Sunny Side Cherry Beach (Joey)

Joey looked to the skies as one of Nadia's Pokemon returned with its friend. "You're messing with me right? It bought help?!" He smiled at the further turn of events to their favour. "...I just hope it'll help us somewhat." He looked on in surprise as Nadia commanded the bird Pokemon to swoop at Riolu and drop him into the fray against his will. "Yeesh! Despite your looks you're pretty harsh." He looked up to the sky while the Riolu struggled to break free from the grip of both Taillows. "...I think I would have done something similar to be honest." He grinned and shrugged. "His inability to anything was starting to get on my nerves."

As the Riolu was dropped off, speeding towards the Tentacruel at an incredible pace, all sorts of thoughts were racing through its mind. He focused on these thoughts and time itself around the little Pokemon seemed to almost freeze. "How dare that female use me in such a way...!" It reflected further on the desperate attempt at trying to get it to do something and felt almost pleased by her actions having had a moment to see through the initial disdain of being so roughly handled. "Perhaps she may help me." It opened its eyes and by doing so, enshrouded its entire body in an almost blinding light of Aura. Joey shut his eyes slightly at the sudden burst of Aura surrounding the Riolu's body. "No way... I think you got it to fight!" He raised a hand in the air and celebrated cheerfully. "Things are going OUR way now."

The Riolu looked down as it approached the Tentacruel and immediately knew what it had to do. Being placed in such a dangerous position made Riolu almost feel as if his body was becoming engulfed with the power of Aura to muster enough energy to vanquish such a titan. It's eyes glowed mysteriously and in a split second analysed the very being of the Tentacruel with Foresight. "No escaping me now." It commented as the Foresight worked. "It's two large gems store its power and lifeforce. I see." With that, the little dog Pokemon used the Aura surrounding it to speed its body to the point of super speed and gracefully used the Quick Attack to jam it's paws squarely in the first red encrusted gem the Tentacruel had. This tremendous blow sent a fatal pain through the Tentacruel, enough for it to wake up from it's nap. It shook the very beach in front of it with its mighty roar and aimed for the Riolu that was floating in mid air.

The smaller third jewel at the centre of the Tentacruel glowed brilliantly and sparked furiously as it focused its remaining energy into an attack. Without any further warning, an incredible amount of water jetted from the jewel and seemingly drowned the Riolu with its attack. "No way... Hydro Cannon?! That move is one of the most powerful Water moves going!!" Yelled Joey over the torrential sound of the attack. "It doesn't learn that naturally!!" He looked over as the destructive attack finished and Riolu was nowhere in sight. "This ain't good... He must be on the other side of Hoenn by now having been hit by such a strong attack!" Exclaimed Joey as his eyes darted all over the beach. Luckily, the Riolu had sensed the tremendous surge of energy before the Tentacruel attacked and had moved out of harms way. It appeared from behind it's back and launched another Quick Attack at the remaining gem. SMASH! The blow connected and forcibly shattered the remaining energy left. Tentacruel was looking on the verge of defeat now.

It leered at the Riolu with a particularly nasty look in its eye and swatted it onto the beach with a tentacle. Riolu smashed into the beach but due to his overwhelming Aura abilities managed to shrug off the blow. Outraged by such defiance the Tentacruel attempted its final move that would end this insignificant whelp's life. All at once, its Tentacles, all eighty of them, thrust into the air and came colliding down on the tiny Pokemon, covering it in highly poisonous feelers. So much so the Riolu could no longer be seen. Joey observed the attack and gasped. "Gunk Shot?! This Tentacruel is not of this world..." He looked to Nadia and gulped. "There is no way it could have survived that." However, Joe was soon to be proven wrong.

The Tentacruel eyed the spot it had just crushed with it's poisonous barbs and noticed that the sweet feeling of crushing its opponent into a bloody pulp was not felt. It moved away a number of tentacles and its eyes widened in disbelief. Sure enough, the Riolu was still standing. Joey whistled as he saw the Riolu was alive still. "Incredible... It must have used Endure and took on the full brunt of blow!" Riolu looked to the trainers and back to the Tentacruel. "I still have 1HP." With that, for the first time ever, Tentacruel knew the very definition of fear. Riolu knew the move Endure but it also knew the move Counter. With every fibre of it's being, Riolu channelled the power of Aura and began its annihilating Counter attack.

