted back at him playfully. "I got you something." He said. He pushed himself off the bed and Nick admired his nude form as he rooted around in the hoodie he'd discarded earlier. He pulled something out of the pocket and tossed it at him.Nick used his reflexes and caught it, barely and looked down at it. "You got me a Pokemon?" He asked, grinning widely."Yeah, I thought you could use another." Xander slipped into bed. "Maybe don't let it out right now in here though." "Afraid of it seeing us undressed?" Nick joked."Nah, mate, that's not it. You know I've got no shame." He nudged him. "Just trust me." He eyed the other man and before Xander could stop him, he clicked the button. Xander yelped and went wide eyed as the Ursaring took shape and let out a loud growl as she looked around for a fight.Nick let out a scream and pushed Xander off the bed, scrambling off with him to half hide under it. "You could've told me it was an Ursaring!" "I didn't know you'd be lettin' her out all willy nilly like that!" He yelled back. Both men jumped when Ursaring picked the bed up and Nick scrambled back and jerked Xander with him."When we aren't in danger of getting mauled to death, I'm going to kill you, Xander!" Nick promised.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Xander got his first Pokemon a few weeks after moving to the US. His parents realized he wasn't fitting in very well and thought he needed something to help lessen the blow of being in a strange country and not making friends very quickly. They'd celebrated his birthday back in Australia, so they could celebrate with friends and family, before moving to the states, so Xander wasn't expecting to be given the Pokeball one day after he got home from school looking disheveled and dispondent. He kicked his shoes off by the front door in his usual spot and hung up his backpack, having hid in the bathroom the last period, his free period, to do his homework so he didn't have any when he got home. "Xan, come here, I have something for you." His mom said, and Xander wandered over to her curiously. She smiled at him and pressed a Pokeball in his hand. "A Pokeball? But..." He looked up at her wide eyed."You need a friend." She said, cutting off whatever he was going to say. "Go on, see what it is." Xander clicked the button on the front of the Pokeball and when the Pokemon took form, his mom handed him a Pokedex to use. He pointed it at the Pokemon and pressed the button. "Komala, the Drowsing Pokemon. A Normal type. Since its Ability is Comatose, Komala is always asleep. The log it clings to is a gift from its early days. It is said that Komala's behavior comes from a dream that it's having." He looked up at her with a smile. "I thought she was dead so that's a relief!" He yelped when the Komala, who didn't have a log to cling to, rolled in her sleep until she attached herself to Xander's arm. His mom laughed and gently swatted at him. "I hope you like her, sweetheart." "I love her!" He beamed. "I think I'll call her Zoe." ---------- Udonna suggested Xander get a second Pokemon just after he got cured from being a tree. It had taken a lot out of him and Udonna knew the poor boy needed a pick me up, so she tasked him with it, even though he had Komala and they were close, despite the Pokemon being asleep all the time. Xander didn't really do anything about it at first, stubbornly thinking that he just needed Komala and nothing else. But the more he thought about it, the more he thought maybe Udonna had a point. Nick had more than one Pokemon and so did Vida so...maybe he could look into it.A few days later he walked into Rootcore after begging off work. He saw Udonna who was helping Claire learn a few magical spells with little result. "I did it." He said. "Look." He gestured to the Slakoth that was resting in his arm on one side, while he carried Zoe attached to a limb with the oppoosite hand. "Oh, Xander!" Udonna laughed, quite amused by his choice. "Well I'd say you very well have a type, don't you?""What'd you name this one, Xander?" Clare asked. He looked over at her and his eyes went wide when he noticed she had a full beard for some reason."Uh..." He trailed off and shook his head clear. "Ava." "Well she's very sweet." Udonna said gently. "I hope she makes you happy." As Xander left Rootcore, Udonna murmured a spell of protection and sent it toward the two Pokemon. ---------- The Rangers walked up to go out of Rootcore back to the main Briarwood area and stopped short, seeing a Snorlax in the way. Each of them looked at each other and then back at the Snorlax, wondering how they were going to get past it to get out. Nick looked at the watch on his wrist and made a face, seeing they only had a few minutes until they had to be at work so they had to move fast."I got this." Xander held a hand up and confidently walked forward. He poked the Pokemon's foot with his own. "Mate, I'm gonna need you to move." He said in a loud, clear voice. "We need to get past ya and we need to get out of here like right now, so go on and skedaddle and take a nap elsewhere." The Snorlax didn't move."I guess Plan Xander didn't work." Nick offered, a little amused."Big shock there, when does it ever?" Vida folded her arms over her chest. "Alright well I guess I'll do it the old fashioned way." Xander handed Ava over to Maddie and took a Pokeball out of his pocket."You know that may not work, right, Xander?" Nick frowned. "And besides, what do you want a Snorlax for?" "To go along with the other two Pokemon he has that do nothing but sleep!" Chip chirped and Xander flashed him a deadpan look before he turned back around and threw the Pokeball at the Snorlax, who didn't even try to bat it away and was soon safely inside."Alright, another victory for the Xan-Man!" Xander beamed as he picked the Pokeball up. "We can get out of here now, all thanks to me." Vida rolled her eyes and pushed by him. "So glad you again want to praise yourself for doing the minimum of effort." She quipped. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Xander followed after her. "Evie here will be a great addition to my team, you'll see." "Evie?!" She exclaimed just as she passed through to Briarwood, causing the others to cackle quietly at their antics. ---------- Nick returned the favor of Xander getting him Ursaring the next time Xander's birthday came around. They had a party to celebrate with the others and Xander had a really good time with all of his friends and loved ones there (even if Phineas did bring a trout and huckleberry cake that no one was brave enough to try a piece of, except Toby, who immediately rushed out of the room, and Phineas himself, who pronounced it a 'good bake'...Nick blamed it on he and Maddie watching the Great British Bake Off together). They laughed and had a great time until late in the night when everyone left. After a round of really great birthday sex, Nick tossed a Pokeball at him.Xander, little smart shit he was, eyed it and laughed. "Why don't you just tell me what's in it? I don't know that I trust you." "Let's just say I got you something that will explode at enemies if you need it to." Nick rolled onto his back, and Xander chuckled.Curiosity won out in the end and he let the Pokemon out. He yelped when he saw that it was a Pineco and he grimaced. "Damn, damn, damn!" "Call it back, dude, call it back, before it explodes!" Nick whacked him on the arm and Xander quickly called the Pokemon back into the Pokeball. "Thank God we didn't scare little Chloe before I got her contained again." Xander sighed.Nick groaned and buried his face in a pillow, laughing to himself while calling Xander an asshole.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Casey got his first Pokemon on his way to the Pai Zhua Academy. He hadn't been looking to get a Pokemon, but once he came upon the small female Pidgey being picked on by a few Geodudes, he had to intervene. "Hey!" He called out, getting the attention of the Rock types. "Don't pick on that poor Pidgey, go on!" He stepped forward, swinging down his backpack from his back. He adopted a fighting stance, even though he hadn't been going to training for very long and glared at them openly, hoping that just his confident attitude would get them to go away and leave them alone.Sadly Casey was wrong. The Geodudes flew at him and he ducked a few of their attacks, moving around fluidly. He kicked out at one and sent it flying into another and jumped back as one flew at him, causing it to crash into a tree that was nearby. Adrenaline coursed through him as he fought, not thinking about anything but protecting the poor Normal/Flying type Pokemon. It wasn't fair that these Rock types were picking on it and as long as Casey could fight back, he wasn't going to stand by and let that happen. Finally, he sent the Geodudes flying away and he looked over at the Pidgey who was staring at him in awe. "Are you ok?" He walked over quickly and bent down, stroking the soft downy feathers of the bird Pokemon. Pidgey flinched a little and he pulled back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you hurt?" Pidgey toddled over to him and he saw a few of her feathers were at an odd angle. He gently picked her up and held her to his stomach, putting his backpack back over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to Master Mao, he'll know what to do." He walked off quickly, making sure not to jostle the poor thing.Pidgey healed up quickly and by the time Dai Shi rose to power, she decided to stay with Casey, and they made a formidable team. ---------- Casey startled when there was a loud bang followed by a few gasps coming from the main room at Jungle Karma Pizza. He was in the back handling everything while RJ had taken Theo out for training and Lily was resting, shaking off the last dregs of a particularly vicious cold that had overcome her that took her a while, between Ranger duties, to shake. He looked over at Pidgey who was sitting on a perch RJ had put out for her to stay on while Casey was in the kitchen and made a face. He wiped his hands off on his apron and walked out to see what was going on. He saw the front door wide open, which was strange and saw a few people staring at a Purugly that was standing on a table, helping herself to some pizza.A couple of the people at the table attempted to chase her off, but she just hissed and fluffed her body up, intimidating them into leaving her alone.Casey stepped forward and smiled disarmingly. "It's ok, let me." He reached over to the Purugly and gently stroked her. "Shhhh, sweetheart. It's ok. Did you come in because you're hungry? Smells really good in here, doesn't it?" He picked the Normal type Pokemon up and cradled her to him. "Come on, I have some Magikarp in the back, I'll slice you up some and let you have your fill." He looked at the harrassed looking people. "I'm so sorry, I'll comp your meal and replace your pizza, just...give me about 20 minutes." He debated on asking Lily to come help, but decided against it. He put Purugly down out of the way and gave her the Magikarp to munch on before he got to making the pizza.Later on, after RJ had come back and Casey filled him in, RJ told him he'd done the right thing and Casey preened a little. He got Pidgey and started to take off to train himself, when he noticed Purugly following him, making noises of protest at how fast he was going.Casey laughed to himself and bent down. "Are you sticking with me then? Ok, well...come on." He picked her up on his arm and let her hang over his shoulder as he started off again, humming to himself. ---------- Theo got Casey his third Pokemon after their defeat of Slickgon. He'd just come back to JKP and tied on his apron when Theo tossed the Pokeball at him. Theo yelped and fumbled to catch it, causing Theo to scoff at him. "Some martial artist you are." He cracked.Used to Theo's almost constant consternation, Casey ignored it. "What's this for?" "I got you a Pokemon, I thought you needed one that would keep little kids from stealing money from you." Theo smirked at him.Casey rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks, but that worked itself out. What is it?" "Open it and find out." Theo offered. "Just don't make it angry." Casey eyed him curiously and looked down at Purugly who was more into trying to get Theo to give her scraps (a lost cause) and then at Pidgey, who was on her perch fluffing her feathers and preening them. So he just shrugged to himself and clicked the button."Vileplume!" The Grass/Poison type chirped happily as it burst out of the Pokeball and landed in front of Casey.He laughed and bent down to the Pokemon. "Well look at you, hi sweetheart." He held a hand out to Vileplume who came over and nuzzled against him, grabbing onto his fingers. "Aren't you adorable? But you look like a lover, not a fighter." "Yeah my luck." Theo muttered.Casey again ignored him and smirked as he picked the Pokemon up. "Come on, let's go show you to RJ, maybe he'll let you hang out while I work." ---------- RJ got Casey his last Pokemon just after Casey earned his master stripes. He'd requested RJ take him out for more training, and after hemming and hawing in that special RJ way, he'd left Dom in charge of JKP (and Fran in charge of Dom) and took Casey out in the woods to train. They actually did train, to Casey's shock, and after a couple of hours, both had worked up a sweat. Both had stripped out of their shirts and RJ insisted they take a break for a bit. "I know you're very gung ho about the new stripes, Casey, and I'm very impressed at your new found attitude, but I'm older than you, I need a break." He said in his own RJ sort of way.Casey laughed quietly and sipped from a bottle of water. "Sorry, RJ." He offered. "But I don't fully believe you, I mean you routinely kick my, Lily's and Theo's ass on a regular basis." RJ shrugged. "Yes, but it's good to not over do things." He pointed out, sipping from some strange liquid he called 'tea' but smelled to Casey like raw sewage mixed with herbs. They were silent for a few moments before Casey saw RJ move out of the corner of his eye. He looked over at him and saw that he was holding a Pokeball out to him. "You, too?" "I think you're ready for something a little more hands on." RJ informed him. He looked down at Vileplume and smiled. "Not that you don't do a very good job at protecting him little dudette." "She knows." Casey promised. He took the Pokeball and let the Pokemon out, curious to what it was. When he saw the weird looking Pokemon in front of him he took out his Pokedex and pointed it at it."Toxicroak!" It chirped. "The Toxic Mouth Pokemon and the evolved form of Croagunk. The poison produced in its sacks is carried through tubes in its arms to its knuckle claws." "It's a she." RJ offered. "The Pokedex can't tell you that." "Amazing." Casey breathed out, looking the Toxicroak over. She was almost as tall as Casey and looked equal parts intimidating and laid back. She sort of reminded him of RJ himself. "What can she do?" RJ stood up and held a hand out to help Casey up. "Let's find out."