Music
Cerulean City: Pokemon Center
Entering the plain, white-walled building, you find yourself standing within what is commonly known as a pokemon center. Or, more importantly, the Lobby/Waiting Room. A broad counter stretches across the path that leads into the back rooms, upon which one can usually find the bell to use to alert the Joys to your presence, while a tray next to it is obviously where one places their Pokeballs for restoration of their pokemon's health. Pictures of pokemon bedeck the walls, all captured by some famous photographer, and all wonderfully natural poses, of pokemon in the wild, comfortable with their surroundings. A computer nearby can be accessed for the storing or retrieving of pokemon. A row of chairs, for seating oneself when waiting for the especially bad cases is lined against a wall, next to a magazine rack.
Contents:
Dalton
Obvious exits:
Out <O> leads to Cerulean City: Outside Gym Area.
+weather
Fair weather clouds sail across the blue sky, propelled by light breezes from the west. It's warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and the air is clear and dry.
The sky is blue and dotted with fluffy while clouds, and a light breeze blows in from the west on this fine spring day. Of course, these two things are a little less obvious if you don't happen to be outside, and a certain trainer known as Dalton is one of those people who doesn't happen to be outside at this moment. Instead, the boy can be found sitting inside of the Cerulean city PokeCenter, rooting through his overly filled backpack for something. A Charmander can be seen nearby, watching his trainer with a slight amount of interest, and a Caterpie can be seen on the trainer's shoulder as well, looking incredibly bored with the world in general. <If you took some of that stuff out, this wouldn't happen so often,> the Charmander notes, causing Dalton to chuckle a bit. "But then I wouldn't be prepared for something, and then it would happen because I wasn't prepared," the boy replies, and the fire lizard just shakes his head. <You're weird, you know that?> the Caterpie asks, and no response is given. A third pokemon also happens to be nearby... but it currently can't be seen by the eyes of the living, and also happens to be making no noise, as well.
Cheerful weather to match a cheerful trainer. It is fair, sunny, with a slight breeze. One might call it perfect. So why is Rick inside? Perhaps because it's because the lazy boy has only just woken, roused from his slumber by the daily activities of the PokeCenter. The young boy is currently sitting on the edge of the couch, blinking and rubbing his eyes as he looks sleepily around the building. For once, not a pokemon can be seen with him, but this doesn't stop him from being cheerful. Rick finally stands and throws his black jacket on, looking incredibly stylish as he runs his hands through his hair. He plucks three pokeballs off his belt to start the day. These three are all gold and black, prizes from the HRTC tournament, and one is shaped to fit with another. The occupants emerge as he throws them to the floor. Zack, Rick's Machop partner, Topaz, his motherly Electabuzz, and Prince, a rather posh-looking Eevee. All three quickly assess their surroundings, and Prince runs towards the trainer, who picks the little bundle up and places him on his shoulder. Cute.
While the release of three pokemon, including something as uncommon as an Eevee, would normally grab Dalton's attention quite quickly, the boy is also rather notorious for completely shutting out the world around him when he's in the middle of doing something, so his eyes don't move from his endless search for even the slightest moment. Firey and Bomber, being bored with watching their trainer extract items he'll never actually use from his backpack, do turn to look for a few moments... though Bomber turns back almost immediately, still seeming bored with everything and anything. Firey's only seen one other Eevee before, so Prince gets a good looking at for the time being. As for Dalton, his searching finally comes to an end with a quiet "Gasss..." and a Gastly slowly fading in next to his head. With a quick translation from Bomber, the boy nods slowly, and closes his backpack again. "Yeah, it'll turn up when I actually need it..." he replies, nodding to the Gastly before turning to take a look around the building for himself.
The building definitely seems more crowded with the arrival of the three pokemon, especially with one as big as an Electabuzz. Thankfully, she isn't the kind that likes to run around, or havoc would ensue. Instead, she trots to her trainer's side, slipping her right arm around his waist. Prince looks disdainfully at the creature, probably from having been lathered with her affections one too many times. When a pokemon that thinks a human is cute sees an Eevee...
Zack turns to Rick, an eager look on his face. <So, where are we going today? We gonna train?> he asks, obviously eager to get started. "Yeah, sure! I was going to head on home to see Mom and Dad, but we can do a bit of training first if you like. Are you going to keep practicing that Mega Punch of yours?" The voice of the trainer sounds as bright as he looks. <Cool! Topaz can teach me some more, huh?> To this, the Electabuzz just nods. Rick glances around again, and the Charmander catches his eye. "When did I let Afterglow out?" he asks, puzzled. <You didn't. That's not Afterglow, dunce!> Zack replies. "Oh, whoops! Oh, hiya, Dalton! How's things?" he greets the other trainer as he spots him.
