The Sights & Sounds (Fin)

[The REAL Joey]

Joey stretched his arms tiredly having ventured around Violet City for the majority of the day. The sun in the sky had turned to a majestically orange colour and was disappearing beyond the horizon. He moved over to a lone bench and sat down by it with one of his arms stretched out over the back of it. He looked up to the sky and started to whistle a small little tune. A yawn eventually escaped his lips and he rested his spare hand onto his chin and looked around sleepily. Another drawn out yawn escaped him and he then rested his back up against the bench. "Jus... Just get some 40 winks..." He murmured as he started to fall asleep with his head drooping over the side of the bench.

[Morrigan]

Sharada walked tiredly through the streets of Violet City, her eyes slowly gazing up at the oddly coloured sky. On the teenage trainer's shoulder, a shiny golden bird was perched, huggling itself within it's fluffy white wings. The streets were quiet and completely empty, until the duo turned a corner to spot someone sitting up on a bench. But it seemed as if he was sleeping, so they didn't quite catch his face. "Urgh... A seat! My legs are aching so badly!" she mumbled to herself, fumbling towards the bench and quietly sitting next to the young man. Placing her hand over her mouth, Sharada let out a gentle yawn before turning back to her Swablu, "Let's look out for a Pokemon Center soon... I wonder what direction it would be in?"

Her sentence slowly faded as she realised the sleeping man again. She felt slightly guilty as she tried to wake him, "E-Erm. Excuse me? I dont suppose you know the direction to the Poke center?"

[The REAL Joey]

Joey snorted in his sleep as Sharada approached him and it caused his head to droop even further backwards onto the bench. His mouth was now wide open and faintly snoring. Further attempts at gaining his attention resulted in him sitting up abruptly looking as if he had been awake the whole time. "YES! KOFFING IS VERY HUGGABLE...!" His eyes closed and he rubbed them and slowly reopened them again. He looked up to the girl and laughed. "Pokecenter? Over--" He paused and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, are you my little stalker girl now or something?" He said in jest as he realised just who had stumbled across him.

[Morrigan]

Both Sharada and Swablu looked at the young man with a slightly shocked face as he blurted out how Koffing's were huggable. The pair looked to each other before speaking, "Koffing's are wha-? AACK!" As soon as Sharada realised that the young man sitting next to her was actually Joe, she let out a slight squeal and jumped off of the seat. She quickly regained her composure as he began to speak. Folding her arms, she frowned at him, "S-Stalker?! Who would stalk a street rat like you?!"

Sharada looked at him once more and let out a sigh, she took a step forward so that she was standing in front of him, "...Though it's not odd that we would bump into each other again. How've you been?" She cringed for a moment, shaking her head, "Urgh! I shouldnt be asking about you!" Remembering how they met the first time in Cherrygrove, Sharada tried to give him a more gentle look, "How has Koffing and Elekid been? I take it you have been treating them nicely."

[The REAL Joey]

Joey grinned at her harsh comments. "Street rat?" He replied back mockingly. "We're players in this rat race. So same goes to you Missy Rattytatt." He poked his tongue out and winked before leaning back on the bench some more. "Of course i've been taking care of them. The duo are like the highlight of my team. Soon it won't be long before they're marching around dishing out justice to abusive trainers!" He laughed and patted on the bench next to him. "Fancy a seat?" Before continuing he reached for his Pokeball holsters on his belt. "Tell ya what, i'll show you them." He picked out two balls with two different markings on: a skull and crossbones marked Pokeball and a lightning bolt marked variant. "One thing that's annoying me... Damn police are on my tail like it's going outta fashion." He slung the two balls on the floor after extending the safety locks and out popped two familiar Pokemon. They looked to Sharada and both smiled happily while jumping up and down. "Seems they're pleased to see ya." Noticed Joey as Koffing floated around Sharada's head nudging her slightly and Elekid began tugging on her jacket.

[Morrigan]

Sharada glared at Joey as he made a quick comeback and winked to her. The fact he was so laid back made her annoyed for some reason. Squeezing her hands into a fist and stamping her foot, she puffed her cheeks back at him, "Damn you Joey! You are so annoying!" Her eyes glanced back to the space next to him, making her slowly nod to his offer.