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Lily got her first Pokemon as a young child. She started dance classes because she was very shy as a child and her parents thought it would do her some good, so they put her in dance classes until she was old enough to take martial arts classes. Lily loved it immediately. She made friends easily, despite how shy and quiet she could be at times and her parents watched her blossom into someone more confident in herself and the world around her. Her dance teacher got her, her first Pokemon. It was a policy she had, and she had a deal with the local PokeCenter to adopt the Pokemon she wanted for her students and they'd let her have them, wanting to get them good homes. She was given a Roserade and Lily loved the Grass/Poison type immediately. Not only was she a pretty Pokemon, but she was a great dancer as well and Lily spent hours with her practicing her dance moves. They became close very quickly and where Lily went, Roserade went. ---------- Lily didn't get her second Pokemon until after she met Theo once she moved on from dancing more toward martial arts. She joined the Pai Zhua Academy and she and Theo sort of gravitated toward each other and started being friends. The first few years in the Academy were tough but they got through it together. His friendship was really important to her, because she knew without it she wouldn't have been able to get as good as she did in the Academy as quickly as she did. She and Theo pushed each other to get better and move up in the ranks. After a couple of years of friendship Theo came over to her the day after her birthday as they were getting ready for class that day. "I got you something." "Theo!" She exclaimed. "I told you that you didn't haver to do that." "I wanted to and I did so you have to take it." He said in that way he did which was supposed to be playful, but had an edge to it. She was used to his ways, sometimes just as awkward as she was. "What is it?" She asked. When he handed her a Pokeball she looked at it in shock. "Theo! A Pokemon?" "Yeah to go with Roserade." Theo looked down at the Pokemon at her side. Lily beamed and let the Pokemon out, gasping when she saw it. "Oh an Altaria! Oh Theo thank you!" She wrapped him up in a hug. "I love her, she's amazing!" Theo smiled lightly as he hugged her back. "I'm glad." He said sincerely. ----------- Lily got her third Pokemon on the way back from Master Phant's house. She was listening to Altaria sing and watching Roserade dance around with it, feeling pretty good about how things had turned out. She knew the Master would help them in the end, she just needed to find common ground with the man. She was excited to learn the ways of the Master and knew that it would help against the fight with Dai Shi in the long run.She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked over, seeing a pretty dinosaur-like Pokemon. It was various shades of dark and light blue with white almost wing like appendages protruding from its head and crystal looking things down its side. Lily loved it immediately and thought to herself that this was her chance to get her own Pokemon, the first one of that sort. Sneaking her hand into her pocket, she grasped a Pokeball that RJ had gifted her incase she wanted to have her own Pokemon one day. She held it for a few moments, gathering up her courage.Taking a breath, she pulled it out and whipped it at the Pokemon quickly. When she caught it she cheered, as did Altaria and Roserade, excited for their human.Lily raced over and grabbed the Pokeball and let the Pokemon out. Taking out her Pokedex, she pointed it at the Pokemon and pressed the button. "Aurorus, the dual type Rock/Ice Pokemon. This Fossil Pokemon's diamond shaped crystals on its body expel air as cold as -240 degrees Farenheit, surrounding its enemies and encasing them in ice." It intoned."OH!" Lily gasped, eyes widening. "Well you sure pack a punch, huh?" The Aurorus chirped sweetly and she smiled, rubbing her side gently. "Come on, let's go show the others." She said, excited to see what they'd say about her first caught Pokemon. ---------- Camille got Lily her forth Pokemon, what would become her last one. Dai Shi had been defeated and she and Jarrod joined Casey's classes at the Pai Zhua Academy. She came into JKP where Lily was still working one day and ordered a pizza, asking Lily to take a break and join her for a bit. She hadn't had one that day, so she agreed and let RJ know before she went and sat down with her former nemesis. They made small talk for a while, with Lily asking about her classes and how she was doing. She admitted that she and Jarrod were 'growing closer' and she thought that it may be going somewhere. Lily was happy for her and let her know it."I got you something, I wanted to thank you for...you know...not writing me off and becoming a real, true friend." Camille looked a little awkward, playing with the red pepper flakes on the table, not really looking at Lily."Camille, you didn't have to do that." Lily put a hand on her arm."I know, I wanted to." She looked up at her. She'd started wearing her makeup in a much softer look and it brought out her natural beauty and Lily briefly thought that she and Jarrod would make a very striking couple. "Here." She pressed a Pokeball into Lily's hand. Lily looked down at it and back up at her. "What is it?" "It's a Milotic, don't let it out in here." She said. "It'll grow really big probably. They can soothe anger and make peace between people." Lily was very touched by the gesture and thought briefly that Camille was projecting her feelings onto the Pokemon. She leaned over and hugged the other woman though."Thank you so much." She said sincerely. "I appreciate it." Later on that day, on her way back to her apartment, she let Milotic out and marveled over how gorgeous she was. The Pokemon floated in the air close to her and Lily stroked her gently. "You couldn't have come at a better time." She chuckled.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
K got her first Pokemon after an indeterminate time in Alphabet Soup. She was kept mostly in isolation, with the agents coming in to vist with her and teach her the only company she ever got. It was a pretty lonely existence, but K quickly got over the loneliness and became far more self-reliant. She realized she didn't need the company of others to feel satisfied, and that she could entertain herself with the various things she was left with, such as her computers, her violion, or a host of other things she was allowed to have in her room. A part of her longed to go out and bask in the sun she remembered from before she came to Alphabet Soup, but with her allergy, she knew she couldn't do that.An agent came in one day as she was practicing her violin and smiled at her. "K, I have something for you." She said. "We've decided to reward you for your compliance in helping us by giving you a Pokemon." K knew all about Pokemon, who didn't? She was excited, but was careful not to show too much of it. They didn't like her getting too 'exciteable and difficult' and she didn't want to squander the opportunity."Would you like it?" She asked."Yes, of course, please." K said, looking up at her cooly. The agent placed the Pokeball in her hand and she pressed the button, letting the Pokemon out. It was a strange looking Pokemon that resembled four interlocking gears, with six teeth on the smaller two gears and eight teeth on the larger gear. The fourth gear was on its lower side, and is red-topped with a thin, spiked rim below it.The agent gave her a Pokedex and left her alone. K pointed it at the Pokemon and the Pokedex chirped before spitting out information."Klinklang, the Gear Pokmon and the final evolved form of Klink. Klinklang uses its spikes to fire charged energy into its environment, using its red core as an energy tank." It said. K committed that to memory, thinking maybe one day she'd be able to use that to her advantage somehow. ---------- K was given her second Pokemon just after she started on an AI friend for herself that she called Venjix. The agents didn't seem to know about it, but also seemed to be in pretty good spirits when they came to visit her. On top of that she worked with Klinklang, learning its abilities and what she could do with it. She was forming a plan, slowly but surely, and knew she needed just the right time to put it in motion. She couldn't do anything too hastily, because she knew she wouldn't get another chance and she didn't want to mess anything up.She'd also gotten two others that joined her at Alphabet Soup, Gem and Gemma, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to her new really good friends, she cherished their friendship more than just about anything, even if they were a little strange and co-dependent for siblings. She didn't want to do anything to mess things up for them.The agent came in just as she was finishing up training with Klinklang and she sat down, acting innocent like she was getting ready to practice her violin or something. "K, we've decided to give you another Pokemon." "You did?" She questioned, taken aback. She wasn't sure what she'd been doing right to be able to get a reward like this."Yes." She was given the Pokeball and stared at it as the agent left her alone again.Snapping out of her thoughts, she clicked the button and waited for the Pokemon to take shape before she pointed her Pokedex at it."Metang, the Iron Claw Pokemon. Metang is the evolved form of Beldum. Its highly developed intellect and strong metallic force allow it to create powerful psychic energy." It told her.K stared at the Pokemon thoughtfully, her mind going a mile a minute. ---------- K managed to flee the Alphabet Soup facility, using Metang and Klinklang to cause as much destruction as she could on the way out. Unfortunately they didn't let her put in the containment virus to Venjix and she knew soon enough it would take over the world. She fled to a warehouse and let out her Pokemon, scoffing at how she very obviously didn't have an allergy to the sun like she was told, bordering it up with them as best as she could, her mind going a mile a minute to try and figure out what she needed to do next. She made up her mind to make a team of Power Rangers, heroes she knew of from other realities from Alphabet Soup, knowing they would be her best bet in containing the Venjix virus. She just hoped it wasn't too late. Once she had the plan in mind, she walked further into the building and gasped when she saw a very large Steel type Pokemon in the space as well, glaring down at her. She took out her Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon. "Steelix." It said. "The Iron Snake Pokemon. Steelix is the evolved form of Onix. It has been compressed underground making its body harder than diamonds." K frowned and waved a hand at Steelix. "I need this space so we're going to have to co-exist." She said sternly. Steelix growled at her menacingly, bowing up to his full height, trying to intimidate her. K didn't have time for intimidation though."Metang, Klinklang, take care of that for me." She instructed.She ignored the battle as best as she could, coming up with a plan to spruce the place up. She needed to get computer servers up and running so she could make the Power Rangers technology and suits, thinking up a nice polymer to make it out of...definitely not spandex. She made a face to herself. She hated spandex.Once the battle was over and Steelix fainted, K thought it over. She knew she needed another big Pokemon that could take on Venjix and its forces once it built them up. So she took out a Pokeball she'd swiped from one of the agents and caught it, putting it in her pocket."There." She said to herself. "That gives me much more room." ---------- K looked up from her desk in the new school when she saw someone walking into her office. She saw Scott, Dillon, Flynn and Summer standing there, smiling at her, Gem and Gemma in the doorway, smiling brightly as well. "Hello." She got up from her chair and walked over to them. "What are you all doing here? I thought you had your own things to do." She tried not to sound too upset at that, too bitter. It was just that she'd grown close to the former Rangers over their time together and she was having trouble processing the fact that they wouldn't be in her life much anymore. She didn't do all that well with change and couldn't put into words how much she'd miss them. They'd all changed her life for the better, if they realized it or not."We do, but not yet." Summer told her. "We wanted to come give you something first.""What?" K asked, stepping closer to them.Dillon smiled and stepped closer to her as well and he gently took her hand and slipped something into it, squeezing her hand briefly before letting it go. She looked down and saw a Pokeball resting in her palm. "You got me a Pokemon?" K asked, startled."We know you have Steelix, and Klinklang and Metang." Flynn piped up, his brogue as thick as ever. "But we all thought it'd be nice to give you a Pokemon from all of us. Something to help you remember we'll always be there for you, even if we aren't around sometimes."Sometimes, that implied they'd come back. That filled K with hope for the first time since she realized everyone was making plans to leave and go do their own thing. "Well aren't you going to see what it is?" Dillion asked playfully."Yeah K." Gem beamed at her."Open it and look." Gemma finished. K stepped back from them all and let the Pokemon out. It was a large Pokemon and she wasn't sure what it was besides a Steel type. She took her Pokedex from her pocket and pointed at it."Mega Aggron." It chirped. "Mega Aggron is able to destroy a steel tank." K smiled at that, watching the Pokemon nose around the room. "I love it, thank you all." She said as sincerely as she was able. "Dad said you could bring it to play with some old tanks sometime if you wanted." Scott piped up. "Definitely and maybe I could take it out to race around, get some exercise." Dillon said. "And you could ride with me of course."K smiled softly. "I'd like that." Impulsively she hugged herself to him and after a moment, he hugged her back. Pretty soon the others joined in and she fought to keep the tears of happiness from her eyes.She was finally happy.