The pursuit of happiness! [Happiness quest]

[Tarlar]

The man rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, "so yet another drop out," he said to himself and looked very skeptical at her claim of being an assistant to the well known professor.
"Listen kid, school is very important, I know it's boring and can be tough but if you don't get an education, you won't get anywhere. I know a lot of young ones wants to go the trainer way, but do you know how many who can actually live of it? How many trainers do you think have to travel and fail for one new Champion to arrive? It's a lot kid, I'm telling ya. It's not worth going for unless you have some really special pokemon and a family to support you financially," he said grimly and stepped over to loosen the snare around Trixie's ankle so she could pull her foot out.
He looked at her darkly but did not answer her question about if it was his snare or not, nor did he remove it from its place on the ground. He walked back to the cage with the houndour, small whining sounds, like from small puppies was heard, and he pushed it a bit back into the undergrowth, out of Trixie's sight.

The hunter turned to looked at Trixie darkly, "just doing what is needed to survive, kid. I made your mistake and dropped out of school and went on a travel in the hope of becoming a gym leader. This is where I ended, and while I don't enjoy it, it's necessary," he said vaguely.
"Please, don't make my mistakes and go back and get some proper education, something to fall back on when you don't want to travel anymore. I'll let you go and.." he paused and looked closer at Marline, then groaned.
"Really Zubat? A Mean Look?" He complained and his bat looked confused at him.
"Sorry, we have to finish the battle now, I'll do my best to make it quick," he said hurriedly and waved to his zubat before remembering that it couldn't see it. He sighed deeply again.
"Zubat, use Astonish," he ordered calmly.

A gust of wind rushed through the trees, and Zubat twisted around and soared out of the way and easily avoided the blast of water which was sent at it. It turned its head back surprised and used its soundwaves to get a picture of what had just brushed it. Another sharp turn and it dived with its wings folded to its body, which it opened up just before it slammed into Marline, a wing gave her a light slap on the top of her head.
With how she had been impressed by the bat before, this was nothing and she didn't flinch away from it, instead she spun around and with another blast of water hit it straight in the back.


Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Tailwind

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Zubat LV 10
HP 64% [20/31]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Marline LV 13
HP 80% [32/40]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Travis' Zubat [Inner Focus]: Normal (+1SPD ~Tailwind)
Trixie's Marlin [Torrent]: Normal
Marlin cannot be switched out of battle.

SP28 Zubat used Astonish!
SP19 Marlin used Water Gun!


(ooc: I have correct the HP for Marline since she wasn't at full health at the start of the battle. Note: Eastwood HP 29/31 (93%) )

[Jenesis]

The man was clearly invested in the idea of urging Trixie to go back to school. But she could only shake her head. "Sorry. I do understand what you're saying... how it's important to learn things... but I can't just give up being a trainer. Even if the odds are against me, I won't give up! Think back to when you were my age. Do you think you'd have given up either, just because some grown-up told you to? Maybe I won't make it, but if I fail, I'm gonna do it my own way. But I don't think I'm going to fail here," she said, a smile creeping onto her face. "I think I'm gonna beat you and your stupid bat, and then you're gonna give me that Houndour."

Perhaps he had a point, even if she wasn't willing to admit it. She thought back to her recent encounter with the Dark-type educator, Mishu Mizuma. She had a school, of sorts, though it probably wasn't a boring school like she had to go to when she was younger, learning about reading and math and all sorts of stuff that had nothing to do with Pokemon. No, Mishu was cooler than that. She had to be. Perhaps Trixie would be paying a visit to the Education Center sooner than she had previously thought.

But first, she had to win this battle. "Marline, you know what to do!" The Mudkip nodded, determined to prove to this Zubat that it wasn't going to scare her away, or startle her into submission either (the nerve of it, seriously). Gathering up water in her orange-spiked cheeks, she then released it in a blast from her mouth. A stream of clear blue water came forth, shot in an arc directly toward the blue bat Pokemon.

[words=300] to Incubator
Marline used Water Gun!

