Contents:
Wesley
Vanessa
Obvious exits:
North <N> leads to Nugget Bridge - Route 24: Cerulean River View.
South <S> leads to Cerulean City: North Entrance.

The sky is clear brilliant blue and there's a light breeze from the west. It's hot. In the forest, the deep green leaves of the trees and bushes rustle in the breeze, which provides welcome cooling from the heat of the blazing sun. While at the coast, the sea sparkles in the brilliant sunlight, the waves rolling merrily against the shore.

It is a -hot- day outside. The smartest people are at the beach cooling off in the water, or inside a nice air-conditioned building. However, since there's no rest for a determined Pokemon trainer, Melissa has placed herself away from the "smartest" people by taking a nice walk along the long bridge. She seems engrossed in the book she's reading; perhaps she's trying her hardest to ignore the heat? It's a little difficult to read with sweat getting in your eyes, but Ms. Barlette doesn't seem to have too much of a problem. Now, why isn't the teenager playing it smart and reading her book inside Cerulean's Pokemon Center instead? How very curious.

Wesley is just sittin' on the dock of the bay, watchin' the tide roll away...well, actually, the tide's coming in. And this isn't really a bay. But still the pale boy sits, his feet dangling over the edge. It's amazing how even in this sun he doesn't tan. In his snow white hands is a book, which he peers into, his grey eyes skimming the pages avidly, though he squints as the sunlight bounces off the fresh white pages. Making more noise and spectacle are his Pokemon. "Pikaaaachu!" squeals Sparkheart, who runs Agility-enhanced circles around Fistfight the Machop...who's actually /doing/ some training instead of supervising it. She waits for the Pikachu to run around her once or twice before launching out with a perfectly aimed Low Kick that sends him sprawling. A Hitmonchan and Drowzee practice their physical attacks a ways off, while a blue Ekans curls beside the boy, peering at the book she can't understand.

Vanessa comes walking up towards the bridge. Her jacket on despite the heat and her hand stuck into the pockets. Head bowed slowly as she just walks along with a slight limp apparent in her motions.

Melissa pauses in her walking for a moment to clumsily wipe her eyes with her right hand, removing a fair bit of the perspiration getting in there. The arm does not return to the book or to Melissa's side immediately, however; it lifts up to the girl's forehead as she peers up at the sky. And to think, this is a few hours after the hottest of the day. She's glad she didn't leave the center a few hours ago. With a careless shrug, Melissa returns back to her strolling and reading. She's interrupted almost immediately, however, by a rather loud Pikachu's voice. Her head comes back up. "What's... that?" She asks herself softly, though of course she can recognize it as a Pikachu's squeal. The book is forgotten for now. Melissa's pace quickens slightly as curiousity seems to take hold. As of yet, the sun is glaring too far into her eyes for her to see too far ahead.

Skysnake the blue Ekans is quite intune with vibrations, and notes the oncoming Trainers, hissing to her Trainer as they approach. Wesley looks up from his book and shades his eyes. Is it that Poliwhirl again? Sparkheart the Pikachu shakes his head as he gets to his paws. <Good shot, quite hot!> he compliments. Fistfight grins slyly. <I'm gonna say you meant my move and not my fine physique..> she says. Sparkheart sweatdrops. <Of course, of course - I'm not /that/ sort!> he says in his typical rhyming speech. Fistfight laughs loudly. <I know, I'm jokin'!> she says with a grin. <I'm glad; you don't think bad,> Sparkheart says with a sigh of relief. <C'mon, let's go in and get some drinks!> the Machop calls out. The Drowzee and the Hitmonchan stop their training and move towards Wesley, as do the closer duo.

Vanessa glances over at the Picachu's call as well. Pausing too look at scene in front of her with a rather impassive expression. Though her gaze looks towards the hissing Ekans for a moment. Shaking her head a moment she alters her path to put a little distance between herself and the snake type.

As Melissa gets closer and closer to Wesley, more of his team are visible to the girl. Squinting fiercely through the piercing sunlight, she can barely make out the Pikachu she heard... along with a Machop and a Hitmonchan. A little flicker of fire is present in her chest. Unfortunately, this soon depletes once Melissa sets sights upon Vanessa. Having not seen the 10-year old quite yet, Melissa simply believes Vanessa to be the trainer of the band of Pokemon. "How's that... for coincidences?" Melissa asks herself with a little blush. She tugs at her shorts for a moment, before continuing down the bridge, the book in her left hand still forgotten.

Wesley's attention is turned towards the oncoming thirsty Pokemon. Slipping his backpack off of his back and setting his book down, he pulls out a battered water bottle and a canteen. It's times like this that a Water Pokemon would be quite handy - it could be the one handing out the drinks. He passes the water canteen to Fistfight, who takes a long sip and shares some with her sparring partner the Pikachu. The Drowzee is given the bottle; he takes an even longer drink and then grudgingly passes to the Hitmonchan. Skysnake the Ekans continues her duty as watch-snake, hissing the whereabouts of the 'other footsteps' on the bridge to her Trainer. Wesley glances both to where Melissa is and to where Vanessa is, but shrugs as he recognizes neither immediately. His Pokemon need to be cared for first.

