I exited a store at the peak happily, looking down at the pack of 493 stickers I had just bought to put on my pokéballs, when I collided with something large. Something large, muscular, warm, and… familiar? What in the world?

“I’m so sorry, mister, I wasn’t paying… attention…” I slowed down as I looked across the person I had just run into.

“Missed me yet?” the stranger replied, smirking. The sun caught off his perfect green eyes as I stared at him, a smile slowly forming on my mouth.

“TC!” I yelled happily, forgetting all about the stickers in my hand, and just hugging him, as if I hadn’t seen him for months. “What in the world are you doing here?” I asked, pulling away. It seemed he wanted to laugh. And I guess he had a point. We were in the middle of a street and I just hugged him, as if he were about to die if I didn’t. That really didn’t seem like me. Hmm…

“Woahwoahwoah! Calm down buddy, the world’s not about to end! Besides, if it were, I’m sure it would stop for at least a couple minutes for someone as handsome as me,” he joked, running his fingers through that chocolate-coloured hair of his, and mock posing. That was TC for you. He’d do almost anything for a laugh. Returning to his regular state, he continued, “When you left, I realized how little to do there was in Inari Town. And I figured, even if I wasn’t into the whole pokémon training, maybe I could keep you company?” He smiled warmly, and even if he’d just asked me to jump off Goldenrod Bridge, I probably would have done it anyway with a smile like that.

“Of course you can come! Wow, I’m so glad you changed your mind! How did you get here so fast though?”

“The train, silly!” he laughed, ruffling my hair. “So, now what?”

“The pokémon center to get some sleep and give my buddies some rest! I’ll introduce them to you later when we’re settled in.” He followed beside me as we headed for the center together.

A girl steps out of the train car. Her Treecko lets out a quick cry, and she allows him retreat from the cold inside his Pokéball. The girl, Akehoshi, looks around and pulls out a small black notebook, reading the contents inside. "So... Articuno is said to be sighted most frequently around here.... Up on Borealis Peak." She put the notebook away and walked to find someplace to rest for a little bit, finding her way to a small Pokémon Center.

Walking in, she allowed Ryuu out of his Pokeball again, this time in the warmth of inside. The Treecko quickly perched himself on her shoulder as she looked around. I was told it'd be safer to travel with someone if I'm planning on going through Borealis Peak... she thought to herself, remembering what someone had said to her while they were on the train. "I guess I'll just have to ask around, huh, Ryuu?" she said, scratching him on the head as she looked around at the few people in the Pokemon center.

“Shrew, shrew!” “Eevee!”

The two Pokémon jumped around my head and shoulders, running around on the ground, only to jump back onto my head again, trying to be the one to get their desired spot.

“Guys, cut it out, I’m sure you can find somewhere else to perch!” I exclaimed at the two struggling Pokémon, while I tried to walk outside the door. The two just looked at me like I was nuts and kept squabbling. “If I have to stop this myself I swe -- oof!” Once again I had bumped into someone, ending up with my butt on the ground. Looking up I noticed it was female. The girl suddenly looked up from a black notebook she’d been reading.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” she said worriedly, offering me a hand. I took it, pulling myself up.

TC looked down at me, smirking again, “Gee, you sure seem to be good at bumping into people, maybe you could make it a hobby!”

“Just fine, thanks.” I tell the girl, ignoring TC for the moment. I suddenly noticed the pokéballs at her belt. “Hey! Are you a trainer too?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, I am!” she noticed the two Pokémon fighting for a spot to rest. “Oh, isn’t that just cute!” she exclaimed, and Sandshrew and Eevee looked at her confused. “I guess I should introduce myself, I’m Akehoshi. You can just call me Ake though if you want.”

“Hi Ake, I’m Ryan, and this is my friend TC. We’re on our way down the mountain to Samui Rei.”

“Well isn’t that a coincidence! I was going to do that too. Well that is, as soon as I investigate Articuno.”

“The legendary bird?”

“Yep. You don’t look as shocked as most of the others I tell. In this book I’ve written everything that I know about legendaries – I guess you could call me a legendary researcher.”

