AN: In case anyone is wondering at this point, for the most part I'm basing this off one of my own runs through Omega Ruby. Obviously a few things are changed for the sake of the story, but for the most part everything is the same. Anyone care to guess what generation she alludes to coming from?
~~ Chapter 3 ~~
She'd finally managed to shake the man out of her head as she walked through the woods. Mostly in that there were pokemon for Blaze to train himself against. A couple would join her team, but there weren't many that wanted to get out and start the rigorous training she offered. Admittedly, she couldn't blame any of them. It was tough trying to be a strong member of her team, and she didn't make it any easier by constantly making sure they were up to snuff. By the time she bumped into the scientist looking for a shroomish, most of the few pokemon that had joined her team were wiping everything in the area out with one hit.
"Excuse me." He mumbled, taking a step back. Really, it hadn't been her fault, he was just being polite. "Oh! You're a strong trainer, have you seen this pokemon?" He held out a picture of a shroomish. "I just think shroomish is such an amazing pokemon, it's so cute, a-" He was interrupted by some punk in a red suit coming up to them.
"Good Arceus Old Man, I was waiting to ambush you and you took so long looking for a shroomish!" The punk huffed. "Now hand over the goods man" He demanded of the terrified scientist.
The scientist, being shocked into his current emotional state, shimmied behind Keran, hoping that she'd keep him safe. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" He whimpered, only peeking out from behind her shoulder to see if his response would send the punk away. He squeaked in fear when the punk only moved closer.
Keran bit back a sigh. This was ridiculous. But the guy behind her was scared and that meant she should probably chase this guy away. Plus there was that league thing, something about red or blue outfits. "Hey, are you trying to rob this guy?" She bristled, taking a step towards the goon in red. "And what's with the goofy red jammies?" Ker questioned, unable to believe what some people would wear in public. Not that she was one to talk, she barely had on anything herself, but that didn't change the fact that this guy was wearing his pyjamas to rob someone in.
"Yeah, whats it to ya?!" He challenged, "I'm a proud member of Team Magma! And we need the stuff from Devon Corp. to further our goals!" The grunt boasted, reaching back to grab the pokeball he had with him. It was only one pokemon, but it would surely be enough to deal with these losers.
Keran raised an eyebrow. The brat just gave away all that information without realizing it. At least it told her who she was supposed to be looking out for. "Blaze, use Flame Charge." She instructed the pokemon that'd been hiding just behind the scientist. The little torchic had evolved. Keran was now teaching a Combusken how to be the strongest pokemon it could be. Blaze narrowed his eyes and charged at the opposing pokemon. Just a wee little Poochyena. "Don't kill it, just knock it out." She called, reminding him to be gentle. Teaching him how to use his flames in a completely different manner was a great idea, just not the best when he was still learning how strong he actually was now that he had a pair of hands.
"What the hell?!" The grunt grunted, calling his faithful pokemon back. There was no way this pasty chick could have fended him off like that! She had to have been cheating! "Tch. You're not worth the effort. We're after something big in Rustboro anyway." He huffed, turning tail and running.
Keran sighed, patting Blaze on the head. He'd done very well for himself, and they had succeeded in keeping the sniveling scientist safe for a few moments. Something told her this kind of thing happened to him a lot. "Well done Blaze." She cooed, finally starting to look to the scientist behind her. "Are you alright?"
"Wow! You're an amazing trainer!" He gushed, glad she'd chased away the punk that was threatening him. "Oh! I know, as thanks for saving me, I'll give you this!" He fished around in his pockets for a moment before finally grasping his prize. Well, her prize. "An experience share!" The scientist offered proudly. He was pushing it into her hands, refusing to take no for an answer.
"Um.. Thank you?" She wasn't sure what he was offering her. She'd played with one briefly back in Johto, but that didn't mean she knew what it did.
With a sly grin, he flipped a switch on the side of the device he'd handed her. "This turns it on and it lets your entire team power up at the same time, even when only your combusken is battling." The scientist was thrilled with this invention. "I helped design this one here. It's the current top of the line model."