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

Vanessa leans against the railing for a minute looking over the pokemon crowd then noticing Melissa's presence. Still giving the Ekan's some fair space she give a slight nod towards Mel and a brief "Afternoon" in greeting.

The sky is clear brilliant blue and there's a light breeze from the west. It's hot. Water. Melissa drank a lot of water last night, and a lot of water earlier this morning, having read up on the horrors of dehydration, and yet she's still kinda thirsty. She should have brought a water bottle. Then again, we've already acknowledged the fact that Melissa is not one of the "smartest" trainers, right? Right. As Melissa gets closer to Wesley and Vanessa, she can make out a Drowzee... and, last but not least, the form of Wesley. Huh. Waitasecond, why is that girl... Melissa can't help but feel a tad bit jealous, but she reassures herself with the fact that there's got to be a logical explanation here. "W... Wesley! Hello!" Melissa huffs and puffs a little, apparently not athletic enough to speedwalk and shout at the same time. Quickly, she also gives Vanessa a hurried, "Hello," just so as to not appear as rude.

Wesley jerks his head up. Huh? Wha? That voice, it's familiar, but that voice doesn't wear a red shirt..."Melissa?" he mutters, peering over at the 16 year old again. "Melissa!" he says in realization that if she sounds like Melissa, stutters like Melissa, looks like Melissa and has poor physical fitness like Melissa..it might just be Melissa. Wesley's Pokemon quickly follow suit, either waving, calling out her name and many greetings, or in the case of ThoughtThief, snatching the water bottle and taking a good long drink from it. Fistfight even walks towards Melissa jauntily, before looking over at Vanessa. <Who's yer friend?> she asks cheerfully. "Uh..yeah..?" Wesley adds as he scratches his head, now noticing Vanessa as well. You paged Wesley with 'You remembered my old desc? -Wow-.'.

Vanessa nods to Wesley as he turns in her direction. Just resting against the bridge railing. "Good afternoon."

It's Melissa all right. Everybody's (except for ThoughtThief's) favorite teenage female bookworm smiles shyly as Wesley approaches, quietly greeting him with a soft, "Hello, Wesley." She places the book in her right hand, before turning it back over to her left one. She's obviously a little timid. "It's... um. Nice weather. Very... nice." She finds a little relief in seeing Fistfight nice and healthy even in this scorching heat, and the girl waves slightly to the elderly Pokemon. "H... hello. Did you... ask me something?" Without moving her head, she turns her gaze to Wesley, as if expecting a translation.

Vanessa has disconnected.

Wesley responds to Melissa, "She asked who your friend was." Genius, she's right there, why don't you ask Vanessa instead of referring to her in third person? "And, ah, hello to you too Melissa. The..weather? It's hot." Not nice, hot. <How's everyone on yer team doin'...you got my boy Machop yet?> Fistfight demands. <An old Pokemon's libido...sickening,> ThoughtThief says loudly. <Let's see your 'Lee!> calls out Quickstrike, making mock-punches, <I need some action!> <Sickening too...> adds ThoughtThief. <Not action of that kind, you ugly find,> says Sparkheart. It seems he's only there to stop Wesley's Pokemon from talking about dirty stuff. Wesley translates the nicer bits, though he is blushing quite heavily. Maybe the heat is just catching up with him? Or maybe he knows what that 'l' word means...

Melissa blinks behind her glasses, turning her face to look at Wesley, although he was not quite the one who said it. "My... friend?" She glances at Vanessa for a moment, before nodding slowly and looking back at Wesley. No, not Fistfight, Wesley. "I... um, she, um, I don't know her." Melissa glances over at Vanessa apologetically, a small nervous smile crossing her face. She listens to the not-too-mean translations Wesley gives her, and nods a little. "Um, I'm sorry, Fistfight. Not yet." Her voice raises a little here. "I'll keep my eyes open, though." She now turns to the Pokemon almost as tall as she is; none other than the fierce fighting Quickstrike. She glance flickers over to Wesley for a moment. "She, um, she wants to see my Hitmonlee?" She asks, partially in disbelief. She knows very little about the connection between Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan.

Wesley nods to Melissa, glancing oddly at Vanessa but soon shrugging it off. It's a free bridge. He's just not used to having people come up and talk to him. Some people stop and stare at his Pokemon, but they move on quickly enough. "I think..Fistfight only asked because it would be nice if you could understand her," Wesley volunteers. "Not for other reasons, even though she likes to joke about ... ... stuff." (Note the dramatic punctuation!) "Yes, Quickstrike wants to see your Hitmonlee..Kickback, I think he was? Maybe we could even have a battle," he says, his demeanor lighting up at the thought. An epic battle between two of the strongest fighting types ever...wow! "Is there..something wrong with it?" the boy adds, noting Melissa's incredulous tone.