The Gastly beside Dalton turns to face the group of people calling out to them, and blinks once at the sight of the Electabuzz and Rick. Aside from a rather quiet and thoughtful "Gastly...", though, she doesn't say a thing. "Hello there, Rick!" Dalton greets the other trainer in return, nodding his head to the other trainer. "Things haven't been going too badly lately... then again, after all that stuff on Habari, I haven't actually been going out and looking for trouble recently," he says, winking at the end of his statement. At about this point, Dalton notices his Charmander still looking over the Eevee, and taps the back of the fire lizard's head. "Don't stare, Firey. It's not polite." <Huh? Oh, right...> the Charmander replies, absentmindedly rubbing at the back of his head for a moment. Bomber, meanwhile, still looks completely uninterested in everything that's happening. "How have things been with you?" Dalton asks, tilting his head to one side for a moment.
Bright colors, sweetness, and light! Candylion-springtimes! (We're saved!)
The appearance of another Gastly brings out a smile from the pint-sized trainer. "Yeah, that was one wierd trip! Who'd believe us if we told anybody what we found?" he grins. "Trouble? Heh, I've been erm... kinda looking for it recently. Have you been to Ghost Tower?" he asks. Regardless of the response, Rick throws down another pokeball, this one a regular red-and-white one. "Come on out, er... Gastly! Man, I've got to give her a better name..." From it emerges the gaseous form of yet another Gastly, this one female. The expression on her face is one of pure boredom, nothing less. "Hmm... I've got to think of a name..." Rick mutters. <Call me what you like. It's not as if it matters anyway> she responds in an irritated voice. Prince eyes the ghost warily, huddling up even more, becoming even more like a ball of fur.
"The tower?" Dalton asks, blinking once as the new Gastly appears, and then turning to face his own Gastly for a moment. "Oh, right! The Gastly. Nah, she didn't live in the tower... she was living in a care that she had cleaned up pretty good inside the town," Dalton explains, the the ghost bobs her... self in the air in agreement. <It was nice... nobody would ever visit though,> she says quietly, glancing over at her trainer for a moment. "I named her Rose..." the boy concludes, looking over Rick's Gastly for a moment. "Did you actually go into the tower? I've heard some pretty bad stories about that place... and I get kinda nervous around ghosts as it is..." the boy asks, tilting his head once again. Firey, meanwhile, backs off a bit closer to his trainer at the sight of the other Gastly, having gone through the same experience his trainer had a while back. Bomber, on the other hand, looks between the two ghosts for a few moments. <Wow, it's like a death fest in here..." she notes, giggling a little bit at her 'wit' afterwards.
<What were you called before? 'The Haunt of the Foothills' isn't exactly the easiest thing to say, you know.> Zack interjects. <My name before? It isn't suitable anymore. I am something different now.> The Gastly looks down at the muscle-bound pokemon with a frown. She seems to go into thought, much like Rick is. The trainer interrupts his train of thought to answer Dalton. "Yeah, I went in. It was creepy in there. To be honest, I didn't get this one from in there, I found her in the mountains. For some reason she doesn't like the tower, or the others in there. I did find a Cubone in there though, and she's a nutter!" Rick seems to have conveniently left out the fact that it wasn't his idea to go in the dread tower, but that of his Abra. He must like acting brave, or daft, or both. The Gastly finally looks up from her thought, looking at the Machop. <Jade. Call me Jade.> she says, giving no reasons why. Zack translates the words for his trainer, and Rick looks pleased. "Jade... I like it!"
"Interesting... my Gastly doesn't like Lavender or the Tower much, either..." Dalton replies, turning to look at his Gastly for a moment. "I think Rose here will be good for helping me get over the last bits of my problem with Gastlies... she seems a lot quieter and less apt to scare than most of them are..." he notes, and Rose bobs in the air once again. Apparently scaring isn't her forte. "I'm pretty sure most living creatures you find running about in the tower would probably be a little bit insane, from what I've heard..." the boy notes with a slight grin. <Dalton found a Bellsprout with a drooling problem last week... it's kinda icky to be around. Spits all over the place,> Firey notes, causing Dalton to chuckle a little bit. "I couldn't just leave it out there..." he says. <Sure you could have... probably would've been better off,> Bomber notes, causing Dalton to shake his head a bit. As the name Jade comes up, grins a bit for herself. <Jade... it's nice,> the ghost replies.