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dillon raced toward Corinth in the Fury, his hands clenching on the wheel. His mind went a mile a minute, thinking about everything he needed to do. Escaping Venjix's forces wasn't easy, but he knew if he just got to Corinth, he'd be somewhat safe at least. He didn't know much about himself, had many holes in his memories, making it more like Swiss cheese than a brain, but his instincts told him he needed to get away to survive, and that's what drove him. He couldn't afford to be distracted by anything, and he didn't let his mind look around at the environment around him, because he knew if he did, he'd lose sight of what he needed to do.He glanced over when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and at first he wrote it off as a weird rock formation, but the closer he looked, the more he noticed that the rock formation was moving and that's what distracted him. It turned around and he saw that it wasn't a rock formation at all, but a Cloyster, all alone out in the middle of nowhere.Cursing violently, he pulled over and hopped out, going over to it. "What the hell are you doing out here?" He asked. "Don't you know you aren't safe?" Cloyster looked up at him and he let out a quiet mournful sound, causing Dillon to curse again. "You're drying out." He said knowingly. "God I feel so stupid talking to a Cloyster." Bending down, he picked the Cloyster up and grunted. He could tell that it weighed a lot, but for some reason it wasn't much to him. He carried it over to his car, putting it in the passenger seat. "We're going to get to Corinth, and then you're on your own." He got in and buckled up, speeding off again, seeing the big domed city in the distance.He didn't realize that not only would Cloyster stay with him, but on the way to Corinth he'd meet one of the people that would change his life forever. ---------- Dr. K gave Dillon hs second Pokemon, which was strange all around. They weren't exactly what he'd call close, Dr. K wasn't close to anyone, and neither was Dillon, but despite all that, she tracked him down in his room in the garage, knocking brisquely on the door as he was stewing in his thoughts as Summer liked to say. Sitting up, he looked over at the closed door, grimacing as he tried to figure out who it was. Cloyster sat smugly on the end of his bed and let out a quiet sound in response and Dillon rolled his eyes."What?" He called out.Dr. K walked in, her steps brusque and concise as always and Dillon raised an eyebrow at her. "I have something for you, Ranger Operator Series Black." She said."Do you? What?" He asked. "A taze? More spandex?" "IT'S NOT SPANDEX!" She yelled at him and he fought down a grin as she visibly calmed herself before she threw something at him. It was a terrible throw and he easily caught it, staring down at the Pokeball in his hand."Where'd you get this?" He asked."I asked Rager Operator Series Red to ask his father to procure it for me." She admitted."You asked Scott to ask his daddy to get a Pokemon for me?" Dillon laughed. "Oh I bet that went over well." "As he put it, I sort of badgered him into it." Dr. K shrugged. "I merely just stated my reasoning until he was convinced to do as I asked.""Sounds like badgering to me." Dillon quipped. "So what is it?" "Come out to the main area, and you can see." Dr. K turned around and walked out.Getting up quickly, Dillon grabbed Cloyster and followed her. "You didn't get me a Steelix did you?" "No, why would I do that? There's not enough room." Dr. K pointed out. "And before you ask, it's not an Onix either, I know you prefer ice types." "I do not have a preference either way." Dillon made a face.Dr. K turned around and looked at Cloyster, and then up at him and then raised her eyebrow as if that was all the argument she needed. Dillon rolled his eyes. "Go on." She said, once they got down to the main room. He saw Flynn working on one of the vehicles off to the side, but the others were nowhere to be found. "Look and see what it is." Dillon put Cloyster down and looked down at him. "You'll protect me if I need it, right? I saved your ass." Cloyster let out an affirmative noise and Dillon snorted.He looked around for a big bare spot just in case and he clicked the button toward it, watching as the Pokemon took shape...and took shape...and took shape. Once it did, he looked at Dr. K in confusion."Avalugg." She said. "The Iceberg Pokemon, and the evolved form of Bergmite. Avalugg's ice covered body is hard as steel. It uses its body to demolish any obstacle that gets in its way." She sounded like she was reciting information from the Pokedex she carried in her labcoat pocket and he grinned."Well...thanks, Dr. K." He said sincerely. "I, uh...I'm sure he'll come in handy. Is it gendered?""It is a he." She confirmed. "As you were." She turned and walked off and Dillon looked up and caught Flynn's eye as he was gaping over at the large Pokemon."Fucking hell." The Scotsman blurted out, which Dillon thought summed up things pretty well. ---------- Scott got Dillon his third Pokemon, which again, weird. Well, more like he walked in randomly and threw a Pokeball at Dillon's head. It was just after Scott chained him up while the others looked for help to make sure Dillon's bionic implants didn't take over his body and things had calmed down for the moment. Things still weighed heavily on him, more than he wanted to really admit that it was, and he found himself constantly thinking about things and wondering how they were all going to work out in the end. He knew he couldn't accurately predict anything, but he couldn't help but think about it anyway.Catching the Pokeball, Dillon looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Scott just grinned at him before walking off. Dillon looked over at Cloyster, the only Pokemon of his he kept out of the Pokeball, since Avalugg was too big to fit inside the garage comfortably and the Pokemon blinked slowly back at him. Dillon liked to think they were having a silent conversation that was more one sided on both parts than anything since he wasn't sure what Cloyster was trying to tell him.Finally, he decided to bite the bullet and he let the Pokemon out, wondering what it was.He grabbed the Pokedex once it was fully formed and pointed it at it, using it like Dr. K had showed him. "Beartic, the Freezing Pokemon." It said. "Beartic's frozen breath can create fangs and claws made of ice. it lives in frigid northern areas.""I do not have an Ice type." He muttered to himself. He got up and looked at Beartic. "Hungry?" He asked, leading him out to the main room toward the kitchen.Flynn, who was in there making himself a smoothie, looked up and went wide eyed when he saw the Pokemon."Fucking hell." He blurted out, quickly moving out of the way. ---------- Dillon got his last Pokemon on his own. He made his way to the newly formed PokeCenter after Corinth had opened up once the Venjix virus was taken care of. Cloyster, Avalugg and Beartic were great, he enjoyed their company even, but they were battle Pokemon and Tenaya and Summer both urged him to get a Pokemon 'for himself'. He went to K after the talk with them and she, too, said that it would be nice if he had a 'frivilous' Pokemon that just 'made him happy'. He wondered which of her Pokemon was that for her, but when he asked her, she just flashed him a smile and said 'isn't it obvious?'That didn't help.So he made his way to the PokeCenter and sat down, taking their stupid test that took him far too long to complete. When he got to the question of 'is there a type you prefer' he almost ticked the box that said 'no preference' but found himself ticking the Ice type one instead, although he did roll his eyes at himself afterward.When he got to the question that asked why he wanted a Pokemon, he ticked leisure, and it felt strange, and he almost erased it. But he held fast and didn't. It took about an hour before he was called back and handed a Pokeball. He awkwardly thanked the technician or whatever they were called and made his way out of the Center, letting the Pokemon out of the Pokeball.A male Glaceon looked up at him and let out a quiet noise before tackling him to the ground. He tensed immediately, ready to throw the Pokemon off of him and demand a refund or another Pokemon, but he realized that the Pokemon was nuzzling against him. He raised his hands from the ground and gently stroked the Pokemon, delighting in the sounds it made in response.For the first time in a long time, Dillon smiled.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chase got his first Pokemon from his mother. He'd just gotten an offer to join the staff at the Amber Beach museum as a janitor, going on Pokemontology digs with their lead scientist Dr. Kendall Morgan when needed and he decided to take the position. It was a new adventure and he knew that the job would afford him the chance to help his mom with bills back home in New Zealand so she could keep herself and his sister Chloe living well. It was a bittersweet decision, because he would miss them both so much, but he knew this was an opportunity he couldn't miss out on. He stood in his room packing a few last things when she came in, knocking on the door frame. He looked up and flashed her a small smile as she walked over and hugged him. "I'm going to miss you, Chasey." "I'm going to miss you, too, mumma." He murmured, hugging her back just as tightly. "I'll get back to visit as often as I can." "I know you will." She promised. "I have something for you to take to America with you, to help watch over you so you don't get into any trouble."Chase laughed. "Mum, you didn't have to do that." "I did, it's my prerogative as a mother." She poked him on the nose and handed him a Pokeball. "You got me a Pokemon?" He blurted out, wide eyed and excited like a child on Christmas morning."I did." She laughed. "Go on, see what it is. I hope I did well."Chase let the Pokemon out in the middle of the room and was delighted when he saw that it was a Bulbasaur. Grass and Water types seemed to be prevalent all through New Zealand and he always preferred the Grass types. His mum pressed a button on a Pokedex at the Bulbasaur, even though Chase knew all about it, he humored her though. "Bulbasaur." It recited. "It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or an animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and difficult to catch in the wild." "Extremely calm, huh?" He joked. "Well that'd be a good balance for me." His mom laughed and swatted at him, leaving him alone with his new little Pokemon friend to get acquainted. ---------- Chase took advantage of his rare off day a few weeks after arriving to America by getting his new apartment together. He was taking advantage of the warm California environment and had all the windows open, letting in the small breeze that was being swept up outside. His Bulbasaur followed him around as Chase unpacked things and found places to put everything. Since it was so warm he wore just a pair of grey cut off shorts, and every once in a while used a spray bottle to spritz down Bulbasaur, who was sitting out on his small balcony sunning herself. "Bulby, do you want to come with me to put out the recyclin'?" He asked, smiling down at her. He had a small bag of rubbish to throw away as well, but two bigger bags of recycling to put out. "Bulbasaur!" She chirped, hopping down from her perch on a wrought iron chair. She followed him out front and he put out the bags, flashing a smile at one of his neighbors who was out watering her flowers, laughing quietly when she just stared at him, spraying down the fence behind her begonias instead of the flowers themselves. He knew he was attractive, and he didn't so much as flaunt it, as he was comfortable in his own body. If others thought he was aesthetically pleasing, all the better.Starting back toward his apartment building, he wound up stepping on something with his bare foot. He cursed a blue streak as he stumbled down onto the sidewalk and caught himself before he did any damage. He heard a loud yelp of pain not coming from him and he turned over and sat up to see where it came from. He saw a weird looking Pokemon sitting there, looking pained, and upset. It had quill looking things protruding from it, which is what he must've stepped on.He took his cell out of his pocket and pulled up the Pokedex app and pointed it at the Pokemon, reading the information on the screen."Quilladin." He read out loud as Bulbasaur looked over his shoulder. "The Spiny Armor Pokemon and the evolved form of Chespin. The hard shell covering Quilladin's body is so tough, a direct hit from a large truck wouldn't even dent it. Quilladin uses this hard shell to deflect foes attacks, and it strikes back with its sharp quills." He looked up at the sniffling Pokemon and felt his heart breaking. "Well I guess we injured each other, huh. Come on, come here, darlin'." He gently picked her up. "I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was walking. How about we go inside and I'll let you relax and have a bite to nibble on while I patch up my foot?"The Grass type Pokemon looked up at him and let