Destination: Cherrygrove [Morrigan/Joe only]

[The REAL Joey]

Joe smiled as they finally reached a cafe. At this rate the local heat won't bother looking in as it was tucked away from all the fuss and activity of the urban streets outside. He moved in with her and nodded about grabbing some seats. "Sure, this table here looks fine right? I'll go and make for certain that nobody gets the idea of pinching our seats." He pulled a smile over his face and sat at the cafe table with his back to the entrance. As he sat there he looked over to Sharada and the queue she was in. "Not long to go... Hopefully I can eat, thank her and get a move on... I was hoping to be half way to Violet City by now... " Mumbled Joe as his dexterous fingers tapped on the table surface.

[Morrigan]

Sharada watched as Joe grabbed some seats. She smiled and quickly nodded to him, "Sure sure! Hopefully I wont be too long- " As she turned her head, she noticed a few people were forming a queue. Her eyebrow twitched a few times, before she let out a sigh and quickly jumped onto the end of it. Waiting sure was boring... Now and again, she gazed back to Joe over her shoulder, not making it too obvious of course. It was just to make sure that he was still there. She turned her head away, "Urgh... He looks so bored... Maybe I should just shove his stuff in a bag for him and shove him out on his way." as she mumbled under her breath, the queue began to get shorter until eventually it was her turn.

She quickly ordered and grabbed her food, a range of things being placed on a tray for her. She smiled and paid before turning with the tray in her arms and walking back to Joe. With a soft clank, she dropped the tray onto the table and plunged herself in a seat, "Ahhh... Finally. A seat!" she breathed a sigh of relief, looking at everything on the tray. There were two sets of sandwiches, two small helpings of what seemed to be some sort of sweetie bar and two large bottles of milk. Sharada raised her eyebrow and lifted up one of the candy bars, "These are called Rage Candy Bars or something.. I dunno. Apprently they are popular... I'm a sucker for things like this." she spoke, reaching out for her milk.

[The REAL Joey]

Joe looked to Sharada as she sat opposite him and plunked the tray on the table. He slowly went for his food and began to tuck into them. Slowly savouring every delicious morsel of his sandwich. As Sharada talked about the Rage Candy bars, a part of him contorted inside. "Heheh yeah, good ol' Rage Candy Bars!" He trailed off and thought some more. "You don't believe the rumours then huh? That these bars are actually Slowpoke tails that have been lobbed off?" He finished the last bite of his sandwich just before putting that forward to Sharada. "I dunno though. Probably just a load'a spiel made up by other rival companies heh. You know how fierce the competition gets..." He placed the bar in his bag then began drinking his milk. "This from that Milk Farm out on Route 39? They sure do make some delicious milk..." He slowly sipped his drink while looking at Sharada curiously. "So, what you doing out here?" He finally asked after some silence.

[Morrigan]

Sharada glugged down a good part of her moo moo milk before turning to her sandwich aswell. She ate it quickly, she also hadnt eaten for quite a while, the sandwich seemed like complete heaven as it touched her lips. She finished it just as quickly as Joe did and then turned to look at the candy bar sitting in front of her. She lifted it up and examined it as Joe shoved his into his bag, "Huh? Slowpoke tails? No way!" she giggled, founding what he had said quite funny. No one would make candy out of Pokemon... right? But even so, she looked at it and hesitated slightly before copying Joe and also placing it inside of her bag whilst replying to him about the milk, "Ooh! Yeah yeah! It sure is good, right? Their milk is my favourite!"

With another sip of her drink, her attention was turned back to Joe once more. It seemed he was trying to start a conversation. Sharada smiled to him and placed her drink back down, "Me?... Well, I'm travelling of course! Me and my little Charmander want to completely thrash the Gym leaders around these parts... How about you?"