“Wow, that sounds cool. Since we’re headed in the same way in the end, mind if I join you? I’d love the chance to see another legendary!”

Another? That would imply he’s already seen one… I guess I’ll have to say yes if I want to get to the bottom of this. “Of course! I’ll show you what I’ve got in my book as we go along if you’d like…”

Ake, Ryan, and TC headed towards the exit of the camp, ready to explore the peak, and maybe even catch a glimpse of Articuno!

A Swinub pops out of the snow in front of the trainers, sniffs them curiously, but then loses interest and disappears back into its hole...only to appear again wearing a Snowrunt as a hat. Wait...what? O_o Anyway, the Snowrunt appears to want to fight. Swinub doesn't really seem to care one way or another, though.

"Woah! A Swinub, and... And a Snorunt!" Akehoshi exclaimed. Ryuu was back in his Pokeball again by this point, hating the cold. "Excuse me, Ryan, but I've just gotta catch that Snorunt!" she said, and took out a Pokeball. She released the Pokemon from inside, a brilliant Fireworks Quilava!

"Quiiiili!" it cried out, excited to be outside.
"All right, Hokkyokusei, ready for a fight?" Akehoshi said.
"Quil, quil!" the fire type responded, flaring up the flames on it's back and giving a battle cry. "QUUIIIL!!!"

I just blinked at it. "Creepy little spud, ain't it?" I thought out loud. TC chuckled at that.

"Hey, maybe you two could be best friends then and live in a little snow house all on your own!" he commented, laughing heartily. All I did was respond with a glare.

Sandshrew however looked like it was really into this though! The moment I stopped looking, it rushed off my head, and stood beside Ake holding a couple miniature pompoms and starting waving them around! "Shrew, shrew shreeeeew!!" he shouted happily. He really enjoyed this trainer thing.

O_______o;;;

Swinub merely stares on, its beady little eyes a mix of curiosity and apathy, however that works. Or maybe you're looking too much into it. Maybe it's just a stupid Swinub. Anyway, Snorunt giggles maniacally, then plops down onto the snow and shuffles toward Quilava, stopping roughly ten paces away. It grins, as if to say, "Draw," and cheesy spaghetti western music starts playing.

...where's that music coming from, anyway? O_o

Hokkyokusei lets out another cry as the flames on his back blaze even stronger momentarily. The fire-type waited a few moments and then when the suspense seemed unbearable, quickly blazed the flames on its back once again, using LAVA PLUME! XD

...Where in the world is that music coming from anyway?? I thought, looking around.

"Shrewshrew Saaaandshrew!" I watched as Sandshrew stopped jumping up and down momentarily, and switch the track on a large radio he had behind him. What the heck??? Where did he get that from?? Suddenly on came the extremely badass battle music, Vortal Combat! Smart Sandshrew!

Swinub slowly shuffled over onto my feet and started climbing my pants. Huh? O__o

"Hey look, you made a friend!" commented TC. Gee, thanks buddy. <__<

The radio then starts playing Avril Lavigne, with Sandshrew unfortunately deciding to sing along. "Sandsand shrewshrew sandshrew sandshrew sandshrew~" Mercifully, you shut it off before Sandshrew can continue. However, the bad music angers Swinub! Swinub uses Icy Wind...on your leg! O_o

Meanwhile, in the battle between Quilava and Snorunt...

Quilava: FIRE :D
Snorunt: FIRE D:
Quilava: MOAR FIRE? :D
Snorunt: nothxbai *uses Hail*

...wait, wasn't it already snowing? O_o

Seems not. Hokkyokusei lets out an annoyed cry as hail starts pelting down on him.

Akehoshi held arms above her to help keep the hail off. "Let's keep going, Hokkyokusei! This hail hopefully won't last too long! Let's weaken Snorunt some more with an Ember attack!"

"OMG, COLDCOLDCOLDCOOOOLD!!" I screamed, and ran around in circles. Great, my leg was slighly frozen and it was hailing. The Swinub fell off my leg from the sudden movement and watched me amused.

