Obvious exits:
Way around City <WAC> leads to Pokemon Route 13: Sunny Town.
Northwest <NW> leads to Sunny Town: Town Square.
East <E> leads to Fuchsia City: Twincity Beach.

Zachary arrives from Sunny Town: Town Square.
Zachary has arrived.

Snow flurries drift silently down from the pale grey sky. The air is damp and cold, and there is little wind. In the forest, snowflurries dust the bare branches of the broadleaves and the needles of the conifers. While at the coast, light snowflakes sprinkle the glossy, black, and calm surface of the ocean.

Will this long, cold winter never end? Apparently not - the snow beats down now, just as it has every day for the past week or so, frosting the earth and any and all objects upon it, living or not. One of these dusted creatures strolls down the beach this afternoon. Specs of navy blue peek out from a mass of white as Melissa Barlette, a citizen of Pewter City, makes her way across the freezing sand, finding it difficult to walk. Her feet sink into the ground beneath her, and it's difficult to lift against the layers of snow. Still, she seems rather cheerful for such dismal weather. Making sure to keep the sparkling doggy pin on the upper right portion of her chest clean and visible in the snow, Melissa keeps her eyes out for any signs of life - preferably ones with plush pins like her own.

Any sign of life on the beach is sparce, as most people have opted out of the whole beach-combing thing for the season, mostly due to adverse weather conditions, but here and there a hopeful trainer could be seen wandering across the snow-covered beach, very few of which who sport one of those tournament badges. Little whirlwinds of loose snow flicker across the beach in the wind, creating snow-drifts further up the way, one of which a young boy has begun to trudge through, though perhaps not through choice. "I didn't even see it," Zachary mumbles to himself as he pushes through a bank of snow which had suddenly come up to his waist, his arms wrapped tightly over his chest, his body shivering even through the lad's thick winter jacket. <Just let me milt it, that'll take care of it> A little Vulpix pipes up from within the boys arms, poking her head out from between two of the buttons of the coat, <Just one Flamethrower and it'll all be gone.> "While setting me on fire at the same time," Her trainer points out with a snicker, and begins to shake his head slowly as he pushes his way out of the bank, allowing for the rest of his body to be seen up to his knees, but more noticeably the small dog-pin attached to the lower part of his jacket, now in plain sight.

It's difficult for Melissa to see in this weather. Her glasses fog up and snow sticks to them, causing her to stop constantly. Today, however, she came prepared. She halts in the snow, reaches deep into her blue coat's pocket, and pulls out a small package of tissues. Removing her glasses, she proceeds to pull out one of the soft napkins and wipe her spectacles. It takes three individual cloths, so wet are her glasses. "... Hmph," she mutters as she slips them back on, now adjusting them. She scans the area, her vision far more clear than it's been since her walk began. White... white... white... orange... white... Orange? Melissa double-takes back to the colorful spec in the distance. Orange. Well, it's been forever since the Pewter girl has even seen a trace of life - talking to anybody in this blizzard (to her) would be a good idea. "E... Excuse me!" Melissa's pace doubles, though she still moves slowly through sand and snow. "Sir! Um, or ma'am! ... Sir!"

Uh oh! The Rockets are scheming! Better save than sorry! (Saving)

Sighing to himself, Zachary repositions the Vulpix in his arms, setting her completely on his one arm so that he may use the other one to brush off as much of the snow which has latched onto his jeans as is possible, yet with the snow still falling, it seems to be a rather futile effort. <Offer still stands> Flare pipes up, giving her tails a brief wag, as she peers out at the winter wonderland around here. "I'm not going to let you milt all of the snow on the island," The lad replies bluntly, and proceeds to bring himself up straight, his arm coming back up to wrap about that little Vulpix gently, "Not like it'd help anyway, the stuff keeps on falling..." A faint chuckle slips from his lips, before it falls silent as a voice other than his own could be heard on the wind, drawing his attention towards the differently-colored speck not too far away from him. "Uh, sir, I guess..." He calls back, and proceeds to make his way towards the voice, "Help ya?" <Don't ask him for directions, whatever you do...>