The Tentacruel felt itself being pulled forward unexpectedly and tried to resist. The very act was futile. Riolu began tearing off Tentacruel's limbs that remained on its body from the Gunk Shot attack and shrugged them off to one side. However, a single tentacle was left and it yanked it mightily and slammed it into the ground. Using it as a bridge, it began running up it at a furious speed. Upon reaching the Tentacruel's main body it began to unleash a flurry of punches, kicks and body slams that made visible dents in the Tentacruel's body. It back flipped away from the Pokemon and floated mid air. The Tentacruel reeled in from the blows and looked at the Riolu defeatedly. No more. Riolu, had other plans. It focused all of its Aura and energy into its paw. It clenched it and with a single hook of his arm, jabbed the Tentacruel right in the centre red crystal.

Joey looked around in the aftermath of the Tentacruel being punted far over the horizon. His mouth was slightly ajar from having viewed such a miraculous victory. It was a modern day tale of David vs. Goliath. The little guy finally getting his own back against the big one. Underdog wins. He pushed his bandanna up slightly so he could rub his forehead thoroughly and stared blankly off into the horizon. "...Wow." He remained speechless for a great deal longer but the noisy chatter of the crowds and TV crew quickly put an end to his silence.

He grumbled slightly and quickly began to withdraw all of his poor beaten Pokemon back to their Pokeballs. He looked to the Riolu and withdrew him last with a firm nod as a sign of approval for beating the monstrous Tentacruel. Being the centre of attention in a crowd this big was never Joey's most comfortable feeling. He looked over to Nadia and smiled. "Teamwork really does beat all, huh?" He moved his neck from side to side to stretch the muscles in his back and sighed. "Crowds aren't my thing..." He looked around as they began to approach a little closer, with the TV crew at the forefront, hoping for the biggest scoop and maybe even an interview with the heroic trainers. "Meet me behind the building in front of Cherrygrove's Pokemon Centre. I'll be waiting for you." He looked around and delved into his pocket. He withdrew a crystal ball which seemed to be containing a tumultuous wisp of smoke within it. "Might wanna hold your breath." He grinned wearily and smashed it on the floor, enveloping the wide radius around them in a heavy smoke.

"Now's my chance." He started running off in the opposite direction of the crowds with startling agility despite becoming so weary from their death defying experience with the colossal kraken. "If those damn TV reporters catch wind of me there the police will also be not too far off my trail..." He leapt over a railing separating Cherrygrove and it's beach and before long made it into the centre of the city. He used his expert knowledge of Cherrygrove's alleyways and smaller roads to hide himself and made it not long thereafter to behind the building he mentioned to Nadia before he fled. "Those goddamned TV people better not steal her away for too long. I have something I want to give her." He put a hand in his pocket and felt a familiar spherical object within his hand.

The faint sound of a coin being flicked repeatedly over and over could be heard echoing from far away in the alley. Joey grabbed the coin with each successive flick and did so tirelessly. Joey's head looked up as he noticed movement coming from the other end of the alleyway. "If it's the damn cops again..." He muttered out loud as he reached for another Smoke Ball to escape his pursuers. He remained in his relaxed position sloped against the ball and acted casual in case it was just Nadia. The dim lighting of this area didn't help matters and as the figure drew closer he still couldn't make out who the mystery person was. He squinted off to discern who it could be and noticed that the person was fairly medium height and feminine in stature. "About time." He dropped the Smoke Ball back in his bag and resumed flicking his coin over and over until she approached him fully.

