Contents:
Kitty
Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Mystery Path: Bare Coast.
North <N> leads to Mystery Path: Silent Hills.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. Here and there, groups of colorful Butterfree can be seen flying towards the ocean. In the forest, the shade under the deep green leaves of the trees is welcome relief from the hot glare of the sun. While at the coast, the sea sparkles in the brilliant sunlight, the waves rolling merrily against the shore.

Vertebra emerges from his pokeball!
Vertebra has arrived.

Kitty rolls and gets: 37. <Golbat>
Melissa rolls and gets: 122. <Tigrynx>

Kitty walks slowly from Dark City. Her tournament badge has been re-pinned on her chest, above the huge, disorganized stack of notebooks in her arms, color-coded, with loose-leaf papers sticking out every few pages. A tiny Vulpix prances at her feet as she walks. Hard job to carry the notebooks and not trip over a hyperactive Vulpix.

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining overhead, and the day contains a pure aura of wholeness. Summer is right around the corner, and even the wastelands are looking more... cheerful than usual. Melissa Barlette, visitor from Pewter City has a light bounce in her step as she walks through the area, careful to watch out for any Diglett holes in her path. Her pin designates her as a part of the main Magical Mystery Tournament - it's displayed almost proudly near her left shoulder. Her hands are in jammed into her pockets, and no pokemon walk along with her.

Vertebra trots after his trainer, lingering a few feet behind her to enjoy the sunshine. It must be a lizard thing. The Cubone sniffs the air and glances around - though if he smells Melissa, he makes no note of it to Kitty. Instead, he asks a series of questions. Ones he's been asking ever since he was let out. <What are we /doing/ here again? Is this where Team Zenny is? Why aren't we meeting with Team Zenny? Do you seriously think this one tournament matters? Have you contacted those humans yet?> He sounds exasperated and annoyed, and accompanies his questions with wild flailing arms, even jabbing his bone in the air a few times to make his point.

Kitty sighs deeply. "Vertebra, I told you. Many times." Yet the Cubone doesn't seem to care. Maybe he's just whining? Still, Kitty explains. "Competing in the tournament will give me a chance to get in touch with a bunch of trainers. We can tell these trainers about the Team Zenny problem. If we win, then we will definitely get some attention, and we will be able to find your team mates much easier!" The Vulpix yips a few times at the pin. <Hey, Kitty. Another trainer!> Kitty stops arguing with the Cubone, and shifts the notebooks to wave to the trainer. The Vulpix has to jump to one side to avoid the green notebook that falls off the top of the stack. "Sorry, Fira. Hi, there!"

Melissa has been glancing down to keep an eye out for holes in the ground - so when Kitty announces her presense, the girl glances up with a start and comes to a stop. "Um," Melissa glances left, looks right, peers at Kitty. "Me?" she asks quietly, as though Kitty simply must be referring to someone else. "I, um... hi." She doesn't seem purposely unfriendly - only shy. Through her glasses, Melissa notices something of fair interest - an MMT badge, pinned to the other girl's chest.

Vertebra gives a low growlgrumble underneath his breath at Kitty's answer. <Well, it hasn't worked yet, now has it?> he snarks, tossing his bone up into the air and catching it effortlessly. <Humans are useless,> he says, with a heavy sigh, though he chuckles as the notebook falls; perhaps he's hoping it would've hit Fira on the head. He shuts up as Melissa speaks and comes up to stand beside his trainer - not to show his solidarity, but to glare up at this new human.

Kitty shakes her head and ignores the Cubone. "Hi. I see you are a competitor in the tournament. Would you like to battle?" The pile shifts, and Kitty just sighs, then drops all the notebooks. Fira chuckles to herself as Kitty pulls out the tournament pokeball from her pocket.

Melissa contemplates her options for a moment, analyzing what Kitty looks like and just how experienced the other girl appears. After a few seconds, Melissa nods her head slowly and says, "Um... I... I guess so. I just need to... um, to get my pokeball." With a clumsy little step and a very red blush, Melissa takes the few steps required to arrive at the tournament table. She snatches up her pokeball almost instantly. "This... looks like a good one," she whispers to herself, spinning to face Kitty. "You... um... You think the weather will hold out?" The weather is almost perfect - why is Melissa asking that?