[The REAL Joey]

Joe finished sipping his milk and placed the used carton on the tray that was served to him. He sat back in his chair casually, one arm leaning on the edge of the back and the other hanging downwards carelessly. As Sharada began to tell him of her tale and the purpose of her journey, he pulled out a coin from his jacket and then placed his hand on the table while quickly weaving it in and out of his fingers. As she finished he gave a small nod of the head. "Sounds about right..." He commented coolly. "I, myself, i'm just a traveller. Going from city to city... Got a bit of wanderlust in me." He said, all the while trying to come up with a story that would divert her as far as possible from his real intentions.

Nobody could know he was really a thief lest he risked being arrested. "As I go from place to place, I look for new thrills to chase. So kind of similar to you and your gym conquest." This thrill seeking Joe spoke of wasn't all to far from the truth. The exhilaration, the very feeling of thieving from others energised him immensely and was his only real calling in life. "Not found too big a thrill worth grappling with so far though here in Johto."

[Morrigan]

Sharada watched Joe carefully as he casually sat around and spoke to her. She couldnt help but smile, Joe had such a cool attitude and well, she thought he was pretty cool anyways, "Heehee~ So are you just doing it for the travelling? I like the thought of battling Gyms and most likely will do. But I suppose I am more excited about the cute Pokemon over here!" She began to giggle to herself excitedly, thinking about what Pokemon she had still yet to bump into.

Then, as Joe mentioned Johto, Sharada suddenly remembered home... She was from Hoenn, and hey, it sure was different. She opened her mouth to speak some more, "Hm. I'm from Hoenn and we have quite a lot of water over in our region... Heh. I quite like it here though."

As she finished, it seemed to fall a bit silent. Sharada looked around awkwardly, "Joey? Heh. I have probably really held you back for long enough now. You can go if you like?... I'm planning on hanging around Cherrygrove for a bit longer."

[The REAL Joey]

Joe span the coin through his fingers continuously and toyed with the idea of entering gyms. "I've never done any gym challenges but the thing is, I really enjoy the heat that comes from battles." He paused, thinking of what he had said. "Have you ever been in a battle where both you and your opponent are on tenterhooks because you have no idea what the outcome might be? Both Pokemon only have a slither of health left and it all comes down to the next blow..." He paused and let out a small laugh. "Yeah... That's just one of the thrills that keeps me searching." He flipped the coin up in the air with his thumb and watched as it riveted upwards before landing into the palm of his hand. He withdrew it and placed it back in his jacket pocket.

"Funny to hear you come from Hoenn. I'm also a foreigner around these parts. Me? I come from Kanto. Johto was so close I just had to come visit." Joe listened to her as she said about it being okay for him to leave. "Well, I am sort of in a hurry. I'm just gonna have a short look round the rest of Cherrygrove." He got up and looked at her. "For you know, thrills." He looked to her. "Thanks for the meal and all. Much appreciated." He gave her a wink and picked up his belongings and moved out of the cafe. As he stepped out of the doors he looked up and down the street for any signs of the local police but let out a small sigh of relief as there was no sign of them.

He adjusted his bandanna and placed his hands into his pockets and began to slowly walk along the pavement. He looked predominately on the floor but picked up his head to look at the shops and buildings to the side. After meandering around the city of Cherrygrove he decided to sit himself down on a bench for a quick breather. He sat down and took in the scenery. His relaxation was soon interrupted though by the presence of a Pokemon match unfolding. It seemed some man was battling against a kid. The man, who was using a Koffing, seemed to be losing horribly to the younger kid who was stomping him completely with a Aipom. Joe decided to change his direction to facing them so shuffled accordingly on the bench. However, just as soon as he got comfortable the match was over and the kid had won. The kid walked off cheerily while the man waited until there was nobody within earshot of him. He turned to his Koffing and savagely began to kick and punch it. "YOU! You're a useless piece of rubbish! You can't battle for anything! Getting shown up by some brat and his stupid Aipom! You should be ashamed!" CRACK! A harsh punch landed directly on the Koffing.

