It took far longer to travel between Oldale and Petalburg than it should've. So much time that Keran was rather irate by the end of the trip. Thank Arceus that they'd be coming to a halt with someone she was familiar with and wouldn't be trying to kill immediately. Namely, her father. And he did need to know of her job. Partially so she could gloat, but also because he would be truly happy for her. They could relive their glory days before she was once more forced to strike out and continue on her journey to meet with this mysterious Lanette.
What she didn't intend to get swept into, was the young man asking for her father's assistance in catching a pokemon. And her father agreeing, immediately after making eye contact with her. "Why don't you go along with my daughter here, she'll show you exactly how to catch a pokemon." Norman winked, holding out his hand for her to take the few pokeballs for the example.
"Really?! Oh my gosh, this is so awesome!" Wally squealed, hugging Norman tight before releasing him and crushing Keran with the same excited hug.
Ker winced a little, patting the rather enthusiastic young man on the head. "Sure thing." She carefully extracted herself from the green haired one's grip and took the balls from her father. "Lets go back onto the route over there, and see if there's anything you can scare up." Not what she wanted to do, but it was obvious there was nothing to be done between here and there. Norman, her father, wasn't going to see her until this kid was out of the way.
It took all of five minutes from where they were standing outside Norman's gym to be standing in the tall grass looking for a pokemon. It took way less time than that for a ralts to come up and pester Wally. "Look, it wants to battle." She offered, starting to walk him through exactly how to catch the pokemon that was looking up at him so desperately. Keran only stopped once to tell Blaze to calm down. Little chick wanted to battle just as badly as Wally wanted to catch his first pokemon. That would be taken care of quick enough. "Okay, now just toss the pokeball towards the ralts, and when it lands, it should get sucked into it." But then, he should know this part too. And he did. As soon as the ball stopped shaking, it flew back into his hand.
"Thank you so much! I'm so excited for this pokemon!" He gushed, letting his ralts out of the ball and proceeding to hug it tight. Ker winced again, this time for the sake of the poor ralts that was getting smothered in hugs. "Oh! I know, let me update your pokenav real quick! As a thank you" He grinned, finally letting the little ralts relax for a moment. Wally grabbed the pokenav that was attached to Keran's wrist and punched a few buttons and made a few beeps. Almost as quickly as he'd grabbed it, he released her hand. "There you go! I've been wanting to be a trainer so long I had a few really awesome apps installed on mine. You might like them too!" Wally grinned.
"Um.. Thank you Wally. Lets get back to the gym leader now and give him back his pokemon?" She looked rather uncomfortable. And it didn't help that he'd grabbed her without asking. At least, there were some interesting apps that she hadn't thought to download. Maybe one of them kept track of what all was packed into her traveling bags? Keran turned to walk back to where her father was waiting, hoping he'd just forced Ker into making a friend.
She walked, Wally followed. "He caught a ralts. Had no idea they were hiding in that trail over there." Ker nodded towards Wally. He was relatively lucky, having caught something she couldn't find in such a small area. How the heck a ralts hadn't come out at her, she'd never know. "And I believe this is yours."
"Thank you so much Norman! Now I'll have someone to take with me to Verandturf!" Wally was so excited.
"Any time Kiddo. Now, off you go." Norman shooed the boy. His father was waiting for him, almost impatiently. A lot of it had to do with the fact that a complete stranger had just walked off with his son, but what was Norman going to tell him? That the lady who just walked off with Wally was one of the best trainers in her native region? Yes. That exactly. And he had said just that. "Keran! How are you liking it in Hoenn?" All of his attention was on the tall young woman he was so fortunate to call his daughter.
"I'd like it a lot better if I could transfer my team over here with me. I still don't understand why I had to leave them. Are they afraid of something here?" Ker complained. She wouldn't even be on this journey if she'd been allowed to carry her team with her through customs. As it were, the pokemon she'd taken with her on her league challenge were some of the strongest she'd known. Maybe they were afraid she'd go on a rampage and destroy everything? "Lets go inside and talk. You've got some news to catch up on."
"Sounds like a plan Ker." Norman agreed, holding the gym doors open for her. He'd heard something big happened before she agreed to come to Hoenn, but he still had no clue what it was. He was just excited to see his little girl talking to him!
There was an obvious break room and rest area inside the gym, meant mostly for when Norman was waiting around for trainers to take the challenge. He was there almost constantly. He'd loose his league funding if he wasn't combat ready any time there was a chance of a gym challenge. It was there he'd managed to get Keran to sit and relax a little. Pour a couple cups of tea. "So, I'm standing there, facing against Lance, and one of his dragon pokemon managed to scare my little pikachu so badly she ran behind me and hid!" Keran threw her hands up in exasperation. "She was so scared. But at the same time, she was all that was left, and Lance's pokemon were her friends. She'd never seen them in battle before. It was terrifying. His skill… It's on a completely different level than anything I've ever seen." She continued, defending the poor pokemon to the very end.
"Lance and I called the battle off as soon as Chu hit the back of my legs. We knew it wasn't going to happen, even if Chu would've won." Keran shook her head, silvery locks falling into her eyes. "So they offered me a job. I'm a member of the elite four of Johto." She brushed the misbehaving hair out of her eyes, looking at her father, proud of her accomplishment. "Said I'd done better than any trainer they'd seen in a long time and asked if I wanted to join them. They actually have me here on league business, which is.. Interesting to say the least."