out a quiet noise of agreement. So he smiled and stood up, keeping his weight off of his foot until he could check it over. He started back to the apartment and Bulbasuar grabbed Quilladin from him. Chase looked down curiously, wondering what was going on and he smiled when he saw Bulbasaur rocking the small Pokemon as they walked, causing Quilladin to calm down and start giggling. It made Chase smile. ---------- Chase muttered to himself as he walked out the back of the museum carrying two large bags of trash. Sometimes he felt like a glorified trash man and if it wasn't for all the good he did as a Power Ranger and the friendships he'd made because of it, he'd wonder if being in America was even worth it. He could be back home doing the same thing. Of course he was a Power Ranger and he did have the friendships he did, so he didn't want to complain too much about the work he did around the museum. He was only on trash duty for the moment until his shift at the Dino Bite Cafe came up in a couple of hours.He noticed a strange sweet smelling stench near the dumpster and he threw the bags in, heading around to investigate. "What is that?" He wondered as he looked down at Bulbasaur and Quilladin. They looked back at him and Quilladin raced around the side, letting out a sound of exclamation. He chased after her and stopped in his tracks, seeing an Alolan Muk sitting there eating garbage from a large rotted hole in the back of the dumpster. She looked over at him when she noticed Chase and he stepped back instinctively, wondering if Kendall would kill him if he morphed in the face of an intimidating Pokemon.Instead he acted on instinct and grabbed a Pokeball out of his pocket and threw it at the Pokemon. When it caught and rolled at his foot, he bent and picked it up, wincing."What am I going to do with an Alolan Muk?" He asked himself, dismayed.Of course a few days later he saw the upside to it all when he let her out and she chased Poisandra around. Watching the overly pink alien being run around yelling 'oh yuck! Get it away! Get it away!' really made going up against the hoard of Vivix worth it. Especially when he heard Kendall giggling quietly over the comms. ---------- Kendall got Chase his fourth Pokemon and he wouldn't realize until later it was a test. They were still looking for energems and she trusted Tyler as the Red Ranger, but knew he needed a second in command. Technically, Chase had been on the team longer than all of them, but he was more a follower than a leader. Kendall saw something in him that he didn't quite see in himself, though so one day as he was about to leave the lair for the day, she called for him to wait a second. He walked over to her and leaned against her desk. "What's up, Miss Morgan?" He folded his arms over his chest.Kendall held a Pokeball up to him. "Here." She said. "Consider this an early birthday present." "Six months early?" He asked, amused, as he took it and looked it over."I have a terrible memory so this is my get out of jail free card." She offered.He knew that literally couldn't be further from the truth, but he let it go, letting the Pokemon out. He didn't know what it was at first, so he pointed his phone at it and read the information."Dartrix." He muttered. "A bit of a dandy, it spends its free time preening its wings. Its preoccupation with any dirt on its plumage can leave it unable to battle. This narcissistic Pokemon is a clean freak. If you don't groom it diligently, it will stop listening to you. Supremely sensitive to the presence of others, it can detect opponents standing behind it, flinging its sharp feathers to take them out. A Trainer who will help this Pokemon through this difficult stage will allow it to reach its full strength." "Sounds a bit like you, doesn't it?" Kendall flashed him a small smile.Chase frowned. "Are you calling me vain, Miss Morgan?" "Something.like that." Kendall said, not telling him that wasn't at all what she meant. "I think you can work things out in the end though.""Thanks." Chase eyed her. "I think." He did understand what Kendall meant in the end though and when he was on his way back to New Zealand after the defeat of Sledge, he smiled at Kendall, who'd brought him to the airport. Dartrix had evolved into Decidueye and she and Chase were a lethal combo together. He adjusted his carry on and smiled softly at her. "It's not goodbye." He offered. "Just see you later." "I don't understand why you like that movie so much." Kendall huffed quietly. "Keep yourself out of trouble, Hotshot." "You know that's difficult to do." Chase teased. He heard his flight being called and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it, before he and his Pokemon made their way to board the plane.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kendall was always very self-sufficient, she'd been raised that way. From a very young age she'd worked for everything she accomplished and never let anyone try and put her down. So when she became the youngest person in California to go Pokemontology school, she knew she needed a Pokemon to keep herself company and help her not get too stressed from all the work she was going to have to do to get through it. She sat down and researched all the ones she could, wanting to find the best Pokemon for herself. She needed something easy for a first time Pokemon owner, and something that would have a sweet and easygoing disposition.Once she made up her mind, her mom took her to the local PokeCenter where she filled out an application. It was different than if she was asking them to pair her with a Pokemon, since she already knew what she wanted. So she didn't have to wait nearly as long as the others would before she was given her Pokeball.She took it outside and let the Pokemon out, smiling when it took form."Chimecho!" It chirped happily, buzzing around her head quickly before coming to float in front of her.Kendall smiled at the adorable Pokemon and gently stroked his tail. "Hi, you adorable little thing." She laughed. "Oh I like you already!" ---------- After her first year in college, Kendall got her second Pokemon. She adored her Chimecho, who she named Chin after Karen Chin, one of her heroes in the Pokemontology world, but school stressed her out. There was only so much the sweet Pokemon could do, though, when Kendall went on study benders and stayed up days at a time, supplementing her diet with pot after pot of coffee that wound up leaving her jittery and feeling off center for days after. She knew it probably wasn't healthy, and that she did actually need some sleep sometime, so when she went home after the last semester of her first year, she sat down and started researching again to find the perfect Pokemon for her needs.She held Chin to her, kissing his head and murmuring to her that he was 'still one of her best' so he didn't feel left out or replaced as she narrowed down what she wanted in a Pokemon. To his credit, he seemed just as happy and adorable as ever, so she didn't think she had anything to worry about.She went to the same PokeCenter and got the same woman that helped her last time, which was good because after Kendall filled out her form, the woman got her Pokeball quickly, and only asked if she was 'sure' once before she gave the Pokeball to Kendall.Kendall thanked her and left the building, heading outside. She went to a nearby park and let Chin fly around and play while she let the Pokemon out.When the Hypno took form, she smiled gently at it. "Hello. I know you don't know it yet, but I think you're going to be a big help to me." She said. "I'm going to call you Philpot...after Elizabeth Philpot." Hypno smiled at her and Kendall patted the sweet Pokemon's arm, letting her hop up on the bench beside her. ---------- Kendall's third Pokemon was an impulse adoption. They were in the middle of their battle with Slade and his minions and she wanted a Pokemon that could help keep her safe, even though Philpot already did a really good job of that. She knew he needed help, and couldn't do it all on his own so she relied on what she'd been doing since her first Pokemon and went to the PokeCenter, filling out an application. She was sticking to the same type and knew that the one she wanted packed quite the psychic punch, but she was ok with that. Wanted it even. She got her Pokeball and smiled to herself as she walked to the base with Philpot and Chin and sat down before she let the Pokemon out of the Pokeball."Alakazam." He said as soon as he formed in front of her, holding onto the spoons that helped it harness its psychic energy. Kendall nodded in satisfaction and looked over at Philpot. "Maybe now those awful Vivix won't overwhelm you." She pointed out. She looked back at the Alakazam and let him approach her curiously. "I'm Kendall, you're on my team now. I'm big on naming my Pokemon, so I think I'll call you Leakey."Leakey looked pleased with the name and he, Chin and Philpot started moving around the space, letting Leakey get used to the area. Kendall watched them for a few minutes before turning back to her work, feeling pretty good about things. ---------- Kendall got her fourth Pokemon from Chase. After the big bombshell that they'd changed the world and some old Pokemon thought to be extinct were back and the museum had turned into a zoo, they took about a week to get acclimated to their knew life and new responsibilities. The thing that had been brewing between she and Chase had finally turned into something and they were, in Chase's words, hanging out more. Their Pokemon liked each other and whenever they had moments to spare, they let them out at the Pokemon Park to run around and play with each other while Kendall and Chase sat with each other off to the side. "I got you something." Chase offered after he and Kendall had shared a light lunch on their break. He had his arm around her and she leaned into his side contentedly, willing to just sit for a little while."What? Why?" She looked up at him.He smiled at her. "It's the second year anniversary of us knowing each other and I thought it needed to be celebrated." "I didn't get you anything though." She frowned."You got me you, that's enough for me." He squeezed her gently.She snorted and nudged him to cover up how touched she was by the words. "You're very suave and very corny. What'd you get me?" She asked, nervous. He slipped a Pokeball out of his pocket and held it up to her. His own Pokemon never travelled in a Pokeball, much like her own, so he only ever kept ones around his home in a just in case situation. She took the Pokeball warily. "Is this a test like when I gave you Dartrix?""Decidueye now." He pointed out, smiling. "And no, it's not. I'm not clever like that. I simply just thought you may like this one. He's very...you. Unassuming, badass, protective." Curious, she let the Pokemon out, gasping when she saw what it was. "A Mega Gallade?!" She yelped, smiling at Chase. "Oh Chase he's perfect!" She hugged him tightly. "Just like me?" He asked cheekily.She snorted. "You wish." She nudged him. "I'm going to call him...Kiernan after Caitlin Kiernan." "A scifi author?" Chase asked, shocked."She published papers on Pokemontology, don't worry." She snorted. "I'd never go against my theme." He kissed her cheek. "You're very reliable that way."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dustin got his first Pokemon completely out of the blue one day. He hadn't been looking to get one, and he didn't even know what it was when he first saw it. It had been hanging on the eve of his porch when he looked up to see what the weather was like and he stared at it for several minutes, entranced by the weird grey Pokemon that was wrapped in pink...stuff. He asked his dad if he could have a Pokeball to catch it and after he got the Pokeball, he threw it at the Pokemon. He cheered when it caught and he stuck it in his pocket, forgetting about it as he went off to the Wind Ninja Academy to go to that day's training.It wasn't until after the classes that day that he remembered and asked to borrow Shane's Pokedex. Shane didn't have any Pokemon of his own, but he carried around a Pokedex 'just in case, man'. Dustin pointed it at the Pokemon after letting it out of the Pokeball and waited until it spoke up."Burmy, the Bag Worm Pokemon." It said. "To protect itself from the cold wind, Burmy uses leaves and branches to make a cloak around itself." "Huh." Dustin mumbled, breaking out into a smile. "Awesome, little dude...uh...lady. I think you're a girl. You're all up in the pink and stuff." ---------- Sensei got Dustin his second Pokemon, through Cam anyway, which was a trip. He sat him down and had a talk with him about needing a Pokemon to show him ways he didn't know and to teach him lessons he needed to learn. Quite frankly, it sort of confused Dustin, but he trusted Sensei that he knew what he was talking about and when Cam tossed him the Pokeball, he caught it and pretended he didn't see the slight eyeroll Cam sent his way before turning back to his computers. Dustin held the Pokeball like it was going to bite him, until Burmy tumbled down from his shoulder to his lap. He made sure she didn't fall off his lap before clicking the Pokeball open, curious to what Sensei thought was a good Pokemon for him. "It's a female Bibarel." Sensei told him once the Pokemon sat on the floor in front of him. "I think you'll have much to learn from each other. You know a river damned by a Bibarel will never overflow." "Damned as in..." Dustin looked at him wide eyed."As in when a Bibarel makes a home in a river with wood, essentially stopping it up." Cam explained in his usual dry way."Oh." He looked at Sensei. "Wait, is that some kind of old prophecy or something?" "It is what you want it to be." Sensei said, before flipping out of the room in his tiny little hamster body. Dustin watched him go, more confused than ever. ---------- Dustin hurried out of Ninja Ops to meet the others at the beach, knowing he was late. If he was too much later to his surfing lesson he knew Tori would never let him hear the end of it so he hightailed it as fast as he could, taking a shortcut through the forest. He made his way around a large rock