The girl looks at Wesley for a moment, before nodding slowly. "I... um, I think you're right, Wesley. I wish I could..." Melissa blushes slightly. She turns her head away from the boy for a moment, covering it up by wiping her slightly sweaty face with a hand. "Wish I could... um... understand all of your Pokemon. Or any Pokemon at all." As she speaks, her voice gets softer, as if she is thoroughly embarrassed to admit such a wish. She attempts to avoid this by changing the subject. "N... no, no, Kickback's fine. He just... recently lost to a trainer, so he's not been in a very good mood. Lamia battled too, but she's very disappointed. She... um..." Melissa trails off, shrugging her shoulders gently as she fails to finish the sentence. Strange.

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

Wesley frowns slightly as Fistfight frowns all the way as Melissa relates the Pokemon's defeat. Quickstrike frowns too..eh, or would if she had a mouth. <Maybe we can spar a bit and get his confidence back up?> the Hitmonchan suggests. <What, and I'm not a worthy foe? I'm insulted!> says ThoughtThief, dramatically clutching his heart as if the pain is too much to bear. "You...don't understand any of your Pokemon?" Wesley says slowly. Fistfight's warning 'don't go there' nudge comes too late though it does get through and the boy blinks at her. "I'm sure, I mean, your starter..." Wesley stutters, before Fistfight interrupts. <What about Lamia?> "Uh, yeah what about your Bulbasaur?" Wesley says weakly. <The girl obviously ain't talkin'..just shaddup about the stupid 'Saur,> notes ThoughtThief, in a rather true observaton. <I hope she's okay, that's my wish today...> says Sparkheart with concern.

The teenager doesn't seem too disappointed as she replies to Wesley in a reasonably calm voice, her face losing some of its redness. It's nice to find somebody to talk to about this. Too bad the hot conditions ruin the scene. "Not even Puff... I can understand a, um, a few really small things. But not as well as you. I... um, I understand when Lam-" And then she pauses for a moment. This is it. She doesn't know whether Wesley will react favorably or enviously to this, so she can only hope. Melissa adjusts her glasses - a little more sharply than usual - before starting. "Um, Lamia. She's... not a Bulbasaur anymore. There was a Geodude... and an attack..." But what does this mean? Is Lamia... dead? Melissa's mouth is still open after the word 'attack' as she looks up to Wesley to see his reaction.

Wesley nods slowly. He finds it odd that she can't understand at least her starting Pokemon's words, but figures that Melissa being Older and Grownup has more important things to do than to spend all her day listening to her Pokemon. "You should have them out more if you really want to understand them..." are Wesley's thoughts. "If you learn how your Pokemon speak you can tell how smart they are..and that's good in battle. And other time," he adds. "They can keep you company if they're smart enough." Maybe that's why he has Fistfight and ThoughtThief around so often? The boy and all his Pokemon stare as Melissa approaches the subject of Lamia, though. The boy raises an eyebrow ponderously. "Does that mean she...evolved?" he asks slowly, hoping that that's the answer. His Pokemon wait with baited breath...even ThoughtThief, though he and Fistfight seem to think that's probably the answer.

Melissa nods slowly to Wesley's wise words of wisdom. "I... I guess you're right. Um, I should, um..." Feeling another blush come on, Melissa tries to hide the redness by clumsily wiping the side of her face to remove perspiration. "... attempt to learn... their language." The sentence is even more hesitant than usual, as she's trying to stall the inevitable. After a moment, the teenager quietly admits it. "Yes... Lamia... um, she evolved. She's an Ivysaur now," She adds, as if Wesley didn't already know. She opens her mouth to speak a little more, than shuts it, waiting to see Wesley's reaction to this news. Will he be envious? Happy for her? Not care one way or the other?

The sky is clear brilliant blue and there's a light breeze from the west. It's hot.

Wesley nods more quickly at Melissa's determination. "I might be able to help you with your Charmander," he offers. "I can understand mine." As Lamia's fate is revealed, Wesley's Pokemon sigh in relief, and then begin to babble and/or squeak out words of excitement and encouragement. <All right! I knew she could do it!> cries Fistfight. <Woooh!> <Bloody Bulbasaur can do it and not me..> grumbles ThoughtThief, but even he lets out a cheer along with Sparkheart. <Three cheers, no fears!> the 'Chu cries. Quickstrike and Skysnake aren't that involved in the celebrations, so they just nod pleasantly. And Wesley...? His pale face breaks into a smile. "That's..wonderful! You'll have to tell me how! Maybe I could learn something from you. Because I haven't evolved my Pokemon and..you have." See, Wesley's not the best Trainer in the world! He's not a Mister! Will Melissa realize that now?