[antonius]

"Life can be a harsh teacher and being a trainer all by yourself is hard. I wasn't lucky enough to find any really close friends. Most of the people I ran across became adversaries and rivals. At least in school you could have a chance to connect with people your age and make friends. Out on the road, you never know the type of people you will run into. Some of the staff at the Pokecenters can be friendly but so busy they can't spare much time for any individual trainer. The gym leaders might try to teach you a few things while battling but to them you are just another opponent. For example, how are you going when my zubat uses absorb on your poor water type?"

Upon hearing the familiar move, the zubat goes in close and draws out some energy from the water type mudkip. The zubat opens his mouth and almost bites the mudkip only to hold position a few inches away while a small ball of energy goes from the mudkip into the zubat. Once the energy is in the mouth, the zubat flies away only to be tagged by another water gun. The energy it absorbed is quickly gone and then some. The bat Pokemon tries to shake himself dry while trying to stay in the air from the blast. He barely stays in the air but the battle is getting to the zubat.


Trainer Battle

---

Weather: Tailwind

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Zubat LV 10
HP 32% [10/31]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Marline LV 13
HP 70% [28/40]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Travis' Zubat [Inner Focus]: Normal (+1SPD ~Tailwind)
Trixie's Marlin [Torrent]: Normal
Marlin cannot be switched out of battle.

SP28 Zubat used Absorb!
SP19 Marlin used Water Gun!

[Jenesis]

Trixie thought about the older man's words as she reminisced about all the people she had met on her journey. Adversaries and rivals? She definitely had at least one of those, the jerk red-haired boy named Silver. Just thinking about him made her mad, as did the Rocket whose Zubat had been such a pain for her last time. But she calmed down a bit when she thought of the others. Professor Elm and Mr. Pokemon, who believed in her and her journey, as well as Bug Catcher Kent and School Boy Jimmy, who were so grateful for her assistance (or promises thereof) that they were willing to give her their very own Pokemon. Lastly, she thought of Sloane and Mishu. How were they doing now, she wondered? They had been friendly companions to her on her journey, and their Pokemon were nothing to sneeze at, either. Perhaps they might eventually become her rivals on the journey to the Pokemon League, but for now? She was willing to think of them as friends. The thought bolstered her confidence as she stood tall, the pain in her leg almost disappeared.

"The journey can be hard. But it's already a lot better than what I was facing at home. I have friends here, and my Pokemon. We all believe in each other and work together." It was corny, to be sure, and Trixie snorted a little at herself for sounding so cliche. But it wasn't untrue. She did have something to prove, and this would be the arena where she would do it.

"Stay strong, Marline!" she called out to the Mudkip as a green ball of energy was painfully sucked out of her, worse than any of the Zubat's other attacks so far. But she was unable to switch out. What choice did she have? As the Zubat was retreating from close up, Marline took the opportunity to blast a Water Gun into its back. The bat Pokemon flapped its wings furiously to shake off the remaining water, but Trixie noticed that it was getting weary. Its breathing was labored as it flew a little slower, the energy it had sucked up not doing it much good. She took the opportunity to call for another Water Gun attack and Marline was more than happy to oblige. Tracking the Zubat's movements, she shot another stream of water into the Zubat's flight path.

[words=400] to Incubator
Marline used Water Gun!

[Tarlar]

The hunter frowned when he heard what Trixie had to say as she stood up, he studied her way of standing and while he didn't say anything it seemed like he was glad she wasn't badly injured.
"I get you can be angry at your parents but this is not the way," he said, once again trying to talk some sense into the girl, "I'm sure you like your journey and its wonderful and all what you dreamed about, but what will you do if it goes wrong? Heck, what will you do if you fulfill all your goals and participate in the Tournament? Then what will you do? Will you travel until you die of old age, or have you given it any thought what you will when you are done with your travel? If you have an education, you have that to fall back on afterwards, the world only need that many gym leaders, not everyone can become one and you need a backup plan!" He said urgently

