p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"I woke up to Nurse Joy and one of her Audinos healing me with their magical, scientific, healing ray. The physics of this world are still a mystery. I mean, what does make me weak against water Pokemon? Is it only justified by some arbitrary game mechanic to help players create versatile teams? Is there some sort of biological reason that whenever a water or grass attack touches my hardened exterior, I break like a… piece of paper?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Paper wraps rock, I guess…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"One thing is for certain, battling does hurt. I imagine this is what its like being a boxer or mixed martial artist in my world. Though the healing gun restores me automatically to pique fighting condition, at what point do I finally give out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Why am I having such existential thought? I was a Pokemon in the Pokemon world now. Battles were a major part of the culture, and frankly I was born for it with my ridiculous abilities, especially Overcome. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I wouldn't have made it this far without it. Defeating Laura's bullies and even securing a gym badge… Wait! Did I even win that?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I jumped up off the table and tried to run out the door, but it was closed. I yipped at Nurse Joy, as she smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Well, it looks like you're feeling a lot better. We're almost done, just rest a while longer."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"The Audino grabbed me and carried me back to the table. I protested but this thing was tougher than its marshmallow exterior would suggest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Calm down, Rowdy," said Princess. She sat on a chair next to the door, eyes serene as always./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Did I win? Did we get the badge?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"She blinked. "Yes. You managed to fall into the water, dragging that Pokemon with you, and then your Thunderfang went off at the last minute, resulting in a double knock out. Luckily it was the gym leader's only Pokemon, so we won by default."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Well…" I was hoping that I would have won a little classier than that. Dragging a water Pokemon under the water only to deliver a Thunderfang at the last moment had some style but seemed very embarrassing to me. "At least we won," I said. "Where's the karp?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Princess nodded to the tank next to the wall where several fish Pokemon healed up their strength inside. The golden Magikarp swam happily, swimming close to the glass overlooking their room. He looked better in the water. Something Rowdy didn't really understand was the concept of fish-like Pokemon fighting on land. It was bizarre to watch in the anime and seemed unrealistic. And he wasn't a bad fighter for a Magikarp. Though he'd only been fighting another Magikarp, he did outlast him. Maybe he'd be a viable team member./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""That's Prince Karp to you, mutt!" Obviously he overheard me. I couldn't wait to see him flounder on solid ground again. I smiled at the thought. "Good job, Karp. Maybe you're not so bad afterall."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You will call me Prince Karp!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Princess rolled her eyes and laid back down in her chair./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"It didn't take long. We were in and out of our Pokeballs in no time, sitting at Laura's feet, each with a snack and big hug. Karp flopped around in protest as Laura finally christened him, Blooper, all because he had a fish face. He was not happy about that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Noooooo!" he shouted with his bloopy face./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I laughed very hard and nearly choked on my snack. Laura was quick to grab me. "Rowdy," she said, "Don't push yourself too hard. I was scared when you fell in the pool."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"She squeezed me so hard that my snack flew out of my mouth. I mean, honestly, what happens to rock Pokemon during prolonged water exposure? I was knocked out by a pool. There I go again, thinking about the worst-case scenario. I just had to make sure that didn't happen. I needed to mind the water sports and stay on land from now on. Besides, with Blooper around, I'd probably avoid most water from now on. Maybe./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"We slept inside the Pokemon Center that night and woke up early the next morning, setting out on our journey on Route 256. I led the way while Blooper stayed in his pokeball and Princess sat on Laura's shoulder. The route wasn't too difficult. It wasn't a forest or cave so we didn't get lost. We did, however, face a ton of trainers. I was able to get Laura to switch to Blooper as her starter for each battle. I wanted to get him up to Gyarados as soon as possible, so I didn't feel like I had to carry the team. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Princess, though very good, made it clear that she wasn't going to battle if she didn't have to. She was so adamant about it that whenever she brought her out to battle, she ignored orders and the challenging Pokemon entirely. I had to pick up the slack, since Blooper could only splash. It was a long Route till the next town. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Not only were there a lot of trainers, but there were also a lot of random Pokemon attacking. Mostly Pidgey, Rattata, and other, what I would call, non-essential Pokemon. We fought every single one! Surprisingly, none of them caught Laura's eye; she didn't catch a single one. I knew she had Pokeballs; I made sure she bought some with all the money we earned during the gym challenge. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"We took a rest at some point and Laura gave us food and she settled down for lunch. She even brought out Blooper, who she fed while cuddling him under her arm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You did so well today, and you grew so much," Laura said as she fed him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Blooper devoured his food. "Oh my, I sure did work up an appetite after all those fights."