Melissa's reply to Wesley on the topic of Charmanders if a rather short one. "I'd... really appreciate that." She doesn't have the time to say anything else, because before she knows it... she's being cheered. Melissa's face lights up like a cherry, bursting with embarrassment, pride, and joy. To her, this is everything. The best trainer in the whole world complimenting her? It's amazing. "It, um, she just..." Her voice mainly comes out in squeaks. "She just... evolved because I was in trouble. It... um, it wasn't my doing, it, um, it was her's." Even as she speaks, Melissa realizes that she's not making that much sense. At all.

Wesley manages to piece together Melissa's comment about the Geodude attack and form a vague storyline out of it. "She tried to protect you from the Geodude attack?" He pauses. "I'm glad...you're okay," the boy says, his smile going from one of pure excitement to a vaguely softer one, before it sinks down all together. Melissa could've not been able to walk again or..or write or she could've died..ugh ugh ugh! He's now very pensive as he speaks again. "Quite..glad. Yes. Wild Pokemon are dangerous but..I'm glad you had your Pokemon there to help you. That's uh, why we have Pokemon too, to protect us and.." <Why don't you bring her out so she can tell us about it?> asks Fistfight, noting her Trainer's confusion. "Maybe she could tell us about it?" Wesley asks quickly. Of all the times to discover you have an imagination.

Melissa nods slowly, bit by bit realizing that Wesley doesn't really wish to tear the girl apart in jealousy, but, rather, hear the story of how Lamia evolved to begin with. Melissa is filled with happiness, and she can't help by smile softly. "The Geodude... did manage to, um, to break my glasses. Um, but Lamia scared him off after evolving, and, um, she helped me out." Melissa's glasses look no different than they were before; she must have gotten the exact same kind. "She... tell you... but, um, how would you hear the story, Wesley? Do you understand Ivysaur?" The thought of translation through other Pokemon doesn't occur to her. Unconciously, her hand reaches down to the Pokeball containing her new evolved, though she does not take the ball off the belt quite yet.

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

Wesley blinks. "Oh. Those are new glasses? They look the same...or maybe I just forgot what your glasses looked...like..?" he trails off, realizing he never really paid attention to Melissa's glasses. She's gonna smite him, isn't she? He must appease her in some way! "I'd, uh, hear the story because Fistfight would translate it for me," Wesley adds, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe you should find a book or something about.." *nudge!* "Ow.." Wesley mumbles, with an annoyed look; he knows he's being punished but has no idea what for. <Listen up and settle down, now it's time to go to town,> says Sparkheart, who, as usual, gets weird looks as his meaning is lost. <Open ears, no tears.> ... <Hear and don't sneer.> ... <Shut up will I, before I cry.> With that the Pikachu harumphs and sits down. <If it's all the same to you, boss,> mutters Quickstrike. Wesley nods and recalls her, knowing she'd probably get bored, since she can't learn much from this lecture.

Shadows lengthen and the light turns golden as the sun sinks toward the west through a clear sky.

"These glasses," Melissa says with a fair bit of confidence (she knows glasses better than she knows Pokemon!), "Are... they're like my old ones, but a little bit smaller. I don't... um... have to adjust them as much." As if that was a reminder, Melissa's hand leaves her Pokeball and heads up to her face to gently push the glasses back into place (hey, that rhymed!). Having done its job, the hand goes back down to the Pokeball, findering Lamia's slightly. They clench together to pull the ball off of the belt. Melissa does not send out Lamia quite yet. "M... make a little room guys, okay? An Ivysaur is pretty... it's big." No. Really.

How funny...Wesley knows more about Pokemon than he does about glassses. Therefor, his only comment to Melissa's wonderful new glasses is an "oh" of semi-interest; just enough interest to be polite. He nods as he steps back a few paces as Melissa commands he do so. "I've seen Venusaur before..I know how large they are," the boy offers that piece of trivia. <Right, go on, move back, you too fat-butt..> says Fistfight as she directs everyone backwards. Don't worry, the 'fat butt' comment was only directed at ThoughtThief, who rolls his eyes as he complies. Soon there's a nice little space cleared.

With one last final glance at the Pokeball, Melissa nods slowly. "All right, Lamia. C... come on out!" Imagine the bubbles floating in the background as Melissa tosses the red and white ball at the ground. In a gorgeous flash of almost blinding light, the Pokeball smashes into the bridge, and out comes Lamia. No Bulbasaur is she; she's a good 100 pounds and foot taller than a Bulbasaur. Upon her having been chosen, the Ivysaur blinks up at the hot sky, immediately absorbing a little healthy sunlight. She doesn't say anything quite yet, content to watch and see if the human and his Pokemon act as surprised as the trainers at the Pokemon Center did.

If this were a sitcom, you could hear the crowd oooh and ahhh. As it is, Lamia has an audience which do just that. Fistfight is the open and gregarious one, so she strides up to her friend. <Weeeell, look at you!> she says ecstatically. <Ain't you a sight to behold!> <Yesss..> hisses Skysnake the Ekans in response. She's probably seen a Bulbasaur before, if not Lamia herself. It's amazing something so small could grow into something that..different. <Pretty spiffy,> ThoughtThief is forced to comment. <Not just spiffy, nifty!> is Sparkheart's comment. Wesley doesn't ooo and ahhh, but he eyes Lamia with wide grey eyes. "Wow..." he breathes. So that's what Trial look like when he was in mid-evolution.