The man too could see that his pokemon were getting tired and he rubbed his temples as he tried to think of what to do, things often weren't as easy as they just looked, and you could so easily doubt what was the right choice.
"Zubat, use Absorb," he decided, it was a fairly safe bet and if he could drag out the battle, he might be able to get Trixie to see reason and go down a better path than what she was following now.
Zubat zipped in, dodged the water gun Maline sent at it as if it could have seen it easily, and let its teeth sink into her neck, just where it was connected to the spine. It flapped happily away, licking its teeth and enjoying the energy it had gotten, it could go on for long now and it had a chance of turning this around so it might win it all.
The water gun hit the zubat in the back and it dropped like a stone, the hunter sighed and recalled his pokemon. He opened his mouth to say something but a sound of metal against metal interrupted him, so instead he groaned.
A sneasel had stepped out from the shadows and finished running its claws against each other, it pointed at Trixie with cold eyes and the hunter let a hand slide over his face, "not you too, it went so well," the hunter complained but the sneasel ignored it.

Marline blasted the zubat out of the sky and grows +2 levels to [Lv 15]!
She can learn Supersonic if she forgets another move!
She also gains +1 happiness (+2)


Hunter Travis is not done yet and sends forth his sneasle [Lv 10]
Marline is freed from mean look, do you want to switch pokemon?

Note: Marline has 26/44 HP after level up. Eastwood HP 29/31

[Jenesis]

"What'll I do if I finish my journey and then... become a grown-up, I guess?" Trixie thought long and hard. She really hadn't planned that far ahead yet. To a kid like her, it was difficult to even imagine old age. But she knew she couldn't just not have an answer for the grumpy man before her. Then he would have beaten her, and she refused to let that happen. Her thoughts turned to her parents. A businessperson, like her father? Or a homemaker, like her mother? Out of the question. She loved Pokemon, and she wasn't going to just throw that away after she finished... aha! "I'll become a Pokemon Researcher," she said confidently. "Like Professor Elm. I'm already doing field work for him as it is!" Her mouth quirked up into a clever smirk. "Once I finish the Pokedex for him, he'll surely be impressed enough to give me a job, even if I don't have a formal education." She sneered the last words with some condescension.

That sentiment went right out the window when the hunter's next Pokemon emerged on the scene, though. It methodically sharpened its claws against each other and then pointed them at Trixie. The girl trainer stared at it with stars in her eyes. "Isn't that--A Sneasel?" she gasped. "Ooh, they're one of my favorites! I've heard they're so rare though, don't they only live in the snowy mountains? How did you catch it? How hard was it to train it? Tell meeeee--"

Right, she was in the middle of a battle. There would be time enough for that later.

"Marline, take a rest," she said, recalling her Mudkip and pulling another Pokeball from her belt to replace it. "Come on out, Eastwood!" She threw the ball high, and it burst open with a flash of light, releasing the punchy panda Pokemon inside. "Eastwood, use Arm Thrust!" Just like the Sneasel, Trixie stuck her arm out in a dramatic pose, pointing at the Sneasel, and her Pancham mirrored the motion with his own, except that his hand formed a closed fist instead of stretching out a finger. Eastwood slowly circled in toward the foe, but he did not rush to attack. Both combatants were well aware that the Sneasel's speed was superior. Better to wait for it to close in and then counterattack than tire himself out attempting to land the first blow.

[words=400] to Incubator
Marline will forget Tackle to learn Supersonic.
Trixie returned Marline and sent out Eastwood.
Eastwood used Arm Thrust!

[Avalon]

The Hunter sighed at the girl's response; it was clear that there was no getting through to her. Just too inexperienced and naive, the girl would realize that the professional Pokemon world wouldn't be as easy to make it in as she thought it would be one day. Or at least, that's how it had been for him. How long had it been since he had felt so optimistically about his future, like this girl did? And now here he was, trapping Pokemon for a profit just to scrape by all because he gave up on his journey just for not being able to win a Badge.

"Getting rare Pokemon ain't all about traveling through the wild and climbing mountains, kid. Sometimes it's about knowing the right people and the right breeders," he responded, smirking. There was a certain degree of pride to the gesture; despite his slightly bitter cynicism, the man clearly felt some fondness for his partners. Sneasel seemed to smirk itself, sharpening its claws together as it took a running stance. "Now Quick Attack, Sneasel!"

