Gym Wars

[Ysavvryl]

OOC: Okay, a showdown not between Trainers, but between Gyms.

RULES
1. Follow all SPPF rules.
2. This RPG will be, at most, PG-13. Limit swearing.
3. Limited bunnying is allowed, just keep other PC’s in-character. You will be required to take control of the Leaders from me, at least once, but don’t try to start any favoritism.
4. Use good clear writing. I’m tolerant of minor mistakes, but I will call you out on bad writing.
5. Everyone wins AND loses, even the Leaders. If your character gets too win-heavy, I’ll warn you to play more fairly.

And I'll say once again... have pride in your Gym.


GYM WARS: KANTO


-Indigo Plateau, September 20, 2008, 21:17

Most meetings of the League officials were friendly, warm, and open. Not this one. The special closed door session had a nervous tension, an uncertain air. People weren’t chatting as much. What seemed to be simple mistakes and events had accumulated into this decisive moment. Careers could end or begin with a few words.

Two more Gyms would find themselves closing their doors.

There was a clear divide between the Gym Leaders at the table, the five who would certainly stay, and the Leaders standing by the wall, the five being considered for the cut. But even the ones whose positions were guaranteed were grave. If a friend or ally failed to make it, they might feel guilty for having been kept.

A soft creak filled the room as the Leader for the whole Kanto League, Lance, got up from his chair. He wore the traditional gear of the Dragon Tamers, the long blue cape, the dragonhide gloves, the insulated boots. Once he stood in front of the five standing Leaders, he turned to them.

“It seems that none of you lack the qualifications or abilities to be a Gym Leader,” he stated, his voice firm despite some reluctance to do this deed. “But as things stand, we must drop two of you. I’m sure that you’ll find success wherever you happen to end up.”

This statement was met with varying expressions. There was Reynold Oak, better known as the Ace Trainer Red, who was holding in some impatience. Despite being only fourteen, he had cleared the Gym Leader tests with flying colors. There was Koga Feldspar, the oldest of the five, who had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. The distracted look to his eyes was met with sympathy from the others, for they knew what he was going through.

In contrast, Keith Ang was outwardly calm. He had been through all this before, as the Dojo he ran had flip-flopped repeatedly from unofficial to official. Next to him, Surge White Junior was trying not to fidget nervously. The young man had a history as a rock star with no stage fright, but one couldn’t have guessed that now. Lastly, there was Camilla Chavich, whose eyes flitted around the room as if watching for something. Being a foreigner, no one was quite sure what to think of her, or what she might be thinking.

Lance took a deep breath, then said. “Keith, I’m sorry, but we got a petition from Lavender Town to evict your Dojo. Because they won’t even consider backing you, we cannot approve of your Gym as official. And I have to request that you either move back to Saffron or find somewhere else to be.”

“I understand,” the fighter replied with dignity. He gave Lance a respectful bow, which was returned. Then he turned and left the room.

The door thumped shut with a tone of finality. The Elite member then looked to the youngest one. “Red, your Gym is rather out of the way, being in the Power Plant workers village. However, they seem to appreciate you and we have no other problems with you. We have decided to grant you the Official Seal of the Kanto League.”

He grinned for a moment, but then got a chiding look from the current League Champion. Benny Pallet, better known as Blue, was thirteen, but recognized as one of the most talented Pokemon Trainers to appear in Kanto. Blue wasn’t as boastful as Red could be, yet had turned out the better Trainer. Despite clashes between the two, Blue still considered him a friend.

Taking that hint into consideration, he slipped down to a small smile and shook Lance’s hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“We’re glad to have you with us.”

Red then sat with the other Gym Leaders. Surge glanced between the older two beside him, but getting no response, turned his attention back to Lance. This leader, though, was looking to his three colleagues in the Elite group. Old Agatha, who seemed to let the Dragon Tamer be the leader more often than not, nodded to him.

“Right,” he said softly. “Well, Koga, Surge, Camilla... as I said earlier, there seems to be no glaring flaws within your abilities. None of you have any Trainers registered to your Gyms, though. You are working to remedy that, right?”

“Yes sir,” they all replied, Koga a bit later than the other two.

“We’ve had no strong protests to your positions. However, there’s nothing that makes any one of you a better choice than the others and the unsettled states of your Gyms makes a fair decision difficult. Therefore, it has been decided to grant all of you a temporary official status for one year. When that year is coming to a close, we will question your community, the League Trainers, and others about your progress. The one that is rated the lowest will be cut, while the other two will gain a permanent Seal. That decision will be made on October 1st of next year. Do you agree to these terms?”

They agreed.

“Then that’s it for today. Good luck to you.”

-+-

October 1, 2008

-Safari Zone Warden’s Office, Fuchsia, 07:20

“Goood morning, this is Joe Dee on KYSS, the radio voice of Kanto. Quite a wet morning too, with light rain showers remaining over Saffron, Celadon, Lavender, and Fuchsia. We also have heavy fog warnings out for Vermillion and Cinnabar, while various other cities may be experiencing moderate to light fog. But it should all clear out by noon, giving us a crisp and cool autumn afternoon.”

Koga leaned back in the chair with his right hand over his eyes. Although the radio was playing, he hardly heard it. There was a lot on his mind. His Gym was currently nothing more than a rough foundation. The police investigators had cleared out all the rubble, but it would take more time to confirm the cause of the massive explosion. Since he lived in the dorms on the back of the Gym, he lost nearly all of his material possessions. That hardly mattered to him, though. Worse was the loss of a promising Gym Trainer and of a dozen loyal Pokemon, including one of his own. Even a Ghost like Haunter could die.

Then there was that girl, who had accused him of sexual harassment over a period of two years. Even if it was false, the legal issues connected to that were going to latch onto him for a long time. It didn’t help that simply being accused of harassment stained his reputation. For someone who valued honor as much as he did, that hurt deeply. Still, he would prove his innocence.

He had a gut feeling that all of this had something to do with Linda Montblanc. She had come to Fuchsia at the beginning of the year to establish a Contest Hall. At the time, he had welcomed the Coordinators warmly. It brought new glory to his beloved city. He helped them move in and get used to the area. And then it turned out that Linda did not like Poison Pokemon. Therefore, she didn’t like him. At the beginning of the year, he had the full respect and support of the citizens of Fuchsia. Now, about half of them no longer trusted him and others were undecided.

Koga felt quite certain that he had hit the lowest point of his life.

A gust of wind caused raindrops to spatter against the window, making itself heard over the quiet radio. Leathery claws gripped the hand covering his face. He let the wing bring his hand down to face his Crobat. Chirping worriedly, she brushed her other wing against his cheek.

He smiled a bit. “Thanks, Millie. We’ve got to get back on our feet. I’m grateful for this respite, but we must make the most of it.”

“Krrri, klik, klik,” she replied, making an agreeable turn of her ears. She fluttered off the edge of the chair as he got up.