formation and yelped when a Pokemon flew into his face. He went sprawling and since he was moving at such a high speed, it knocked him back and sent him flipping around before his own momentum stopped him and he landed on his back. He took a few seconds to orient himself, grabbing his Pokeballs that had rolled out of his pocket and he sat up, making a face."Butterfree!" The Pokemon exclaimed, looking frazzled as it flew around Dustin, eyeing him distrustfully."Shit, I'm sorry, dudette." He blurted out. "Guess I wasn't watching where I was going, that's my bad." He stood up. "I didn't mean to run into you. You aren't hurt are you?"Butterfree chirped at him and looked pretty happy so Dustin figured all was forgiven and he smiled. "Hey, do you like....want to be caught? I've never caught my own Pokemon before." He admitted. "Well Burmy, but like...she was just like...there anyway." He took a Pokeball out of his pocket and held it up, tossing it at the Butterfree. When it took he beamed brightly and let the Pokemon back out."Sweet, oh I can't wait to show the others. I just hope Hunter doesn't make fun of me." He snorted. "Well come on then, I'm already...super fuckin' late...damn." With that he took off again, Butterfree speeding along with him. ---------- Blake wound up getting Dustin his last Pokemon. They'd been going out casually after Blake's thing with Tori wound up never going anywhere and Dustin really enjoyed the easy going guy. He was nice and kind and they had personalities that really complimented each other. Plus Blake helped Dustin be more on time to things and helped him keep his schedule straight. Dustin appreciated it a lot because it meant a lot less people got mad at him for showing up late to things he needed to be on time for. Not only that, though, Blake helped Dustin have a lot more confidence in himself as well. He was always pretty good about it, he knew he was good at motocross and all, but he knew he needed work in other areas and Blake helped him realize he could do whatever he put his mind to. They hung out at the beach a lot, if they weren't at the motocross track, or at Dustin's home, chilling with each other and getting to know each other outside of being a Power Ranger and having all that duty on their shoulders.One day, Blake nudged him as they were watching the sun set and smiled at him. "I know you're going off on tour for a few weeks so I thought I'd get you something to make sure you stay safe while I can't be there." "You got me a bodyguard?" Dustin asked.Blake laughed. "Yeah of sorts." He took a Pokeball from his pocket and gave it to Dustin."Dude!" He beamed, letting the Pokemon out.He looked at Blake curiously and then grabbed out his Pokedex, reddening when Blake laughed. "Beautifly, the Butterfly Pokemon. Beautifly have long, thin noses which can extend to suck the pollen out of flowers." It chirped."And that's going to be my bodyguard?" Dustin asked dubiously."Yeah watch." Blake reached a hand out and swatted at Dustin, causing him to yelp.Beautifly let out a grumpy sounding buzz and Blake realized his mistake and he got up and ran off down the beach, Beautifly giving chase while Dustin just howled with laughter.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sensei Omino gave Hunter and Blake their first Pokemon each. For Hunter he got a male Scizor. The big, maroon Pokemon was very intimdating looking but Hunter didn't let it get to him. Sensei told them they needed to use their Pokemon to train and better themselves, to become one with their Pokemon partners, a fighting unit that would be unstoppable. It took weeks, but Hunter finally had a break through with Scizor and they began relating to each other. He put in a lot of hard work with Scizor and it started to show, both of them driven to make each other better. Of course, had he known how that would come back to bite him in the ass later, maybe he wouldn't have tried so hard. ---------- Hunter's second Pokemon came after he and Blake went off on their own once they were broken from Lothor's brainwashing over them. He felt pretty guilty about how things went down and he knew Blake did as well. He wasn't an evil person, grumpy maybe, and pretty intense. But the things Lothor made him do was unfathomable to him and a part of him felt like he desecrated Sensei Omino's memory with his actions, even though Blake told him time and again that he wasn't in control of himself and he couldn't really be held accountable for what happened.Hunter knew better though. He berated himself every day for it, too.They made a camp between Blue Bay Harbor and Mariner Bay, somewhere close to Silver Hills and stayed for a few days to come to terms with everything and it did Hunter a lot of good even though he and Blake had a few arguments in the meantime.One night Hunter got up, disoriented, and he and Scizor walked into the woods so Hunter could find somewhere to take a piss. He did what he needed to do and went and sat on a large rock, staring up at the moonlight, lost in thought.He broke out of his thoughts when he felt something on his shoulder, looking over to see what it was. He let out a loud yelp when he saw that it was an Ariados and he flicked it away and flailed, falling onto his face. "Scizor, get it!" He said, shaking his head clear.Scizor battled the Bug/Poison type for what felt like ages, but Scizor won out in the end, too experienced in battling for the smaller Pokemon.Hunter grabbed out a Pokeball he kept on him and caught the Ariados, even though Scizor gazed at him curiously.Huffing he shrugged. "I'm not scared of him, he just startled me is all." Scizor let out a quiet noise and Hunter stood, brushing his pants off."Come on, let's go before Blake wakes up and sees we're gone." He walked off, leaving his first Pokemon to follow him. ---------- Hunter sat on a large rock on the beach watching Blake and Dustin flirt with each other blandly. He was bored out of his mind, even though he'd just gotten done sparring with Scizor and watching Ariados make intricate patterns with his webs. He wanted to go surfing maybe, but he had a shift later and didn't want to go to work smelling like sea water and sweat. He knew it would probably not be appreciated very much, so he just sat there, zoning out and quietly snarking in his head about his brother's lack of flirting skills. Dustin seemed smitten though so he wondered if he was too judging or if Dustin was just easy to win over. Probably the ladder. He did forgive them pretty easily after they soundly kicked the shit out of the Wind Rangers a few times.Hunter broke out of his thoughts when he noticed the scenery around him moving. That was strange and he frowned in thought, trying to figure out what was going on. He looked down under him and yelped when he noticed the 'rock' he'd been sitting on was in fact a Crustle that had a large piece of sediment on its back, using it as a shell.Hopping off quickly, he flushed bright red. "Sorry, bro. I didn't know I was sitting on you. You let me for a pretty long time though." He pointed out.Crustle just stared at him until Ariados came over to investigate and decided to pick a fight with it instead.Hunter yelped and tried to stop it, but all he could do was get out of the way and watch as the two Pokemon battled. Ariados had become quite the fighter over his time with Hunter and he gave Crustle a big challenge.In the end the Pokemon fainted and Hunter shook his head. "Well I guess I've got a third Pokemon." He said to himself, not wanting to just leave the Crustle there after his own Pokemon kicked its ass. He grabbed a spare Pokeball he had and caught it, grinning to himself. ---------- Blake got Hunter his last Pokemon. They had a birthday party for him with the others and had partied pretty late into the night before everyone left. Hunter and Blake got ready for bed and Blake threw a Pokeball onto his bed spread, making Hunter stare at him curiously."I wanted to get you something I thought you'd need." Blake offered, grinning at him."I swear if you got me something pink..." Hunter threatened. When Blake started snickering he groaned. "You got me something pink, damn it, dude!" He clicked the button on the Pokeball and when a Vivillon flew out and around the room he groaned. "What is it with you and butterfly Pokemon?" He asked, jumping at him, laughing as they started wrestling around on Blake's bed. "I love it, you know I do, but damn it dude, it's fucking pink! I'm going to slaughter you for that, jackass!"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Just like he did with Hunter, Sensei Omino got Blake his first Pokemon, a Frogadier. Blake wasn't as intimidated as Hunter was with Scizor, he was really excited. The Pokemon seemed to be pretty chill on top of being a really good fighter and Blake learned a lot from the Pokemon. He had less growing pains with him than Hunter did with Scizor, but they still had to get to know each other and learn to work well together. Frogadier was a really big help though and Blake learned a lot from the Pokemon, and Frogadier learned a lot from him.It made it bittersweet when Frogadier put up a really big fight against the Wind Rangers. ---------- Sensei Watanable got Blake his second Pokemon. He knew Hunter was doing better on his own and he thought Blake needed another way of training, along with how he trained with Frogadier. Sensei held him back after they had a meeting at Ninja Ops and Blake sat down in front of where Sensei was standing on one of the tables in the room while Cam pretended like he wasn't paying a bit of attention as he updated his tech, even though Blake thought maybe this was pointed for some reason. He just didn't know why at first. "I have something for you, Blake." Sensei said. "Something I think will help you out tremendously. I know you and Frogadier get along very well and are quite the formidable team together, but it never hurts to have another way of training and having something else at your back." "I agree." Blake said quietly, nodding to himself even though he was curious to where this was going."Cam." Sensei called. Cam got up and walked over to them, tossing Blake a Pokeball. Blake looked at it curiously and then back at Sensei Watanabe, who chuckled quietly. "Go on, see what it is." He encouraged.Blake let the Pokemon out and raised his eyebrows when he saw the strange looking Pokemon."It's a male Dewott." Cam explained. "They're called the Discipline Pokemon, an evolved form of Oshawott. They're known for rigid training and using a technique called the double-scalchop to accomplish a sort of...swordsmanship." Blake got it immediately and he lit up, smiling at Sensei Watanable and Cam. "Thank you both, I appreciate this." "Why don't you take Dewott and get to know each other." Sensei suggested."I will." Blake got up and herded the Pokemon out of the dojo, along with Frogadier, excited to get started and see what they could all do together. ---------- Blake came across his third Pokemon while he was on the beach training with Dewott and Frogadier. He was brushing up on his weapons techniques and trying to better himself. Frogadier and Dewott were incredible training partners and Blake had worked up quite the sweat training with them. His bare chest shone in the sun, his muscles standing out as he held his sword in his hands, fighting off attacks that Frogadier and Dewott sent his way. He stepped back and yelped when he got a bite to the back of his leg. Not enough to really hurt or anything, but it definitely got his attention. He spun around and saw a Croconaw there, glaring at him moodily. "Hey, I was here first." He pointed out, holidng his sword out to defend himself. Frogadier and Dewott came up on either side of him and soon it was three against one, even though Croconaw gave as good as he got, probably even better. Blake was tiring out by the end of the fight and he could tell both of his Pokemon were as well.Dewott took advantage of his type and sent one last powerful attack at the Croconaw, who fainted immediately and fell to the sand.Working quickly, Blake looked it over and took out a Pokeball, catching it. "With a Pokemon that's that good at battling, I need it on my side." He told himself. ---------- Dustin got Blake his last Pokemon one day, a little while after they'd officially started dating. Out of all of the new people in his life, Dustin wasn't the one Blake thought he'd wind up with in the end, but he really liked Dustin a lot. He was sweet, kind, funny (sometimes unintentionally) and had a really good sense of right and wrong. Plus he was very attractive, Blake could admit that was a definite perk for him. "Hey, I got you something. Consider it our like...something anniversary...just got you because I could present." Dustn offered, holding out a Pokeball.Blake laughed at him and took it, eyeing him. "Oh really?""Dude, you need a Pokemon you don't train with. Something just...to have fun with and cuddle and...chill with." Dustin explained."I have you for that." He said playfully."For when I'm not there then." He nudged him.Blake leaned over and kissed him gently. "Thank you." He pressed the button on the Pokeball and eyed the Pokemon that came out. He got out his Pokedex and pressed the button to see what it was."Gastrodon, East Sea form." It said. "The Sea Slug Pokemon and the evolved form of Shellos. Gastrodon inhabits the shallow tidal pools of the ocean, and its sturdy shell serves to protect its body." Blake smiled at that and got down on the floor. "Well hello." He held a hand out and the Gastrodon slid over and nuzzled against him. It felt a little strange, but Blake, strangely, felt pretty happy with the Pokemon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Cam was four years old, his dad got him his first Pokemon. He was a little upset he wasn't allowed to train to become a ninja, at the Academy and all, and his dad thought maybe it would be a good distraction for him. He was too young to understand the promise he'd made to Cam's mother, and he doubted he would for a while, so he did what any parent who had to outsmart a child did, even one with Cam's intellect: distract them. He took Cam to the local