"Well, well! If it ain't the local celebrity! I saw you all over the news." His face turned to a friendly grin as he stopped slouching up against the wall and tucked his coin away in his jacket pocket. "Sorry I had to cut the victory party so short. Crowds usually bode ill for me due to the police." He cracked his knuckles and eyed around the area. "Seems i'm highly wanted." He laughed it off and shrugged. "I take it the local press were busy keeping you all to themselves, eh?" He rolled his eyes and continued speaking. "Sounds about right." He clapped his hands together and decided to talk about their combined efforts today. "You and me made a pretty good team. I'm surprised both our little kitty cat Pokemon both knew Fake Out too. That was a surprising sight." He chuckled over that and leaned against the wall with one arm supporting him up. "That Tentacruel though..." His eyes narrowed. "...That was something else."

His demeanour suddenly became deeply serious. "I take it you don't come across monsters of nature like that everyday, no? I'm just amazed we managed to both get out alive. My Pokemon are okay now too. I have a contact in Cherrygrove that allowed me to rest them up." His eyes flicked over her quickly almost as if he was judging her character. "I'd like to give you something too." His hand fell to his bag and remained there until he spoke again. "I've not seen someone this ferocious when battling. 'Specially against that Tenta." He stopped leaning against the alleyway wall and moved closer to her.

Joey rummaged around in his bag, almost on purpose as if to add to the suspense and finally presented a Pokeball. However, due to the murkiness of the lighting, or more accurately so lack thereof, the item Joe presented couldn't be seen. He muttered something under his breath and took out another Pokeball from his belt holster and sent out his Charmeleon. "Charmeleon! Luminate this alleyway for us a little. I gotta show Nadia what i'm handing to her." Charmeleon nodded and craned its tail around and forced his tail fire to burn brightly, enough to give them visibility.

Joey gave a thumbs up to his faithful companion and went back to what he originally intended to do. The original Pokeball was held out to Nadia. It wasn't just any Pokeball however, it was the exact mysteriously decorated Pokeball the Riolu had been carried in. "I want you to take care of him." He took Nadia's hand and placed the ball in it firmly. "Not why's or buts." His arms fell back to his sides and he gave her a partial explanation. "When I saw you battling I saw great promise in you. You've got the raw potential to harness this Riolu's powers and hone them perfectly. Me? I'm not cut out for it."

He looked at the mysterious ball and hesitated almost. "I don't think he likes me all that much either." He looked up to the small crack between the buildings and up to the starry night. "I'm a thief by choice but that doesn't mean I don't have a moral compass. In fact, I only steal Pokemon if I believe a trainer is abusing them." He pondered on what he just said and looked to Charmeleon. "...There are always a few exceptions to this rule." Charmeleon smiled at his trainer and Joey patted his head back. "Still, I think because you used such ingenious tactics the Riolu can look up to you."

His typically cheery face fell sullen at the mention of Team Rocket. "What did you say about Team Rocket?!" He moved out of his slacking position and his entire posture became fired up. "You think they were behind this all?!" He growled to himself and punched his fist. "Them punks. I'll have to look out for them in the area when I move to the next town over." He spat on the ground and looked at Nadia. "Me and the Rockets go way back..." He paused hesitantly. Would it be a wise idea to let this stranger know about his family's history? He toyed with the idea and decided it wasn't going to be a bad idea. After all, the two had fought together seamlessly against the Tentacruel and she did mention about her meeting all sorts of people back on the shores of Vermilion. "I have reason to believe my dad's a Rocket." His eyes leered and he shook his head. "I don't agree with their operations either."

Upon mentioning the word operation he paused. "...Hey... Did you hear about the Lake of Rage? Apparently all the Magikarp in the lake are acting weirdly... You don't think they unleashed a prototype version here in Cherrygrove on the Tentacool?" He paused, thinking intently on the issue. "Seems like something they'd do. Pah, good fer nothin's." He stopped himself mid sentence as he realised he was beginning to derail into a rather incessant rant. "Heh, I go overboard sometimes." He looked at Nadia and decided to ask her something. "So, what are your plans from here on? I'm here in Johto for the thrill of it all. Hunting down the Rockets, taking on the Gyms, encountering new experiences. You know. Somethin' soul searching."