Ah ha. Sir. "Sir! Sir!" No more ma'ams are called as Melissa crashes through the snow, huffing and puffing loudly. She's obviously not very used to running. The orange blur gradually manifests into something larger, something more noticable - something totally adorable. It's a Vulpix! Once Melissa approaches comfortable speaking range, she comes to a gradual stop, bending over on her knees and panting for breath. Huff puff huff puff huff puff. "That's... a really... cute Vulpix... ya got there," she gasps, struggling to look up at Zachary and give him a smile. Once she's recovered enough to speak properly, she finally straightens herself, and looks Zachary over as she speaks. "I... I'm sorry, I just got los... ah..." Her gaze settles upon the boy's coat, and she looks up at his face. "... Oh. ... Um... You're in the tournament." Brilliant deductions, this girl makes.

<You hear that? She thinks I'm cute, why can't you?> Flare pipes in, giving the girl one of her patented 'hold me I'm adorable' looks, complete with the batting eyelashes, something of which is completely uncharacteristic of this fox, and causes Zachary to give her an odd glare, before turning his attention on Melissa. "Er thanks," He starts out, then proceeds to ask, "You okay there, miss?" His eyebrows arch slightly as he watches her pant for breath, but offers her the faintest of smiles, "You didn't have to run, really. Running just makes you tire out harder in this weather," he points out, a gentle snicker slipping from his lips, before allowing for his head to bob slightly in a nod, "Yah, I'm in the tournament..." His eyes flicker across the girl's own pin, causing his smile to become more of a grin as he does, "You up for a battle?... Er, once you catch your breath."

Snow flurries drift silently down from the pale grey sky. The air is damp and cold, and there is little wind.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," the girl assures Zachary, holding out her palms and shaking her head. She shifts her position in the snow, putting her weight on her left hand. Her hands raise to her chest and cross, and she frowns softly. She is silent for a moment. "... Guess I... d-don't see why not." Slowly, hesitantly, her hand goes down to touch her pokeball, but she does not remove it or do anything more than run her index finger along its side, wiping off a thin coat of ice as she does. "... Do you... um... have a coin?"

Zachary's shoulders roll slightly with a shrug, his eyebrows furrowed slightly together as he watches the other trainer. "You sure? I mean, we could wait a second if you wanted..." The lad suggests, but hesitates for a moment as Melissa moves her hand towards her pokeball, and with another faint shrug, Zach proceeds to settle the little Vulpix in his arms down in the snow, directly beside him at his feet. <You better make this quick... I hate snow, and you know that> Flare complains, but apparently puts up with it for the time being, as she settles herself down upon her haunches, huddling against her trainer's legs. Zach then proceeds to tug the glove off of his right hand with his left, only so he can reach down into his pocket, and pull out a single coin. "Sure do... I was hoping that I'd run into someone," He admits with a chuckle, "Call it, and hope we don't lose it in the snow..."

Melissa rolls 1 die: <5>
Zachary rolls 1 die: <2>

Melissa's stats changes have been set to 0. She is ready to battle.
Zachary's stats changes have been set to 0. He is ready to battle.

Through the drifting snowflakes, the translucent pale grey of the sky deepens.

"Heads!" Melissa calls, huddling into herself closer. Now that she's standing still, the biting cold has started to take its toll on the girl, and she frowns. Melissa herself reaches out her right hand to snatch it, and with a deft swipe, smacks it onto the back of her left hand. "... Heads." She clears her throat. "Heads," she repeats, gives Zachary a look in the eye, a nervous (anxious? excited?) smile, and throws him a quick "Good luck" before taking a few steps back. Her hand grabs the red and white device off of her belt. Under her breath, she mumbles, "Don't let me down... CrystalFire! Go!" She underhand-tosses the ball into the center of the arena, and in a flash of pink light, out emerges a mass of white fur, two blue blinking eyes, and seemingly floating chocolate brown stripes. <Oh..?> woofs the white Growlithe softly, glancing back at her trainer, narrowing her eyes. <... Is it time again?>

