#pws open

Bill had never been the sort who enjoyed “fancy do’s”. Though his status afforded him invitations to a number of exclusive parties and get-to-gathers he’d become an expert in the art of polite rejection, or else he managed to pawn his spot off on to one of the other PC admins. In the worst case scenario, he’d even been known to give out tickets to helpful strangers just to get out of being stuck among hoity-toity partygoers for hours.

So, needless to say, he was currently very out of his element.

Once again Bill had been invited onto the S.S. Anne for its annual gathering of collectors and trainers, but unlike last time there had been no one to take the ticket off his hands and, as Celio had pointed out when he’d tried to convince him to go in his stead, Bill did sort of owe them after unceremoniously pawning his invitation off the last time. Of course, knowing why he had to be there didn’t make the experience any more bearable. They were hardly out of the Vermillion City port and Bill had already been roped into mingling with fan club members, pokémaniacs, and an assortment rich breeders and collectors; a couple young trainers had even challenged him to battle, though those he knew he could decline without any guilt. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy meeting fans and peers, but he could only handle so much meet-and-greet before it all began to ware very thin.

Justy didn't leave Orre very often, in fact it was quite rare when he did. With all the work at the Pre-Gym he had to do and his natural fondness for Phenac City, he didn't actually want to leave much. But sometimes he wanted to see other things too. And lately, he had been itching and craving to see other Gyms, actual Gyms, ones sponsored by the League. What were they like? How did they differ from Justy's own Pre-Gym? He wanted to know.

So he talked to the people in his Gym and he talked to the Mayor and arranged a small trip for himself. It would only be a week, but that was plenty of time for him to check out a region, maybe even two if he was lucky.

As the time for his departure drew near, many citizens of Phenac, usually younger women, came to him, telling him to have fun and see amazing sights for them, or some even begging him not to go. He simply chuckled and assured them he'd be back soon.

Finally, the day was upon him, and Justy could not have been happier. He said his goodbyes and he left, smiling ear to ear. The trip to the nearest region--Johto--took almost the entire day, but boy was it worth it. He saw many cool things on the way there, including wild Pokemon, which was something Justy still wasn't sure he was entirely used to.

Finally, he arrived at Goldenrod City, instantly awestruck by the big city. Wow, it was absolutely huge! Amazing! And look at all the People too! He wandered the streets a bit, looking around and taking in everything, careful not to run into anyone.

Though... he didn't actually know where he was going either. Or really where a good place to stay the night was. He supposed he'd have ask someone.

Nightfall had long ago descended upon the land when Eusine’s eyes fluttered open. A few thin, ash-colored clouds circled around the moon as though cradling it delicately, and the soft, radiating light of the heavenly body reached through the man’s tent, its glow seemingly comforting in the darkness of the woods. Judging from its position in the sky, it had to be very early in the morning - perhaps around two or three o’clock. He was still physically tired, but his mind was racing, for it wasn’t the moonlight that had awakened him, but a noise from outside the tent. Still...Eusine had spent so much of his life flitting from place to place in an attempt to reach what seemed like an unattainable goal - he’d spent perhaps the majority of his nights in tents by this point. A silly rustling from nearby shouldn’t have affected him so much. But...it always did. 

99.9999% of the time such a noise was next to nothing. It could have been a rattata scampering about or, on a particularly windy night, it could have been nothing more but branches scraping against those of fellow trees. But in his mind there was always that tiny, improbable chance that it was what he was searching so doggedly for. His fingers grasped the top of his sleeping bag tightly as he weighed his options. Perhaps he would have been a fool for expending energy on what was probably a fruitless activity, but a peek outside the tent could possibly lessen his tenseness. He sat up and let his eyes narrow, searching through the mesh window for any signs of the creature he was seeking out. 

Nothing.

But wasn’t it almost always nothing? It wasn’t as thought he hadn’t seen the Pokemon before - on the contrary. He’d witnessed its beauty on several occasions, but never long enough to for it to realize that he was worthy. In the deepest corners of his mind, Eusine often wondered if the constant exploration was still worth it - sometimes it hardly mattered that he’d ever even encountered the legendary creature, let alone multiple times, because that wasn’t the point of searching. Anyone could have seen it - anyone could have been there. But only the most talented, honest, and brightest people could ever hope to befriend it, much less capture it. 

Knowing these things, many people perhaps would have given up chase long ago. Often Eusine wondered secretly to himself if he should have done so - but hadn’t he already spent over a decade on this task? If he had wanted to quit, he would have done so earlier! Why would he give up everything he had accomplished now?

After his mental interlude of positivity, the man wiped his tired eyes and began lacing up his shoes. He’d only just finished tying the first pair of laces into a double knot when a noise issued from outside the tent. Immediately, Eusine’s eyes shot towards the tent window again, but he could see nothing apart from the dense canopy of tree branches. Forgetting about his second shoe, the wanderer pulled himself up and shot outside the tent to see what was sneaking about. Quietly, his indigo eyes scanned the area around him, noting nothing of particular interest. He circled the tent once before the noise was heard again, and his hand went right to his pocket to clutch one of his Pokeballs. Heart beating quickly, he began to wonder.

