Walking Under Sunshine

[Seiji]

(Oh, don't worry, he's about to, right about....)

"Uh oh..." That was the only reaction on both Seiji and Mudkip's faces, as the three farmhands started to come after them. The two of them were about to start backing away, when the ground beneath Seiji started shaking, causing him to drop to his knees. There was yet another person coming to where they were, making him quite a bit nervous. Almost all of his Pokemon were out of it at that moment, Mudkip being the obvious exception. And when the elder woman turned to them, both of them were already bowing down, looking as if they were begging for forgiveness.

"Ma'am, please, we're really sorry. We were just passing by when we saw the farm, and we were just curious cause it was the first one we've seen, and.. and... huh?" Wait, did she just apologize to him? Not only that, was she actually offering to heal them in return too? As he raised his head up, the look on her face was a genuine one. Exhaling in relief, he stood to his feet while still looking in her direction.

"Thank you ma'am, I'd really appreciate that. Mudkip here didn't really get hurt, but I'm sure he'd like the hospitality, right buddy?" Of course, he grinned as he nodded his head in agreement. But as soon as that was done, a bright white glow overtook him, causing Seiji to look in shock. "Mudkip... you're...?"

(...now XD)

[Shadow Slayer]

(Yay =P )

Mudkip was surrounded with a white glow, which definitely meant what you thought. He was evolving! The mudfish pokemon suddenly stood up on two feet and grew a foot taller. The white light disappeared, and before you stood a Marshtomp! The water type pokemon had more of a blue/green color to it now, and had an orange circle on its belly. The three orange "spikes" on its cheeks from when it was a Mudkip transformed into just one orange spike, stretching out a little.

The pokemon blinked at you, surprised by its transformation. It then gave you and smile, and looked forward to drinking that moo-moo milk!

"Well now that was some treat! Congrats!" The woman said. She lead you up to the barn, and in a matter of minutes, your pokemon were healed to full health.

"Now, I have something for you." She said, leading you out of the barn and into the field. Before you, there were many Mareep and Miltank, out and about.

"To apologize for my family's rude behavior, I'd like to gift you with either a Miltank or a Mareep. They are all level 10, and the Miltank are all female, while the Mareep are either male or female. Go on, choose!"

[Seiji]

((Ok, I'm going to try to get the hang of freeforms here, so I'm giving this a shot.))

Oh, this was a big moment for Seiji's young and mostly inexperienced team. There haven't been many evolutions on his side, but seeing his very first come up like that, especially after a series of really tough battles, that made it all the more worthwhile. A small, gentle grin appeared on his face as he kneeled down to his newly evolved Marshstomp, just to return his. "I know, you're thirsty too. Come on, lets not keep the nice people waiting. And thank you again ma'am."

At least he had his manners, especially with everyone getting a free moment to recover while they can. At the barn, Dratini, Fladia and Growlithe were really enjoying the milk, while Eevee and Ralts were talking with Marshstomp after they had their drinks, who himself was still a bit stunned that he was able to evolve. Seiji was just enjoying the momentary rest, hanging his bag up on a nearby hook before sitting down with the others. He was given a bottle of water that was now halfway empty thanks to all the commands he was giving throughout that series of battles. He looked at his group and decided that there was a lot of work to do, but that can wait until he gets to the next city.

A bit later, now that everyone had had their fill, and were taking some time to rest while they could, the farmer's wife returned to check up on them all. It was obvious that they were better now, so she pulled Seiji and Marshstomp aside while the others rested. They were led back to where this whole thing started, but deep down inside, Seiji was hoping that nothing else would happen. Especially now that he doesn't have most of his Pokemon with him. But no, this was something different. She was letting him have his choice of any of the Pokemon that were grazing out here. "Really? Are you sure about that?"

He was hesitant of course, but the vibe that she was giving off just then was an obviously genuine one. Both trainer and Pokemon just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before heading into the herd. Obviously, this is going to be one of those moments where they have to really think on which one of these would be joining their team.