"You… What? Wow Keran.." Norman had no idea what to say. He'd always dreamed that she'd be something great, he knew she had all the potential in the world. But to see it with his own eyes, hear it himself. It was unspeakable. He'd lost all words to describe the feeling. "I had no idea they'd offer you something like that so quickly. I've been trying to become a part of the league myself for years now! Way to go you!" Norman was thrilled to death for his daughter. She deserved this honor. She worked herself ragged for it! He could still remember all the training she'd put herself through just getting ready to take her first trip out with her pokemon. The day she received her pikachu from Professor Elm… It all felt like it was just yesterday, and now here she was, a member of the elite four. He could cry it was such a huge step.
"Have you thought any about settling down once your league business is finished up here?" He asked, curious to know if there would be another generation of amazing trainers.
The silver haired woman shook her head. Dating, marriage, children, all of it seemed so… Well not her. "I don't think that's something I'm even going to have the chance to think about. As soon as I get over to Lanette to get my pokemon, I've got to get on this business matter, and who knows how long that'll take and where it'll have me going. None of the men back home are even remotely interesting." She made a face, "And that Gary Oak was a horrible decision." A brief fling with the grandson of a professor. He was so handsome, how could she have said no? But he was always talking about the size of his pokeballs, and how she couldn't handle his girth. The second that came up she was out. No way was anyone talking to her like that.
"I'm not looking to date anyone." She shrugged, not having heard the door open and swing closed.
Norman's gaze changed from looking at his daughter, to directly over her shoulder. It looked like Professor Birch's son, but he didn't know the kid all that well. But the look of hiding disappointment. Norman nodded to Ker, letting her know they weren't alone anymore.
Keran sighed a little, making an effort not to slump with the sound. It wouldn't have been polite to whoever had just joined them. Ever so slowly, her head turned to look at the new guest. Oh.. Oh dear. It was Brendan. But hadn't they just parted ways not that long ago in Oldale town? What was he doing here so soon? "Heya Brendan~" She waved, wondering just how much he'd heard. Most likely enough to cause that look of slight pain he was attempting to conceal.
"Hi Keran!" He chimed, trying not to think about what she'd just said. He'd walked in in the middle of her saying someone was a mistake. Thankfully he hadn't heard much, just enough to know he had no shot with her. "Um.. Norman, do you think I could challenge you for a badge?"
Norman raised an eyebrow, "Do you have any badges yet?" He asked. He was a strong leader, and he didn't want to crush a new trainer's dreams by not being able to get anywhere near strong enough to win a gym battle.
"N-no, not yet Sir." He winced, looking at the gym leader and his daughter. This was supposed to be easy right? Why did it feel like he was on trial?
"I'm sorry I can't accept your challenge then. Come back when you've earned 4 badges and we'll battle then." Norman offered, "Until then, would you care to join us for tea?"
Keran stood up, stretching and showing of her soon to be tanned stomach. "Excuse me, I think it's well past time for me to be moving." Sure, it was blunt and out of nowhere, but she really did need to get back on the road. The sooner she got to Lanette, the sooner she was able to get her own team back. "See you again soon Brendan." She smiled, waving to the boy. Before heading out the door, she stopped and hugged her father. "I'll visit when I've gotten where I'm going." And she turned and walked away, leaving the dejected boy and her father alone in her wake. It was past time to be going.
"Have a safe trip Keran." Norman wished his headstrong daughter. Maybe she'd actually call him, or even change her mind about dating and members of the other gender. Or maybe not. He was just proud to call such a powerful trainer his daughter.
"Hand out a few badges." She nodded, walking out the door and onto the next route. Maybe she needed to take this journey a little more seriously than she was. At least there wasn't much to do in Petalburg. Not yet anyway. If she actually took the gym challenge, she'd have to come back and battle her father someday, but today wasn't that day.
It wasn't long before she found herself on the outskirts of Petalburg, and into the tamed wilds of route 104. A whiff of salty air caught her nose, bringing attention to the beach just out of view. How could she have not noticed that in town? The ocean was so close she could literally swim in it if she'd wanted to! But then, she'd have to want to swim and get wet. Keran chewed her lip as she followed her nose to the beach. At the very least, she wanted to see the waves lapping against the shores. Maybe there'd be a water pokemon or two she could pick up. If this trip to Fallarbor was going to take her a long while she might as well have a decent team with her.
Even walking it didn't take long to reach the edge of the island, where water met sand. It was just a small beach, nothing to be overly excited about, and yet, she was thrilled to see it. Perhaps because it signaled a chance to travel to another region where she wouldn't have to deal with family she wasn't fond of. Or was it that there was a really handsome man walking past her without a shirt on? Swearing off dating or not, she could still stand back and appreciate some rippling muscles, and this guy had them in spades.
Keran shook her head, trying to clear her mind, or at least take her eyes off the icy haired man. Nope, apparently not working. All she could think about was how well toned the muscles of his slim build were, how fluid his movements were, almost like it was an extremely well choreographed dance. Rather than chewing her lip, she was biting it now. Her not so vivid imagination going wild with thoughts she'd rather die than admit to having. But then, maybe it was for the best. He was wading back into the water and out of her sights.
And just like that he was gone. Under the water, doing something else, and her mind was free for the moment. Arceus, what a body that man had. She grinned to herself, finally forcing her legs to move. How lucky she had been to spot someone like him just walking along the beach. While her eyes were free to look where she was going, her mind kept going back to him. It would pass, quickly, like all the rest of the handsome men she'd met. But it would take her attention away long enough to pass by a house with a man and his wingull staring at her knowingly. She'd not even noticed walking past it. A shame really, she'd have loved to stop in and see if the older gentleman knew anything about the forest behind his house...