It couldn’t have been, could it? 

With as much fervor as he could muster, the blonde raised the Pokeball into the air and spoke in the direction of whatever was continuing to rustle through the thick, leafy floor of the woods.

“Show yourself!” he commanded, though the command's fierce intent was lost as Eusine felt his shoeless foot slide into the muddy ground below. 

A wise man once said, "Sometimes you must put down one set of balls before picking up another." No one really knows what man said that, or what it even means, but if you tried really, really hard you could probably apply it to the situation at hand. For on this particular, hazy Friday night a certain violet-headed young man sat on the side of his bed, locking up several Pokeballs into an old wooden box before he went away for the weekend. He smiled and gave the box a pat. Each of the balls he'd placed inside had been of the luxury variety, so as to keep the Pokemon within happy while their trainer was out in the world away from the Indigo Plateau. After zipping up his boots, the psychic was ready to venture off. He pulled his bag over his shoulder, placed the Pokeballs of his two xatu into his coat pocket, and ran out of his room, jumping onto the handrail of the stairs within the plateau mansion and sliding down. Without offering any words or explanations apart from "See ya!", Will was out the door in moments, releasing one of his Pokemon, Sot, into the air and having him teleport the elite to his hometown.

The dark that had so settled upon the Plateau was soon replaced by lights so bright that the brilliant array of constellations above Johto could no longer be seen. The air was much denser, and everywhere around existed the hustle and bustle of the city on a Friday night.

Will shut his eyes for a moment to let his senses delight in what lay around him - the sounds of car horns and people yelling out to pedestrians, the smell of franks being grilled nearby, the salty taste of water thrashing against the coast. He smiled. His memories of growing up in Goldenrod always came rushing back whenever he visited the city. The majority of them weren’t heartwarming or even good, but still....there was a part of Goldenrod that was ingrained in him, and standing upon its streets always made him feel bittersweet.

After relishing in the moment for entirely too long, Will was brought back to earth by the crowd moving around him, and by blocking the paths of many individuals, he was thrown a variety of expletives. He casually sent out retorts to everyone who was exclaiming they “were walkin’ here!” or telling him to “go f- yourself!”, rolling his eyes in the process. Not that anyone could see that motion of irritation, but still. Engaging in it made him feel the slightest bit better. Taking a deep breath, the boy began moving again, onward and in the direction of Goldenrod’s ever-thriving nightlife district. It wasn’t long before the flashing neon displays and signs of liquor became present, and Will grew excited about the evening. Tonight, he wasn’t out for a planned meet-up with anyone, but rather, to have some fun and possibly get into trouble. And perhaps the  beginning of his trouble came when a pair of tipsy friends skipped past him, their short skirts fluttering up against the light breeze in the night. Raising an eyebrow, Will looked back without a care, letting a smirk grace his face before he felt himself collide with something hard. Falling backwards onto the ground, the psychic rubbed his head and frowned, looking to see what had caused him such pain and loss. He cocked his head at what he’d run into - another person, and sighed. 

“Oh geez, I’m sorry - I was just a bit distracted, y’see?”

"Geeeeiiiuuuu," the small dragon cried, happily bounding into the large flower patch.  Petals of orange, purple and white sprang into the air and were lifted by a gentle breeze before settling on the ground.  Unamused, Clair put her hands on her hips and glared as the tall stalks swayed noisily.

"Would you get over here," she hissed, motioning with her hands.  Once again, Deino wandered off, curious about everything despite her visual blindness; Fraxure could keep her in line, but keeping more than one young Pokemon’s attention—especially in a new region—was difficult enough as it is.  Clair frowned and moved towards the very edge of the patch, her nose tickled by their pollen.  She sniffed once before continuing, “It’s not time for play!”

Deino cried out again, her voice unintelligible.  Despite being capable of communicating with dragons, the Gym Leader couldn’t understand what she was saying.  With a frown, Clair entered the flower enclosure.  “Come along, Deino,” she called, covering her nose with the back of her hand.  “It’s time to practice.”

The grass rustled and the Gym Leader’s ears perked up, her attention honing in on the noise faster than the beating of a Yanma’s wings.  To her left?  Right?  Clair surveyed her surroundings; there was little to see.  A branch cracked, and the woman wheeled around, her hands held out in front of her and her cape swishing, but there was no-one there.

Deino burst through the underbrush with a gleeful growl, her maw clamping down on her Trainer’s leg.  “Waagh—Deino, let go!” Clair yowled, moving her leg slightly to test the dragon’s grip.  She winced again and bent to stick her hand in Deino’s mouth, her fingers pressing deeply into the fleshy gums; an effective pressure point.

The young dragon immediately let go with a whimper, smacking her jaws and tongue together as if she’d tasted something foul.  Ignoring her throbbing leg, Clair scooped Deino into her arms and forcefully carried her out of the flower patch.  The young dragon was heavier than she’d normally been—had Deino been gaining weight?—and so, with a slow walk, Clair made her way towards a large castle-like building, making sure to stay a safe distance from the river’s edge.