Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to its respective companies.
A/N: This is part of the Cassidy's Lackey series and deals with the antics and adventures of my two original characters Sonya and Mindy.
This is probably going to be re-written because I'm not super happy with it.
Sonya carefully followed Mindy through the maze of open booths at the trading expo. Sonya cautiously eyed the trainers. Even though they were wearing plain civilian clothes, she still felt like she looked suspicious and felt painfully out of place.
"Hey, Sonny, keep up, okay?" Mindy demanded.
"Why are we here, anyway?" Sonya asked.
"To make trades, of course," Mindy said.
Sonya looked uncomfortable.
"What are we...trading?" Sonya asked.
"Look, do you really want that Ratatta we got during training?" Mindy asked.
"Well..."
Sonya wasn't really unhappy with her Pokemon. Sure, Ratatta wasn't the strongest Pokemon a trainer could have on a team, but hers was cute and cuddly. Plus, she felt like she owed it to hers to raise it because of those things Meowth told her it said. She never knew a Pokemon could have such strong feelings.
"I don't think I mind," Sonya said.
"Tsk. You can keep your weak Pokemon, but I'm going to find something way better," Mindy said.
"How are you going to do that?" Sonya asked.
"Watch and learn," Mindy said.
The two girls continued walking. Mindy occasionally eyed the Pokemon on display and made comments.
"Hey, I'll trade you that Scyther for my Hitmonchan." The girls heard two trainers haggling.
"Hey, look over there," Mindy said. She directed their attention to a trainer standing beside a huge healthy-looking Scyther. The Pokemon's lacy wings glistened in the sun and its sharp scythe-like claws gleamed. Mindy was practically drooling.
"No way; I'm waiting until I can get a powerful Pinsir...or maybe a Heracross!" the trainer with the Scyther said.
"Oh yeah," Mindy said. Before Sonya could react, Mindy jumped in front of the trainer.
"Excuse me. I couldn't help but overhear. Are you looking for a Pinsir?" Mindy asked.
The trainer raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
"I happen to have one," Mindy said.
"Really?"
"Yep, it's right here...in-in this Poke Ball," Mindy said nervously as she reached for the Poke Ball containing her Ratatta.
The trainer grabbed the Poke Ball and held it up to the sunlight as if he was examining it. No one was sure why he was doing this, as Pokemon were not visible through the Poke Balls.
"Uh...I don't know. My Scyther is pretty strong," the trainer said, tossing the Poke Ball back to Mindy.
"Oh...I know, so-so is my Pinsir, yeah. It was actually four-time champion," Mindy said.
"Really? Four-time champion of what?" the trainer said.
"The Pokemon fighting contests," Mindy said.
The trainer's expression melted into the beginning of a scowl.
"I don't know of any Pokemon fighting contests around here," the trainer said, raising an eyebrow.
"Um, that's because it's from...Johto, yeah, the contests are in Johto," Mindy said, handing the Poke Ball back.
The trainer continued to eye the Poke Ball suspiciously but then relaxed after a few seconds.
"Cool!" the trainer said. The look on his face said that he bought Mindy's lie.
"I'm willing to trade you...for that little guy," Mindy said, as she motioned to the Scyther.
"My Pinsir dominated with its Guillotine move," Mindy said,
"You taught your Pinsir Guillotine?" the trainer asked, his look extremely hopeful.
The trainer put his hand behind his head and then looked at Scyther.
"I need to be honest with you; Scyther isn't that good of a fighter. That's one of the reasons why I'm trading 'em," the trainer said.
Mindy raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Well..." Mindy looked at the Scyther with disappointment and then reached for the Poke Ball the trainer was holding.
"Hey!" the trainer yelped as it was snatched out of his hand.
"I don't know. My Pinsir is worth a lot, seeing as it's been in so many fights. I'm not sure I should let it go for just the Scyther; it looks a little weak," Mindy said, as she dangled the Poke Ball in front of the trainer, like a piece of fruit in front of a hungry Pokemon.
"I...I can throw in some items-Poke Balls? Revives? Evolution stones?" the trainer said.
Mindy made a scoffing sound and put on a look of disgust.
"Please..." the trainer said.
"Evolution stones and Poke Balls?" Mindy said.
The trainer nodded his head.
Mindy casually placed the Poke Ball back into the trainer's hand, while continuing to firmly grasp it.
"You've got yourself a deal," Mindy said.
"Cool!" the trainer said, reaching for the Poke Ball.
Mindy pulled it back and scowled a bit.
"Not so fast! I'll meet you at the trading booth north of here, by the corndog stand," Mindy said in a cool tone of disinterest.
"Oh, okay, sure!" the trainer said.
Sonya was around the corner, watching.
"Wow! I never knew you had a Pinsir," Sonya said.
"Tsk. Sonny, don't be so stupid; I don't," Mindy said.
"...but, how are you going to trade for Pokemon that you don't own?" Sonya asked. Her alarmed voice was unusually loud.
Suddenly, she felt Mindy's hand slap her across the mouth.
"Would you keep it down?" Mindy said.
Sonya grabbed her lips and winced. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
Mindy raised an eyebrow and grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to the trading booth.
"Just watch, Scardey Skitty, okay?"
Sonya nervously stood by the trading booth as they waited for the trainer.
Mindy suddenly scowled at Sonya, grabbed her by the collar, and leaned in close.