He took a couple of moments in the small bathroom to clean up his face and shake off his darker feelings. He had to interview several young people to pick out his new Gym Trainers. Glancing at the file of applications, it cheered him some to know that at least these people believed in him. They were interested in the old traditions, which most people considered as out of style as his usual clothing. But that’s who he was. He came from a traditional family that was immersed in the ways of the ninja. These ways might be out of style, but they certainly weren’t useless.

Koga felt ready. He opened the door and looked over the Safari Zone Lodge. “Okay, girl, let’s see who’s up to being first.”

-+-

-Vermillion Gym, 07:20

BZZZZT!

“Aw, come on,” Bolt grumbled, turning back to the key remote. His father had given it to him so that he could turn off the pair of electric force fields blocking access to the Vermillion Gym Leader’s office. But Lt. Surge had not given him the precise password to get the remote to work. He tried another button.

The Gym’s speaker system clicked on. “...it should all clear out by noon, giving us a crisp and cool autumn afternoon.

“Well that was ‘Luster’ by the group Majesty Seaking, a group from Johto that’s quickly climbing the pop charts in several regions. Speaking of Johto, there has recently been a relaxing of the passport laws to that region from the gate near Viridian. Merchants are especially relieved, as the longest part of the shipping process is getting permission to cross regional lines. Without the presence of Team Rocket, it was quickly agreed to by both Kanto and Johto authorities.

“In other news...”

“Joe Dee is still running the morning show?” He scratched his head, ignoring the radio to figure out the latest problem.

His light brown hair was styled as usual, slicked back into long spikes. Back in the band, the guys would tease him that he took the hairstyle from his Jolteon. He wore a dark green vest, but no shirt underneath it. The October fog didn’t bother him, as he’d just come back from Sinnoh. There had been a light frost when he left Canalave Port, which wouldn’t happen here for another month or two. He also wore old black jeans and dark boots bought at an army surplus store. Yes, he was supposed to be working today, but he was reluctant to give up his usual style just yet.

There was a whir as his Magnezone approached him. It was illegal to have a powerful Magneton or this new evolution loose in city limits. But the Gyms had thick insulating walls as defense against the awe-inspiring powers of Pokemon. Axel and the other Pokemon were free to move around the building as they pleased.

“Zzzurr?” he asked, twisted his magnets around.

“He said it would be obvious to me.” Bolt entered a new number into the remote. “What about my birthday?”

BZZZZT!

He looked back over the Gym he was now Leader of. It was an odd set-up for this kind of building. A large number of trash cans were lined up in neat rows on the main floor. “I don’t really want to resort to his randomized trash switch puzzle. It took me ten minutes to solve it last time. Let’s try Mom’s birthday.”

A blessed silence came over the building as the radio and the force fields went offline.

Bolt sighed in relief. “Man, first official day on the job and already I’m screwing up. I hope this isn’t a bad sign.”

“Zrt, zrt,” Axel replied, but then stopped short as the force fields came back to life when his Trainer crossed the threshold.

“It’s okay, I can access the control panel now.” He walked over to the Leader’s side of the battle area. There was a hidden panel in the wall that slid aside to reveal a switchboard. Fortunately, this was a lot less complicated than the remote. Bolt cut the power to the force fields fully. “It’d be irritating if the applicants got blocked by that. Let’s check out the office.”

After grabbing his suitcase, he and his Pokemon went into the office. It looked pretty much the same as he had last seen it, when he’d quit being Assistant Leader to tour the world with his band. A military-grade flag of the Kanto region, something rarely seen these days, stood in the northeast corner. In front of that was a large desk made of solid oak. Along with neatly organized paper bins and file folders, there was a nameplate for ‘Lt. Surge’.

Filling the walls of this office were dozens of photos and special documents. Many were quite old, from when his father had been on active-duty in the army. There was a special shadowbox that held a spotless gold star on a blue ribbon. That was one of the highest awards for a veteran to earn; Bolt made a mental note to get that to his father soon. He would appreciate having it back.

“Fzzzz,” Axel noted, a contented kind of sound.

Bolt turned to see what had caught his eye. “What is it?”

The Pokemon pointed out something on the wall that was different than before. It was a glossy poster, two feet wide by three feet high. Sticking out like a punk in the military, the poster was for Bolt’s band, The Wailing Electrodes. There were a few of the band Pokemon in the picture, including Axel when he had only been a Magneton.

There was a note in red pen on the bottom. ‘Love from your son, Bolt Guitar.’ Pinned to the wall below the poster was a nameplate insert that said ‘Surge Jr’.

Bolt smiled fondly at the poster and nameplate. “Oh Dad...”

Axel clicked and poked him.

“Yeah, we’d better get ready for the interviews. This is going to be so much harder than that time that we were looking for a bass player.” He took the nameplate off the wall. “But it’s for Dad. I have to get this right.”

He switched the inserts, then started shifting through the papers he had and what his dad had left on the desk.

-+-

-Brewin’ Coffee Shop, Viridian City, 07:20

The local coffee and bakery shop was especially busy in the morning. Old friends greeted each other and exchanged news. A radio station morning show played over the speakers. Because of the owner’s open policy, Pokemon hung near their Trainers, or spoke to each other.

There was one, though, that seemed suspicious of everyone around him. Although he’d been seen around town before, the nearly six foot tall Scizor was still an unusual sight. His metallic exoskeleton was orangish-red, atypical for this region. He particularly watched a young boy, who watched back curiously. The boy stepped closer.

“Watch yourself,” a black-haired woman said, tapping the Scizor on the shoulder. She wore black pants with a white blouse under a yellow jacket. No matter how cheery that jacket might have been on someone else, she was giving him a strict look.

He huffed and put down his bladed hands reluctantly.

“He’s neat,” the boy said. “What do you call him?”

“Miguel. You should probably be careful too around Pokemon you don’t know.”

The boy’s mother finally paid attention and gave her a nervous smile. “Oh, Camilla, sorry. He didn’t mean anything.” She clasped her son’s shoulder.

“It is fine,” she replied. She took her coffee and waved for her Pokemon to follow her outside. But an announcement over the radio caused her to pause.

“...it was quickly agreed to by both Kanto and Johto authorities.

“In other news, we have word that all three of the temporary Gyms are well into their recruitment efforts to gain or regain their Trainers. This is something of a rare opportunity, as openings for Gym Trainers are generally limited to one or two as opposed to the numbers being called now. And they had best do well, as exactly one year from today, the final decision will be made by the Indigo Plateau Elite.

“So which Gym has the best chance? Expert opinion is varied, but most agree that it is too early in the game to call the match.”

Camilla didn’t say anything right off, just left the shop and walked back to her new Gym. There was a pearlescent mist hanging in the air, lightly dampening everything. She stopped a moment outside the Pokecenter to buy a newspaper. Obviously, she could just make her own coffee and get a paper delivered. But, it was important that she make connections in Viridian City soon. The community would be one of the biggest voices in the judgement phase.