TC, luckily had more brains than I did at the moment, and sighing pulled a pokeball off my belt that he saw had a Charmander sticker on it as I ran past. Not knowing how to use a pokeball he just kinda... tossed it at me. The ball hit me in the head, and being heavier than it looked, knocked me onto my butt as Charmander popped out. "Charchar!"

"Uh Charmander, right? Think you could do something about his frozen leg?" The Charmander shot a couple flames at my leg which melted the ice. I sighed contentedly and passed out slightly in the snow.

Ake of course, noticed nothing.

How the heck does one slightly pass out, anyway? O_o

You awaken to utter mayhem, really. Charmander, Sandshrew, and Swinub are all squabbling over a cookie, with The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny on in the background. (Looks like someone turned the radio back on.) Where'd the cookie come from, anyway? O_o Meanwhile, Quilava lets fire an Ember in more ways than one, only to be blocked by a Protect from Snorunt. Oh, and Snorunt gains a little HP from the hail due to its abilitiy. Which is Arabic for "ability." (What? You're saying it isn't? Too bad. It is now because I say so!)

Akehoshi avoids getting discouraged by the Protect. "Protect's less likely to suceed when used consecutively..." she mumbled to herself. "Alright, Hokkyokusei, attack Snorunt with Quick Attack!"
"Quil!" Hokkyokusei takes off towards Snorunt, aiming to ram it at full speed.

As the three pokemon create one of those giant dust clouds of battle that you see in cartoons, I bent down and ate the cookie. Immediately all 3 pokemon froze in place and stared at me menacingly -- Sandshrew was standing on Charmander's shoulders, and Swinub was on its back, struggling to get up.

TC was on the ground laughing his head off, not caring that he was getting snow in his hair or on his black vest. "Oh my... oh my GOD that's definitely the best thing you've EVER done Ryan!' he choked out and laughed harder as the 3 pokemon began to run after me, with the intention of mauling me horribly. x_x

You...eat...the...cookie...

A wrenching feeling tears through your gut, and you're teleported to a graveyard behind an old house in Britain, where a rat-like man makes you bleed and used the blood to revive Voldemort suddenly, you feel like you have no more control over your body. But that's okay...bodily control is so passé. Doing Joan's bidding is so much more fun.

...wait, who's Joan?

Ohnoez! It was a mind control cookie! D: Fortunately, being hit by an Icy Wind, an Ember, and a Scratch simultaneously from three enraged Pokemon effectively breaks the spell. Unfortunately, it does a number on your already damaged pants.

While you're in pain and TC is lhaoing, Quilava attacks Snorunt. Quickly. Well, not too quickly, considering it had to wait for two more posts before it could actually attack. Still, it does fair damage to Snorunt, who retaliates by going to all the Walmart stores and lowering the prices. Wait, that's Rollback, not Rollout. Oh well, close enough. Quilava, who apparently hates Walmart, takes super effective damage!

"Hokkyokusei, take the chance to build up your own Rollout!!!" Akehoshi called. Hokkyokusei nodded and took the hit, and while he was flying back quickly starts rolling, landing down onto the ground and then rolling back at Snorunt!!!

Sandshrew suddenly noticed that both pokemon were now using Rollout and fiddled with the dials on the radio. Huh? Suddenly it turned to a pokemon racing channel, and the announcer began to speak as Sandshrew picked up it's pompoms again. "Shrewshrew Sandshrew shrew!"

"And the racers are speeding down the track!" announces the announcer, quite like a quick announcer, "Snorunt's gaining speed but WAIT, in comes Quilava, taking the turn... OHNO collision!" screamed the announcer just as Quilava and Snorunt bounched into each other. Wow, that was one smart Sandshrew. O__o

Meanwhile I stared down at my jeans, slightly annoyed. Frozen, burned, cut, geez. TC came up to me, (covered in snow) "Hmm, need a hand with those pants...?" he winked at me. I just blinked and dashed behind a bush as he started rolling on the ground laughing again. "OH MY GOD you should have seen your face!!!!"

I swore, if it were possible to die laughing, he would have by now. Walking out from behind the bushes again, he froze. "How do you switch pants that fast? And moreover, where did they come from, and where did the old ones go?"

