Pokemon Amethyst Version

"It's a pleasure, Krimson." Darrick shook hands with Krimson for a short second and let go. "Yeah. It would seem that I am team leader. But the important word in there is team. So if I get out of line at some point, I give you full permission to pull me back in; whatever happens, I can promise I won't let you guys down." He looked over to the other boy, Thomas, who, along with his Gible, had just walked over, joining in the team's first meeting. He smiled and nodded to his companion, satisfied with his team's early ease of socializing.

"Dragon-types have always fascinated me too," he added his input to the conversation on Thomas' starter choice. "Gible has an interesting secondary type too; part Dragon, part Ground. It would be interesting to see where yours goes in battles... and yeah, I was actually about to say, now that the three of us are together, we should probably go after Sara-Kate. It looked like she was following Professor Cypress; and he was probably on his way back to the lab. Might as well go back that way. So, I guess, my first directive for us as team leader is for the three of us to grab our packs and fetch Sara-Kate."

He dashed off, back to the three he had been under, speedily strapping on his backpack and getting back to his team and Pokemon. "Ready?' he asked. "Let's get going... and, oh yeah," he looked to Thomas, remembering that he had properly introduced himself. "Darrick Kuhn," he stated as he began to walk.

 

Jasmine picked up Summer who nuzzled against her trainer's chest, and happily chirped, "Eevee!" Smiling, Jasmine rubbed her Eevee's head and looked up at Aura happily, "Well, Summer looks ready to go! So I guess that means I am too! Umm..." She paused for a second looking down slightly and whispering, "You think they'll make fun of me, Aura? You know I'm not very good at this, and I'm clumsy too. I don't want to be picked on..."

Summer looked up at Jasmine with a saddened look, before nuzzling her trainer, "Eevee, Eevee..."

 

Darrick set a brisk pace for the team, leading them up the hill by only a stride, and joining with the revelry of the Gible's antics. Meanwhile, he noticed that Dante had decided to mimic his new friend by climbing up along his leg to get to a comfortable riding spot. Not breaking step, Darrick leaned down. As the leg Dante was clung to came forward, he scooped the Cyndaquil into his arm and placed him gently into a relaxing spot atop his shoulder, and took a poffin from Krimson, which Dante accepted without question, seeing that the other Pokemon were already enjoying the treat. He chuckled a bit at the sight of his Pokemon perched on his shoulder nibbling at the snack. "There will definitely be more goodies like that along the road Dante," he assured.

"Cynda! Cynda!" the Pokemon called in approval as it finished its last bite.

After a few minutes of walking, the trio had rounded to the front of Professor Cypress' lab. They were nearing the entrance when Thomas spoke up. Darrick, looking back down the road, saw Sara-Kate, complete with Zorua, walking towards them. "Oh. Good to you got you're Pokemon back up. We were about to come and pick you up. We thought you might have come back to the lab to heal." He diverted from the lab entrance and headed to meet Sara-Kate. "I know you were in a bit of a rush to tend to Zorua. Professor Cypress decided to divide us up into two teams; the four of us," he pointed around toward Krimson, Thomas, Sara-Kate and back to himself in a sweeping motion, stating everyone's name as his passed them, "are all on a team together. Do you have everything you need for the journey? We wouldn't to leave anything, or anyone, behind."

 

Be yourself.

Aura had no idea how much those words affected Jasmine. How much "herself" disgusted her. She was a disgusting person after all, because "herself" was different. She didn't look at boys and point out how handsome they were, or stuff like that... No, she was falling in, dare she say it, love with her best friend, her only friend. Who could blame her? Aura was the only person who stood up for Jasmine, and helped her adapt to being a girl. She was accepting of her, and to Jasmine that meant more then anything...

So as she followed her friend, she couldn't help but mumble to herself, "I wish it were that easy..."