PokeCenter, talking to him the entire way about what a big responsibility it was to have a Pokemon and how he was a big boy now and all. The closer they got, the more excited Cam seemed to get and by the time they got there, his father thought maybe his distraction tactic would work...at least for a while. He only hoped maybe one day Cam wouldn't even want to train anymore and would fall on some other skill he developed. They were taken back to a room fairly quickly and Cam was given an oral test, trying to suss out what Pokemon would be the best for him. It proved to be a little bit of a challenge because Cam could've been paired with a few different types, but the Pokemon Expert finally figured out one she thought would be perfect for him. She went and grabbed a Pokeball and brought it back, sitting it in front of Cam. The little boy excitedly picked it up and looked up at the adults who gave him an encouraging look. He clicked the button on the front and waited excitedly as the Pokemon took shape. "It's a Durant." The lady explained. "They're a Bug/Steel type." His dad eyed the Pokemon with a little bit of distaste, but Cam beamed and hugged the weird looking Pokemon to him as best as he could. "He's going to be my new best friend!" He announced proudly.His dad couldn't begrudge him that, not when his son looked so happy for the first time in a long time. ---------- Cam walked out of Ninja Ops muttering to himself grumpily, carrying Durant in the crook of his arm. Having Dustin, Tori and Shane come back and tell him that oh, hey, remember the evil Rangers we've been battling for a while now? Turns out they were just misunderstood and they're on our side now...all of that really didn't sit well with Cam and he needed to get away from the kumbaya party they were having before he said something that he wouldn't necessarily regret anytime soon, but that he knew would upset his dad hearing it from him at least. Cam needed to get it out of his system before he went back and could put on a blank mask of indifference as Blake and Hunter traipsed all over Ninja Ops acting like they belonged there and hadn't just tried to kill his friends several times over. If they didn't have such intimidating Pokemon, Cam would've sent Durant after them. She could pack a good punch when she needed to, Dustin found that out the hard way once.He headed through the forest and down toward the river, lost in his thoughts. He wondered if he could subtly haze Blake and Hunter for a while, until he warmed up to them, or they just up and left, whichever came first (he was hoping the latter, actually), but he probably wouldn't be allowed to do that either, his dad would definitely disapprove of that. Cam heard a twig snap and rolled his eyes. "Leave me alone, Dustin, I want to be alone right now." He called out.Another movement came from a bushy area near the river and he turned toward it, ready to let loose on whoever followed him and tried to cut him off at the pass, even if it was a bunch of Kelzaks, he was looking for a fight. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a small strange looking Pokemon eating some leaves and berries. Taking out his Pokedex, he pointed it at the Pokemon."Bastiodon." It said. "The Fossil Pokemon, a dual Rock/Steel type. Any frontal tack is repulsed. It is a docile Pokemon that feeds on grass and berries." Bastiodon looked up at the sound and trotted over to Cam happily, letting out a sound Cam would never admit he found adorable. Durant hissed from Cam's arm but he gently shushed her."It's alright, Bastiodon means no harm." He pointed out. "She's just eating, aren't you?" He bent down and put Durant on his knee, reaching out to gently stroke the Pokemon. Bastiodon leaned up into him and Cam smiled to himself as he gave the Pokemon some attention.He was broken from his thoughts by a voice behind him. "Dude, Cam, did you get another Pokemon? That's rad!...what is it?" Cam chuckled to himself and took out a Pokeball, catching the Bastiodon pretty easily. He stood and faced Dustin. "I'll tell you when I've done some more research." "Ok, cool." Dustin smiled at him. "Hey, uh, what do you think of Blake and Hunter?" "You don't want to know." Cam said as he walked back toward Ninja Ops. ---------- Shane, being the emotionally stunted dimwit he could be sometimes, got Cam his next Pokemon just after he came back with the Green Ranger powers. He made a big, long speech about how Durant and Bastiodon were 'cool and all' but he needed a Pokemon that could put up a fight. Cam had a feeling he still saw him as the lonely tech geek they all thought he was and a part of him was pretty highly offended, but the other part of him wanted to see where this was going, especially if it was going where Durant attacked the big, Red idiot. That would provide him with a lot of entertainment for a while. Sadly, that didn't happen. What did happen, though, is Shane got him a Pokemon.Cam stared at him for a while after he gave him the Pokeball and finally, after some encouragement from his dad, he opened it right there in Ninja Ops. When he saw the Excadrill he laughed softly to himself. "At least you went for my type." He quipped."The hell is that thing?" Dustin made a face and pointed his own Pokedex at it."Excadrill." It said. "The Subterrene Pokemon and the evolved form of Drilbur. Excadrill can dig maze-like underground tunnels for over 100 meters and is powerful enough to cut through thick iron plates with its steel claws.""Awesome!" Dustin beamed. "Hey, uh, how far is 100 meters?""A little over 300 feet." Cam offered blandly. He looked at Shane who looked far too pleased with himself. "Thanks Shane, I appreciate the...sentiment." "Just looking out for you, buddy." Shane clapped him on the shoulder. Cam fought the urge to punch him and went to hopefully make friends with his new Pokemon. The last thing he needed was it making tunnels under Ninja Ops for fun if it got destructive. ---------- Hunter got Cam his fourth Pokemon for his birthday soon after the threat of Lothor had been taken care of. They'd came clean about their feelings for each other not long after that and had been dating ever since. Hunter's dry, stoic, bordering on too sarcastic nature meshed well with Cam's own sometimes cutting wit and they enjoyed each other's company quite a lot. Cam's dad was all for it, as he saw how happy the former Crimson Ranger made him and gave them both his blessing. Cam was glad for that, even though he probably would've dated Hunter anyway. He was a rebel like that.Hunter pulled him from the party and down to the beach, sitting with him on a patch of sand. Their Pokemon had been left behind at the party and it was just them."I got you something special." He put the box on Cam's knee, grinning playfully at him."I thought you were going to give me birthday sex." Cam quipped.Hunter grinned. "That's still on the table, but this is the present you can tell people I got you." "You underestimate me if you think I won't unabashedly tell people you got me birthday sex." He promised.He swatted at Cam and rolled his eyes. "Open the damn gift, would you? Then you can tell me how much you like it and we can drop it off with Blake before we take our alone time."Cam raised an eyebrow at Hunter and opened the small gift box. A Pokeball was nestled inside and Cam took it out and pressed the button on the front, curious as to what Hunter thought was a good Pokemon for him."It's a female Alolan Sandshrew." Hunter explained when Cam tried to work out why the Sandshrew was a silver and tan color instead of the usual yellow. "Their outer armor is more like steel so they can't roll up in a ball like a regular Sandshrew." Cam smiled over at him. "Thanks, Hunter, I like her a lot." He huffed out a laugh when the Alolan Sandshrew made herself comfortable in his lap and he hugged her to him, findling a small delight in the cool touch of her body. "I really do.""Good, bae. I'm glad." Hunter leaned over and kissed his temple.Cam made a face at him. "I thought I told you not to call me that. I hate fad things like that, and the nae nae and the whip and Rebecca Black's Friday...""Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday..." Hunter sang with a smirk. Cam tapped the Alolan Sandshrew gently and pointed at Hunter. "Get him."Hunter yelped and took off, alternating cursing and apologizing profusely as he found out just how quick Alolan Sandshrews could be as she gave chase just because Cam asked her to. "CAM I'M SORRY!" He yelled, causing Cam to smirk. He'd give it fifteen minutes before he intervened. He dug his toes in the sand to wait, looking out over the waves contentedly, despite Hunter's yelps cutting through the peace of the night.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jason Scott got his Monferno at a young age. He hadn't always been the bulky, muscular teen that he would be later on, and his parents worried about him being bullied regularly. Jason showed an interest in martial arts, especially karate, and practically begged his parents to let him sign up for classes at the Angel Grove Youth Center. His parents knew Ernie, the owner of the Youth Center that ran the juice bar, and trusted the man to keep an eye on the little boy, but still they thought it would be good to get him a Pokemon that could help dissuade anyone from picking on the little boy.Jason was excited when he received the Monferno, immediately bonding with the second-evolution Pokemon. His parents fears were alieviated almost immediately, when Jason and Monferno became thick as thieves, best friends until later on when he'd meet Zack Taylor (and even then Monferno never left his side and eventually evolved around the time Jason became the red Ranger into Infernape). It was a good idea to have the Pokemon in their lives, and they knew they'd made the right decision. ---------- Billy Cranston approached Jason as he was digging through his bag for his water bottle. Infernape at his side got Jason's attention and he looked up, smiling when he saw the other man. They'd just had another karate class and Jason was proud to say that Billy had earned his third belt, going from white to orange to blue. It was a testament of Billy's skill that he'd managed to pass the test, Jason knew that he'd been working really hard on his karate skills ever since he started the class and he couldn't be more proud of his fellow Ranger. "What's up, Billy?" He finally found his water bottle and took a generous sip of it. "I just wanted to come offer my thanks." Billy fiddled with the blue belt, which hung around his waist. "I don't think I could've accomplished what I did if it wasn't for your instruction and...patience in helping me get to where I am. I know I'm probably not the most skilled person..." He reached up and fiddled with his glasses in a nervous gesture.Jason frowned and put a hand on Billy's shoulder. He still had his gi on, his blue tank top peeking out from under it. Jason had already stripped the top part of his own gi off, leaving him similarly dressed in a red tank top. "Hey, you're doing great, Billy, I swear. I'm really proud of you. I know you're working really hard to get better and it's paying off, man." He gently tugged on the belt Billy had on with his finger, holding in a grin when Billy let himself be tugged forward a step before he stopped himself. "In any manner, still, I...I got you this." Billy took his hand out of his pocket and held a Pokeball out in his palm, face up.Jason's eyebrows shot up. "You got me a Pokemon, you didn't have to do that." "I know." Billy said. "Still, I wanted to, and I think you'll find it quite intriguing." Jason, curious beyond belief, took the Pokeball. "It's not going to go crazy around here if I let it out, is it?" "It's quite calm for the most part." Billy promised in a round about way, although 'for the most part' didn't exactly make Jason feel too much better. Pressing down his fears, Jason clicked the button on the Pokeball. When Pancham took form, he couldn't help but laugh. Infernape went over and poked at the Pokemon curiously and Pancham shot the Pokemon a glare, which was about as intimidating as when Kim was pissed off at him. "Aww, I love it, Billy, thanks, man." Jason patted Billy on the back, foregoing a hug since both were pretty sweaty and he bent down on the balls of his feet. "Is it a...""It's a girl." Billy said. "I know Infernape is a boy, but I thought...you know." "Hi, little girl." Jason said. "It's nice to meet you." He held his hand out to Pancham who huffed and tried to look cool, sucking on her leaf. Jason wasn't fooled at all, though and he patted her on the head, causing her to break out in a wide smile. "I'm afraid she's not very fearsome yet." Billy said. "But if she evolves..." "She and Infernape will be a fearsome twosome." Jason grinned up at him. "The Putties won't know what hit them." "Indubitably." Billy agreed, smiling back at him. "Awesome!" Jason popped up and despite his earlier musings, he couldn't help but pull Billy to him, hugging him tightly. ---------- Jason got Heracross after he'd joined the Peace Summit with Zack and Trini. Pancham had already evolved into Pangoro and Infernape had been evolved for a while. He was in Zurich trying out his Swedish when he heard a commotion coming from a couple of blocks up and instinctively he headed that way. He was wearing his Peace Summit uniform, so people instinctively moved out of the way, even though he wasn't really any kind of authority on anything and he felt sort of dumb, wishing he had his old Ranger gear to hide behind. When he got to where the commotion was, he saw a Heracross in the middle of the street, looking around wildly. Anytime someone took a step, it looked toward them and bowed a bit, causing them to shriek and run. Jason let out his Pangoro and Infernape just in case, but held them back before they could attack. "Hey now, it's ok, Heracross. No one's going to hurt you." He said, stepping a bit closer. When Heracross ducked down, people squealed and ran, but Jason could see what was going on. It was scared. Jason's heart broke for the Pokemon and he inched over and touched it. "Come on, now, let's get you out of