Upon seeing a trainer beating his own Pokemon up savagely, Joe stood up instinctively and charged into the fray. He smoothly grappled onto the trainer from behind and restrained him from abusing his Pokemon any longer. With Joe grappling the man's arms he threw all his momentum behind himself and moved out the way as the man swayed with him, forcing him to land on his back. The man yelled as he fell to the floor and hot up with a murderous look at Joe. "Whaddya think you're doing punk?! Huh? HUH?!" He shouted psychotically at Joe but he was unphased by it. Joe stared at him quietly for a few moments before replying coldly. "I hate pathetic losers like you who think their Pokemon are weak and then abuse them. You ever thought the reason why your Koffing is performing so poorly is because he is reflecting the skill you have as a trainer?" By the time Joe had finished the man was now on his feet and lunged at him madly. Joe kept his cool and sidestepped him while countering him with a swift jab to the stomach before smashing a fist down on his head. Joe was about to beat him even further before a loud buzzer ripped through the air.

"The police!" Exclaimed Joe. It seemed as if the police had witnessed everything Joe had just done. "Great..." Joe sighed sarcastically. "Time to bail!" He quickly legged it in the opposite direction with surprising execution, as if he had done this time and time again. Of course, he had done while he was living in Kanto. "Goddamn! If I can just outrun out of their sight and hide down an alleyway..." He skidded down the side of one road and quickly went for the nearest alleyway, his heart beating thoroughly. As he ran down the side of this alleyway he realised that it was the cafe he had just been in with Sharada. "Ok... Now just to hide. They'll give up sooner or later." He laid his back up against the wall and breathed heavily to catch his breath. "Soon as the police are off me... I'm hunting down that man and reprimanding him of his Pokemon."

[Morrigan]

As Joe stood from his chair, Sharada stood to her feet aswell. She nodded her head firmly as he lifted his bag and winked at her, "Yeah! I hope we bump into eachother again some time... Well, maybe not so physical next time, eh?" she joked and watched as he left. With a soft sigh, Sharada plonked herself back down into her chair before finishing her drink. She swiftly took her tray over to the side and dumped all the rubbish into a bin close by, before stepping outside herself.

"Hmmm" she thought out loud, "Where should I go now... Maybe I could find a good place to go and sit down. Let my Pokemon run around for a bit... Yeah." she agreed with herself and began to follow the shops around. Sharada seemed to walk around the whole of Cherrygrove before a clearing suddenly came into view. It had a few trees and benches around, there also werent too many people. It seems as if they was already a person on the bench, but she couldnt make him out, "Perfect." she whispered.

As she took a step forward, a small corner shop caught her attention, "Ice cream?!" she squealed excitedly, rushing inside of the building. Whilst she waited in the queue, the whole fight broke out with Joe and the other guy, but no one in the shop seemed to notice. However, everyones heads soon turned as the sound of Police sirens echoed through the streets. By this time, Sharada had gotten her ice cream and was standing outside. She spotted a man, pretty beaten up, along with a Koffing beside him, "Ahh... They dont look too good... Urgh. I hate people who beat others up."

Now that the police had arrived, Sharada wasn't able to sit down with her Pokemon... Like she would anyway now, not if there was a weirdo on the loose. She took a lick out of her ice cream before moving to the side, "Maybe I should cut down this alleyway to get to the Cafe again... I'll now my way out-" As she stood at the alleyway entrance, the sight of Joe kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily almost caused her to drop her ice cream. She blinked and took a step forward, "J-Joe?

[The REAL Joey]

Joe looked startled as he noticed Sharada's presence. He swiftly stood up and grabbed her with a hand over her mouth and hid her along with himself behind some crates. "Okay i'm going to through this out now. Be quiet. The police here us and i'm done for." He looked down at her to try and see her reaction but he believed that the shock of being grabbed slightly was over. He cautiously let go of her mouth and arm, ready to cover her again if she as so much as let out a scream to alert the police of their presence. He crouched down against the wall and sighed. "I have some explaining to do I guess."