As they came around to the elevated land the Gym sat on, Camilla finally spoke. “This is a more peaceful land, as I’ve told you. We can’t be as hostile as before. But it will be better.”

The Scizor made a series of buzzes, while indicating the Gym and the city around them. He didn’t seem too happy about something. Unusual from him; Miguel wouldn’t protest unless he thought she was in danger.

“You don’t like me being out in the open?” she guessed.

He nodded.

“It is a risk. They could figure out where we are. But if we succeed in making this Gym work, they wouldn’t want to risk the Kanto justice system to get back at me. Besides, I know you were getting as bored as the rest keeping to ourselves. It is a different battle style, but we’ll get the hang of it.”

Miguel didn’t respond this time and simply buzzed his wings to shake the mist off them before they went inside.

Only a few months ago, Viridian City’s Gym was filled with a maze of gray walls and strange panels. Sound was absorbed quickly, muffling conversations fifteen feet away. Now, it was a large empty space. Camilla’s heels echoed off the concrete floor. Although part Steel, Miguel’s footsteps made no sound. He didn’t feel this place was secure enough to let down his guard.

“It’s progress,” Camilla commented on the room. “I couldn’t stand all those twisting halls. Still, I haven’t decided what we should do now. We never trapped people with puzzles before. But we can figure that out later. I have business to take care of today.” She went into her office in the back.

The decor was simple but elegant, as she liked things to be. The concrete was replaced with hardwood floors and pale yellow walls. To the side, there was a metal bookcase filled with books on several subjects. Mostly Bug Pokemon, though. The pine and metal desk in the center of the room appeared simple, but had several hidden compartments; it was one of the things that she had brought along out of Amarillo. She had placed a new item on it, a flat magnet image of the badge she had designed: an upside-down green triangle with a yellow compound eye, like that which most Bugs had. Trainers could be proud if they earned that Compound Badge, she thought.

Two other items from Amarillo hung on the walls. There was a pretty silver and blue long sword, which was more decorative than useful. Beside it hung a shorter curved blade of steel. It resembled a Scyther’s blade attached to a simple handle for humans. That one was sheathed and securely latched to the wall.

“I do hope that gets to stay on the wall,” Camilla commented about the curved sword. She sat at her desk and opened the newspaper to read before the applicants came in.

[Zincspider]

Vince wasn't worried. He had worked at the gym before, and he could do it again. He just had to answer the questions, and get back to his old job. Surge Jr. (Bolt as Vince had found out), was stting in the desk, trying to act as professional as possible, but he was a little nervous. Vince could feel it in the air... and it was messing with his vibes. He couldn't have that.

"Uh, hey, boss man. Calm down a bit. It's all cool, dude," he said, swinging his boots onto the desk. He made sure not to knock anything over, but you couldn't tell that by how he swung them. It was almost practiced from all the times he had done it when Surge Sr. was at the gym. Bolt toughened up at once.

"I'm not nervous. I'm perfectly fine. Now let's begin this interveiw," he protested picking up his paper and looking over it to look at Vince, "alright, 'dude'?" Vince shrugged, and let Bolt continue.

"Alright, it says here your name is 'Vincent Rokka'. A little strange, I think"

"This coming from a guy who's name is 'Bolt Guitar', eh dude?"

Bolt coughed at the rebuttal, and began to ask the questions:

"What experience do you having in battling?" Bolt asked, as professional as he could. Vince pushed his glasses further down his nose and answered,

"I used to be a full blown trainer until I came across Celedon city. I got the Cascade badge before quiting. I have worked here for a while, and have battled the regular challengers. I've lost some, won some. But never one over the other".

Bolt nodded a little, and moved on to the next question.

"What does an Electric-type Trainer have to be careful of?" He asked, grinning a little. Vincent thought about it for a bit, and began,

"Well, I need to make sure my hands and the rest of my body are dry before handling them. Rubber gloves are useful in these situations, but also a hinderence. If you want to check the static on a certain pokemon to make sure it is healthy, you need to be able to know where the least electricity is kept... and be able to feel it (no gloves). Keeping them near water is a bad idea, as being completely covered in it can short them out, or cause them to overload." He counted off each of the reasons on his fingers. When he finished, or it seemed so, he asked "Hey, Bolt, have you ever wondered why we are the Electric Gym when we are surrounded by water? I mean, man, Celedon is closer to the Power Plant, and they aren't even near a large body of water. Shouldn't we, like, switch?"

Bolt looked scepticle, and returned to the paper without a response. He looked at the next question, and asked.

"Can you tell me what one of your pokemon is? One of the electric variaty please."

"Uh, I have a Magneton"

"Tell me about your Magneton"

"Well, I named him Motor 'cause he makes this loud grinding noise when he is happy. And beleive me, he gets happy, like, alot. Ummm... he is easily entertained, and enjoys chasing dots of light. He follows my MP3 everywhere, and.... well... don't let him near a TV. YOu might get a show you DIDN'T want to see"

Bolt looked even more confused than before but continued with the questions
------
*a short time later. Last question*

"So you worked here for a time? Do you know if my Dad got all the traps disarmed?" Bolt asked, putting the paper down for the first time. Vince's eyes got wide.

"Uh, no. I remember that the trashcans are on the fritz, and he needs to replace the batteries on b-2. The hidden panals in the walls were taken out a long time ago... but I think most of them are gone. Some of the newer ones are still intact..." he said, thinking. Then, he added, "And never, like NEVER, flush the toilet before standing up. Frank had spear wounds for a week... the point is, we never figured out how to remove that one. Just remember that"

Bolt's eyes grew to the size of tenis balls. He nodded, and wrote down a quick note on the question paper. When he looked back up, he said,

"Alright. That's everything," he began, starting to stand up to shake Vince's hand ", but it seems to me that you enjoy music. Do you play?" Vince stood up, and shook Bolt's hand.

"Yeah, you could say that." And with that, Vince skipped out of the office, whistling all the way.

[CyberBlastoise]

Cory Velos-Velos Ranch-8:30 A.M.-October 1st

Cory Velos, the son of Jerry Velos, was virtually alone in his father's ranch tending to the various Pokemon. It was October 1st meaning that harvest season has started. He, his dad, and the rest of the staff had already harvested one quarter of the crops. Cory went out to the stable to feed the various Ponyta, Tauros, Miltank and Rapidash. He approached one of the Miltank and started to extract Moomoo Milk from its udder. The blue haired young man filled three medium-sized buckets full of Moomoo milk. He placed the index finger and thumb of his left hand and whistled. Cory called out, "Slicer! Spooky! Come on, we have some milk to bring back to the barn!"