 

Darrick recoiled slightly, dropping his jaw in shock, certainly taken aback by his teammate's outburst. In his mind, he admitted to himself that he should have seen it coming, but made no mention of it. As Sara-Kate turned and began, he recovered his integrity and bolted forward, at a faster pace, beckoning for Krimson and Thomas to do the same. Though he was hard pressed in the effort, he lengthened his steps to compensate for the last distance and managed to place himself a stride ahead of Sara-Kate. Even then, her presence still seemed to influence him, her determined pace making him move faster with each stride. It almost felt he wasn't really leading the way; rather he was being pushed along by the overwhelming presence biting at his ankles.

Gonna be an interesting journey if this keeps up, he thought.

In moments the road out of town was within his view ahead. Off to the left, he stared nostalgically at the single house atop a small hill on the edge of the town line. It was one last glance at his house; his final piece of home to take with him. "My place," he said, more so to Krimson and Thomas, who he knew would be respectful of the mention, while pointing up to the hilltop. Fitting in one final glance at the house, he ground to an abrupt halt, directly in front of Sara-Kate, a movement at the house having caught his eye. "Sorry," he said to everyone, knowing that he must have caused some confusion and probably a bit of anger from the people behind him; only a brief apology, before he set his attention back to the path from his house.

Making their way down the hill swiftly, yet still somehow calmly, was a man whose resemblance to Darrick was without question, set apart only by the obvious difference in age. "My old man," he said. "Sorry to hold us up like this, but I've got something to take care of. Family business. It shouldn't take too long." He held up his to his team, assuring them that they wouldn't be waiting long and hopefully convincing them to stay, and approached his father with a grin. "He Pap," he said cheerfully, bringing attention to Dante resting on his shoulder. "Got my first Pokemon. Was just on my way--"

"Back to the house," his father stated coldly.

This time, it was Darrick that was left confused. "Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter?" his father inquired. "I told you to go back to the house. Or are you really sure that you can handle the road ahead of you?"

"Well that's a dumb question, no offense," Darrick retorted quickly. "Of course I'm ready. You know I'm ready. I've been training for this day my whole life!"

"So, you're set on leaving after all then?"

"Yeah. Why are you questioning me about this? You didn't question Dee--"

"Enough!" his father shouted, raising his hand to silence Darrick. "Don't mention that. Things are different. I have to make sure with you. You know the drill." From his back pocket, Darrick's father removed a single Pokeball.

"Exactly what I've been waiting for all day," Darrick exclaimed. "You ready for this Dante? Our first battle!"

"Cyndaquil! Cyndaquil!" Dante bellowed, leaping from Darrick's shoulder and onto the ground, the flames upon his back burning brightly with energy.

((Ball is in your court for the battle if you're still up for it KoD. I'm figuring a post to get the Pokemon out, Darrick will go and land a good hit, but his father will finish things quickly from there)).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTJrmc-RXzo

"Ha! You're on old man," Darrick said. Despite his father's seriousness, Darrick was in high spirits, excited at his first chance to show his worth. He scoffed slightly at his father's choice of Pokemon though: a Treecko, a grass type, matching up against a fire type seemed preposterous at first. But then, he recalled his sister's battle with him seven years ago; this battle was already looking similar to that one.

Recalling that event, Darrick aired towards caution. He pulled out his tech gear, combing through it quickly to find the information he needed: a complete set of specific data on the Cyndaquil he had been given. It was still in its early stages, but it had a good pool of moves, some of which Darrick hadn't been expecting. "Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Double Kick," he spoke to himself. "This could be a good battle. Dante doesn't have any fire type moves yet." He looked across the battlefield towards his father's Treecko; though he didn't have the data on that Pokemon, he could tell from its looks that it was at about the same place as Dante was in terms of growth and strength. With the right moves at the right time, Darrick might just pull off an upset. But then, knowing his father's philosophies, he knew that he couldn't count on overpowering and type advantages.

"Alright Dante," Darrick called to his focused Cyndaquil. "Let's start this one off with some insurance. Use Smokescreen."

"Cynda! Quil!" Dante growled. The flame on its back shot up and the Pokemon emitted a veil of smoke in the Treecko's direction.

"That should give us some protection."