Zachary allows for a faint frown to form across his lips as the result is called, yet shrugs it off, and gives the other trainer a reassuring smile. "Thanks, and good luck to you," He states with a slight nod, and proceeds to take several steps backwards, his right hand slipping down to his belt, only to pull the first red and white sphere from the clip upon his belt. <Hope you know what your doing...> Flare mutters as she retakes her place, sitting on her trainer's feet, trying to keep from having to actually sit fully in the snow, apparently. "Relax, if she gets too rough, I'll just have Scarlet put her to sleep or something," Zachary says with a sly grin down at the fox pokemon, and activates the pokeball held tight within his hand. Bright white light spills out from the sphere for a brief moment, forming on the ground some feet in front of the boy and fox, but what forms from it is anything but white, and could possibly be called the anti-white, as what forms is a dark black Tearwulf, the complete opposite of the snow around her, and growling... possibly at everything around her. "Alright, so... it's your turn first, miss," Zachary calls from a little beyond the wolf, trying to retain a somewhat nervous smile on his lips.

Melissa has already started to react by the time Zachary even throws her the option. She's never quite seen a Tearwulf herself, but it doesn't look -that- tough, does it? "All right, CrystalFire... um, quickly! It'll be hard for him... her... hard for it to see you! Use a Bite attack!" The Growlithe blinks back at her trainer, perking up an ear. Isn't this starting a little soon? Well, no worries - CrystalFire picks up the hint quickly enough, and with an excited yip, springs off of the ground and hurls herself toward the Tearwulf, baring her teeth, preparing to time her Bite attack just perfectly. Little does the poor puppy - and poor trainer, for that matter - realize that it's going to be entirely inaffective.

Ethereal glares at that little Growlithe as she hurdles straight towards her, teeth bared... And for a moment it would seem as though the attack would work, the teeth seem to come into contact with her... But then, they don't, as she phases completely out of existence, the canine's teeth passing straight through her, or rather where she had used to be, for then a second later, she reappears directly to one side of the little pup, ears folded back, teeth bared as she growls faintly at the opposition. <Just try that again, pup. It still won't work...> She snarls faintly, her tail lashing about behind her dangerously. "Urm..." Zachary starts off, but just shrugs, and allows for his grin to return upon his lips, "Don't just stand there, Eth, use your Agility to make sure it doesn't come that close again." The wulf snorts, and shakes her head for a brief moment... Stupid human... But she does as is commanded, reluctantly, and bounds off in a random direction, fading out of existence once again, using a combination of speed, and her ghostly abilities.

Uh oh! The Rockets are scheming! Better save than sorry! (Saving)

Melissa blinks at the result of her Growlithe's attempt. The Tearwulf didn't merely dodge - she just stood there and waited for the living pokemon to do through her. "Grrowlii!" CrystalFire yelps as she crashes chin-first into the snow, blinks twice, then pops up to her paws, growling angrily at her opponent. Melissa, in the meanwhile, is fast at work, pulling out her pokedex, analyzing the pokemon, and frowning deeply as she scrutenizes the results. "... Wonderful," she mumbles to herself, directing her attention back to the battlefield. "CrystalFire, Flamethrower, girl! I know it..." Double take to the pokedex. "I know she looks hard to hit, but she can't see... can't... can't see you much better!" The Growlithe, sensing she's not going to cruise to victory like she did against the Meowth, mechanically does exactly as orders. Opening her mouth wide, trying to spot the ghost as it shifts through the snow, she spits out a long pillar of flame, slender but powerful, hoping to hit the Tearwulf.

Although it seems as if the ghost wolf isn't all there at times, she apparently is just as vulnerable to fire as any other pokemon... She thought she was invincible, just because the little pup didn't realize that physical attacks couldn't touch her, but she underestimated the kid's spunk, and ended up running right into the stream of flame. Unlike she expected would happen, the fire hits her, supposedly scorching her flank, yet with no visible damage, even if the wulf does drop to her knees for a brief moment. Ignoring Zachary's inquiries on her health, and his commands, she growls at the little pup, and lowers herself back down upon her haunches, her head flinging high as her lips part to emit a haunting sound, a Psionic Howl, attempting to strike fear into the Growlithe's heart. If she can't see the dog, she's going to try and slow it down.