He looked at her silently for a good couple of minutes before whispering to her quietly. "I got kinda hot headed back there in the park... Some pathetic loser was beating his Pokemon so I went and dosed him with some of his own medicine, to see how he liked it." He let out a smirk as he recalled the events in his mind. "I was just about to kick him in some and be done with it when the police come and ruin my fun so i've had to leg it here and wait until they give up..." He paused and looked to her face again. As she didn't seem to be all that terrified he decided to carry on. "Of course, as soon as the police die down I ain't leavin' Cherrygrove just yet... I'm gonna get that schmuck where it hurts. I'm going to steal all the Pokemon he has. I just wish I could follow him now to find out where he lives..."

He rested the back of his head up against the wall and only now seemed to have regained his breath. "Thing is, if I stay here and wait till the police die down i'll likely lose the trail of that guy." He raised an eyebrow and started to formulate a plan in his mind. "Say... I know this is all a bit much but would you mind being my eyes and ears for a while?" A small genuine smile appeared across his face. "I mean, I know a lot of people don't approve of stealin' but in this case the guy is abusing them. If I get a hold of them i'll treat 'em with some respect." He eyed her some more with his intense set of eyes. "So whaddya say? Yay or nay?"

[Morrigan]

Sharada's eyes were soon flickering with terror as Joe stood up and grabbed onto her. She dropped her icecream onto the floor and soon felt herself being tugged. Yes, she wanted to scream... the guy who she had just treated lunch to was now dragging her down the alleyway. As she was placed down beside the crates and he moved his hands, Sharada pushed her back as closely as she could to the crate and bowed her head to him, "I-I-I... I wont tell anyone anything! Please dont hurt me!" she pleaded in a loud whisper, closing her eyes tightly.

As Joe began to explain everything to her, her heart beat began to turn more regular again and her whole body relaxed a bit more. As long as he wasn't going to hurt her or steal her Pokemon... However, he was still talking about stealing someone else's pokemon. She remained silent for quite a while, thinking about what she should do. At the end of the day, stealing was bad. But the Koffing did seem pretty beaten up, "The Koffing. His own trainer did that to him?" she eventually spoke back.

A frown soon spread across her face and her next action was probably going to be regretted later on. She lifted her hand and sharply slapped Joe around the face, "You are an idiot..." she growled. Sharada then jumped to her feet and stood beside the crates, "...Only idiots steal. I hate that."

With a flick of her hair she turned and walked out of the alleyway. She turned her head slightly and spotted the man with his Koffing. It seemed as if he had blamed both beatings on himself and his Koffing on Joe. Her frown soon faded as she realised he was walking away, maybe back to his home? Sharada didn't know why, but her legs seemed to follow him. She kept a distance and sighed to herself, "Dammit... You owe me an icecream you stupid blonde man." she grumbled to herself.

[The REAL Joey]

Joe sat there frozen, still reeling in from from the sudden slap Sharada gave to him. His eyes froze on her and as she walked away he raised a hand and rubbed his cheek slightly. "Goddamn! I hate it when girls slap me..." He stood up and looked to her as she slowly as she walked off but felt an unsuppressed amount of indignation rise in his stomach as he saw the very man he was speaking of but a few minutes ago, walk by the alleyway. He nearly leapt from his hiding place but the voice of reason was firmly in control of him for once. "I can't get caught yet... If I blow it now those Pokemon will carry on getting beaten. I gotta time this right." He plotted to himself. He slowly rubbed is cheek a for a few more moments before sitting back down by his crate. It seemed as if Sharada had truly followed what he had suggested and was following him now. "Good, if she can find where he lives, i'm set. I just hope she doesn't rat out on me to the police. Either way, as soon as she tells me where he lives i'm going after him whether she tries to stop me or not. Then i'm outta this dump!"

[Morrigan]

Sharada continued to follow the man for the rest of the day. It was odd, but it seemed as if he never even noticed her. An irritating part of the day was went Sharada followed him and he went inside the Poke Mart. Thankfully there was a bench really close by were she sat down. She pulled out the Rage Candy bar from her bag and began to munch away on it, "Jeez... He has been in there for ages now." Her attention soon turned to the sky as she took a final bite of her candy bar. The sky was an orangey colour as the sun was now setting. She thought to herself and sighed, Joe must be pretty bored... She then harshly shook her head before looking forward again and amazingly, the man reappeared. Sharada slowly stood to her feet and continued to follow him.