As Eastwood emerged, the Sneasel launched itself forward at high speed, almost too quick to keep up with thanks to the additional burst of speed. Sneasel slammed its shoulder into the Pancham's body, knocking it back. But now that the distance between them was closed, Eastwood reached out with an open palm, slamming its palm into the Sneasel's body multiple times. The blows knocked the wind out of the Sneasel, causing its entire body to freeze before collapsing onto the ground beside Eastwood, unconscious from a single flurry of blows. Travis snarled, recalling the Sneasel into its ball.

Travis returned the ball to its place on his waist. "Alright kid, you win. Don't mean I have to stay and face the music, I'm getting out of here while I can." Travis said, beginning to slowly back up and away from the scene of the battle. It was clear he intended to cut his losses and make a run for it, when a sharp barking noise cut through the air. Two figures emerged from the bushes, one a Growlithe and the other a woman in a police uniform.

"Stop right there! You're under arrest for Pokemon poaching and Pokemon endangerment!" said the Officer. Travis sighed, stopping in his tracks and giving up. He knew better than to risk running from an actual officer of the law; fleeing from a kid and her pets was one thing, but an actual trained Officer was a completely separate beast. The Officer approached the Hunter, cuffing him and sort-of-dragging him over to where Trixie stood, watching. "Thanks for the assist, kid. We've been looking to crack down on poachers in the area for a while now. Your friend Jimmy tipped us off that you were going after the Houndours, and we followed you from there. Looks like we came just in time to make sure this guy didn't get away.

The Officer reached into her own pockets, pulling out a wad of fresh bills and offering them to Trixie. "Here, a little something to thank you for your help. Don't worry about the Houndour, I'll get it to a Pokemon Center and get it checked out on my way to drop this guy off at headquarters." she said, almost sensing the concern Trixie might be feeling for the Houndour that she had chased out here. But with that, Officer Jenny was content to give her the reward money and go about her business with Travis and the Houndour. As she, her Growlithe, Travis, and the Houndour walked away, Travis found himself unable to look the child who had beat him in the eyes any longer.

Even as he was being dragged away to face punishment for his deeds, he was kind of beginning to hope that he was wrong about Trixie's future.

You defeated Hunter Travis! Trixie received $1000 as prize money!


Eastwood fought valiantly and won! He gained +3 levels! (Level 11)
He also gained +1 Happiness! (2/15)

Two more paths remain, with two more Houndours to follow.
Will Trixie continue investigating the Houndours, or is she finished with the quest?

Mod Notes: Marline 26/44 | Eastwood 30/39

[Jenesis]

Things all happened in a blur. One minute the Sneasel was standing still; the next, it was collapsed on the ground at Eastwood's feet. The panda Pokemon looked up to glare at Hunter Travis, who seemed to be working out his options as he returned the Sneasel to its Pokeball. He wouldn't get very far in his attempt to escape, though. Trixie heard a loud bark, one distinctly different from the Houndour's, as a blue-haired woman and a tiger-striped dog Pokemon burst through the bushes and onto the scene. Trixie recognized that uniform - it was an Officer Jenny!

Trixie glared at the man as his arms were dragged into handcuffs. "Serves you right for putting that poor Houndour in a cage!" she said, crossing her arms. But when she heard that Jimmy had tipped the officer off, she turned and smiled at her. "Thanks, Jenny. I think you should know, this guy was setting wire traps in the grass. You should be careful." She sounded kind of silly in hindsight, telling a police officer to watch out - surely she dealt with things more threatening than those snares every day of the week. But the officer seemed to take her warning in good humor, and informed Trixie that she was taking the Houndour to a Pokemon Center. As much as Trixie would have liked to have caught it herself, it just seemed the right thing to do. It was injured and probably scared of her, anyway. It would be hard to bond with after an experience with humans like that.

Trixie thanked the officer for the reward money and looked down at Travis. He was unable to meet her in the eyes, and in that moment she felt a little sorry for him. What could have possibly happened to him to turn him down such a dark path? Though, speaking of paths-- weren't there two more Houndours out there?