I decided to let him puzzle it out while I turned my attention to Ake's battle.

...so Snorunt and Quilava have taken to hitting each other over the head with rolling pins. Somehow, that's super-effective...somehow, I'm getting the feeling neither of them understand the concept of the attack "Rollout." Oh well.

The other Pokemon have forgotten both their squabble with each other and the one with your pants, and now they're having a tea party. With a teddy bear named Snugglepants. Yes, Snugglepants...perhaps that's where you got your new pair!

...wait, what? (I don't think teddy bear-sized pants would fit you...would they?)

Akehoshi knew these hits would be hurting Hokkyokusei for some super-effective damage. The Quilava rolled in for another attack before Akehoshi then called him off.

"After this, Hokkokyusei, break out of that Rollout and use Ember!"

TC and I took to making snow angels (snow against bare arms... cold.) while Sandshrew, Charmander, and Swinub continued with their tea party with Snugglepants.

Suddenly, some random little girl popped up, squeeled, and stole Snugglepants! Swinub snapped out of its apathy and shot an Ice Beam at the random little girl! Mmm, girlsicle. Charmander started licking at it before I realized what it was doing and yelled "Ew, Charmander, you don't know where it's been!"

I then went back to creating a stockpile of snowballs, hoping TC didn't notice... :sneaky:

That one song comes on the radio. I forget what it's called, but you know, the one that goes "I can't fight this feeling anymore, I'd forgotten what I'd started fighting for"? That one? Well, it plays, and Quilava sings along.

...and this feeling turns out to be the feeling that you can't really stop a Rollout under normal circumstances. Whoops. :XD:

Anyway, both Pokemon put on their rollerskates and bring out their battle-faces. Or something. Point is, Snorunt is hit hard, but Quilava's hit harder, since Snorunt's on turn three of its Rollout. Both Pokemon are significantly weakened, Quilava moreso.

Meanwhile, the girlsicle has thawed out by sitting next to the fireplace. (Since when was there a fireplace here? O_o) "ZOMG IT'S YOU AGAIN! THE HOOH BOY!"

...holy crap. It's Playstation.

You're all doomed.

Akehoshi paused, hearing the mention of Ho-oh. "HO-OH?!" She quickly turned to Ryan and Playstation, trusting Hokkyokusei to be able to handle Snorunt for the moment.

"W-what's this about Ho-oh?!" she asked excitedly.

TC looked over, also seeming interested. I looked over at Playstation, imagining everything I could do to get her out of here, but settled for just punting her off the mountain.

"Uh... it's a long story... I'll explain after you win?" :D

The two Pokemon continue spam-linking each other to annoying 80's music videos...wait, that's rickrolling. Oh well. Still super-effective.

...never spam links to crappy 80's music to Pokemon - I guess that's the real lesson here. Also, never gonna give you up!

*Caffeinated Doom dodges bullets.

Anyway, Quilava faints. Snorunt looks a little unsteady on its feet but manages to pull itself up.

Also, Playstation blinks at Ryan. "DONCHA WANNA KNOW WHY I FOLLOWED YOU, MISTER? <3"

"Mnnn...." Akehoshi takes out a Pokéball and returns Hokkyokusei to his Pokéball. "You did your best, Hokkyokusei." She puts that ball away and looks at Snorunt as she puts a moment of thought into her next choice. She had Ryuu, who didn't like the cold, and Konton and Suiatsu, neither of which she had gotten the chance to see in battle yet.

"Alright, Konton, you're up!" she said as she released the Dark Eevee from it's Pokéball. The little black glowing (O_o) Pokémon landed on the snow in front of her and shook her fur out a little. "Alright, Konton, I know this is our first battle together, but let's do our best!"
"Wuivee!"
"Konton, use Sand-attack first and then follow it up with Quick Attack!"

Of course, "Sand-attack" must have become "Snow-attack", as when Konton began kicking "sand" up in Snorunt's face, snow flew up instead. However, hopefully that would provide distraction as she turned around again and dashed at Snorunt at hyperspeed, aiming to do some damage.