The evening stars come out as the red-orange sun sinks below the horizon.

A small smile of pride crosses the plant-type's face; she is obviously not going to shoot for modesty. <Hello, everyone,> The experienced Pokemon greets the crowd with a sense of grace and dignity. With a little effort, the Ivysaur turns herself to face Fistfight. Her head nods slowly to Fistfight. <It's good to see you healthy. Even in this dreadful heat.> Lamia glances up at the sky with quite a bit of distaste. Sure, she likes sunlight as much as the next grass Pokemon, but... sheesh. The next topic of interest is the Drowzee, whom Lamia remembers had quite an attitude. <Hello there, Drowzee.> She grins softly. Melissa, meanwhile, is just looking at her Pokemon quietly, studying the Ivysaur with interest.

Wesley glances around for a translation, before turning to Skysnake. His faithful Ekans doesn't talk to other Pokemon and leave him out of conversations. Where Fistfight and ThoughtThief have a habit of carrying on their conversations with no concern for him, the latter more than the former, Skysnake's always available for a good translation. Fistfight grins a bit sheepishly. <Been using my Pokeball a lot more than normal, but other than that..takes a lot to keep me down.> Her sheepishness is gone and she gives a full blown grin. <This here's Skysnake, in case you haven't met,> Fistfight introduces to Ekans. <Eh, rub it in, Weedinator..> ThoughtThief mumbles. "An Ivysaur could probably take you in combat," Wesley notes with a glare in the Drowzee's direction. He happens to like the Bulbasaur line quite a bit, thank you very much!

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

As ThoughtThief's rather rude comment wipes the smile clear off of Lamia's face, the aged Pokemon can't help but growl a little in anger. Perhaps the evolution has naturally made her a little crankier or something. "Lamia..." Melissa scolds her Pokemon, though it's not very harshly or anything. "Don't growl at the Drowzee." Melissa glances apologetically at ThoughtThief. Kind of sad how unsuspecting Melissa is of the psychic. <All right.> Lamia grudgingly replies, before reverting to a much softer and kinder pitch. <You seem like you've got plenty of life left in you, dear.> Lamia smiles. Up to Melissa, she can't help but overhear Wesley mention the Ivysaur and combat. "I... I should battle with her, soon. She... I, um, I'd like to see how well she does. I've been... training." The smile on Melissa's face is rather meek as she says, "One day I'd like to... um... battle you again. Maybe soon." Her eyes widen slightly as she speaks. The words came out totally involuntarily. "... Sorry..." She mumbles quietly, gently rubbing her slightly wet forehead with the back of her hand.

The sun sets and the evening stars begin to appear in a blue and cloudless sky. There's a cool breeze from the west.

Fistfight glances up at Melissa. <Or maybe she needs a Drowzee - it'll help her figure out that this one deserves to be growled at,> she says with a speculative look. ThoughtThief can't help but snicker, which provokes Wesley to speech. "He said something mean, he deserved what he got," are his thoughts on the subject. Fistfight nods at the Ivysaur's correct assertion. <Yep - it's partly why I was the boy's starter. His pa had other Pokemon lined up for Wesley; an Alakazam and an Arcanine. They may live /long/, but they had lost the will to /live./> She says that quite casually..but there's a slight edge to her voice. Almost as if she revels in that fact. "I'd..I'd love to battle you some time!" Wesley speaks up, quite happy at that thought. <I'd take her on to prove you wrong,> says ThoughtThief. Skysnake hisses in dismay, knowing how painful it is for a Poison type to get bashed around by a Psychic...

The stars glitter like diamonds in the deep sapphire blue of the night sky.

The girl looks at Wesley rather curiously, before dropping her hand to her side and looking at ThoughtThief. She's still a little embarrassed about admitting that she, a lowly insect compared to the great and powerful Wesley, would like to waste Wesley's time with a battle. "He... said something mean? Maybe..." Maybe he's just misunderstood. Snicker. "Maybe he's..." And then she stops as Wesley's speaking slips in. "Wha? You want... I mean..." Melissa blinks behind her glasses, taking a small step back. "You... you'd like to? I wouldn't, um, be wasting your time?" She seems truly, deeply shocked. Down to Lamia, the Ivysaur frowns a little as Fistfight mentions having lost the will to live. <I knew a Pokemon or two like that in the wild,> Lamia says, shaking her head slightly. <Having lost their will to live. It's sad.> A little flicker of life passes through Lamia's eyes as ThoughtThief speaks, but the Ivysaur concentrates on ignoring the Drowzee. Maybe she'll be able to getting him back if the battle her trainer is proposing falls through...