As she sat back in her place, she couldn't help but laugh about him still running from the police. "Ahaha- Well! Thats what you get for stealing!... Though if you spot any police, I suppose I'll help create a distraction for you." The last experience they had together was somewhat thrilling, though she didn't exactly want to admit it. Realising what she had said, she sent a fist towards the side of his head and cringed, "...W-Well! I wouldn't be helping you! I just don't want Koffing and Elekid being returned to that weirdo!"

Sharada watched as Joe released his two pokemon, immediatly bringing a smile to her face. He was right, the pair did seem a lot happier. Before, they wouldn't even approach her, but this time they seemed to recognise her. She lifted Elekid from the floor and placed him on her lap before gently rubbing Koffing's head with her spare hand, "Heehee! You both seem to be doing great! I am really pleased."

[The REAL Joey]

The two Pokemon moved closer to one another and started to talk with one another almost manically. Joey nodded to them and they just sat by themselves at the side of the bench Joey was on. Joey himself continued to look at the sun setting into the horizon and grinned. "So, how are things going for you? Still taking things easy back there?" He smiled to himself and kicked a foot up and rested his boot on the seat of the bench while the other one rested on the floor. "I've only just got to Violet City here myself and have been checking out the sights and sounds of the city." He turned around to view behind them and pointed over to a tall looking tower. "Beat up some monks in that tower earlier today and got a Cyndaquil. It was pretty awesome." His eyes flicked to Sharada and his amused grin reappeared over his face. "Still got all your Pokemon?" He asked as if hinting that one of them may have been pinched while she wasn't looking.

[Morrigan]

Swablu stared at the two Pokemon who was now cuddling up to Sharada, eyeing them carefully and noticing that something was rather odd. "Swa swaaa!" it chirped worridly down Sharada's ear, catching her attention. She allowed the two pokemon to return to Joe before looking back to her Swablu, "Hmm? Whats up Swablu?" Not really understanding, Sharada shrugged her shoulders slightly and turned to look at Joe. But as he gazed off into the sun set, she also did the same. A small smile appeared on her face as he began to tell her about his journey so far. In fact, she hadn't done too much herself. She prefered moving at a slightly slower pace.

Moving her eyes away from the beautifully coloured sky, Sharada grinned, "Sounds like you have been a busy Combee! Atleast you haven't been doing anything naughty yet." Though she may have spoken too soon. Realising he had been rather nice to her, she began to see that something was amiss. She reached into her bag and sure enough, one pokeball was missing.

Reaching over, she grabbed Joe by his collar and glared at him angrily, "I knew it was too good to be true! Give me back my pokemon! Now!" She stood up from her seat wearily, worried if he had pinched anything else of hers, "Idiot... I knew I shouldn't trust you."

[The REAL Joey]

Joey laughed excitedly as she finally cottoned on that one of her balls was missing. "Aww, that's no fun, you're starting to realise quicker now. Well, i've got some worrying news." He stood up and looked down at her with a saddened expression painted over his face. "I don't actually have it." He turned out his pockets and flashed his belt holster. "Nope, see? These are all mine as you can very well check." He looked around and whistled to himself. "You REALLY should be more protective of your Pokemon you know! Just think, any old thief could Pokenap your Pokemon away from you." He straightened his bandanna and looked to the sky again with his hands in his pockets.

[Morrigan]

As Joe stood, Sharada had to look up slightly to see his face. He was much taller, though she didn't really find him intimidating. She took a step away from him and watched as he turned his pockets inside out and showed her his belt. Sighing softly, she looked around in her bag once more, but there was still one pokeball short. She looked up worriedly, her face was more saddened than angry, especially when she realised that it was Charmander who was missing, "P-Please give him back Joey! I don't know how you could be so mean to me..."

She twiddled about with her fingers for a moment before gazing to her Swablu, "Looks like we cant trust him again, eh? And I thought things would be different." Sharada looked back up at him once more, not looking very amused now, "So. What is it you want this time? Just give me Charmander back and I'll be out of your hair."

[The REAL Joey]

Joey looked at her with a downtrodden face and quickly tried to rectify the situation. "Aww hey, don't be sad. You know I wouldn't purposefully steal a Pokemon from a good trainer. Besides I might want you in my hair..." He said suggestively and gave her a wink. He could see she was pretty distraught so he let out a slightly resentful sigh and spoke to her softly. "Alright... Guess you're not in the mood for my tricks and gimmicks, huh?" He clicked his fingers together and a small thud could be hear behind them from the bench. They both turned and noticed a Meowth standing there with a familiar looking Pokeball in his hands. "Oh I wonder what that's doing there..." Joey said trying to hold back his laughter. "Guess you didn't see me release my Meowth when I sent out my other Pokemon huh? I'm teaching him to steal things and you just happened to be a good target for practice." He looked to the Meowth and nodded. "Give her back her rightful Pokeball. Thatta boy Meowth." Meowth purred and plodded down to the ground and pranced up to Sharada's feet and rubbed her affectionately. It then looked up to her and offered her Charmander back to her. "There, you happy?" He asked.