"Oh wow" Ker was a little shocked. He was just giving her a top model of something he helped create? That was… incredibly generous. He could've made a lot of money off this thing, whatever it was. "Thank you." She offered him one of her fairly rare real smiles. It was rather kind of him to give her something so useful.
"A pleasure, Ma'am." He winked at her, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to Devon and report in. If you find a shroomish would you bring it by and show me later?" The scientist asked, still on a mission to find his dream pokemon.
"H-have a safe trip?" Her head tilted a little to the side, confused by his sudden change in manner. She hadn't really expected him to call her so formally. Oh well, it meant she'd have a chance to get the rest of the way through the woods without much issue, and just Blaze could fight if he really wanted to. That was… convenient for all involved. Though it didn't really train the pokemon that were just piggybacking off whoever was fighting. Well, whatever. Keran tucked the quietly humming device into a pocket of her bag and made her way towards Rustboro. It wasn't too much farther now, and it was just about time to stop for a check up on all the pokemon on her current team. And to report in to the league back home. Figuring out it was Team Magma was a pretty good first step, she just needed to figure out what they were doing with whatever they were trying to steal from Devon. Okay, not really time to linger.
Keran stretched her legs as far as they would, sprinting along the trail towards the exit. She could see a flower shop just outside of the woods, and a small pond just off to the side of it. Looked like they were home free finally! At least, as close to home free as they could be when they'd just gotten to Rustboro. There had to be a faster way to get around than just running everywhere.
"I hear there's a gym here, we can tackle that after we check in with the league. Sound like a plan Blaze?" Ker offered to the pokemon next to her. If she didn't know how well this little guy could move, she'd be shocked he could keep up. She wasn't the fastest runner by far, but she was in shape and could keep up the pace for an extended period of time. Even longer if she was jogging instead of running all out trying to get somewhere quicker. Maybe there was a bike shop somewhere in this town she could get one of those. There had to be enough money in one of her accounts to purchase one. Or maybe there were Tauros she could take around as a mount or something. They were fairly fast… She shook herself of the idea and kept racing forward. First stop, the pokecenter.
It didn't take her long to reach her first goal. And even less time for Nurse Joy to take her pokemon back to look at them. Ker had told her she had some business to check on and asked if Nurse Joy wouldn't give them the works. Agreeing to this, Ker had just bought herself a few hours without having to worry too much about anything. So long as she didn't leave the center. Which was fine by her, she had computer work that needed to be done, and a chance to see who the champion of this region was at the moment.
"Video messaging system activate." She commanded, taking a secluded corner. Heaven forbid anyone walk in and catch her conduct business. "Lance, this is Elite Four Keran checking in from Hoenn. I received your earlier message about the rogue teams out for the destruction of the world and have proceeded to root out the cause of the issue. It appears Team Magma is behind the issues and I will be following their movements as closely as possible. I will keep you updated on any further progress." Keran paused for a moment, changing subjects in her head while attempting to make it obvious such was happening. "On a related yet different note, please send me information to contact the league here in Hoenn. Should I need assistance, I'd like to know they wouldn't be more than several minutes away rather than in a completely different region." She pushed the fake smile onto her face, "I will continue my assignment shortly. With no one knowing who I am, I believe taking the Hoenn Gym Challenge might be an interesting distraction while I attempt to transfer my team over." Keran added, letting her own league know of her intentions. She may not be an important member of the Elite Four just yet, but she still needed to let them know what she was doing most of the time. Just in case they needed her. Since she was out on assignment, that was doubtful. "Elite Four Keran signing out." Transmission ended. She let out a sigh of relief. She was finished with the important stuff, but there was still the matter of finding out who to contact among the local league. At least that would wait until Lance returned her message.
"Okay, I think I'm good here…" She mumbled, patting down her pockets, looking for her little transceiver. Ah, there it was, just under the second belt. Ker grinned, she was probably one of the only trainers that were allowed to carry two belts. One for her league pokemon, and one for everyday use, or this trip she was taking. No one needed to know what the second holder was there for. It wouldn't even be used until she had the chance to transfer her own pokemon from one region to the other. She'd always be salty about that. This was a massive pain and she had to travel from one city to the next on foot! What happened if she was called to yet more regions? At least this one was small enough it would really only take her a couple of days between each town if she took her time.