With a final nod to the officer and her Growlithe, Trixie returned Eastwood and took her leave, doubling back over the sea of footprints in the grass (and watching carefully to avoid stepping in any more traps). When she finally arrived back at the crossroads, she could still see the faint trails of pawprints headed in two other directions. She hustled down the trail leading the opposite way she had come, through an outcropping of pine trees. Cotillion flapped her wings through the air, ever at her side.

[words=406] 400 to Incubator
Trixie returns to the crossroads and chooses the right-side path.

[Marchbaby]

As Trixie and Cotillion made their way down the right path it was not long before they came across a farm in the distance. The smell of fertilizer and grass was almost overwhelming but the most interesting thing was a farmer standing next to a Houndour. The farmer was holding a tray of food for the Houndour but every time the farmer offered it to the canine it turned it's nose up and growled. Just as the farmer was about to give up he saw Trixie and Cotillion off in the distance and flagged them down desperate for help.

" Howdy there, it is not too common we get visitors around these parts. You came at the perfect time as I think you can help.me with a problem I have been having. My dear Houndour over here keeps refusing to eat this food I have prepared for it and I have no idea why." As he tried again the canine snapped at him before giving Trixie a very angry look. As the farmer paused for a moment he decided that as Trixie had some Pokemon with her that she might be able to tell.why Houndour was not willing to eat.

" Would you mind taking a look at this tray and see if anything that might set Houndour off might be on it by mistake? I am at a complete loss but maybe you can figure out why." He then held the tray in front of Trixie and waited for her to make a selection.

Please select one of the above items to remove so that Houndour will eat the rest

[Jenesis]

Trixie smelled the farm before she saw it. It didn't take the sharp nose of a Houndour to be able to detect the presence of Tauros and Miltank nearby that cut through the scent of the fresh grass. There was a much fouler odor too, that Trixie had never encountered before but that she knew right away had to be their droppings. A big red barn and a farmhouse came into view on the side of the road as she traveled further. She could see the Houndour she was following too, and it appeared this one had an owner. She was about to turn around and leave when the farmer noticed her and flagged her down. "H-howdy?" she responded to his call.

The teen listened as the farmer explained that he was having a problem with feeding his Pokemon. If it had not had a good meal in some time that would explain why it had been so aggressive. It would be better to help the Pokemon as soon as possible - not just for its own stomach, but to prevent any more unprovoked attacks. Trixie stooped over the tray to take a look. She recognized some berries and a bottle of water. There were a cookie and a bag of snacks, too. They were similar to the ones she had in her backpack, which Trixie knew were favored Pokemon treats, but they were not exactly the same. Perhaps there was something off-putting to the Houndour about these particular varieties. She was about to take a closer look at them when she changed her mind completely. A green herb had caught her eye.

"I know that one!" she exclaimed. "That's a Revival Herb." The girl trainer had picked up a couple along her journey, and from what she had learned, a routine feeding was definitely not the best use for them. "It's a very potent medicine that can perk a fainted Pokemon right back up, but it's also super bitter. That might be why your Houndour is refusing to eat. It can probably smell the herb and realizes it won't taste good."

Trixie plucked the herb out of the pile of food and handed it to the farmer. Then she stepped back away from the dish, not wanting to crowd the dog while it hopefully was enjoying its dinner. "How about now? Do you have more of an appetite, little guy?"

[words=400] to Incubator
Trixie removes the Revival Herb.

[Avalon]

The Farmer scratched his head of scruffy blonde hair beneath the hat, watching as Trixie observed the food items that had been offered to sweet little Houndour. He wasn't really sure at first if some girl who looked so completely out of place on such a farm, but if the girl was really such a talented Trainer, than he figured she might have some good advice. He continued patting the weak and hungry Houndour as Trixie continued to look through the contents of Houndour's food bowl, before she retrieved a rather pungent herb from it and presented it to him.