I deadpanned at Playstation. Little kid must be good if she can dodge punts off a mountain. X____x;; "Uh no, not particularly," I responded to her inquiry. I briefly considered sending Charmander after her to get her the heck out of here.

TC just blinked. "You know this girl?"

:sweatdrop:

Snorunt manages to evade the snow, but the distraction is enough for Konton to dash at it, hitting it fairly hard. Snorunt faints! Dark Eevee gains a level! Okay, so I'm not quite that evil. Snorunt does appear to be near fainting, though. Even so, it manages a devastating Rollout - I believe the fourth or fifth. Since it's been doubling in power each turn, it does a significant amount of damage to Eevee.

Playstation pouts for a moment, but then her eyes brighten as the song on the radio changes, and she decides to tell Ryan anyway. :XD: "L IS FOR THE WAY YOU LOOKED AT ME. O IS YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I SEE. V IS VERY, VERY EXTRAORDINARY. E IS EVEN MORE THAN EVERYONE BUT YOU COULD KNOW!"

... O_o Dude. A six year old is in love with you.

Akehoshi didn't notice the weird stuff going on yet, she was too focused on Snorunt. "Alright!" She took out a Pokéball. "Good job, Konton. I'll handle it from here."
"Wui!"
Akehoshi threw the empty Pokéball at Snorunt, and as soon as it hit she began...praying? Yes, praying!!! XD Praying for a capture! Praying to who? Well... You'd have to ask. XD

I blinked and just stood there stunned. A 6 year old just professed her undying love to me, a 15 year old. O____o Things couldn't get a whole lot weirder.

"Woah, man, I knew you were a charmer but--" TC burst into laughter and then managed to choke out, "is this for real?"

Huh what? What exactly did he mean by that? Okay maybe things DID just get a bit weirder. o____O

DESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESUDESU

Now that I've gotten your attention, and since that doesn't really qualify as a reply (darn - no, I'm not high on caffeine, whatever gave you that idea? >_> <_<), YOU MANAGED TO TAKE A SCREENCAP OF SNORUNT! WHEEEEEE!

lolget it? Screencap, screen capture, capture Pokemon...please step away from that gun. Thanks for your cooperation in adva--

*Caffeinated Doom is shot.

...CURSE YOU.

*Caffeinated Doom starts to slowly bleed to death.

Before my untimely demise, I'll try to finish up this post. After all, I can't in good conscience die without successfully driving other people insane first. :D

Er, I mean...

ANYWAY, Playstation grins up at Ryan. "OF COURSE I'M SERIOUS, MR. DUMBFACE. I LOVE YOU. LET'S GET MARRIED AND HAVE 1.5 KIDS AND GET A BIG HOUSE AND A DOG AND POSSIBLY A PARAKEET OR TWO AND SOME NICE CARS AND SPEND THE REST OF OUR LIVES TOGETHER. AND DO ALL THAT OTHER NICE STUFF MARRIED PEOPLE DO! <333"

...okay, even *I'm* scared now.

Also, Swinub is currently teaching Charmander and Sandshrew how to ballroom dance.

Akehoshi excitedly ran over and picked up the Pokéball and then gave Konton lots and lots of praise for her work. However, at that immediate moment, Akehoshi, the Mod, died from laughter, unable to handle everything that's going on, plus the Snorunt that's named "Bob" by default. As thus, the trainer, Akehoshi, vanished from existance.

Not really. Seeing as the Mod Akehoshi didn't seem to really die, dispite how much it felt like it. In any case, Akehoshi gave more praise to Konton and then finally allowed her attention to wander back to Ryan and TC, and quickly caught on to what had happened in the background.

"Erm... Ryan, do you, uh, know this girl?" Akehoshi asked, just a tad worried that some little girl, probably only 6 or something, just pretty much proposed to him. Even if it wasn't her business, it still worried her. She kinda hoped that Ryan didn't feel that way back, because that in itself would kind of be a crime punishable by law. Yeah... Pretty certain none of them want Ryan in the slammer. Especially if he knew about Ho-oh! :P Akehoshi stands up, Konton in her arms and Pokéball away, and approaches the rest of the group.

