Spirited Beauty (Inactive)

“Of course!”

“What did you have in mind, though?” He asked, standing on tiptoe to see it all. People and Pokemon were everywhere, shopping and darting about to and fro, some looking for deals, some looking for friends, others looking for battles. Quite the bustling place, he thought, it was certainly busier than most places he had seen. “If it’s all right with you, I’d say that that market looks pretty interesting.”

As the two walked, he relayed the story of how he and Jen had met. “Her egg was a gift from my dad, and I pretty much took it everywhere. When it hatched, and she grinned, it was… I can’t really explain it, you know? The feeling you get is just… For lack of a better term, magical, I guess?” A lifetime of awkwardness had left Morty in lack of the proper term. Despite his typically dazed demeanor, he wasn’t the un-perceptive type. While he couldn’t see into other’s minds, read their emotions, or interpret syntax well, he could recognize body language quite well. That, he guessed, was about his only saving grace in conversation. He never needed to communicate telepathically with Jen— the two had grown up together, so he felt the two could communicate simply. Really, though, he was a tad disappointed that no telepathy had come with the powers he garnered from his dad, who seemed like he was capable of just about anything. 

“Maybe he just took it with him…” He mumbled, smiling slightly. His dad was probably happy, wherever he was, maybe still with some sort of power. That reminded him— he should bring back a souvenir for the shrine at home. The storefront just ahead carried an assortment of PokeDolls, catching his eye. “Oh! There, can we go there?”

Within his voice, Phoebe sensed a bit of sadness as Morty seemed to compare his powers to her own. It wasn't as though she were blessed with something as remarkable as looking into the future, but her skills were quite useful. During battle, being able to mentally communicate with her Pokemon could come in handy, and hearing their voices and thoughts was something that brought her closer to them. With her added bonus of being able to block out telepaths, she was quite strong, particularly when facing Psychic opponents. The type advantage made things easy, sure, but for them to be unable to gauge her next move, even better.

As the pair made their way towards the Slateport Market, Phoebe jumped at Morty's excited interjection once he saw the Pokedolls. Her eyes grew wide and she looked up at him in amusement, watching as he ran towards the kiosk with the dolls. Jogging after him alongside Jen, Phoebe giggled wildly, scanning all of the items with her huge eyes. There were several dolls that caught her own attention - a Shuppet, a Sableye, and she quickly removed a small money purse from the bag she carried. Pulling out a bill, she gasped as the wind began to pick up, making her dress dance and thrusting the money from her hand and through the crowd.

Casting another teasing glance at him, Phoebe whispered something that sent the whole youth fanbase into hysterics. “Mister Will is afraid of Ghost Pokemon! Mister Will is a scaredy-cat!” they chanted, innocent grins upon their faces. Will cast an annoyed look at Phoebe before marching right up to the spectacle with a dramatic huff. The children parted for him eagerly, just as Phoebe tossed in another mocking blow to the psychic’s bravery.

“Aw, c’mon over Will! They won’t bite….hopefully. I mean there’s always a chance they might viciously attack you - they can smell fear, you know!”

Will strode up to the Hoenn Elite and puffed his chest out. “Please, Pheebs! You’re looking at the bravest man in all of Johto! Children… watch closely!” Will took small steps towards Phoebe’s Pokemon, cracking his knuckles and working hard to keep his composure. The captivated audience stood spellbound as Will placed a shaking hand on Phoebe’s Banette.

"No fear at all, hm?" she asked playfully. "You know, I would have thought otherwise~"

For the second time that day, Phoebe offered Will her hand, this time helping him to stand rather than tricking him and letting him fall back into the dust. The sun was still shining, a bit lower in the sky and indicating early afternoon. Nearby, the results of the Bug Catching Contest were being announced and the group of children that had just moments before had delighted in being entertained by the Elites had now run off to receive their prizes. Phoebe took her Pokeballs out of her bag once more and called back her beloved Ghost-types in the hopes of bringing a bit of relief to her companion. It took a moment to get the trickster Banette back into its ball, but finally, it reluctantly gave in and returned to its makeshift home. 

Continuing around the National Park, Phoebe found herself eager to share more about herself and learn more about her fellow Elite and began to open up to him, occasionally tossing questions his way. 

"So Johto..." she began, "It's very lovely. You seem to know a lot about Goldenrod from what I've seen so far. Were you raised here?"

The two walked along slowly, taking time to admire the scenery that surrounded them as they passed. Tall berry trees grew along the path, home to various Bug and Bird-type Pokemon which called out to the acquaintances in curiosity. Phoebe eagerly waved to the Pokemon, giggling to herself in glee before calming down and letting Will in on her past. 

"Back in Hoenn, I was raised near the sea by my parents, in Lilycove City. Across the bay is Mount Pyre, where my grandparents have lived for ages, working as caretakers for those who have passed." Phoebe's eyes grew sad as she continued, "But you see, my father disappeared when I was very young. I have wonderful memories of days on the beach we spent together...but...I have no idea what happened to him...or whether he is dead or alive. Unfortunately, my mother grew ill. We went to live with my grandparents so that all of us could take care of her, together. Before I entered the Hoenn League as an Elite, she passed...I'm sure it was difficult for my grandparents to have both of us leaving near the same time...but, they wanted this for me."

Phoebe looked to the ground, realizing that she'd once again brought down the tone of the day, and began to apologize profusely. She didn't want the other to think that she was such a depressing person, because in truth, she could be plenty of fun! Letting her eyes turn back to Will, she gave a faint smile and grabbed his arm once again with a bit of vigor. It was time to turn things around.