"A Revival Herb, huh? Could something this puny really be what's settin' my boy off like this?" he murmured to himself, retrieving the herb from Trixie and bringing it to his face to sniff it for himself. His face naturally twisted a little, disgusted by the stench even as a man who was used to such strong odors during his life on the farm. Houndour, for its part, seemed to try and make itself seem much smaller near the herb and tried to face a completely separate direction from it as the Farmer observed it. Sighing, the Farmer stuffed the herb into the pockets of his overalls before dusting his gloved hands off. "Looks like you were right, guess 'lil Abyss here don't care much for the herbs."

"You wait here, I got a lil somethin' for ya, for your help." And with that, the farmer rose up and walked toward the nearby farmhouse, leaving Trixie with the Houndour. With the herb gone, Houndour poked and prodded at its food bowl with its nose, before beginning to devour the food quite ravenously. Within a few moments, the farmer returned, a faint smile on his otherwise grizzled face and a small wooden box in his left hand. Within were three glass bottles, each filled to the brim with milk. "My farm's hand-milked special: Moomoo Milk. As a thank you for helping me fix my little buddy here."

The Farmer handed the box and milk jugs within to Trixie, before returning to petting and checking up on his pet. With the Revival Herb gone, the Farmer could sit back and relax with his friend once more without fear of it going feral once again. With her milky reward in tow, that left Trixie with only one more Houndour to track down. With one tracked back to the Hunter's trap and the other tracked to this farm, there was one more Houndour missing after its attempt at attacking the School Boy.

Would she decide to follow this last trail, or turn around and return home?

For helping the Farmer and his Houndour, Trixie gained 3 Moomoo Milks!
Will Trixie go after the last Houndour, or return home?

[Jenesis]

Trixie breathed a sigh of relief as the ravenous Houndour began to chow down on the herb-exorcised meal. "Abyss, huh? Well, I'm glad he feels better now. He was so hungry, it's no wonder he was wandering off so far from home." She had half a mind to admonish the farmer further, but before she could say anything else, the farmer had gotten up and told her to wait. When he returned, it was with three bottles of MooMoo Milk, which he offered to Trixie in gratitude. With all the cow Pokemon she could smell around the farm, it was no wonder that milk would be one of the farm's specialties. "Thanks!" she said with a smile as she accepted the farmer's gift and stowed the bottles away in her backpack.

With the second Houndour confirmed safe and happy, Trixie was reminded that she had one more of the wayward dog Pokemon to track down. She let Cotillion stretch her wings for a bit, before she decided to head back down the road. Before she did so, however, she pulled a polished egg out of her bag and gave it to the Swablu. A lucky charm, it was supposed to be, and Cotillion swore she would cherish it as much as she did any of Trixie's Pokemon eggs back at Chasing Rainbows Daycare. For as long as she held it, that is. She had to know she couldn't keep it forever.

It wasn't difficult for Trixie to retrace her steps away from the farm and back to the clearing where the crossroads branched out. She could still make out some faded Houndour tracks facing opposite the direction of town from which she had come. With a nod to Cotillion, the two set off down the final path. She hoped that she could track down the final Houndour before the sun set. It would be much harder to see in the dark, given its black-striped body would blend inn with the shadows. She hoped she could find it before too long.

[words=340] to Incubator
Trixie heads down the center and final path. Cotillion is given the Lucky Egg to hold.

[Avalon]

Trixie turned back and chose to return to the sole remaining path, the central one. This was a winding path through the brush and outskirts of Cherrygrove, spent following the tracks left behind by the Houndour some time ago. Trixie might be forgiven for assuming that the Houndour would be long gone, the tracks a mere trace of the hound's attack. But eventually, her dogged pursuit of the dog was rewarded...sort of.

Trixie could see a small tent, not unlike that of a circus tent, set up in a nearby grove. Hiding in the bushes was a young man, dressed in dark clothing with some sort of cravat and a head of dark purple hair. He was peering from behind the bushes, staring at the tent. Poke Balls hung at his side, but he made no motion to reach for them even as he heard Trixie approaching. He turned his head, seeming surprised for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. "You're a new face, so I guess you're probably safe...Get down, before he sees you!" he hissed slightly, under his breath and gesturing for her to sit down beside him in the brush.