Two bug-type pokemon flew into the stable. The first one was a black pokemon with a golden back and head. It grabbed one of the buckets with its scythe like arms to carry it off. The second pokemon was a brown floating pokemon with glowing golden eyes. It floated underneath a bucket handle and used its 'wings' to keep ahold of the bucket while it carried the container off to the building. Cory grabbed the final bucket with his left hand. He started off with it and walked straight toward a large white building with an even larger cylinder leaning up on it. He carefully avoided any spills from the nearly full container. He set the bucket down on top of a bare wooden floor. The blue haired trainer headed straight back for the stable. Before he entered into the building though, he went to a parked tractor and turned the key, which was already in the ignition, to the 'on' position, but he never started the vehicle. The radio underneath the steering wheel activated.

The D.J. on the radio said, "...various other cities may be experiencing moderate to light fog. But it should all clear out by noon, giving us a crisp and cool autumn afternoon. “In other news, we have word that all three of the temporary Gyms are well into their recruitment efforts to gain or regain their Trainers. This is something of a rare opportunity, as openings for Gym Trainers are generally limited to one or two as opposed to the numbers being called now. And they..." Cory then turned off the radio. He went up to Mabel, whom was in the stable also apparently listening in on the radio.

Cory placed his right arm on the Rapidash's snout and asked, "You hear that girl? Today's finally come...the day that we can try out for the pokemon gym as gym trainers." He smiled as he started to rub the fire-type pokemon's face. "Are you ready to go out?" The Rapidash just gave a light snort indicating that it was indeed ready to go." Cory opened the gate to her pen and lifted himself onto the saddle that she was already wearing. "Giddyup!"

---------------------

Cory rode Mabel into Viridian City with his Ninjask and Shedinja flying beside him. Slicer the Ninjask was showing that he was as excited as his trainer. Spooky the Shedinja showed no signs of emotion however. The four headed for the northeastern part of the large suburban area. When they finally approached the gym, the trainer dismounted his trusty steed. He held up a pokeball and said, "Return." The Fire-type pokemon went into the pokeball. He held up two more pokeballs and called "Return!" The bug-type duo went back into their respective pokeballs.

He turned around and gulped. "Well...this is it." Cory approached the gym feeling a little nervous. He breathed in and out trying to keep himself calm. But as he went up each stair, the trainer constantly alternated between nervous and scared to his excited and determined. Cory eventually approached the front door and knocked on it. There was no answer. Cory opened the door and saw basically very empty room. Only a few decorations here and there, but nothing really caught Cory's eye. Cory approached the desk that Camilla was sitting near.

Camilla placed her newspaper aside. She asked, "Are you one of the trainers I'm interviewing?"

Cory gulped a bit and said, "Yeah. I'm Cory Velos."

Camilla told him, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," Cory replied as he sat down.

"Okay, Mr. Velos, what experience do you having in battling?" asked Camilla with a calm expression on her face.

"Well, ma'am, I'm not what you call an 'experienced trainer', but I have had to settle quarrels among the territorial pokemon on several occasions. Usually I had to resort to using my Ninjask and Shedinja to settle the arguments. Other than that, I haven't battled too many trainers."

"I see," replied Camilla as she scribbled something down on some paper. "What does a Bug-type Trainer have to be careful of?"

"A bug type trainer must always be on the look out for fire and flying type pokemon on several occasions. Another thing they must be careful of is water type pokemon because if bug type pokemon get wet then they cannot move as quickly and as a result often end up in even more danger. Outside of battle though, most if not all bug type pokemon have some sort of way to secrete poison throughout their bodies. In Butterfree and Paras it's through the powders they produce, whereas in Beedrill and Ariados its through their stingers. Another thing a bug trainer must be careful of is the fact that most bug-type pokemon swarm together and when trying to catch a bug type pokemon they must remain aware of any surrounding pokemon. Any bug-types considered to be solo pokemon usually are very tough to beat and are often very hard to capture."

Camilla scribbled more notes down and said, "Okay thank you. Next question. I remember you mentioning a Ninjask that you battled with. Is it yours?"

"Indeed it is," replied Cory. "Why do you ask?"

"Tell me about your Ninjask," responded Camilla.

"Okay, well, Slicer is a great battler. He's strong and brave. Slicer often does get a little hyper from time to time, but we've managed to calm him down eventually. He goes through several different emotions though and is hard to maintain sometimes. All in all though, Slicer is an invaluable companion to me, and I know that he is willing to pull his own weight and more for the team. Slicer also gets hungry quite often so I have to make sure to pack quite a bit of food. If it wasn't for slicer helping protect the farm, I'm sure that it would be in ruins...so I know he's trustworthy as well."

Camilla looked at Cory's application for a moment then set it down. "Okay, final question. I’m sure you would know the regular lives of Bugs well growing up on a farm. Have you seen them battle on their own?"

The young trainer replied, "Yes I have. As I said earlier, many of the pokemon on the farm get territorial. Mainly these are the bug-type pokemon over different sections of the ranch. I've seen quite a few battle amongst themselves. This often ended with one of the pokemon badly beaten and needing some medical attention. Eventually, we were able to quell them down though with my Ninjask and Shedinja though. But we still see a few battles from time to time."

"Well thank you for coming, Mr. Velos. We'll keep in touch." Cory shook Camilla's hand.

"Thank you for taking the time for my interview," replied the young trainer. He walked off and after he closed the door behind him, he said, "Wow, that was tough. I'm glad that that's over with now." He started to walk down the stairs and head straight back for the ranch. To prepare for the next task at hand, a battle.

[lorddarigarn]

Mora walked quietly through the still-waking town, enjoying the sunshine before it got too strong. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small city map - he'd been around here a fair while recently, to get use to the environment, but he still had a few problems with navigation. Well, this seems to be it. He'd never been to the lodge, or the Safari Zone at all come to that, but despite his nervousness he was looking forward to seeing what it was like. Maybe I could catch some Pokemon in the Safari Zone if I become a gym trainer. Certainly make things easier if he was known as a local trainer.

He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves, then opened the door. The room was pretty much deserted - it made sense, if Koga was using the room for any period of time - and the only person there was Koga, sitting at a small desk and leafing through a stack of files. Koga looked up at him, then smiled slightly. "Take a seat." The voice was not unfriendly, but it still made Mora slightly nervous. Even know, he was wondering what it would have been like if he'd decided to challenge Koga instead of joining him, whether he would've got that same friendly smile. He sat down.

Koga skimmed through the files, then drew one from the pile. "OK. Your name is Mora Takaimuesi?" Mora nodded. "14?" He nodded again, and Mora flipped over one of the pages of the sheet. "Alright then. What sort of battling experience do you have?"

Mora considered his answer for a moment. "Well, my father was a retired trainer and he taught me something of battling, but most of my experience is what I've taught myself. I've been battling for some time across Kanto and the Seviis, so I'm familiar with a wide range of strategies and how best to fight them. I haven't challenged the gym, but I've spent the last month preparing myself for that before Fuchsia opened."

