Mari was about to ask about the device when Castform beat her to it. "Whoa, what was that?" the Pokemon inquired.
Raising an eyebrow at the talking Pokemon, Atzie answered as she returned the device to her backpack. "It's a Mobile Pokeball Transportation Device. I can send Pokemon I just caught to anywhere in Hoenn without having to wait until I have access to a desktop computer."
"Cool! Where did you send your Pokemon?" Mari asked.
"To my Dad in Lilycove. He wants me to send him rare Pokemon so his staff can study them."
"His staff?" Mari raised a eyebrow.
Laughing Atzie said, "Maybe I should give you my full name. It's Atzie Barrone."
Searching for the meaning of the name, Mari thought in silence for a moment. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed. "As in Barrone Corp?"
Atzie nodded. Barrone Corp was world-renowned as the producer of the Pokedex and countless other Pokemon essentials. "I'm the president's daughter."
"Oh," Mari's eyes widened and he looked ahead, suddenly self-conscious of walking next to the daughter of one of the richest men in Hoenn.
"Now don't get all weird on me," Atzie laughed. "I promise I don't bite. I leave that to Kendar." She gave her Pokemon a mischievous smile.
"Oh," Mari left out a giggle of relief. "Sorry, didn't mean to. I just wasn't expecting you to be…" she trailed off.
"A spoiled rich girl?" Atzie stared ahead cynically. "I get that a lot."
Embarrassed, Mari walked in silence. Unnoticed by Mari, Kendar glared at his trainer.
"Mm, sorry," Atzie said in a strained tone. "Didn't mean to jump on you like that. I just get a lot of grief over it."
"I can imagine," Mari said.
"Don't worry!" Castform said and floated over to Atzie. "I'll be your friend!"
Atzie brightened and gently pet Castform's head. "Why thank you, little one. That means a lot! But it's all good, I get loads of cool equipment from Daddy!"
Castform laughed.
"So," Atzie said regarding Castform, "Either of you going to explain to me why you can talk?"
"Doc taught me," Castform replied.
Mari explained further. "Well, Castform was created by scientists near Fortree. So, she's pretty smart!"
Castform laughed. "Not really, most Pokemon can understand English. I can just speak it, too."
Atzie smiled and pet Castform again. "I must say that's really cool!"
"Vipaah," Kendar said to Castform. She shrank back to Mari at first, eyeing the snake. "Sai?" he smiled at her. "Cas…" she slowly approached him, and soon a conversation started in Pokemon-language.
"Looks like they're starting to get along," Atzie commented.
"Yeah, that's good for her," Mari said. "I'm afraid when we get into the cities, much less the gyms, she'll have a hard time dealing with the people and pressure."
"She seems pretty young to me, I'm sure she'll get over it. You said scientists near Fortree created her?"
"Yeah," Mari replied.
"I've heard of them. Daddy supplied them with lots of their equipment."
"You sure seem to know a lot about his business. Do you work for him?"
"More or less," Atzie became serious. "That's actually why I'm here and not at home in Lilycove. Barrone Corp is always trying to improve their Pokedex and keep up with the latest needs and trends of the Pokemon world. So Daddy wants me to travel around and keep on top of what's hot and what's not, catching rare Pokemon to be studied as I go."
"Wow, that's a pretty broad job description."
"True, but it's fun, and it helps me see the different things that can be done with Pokemon. I haven't a clue what I want to do with my life, so traveling is good for me to see what options I have." Atzie trailed off in thought.
"Yeah," Mari said. "I know I want to train Pokemon, but there are still so many sub-fields of that. Type specialization, gym leader, policing, I really don't know what I want to do either."
"Hey, there's Slateport," Atzie pointed ahead of them. Below them past several hills and shrouded in mist from the sea was the city of Slateport. It glistened with lights and diluted sunlight. Skyscrapers reached up for the sky, while ocean water peppered with ships framed the sparkling metallic silhouettes.
"Alright! I can't wait to hit the mall!" Mari exclaimed.
"Ooh, shopping spree?" said Atzie.