Wesley just looks over at Melissa, nodding. "Yes, he said something mean, and yes, I want to battle with you sometime. Not tonight, obviously," he says, with a gesture at the night sky and the general blackness around them. As Melissa mentions it wasting his time, he blinks, quite shocked himself. "Why would you think that? I'm always up for a battle with anyone - it's part of being a Trainer. Even a battle with a..Rattata would be useful for my Pokemon's experience." Though, he has to admit, a Rattata is pushing it somewhat. Fistfight nods slowly thinking back to her experiences. <They both got real angry...though the Alakazam showed it a lot more,> she mutters, now sounding rather angry as old memories slip through her mind. "Hmm.." Wesley adds, obviously remembering some other things Deranged Psychic-type related. ThoughtThief, Skysnake and Sparkheart just blink. <So, how did you evolve again?> ThoughtThief speaks up, looking at Lamia. No attitude in that statement, at least.

Melissa blinks, glancing up at the now-dark sky. It's as if she didn't notice that it had already turned nighttime. "Guess I... lost track of time." Melissa says quietly. "At least, um, it's not hot anymore." A little breeze ruffles through Melissa's hair, and the wind on her face is rather refreshing. "Hopefully..." Melissa's hands go back to pat down her pat, which has become a little frizzed by the wind. "I'll, um, put up more of a fight than a Rattata." She smiles yet again, though this one has a kind of edginess and nervousness about it, as if she really thinks a Rattata could beat her. Lamia seems to hold back a twitch as Fistfight mentions anger. <Anger isn't always a bad thing,> Lamia quotes from thoughts she's had since long ago. <Sometimes, the emotion of anger shows that the Pokemon really is alive on the inside.> A devious little grin crosses the Ivysaur's face. She's been waiting for years for an excuse to say something wise-sounding like that. The grass-type's head turns to glare at ThoughtThief, before the plant-dino realizes that ThoughtThief's comment was not a rude one, but an inquiring one. <Oh. It was around... Mount Moon, I believe. Melissa,> The Ivysaur makes a very, very slight gesture to her trainer now. <Was attacked by a Geodude.> She gives an affirmative nod now. Will she continue? Is she waiting for questions? Did she forget what happened?

Wesley is snapped out of Memory Lane and into Real Life. He nods at Melissa, and even snickers at her joke. "I'm sure you will," he says. "I'm sure anybody could..." he adds. The boy coughs slightly, then puts his hand on Fistfight's head and rubs in between her headcrests. Fistfight grins back up at him and pats his hand. Despite their many differences, the two do share a lot of common ground - namely, their pasts. It's a fact Wesley would do well to remember more. It's as close as he can get to saying "I love you" in public. Of course, the fact that it's night and likely no one can see his act of caring might help. Fistfight looks to Lamia, unwilling to nod and disloge Wesley's hand and break their connection. <Well...maybe they didn't lose their will to live. Maybe they just started...livin' life the wrong way. Looking at the dark instead of the light.> Wow, Lamia's helping her understand her own friends better - pretty cool! As she speaks, the group waits with baited breath as Fistfigh translates for Wesley. "And then...?" they all ask in their respective languages.

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

"I hope so," Melissa nods slightly. "Last time, I... I just..." She doesn't feel the need to continue. Instead, she takes interest in what Lamia is talking about. "What are you... doing, Lamia?" The teenager asks, now glancing down through the dark at her plant Pokemon. The Ivysaur beams up at her trainer, simply replying with, <Explaining the evolution.> Melissa doesn't understand the words, but she can pretty much guess that Lamia is absorbing as much pride as she can by telling the story of her evolution. "Oh." The girl nods, taking her eyes off of the Bulbasaur. Through the darkness, she thinks she sees Wesley give Fistfight a loving rub, and, with a smile, she turns her attention back down to the Ivysaur. No reason to embarrass the boy. Lamia, smirking as she has the attention of most of the creatures present, continues without replying to Fistfight. She does give the fighting type a little wink, though, just to show that she's not ignoring the fellow elderly Pokemon. <The Geodude was taking a nap when we stumbled upon him. My trainer wasn't exactly attacked. She...> Pause. <Tripped over him. Stumbled down to the ground and broke her "glasses".> She says the Ivysaur version of "glasses" a little oddly, as though she doesn't quite understand what they are. <The Geodude snapped right up into attention, and my trainer, blinded without her...> Hesitate. <"Glasses"...> Hesitate. <Wasn't even aware of it.>

Fistfight didn't expect much of a response - you really had to know Arcana and Mindreader to know what she was talking about. Fistfight does smile at Lamia to show she got the wink. Wesley nods slowly. "That must've been terrible, not being able to see.." he comments, although he can't quite imagine it. <I don't think Melissa's aware of a lot of things...> ThoughtThief interjects, glaring at Wesley and Fistfight. Just because they have the perfect relationship and he doesn't is no reason for them to flaunt it! Agh! There's jealousy, anger and disgust all mixed in with his volatile emotions. Wesley sighs and takes his hand off of Fistfight's head to fold his arms across his chest. <She's aware of the fact that you don't learn anything if you insult people...> replies Fistfight angrily. That Drowzee will pay for stopping the head pat. Oh yes. <Wrap 'im,> she commands to Skysnake, who obeys quite quickly, sliding around the unaware Drowzee and squeezing just enough to knock the air out of him. It'll keep him quiet, but still breathing.