Melissa herself twitches as the howl breaks the cold night, surely shattering snowflakes as it sifts through the sky. The girl finds herself far more intimidated by this adversary as a chill ripples down her own spine, and for a few seconds, all she can think about is how quickly, easily, painlessly this pokemon could seriously injure her. Reason sets in, and it hits like a rock - she's not going to get injured, but poor little CrystalFire, still not even a fully grown adult, may! Indeed, though it's hard to see the snow white puppy against the layers on the earth, Melissa can spot her, shivering and trembling, her blue eyes wide and frightened, paralyzed with fear. "Come on... CrystalFire. You... Wesley... you never let me down..." she whispers to herself softly, clutching her hands together.

A vile, sinister sort of grin forms across the muzzle of Tearwulf, as she lowers her head, pale blue eyes focusing down on the small, twitching Growlithe. Ethereal's tail gives a brief flick of amusement behind her, her gaze locked on her opponent. Some ways beyond her, Zachary brings his hands down from over his ears, and begins to shake his head, sighing. "You really have to stop doing that... You scared the poor thing witless," He points out, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern... for his opponents pokemon? Ghosts can't die, they're already dead... but that Growlithe... "Take an easy on her, Ethereal, and keep from using your claws..." He hesitates, peering at that grin on the Wulf's muzzle, "Or teeth. Use Earthquake..." The ghost growls back at her own trainer for a moment, her ears flattened back completely against her head, but seemingly obeys, as she closes her eyes, concentrating on the earth around the little pup, willing the earth to move underneath it. At first the earthquake is just a small rumble, but it grows by the second, and only on the area of that small pup.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west, along with the wind. The sunlight on the snow is dazzling, and it gleams on the ice.

Melissa's eyes widen behind her glasses as the Tearwulf does something quite unexpected. She cracks a fault line, a rumbling ripple of earth shaking and breaking underneath the Growlithe's paws. "CrystalFire!" Melissa's voice is no longer particularly strong or inspiring, more like frightened, on the verge of nearly hysterical. "OhmygoshmoveCrystalFire! Move!!" And despite every cell in the little Growlithe's body crying out to not budge an inch, the puppy somehow finds the way to stumble from under the Earthquake area - though it's not easy. She stumbles several times, crashing her head into rocks and ground and generally getting herself beat up. Even after she's "safe", the only thought on her mind is not abaout the cuts forming on her cheek and side - it's still fear of the Tearwulf.

Ethereal may be a killer, or at least appear that of a killer. She may be vile, and cruel in every respect of the word. She watches the Growlithe become injured with nothing but malice in her expression, her tail wagging beyond her against the snow, amused with this pups antics. However, although the Tearwulf may be inhumane, her trainer isn't. Zachary practically shouts at the large wulf to call off her attack, all while rubbing at his temples gently with two fingers from each hand. "Eth, you give me such a headache sometimes," he grumbles, and begins to shake his head slowly, "Stop that. Alright, options, options... Nightshade, Rock Throw..." The lad hesitates for a moment, peering out at the battlefield, and brings his hands down back to his sides, "Physical pain is temporary, mental pain can last a lot longer... Use Rock Throw, Ethereal." The earthquakes come to a stand-still, making the ground appear quite as innocent as it had before the quakes began, but the Wulf does not pull from her concentration stance, as little rocks from all over the place begin to pull out of the snow, popping above the white flakes, like daisies, only less lovely. These little rocks, pebbles, and stones, begin to pelt at the Growlithe, not with too much force, but enough to injure... Apparently Ethereal is becoming bored with this game.

And injure they do. The Growlithe cannot even yelp in pain as the conjured rocks smash into her fur, hitting with impeccable accuracy her most sensitive areas - granted, they're hitting the poor dog all over her body, undoubtedly some will crash into those areas. Melissa cannot just stand by and watch this; though usually a very shy and timid girl, even in the midst of most battles, the Pewter girl can't help but raise her voice here. "Don't be scared by them, CrystalFire! Don't you see? She only started hurting you once she frightened you! Be strong! For me!" And maybe CrystalFire seriously understands her trainer's feelings, or maybe the rocks are too much for her, or maybe the fear factor finally wore off, but, with no real warning, the white Growlithe springs off of her back paws under the sling of pebbles and rocks, yipping a loud "Liiithe!" as she ducks into the snow, trying to blend in. Though still propelled by fear, she, at least, has better control over it this time.