Vertebra blinks as Kitty speaks. Oh, this is about the tournament? He cocks his head and then shakes it quickly, trying to act like he knew that all along. <Make it quick,> he rumbles Kitty's way. Vertebra's eyes track Melissa as she moves, though his gaze is rather disinterested. As she speaks, the little Cubone grunts. <Just throw the ball, don't stand around talking.> Maybe Vertebra just wants to see a good bloodbath to make him happy?

Kitty rolls her eyes yet again. She throws the pokeball. A large blue and black bat appears, showing her fangs, letting out a supersonic keen and flapping her wings to intimidate her opponent, even though the other pokemon isn't even out yet. Kitty smiles. "A Golbat!" Fira clutches the black notebook in her mouth and offers it to Kitty. "No, Fira, that's Ghosts. Flying. White book." Fira yips, spitting out the book as if it wounded her, then collects the correct notebook for Kitty.

With a small nod to Kitty (or possibly to Vertebra - but of course she can't know what the Cubone is saying, can she?), Melissa hurries over to her own respective spot. Taking one glance at the pokeball her opponent drew, the teenager can only blink. What in the world is that? It looks like a flying bug... or maybe like a Zubat, but a lot different. "Well," Melissa whispers to herself. "I hope..." And with that, the shy girl tosses out her pokeball. It smashes into the ground, and, in a brilliant flash of light, emerges... a Tigrynx. <Heeeeeeeeeey there!> the orange cat purrs, immediately popping up into an offensive stance and beaming at first Melissa, then at Kitty. <Hi! Are you going to be trainer? Or are you? Or is it you?> For the last one, he glances at Vertebra, a smug little grin present on his face. Melissa can only blink.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

Vertebra looks between the pokemon of the two girls, frowning at the Zubat-lookalike. He saw a few of those when Team Zenny traveled through Mount Moon, but he doesn't remember them being quite so big. As the Tigrynx is revealed, Vertebra blinks. Does this cat come from Safari Island? He opens his mouth to ask (though no one can see it), but closes it again. This is a battle, after all. Though he does add a cheery <beat it to oblivion and back!> to...the Tigrynx. After all anything that reminds him of Safari Island is good, even if it is a natural predator of his. ..And he also does it to annoy his trainer. You can never do too much trainer-annoying.

Kitty ponders for a moment as she leafs through the notebook. "Golbat..." She pauses as she notes the hyperactive Tigrynx. "Hey, Fira, you two would get along well," she jokes as she finds the page. Another pause as Vertebra's cheer reaches her ears. "You shut up. I need to concentrate." Finally, an order to the Golbat. "Well, it's obvious what to start with. Confuse Ray!" The Golbat narrows her eyes at her opponent, gives the Golbat equivalent of an indignant sniff, then lets out a glowing ray of light at the pup.

Melissa is still gawking at this strange, hyper little pokemon, even as the Confuse Ray affects the Tigrynx. <Whoa,> mutters the cat, his eyes crossing as he stumbles up to all four paws. <I feel really, really dizzy. It's like a roller coaster ride!> The teenage girl just sort of glances at the Golbat, rubs the back of her neck, peers at her Tigrynx, and says, "Um.. A... attack... Grynxti!" Well, it's saying "Tigrynx", so it has to be either 'Tigrynx' or 'Grynxti', right? Melissa just guesses wrong. With that, the cat nods his head, gives a little purr, and shrieks, <Watch this! Watch me! This is going to be really cool!> And, despite his lightheadedness, he rushes forward, claws bared, attempting to Slash at the Golbat!

Kitty grits her teeth as the Golbat flies just a little too low, and gets hit by the confused Tigrynx. She looks at her notes again. "Hit it with your...Bite attack!" The Golbat flies downward agin, cautiously, though, gnashing with her teeth at the annoying feline

Melissa peers at her Tigrynx even further as the feline hit the ground after his Slash attack works. Get this - due to his confusion, he stumbles forward and falls to the ground - narrowly dodging the Golbat's attack in the process. "This is, um, some weird pokemon," the girl mutters to herself, rubbing the back of her neck softly. "Tigrynx!" Melissa calls out, adjusting her glasses softly. "You, um, do you have, um, a Growl or something? If so, use it!" The Tigrynx sure does have Growl - and though he'd rather do something more *fun*, like Quick Attack, he obeys his master, nodding his head and growling softly. "Tigrrrrrrrrrrnx! Tigrrrrrrrrrrrynx!"