<Say, Topaz! Why don't we get started? I need to practice some more!> Zack says eagerly. <No, no! Not here! We can't make a mess in here, Joy would be upset!> the Electabuzz replies. At the mention of the cat-bee pokemon's name, Jade spins around to face her. <So you're Topaz? I was told to see you about my bookkeeping. Are you any good?> she says in a professional tone. <Um... I've learned a bit from Chika, my concert organizer. Will that be enough?> <You'll do.> Jade bobs once in confirmation, her view shifting from Topaz once more. "Jade here only scares by appointment. Apparently she is renowned around Lavender! She calls herself 'The Haunt of the Foothills'. Cool, huh?" Rick explains. Prince still doesn't look comfortable around the ghost, even with this assurance. He just continues to regard her warily with his wide eyes, which causes Rick to glance at him. "Aww. Don't be scared, Prince! She won't hurt you!" he assures, giving the Eevee a little tickle under the chin. <Yeah, fuzzball. Unless you have some cash to show me, I'm not wasting my talents on -you-.> the Gastly confirms in her authoritative tone.
Since Dalton doesn't understand Gastly, Electabuzz, or Machop at all as of yet, and since there's too much going on for Bomber or Firey to translate, the whole business deal going on between the three pokemon is completely lost on the boy. "The Haunt of the Foothill, hmm?" he asks, rubbing at his chin for a moment. "That does sound mighty impressive... and people make appointments to be scared? I never would've guessed that..." he continues, shrugging a little bit, much to Bomber's displeasure. <Don't do that!> she complains, and the boy runs one of his fingers over her back. "Sorry, Bomber," he apologizes, before turning his attention back to Rick. "That's a really nice looking Eevee... it must've been raised really well," Dalton notes, turning his attention to Prince for a moment. <Yeah, he's all puffy!> Firey adds in... what was supposed to be a compliment. "The only other Eevee I've seen is the one Sophia has..."
<Right. I'm off for my 12:40. Time is money, you know. I'll return when I'm done.> the Gastly announces, promptly vanishing into whatever world ghosts go to. Rick looks around in surprise. "Jade? Where'd she go?" he asks. <I think it's one of her appointments. She said she'll come back.> Zack replies. "Ah, okay... Hear that, Prince? You've been complimented!" Rick turns to look lovingly at the furry creature sitting in comfort on his shoulder. The Eevee looks like his name indicates, and he raises his nose into the air, closing his eyes, and he recieves another tickle from Rick. "Well, all the work was done for me. He's so soft, and my Mom grooms him whenever I go back home. They love him back there! He was one of a pair, and Sophia had the other one, so she has two now. Isn't that cool? The other one was a female. Can you guess what they were intended for?" he winks, his mischievous grin showing clearly. After being with Afterglow for so long, Rick understands Firey's words and he chuckles. "Your Charmander's cool! Er... well, you know what I mean!"
As the Gastly goes away, Dalton just blinks for a moment, and then decides to pay it no mind whatsoever. "I think I can figure out what their purpose was..." Dalton replies with a wink, before glancing down to Firey. The fire lizard looks right back at him, and his tail wags a little bit. <Don't even say it,> the Charmander warns, and Dalton just chuckles a little bit. "Alright, alright. You owe me one, though," the boy replies jokingly, and then turns his attention to Rick once again. "That's quite a prize you two got for winning the tournament, though. You worked hard for it, too... I got second place in the mini Magical Mystery whatever, though!" he continues, grinning a little bit as he mentions what place he got. I got a pokeball from the pokemon league... there was a Mr. Mime inside of it! I've always wanted to get one of those, but I could never find one out in the wild."
"I wouldn't say that... Sophia did all the work, and she was really devoted to the tournament. She should have got another prize." Man, isn't this little tike being modest for once? "Funky! A Mr. Mime! Hey, I've always wondered about them. If you find a female, wouldn't it be a Mrs. Mime?" he chuckles. After a second, he shuffles his feet, wincing slightly. "Ow... I really need some more shoes. My mom made me throw the others away, you know the ones that got really muddy, and she made me wear these old ones. They are way too tight!" He kneels down, pushing a finger inside the culprit shoes in an effort to stretch them. Eventually though, he gets too frustrated with them, and he kicks them off, sliding them in Zack's direction. What comes next? You guessed it; the Machop slides his comparitively small feet into the footwear, and begins to clomp around the pokemon center in them, looking like a Mr. Mime himself. Both Topaz and Rick smirk and chuckle at the spectacle, and Prince tries his best to avoid laughing too.