Koga looked like he was considering something, then put down a small note on the sheet. "What sort of things do you think a Poison trainer should be careful of?" Mora swallowed slightly. This is going to be the one.

"Well, one of the obvious things to be aware of is the risk of poisoning or contamination. I've built up my resistance over time, but I always keep stocked up on antidotes and medicines as a precaution. I try not to let them near any unprepared food if they've battled recently, and I make sure that everything is thoroughly washed or scoured." He paused for a moment.

"Another thing I've had to be careful of is letting their poison build up to dangerous levels. If they haven't used their poison for a long time, I get them to bite or stab a small sheet of soft bark - I always make sure I carry some around. They then inject their venom into the bark, and I burn it to make sure it doesn't harm anyone. I know it's not particularly professional, but it's worked well for me."

"Battling wise, I obviously have to watch out to the types that are super-effective against poisons. Ground types can be a threat, but my Golbat has often proved himself against them. A lot of grounds are dual-rock, but Golbat is normally fast enough to easily evade their attacks, and his Giga Drain is extremely effective against them. Psychics are also a danger, but my Umbreon can easily counter them, and each of my Pokemon knows a Dark-type move, so they all have something that they can use."

"Other poison types block my ability to use poison on them, but Nidoking is part ground so he can do a good deal of damage to them while still resisting Poison, and the disadvantages apply in turn. Pokemon that can hunker down and withstand a drawn-out battle are one of my main problems, but my other status conditions can still incapacitate them just as much, and my Pokemon all have either the strength or the techniques to ensure that a drawn-out battle is turned in their favour."

Suddenly, Mora realised how long he'd been talking, and flushed slightly. Koga looked slightly amused, and looked down at his sheet again. "So, you have a Golbat, a Nidoking and an Umbreon?" Mora nodded, trying not to talk to much. "Ok. Tell me about your Golbat." Mora's brow furrowed slightly. Why Golbat and not Nidoking? He knew that one of Koga's favourite Pokemon was a Crobat, but Nidoking was just as viable. Maybe it was because of the way that he evolved - Koga wanted to know if there were any reasons that he hadn't evolved yet.

"Well, Golbat is a free-spirited sort of Pokemon. He needs a good deal of regular flight to keep his wings strong, but considering his personality, I've never had any problems with that. I try to continually challenge him, see if he can perform more controlled aerial feats or increase his speed, turning and so forth. He's never really had any problems with my training methods - I try not to do anything that he dislikes or feels uncomfortable with - but I always listen to his opinions. He normally eats the same food as the rest of my Pokemon - I buy canned food, but I mix in various additives and flavourings - but I try to give him plenty of fresh meat, for fairly obvious reasons."

"I've heard that some trainers keep supplies of fresh blood for their Golbats, but I've never done that. It's not exactly something that's easy to get - you know what I mean - and I've always been slightly afraid that he might try to feed off other Pokemon if I can't keep up with his large demand. I've had him for a long time and I hope that he might evolve soon, but Golbat is the one Pokemon that you can be certain that will only evolve when he feels ready to."

Koga looked slightly surprised at that, though Mora wasn't certain exactly which part. He quickly scribbled down another flurry of notes, then looked at Mora more directly. "Why did you choose this particular gym, when there are three recruiting?" Now it was Mora's turn to be surprised.

"Well, I've always been a great user of the poison type, and I thought that we used similar methods. My father was a ground-type user - he considered that my choice to get a Nidoran was coming from that side - and he uses a somewhat more direct method, but I prefer to use a greater deal of strategy. I use poison and other status to chip away at my opponents, letting the effects debilitate them and allow my Pokemon to incapacitate them. Also, you've always been someone who has chosen to retain the older strategies, ones tried and tested over generations, and that's something that I hold in high esteem. Of course, I've always wanted to learn some of these."

Mora felt slightly embarrassed again, but Koga didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he seemed to be smiling slightly more. "Ok. So you've always been rather selective when it comes to your Pokemon?" Mora considered the point for a moment - he wasn't quite sure that selective was the right word - then nodded. "What would you do if life threw something completely unexpected at you?"

Out of all the questions that Mora had been asked, that had to be the one that surprised him most. Mora's brow furrowed as he considered the point. "Well, I'd try to make the most of the situation and do what was best. After all," he gestured around the room, "isn't that exactly what this is? I heard about the opportunity to join the gym, and I decided what I wanted to do with the situation - apply to join the gym. I certainly never expected that I'd have the change to join Fuchsia Gym."

Koga nodded, looked through the sheet, then flipped it back to the front page and placed it neatly on the other side of the desk. Apparently he'd been the first applicant to arrive. He stood up and proffered a hand. Mora did the same and took it. Koga briefly shook, then nodded to him formally. Mora returned the gesture, then turned and left the building, smiling ever so slightly.

[Handy?]

Ryans pulse was racing, his heart beating at a thousand miles a hour, or at least, it rather seemed that way as he made his way towards the Vermillion city gym. It wasn’t his health that was the issue, rather his nerves, which unless he got this out of the way soon, would most likely completely consume him. Just last night, he had been preparing for the interviews, but he still had no idea that they would be held today, as his calendar was wrongly marked for next week. No wonder he was shocked when he received a phone call reminding him it was today, of which he was grateful to an extreme, as he probably would have died from nerves by next week. Ryan wasn’t the most confident of trainers, and he instantly assumed he would not get the job, his young age being a likely factor contributing to his downfall. He quickly opened the gym doors and stepped through, into the place that if he was successful in this interview he would b working in.

He slowly walked into the room, looking around and amazed at his site. The place was well and truly a electric gym, designed and fashioned to be perfect in every way for the Gym Leader, who was standing very close to the door. Ryan gulped, looking up at the man he may soon be working for. He had long, spiked brown hair, which was very…sticky outy, if that was a word. He had deep black eyes, and a silver stud nose ring on his face, which didn’t actually look out of place. He was, in all senses almost like a giant towards the little boy, who stood in his shadow. He slowly smiled, waving a little hello to the giant of a Gym leader, who smiled, seemingly humoured at the boys remarks.

The Gym Leader began to speak, something which he dreaded happening, slowly smiling as the rockstar began. “Right then. Let’s start with the interview then, shall we? Question one, What experience do you having in battling?” Ryan slowly gulped, before thinking the question through thoroughly. He knew he had to tell the truth, but he also wanted to make a good impression, and he was sure that the pair would not go hand in hand. He began to speak, slowly choosing his words in his mind. “Well…honestly, I haven’t had the most experience battling against trained Pokemon, as I’ve done pretty much all my battling against wild Pokemon. However, although it probably wouldn’t be useful for a electric gym, I have trained my Lanturn long periods of time against water Pokemon, some being more powerful than itself. I do admit I have lost a few times, but generally, my Lanturn is good against most water types. My Voltorb, well, he was added to my team fairly recent addition to my team, but I’ve trained him on a daily schedule against nearby Pokemon, such as Pidgeys. I’ve also attempted to train him against Diglets, in a attempt to improve his durability against ground types. Of course, he has lost quite a few times, and he is actually a strong Pokemon, his loyalty is what needs work on, however. Eevee…well, Eevee is a different matter.” He decided to leave it there, wondering what the leaders opinion would be, as he wasn’t the best at reading expressions.