"Yup, I just left my school to collect the Hoenn Gym badges. I need to pick up supplies. My Mom gave me a gift card and wants me to buy clothes, too."
"Awesome! Can I go with you? I'm really good at shopping for clothes! I am a spoiled rich girl, after all."
"Yeah! It's always more fun with company."
They continued talking and soon arrived in Slateport.
"Ah, the greatest food in Hoenn!" Atzie said as she bit into her hot dog.
"Oh, yeah," Mari said as she took hers from the street vendor. Castform and Seviper had Pokemon equivalents and were greedily chomping them down. "Thanks for lunch," she said stuffing her face.
"No problem! I owed you after Kendar scared you like he did."
They soon finished their lunch and walked inside the Slateport mall, a multi-level shopping extravaganza. Castform had been fairly quiet ever since they entered the crowded city, and was very uncomfortable with the idea of going into a mall. Also figuring that a nap would help Castform heal from her early battle, Mari returned her to her Pokeball. Atzie did the same with Kendar, knowing the bulky snake would take up a lot of room in the stores.
"Where do you want to go first?" Atzie asked.
"Supplies. That is my priority," Mari reminded herself. They walked into a large store called "Pokemart International" at Atzie's suggestion. Mari quickly saw why her new friend had suggested it. The store was huge. Cash registers were lined up against the entire left wall, she could barely see the far wall and signs carefully categorized the different areas.
"Uh, Pokemon med supplies first?" Mari said and they walked into the area. In all, they spent nearly two hours in the store, acquiring every item the new trainer could possibly need. Food for Mari and her Pokemon, grooming supplies, training supplies, vitamins, and medical essentials were the highlights.
They also visited the TM and HM section. The shelves contained dozens of TMs and HMs.
"Well," Mari said as she thoughtfully examined the move options, "Castform's current movepool is pretty limited. It's all attacks, she needs something that gives her a strategic edge."
Next to her Atzie said, "Sounds right to me. Maybe Double Team? That's a pretty nifty move."
"Yeah, but that move requires more skill and experience than Castform has."
"How long have you had her, anyway?"
Mari wrinkled her nose. "Um, about twenty-four hours now, I guess."
Atzie whistled. "I know you said you just graduated from Pokemon School, but a day?"
"Heh, yeah. That's why a TM would be really useful right now." Grabbing a TM applicator she handed it to Atzie. "Would you please get in line to check-out? I'm going to be just a minute longer."
Guiding the cart full of items away Atzie mumbled in exasperation, "Ugh! Would you just choose so we can go clothes shopping already?!"
Rolling her eyes Mari snatched the TM Attract disc and went after Atzie. After paying, Mari took what looked like a black squared Pokeball from her backpack. Out of it came a large container labeled "CEIS Bin" in a flash of green light. It was very big, four and a half feet long, three feet wide, and two and a half feet tall. "Thank you, my dear beloved Daddy," Mari said as she put her purchases in the bin and her backpack.
"Ain't Pokeball technology great?" Atzie commented as Mari recalled the bin into its Pokeball-like holder.
The girls quickly made their way to a clothing store. Atzie, obviously, adored shopping for clothes, but Mari went about her search in a logical, fast manner. She emerged from the store, much to Atzie's disappointment, less than an hour later with black cargo shorts, a short-sleeved green shirt with the word "TRAINER" on it in black letters, and a black water-proof jacket. Adding these to her current yet limited wardrobe, Mari was ready to leave the mall.
"Done!" Mari said with satisfaction as they left the mall. "Whaddaya wanna do now?"
Glancing at her watch Atzie said, "Well, actually, I have to catch a ship back to Lilycove in a little over an hour. Might as well head over to the harbor."
"Oh," Mari said with disappointment. "I didn't know you'd be leaving so soon."
"Don't worry! I travel around a lot. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again. I'll e-mail you. But I better get going." Mari joined her in heading over to the docks. It was nearing sunset and the overcast sky began to change colors in preparation for the pre-night light show.
"So, where're you headed? Atzie said after awhile.
"Tomorrow I want to take a ferry to Dewford. I'd like to get my first badge there, but I have a lot of training to do. Castform and I haven't even battled another trainer together before."