"My name's Sammy, we don't have much time to talk before we risk him seeing us. There's been a lot of talk of an abusive Trainer being seen out in this neck of the woods, but with all the poachers and Rockets running around Officer Jenny's been too busy to do anything about it, so I thought I would come see if the rumors were true. Wasn't planning on my Pokemon getting so banged up by the wild ones, so I'm not really in a position to do anything right now..." the man said, shaking his head at his own foolishness. Getting this far had been a bit of a tricky endeavor, trickier than he had expected it to be. And now here he was, sitting on his hands and unable to do much of anything to help the Pokemon that he had seen wander into the tent.

Suddenly, the still in the air was cut by the sound of a crack and an animal's cry. On instinct, Sammy cursed under his breath and ran through the brush, beckoning for Trixie to follow him. "I'm sorry, I need your help, come with me!" he said, charging into the tent. If Trixie were to follow him, she would find a small performance area. In the middle of it, the Houndour she had been chasing was cowering, still injured from the previous Triple Battle as well as from a recent strike from a whip. A green-haired man stood nearby, an angered expression on his face and a whip coiled around his left hand. An arrogant-looking Glameow sat at his feet, watching the Houndour and the new arrivals smugly.

"Stupid hound, running off in the middle of training! This is why you lost us our last contest! You keep shirking your practice, and you come back looking all beat up! It's ridiculous!" the whip-carrying man snarled. He now turned to see his new guests, addressing them with a look of disdain. "I don't know what either of you are doing here in my special training ground, but scram! I got a big Contest performance coming up, and I can't afford to have you lot distracting my Pokemon!"

Sammy grimaced, remembering how badly injured his own mons were, before looking to Trixie for support. "I'm sorry, I won't be any help in an actual battle right now. You'll have to take the lead on this. I can go get Officer Jenny and get that poor dog some help, if you keep this jerk busy for a bit." Sammy offered, taking a step back so he could make a quick escape. He wouldn't be able to outrun the Glameow, but if it were caught up in battling Trixie's Pokemon, then perhaps he could make a quick escape to run and grab an Officer from Cherrygrove.

The Coordinator, meanwhile, simply continued his glare at the two intruders. The Houndour continued to cower, trying to slink away to one of the tent's corners to hide now that the spotlight had been taken away from it and placed upon Trixie and Sammy.

Trixie stumbled upon Coordinator Rod! Rod has sent out his Glameow (Level 10)!

[Jenesis]

Heading down the central path, Trixie was in high spirits. She had stopped a poacher, she had helped a farmer, and soon she would be catching a Houndour! Or so she hoped. A large and colorful structure along the winding path caught her eye, and as she got closer, she recognized it as a circus tent. Was the Pokemon circus in town? Perhaps she wouldn't be catching that Houndour after all. But she might get to watch a performance!

She was startled as a sudden movement in the bushes revealed itself to be a man in dark clothing. He called out to her in hushed tones. Trixie's hackles were immediately raised as she sensed danger. Her parents had warned her to watch out for strangers hiding in bushes - they were probably kidnappers! She looked with dismay as Cotillion, swayed by the man's words, flapped down and landed on the ground beside him. Trixie sighed and knelt down as well, but she kept both hands on her Pokeballs as she ducked down, ready to send them flying if he showed the slightest hint of ill intentions.

The man introduced himself as Sammy, and claimed to be on the trail of an abusive trainer. "So wait, what are you-- a detective or something?" Trixie whispered back. She listened as the purple-haired man continued his story. His claims about the Jennies being occupied at least seemed to line up with what she already knew. She was about to grill him for more information, poking for any holes in his story, when the crack of a whip and a pained howl cut through the air.

Sammy immediately jumped up and ran toward the circus tent, and Trixie had no choice but to follow. What she saw appalled her. The third Houndour was cowering in the middle of the tent, covered in bruises and scrapes as well as what had to be a fresh welt from the whip being held by the man standing before it. The man then turned and shouted at them. Something about a Contest performance. Just hearing that word, a wellspring of feelings overflowed in Trixie. Most of them bad. Between the sudden, unbidden memories of her parents pushing her to compete, and the sorrow she felt looking at the whipped dog, she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

"SHUT UP! No one cares about your stupid beauty contest!"