"Being... able..." Melissa seems a little confused for a moment, before blinking in realization. "Oh. My, um, my glasses? It was very, um, very frightening. Lamia... probably knows what happened better than I know." Lamia glances up at her training, waiting patiently for her to finish before continuing. <I wa...> She can't help but stop to grin for a moment as ThoughtThief is wrapped up by Skysnake. Ha! What goes around does come around. Once the Bulbasaur feels she can continue, she does. <I was already out of my Pokeball when she tripped. The Geodude first set his sights upon her, but I distracted him with a Vine Whip! He spun around, anger in his eyes, and flew toward me in a Tackle attack! I was barely able to dodge.> The Ivysaur continues for a few minutes more, explaining absolutely amazing (and pretty unbelievable) battle stunts that most normal Bulbasaurs wouldn't have been able to accomplish. But she tells the story with a passion, and besides. Melissa was blind as a Zubat. She couldn't have seen what really happened, no? <With one final Razor Leaf, he gave in. With a growl promising revenge, he retreated into the dark.> She pauses here for a moment, expecting to intake all the praise and deny all the disbelievers.

The deep blue night sky is clear and cloudless, and the stars glitter. A cool breeze blows from the west.

Fistfight is as guilty as the next 'Mon with overembellishing her past glories and battle feats, so she can completely understand. Her grin gets broader as the story goes on - that's quite a pretty yarn, that is. At times, she even forgets to translate, and then Skysnake kicks up. Sparkheart the Pikachu is certainly younger than Fistfight, but even he can appreciate a good story, and ooohs and ahhs at the appropriate places, as does Fistfight. Skysnake will occassionally add a confused comment to her Trainer <..she saysss she did that but..I don't think she could've when she wasss that sssmall..> Wesley will nod, but shrug it off. Maybe Lamia was..exceptionally well trained? ThoughtThief would scoff, but he has too little breath to do so. As the story winds down, Fistfight and Sparkheart applaud! Skysnake hisses a bit in disbelief, but rattles her tail in her own form of salute. "But..that didn't make you evolve?" asks Wesley suddenly. Sure, ignore Melissa, why don't we.

Melissa, fortunately enough, doesn't really feel ignored; the girl is actually trying to learn from what her Ivysaur says. Maybe she'll be able to guess a few things that the plant is saying by looking at the gestures the Ivysaur makes? Or perhaps she'll just stay quiet and watch. Lamia lashes her head in Wesley's direction, gazing straight up into his eyes. <That was the exact moment it happened!> Hopefully, the Ivysaur turns back to the crowd. Machop... Pikachu... Ekans... Drowzee... the grass type frowns. Nobody else here has been able to share the pure excitement of evolution. A shame. <It was... a strange feeling. A sort of... stretching, but not a painful one. It felt... magical. It's undescribable.> Automatically, she looks at Sparkheart. She doesn't know much about about the Pokemon present, but the Pikachu seems to be the youngest one present and hence, to her, the one with the highest chance of being able to feel the exhilaration of evolution in the near future. <Very difficult to explain.> And she removes her gaze from Sparkheart.

Wesley swallows a bit as Lamia stares up at him. Those eyes..they remind him a bit of Trial, one of the Pokemon he deeply respects, even though he can't understand a word he said. ThoughtThief, Skysnake and Sparkheart all nod slowly at her words, Skysnake forgetting to translate. They appear enraptured by the thought that they too could, one day, experience such a magical feeling. Of course, in ThoughtThief's case, he could just be losing air. Fistfight smiles ruefully and translates, happy for her friend but rather unaffected. It's not all that different from stories she's heard before, though she really does want Lamia to know she's happy for her. <Glad to see the results here in front of me...> she says softly. Sparkheart's long ears perk as Lamia looks to him as he tries to figure out why he was singled out. Wesley just blinks and tries to wrap his mind around that, but failing. He's got too small an imagination. "And then you walked Melissa back to her home or a PokeCenter?" the boy asks, prodding the Ivysaur along in her story, though he does so with a sort of reverence to his voice.

The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)

The Bulbasaur nods in reply to Wesley, tearing her sights off of the boy for now. <She wasn't very hurt at all.> Melissa smiles at Wesley, adding a few comments of her own. "I didn't really get very hurt... not, um, not even a scrape. Just a... um, a little scratch on my hand... and my glasses fell off when I tripped." Lamia, thankful for a moment or two for someone else to sort of verify her story, "Bulba"s contentedly. <And here I am.> Lamia grins proudly, speaking mostly to Fistfight. Melissa opens her mouth her say something, but decides against saying what she was going to. Instead, she asks Wesley a question. "Have you... um... ever seen an evolution? Maybe on... on the television?" She's hoping that the answer will be a yes; something just wouldn't quite fit into place if he hadn't experienced it at least once.