[Morrigan]

Sharada took her glare off Joe as he spoke, looking at the Swablu on her shoulder. Even she look slightly disappointed in him, "Hmph... You don't care if Im sad or not, aslong as you get to steal my belongings..." As he suggested that he may want her there, she looked at him with disgust, "Really? Just to steal from me though, right? I'm obviously such an easy target." she spoke, using her hand, she flicked some strands of her hair back over her shoulders.

As Joe clicked his fingers, Sharada looked at the new pokemon what had appeared. Though the little feline pokemon was cute, it seemed to be just as bad as it's trainer. Feeling the soft fur rubbing around her ankles, Sharada wasn't in the mood to give it a pet. Taking the ball off of it and successfully counting all six of her pokemon, Sharada took a few safe steps away from Joe and nodded. "Fine! Thats all I wanted... S-So... Yeah! Hmph!" She quickly spun on the spot, turning away from the thief and starting to walk away.

[The REAL Joey]

The Meowth pounced over to Joey who knelt down to pick him up and rest him in his arms. "You did a good job Meowth. I'll treat you to some fish later." Meowth purred loudly and Koffing and Elekid gathered around Joey. "Hey come on, don't be a sour puss, Shar." He looked to her and nodded. "Look, we don't we get something from that vending machine over there? It'll be my treat. They do hot drinks too you know?" He patted his Meowth and smiled down to his Elekid and Koffing. These Pokemon he'd caught were incredibly close partners to him. Meowth played the swift agile thief role almost flawlessly, Koffing was incredibly talented at provided cover and smokescreens to shroud their heists and lastly Elekid who was a powerhouse despite his pint sized stature. "So, any ideas what you want? A hot coffee or a refreshing iced tea perhaps? It's all up to you." He picked a coin out of his pocket and flicked it in the air and was about to catch it before Meowth clawed it to himself.

[Morrigan]

Sharada's eyes narrowed as she heard Joe praising his Meowth for stealing. She stopped in her tracks and gazed over her shoulder, watching carefully as the four of them exchanged smiles. She had a feeling that they were up to something else, keeping on her toes was probably the only option when around someone like Joe. The most annoying thing was that he was rather friendly, though in the end it was all just misleading. Sticking around someone like him was the last thing she wanted to do.

Sharada was about to continue walking when she heard him shout her name. She wanted to carry on walking, but for some reason found herself stumpt. Before looking at him, her eyes focused onto the vending machine he was talking about. It did indeed seem to be there, but spending one more moment with him could end up being the wrong move.

Deciding to keep her distance from him, she slowly folded her arms. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled under her breath angrily, "...A milkshake. "

[The REAL Joey]

The Meowth flipped the coin in the air and this time Joey caught it in the palm of his hand. "A milkshake it is. Seems they only do it in Moomoo-Miltank Strawberry flavour so I hope that's okay with you?" He walked up to the vending machine and pondered on all the different items for sale. For some odd reason something seemed slightly off about this vending machine but Joey couldn't quite put a finger on it as to why. He found a drink for himself and then took out the right amount of change and slotted it into the machine. The machine seemed to whirr and hum for a few seconds before becoming silent. The lights on the machine flashed as if nothing had been inserted. Joey looked at the machine and keyed in the items codes again. "Argh... Damned machine..." Muttered Joey angrily as he punched in the codes once more. "This is a joke! I want my money back!" He then hit the refund button but to no avail. It seemed the machine had swallowed his money entirely.

He looked to Sharada and sighed irritatingly. "Can you BELIEVE this?! Who's idea was it to leave some defunct vending machine out there. I bet it's swallowed a small fortune!" His eyes flicked back to the machine itself and he began angrily punching and kicking it. "GIMME MY ITEMS, DAMMIT!" The vending machine was battered backwards and forwards slightly. Eventually his Pokemon caught onto the idea and began helping out shaking it down. Elekid and Meowth began nudging it from the bottom while Koffing floated into it without a care near it's top.