"You look like you are about to freak out. Listen, if you tell them I'm pulling a scam, I'll beat you to a pulp, got it?" Mindy said.
Sonya nervously nodded.
"You...d-don't have to worry about m-me," Sonya said.
"Good. Go take your Pokemon for a walk or something; I'm afraid you're going to give me away," Mindy said.
Sonya nervously called out her Raichu.
"Rai?" the Pokemon asked, looking at Mindy with a small scowl.
"Let's...go for a walk, okay?" Sonya asked.
"Rai!" the Pokemon said as it nodded its head, smiled, and tottered in front of its trainer.
Mindy continued to wait, nervously glancing at a nearby clock.
Where is that trainer? Don't tell me he's found someone else to trade with...
While glancing around, Mindy saw a Scyther walking her way.
That must be him. I wonder why it isn't in a Poke Ball. Oh well, places everyone.
Mindy smiled to herself as she fingered her Poke Ball.
Don't let me down, old friend
In a flash, a cute little wolf-like puppy Pokemon appeared before her.
"Rock-ruff," the Pokemon barked.
"Rocky, you know what to do, right?" Mindy asked as she slipped a collar and leash around the Pokemon.
The Pokemon made a nodding motion.
"Good, remember, act like you won't obey me and run away from the kiosk when I give the signal. Keep the trainer distracted so that he doesn't see what I'm trading, okay? Come back in about ten minutes."
"Rock-ruff!" the Pokemon barked.
The trainer approached.
"Alright, are you ready to do this?" Mindy asked.
"Y-yeah," the trainer said, nervously looking around.
"What's wrong?" Mindy asked.
"I'm just not-" the trainer cut himself off when he saw Mindy's Rockruff.
"Oh cool! A Rockruff! They're super rare around here! Where'd you get it?"
"Alola," Mindy said with a smile.
"Wow! You've been to Alola?" the trainer asked.
"Yeah, I'm from there, actually," Mindy said.
"Wow, so cool," the trainer said.
She bent down to pet the Pokemon.
"Yeah, old Rocky's been a good friend," Mindy said.
"You aren't thinking of trading 'em, are you?" the trainer asked.
The Rockruff growled at the trainer and made an angry face.
"Never," Mindy said.
She pulled the Pokemon to her chest dramatically.
"Rock-ruff," the Pokemon barked, giving her a lick on the cheek.
"We've just been through too much," Mindy said.
"I see..." the trainer said.
Mindy then stood up and dusted herself off.
"So, how about that trade?" Mindy asked.
"Um...sure?" the trainer said as he carefully recalled his Scyther and placed the Poke Ball into the appropriate slot.
Mindy discretely waved a hand in the air, and her Rockruff pulled at its leash. She hid a smile.
"Rock-ruff!" the Pokemon yelled as Mindy let go of the leash. It blasted the trainer with a sand attack and then ran off.
"Rocky!" Mindy yelled, pretending to trip.
"Oh no! Are you okay?" the trainer asked.
"I think so, but where's Rocky?" Mindy asked.
"I'll look for him!" the trainer yelled.
"But...but what about our trade?" Mindy asked.
The sentence was said to dead air. The trainer had already blindly dashed off after the wayward puppy Pokemon, leaving his Scyther unattended.
Perfect!
After making sure the trainer was far enough away, she activated the machine. In less than five minutes, the trade was over.
Sucker!
Quickly, Mindy took the Poke Ball containing Scyther and pocketed it, leaving the trainer with the weak Ratatta. She then casually walked away from the trading booth.
Rocky was playing with the trainer over by the corndog stand. She watched in amusement as he lead the trainer on a chase. Carefully, she put her fingers to her mouth and whistled, a low whistle that hopefully wouldn't look too suspicious.
Immediately, the Pokemon stopped running, its ears perked up, and it made a bee line for its trainer.
Good boy.
Mindy grabbed Rocky, held him close, winced, closed her eyes, and sniffed a few times like she was crying.
"Bad Rockruff, don't you ever do that to me again," Mindy pretended to scold while holding the Pokemon close.
The trainer appeared a few minutes later, out of breath.
Mindy continued to hug Rockruff.
"It's good that you're back... with... your Pokemon," the trainer said. Suddenly, he started feeling around in his pocket.
"My Scyther? Where-where is it?" the trainer asked in alarm.
Mindy shot up in mock surprise.
"Oh no! I must have left it at the trading booth. I was so worried about my Rocky, that-" Mindy said.
She again didn't have a chance to finish the sentence, as the trainer dashed off while she was in the middle of it.
"We...better go now," Mindy said to her Pokemon.
"Go find Sonny for us, okay Rocky?"
"Rock-ruff!"
Rocky playfully latched onto Sonya and proceeded to to try to drag her by the sock.
Sonya reached down to pet it. It's fur felt gritty, and its body was as hard as a rock.
"Hi cutie, where's Mindy?" Sonya asked.
"Raichu?"
"There you are!" Mindy yelled.
Mindy was nearly out of breath.
"Come on; we should go," Mindy said.
"Did you...complete that trade?" Sonya asked.
Mindy smiled, reached in her pocket, and held up the Poke Ball triumphantly.
"Yeah, but I don't think he's too happy about it," Mindy said as she grabbed Sonya and attempted to dash away.