Dalton snickers quietly at Rick's joke about the title of the Mimes, and then shakes his head a little bit. "Mine came with a marked pokeball, too. It says 'Second Place' on it in silver letters. It's kinda neat, really," the boy explains, watching as Rick discards his shoes and chuckling a bit as the Machop begins to clomp about in them. "I really should get new shoes, myself..." Dalton notes, looking down to his feet for a moment. "These things are incredibly worn... I'm surprised they haven't fallen apart completely yet," he says, poking at a hole in one of the shoes for a moment. <You'll never remember to do that, sort like how I have to remind you about forty times before you remember to go get more food,> Firey says with a smirk, causing Bomber to giggle a bit. "Hey, I'm not that forgetful..." the trainer responds, rubbing at the back of his head for a moment. <You still remember where my house is, right?> Rose asks, sounding a little worried, and Dalton nods in response after Bomber translates for him. <Good... I wanna go back and visit sometime...>
In the middle of the performance, an unexpected guest arrives. Suddenly, the ghostly form of Jade appears right in front of the Machop. "Gaaaastly!" she cries, causing the Machop to jump backwards in fright, straight out of the shoes. <Aaa! Hey, what gives? I didn't have an appointment!> he calls in astonishment. <I know. I needed to do something after that lousy Ekans refused to pay up! Topaz, put that down in my records, will you?> the Gastly explains with a hint of disappointment. Topaz nods, translating the words of the Gastly for Rick. "Food... That reminds me. I have to get some more myself. Then again, I suppose I can just make do with a pizza from Poppa's. I'll be going home later today, so my mom can make me something." Rick grins.
The reappearance of the Gastly causes Dalton to start slightly, but he recovers from his momentary shock fairly quickly. Firey, meanwhile, just blinks at the other Gastly for a moment. <Pay? What could an Ekans have that you would want?> the curious Charmander asks. <Stupid Ekanses just want to eat you, they don't have anything worthwhile,> Bomber ads, shaking her head a little bit and looking over at the other Gastly. Dalton's Gastly, meanwhile, just watches everyone quietly for the time being, looking rather thoughtful in general. "Poppa makes some good pizza, I have to give him that..." Dalton says, grinning a bit and nodding his head. "Nothing can beat a good meal at home, though. That's the best kind of meal there is. Speaking of that... I should probably head back to Pallet sometime soon. It's been a little while since I visited home..." the boy notes, and Bomber groans a little. <But your mom doesn't like me!> she whines, and Dalton chuckles a bit. "Only because you try to break things all the time..."
"Veee?" comes from Rick's shoulder, a welcome change after all the Machopping and Gastlying that has been going on. "Drat. I still need to learn Eevee language. Topaz, what did he say?" Rick asks. <He said 'Home?'> the Electabuzz replies. "Yes, Prince. Home. That place where you get smothered with love and brushed 'til you're bald. That's where I live! Say, Dalton, did I ever tell you where my house is? It's in the southeast of Saffron, Abra Street. It's the house that's furthest from the road, on the southern side. If things are going well, the house will still be standing. If my dad has had an argument with Rex, his Kadabra, things in the front garden will be floating! If you ever need to stay anywhere, just tell my folks you know me!" Rick offers. "I just had a party a few weeks ago, 'cause I'm fifteen now. I'll have to invite you to my next one! I'm sure one more won't be too much for my mom. After all, she's used to clearing up after me!"
Dalton nods his head as Rick tells him where his house is, and the boy then grins a bit as Rick makes an offer of a party and a place to stay if he needs it. "Hey, thanks for the offer," he says, nodding his head once again. "I live over in Pallet... my house is in the residential area with all the others, but it shouldn't be too hard to pick out if you're ever in the area. It'll most likely be the only one with several pokemon out in the yard," the boy explains with a grin. "If you need a place to stay and happen to be in the area, we could probably take you in for a night or two. Sophia stayed over a while back after a Ninetales took her coat in the middle of winter, so I'm sure my parents won't mind too much," he continues, grinning once again. "Just watch out for Firey and Bomber here... they like to cause trouble," he concludes, causing the Caterpie and the Charmander to both respond with a <Do not!> in unison.
Bright colors, sweetness, and light! Candylion-springtimes! (We're saved!)
"Thanks, I'll remember that. Speaking of Sophia, have you seen her recently? I wanted to catch up with her for a couple of reasons." Here the trainer nods his head in the direction of his right shoulder, or rather the fuzzball sat atop it. Here, Zack smirks. <I knew it! I just knew it! It wasn't just a case of her being your teammate at all, was it?> "Quiet you! I know what you're thinking, and I do not!" Rick protests. <You do! Rick likes Sophia! Rick likes Sophia!> the Machop chants, bringing a slightly red tint to Rick's cheeks. "Do not, do not, do not!" The Machop continues to taunt his trainer, bringing a smirk to the faces of all his pokemon.