>> Stats have been changed by Melissa.

Kitty frowns deeper. "Come on, Golbat! Can you hit it from afar?" The Golbat lets out a keen in response, floating backward in the air. A barrage of tiny stings appear from her mouth, aimed at the clumsy Tigrynx. Poison Sting. Kitty's eyes gleam as she sees this attack. Golbat knows poison attacks? Now, she can win.

The Tigrynx, rather proud of his seemingly successful growl, lets down his defense to grin at Melissa. <Didja see me, Mrs. Trainer? I was great, wasn't I? I was-> "Um, um, Grynxti!" But it's too late. The Poison Sting attack hits the Tigrynx right in the cheek, and in his confusion he stumbles back a few feet. <Ow!> he grumbles loudly, shaking a few of the little stingers loose. <That hurt! I oughta...> And with that, the Tigrynx rushes towards the Golbat, jumping into the air at that critical time, hoping to get enough height and speed to reach the pokemon and bite him with a Hyper Fang attack!

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. Here and there, groups of colorful Butterfree can be seen flying towards the ocean.

The Golbat wheels out of the way, avoiding those sharp teeth. She lets out another keening wait, a simple taunting challenge to the feline. Kitty is in her element now. "Use Acid," she orders, hoping that Golbat knows more than just that poison attack. She does, and a huge stream of black poison comes from that wide mouth.

The Tigrynx's missed Hyper Fang causes the Tigrynx to smash face-first into the ground, probably breaking a tooth or two. <Ow!> he cries into the ground, then <Ow ow ow ow ow!> And then the Golbat drips Acid on him! Melissa has to cringe - that has got to hurt. "C... C'mon, Grinxti! Aren't you mad? Um, um, come on, attack or something!" The Tigrynx sort of glances at his trainer, rolls his eyes, and pushes himself up to all four paws. <I'm really tired,> he fssts softly, glaring straight at the Golbat. Despite that fact, he still rushes towards the Golbat with the great speed felines are known for, leaps into the air at that pinnacle point, both paws outstretched. He 'brings out' his claws right now - and attempts to Claw the flying bat!

The Golbat flies up, not fast enough, and the Tigrynx's paw slices into her. <Ow!> Her first coherent word so far this battle. "Use Bite! Stay in close!" Golbat wheels around in the air, and lashes out with her teeth.

The Tigrynx makes a quick dodge to the side, narrowly avoiding getting Bitten. <I'm *really* tired and I want to sleep!> "C... c'mon, Grynxti! You, um, just keep going. I, um, I think it's weak." Melissa rubs the back of her neck, glancing at the reasonably feisty Golbat. "... Maybe. Try, um, try a Growl attack, Grynxti! Scare it!" The Tigrynx obliges - except his growls are actual translatable words. <I'm tired and hungry and sick and want to go to sleep but I gotta keep battling but I don't wannaaaaa!> He's growling, all right - but maybe the point is to annoy or throw the Golbat off guard, not scare her. Whatever the case, it's a Growl.

>> Stats have been changed by Melissa.

The Golbat lets out yet another wail, attempting to drown out the Tigrynx's whining. It's time to battle, not talk! "Poison Sting again, while he's distracted," Kitty suggests. Another supersonic sound, punctuated by dozens of tiny needles, each one injected with poison.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

The Tigrynx continues whining and moaning. Melissa glances at the Golbat. The Tigrynx growls. Melissa blinks. The Tigrynx glances at Melissa. Melissa gasps and points. The Tigrynx looks up. The Tigrynx is smacked right in the face with a bunch of tiny little stingers that piece right into the feline's face. "Um," Melissa blinks as the Tigrynx overdramatically screams and yowls and cries, even though only two of the stingers actually hit. "All right, all right," the teenager mutters to himself, recalling the Tigrynx into his pokeball. The teenager just exhales softly. Well, hey - she got one step closer this time...

Kitty smiles as the Tigrynx is recalled. A loud supersonic wail pierces the air as the Golbat cries out in victory. Fira starts to whine; the Vulpix can detect the sound, so Kitty recalls the Golbat, as well. She extends a hand to the other trainer. "Great match."