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Princess hissed. I supposed it had everything to do with how much Laura was babying Blooper. As for me, I rolled my eyes. Once again, I did all the work. If I hadn't surpassed Princess by level yet, I would probably scream. Heck, if I didn't evolve soon… I still had no idea when a Rockruff such as myself would evolve. It had to be soon, right? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I imagined what I would possibly become. What did I evolve into? What kind of stat boosts could I expect? Depending on what I turned into, it could really affect the team dynamic. Heck, what if I became useless? I laughed nervously, which came out as a bark. Princess turned to me curiously as if to ask, but we were both caught off guard by a trainer approaching./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I groaned and stood up, ready for another fight and, by the looks of her, an encounter with something more interesting than a Pidgey./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"She had long green hair, tied back in a braid; she was older than Laura, perhaps early 20's./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Hello!" she smiled at us. It was a very pleasant smile. Genuine and loving. I think I'm falling in love. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Laura stood up with Blooper under arm. "Hello," she extended her hand, "My name's Laura. What's your name?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""My name is Brianna," she accepted Laura's hand and shook it. "I was watching your progress through Route 256, and I have to say I'm very impressed. Your Rockruff is very healthy and strong." She pat my head and my tail wagged. Finally, someone recognized the work I was putting in./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Have you heard of the Trainer Scope?" Brianna continued to scratch behind my ears. I'm in heaven. "It allows you to see the levels and abilities of your Pokemon and wild Pokemon."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""I've never heard of one of those," said Laura. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I was getting de ja vu. What was this going to cost us, and would it be as useful as she said it was?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I yipped in protest, but Laura placed Blooper on the picnic blanket and put the Trainer Scope on. It looked similar to the scouters from Dragon Ball Z, one glass lens that fit over one eye, but it was cylindrical with a dial. Laura fiddled with it on her head. Princess eyed it skeptically./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Now," said Brianna, who positioned herself behind Laura and began to turn the dial, "This is your lens dial. It will show you your Pokemon's level, type, and abilities on setting 1. On setting 2, you should see their current attacks. Lastly, on setting 3 you will see their stats." She had turned the dial on the scope as she explained the settings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Oh wow!" Laura began turning it as she focused on each one of us. "This is amazing! But… Well, I always thought Pokemon could only have two abilities."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""That's right," Brianna smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""But, Rowdy, my Rockruff has five. Keen Eye, Own Tempo, Steadfast, Vital Spirit, and, one marked legendary: Overcome."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Brianna smiled, but I sensed something else. There was like an inner flinch to her. "Well, that's impossible Laura. Pokemon can't have more than two. Perhaps the scope needs some time to calibrate. Try using it on your Magikarp."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Laura turned to her Magikarp. "Just two, Swift Swim and Rattled."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Obviously, Laura is mistaken," said Blooper. "My kind have the, legendary ability, um… it's on the tip of my tongue…" Princess pressed her paw to his mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What kind of Pokemon are you?" Princess asked. It was the first time Rowdy noticed alarm on the cat's face, the first time she seemed disturbed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I was about to say something, but I really didn't know where to start. Then Brianna knelt next to me, "You're one that escaped."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I looked at her. She was smiling still, that sweet smile, that same something lurking behind it. "We've been looking for you."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"She stood up quickly as Laura had seemed to have grown tired of the scope. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Thank you, Brianna," she said as she grabbed Rowdy from under her nose. "How much do I owe you for the scope?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""It's free," said Brianna, "Like I said, I was watching you and I was very impressed. When we meet again, I hope we get a chance to battle." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"She smiled and walked away back where she came from. I squirmed in Laura's arms. I wanted to chase after her, but at the same time I was so unnerved I wouldn't mind going back into my Pokeball./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Calm down, Rowdy," said Laura. She zapped Blooper back into his ball as Princess jumped onto her shoulder. "She was a bit odd, wasn't she?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Odd? Maybe sinister./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I guarded Laura as she packed up. Princess tried to talk to me, but I still didn't know how to tell my story. I mostly just stared off where Brianna walked off into the tall grass and escaped my gaze as soon as Laura put me down. We continued down Route 256 until we came to a bridge that connected two ledges. A large crevasse from what I could tell, but my gaze was instantly transfixed on two trainers blocked our way, dressed in raggedy black ponchos and white skull-like helmets with one red circle in the middle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What do we have here?" said one that looked male. The helmet must have had some sort of voice modulator, because though he sounded male, he also sounded like a robot./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';""A trainer with some special Pokemon, I bet," said a female looking trainer, her voice also modulated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I think we all had a collected gulp at that moment as they advanced over the bridge to us./span/p