As the taunting Machop causes Rick to go a bit red all of a sudden, Dalton grins a little bit once again, but the boy decides not to say anything on the matter. Not that he actually knows what the Machop is harrassing him about anyway, but that's not the point. "Unfortunately, I haven't seen Sophia around recently. I'm not sure where she might have gone off to, either," he says, rubbing the back of his head for a moment. "She lives over in Saffron, so she might be wandering about over there, but I'm not sure of that," the boy suggests. Firey's tail flicks mischeviously, and the fire lizard opens his mouth for a moment, but then closes it again, remembering that his trainer has something to retaliate with on this particular issue. "I'm guessing you want to get the Eevee pair back together again sometime soon, right?" Dalton asks, grinning slightly afterwards.
Zack just dissolves into laughter, convinced that he is onto something. Rick just clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck, although the redness takes slightly longer to disappear than his embarrassment. "Yeah. I'll look for her when I go back home. I bet Prince would love to see his companion again, wouldn't you?" Rick strokes the soft brown fur along the Eevee's back, and Prince arches against the hand lovingly. "I wonder what Sophia called hers? Last time I saw her, she hadn't given hers a name." Rick wonders aloud. Jade seems to ingnore the fun, bobbing slightly in what must be the ghostly equivalent of tapping her foot. "Okay, sorry Jade. Do you want to go back in your ball or do you have another appointment?" the trainer asks. The Gastly leans slightly, mimicking looking at a wristwatch that isn't really there... or is it? <Nope, I have an open slot until 2:30. Unless anyone wants to jump in at short notice?> she enquires of all those present, whether they can understand her or not.
Bomber translates the words of Jade for a moment, and Dalton gives a polite "No Thanks," in response to the Gastly's offer. "I haven't seen her with the new Eevee yet, so I don't know what she decided to name it either," he continues, turning his attention back to Rick. "That's certainly an interesting Gastly..." the trainer note, glancing over at Jade for a moment as well. "But anyways, I've heard news of another trip to Habari coming up this weekend..." he continues, rubbing at the back of his head for a few moments. "Are you going to be going on this trip? I think I'm going to sit this one out... I'm still getting over the excitement of the last one," the boy explains with a quick wink, before glancing down at Firey for a moment. <Yeah, and I'm sick of being stuffed into my pokeball all day while you're off seeing cool stuff!> the Charmander complains, and Dalton pats him on the head to calm him back down again.
<Well, don't mind me then. I can find something to occupy myself with, I'm sure.> With that, the Gastly vanishes once more, back to whatever realm ghosts live in. In a few seconds, the four pokeballs on the floor rise all by themselves, floating in midair. The orbs begin to move on their own, as if they are being juggled by an invisible clown. One by one, the pokeballs fly from the display, clipping themselves back onto a very surprised Rick's belt. "Gastly..." <You're welcome...> comes from nowhere, the voice growing fainter as the speaker moves off to fulfill another appointment. "Er... I don't think I'm going if I'm not allowed to take my pokemon. From what I've seen, that place is dangerous, and there's no way I'm going there without any protection." Rick says finally. <Yeah, plus your mom got mad at you 'cause you messed your shoes up!> Zack interrupts, having finished chuckling.
Dalton just watches as the pokeballs are 'magically' returned to the trainer's belt, and shakes his head slowly before returning his attention to the conversation at hand. "Ah, I wouldn't worry about that too much," Dalton says, tilting his head to one side a little bit. "I've been out there a bunch of times, and the last incident was about the most dangerous one I've been in... even though it wasn't really all that dangerous in the end," the boy continues, grinning a little bit. <Bah, we never get to have any fun...> Bomber and Firey both complain, and Rose just snickers a bit at their attitude. "Sorry guys... I"ll make sure to bring you both out there as soon as they start letting us do that," Dalton tells the two pokemon, and they seem to get a bit placated from that. After this, Dalton glances over at the clock in the PokeCenter, and blinks once. "Wow, it's already past two thirty... I better get moving. I gotta head over to the store and pick up a few things!" he proclaims, standing up from his seat carefully and picking up his backpack. "It was nice to see you again, Rick." he tells the other trainer before rousing Firey back to his feet. "But I've got to take care of my business before I completely forget, so I'll see you around sometime!" With that, Dalton and his crew will begin to make their way towards the exit of the building, though they'll stop for a little bit if Rick has anything else to say.
Back