"C'mon!" she exclaimed with a smile, "Let's go do something else, Will! Show me more of Goldenrod - I want to see everything!"

“Salamence! Use Outrage!” The mighty dragon unleashed a raging blast, the opponent’s Sceptile having no time or space to dodge it. The Grass-Type was down and the battle was over. Another challenger who wouldn’t make it to Wallace. Oh well. At least it showed only the very best could earn the right to face the Hoenn champion. Still, he didn’t like to put trainers down, but rather help them improve.

“That was an excellent battle, trainer! Keep persevering and you will achieve your dreams!” Drake called to the defeated challenger who was making his way to the exit. That was the one thing the Dragon Master didn’t enjoy about being in the Elite Four – the look of disappointment in young trainers faces when they were beaten. But then there were those who came back a couple of months later, stronger than ever, and gave Drake a true battle royale. But ferocious battles weren’t the only thing that the Elite Four member loved. When he wasn’t fighting challengers or spending time with his fellow Elite Four members, the Dragon Master would go out in the wild to research Dragon Pokémon.

After the trainer had left, Drake went to his quarters and rummaged through his desk until he found what he was looking for, a little black book. Within its pages contained Drake’s research on different Dragon-Type Pokémon and his own personal drawings of them. He was constantly developing a better understanding of their anatomy and as such, the drawings rivalled any successful artist that could be named. Researching the likes of Salamence and Altaria was easy for him seeing as he owned two such Pokémon but Drake wanted a challenge. He wanted to find a new Dragon-Type Pokémon, one he’d never even heard of. It was time to do some fieldwork.

“Something I can help you with?”

Phoebe swayed a bit at his inquiry, noting that he didn't exactly sound pleased to have a visitor. Despite this attitude, Drake was someone that Phoebe greatly admired and looked up to. He had seen many things, was extremely intelligent, remarkably talented in Pokemon battles, and could be quite encouraging. In her mind, he was everything that any young trainer should aspire to be, with his air of strength and dignity. Peering over his shoulder at the sketch on the notepad, Phoebe noted a drawing of a Pokemon she'd never seen before and became very curious.

"I just wanted to say 'hi', I guess!" She gave him a warm grin as he looked back at her. "So what is that you're drawing? I've never seen any Pokemon that looks quite like that..."

Knowing that Drake was a researcher of Dragon-type Pokemon, Phoebe became excited. There was obviously a chance that this was a Pokemon that had been around for a long while, and that she'd simply never heard of, but at the same time, her heart pounded at the idea that perhaps Drake had discovered something new....something previously unheard of. As a Ghost-type trainer, Phoebe had to admit that she knew very little of Dragon-types, but she was always interested in learning more, especially from someone who was considered an expert in his field. 

"I-is that....an undiscovered Pokemon?"

She mentally face-palmed at her stupid question that must have made her seem like a fool to the other. Honestly, she'd never been quite sure how Drake truly felt about her, but she had always hoped it'd been in a positive light. Ever since her first day as an Elite, when she'd walked into the conference room to be greeted by Steven Stone and the Elite Four, he'd given her something of a grin, though....what exactly was behind that grin she was unsure of. It was rare that the two interacted outside of work-related meetings or get-togethers, and during those Phoebe found the man to be somewhat unreadable, so she was at least glad to have a chance to talk to him one-on-one without official Pokemon League business getting in the way. Looking at the ground, her face turned a bit red.

"I'm sorry, you must think I'm a complete idiot for coming over here to interrupt you and ask you about something that's probably been around for ages..."

A bit embarrassed from the reverie he had broken off into, he glanced around the area. “Uh, well… I’d like to see more of this region. Dewford is nice, yes, but I have to admit I’m pretty interested about to other cities, too.”

At Phoebe’s instruction, the two had boarded a ferry bound for Slateport. Morty drifted off into thought about how he had first met Jen. It had been when he was very young. He had gone foggy on the date, all he knew was he had known Jen for as long as he could remember. 

His dad had brought home the egg, all shiny and new and still warmly cool from the female Gengar that had been nursing it. 

“This is your responsibility now, Mortimer. Raise it right, and it’ll be the most loyal partner you’ll ever have.”

He had doted on the egg, keeping it cool as Gengars did, always exactly ten degrees chillier than the ambient temperature. And once it had hatched… 

The little Gastly that sprang from the egg immediately smiled. She didn’t think of him as her mother, as it was his father’s Gengar that had that title, but rather, as her best friend.

“Oh, sorry. I got caught up again.”

“When did you meet your first Pokemon? Well, just… If you want, could you tell me about yourself, a bit?”

He was quite curious at this point. She was quite nice, and her voice had a pleasant sort of tone. She was the sort of person that was like a sun— fitting for her tropical motif.

He, on the other hand, was like the undertaker in those old movies that would poke you with their tools and such or start dancing with a corpse.

"Well, you see, my father was a Water-type specialist, and a very good one at that! Not only did he teach me to surf, as I said earlier, but he was the one who introduced me to the world of Pokemon! I remember so many days of playing with his Milotic and Azumarill....I can't recall the first day I ever saw a Pokemon, because I must have just been a baby...but I do know that they've always been a part of my life! I guess you'd think that I would have become a Water-type trainer myself, but...I received my abilities as a medium from my mother, and naturally, Ghost-type Pokemon flocked to me."

Phoebe quickly apologized for her long-winded answer as the ferry finally arrived at the beach dock for Slateport City. She immediately grabbed the hands of Morty and Jen and pulled them towards the sandy shore, laughing excitedly. 

"Ready to have some more fun?" she asked, throwing a handful of sand into Morty's face.