“What does an Electric-type Trainer have to be careful of?” Bolt said, as Ryan slowly began to think about what to answer with. He hoped he wasn’t being too slow for the leaders liking, but he couldn’t really think straight under this pressure, so he had to think quickly. “Right…um, well, I’ve come across one or two things within my short life as a trainer, the first being of course, water. While training in the water is fine for my Lanturn, my Voltorb would have a problem, because as soon as he launched an attack, he would end up electrifying the whole ocean around him, as water conducts electricity. Secondly, a trainer should always wear rubber gloves, as when handling their Pokemon, the risk of being shocked is quite high. Another thing that happened to my Lanturn last year, is that she caught a fever, which went quite bad in a few days. It turned out the reason for this was a electrical burst of energy nearby, which caused the fever to surface. We managed to cure it by using a lot of berries, but honestly I’m not all too sure at what the fever actually was…” He stopped there, wanting to continue no further with this question.

“Tell me about your Lanturn” Ryan was taken back slightly by this question. Tell him about his Pokemon? Well surely it had to be some sort of catch…right? He decided to just ‘go with the flow’ and respond to the best of his ability, although he was sure it would be fairly lengthy. “Well then…My parents caught this Pokemon for me on the day of my birthday, when I was ten years old. She was caught south of Olivine City, on a route, the name escaping me. She, as she is a female, was caught using a netball, the most useful way to catch her kind at the time. She was caught as a fairly frail Chinchou, who was the perfect companion for me, as she was fairly young, and would have time to grow attached to me as I grew. She was trained in that area of the world, as we travelled, for quite a while, becoming very strong against others of her kind, as well as over fish Pokemon, and as she grew in strength, so did I, my ability as a trainer growing all the time. Eventually, she evolved in a battle against a rouge Gyrados which attacked our boat, and showed off her wonderful electric abilities, before my father captured the Gyrados. She has been a powerful Pokemon companion to me, knowing the moves Thunder Wave, Charge, Aqua Ring, and another move which I won’t tell you, as I always keep everyone guessing in battle. Also, when compared to some Lanturns my father caught, it appeared she had both of her bulbs at the same size, whereas most Pokemon of her species have two different sized ones. We’re not sure why this is. We being me and my father.”

“You certainly love your Pokemon. Are you ready to push them to do their best?” Ryan shuddered slightly at the question. Which he knew he had to answer truthfully, or he would never get the job. “In both Lanturn and Voltorbs cases, yes, I would push them both to do as brilliant as they can go. Eevee however…I would not. The young Eevee is very, very fragile and weak at the moment, and I couldn’t bring myself to train her at the moment. She is going to be evolved into a Jolteon, however, and once she does, when I can find a thunderstone, I will push her as much as she is willing to go, as she is still a baby.” Ryan gulped, finishing the conversation. There were no more questions, that was good, it would mean he would be able to get to the next stage with little more work. The next stage, however, would be interesting to Ryan, as he was prepared for a fight, but very uncertain about if he could win or not. He doubted he would win with all of his team, but he reckoned he could take out at least one of Surges Pokemon.

[TheSequelReturns]

Shinji waited patiently for whoever it was that had beaten him into the office to finish their interview. Well, it wasn't so much as waiting patiently as it was waiting while half asleep. He really wasn't used to getting up this early. He sat on the soft, but worn cushion of one of the several chairs that lined the walls of the lodge. A few other applicants were here waiting as well, but none of them currently seemed to be in the mood to start up a conversation. So, he waited. Fighting off sleep while trying to come up with advance answers for any question Koga was likely to ask him. Chances were however, that he wasn't going to use any of them since he will have forgotten his answer about the time Koga asked the question. He had been looking forward to this day for a while now, but he never thought that he would actually find himself sitting here, about to go talk to Koga himself about working in his gym.

Shinji absent-mindedly touched the pokeball containing his Haunter. He wondered if Koga would have any reaction to it, having lost his Haunter in the gym explosion. Maybe it would be better if Shinji just found some kid with a Graveler or Kadabra and asked to to a quick double trade so that Haunter could evolve. Not that that was the only way for Haunter to evolve, but it was surely the quickest.

Shinji was glad he was a patient person, or this long wait would have him frustrated and twitchy by now. He once more glanced at the door to the office, wishing that the small window wasn't yellow and designed to scatter the light so that he could actually see what was going on in there. If only he could see the first applicant's response...

As if on cue, the door opened and a guy Shinji had seen around town, but didn't really know came out. He seemed almost happy. Was it really going to be that easy in there? Taking his chance, Shinji hopped up from his chair and headed into the room while the rest of the applicants were still trying to figure out who had arrived first, and thus who was "supposed" to go next. Didn't they realize this was completely freestyle? Well, maybe not completely.

Shinji gave a slight bow to Koga as he entered the room, Koga, who wassitting down, simply nodded in a formal way. How he managed to make a simple nod seem formal, Shinji didn't know. Maybe it was just because he was Koga. Shinji took his seat and waited for the questions to begin.

Koga flipped through a few files before taking one out of the stack and placing it on the middle of the desk. "Ok, your name is Shinji Hamagishi correct?" he said.

"Yes sir." Shinji said.

Koga nodded slightly. "And you are 18?" he asked. Shinji responded the same as he had last time. "Alright, how much experience to have in battling?" he asked.

Shinji pondered the question for a moment, his planned answer lost as he thought it would be, and simply tried to say something and hope it came out right. "I'm not new to battling, I've had a few trainer battles, but most of my experience comes from battling wild pokemon. But sometimes that can be even more difficult than battling with a trainer because instead of relying on what the other trainer orders, you have to pay close attention to the other pokemon and try to predict what move its going to use next."

Koga nodded slightly as he wrote something down on the file. It seemed he would be taking notes on them. "What does a Poison-Type trainer have to be careful of?" he asked as he finished his notation.

This one was easy, especially since he lived with a Haunter and a Grimer. "You have to be especially careful not to accidentally ingest any of the poison. This wouldn't really be a problem for someone with, say, a Beedrill, but when you have a poisonous ghost like Haunter and a Grimer who is always secreting poison, you really have to pay attention to your food." Shinji took a moment to think about the question some more. "You also need to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't accidently ruin someone's garden or something like that." he was refering to Grimer's sludge. "As far as battles go, Poison types really need to watch out for Psychics. Most poison types don't have very good defense against their attacks. Ground types can also be a problem, but their attacks are more easily countered. Grass types are easily affected by poison attacks, there are also other ways to fight. For instance, Fighting types aren't weak to poison, but most poison types are resistant to their attacks. However, metal is the biggest problem. Steel types are completely immune to poison attacks, and so require a very careful strategy to defeat."