Elsewhere, the sounds of running of blue feet were making their way through the crowd of Pokemon that were there. Emerging from a ways behind Seiji was a fleeing female Mareep, looking as if she was worried about something. This area was more of a clearing then the other areas that she was frantically barreling through, and she was looking behind her for something. Luckily, the person in her way had just finished looking over another prospect for his team, and was about to turn around when he heard the sounds of feet coming for him. Oh, he learned from the other times something like that happened, and Seiji was able to sidestep out of the way just at the last moment.

"Whew, just missed me." Now, if he had seen the look of panic on her face, Seiji could tell that she was definitely running from something. That Something just happened to be a Miltank, one just a bit taller then the typical one of her species, and who had just tackled into the boy, completely knocking him off of his feet and onto his back. Marshstomp saw that occur and was about to go up to the other Pokemon when the Mareep stopped running, and hid behind him. Now that he was up close, he saw the flattened wool and bruise marks that she was riddled with, not to mention that her breathing was a bit heavier then any of the others that he's looked at with Seiji. That's when he realized, this one was being bullied.

She had slowed down considerably by now, but that didn't stop the Miltank from walking up to the two of them, looking like she wanted to start something with Marshstomp as well as that Mareep as well. But not even she would expect the sight of the growling face coming from Marshstomp as he stood in between the two female Pokemon. Not wanting to start something with this one too, the Miltank just backed off, heading back through the grazing Pokemon around them. By now, Seiji had gotten back to his feet, though he was holding his back a bit. That's when he saw Marshstomp with that Mareep that he dodged, but before he could say anything, she had passed out.

"Oh no.... Ma'am, there's a hurt Mareep here!!"

[Shadow Slayer]

(Nice! I'll give you three levels for it.)

"Pa! Get out here now!" The farmer's wife said, and out came the same heavy set man who challenged you before. He gave you a glare but then went up to your Marshtomp and the hurt Mareep.

Marshtomp growled at the farmer, but then moved out of the way and picked up the Mareep carefully. He then headed on back inside, to treat the Mareep's wounds.

"Thanks for letting us know. That poor Mareep seems to be getting in a lot of trouble with the other pokemon lately. That Miltank that attacked her is a bit of a troublemaker herself. I've told Pa to deal with that Miltank but he's too preoccupied with the land and people coming up to it, as well as his own two pokemon." She said, sighing.

"Well, you can still choose a pokemon if you'd like." She said to you.

[Seiji]

((Cool. Can I give one to Ralts, and two to Dratini?))

"Pa? Uh oh..." And sure enough, the same farmer that started this came right back out to where they were currently located, still looking rather irritated at Seiji, most likely from the defeat that he somehow managed to give him. This was gonna be one of those moments where he would have to tread very carefully around this guy.

Marshstomp finally started to calm down after the farmer picked up the injured Mareep, finally returning to Seiji as a shocking realization was just mentioned. "Two Pokemon? But he came after me with two Mareep and a Miltank just now." Great, looks like he really didn't like him very much, to the point where he up and had a secret weapon.

But even after all that happened, the offer she had for him still stood. Seiji was still thinking it over, when Marshstomp tugged at his jeans. "Don't worry, I think I know what you're going to say. If at all possible, can I take that Mareep off your hands? It'll give your husband time to work with that Miltank, and she won't be a target for any others. I don't mind waiting while she recovers, unless I'll be a burden."

[Shadow Slayer]

(Sure thing! Added)

"Well hon, if you're sure, then you can take that little Mareep! PA!" She screamed, which caused the farmer from inside the barn to yell back, "WHAT IS IT MA?"

"YOU BETTER FIX UP THAT THERE MAREEP QUICK! OUR GUEST WOULD LIKE TO TAKE HER!" Ma yelled.