the street, ok?" He managed to find an empty Pokeball in his pocket and Heracross let herself be caught. Jason flushed as people cheered and he called Pangoro and Infernape back to him and then hastily made his way back to the hotel. He searched down the higher ups in the Peace Summit and even though they didn't speak English very well and his Swedish was pretty bad, Jason tried to explain what happened, and held up the Pokeball he had Heracross in. He left a little baffled, looking down at the Pokeball. He'd just been congratulated for catching his 'next' Pokemon and told it would serve him well. He laughed a little incredulously and headed down to Zack's room to tell him the story. ---------- Jason laid with Tommy in bed at Tommy's apartment, relishing in the quiet of the space. Billy sat across the room at a table and Jason was just happy he had two of his lovers at his side again (although he missed Kim, Trini and Zack fiercely). "Billy come to bed." He called over. "In a second." He said distractedly. "I'm working on..." "Something that can be put aside until a more reasonable time." Tommy said, sounding amused. "Well if you insist." Billy said, smirking wryly. Jason eyed Billy as he put away his laptop and walked over to them. Even though it was warm out, and both Jason and Tommy were shirtless, Billy still had on a tank top. It was endearing, Billy's shyness when he wasn't a Ranger, and Jason couldn't help smiling at him. The smile dropped when he heard a small thump out near the porch area and he put a hand up when Tommy went to get up. He'd had a battle that day and Jason hadn't done as much. He got up and went to the front door, opening it at the count of three. He peeked his head out and looked around until his eyes caught on a Scorbunny hunched under a stone bench that was sitting on the porch. Considering it was coming a hard rain (which was why it was so hot out right then, besides, you know, California), he figured the fire-type was trying to keep dry. Jason took pity on the poor Pokemon and bent down to the balls of his feet. "Scorbunny, hey..." the Pokemon looked up at him and looked panicked, ready to dart off, and Jason held a hand up in a calming way, holding the other one out. "Come on, you can't stay out here. It's too wet, babe. Come in where it's dry and warm." A pop of thunder sounded and Scorbunny was in Jason's arms before he could blink. He winced at the wet fur he felt, but ignored it as he shut the door. "Bill, can you grab a towel?" "What is it?" Billy asked as he went to the bathroom and came back with a towel. "A Scorbunny, I guess it got caught in the rain." Jason carried the Pokemon over and let Billy help him wrap the towel around it. "She's really scared because of the storm." "You're safe now." Billy promised quietly. "Storms are just..." Tommy laughed fondly, cutting off Billy's explanation of thunder and lightning. "Billy, I don't think she understands." "Maybe not, but the tone of voice helps." He pointed out.Tommy conceded that silently and looked at Jason. "I guess you got a new Pokemon, bro." Jason couldn't even find it in him to care, already enamored with the Pokemon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kim Hart got her first Pokemon, Lopunny, at a young age. The timid Pokemon was a stark contrast to the friendly, popular girl, but Kim had had her heart set on the Pokemon ever since she first saw it, it was love at first sight practically. It took a while for them to warm up to each other, and Kim was a little disheartened at first, but eventually they became the best of friends with each other. Lopunny was shy and timid and preferred to hide away when Kim hung out with her friends or was in a social setting, but when people like Skull started focusing on her in a creepy, weird kind of way, Lopunny was quick to take up for her, sending the bullying sidekick flying several times over when he got to be too much for Kim. Of course, Kim was horrified when Lopunny did the same thing to Tommy later on, not realizing the difference between Kim wanting his advances and not wanting Skull's. It was pretty funny, though, seeing Tommy pick himself out of a dumpster when it happened. He had a good sense of humor about everything at least. ---------- Kim was incredibly lucky to get Primarina a little later on. Not only was he a big help to Lopunny, bringing the Pokemon more out of her shell, but he was an even bigger help when Kim was picked to become a Power Ranger. It was hard, getting used to having to be the one to help save the world, but Primarina helped give Kim and Lopunny confidence. He was the first one to attack Putties, sending them flying with his bubble attacks. The others underestimated him at first, but they only made that mistake one time. Kim was really proud of her Pokemon buddy. Primarina didn't show any fear in the face of anything they came across and to be honest, it showed Kim that she could be a lot more confident herself in her abilities outside of what she was comfortable with (gymnastics, her music). Plus Primarina was also a really good help in keeping Kim motivated to keep up with her school studies as well, which was a really good thing in the end. ---------- Kim looked up as Jason appeared in front of her. She'd had her birthday party with her family earlier and then had come over to the Community Center to hang out with her friends. She raised an eyebrow when he held a box out to her. "Awww, Jase, you didn't have to get me anything." "Well of course I did." He scoffed. "You're one of my oldest loved ones, I definitely had to get you something." He held a square box out to her. It was on the smaller side and Kim smiled when she saw the bow just stuck on top. "Thank you, Jase." Kim got up and pecked his lips and sat down with the box. She opened it and took out the Pokeball inside. "Jason! Really? Did you get me a Pokemon?" "Click it and find out." Jason grinned.Kim figured if he was encouraging her to see what Pokemon it was safe. She spared a smile for Lopunny who climbed up on Jason's lap and as Primarina nosed at her curiously and let the other Pokemon out."Swellow!" It cried as it flew out and sped around before landing on the table between she and Jason. "Oh Jase!" Kim cried, beaming. "Oh I love her, look at you, lady..." She reached out and gently stroked Swellow, who fluffed her feathers at the touch. "Thanks, Jase. Really. Best birthday present ever." "You're welcome." Jason smiled at her. ---------- Kim shouldered her bag as she walked out of her training in Florida, distracted by the texting she was doing with Trini. She missed all of her friends and loved ones fiercely and was trying to stay in touch with them. She wanted to try and fly them out for the Pan Global Games, but she wasn't sure if they all would be able to come. There was a weird sound coming from a bush nearby and Kim warily looked over at it, distracted from her conversation with Trini. She reached subtly for a Pokeball and let Swellow out for added protection. The Pokemon was protective as all get out and Kim appreciated it and silently thanked Jason for getting her for her. She pushed aside some bushes and saw a Cubone sitting there staring up at the moon, sniffling loudly and dramatically. Kim wanted to groan and leave the dramatic Pokemon alone as it looked up at the moon, but seeing the poor thing wiping at its face made something in her heart twitch. She reached a hand up to make Swellow calm down and not attack the poor thing before speaking up."You know, you can sit here crying at the moon, or you can come with me, get a milkshake and like...hang out and stuff." She said. The little Pokemon startled and looked up at her with a wide eyed look, brandishing the bone it held. Kim winced and covered her face, but after a few seconds, when nothing happened, she peeked out and saw that Cubone had gotten up and was looking at her curiously. Kim smiled, letting Swellow land on her shoulder and she gestured with her head. "Come on then, let's go get those milkshakes. We deserve them."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Zack Taylor hummed along to the song that was playing as he skateboarded down to the Angel Grove Park. The nine year old held a boombox that was pretty much too big for him, but he held tight to it. Rock the Bells by LL Cool J was blaring out of it, getting him a few looks from whoever he passed, but Zack didn't pay much attention to them as he stopped and settled near a huge tree for shade. Putting the boombox down, Zack propped his skateboard against the tree and smiled at the lyrics of the song he was listening to. He wouldn't become the dancer that he was known for, for several more years, but he caught a groove and bopped along, doing his best to mimick the moves he'd seen in music videos. Zack was startled when he heard a weird noise come from behind him and he whirled around, wide eyed, and saw a Ludicolo there. It had been dancing, but paused when Zack turned to stare at him. They stared at each other for several seconds before Ludicolo started dancing again and Zack couldn't help but grin widely and join him.Now to convince his mom to let him keep his new friend. ---------- Zack's grandmother got him Bellossom when he was around the age of 13. At first, he wasn't all that into the girly looking Pokemon, but he pasted on a smile and pretended for the sake of his grandmother (and knowing that his mom would smack him upside the head if he showed any disrespect to the matriarch of the family). He and Ludicolo were close, a team, and periodically drove both of his parents crazy. But Ludicolo bonded with Bellossom as well, and Zack knew that he could either try to ignore the Pokemon, or he could get over the fact that she was 'girly' looking and learn to appreciate her for what she was.Zack fell in love with Bellossom, though, about a year after getting her. He had his boombox beside him as he was clearing out his locker, tossing papers away as he cleared out on the last day of school. Ludicolo was beside him on one side and Bellossom sat on the locker door, making pleasant happy noises. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A voice called out and Zack glanced over his shoulder, rolling his eyes as he saw Bulk and Skull slithering over to him. Neither one had a Pokemon of their own at that point, but everyone mumbled that Bulk resembled a smaller Snorlax with Skull as his Zangoose sidekick. "Pretty nice boombox you got there, Taylor." He snatched it up and looked it over. "Hey! Give that back!" Zack exclaimed, turning to face him. "Hey, give that back." Bulk mocked, sending Skull into peals of annoying laughter. "What if I don't want to give it back? What if I want to take it for my own? Huh?" "Man, my mom paid a lot of money for that, give it back!" Zack groaned. He knew he couldn't stand up to Bulk if it came to it, and dreaded telling his mom his boombox got stolen by the bully. "Nope, it's mine now, Taylor." Bulk started to walk off, reaching up to press play on the boombox, but before he could, there was a hard bite to his ankle. Yelping, he sent the boombox flying (Zack caught it thankfully) and looked down. When he saw Bellossom biting him he shook his leg. "Hey, get off me, runt! Get off!" He shook his leg more. "If you don't get this thing off of me, Taylor, I'm going to Mr. Caplan and saying I was attacked!" "You're a loser, Bulk." Zack scoffed. "Come on, Bells, let's go home." He gathered up Bellossom and carried her toward the door, leaving a few random things in the bottom of his locker. "I am not a loser, you're the loser! You're the loser and your psycho Pokemon will pay!" Buck called at his back, but Zack ignored it. ----------- Zack's dad got him a Seviper when he turned 16. He and Zack's mom had been divorced about a year, and were still in the antagonistic phase. Sometimes it drove Zack crazy, but since Zack thought the Pokemon was cool, he decided to let his parents fight it out. His mom definitely wasn't happy about his dad getting Zack a Seviper, and Zack thought maybe she was a little intimidated by the Pokemon, but Zack couldn't be intimidated by something that could regularly help him out with his Ranger duties. Bulk got a Zangoose somehow after the incident with Bellossom, sometime during the summer and had been harrassing Zack even more. But after Zack got his Seviper, it was a more even match and Seviper regularly sent Bulk, Skull and Zangoose fleeing in terror. Zack was an easy going guy, but he could only take so much. ---------- Zack grinned to himself as he sent another Putty flying. He and his fellow Rangers were dealing with an attack from the Putties and Goldar to distract them from whatever evil plan was brewing, but Zack felt like things were turning in their favor. Of course, as soon as he said that, more Putties seemed to appear out of nowhere and Zack cursed himself for his braggadocious thoughts. He looked at his three Pokemon, who were out and fighting with the others and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a fourth Pokeball. "Ok, Sensu Oricorio, time to show what you got." He let the Pokemon out quickly, dodging an attack by a Putty. "Man these things are annoying..." He got distracted briefly by Oricorio dancing around. She sent an attack at a group of Putties and sent them fading into nothingness and Zack grinned widely, feeling confident again.