Shinji stopped here, realizing just how long he had been talking. People must not ask him many questions about this sort of thing for him to just go on and on like that.

Koga was busy scribbling more notes onto the file. After a moment, he looked up again. "So, you have a Grimer?" he said. Shinji nodded. "Ok, tell me about your Grimer." Koga said.

Shinji didn't want to seem like he had to think about it, so he simply started with the first though that popped into his head. "Well, don't ever let him see a buffet. He will eat everything. Tox is not always like that though, just when he happens to actually see the food. He doesn't seem to be able to smell that well, must be because of his sludge. He's a bit bigger than average, but that's probably due to his appetite. I think he really does care about things because he's always careful not to leave drops of his sludge behind so that way he won't poison the grass." Shinji said. "Um, oh yeah, he doesn't like attacks that the opponent can easily dodge. So he prefers not to use attacks like Poison Gas or Mud Bomb." Shinji said.

"You seem to know a lot about your Grimer. You said his name was Tox?" Koga said.

"Yes, well, its short for Toxin, but I usually just call him Tox." Shinji said.

Koga nodded and took a moment to make one more note on his file. Shnji wondered if it was to write down Tox's name or something else entirely.

This time, Koga made sure that he had eye contact with Shinji before asking the final question. "I've seen you around town, whether you’ve realized it or not. Are you ready to work on your talents rather than just using them?"

Shinji was completely caught off guard by that. Koga had actually seen him around town? Why hadn't Shinji seen him? Man, they didn't call him the Ninja Master for nothing. Shinji took a moment to carefully prepare his answer. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes to help restore the Fuchsia Gym." Shinji said.

"Good to hear it." Koga said. He nodded for a moment, wrote something at the bottom of the file, and stood to offer is hand. Shinji stood as well, shook his hand and walked out. He had a feeling that he had made the cut. He didn't know how or why, but somehow, he just knew.

[Jason-Kun]

Jadare stepped back as Cory took his leave from the Gym. Nodding in his direction, she pulled off her jacket, tying it around her waist. Only today she had chosen to substitute her shirt in favor of a blue one. Her black hair had been pulled into a ponytail. Today she wore black pants, the two Pokéballs that held her Pokémon clipped to it. With a small wave to the Cory, she headed into the Gym.

Once inside, she found herself standing in a rather plain room. Scanning the entrance, she stepped lightly on the floor. It creaked underneath her feet as she padded across to the door. Looking closely at the oak door, she noticed the carvings of a few grass types in the door. The polished wood radiated power. Pushing the door aside, she strolled in.

The inside of the office was decorated with nicely, the occupant sitting at her desk. Black hair with red streaks fell over her shoulders as she indicated the leather seat before her. “You may sit,” she remarked, as she slid into the chair. She gave her a serious glance before picking up one of the files before her. “Your name is Jadare Silverstone of the Sinnoh Region, correct,” she asked.

“I was born in Sinnoh and raised her. Spent the past few years in Viridian Forest though,” she remarked, watching as Camilla wrote down her answer.

“What experience do you have in battling,” the elder woman asked, leaning her head on the back of her hands. She gave her a sincere look, one stern yet also vaguely kind. Jadare coughed, before continuing with her interview.

“Well I don’t really have too much experience, aside from battling a few trainers passing through every once in awhile. I know what to avoid in terms of type advantages and disadvantages for bug types, but that’s about it.” Jadare smiled, looking towards Camilla. She did not hesitate, taking notes of her applicant’s answers.

“I have only a few more questions. What does a Bug-type Trainer have to be careful of?” Camilla frowned as she asked the teen the question. Generic, the leader thought to herself.

“Well type advantages and disadvantages are one thing, Mrs. Camilla. Firstly bug types are weak against fire, flying, and rock types, so one should always be weary against those. However they have an advantage over fighting, grass, and ground types so if fighting those, one shouldn’t have to worry as much. Bug types also tend to be small so you have to watch over those, as they may get stepped on. That and that some are poisonous so you may want to see a Pokémon Center about that,” she said after a few moments. Camilla frowned at the title, before continuing.

“I see, very impressive. Now I see you have only two Pokémon and one is shiny. Tell me about your Beedrill,” the leader said, staring at the teen. Jadare gulped, plucking off the closest Pokéball. Tossing it in the air, there was a flash as the Beedrill appeared, floating before her.

“As you can see, Drilla is fairly small, having just evolved not too long ago. She’s a pretty calm creature, often times listening to my instructions. However she sometimes disobeys, although I think that may have something to do with her evolution, since she wasn’t like this before. She can be fairly violent in battle, so I tend to use her as a last resort, after Scyte, my Scyther. She doesn’t seem to like bird types though,” the female answered, her voice shaking. Camilla noticed this, and frowned.

“Calm down honey, don’t be nervous. We’re almost through. I just have one more question. You’ve been in Viridian Forest for quite some time. What did you learn there?” Camilla slid her hand over to another file, moving it closer to the front of the desk. It seemed like she was done. Nervously, Jadare began to respond.

“I’ve learned that bug types are fairly protective of their young, which is why the attack in swarms. There are also many Pokémon who eat bug types, so one would be wise to be careful of that. I’ve also learned that the best way to get honey from a bug type or to catch it is to get it alone, because you don’t want to get hurt. There are a few other things, though I’m not sure…” she spoke, breaking off her last sentence as she was racked with the weight over nervousness upon her. Excusing herself, she headed towards the door. Seeing Camilla jotting down words on her paper, she felt like a failure. She ran.

[Son_of_Shadows]

Two other applicants had come and gone, and George was next. His hand brushed Lickitung's Pokeball, looking to his pink blob for support. No response. Not surprising, given his nature... or he could just be sleeping. Either way, he was on his own. He sighed as he was called, and entered the small office. It was packed full of files that the ninja Gym Leader leafed through. George wasn't even sure his entrance had been noted. As such, he cleared his throat.

"Hmm? Ah right. Mr... Sands, is it? George Sands?"

"Yes, sir."

"Seventeen, aren't you?"

"Yes." Koga paused, plucking a file from the stack, and skimming it. His eyes narrowed. The interview began.

"What experience do you have in battling?"

George smiled, and drew a small silver case from his pocket, sliding it across the desk. Koga opened it, revealing three shiny badges from the Johto Region. "I won the Zephyr, Hive and Plain Badges on my way here. I know they're not the most challenging Gyms in Johto, but..."

"Not bad, I suppose. Any other experience?"