Soon enough, the man stopped outside a rather ran down looking house on the edge of Cherrygrove. The top window had a crack going through it and there were graffiti marks all over the place. As the man entered, Sharada thought to herself... What if Joe was lieing? What if the guy have done nothing wrong? There weren't exactly any witnesses and hey, he was pretty rough with her. So instead of rushing back to Joe, Sharada hung around by herself for a while, moving around to the back of the house where she waited and waited. But nothing seemed to occur.

It was now becoming dark. There was no one on the street at this point. The only thing along the pavements were lights from houses and Sharada's shadow. With a slow walk, she moved towards the alleyway where Joe had remained for all this time. She stood at the alleyway entrance, leaning against the building to the right of her, a large, mischeivous grin spread across her cheeks, "So. You haven't ran away like a scared little boy yet?... Ooh. The police were so close by." she teased.

[The REAL Joey]

Joe's face instantly turned to see who it was at the entrance of the alleway. "Oh. It's you..." He said with a great sigh of relief. He stood up and walked over to Sharada. He carefully twisted his neck both sides to see if the streets were still full of patrolling policemen. "Nope. Thought they'd clear up by now." He pulled Sharada with him deeper into the alleyway so they could discuss the location of the man. "So, you followed him I take it? Well? Where is he? I gotta find out so I can go save his Pokemon! Damn, that guy's probably beating them black and blue for them not protecting him earlier when I roughed him over earlier."

He looked to her and had been thinking about what she said. "Look, I know you said you hate stealing and stuff and that's fair game but for this ONE INSTANCE it's for the best right?" He said adamantly with huge emphasis on the end of his sentence. "We need to stop this guy!" He finished trying to convince her and looked at her with a sharp look in his eyes. "Come on, tell me and let's do this."

[Morrigan]

Sharada snickered under her breath as Joe began to look around for any policemen, "My my. You would've thought they would search alley ways for petty thieves such as yourself." she spoke to him, allowing herself to be pulled into the alleyway once more. She remained silent, the same smile still plastered across her face as he began to throw questions and words at her. Sharada simply turned slightly and raised her eyebrow, "How can I trust you?..." Her expression suddenly changed into a fierce glare, she took a step towards him and pushed her hand against his chest, forcing him towards the wall, "INFACT Why should I trust you?... You almost stole my damn Swablu earlier... You werent going to give it me back, were you?" she spoke, her tone increasing in volume.

Sharada them moved her hand away and took a step back, resting on the wall behind her, she flicked her hand in the air, "And no. I waited at the guys house for a while just to see. No noises. No shouting. No crying. No nothing..." She turned her gaze away from him, "Sorry Joey. But I'm not saying." she spoke, starting to step away from him.

[The REAL Joey]

Joe raised an eyebrow and sighed. "I was hoping we could avoid this. Look, i'll tell you what... Why don't we make a nice little trade?" He watched as she turned around and then proceeded to explain his trade. "You know where this guy is. Which is good, I need to know that." He nodded and began pacing side to side along the alleyway. He paused once or twice and was about to say something to Sharada but instead decided to carry on pacing. After a few more moments he decided to continue. "...And I on the otherhand have something I can exchange back to you." He watched her with an intense gaze and then proceeded to withdraw a Pokeball from his belt. "Your Swablu." He gave her a better view of it so she could be sure it was her Swablu. "Shh. Don't bother asking how I got it off you. I took it when you pushed me just now. As you did that it became apparent you weren't going to tell me so I needed an insurance." He explained.

"Look, I don't really want this Swablu off you, as you're a nice enough trainer. But at the end of the day; if stealing this Pokemon of yours gets you to tell me all about that guy's whereabouts then so be it. It's just something I gotta do. I ain't lettin' that loser smack about his Pokemon no more. I'm taking them into better care." He placed her Swablu back onto his belt. "So, you gonna help me or what? I promise you, i'll give you your Swablu back if you just tell me where the guy is hiding. Thief's honour."