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Trini sat on her bed, hugging Impidimp to her, the strange Pokemon that no one understood why Trini would have it siphoning her negative feelings lik it was in Heaven. She stared across the room to the wall and huffed out a sigh. "I know it was all a dream, but I'm glad you weren't used by Rita against us, Impidimp. I don't think I could've battled you, no matter matter how much carnage you were causing." Impidimp looked up at her and reached up, wiping a tear from her face, staring at it curiously. He offered it back to her, making Trini huff out a quiet laugh. "No thank you, I think I have enough to spare." She said, sniffling again. ---------- Trini held Torchic to her, the little Pokemon letting out happy little sounds as she walked to the Community Center after dropping Sylvia off back at home once the whole Pinoctopus thing was over. Trini had never been afraid of clowns before, but after that whole ordeal she was starting to rethink that particular thing. "Thank you for being a big help today, Torchic." She said, looking down at the Pokemon. "You really comforted Sylvia and made her feel a lot better about everything." "Chic!" He chirped happily, his little wings fluffing. Trini smiled and ran her finger over Torchic's head. "You're a relly good Pokemon." She murmured. "You and Impidimp really make my life a lot better." "Chic!" Torchic turned in her arms and made himself comfortable, nuzzling against her. "Trini!" Kim called from the door of the Community Center. "Come on, Zack bet Jason he could drink more smoothies than him, Billy and I are making bets on who throws up first." Trini looked up, her nose scrunching up. "Somehow I don't think Billy would participate in a bet like that.""Well..." Kim made a face as Trini caught up with her. "Ok, you're right. But still, it's totally going to be Jason, right?" "Are you kidding?" Trini said. "It's going to be Zack, have you seen Jason put away a pizza?""Chic!" Torchic exclaimed, like he was agreeing with Trini, which made both of the girls burst out into giggles and coo over the small Pokemon. -------- Trini looked over when she saw Ducklett nosing around as she sat in the Community Center, and wondered what the Pokemon was up to. Her uncle Howard was sitting nearby, talking to her friends after the whole Dark Warrior fiasco and he seemed to be in good spirits, his jar of invisibility formula sitting nearby. Trini noticed it was leaking a bit and before she could move to grab it, a big glob landed on Ducklett, causing him to become invisible.Groaning, she turned to Kim who was playing with a straw. "Come help me find Ducklett, he got some of that invisibility formula on him." "Oh no! We'll find him, Trini." Kim got up quickly and the two girls moved around, trying to find Ducklett by following his little quacks, which startled people as he moved around the room.Bulk and Skull were across the room, harrassing people like usual and Ducklett snuck up on them. He watched the two teens with narrowed invisible eyes and as Ernie was carrying a pizza past them to a table, he let out the loudest sound he could muster, startling the man, who tossed the pizza up in the air.Kim and Trini watched as the pizza sailed in the air, in a perfect arc and landed on Bulk and his Zangoose, some of it dripping off onto Skull.When Ducklett became visible again, Trini grabbled him quickly and darted off unnoticed as Skull tried to clean Bulk off. "You are such trouble." She said fondly, looking down at the little Pokemon in her arms.Kim grinned as she walked beside her. "Yeah but you gotta admit, he keeps things interesting." ---------- Trini groaned as she picked up another load of trash on the beach, putting it in one of the trashbags she had close to her. "Why would anyone do this? It's such a shame, the beach is so beautiful and people are just ruining it." She ranted to herself, a little frustrated since it seemed like everytime she cleaned up some trash, more appeared. Jason, who was a few feet away from her, looked up and laughed. "Aww, Trini, think of it this way, at least we're doing something to help." "I guess, but it's still frustrating that people would act like this." She pointed out moodily.Jason abandoned what he was doing for the moment and walked over, hugging her to him, kissing the top of her head. "I know, I wish we could make people clean up their own mess." "Give me five minutes, I could do it." She promised.He laughed at that and let go of her. "I really have no doubt about that." He promised, going back to what he was doing. Trini sighed to herself and went to pick up another pile of trash and squeaked in shock when something flew out of it. She looked up and frowned when she saw a Crobat hovering over her, looking extremely put out that it had been disturbed."What do you want from me? You shouldn't have been hiding there anyway, that's gross." Trini admonished the Pokemon, giving it a look of her own. She was hot, tired, sweaty, thirsty and just overall angry at people right then and wasn't going to take some sass from a Pokemon. Crobat spun around her, flapping her wings frantically and Trini swatted at it, growling a few obscenities under her breath. Finally she dug into her pocket and threw the first thing she could find at it, and when it seemed to disappear, she sighed in relief. That is until she looked down and saw the Pokeball at her feet flashing green. "Oh no, what'd I do?" Trini groaned."I'd say you acquired another Pokemon." Jason said, amused after having watched the entire thing to see if he needed to step in to help. Trini shot him a look and Jason's eyes widened briefly before he was running for his life, Trini yelling after him threateningly.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Billy was very glad for Slowking once he and Kim swapped bodies. He had to admit, he was very uncomfortable in a female's body and even being in one for a day was sending him toward a mental meltdown, despite how calm and rational he tried to be about the entire thing. He had no choice but to leave Slowking at home while he did his best to live life as Kim, which was very difficult. He wanted nothing more to help out the Pokemon, but was assured he could handle it. It was very hard going up against Rita's Genie, but it was par for the course for everything that was happening, of course, and only served to frustrate Billy more. He was glad he had a Pokemon that was so calm and non-reactive to everything, because while he was freaking out, Slowking just steadily worked, getting more and more smart energy everytime he yawned, which was to Billy's advantage. When they got home after defeating Genie, Billy saw Slowking tied up and Bulk and Skull slumped in the machine, which made him groan. Thankfully after untying Slowking, he finished up everything and he and Kim swapped back. Billy threatened to leave Bulk and Skull as they were, but eventually he switched them back after threatening some very incriminating evidence. He didn't have any, but thankfully just the threat was enough. ---------- Billy groaned as he looked down at the flashing Pokeball that was in his hand. "What did I do?" Tommy walked over to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "At least you got a new Pokemon?" Billy shot him a look. "What am I going to do with a Malamar?" Tommy shrugged. "Uh, let it out everytime we get slammed by a monster and Putties and let it get them to just...go away?" "I'm pretty sure that would only be a temporary fix." Billy pointed out."Yeah, but...wouldn't it be great?" Tommy said. "Well it would definitely make our lives easier." Billy fiddled with his glasses. "Or harder if the Malamar turned against us." ---------- Billy looked up quickly as his garage door began opening and he let out a quiet gasp. "No, wait!" He called, cutting off Jason's words as he was calling out to Billy, asking why he had the garage door closed. Billy let out a quiet curse as Yamper saw the opening and darted out, right by Jason's leg, startling the red Ranger. "What was that?" He asked."My mom got me a new Pokemon, you have to help me catch her." Billy grabbed a bag of treats and darted out with Jason. "They like to run after things and can only be coerced into doing anything with treats." "What is it?" Jason asked."A Yamper." Billy huffed quietly. "Oh man..." Jason groaned. "Do you have a Pokeball?" Billy took it out of his pocket and handed it over. "I hope you have better accuracy than I do throwing that thing." "I hope I do, too." Jason huffed. He was a football player, he could throw, but he didn't need to be as accurate as he had to be now. It took almost two hours of Jason throwing the Pokeball wildly, Billy tossing treats and trying to get Yamper to come to him, and threats when that didn't seem to work, when both teens saw Yamper get grabbed by a set of arms and they looked up and saw Trini standing there, a small smile on her face."Is this the Pokemon your mom got you, Billy?" She asked. "Aww, he's cute." "Cute, yeah, right." Jason bent over, grabbing his knees. "Cute Pokemon made us run around like idiots for two hours trying to catch it.""You just needed to be smart about it." Trini said playfully.Billy groaned and rolled his eyes, slumping over in the grass. ---------- Zack walked into Billy's living room for their math study session and took his shoes off by the door. "Billy, my man, where are you? I'm ready to get down with Geometry." "In the living room." He called back and Zack wandered that way. Billy was sitting at the coffee table doing homework, his Geometry book sitting next to him ready to be used. Zack heard shuffling noises and looked across the room and saw Billy's Yamper and another Pokemon play roughhousing with each other, looking like they were having a lot of fun."Yo, what's the other Pokemon?" Zack asked, sitting down on the other side of the coffee table. "It's Rockruff." Billy said, smiling wryly. "Mom felt awful about Yamper getting out that one time and making me and Jase chase him so she got Rockruff to 'be a friend' and hoped it would calm Yamper down a little bit. I'm pretty sure it's just amped up his energy." Zack watched the two Pokemon for several minutes and grinned to himself. "Yeah, I think you're right. I don't think either of them have calmed any." "I'm pretty sure Yamper doesn't have the capability." Billy quipped."I think you're right about that, too." Zack agreed.Billy shook his head. "Anyway, are you ready to get to work?" "Bring it on." Zack said, flipping open his book as Billy retrieved his own.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Tommy's parents got him Pikachu when he was first born. Well she started as a Pichu and evolved around the time Tommy started school. They moved around a lot, and Pikachu became Tommy's best friend, accompanying him everywhere; school to school, karate lesson to karate lesson, Pikachu was there by Tommy's side. That was including when he moved to Angel Grove and started at Angel Grove High. He settled in pretty firmly and he and Pikachu were able to show how good they were as a team in the tournament. Of course all of that came back to bite him in the ass the second he met Rita Repulsa. ----------Tommy sat out in a rinky dink little boat in the middle of the lake he was at lost in his thoughts. He knew he shouldn't beat himself up for what he did under Rita's spell, rationally at least, but he had a hard time being rational right then. All he could do was think about everything in a loop, over and over in his mind, which only served to make him even more miserable. Tommy startled out of his thoughts when Pikachu let out an excited sound. "What is it?" He asked, looking curiously at the excited Pokemon as she gestured to the fishing pole Tommy had sitting nearby, the lure cast into the lake. He saw that it was taut with something on the other end of the line and he yelped, grabbing for it quickly. He pulled on it and tried to reel in whatever it was, but it put up a fight. Tommy fought and fought with the line, feeling his strength waning faster than he wanted it to. He thought everything was a bust until something large came up out of the water and he realized it was a Gyarados. The insanely large Pokemon roared down at him and Tommy startled. "Oh holy shit!" He blurted out, scrambling in the little boat. "PIKACHU!" Pikachu screamed, jumping up in the air. Tommy watched with wide eyes as Pikachu hit the other Pokemon with everything he had and the Gyarados attempted to fight back, but after another jolt of electricity Gyarados fainted. Tommy scrambled for his pocket and took out a spare Pokeball he had and when he captured the Pokemon he looked down at the Pokeball with a dazed grin."Oh shit." He blurted out. "What am I going to do with a Gyarados?!" ---------- Tommy walked up to Reefside High School and adjusted the glasses he had on. Getting older was a bitch and unfortunately between all the studying he did in college and all of the small details he looked at with his profession, his eyesight had deteriorated somewhat over the years. He gripped his briefcase tighter and looked at the Corviknight on his shoulder. "You know, Pikachu being out makes sense. She's cute, friendly for the most part...won't scare people...""Pika!" Pikachu chirped at him. "See?" Tommy said. "You, however...do you have to glower at everyone? Come on, girl." He winced as Corviknight gave him a deadpan stare. "Don't intimidate my students on the first day, I'm not looking to be the stern asshole teacher here.""Pika..." Pikachu admonished."Sorry, no one heard." Tommy huffed. "On the contrary, Dr. Oliver." A voice he'd come to be very familiar with said from behind him. "I heard. I do hope you won't use that kind of language in front of the students..." "Principal Randall..." He said in what he hoped was a friendly tone as he swung around to face her. "It's very nice to meet you..." ---------- Tommy laid out on Torterra's back, vaguely aware of Pikachu scampering around and Corviknight perching somewhere in the branches on Torterra's back as well. He was taking advantage of the fact that he had time off from teaching and had nothing to do by laying out in nothing but a pair of swimming shorts to work on his tan. He had a pair of sunglasses on, keeping the sunlight out of his face, and his iPod was nearby, playing some old hip hop song from the 90s that he was pretty sure he started liking because of Zack. A shrill beeping noise shattered his peace and Tommy blew out a breath out of his nose and turned to look at his cell phone with disdain. When he saw that it was flashing 'Collins, Wesley' on it he quickly grabbed it. "Wes? What's up?" He listened to the other man on the phone and his stomach dropped as he heard the words Lord Draven come from his friend's mouth. He let him finish and made plans to meet up with him before ending the call."Well guys, looks like vacation is cut short for us." He said, sitting up. "We're going back to action."