"Nurse Joy, are my pokemon ready?" She asked, leaning on the counter. She smiled when Nurse Joy walked between the swinging doors to check. Keran was fairly certain that her pokemon weren't ready, but it didn't hurt to ask. Maybe if she was lucky Lance would get back to her right away and she could get in contact with the Hoenn Champion.
"I'm sorry Keran, they'll still be a while yet. Would you like to take one of the center's pokemon out in the meantime?" Nurse Joy offered, gesturing to the pokeballs on the of the displayed pokemon were working in one part of the center, or playing in the back. The young pokemon could always use a firm hand to practice with.
"Oh, um, sure." She shook her head, "Which one needs the most help?" She asked, looking at the wall of available pokemon. This was something she was good at. Familiar with the process even. So long as the pokemon in question listened to her, she'd return it well trained and almost ready to help around the center.
"Her pokeball is on the second shelf from the top, three from the right." Joy wasn't quite able to leave her station, needing to go directly back to the back of the center, but she was able to direct anyone wanting to train the center's adoptable pokemon to those in most need.
Keran nodded, selecting the indicated pokeball. It felt empty. Either the pokemon was playing in the back of the center, or it was a type she wasn't wholly familiar with. Ker was willing to bet on the first one rather than the second. She may not train all the types, but she had to be at least partially familiar with them all. Enough so she could train her team to defend themselves against them. "Okay little pokemon, where are you.." She called, tapping the ball's function button twice. Once was to let the pokemon out, twice to call them back, and four times to release a pokemon into the wild. She'd only hit a ball four times once, and she intended to keep it that way.
"Alright, out you get." She murmured to the pokemon that was so willfully hiding from her. Upon release and data reformation, a rather odd duck stood before her. Or really, more of a psyduck. An angry one at that. "So, you're the one terrorizing all the other pokemon in the center?" Ker smirked, reaching out to rub the top of the psyduck's head. It, quite expectedly, moved away from the gesture. Psyduck did not like to be touched, it was it's own pokemon. No trainer would tame it. "You don't like humans right? Can you tell me why you don't like us?" Keran asked, sitting on the floor directly in front of the independent pokemon.
A short while later, and a long conversation, the psyduck was content to help out in the pokecenter. So long as it didn't have to help humans, it was a happy pokemon. Maybe even one day it might find a human that it liked. Until then, Keran would let it be. And possibly take her own team back on the road. That little chat with Psyduck had taken enough of her own time.
"Nurse Joy, I have to ask again, are my pokemon ready yet?" The silvery haired woman inquired. She really didn't have much more time to waste. Who knew what shady business was going on inside of Devon Corp, and there was a gym to battle.
"Just another five minutes or so. They're almost ready now." Nurse Joy smiled, having known that question was about to come up again.
"Thanks…" Ker quietly groaned. This was the longest treatment she'd had to sit through in ages. At least, maybe there was a chance Lance had returned her message? Keran looked at her transceiver, hoping, wishing, for a notification. But nothing. She'd just have to occupy herself with something else. It was about this time an older gentleman walked in. He was practically praised for the small act even. What in Arceus' name was that all about? She turned to one of the few people that didn't seem to be swooning over him and asked, "Who is he?"
"You don't know?" The person's head tilted a little, "That's the hero who cut down the tres to make a place for our city!" They gushed, "His expert use of the Cut HM is something most of us only ever dream of!"
"Say no more." She groaned again. Sure, there were plenty of trees and all the nature they could ever handle, but it was still hard to hear when someone cut down a ton of trees to make room for a city to develop. Pokemon lost their homes, sometimes even their native environments when humans cleared land to build more cities. Apparently she'd accidentally caught the guy's attention, as he was trying to catch hers. As soon as her head was turned towards him, he was pressing something in her hand.
"I'm sure you'll use this wisely." He said, smiling and going about his business.
"What the hell?" She whispered, looking at what he'd handed her. Looked like a T.M. Maybe it was the HM they'd just been talking about? Well, whatever it was, she'd figure it out later. Nurse Joy was holding the tray full of her pokeballs and offering her a way out of this circus.