Suddenly, we all notice, in the background, Sony, jaw dropped, staring at Playstation in disbelief. When'd he get there? Probably just in time to hear Playstation's proposal, after running up the frozen trail to catch up with wherever-the-heck his younger sister had gone. Certainly, if something happened to her, it'd be a load off his back, at least until he got home, where his parents would ground him for life for letting anything happen to their missing daughter who had followed him. Of course...what he just heard probably just changed his life. He tried multiple times to say something though not a sound came out of his gaping mouth.

TC suddenly came up with a pile of confetti somehow, put wedding music onto the radio, and sprinkled it over the two of us. "Haha, you'd make such a cute couple!"

My eye twitched, and I quickly pushed Playstation over to Sony. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" and so killing two birds with one stone, I released Ho-oh from the pokéball, letting Ake get a good look at it before speaking to Playstation.

"Ummm Playstation, how about before we do anything I let you have a ride on the real live Ho-oh??" I whispered into Ho-oh's ear "Dump them off somewhere at the bottom of the mountain." It nodded discreetly.

"OH BOYYYY, I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON I LOVED YOU!" she yelled as she hopped onto Ho-oh's back. Sony mouthed a quick "Thanks" and mounted behind Playstation and they flew off in the opposite direction.

Hooray, Tom seems to have finally gotten rid of Sony...for now, anyway! :XD:

Up the mountain you go! Hooray! Finally making progress. :XD:

Until you stumble upon a petite yodeling blonde, anyway. Well, not literally. "Oh my gosh, travelers!" she practically squeals upon seeing you. "I haven't seen anyone come up this path in, like, forever!"

"...do you live up here?"

"Nope, just got here two days ago!"

...well, that might explain why she hasn't seen anyone.

"Anyway, my name's Tess! Pleasure to make your acquaintance! Hey, you wanna have a battle? You know, just for fun?"

"Ryan?" Akehoshi looked to him. She was fine with a battle if he was. Konton let out a small, excited yelp (O_-?). "Are you up to battle?"

Ryan blinked and then looked around and started hyperventilating because Ho-oh wasn't back yet.

"Sure. I just hope he's okay..." I turned to the blond, "You up for a 2 on 2?"

(...did not mean to refer to your character as Tom in my last post...the hubby's rubbing off on me. XD)

"Sounds good!" Tess looks pensive. "Hmm, but which Pokemon should I use? Well, I guess it's as good a chance as any to test out my newest acquisitions! Peanut Butter and Jelly, it's play time~" From a small purse located at her hip, she removes two Nest Balls, and out of them come a Castform and a Ralts.

Hooh reappears at Tom's Ryan's side just in time to watch/participate in the battle. Convenient.

Akehoshi does her best to not pull out her notebook and start scribbling down notes on the amazing LEGENDARY Pokémon, and lets Konton down onto the ground. "Alright, you ready, Konton?"
"Wuivee!" Konton replied excitedly, her tail wagging back and forth most adorably.
"Alright, Konton, start off with Quick Attack against Ralts!"

"Hmm sorry buddy, you'll have to sit this one out. I already chose who's turn it is." Ho-oh nodded understandingly and flew upwards to watch the battle from above. It seemed to really enjoy these battles.

"Alright, your turn Charmander!" the red lizrd popped out of my pokéball eagerly.

"Char char!"

"Shall we start? Charmander, use Ember on Castform!"

Eevee Attacks Ralts with chocolate milk powder. Wait, that's Nesquik, not Quick. Eh, close enough. Shortly after that, tiny flames lick at Castform's skin, nearly burning it. Both attacks do good damage.

Strangely enough, Tess grins. "Not bad. However...Peanut Butter, Rain Dance." A raindrop falls on Charmander's head, startling it enough that it dashes to hide behind Ryan, wishing it thought to bring along an umbrella. "And Jelly...Charge Beam." A sudden surge of electricity, carried through the rain water, hits Konton hard and raises Ralts' special attack.