Uh oh! The Rockets are scheming! Better save than sorry! (Saving)

Zachary sighs deeply, his ungloved hand coming back to his one back pocket, pulling out a familiar red book-like object, and flipping it open, the holographic form of a Tearwulf quickly forming on it's screen. "Alright... what else can you do?..." Zach asks to the air, his one finger tapping against the corner of the pokedex, "Everything is really painful sounding... And if it isn't, I'm sure you'd make it painful." <Mean, isn't she?> Flare points out with a little bit of amusement, her tails flicking slightly against her trainer's shoes. "And your just as bad..." However, as her trainer attempts to figure out what 'painless' attack to use, Ethereal develops ideas of her own, her eyes flickering open quickly, focusing on the little Growlithe... using her ghostly abilities to send apparitions of fear within her mind, attempting to scare the little pup out of it's wits once again, attempting... to cause harm with the visions she projects into CrystalFire's mind with a Nightshade attack.

Melissa recognizes this attack. She's seen it before. Learned about it in class. A Nightshade. The girl actually smiles softly - CrystalFire is young. Certainly, her most horrid visions of fear are not quite as bad as they could be? Then reality sinks in. The Growlithe's inexperience... she'd have a far harder time differentiating this from reality. Oh, no. "... Oh! CrystalFire! Baby, baby, puppy, no! It's... it's not..." But it's too late. The Nightshade attack hits the little bump in the snow, and the poor puppy doesn't see it coming. Her head darts up. Her eyes widen at the scenes playing out in her mind, the pain, the terror, the horror. CrystalFire can only sit there for a few moments before thrusting her head to the sky, howling at the sun. It's a low, terrible howl, almost comparable to the Tearwulf's in terms of sound, but it holds a terrified tinge, a shattered innocence, the sound of unimaginable horrors in her mind. But CrystalFire doesn't shake these free after her howl is done. No - she sits there, tears streaming down her face, huddling close to the ground, frightened of the world around her - the snowflakes, the wind, the sky. Her imagination has taken the terrors and ran with it; her childish nature has left her far more vulnerable than the average pokemon. And Melissa can only watch, bewildered at the sight, unable to voice a command. Likely CrystalFire would be unable to hear one anyway.

"Enough Ethereal! Enough!" Zachary cries at the large wulf, his free arms flailing, going through the air ineffectually, and doing nothing to keep the ghost from carrying out her duty... to scare, to frighten... to ruin childhood dreams and adult ones alike... A menacing smile creeps across her muzzle. Oh, she was enjoying this greatly. Those in the Scarewulf line take great joy on the frightening of others, especially little ones... But the game was getting old. She knew that mental and physical scars alike could be fixed at the pokecenter... Her trainer proved that one, but she wants to get one last attack in... Not to kill, just to teach the kid a lesson. She concentrates her focus on the earth around the howling Growlithe, forcing all of her will on it such as before... She strikes the fault-line, creating a small crack in the earth near the puppy, the earth shaking, and rattling in an Earthquake that was not called for... All the while, Zachary brings up Ethereal's pokeball, aimed, and ready to recall the wulf at a moments notice. "Don't... you dare..."

It doesn't take long for Melissa to recover; she, at least, snaps back to reality before CrystalFire does. "Oh..." Her hand reaches for her pokeball. "My..." She grasps her hand around the device, and tugs it off of her belt. "God..." She can hardly believe her eyes. The Tearwulf is continuing an attack. An attack! It's a race against a quicker, stronger pokemon. Melissa's arm thrusts outward as the ghost concentrates, and with a cry, the girl is barely able to withdraw her pokemon just as the Earthquake starts. She breathes hard now, the shock settling down, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "Y... ... Didn't you.... ... You ... almost..." But she can hardly speak; all she can think of is the Growlithe's wide eyes, her huddled form, the tears streaming down her cheek. She shakes her head softly at the boy. She does not wish him a farewell, or congratulate him on a good battle, or have any sportsmanship; she simply shakes her head, whirls around, and stumbles across the beach to find the pokemon center, truly fearing for her pokemon's health.