"DANG FLABBIT WOMAN! STOP GIVING AWAY OUR POKEMON!" Pa yelled.

"YOU BETTER NOT BE TELLING ME WHAT TO DO PA! NOW HEAL UP THAT MAREEP AND GET OUT HERE!"

A little while passed, and Pa came out. The Mareep was now in a pokeball, and the farmer handed you the ball, grumbling. He looked away from you and then headed back inside.

The ball suddenly warped to your PC.

"Well now, take care of that Mareep, and we'll be seeing ya!" The farmer's wife said, and waved to you as you were now free to continue your journey...

[Seiji]

What was he going to do, get in the middle of this little marital tiff that these two were going through at the moment? Oh no, Seiji just kept his mouth shut as he and Marshtomp waited. Time elapsed, and the farmer returned with a pokeball in hand, and still growling at him. Now it's official, since he can't get his frustrations out on his wife, he's placing it all on him. Great...

"Uh, thank you." Probably didn't do much, but he at least got that out. And as the pokeball containing his new Mareep was sent to his PC, he knew that his time here was coming to an end. "I still have to get my other Pokemon, but I just want to say thank you for all the hospitality ma'am. And I promise I'll take care of Mareep."

There was one more bit of business to take care of before they could leave, and that was to head back to the barn to grab his bag, and to get the other still sleeping Pokemon. "Ok everyone rise and shine... so to speak." They were all still groggy, but they managed to get up when he called out to them. At least he knew that they would all be ready if he needed them, so he wasn't going to hesitate as he returned everyone to their pokeballs.

"Ok, time to keep going." Now that his business there was done, Seiji started on the trail, continuing towards the next city.

[Shadow Slayer]

You continued your walk through the meadow, getting closer to Zephyr City at the moment. You kept your way, until a level 12 male Rattata appeared before you, to battle!

[Seiji]

Honestly, it's a relief for Seiji to be on his way to the next city. That long succession of battles were good for most of his team, but exhausting on him. But now he has a new member that he can call on, so he was anxious to get to the next Pokemon center as soon as he could. But unfortunately for him, there was a Rattata standing before him, wanting to take him on.

"Hmm... Just like when I came into the valley earlier. In that case, Growlithe, your turn boy." He said, releasing his brightly colored puppy. Growlithe just stared at the Rattata, waiting on what commands Seiji had for him. "Ok boy, start with..." And that's when Seiji stopped. He realized what Growlithe was trying to do, that was a Leer. "Scratch that. Use Leer, then Bite."

[Shadow Slayer]

The rattata wagged its tail, lowering the defenses of the Growlithe's a notch. Your Growlithe used leer, which was a glare that scared the Rattata, lowering its defenses.

Then, Growlithe bit hard into the Rattata, causing the pokemon to yelp, and flinch! It was unable to strike back!

Growlithe: , -1 Defense

Rattata: , -1 Defense

[Seiji]

An evolution, and a new move in the same day. Seiji was starting to feel good at the moment. Plus, he was starting to get into a rather decent pattern with Growlithe now, which was always positive. "Ok Growlithe, Howl, then another bite."

[Shadow Slayer]

The Growlithe howled to the sky above, raising his attack up a notch. Rattata wagged its tail again, lowering Growlithe's defenses once more.

Then, Growlithe sprinted forward and bit hard into Rattata's tail, doing some excellent damage! In fact, a critical hit! The Rattata was so shocked from the attack and from the damage that it fell over, fainted. Catch Rattata?

[Seiji]

"Wow..." And just as soon as he was up, Rattata was down on the ground. Growlithe almost couldn't believe it either. "That was amazing boy. Come on, you deserve to stretch your legs after that one." A simple little reward there, but Growlithe didn't seem to complain as he walked onwards with his trainer.

[Shadow Slayer]

With a little more walking, you finally came upon your next destination. The city of Zephyr was before you, and you were free to enter!