Vertebra sighs as the cat goes down, his arms crossed over his chest. Now he looks like an idiot for rooting for him - but on the plus side, this is interesting news. Tigrynx /can/ be taken down! If the Cubone ever returns to the Island, he'll be sure to recall that fact. Maybe he could force one of those Golbats to join him, then force it to attack a Tigrynx, then turn the cat into his slave! Then he'll go attack..wait, what does he need to do on Safari Island again? Vertebra frowns, then remembers with an <ah!> He has to go attack his brother and reclaim his kingdom. So diverted is he with his imaginings that Vertebra completely forgets to remind Kitty to tell this trainer about Team Zenny.

Melissa nods her head slowly, her face a little cross but pretty much not disappointed. "Yeah... I was just totally overpowered," the girl admits with a soft smile, rubbing the back of her neck with her left hand while shaking Kitty's right. "But, um, hey! It, um, it was a nice pokemon. Grynxti. I should, um, I should look it up."

Kitty shrugs. "I haven't seen one of those before, either. Seems like a hard one to train. Need to keep it focused on battle. But it still had some good attacks. I may want one of those myself." The sound from the Cubone reminds Kitty. "Say, we're looking for some pokemon, actually. About a month and a half ago, a Sandshrew, a Ponyta and a Wartortle were given out from the Vermillion City Gym. You wouldn't happen to know anything about these pokemon, would you?"

Vertebra gradually comes back to the conversation the two humans are having, after savouring some delicious dreams of a Tigrynx ripping his brother in half - and chuckling about them quite a bit. <It's a Tigrynx!> Vertebra says quickly as Melissa mangles the name. <And no you don't want one, human,> he adds to Kitty. <They're evil--> the Cubone quickly interrupts himself. <But, sure, go try to find one all you like.> Vertebra's terribly subtle way of forcing Kitty to go to Safari Island. He quiets down as Kitty speaks about Team Zenny, though once she's done he chuckles lightly. <I only hope this human can grasp the fine intricacies of your speech - she's not the brightest Growlithe in the pack.> Totally pleased with his comparison, Vertebra sits next to his trainer and grins.

Melissa sort of blinks at Kitty, not quite sure of what to say. To switch from battling to searching so quickly can't help but confuse the girl a bit. She does give it a moment's thought, though, before shaking her head and admitting, "I... don't even know what a Wartortle is. I'm, um, I'm sorry. I'll... um, I'll keep my eyes out, though." The Cubone speaks up, and Melissa waves at the little ground type with a smile. "He's cute, isn't he? ... He's, um, he's a boy, right?"

Kitty frowns at the lack of information on Team Zenny. They still have one lead, if they could only find him! She smiles as Melissa gestures to Vertebra. "Yes. And he's one of the most annoying things I've ever had to deal with. Still, he's powerful, and I promised I'd help him find his friends, so I put up with him!" Fira blinks at the idea of having a Tigrynx. <Should be a playful friend, at least,> she muses. Vertebra looks rather surprised that he's labeled 'cute', tilting his head upwards at Melissa...and then he blinks indignantly as she dares question his gender. <I most certainly should think so!> he blurts out. He waves a small hand around while he searches for words to accurately portray his anger. He turns towards Kitty as she speaks, eyes narrowed. <Just keep remembering that promise!> the Cubone snaps once he's able to form words..although there's no real reason that she'd forget, as she just mentioned it. Vertebra snorts and crosses his arms in a huff. <..Hope it eats you..> he murmurs to Fira. Sulk, sulk.

Despite her disappointment at losing, Melissa can't help but giggle at the Cubone. "He's really is a cutie. I wonder..." Shaking her head softly, the girl turns to Kitty, giving her a little smile and an exhale. "I guess... I should be getting back to the Pokemon Center now... Um, maybe I'll... see you again?" Melissa pats her pokeballs, adding a small nod. "Maybe... um, maybe I'll use a pokemon I know this time."

Kitty nods at the suggetsion of another battle. "That would be nice. Actually, I should be getting there myself, too." She stoops to pick up the pile of notebooks. "I'll see you around." She gestures for Fira and Vertebra to follow her as she walks towards the town.

Vertebra grunts at Melissa as she, once again, notes that he's cute. A slightly longer grunt is given to Kitty as she gestures for him to follow her, but this time it's one in acknowledgement. He slowly pads after his trainer, following behind, sighing deeply at once again entering one of those horrid human dens.