Wesley glances over at Melissa, as if just remembering now that she's in the area. In fact, that's probably just what happened. "I'm glad you weren't hurt," he says, but stops himself before he can get all muddled thinking about what might have happened. He doesn't want what happened an hour or so before happen again. Fistfight grins over at Lamia. <That was great, gal!> she says. <Happy to hear it. It'll give 'em all a thing or two to chew on.> She doesn't say herself, though. <Mostly we'll all be wishin' we were Bulbasaur so we could do half the fancy stuff you did,> she adds with a wink. <I liked it lots - it really rocks!> perks up Sparkheart, though he yawns slightly. <Yessss..> comments Skysnake, loosening ThoughtThief from her coils. The Drowzee glares at her, Fistfight and lastly at Lamia. ...<Meh,> he is his..cutting and cruel comment? Looks like having the air squeezed out of him shut ThoughtThief up. Wesley blinks at Melissa. "We...our TV only had three channels so...uh, no," he mutters.

Lamia gives a throatly little Ivysaur laugh, smiling up at Fistfight. <Of course,> the plant-dino says in a knowing voice. She doesn't seem to have much else to say; perhaps she's all talked out for the evening. Melissa nods slowly to Wesley, assuming without asking that the boy has never seen an evolution live. "I... I understand." The girl nods slightly, realizing that Wesley doesn't seem like he'd be the type to watch much television even if he had access to more than three channels of it. "Maybe one day..." She glances down at Fistfight, then back up at Wesley. "You'll be able t... to, um, to see one live." Suddenly realizing the time, Melissa glances down at her Ivysaur. "I think... we should, um, we should be heading back to Cerulean's Pokemon Center. It's... late. I'd like to look for a... a... a water type Pokemon tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too hot." Melissa seems to want to drag on the conversation, as if she really doesn't want to leave quite yet.

Perhaps what needs to be said has already been said. Or, better yet, can be understood without words. Fistfight nods to Lamia then looks back up at Wesley as he speaks. "Yes, maybe I will..." he murmurs contemplatively. He gazes at his Pokemon, mentally evaluating their chances to evolve with his ever-present (yet still faulty) mental calculator. He bends down and pats Skysnake on the head - he has a soft spot for Skysnake. She's so much like him, and the second Pokemon he caught without Unbreakable's sourness. She's the one he /wants/ to evolve, but will she? Only time will tell. This doesn't mean he doesn't love Fistfight, though...he wants her the way she is and not as some muscle-bound bimbo. As he pats the rather surprised snake, he slips a Pokeball from his belt and recalls the yawning Sparkheart. As Melissa speaks again, he looks back to her. "Yes, we should head back." The boy snickers. "Good luck. The one Water type I've found in my weeks here has been one that ran away before I could catch her."

The girl smiles at the attention the blue Ekans get, glad that she's been able to see, for the first time, Wesley really show some love for his Pokemon. Beautiful, Melissa thinks to herself with a sly grin. Melissa takes her Pokeball off of her belt. "Good night, Lamia." As her trainer points the Pokeball towards her, the Ivysaur takes the opportunity to wish everybody farewell before disappearing into the pink beam. Melissa backsteps twice, pauses for a moment, and then asks, "Would you like to... to come with me? Or will, um, will you stay here for a while longer?" The girl takes the time now to reclip the Pokeball back onto her belt as she waits for Wesley's reply.

Wesley looks over to Melissa as she speaks, as all his Pokemon still out say good bye to Lamia. Yes, even ThoughtThief, though he does so a bit grudgingly. "Oh..uh, no," the boy mutters, jerking to his feet and trying to pretend he never even touched the snake. "I mean, I'd like to come with you. I could walk you back." Ah, that old idea. Skysnake hisses. <Getting cold...> Wesley blinks, then nods. Curse her reptilian form. The boy recalls her and then turns back to Melissa. "Shall we?"

The deep blue night sky is clear and cloudless, and the stars glitter. A cool breeze blows from the west. In the forest, the leaves of the trees and bushes rustle in the breeze. Poliwags peep and Pikachu sing throughout the night. While at the coast, the ocean's small waves wash up lazily under the sparkling night sky.

The temperature has made a drastic decline, and no longer is the weather scorching hot. A small breeze rustles through the area, causing exposed skin to demand being covered up. Melissa rubs her hands together for a moment or two, before letting them drop to her sides. She says quietly, "I'd love for you to come with me." Kind of funny, Melissa thinks to herself. The two aren't even in Pewter City, and yet here Wesley is, walking her own. Is it coincidental? Is it fate? That's one of those things Melissa wouldn't really care to pursue the answer to. The wind stirring up her hair and causing her clothes to cling, Melissa begins heading back to the Pokemon Center, walking slowly so her friend and his Pokemon won't have troubles catching up.