Sammy volunteered to go and get Officer Jenny, but in her agitated state, Trixie still didn't trust him any more than the other trainer. "Hold it!" She dramatically pointed in his direction, and he winced with fear. It was startling enough to calm her down a little. "I mean... you don't even know where she is. Let one of my Pokemon show you the way." She pulled Cotillion close to whisper to the Swablu. "I know you like him, so I want you to keep an eye on him. Just... be careful, okay?" With a resolute nod, she sent the bird flying off.

The green-haired coordinator wasn't going to let them go without a fight, though, and he chose a Glameow to send into the ring. Trixie responded in kind, summoning Eastwood in a flash of light. "Arm Thrust! Destroy those jerks!" The panda Pokemon didn't need to be told twice, rushing forward and attempting to slam his palms into the smug grey cat.

[words=561] 400 to Incubator
Trixie sent out Eastwood!
Trixie used Running Shoes! Eastwood used Arm Thrust twice!
Cotillion is temporarily out of the party!

[Tiki]

"Oh no no, I am not a detective or journalist or lawyer or anything..." Sammy replied in his hushed voice. "I am just making sure the well being of Pokemon are taken care of!" It wouldn't surprise anyone though, if a contest coordinator had fans stalking them or journalist following them to take a peek at their life. Whatever the case may be, Sammy didn't want to reveal this to Trixie yet. The mention of contest seemed to have made Trixie lost it, but Sammy tried to not get himself involved in whatever was going in her mind. With the help of her Swablu, the young man went off with the flying Pokemon to look for Officer Jenny.

"Just what do you think you're doing here? Barging into someone's tent! Glameow, use Fake Out!" Rod was alerted of the newcomer, and hollered out a command quickly. The feline bolted across the tent toward the Pancham, and when it was just about to strike, it stopped and faked an attack, making the fighting type dodged by hopping back. However, the cat wasn't done, and it immediately leaped forward and swatted the Pancham with its paw. The panda flinched from the surprise attack to recollect what was going on.

"Keep it up with a Scratch! Nobody interrupts my routine!" Rod continued. Using the speed of his Pokemon to his advatange, he shouted another command. While technically it was his Pokemon's routine, he would be the one coming up and training his Pokemon for the routine, so it was also kind of his routine.

The cat wasted no time to scratch the Pancham with its sharp claws. Eastwood was done being toyed by the cat, and returned the claws with his palms, pushing the cat away and into the air. A few thrust later, the cat fainted as it was clapped back before annual holiday for family reunion.

"What?!" The green haired boy shouted in anger, frustrated that he lost as quickly as he started. He returned his Pokemon and his Houndour quietly followed.

Outside of the tent, Trixie can hear Rod protested as Officer Jenny quickly came back. "Let me go, I am allowed to train my Pokemon!" Officer Jenny replied calmly and sternly with some legal jargons that would be difficult to hear. Sammy entered the tent, and thanked Trixie for her help.

"That was quick! Your Swablu helped me find Officer Jenny right away. If it took us longer, he would have run away!" He fished out a strange looking Pokeball from his pockets. "This is a Luxury Ball as a thanks for your help. If you wanted more, You can find me in Cherrygrove, okay?"

He paused before he leaves. "Everything will be alright." He spoke, as if responding to the girl's episode earlier.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Clear

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Glameow LV 10
HP 0% [0/32]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Eastwood LV 10
HP 64% [25/39]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Glameow [Limber]: Status
Trainer Pkmn [Ability]: Status

SP25 Glameow used Fake Out!!

SP25 Glameow used Scratch!
SP17 Eastwood used Arm Thrust!

---

Eastwood gained +2 levels! Now Level 13!
He can learn ⭕⭕ Circle Throw ⭕⭕, delete a move?
Eastwood gained 1 happiness! Now +3!


Trixie got a Luxury Ball!