Atzie stopped walking and addressed Mari. "Seriously?"
"Yup."
"Cool! Can I battle you?" Upon seeing Mari's startled reaction she explained. "Mari, your first battle is something you will never forget. It's very special. I would consider it an honor and privilege to be your first opponent."
A competitive spirit flared up in Mari's heart and she agreed. "Okay."
"Great!" Atzie exclaimed. Looking around at all the people she said, "Let's find somewhere less crowded. There should be some quieter places over by the empty docks.
Mari followed Atzie as they headed closer to the water. Turning away from the beaten path they soon came to an area close to the water that had few people around. "This look good to you?" Atzie asked.
"Mm-hm," she responded. "But first, I'd like to teach Castform the TM move I got her."
"Okay," Atzie agreed. "Do you want to practice before we start?"
"Nah, she can practice as she battles." Mari released Castform from her Pokeball.
Castform re-appeared sleeping on the floor. She opened her eyes, and groggily floated up to eye-level with Mari.
"Hi there," Mari said. "Have a nice nap?"
"Yeah, thanks," she said, yawning. "I feel a lot better!"
"Good. Up for a battle?"
"With who?"
"Atzie."
Castform looked over at Atzie and her new friend, Kendar. "Are you sure that's okay?" she asked Mari.
"Sure it is," Mari replied. "I have lots of friends that I battled back at school. But if you don't feel like it, I'll understand."
"No," Castform said shaking her head. "You said we'll be battling lots of people. I need practice."
"Great!" Mari said. "Remember when I told you about TMs? Well, I got you one. I want you to relax as much as you can while I use it, okay?"
"Okay," Castform nodded. "Um, will it hurt?"
"No," Mari said. "It might be a bit hard to understand what's going on at first, but it won't hurt. Now, very suddenly a lot of information is going to flood into your mind. I want you to concentrate on that information, paying special attention to the actions you feel you can use, and associate it with the name of the move, which is Attract.
Castform nodded again and lowered herself closer to the ground as Mari kneeled on the stone floor. There was a chill in the air, and the grey sky was not encouraging.
Mari put her backpack on the ground and took out the TM applicator, the device that executed the function of TMs and HMs on the Pokemon. There was a square flat center that would hold the TM/HM disc. It was attached to three cords with smaller squares at their ends.
First putting the TM Attract disc in the large center square, she then placed that square on the top of Castform's head and positioned the other three squares on the sides and back of her head. Castform stood perfectly still for the procedure and watched in curiosity.
"Ready?" Mari asked her.
The Pokemon steadied herself, relaxed her muscles, and said, "Ready."
"Here we go," she said as she slid a switch on the TM applicator, and Castform immediately flinched. Her eyebrows furrowed over closed eyes. Apparently under great stress, Castform breathed a sigh of relief after a moment.
Mari removed the device. "Howya feel?"
"A little dizzy at first, but okay."
"Good," Mari replied. "Now keep it in your mind just a minute longer, okay? You don't have to concentrate so hard this time, though."
Nodding, Castform diverted her gaze into nothingness and became absorbed in thought.
"The first time is always the hardest," Atzie interrupted, addressing Mari. "It'll get easier the more experienced she gets and the more often she learns through TMs."
Mari nodded and before she could reply, Castform's eyes met hers and she smiled. "Got it!"
"Okay, you ready to put that move to the test in battle?" Mari asked. Her Pokemon nodded.
"Good," Atzie interjected. "Kendar, time to battle," she said releasing her Seviper from his Pokeball.
Mari walked a few meters away from her opponent, Castform standing in front of her ready to fight. The trainer nodded her readiness to Atzie.
Atzie nodded back. "Kendar, Poison Tail!"
The battle began.
Author's Notes: Get ready for Mari's first major battle! Will she win? Will she see Atzie again? More will be revealed next Thursday! Okay, it might be a day or two late because I'm going on a road trip, but it will be up!
I'd also like to thank all my loyal readers for their consistent feedback! If you've read this and haven't left a review… smacks you BAD READER!! LOL, j/k. But in all honesty, I love reviews; you know I do! Drop me note!