"Um... Well, I've taken on a few random trainers, of course, to build up some experience, but apart from that, and battling wild Pokemon, no." George rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. Koga hastily scribbled something on a pad.

"What does a Poison-type Trainer have to be careful of?" Okay, this one would be easy.

"You should always carry medicines and antidotes, in case of accidental ingestion. You should also be careful when feeding - the last thing you want is a bite from an Arbok or a Golbat." He rubbed his hand. He'd learned that one the hard way. "When it comes to dealing with things like my Tentacruel, which secrete poison through their body parts, it's important to wear gloves, obviously. As for battling, the important thing, I've found is to poison the opponent as quickly as possible. This obviously creates a problem when battling Steel-types, as they're immune to it. However, I find that my Tentacruel's Water-type attacks usually cause them problems. Psychic and Ground types also cause them problems, able to do a lot of damage. However, my Golbat's Bite, and Tentacruel's Surf can handle those. It's like all battling really. You need to pack strategy and moves that can compensate for your disadvantages. Poison moves aren't super-strong against a lot of types, so it's important to use Toxic, and rely generally on other moves. Nothing wrong with packing Sludge Bomb though, I've found it to be quite useful." He was rambling, and probably repeating what others had already said. Koga looked slightly bored. George didn't blame him.

"You mentioned your Tentacruel several times. Tell me about her."

George bit his lip. He'd really been hoping this wouldn't come up. Gem hated George's guts. But best to be honest, he supposed. Koga raised his eyebrow, waiting for his response. "Well... I caught her after the S.S. Anne docked in Vermilion City. Golbat and Lickitung had their hands... and wings, I suppose... full. We eventually worked her over, exploiting her weaker physical defenses. Tentacruel are known for their special defense and speed. She knows Surf, Giga Drain, Toxic and Ice Beam. It has to be said, she... doesn't like me very much yet. I think she thinks I dishonoured her when I captured her. She's very proud," he explained. This was embarrassing. "There have been occasions when she's ignored my orders," George admitted. Koga's eyebrows were so high, George thought they'd spring off his head.

"I'm working on it," the boy muttered pathetically.

"That'll do. I notice you came from Mahogany. You haven't been in Kanto very long. What drew you out here?"

"Well, there's a few reasons for that, actually. First is that my big sister Victoria came out here a while ago. She's a coordinator, and with the Hall being built and whatnot... I thought I'd be able to see her again. Tell her about- erm... that's personal. Long story." He didn't want to say. Victoria needed to know however. About how their mother had kept him locked in a cellar for three days. About how she'd tried to force him and Amy into contest too, not caring what they really wanted. About how their coward of a father had done nothing to stop her. It made George's blood boil just thinking about it. "The other reason," he continued, "is that I heard about the explosion. I have to say, I was really curious about what happened, and I have a couple of hunches, though nothing concrete."

"I see... Well, thank you for coming, Mr. Sands. We'll let you know if you've got the job," the Poison master said, shaking George's hand. As the boy left, he could hear the frantic scribbling of a pen on pad. He'd blown it. Big time.

[greywolf123]

The blaring of an alarm was what woke him to the day, and he groaned, hitting the snooze button, which only proceeded to make the alarm blare louder after about five minutes. Due to the fact he could no longer snooze, as it only worked once, he had to get up, and turn the alarm off, and by then, he was awake enough to finally get up. Yawning, he realized he was a bit late, as it was actually 5:20 instead of the normal 5:10 he normally got up. Guess he did get to sleep in anyway. Stretching out, he looked around, then started to dress himself. Had to be ready to face the day, considering what was going to happen today. Today was the interview, and then the battle. He had to look good for the interview, so he took a shower, and then dressed in more formal attire than normal, consisting of dress slacks, and his normal polo.

Posing in front of the mirror, he grinned, then ran a comb though his hair, in an attempt to tame it. After a few minutes of that, he threw the comb back in the bathroom, and then went to the kitchen, cooking his morning meal. A short time after, he finished that, and then realized he still was going to have to wait a bit, so he decided a walk wouldn’t hurt. It was about 6:30 in the morning when he left, heading out towards the gym, and the sea.

Still, after reaching the sea, it was still about 6:50, so he decided to give himself a nice stroll down the beach. Who knows when he’d get more free time, considering that the gym would probably start to take over more of his time away from his boat. A short stroll down and back on the beach led to him finding it was time for him to arrive for his interview. Walking in, he looked around, and sat. Well, now it was time to wait and worry. He wasn’t too worried, but this waiting got on his nerves. Who knows who might just get in ahead of him and get the job.

His fears were unfounded, as he was called in soon enough, and sat down. Then, the gym leader himself sat down, and started to ask him questions. His first one was pretty common, a simple where he was from, what brought him here, and he soon replied with the right amount of information. “I came here from Johto, after wanting to see where I could go with my team. I saw that the gym needed trainers, and thought it would be a good place to grow better in.” Had to keep it about his skills or he’d bore him.

Now he asked another question, how much experience he had with battling. He smiled, and said “I have a good amount of experience fighting in battles, though my biggest even had to be a tournament in battling. I won out of about 32 combatants, double elimination.” It had probably been his biggest achievement, mainly because he managed to win every single battle he was in, without fail. It had been close though.

For his next question, he asked about what threats a electric type trainer had to be wary of. A few seconds of thought were followed by a slight nod, as he said “Well, we have to be careful around outlets, and other such things. Got to make sure you don’t short out an entire building because your Pikachu got too close to an electrical outlet. As well, you have to be careful when you touch your Pokémon, as they can shock you quite violently.” That had happened once, was not fun at all. Heck that had hurt!

After a few other questions, just simple one’s, he asked him about his Pikachu. He wasn’t sure what he meant exactly by that, but he figured best to start with his own Pokémon, and work from there. “Well, I got my Pikachu in a competition, the same one I told you about. He’s rather interesting, driven, you might say. Like all Pikachu, he seems to be drawn to storms, but other than the occasional frantic searching, he’s pretty good about staying put.”

The last question he asked, well, surprised him. He had said he seemed to know quite a bit on things, but what did he know best? That was hard. He’d like to say battling, but that simply wasn’t true. What did he know best? “In all honesty, the ocean. I’ve lived half my life in a boat, and my family’s are all sailors. That’s simply how you grew up in my family, so you got to know the sea very well, simply because you spent most of your time on it.”

That was the final question he had, it seemed, and he got up, shaking hands, and saying the battle section would start at about 12:30 or so, so to be ready for when he might be called. Nodding, he walked out, wondering what he would do now considering he had to wait for quite some time. At least until 12:30.

[Ysavvryl]

-Fuchsia

The next applicant was a pretty young woman, with blond curls and glittering makeup. Koga had no problems accepting a girl as one of his Gym Trainers. There had been a few in the past who had done really well. However, he had to consider the legal charges against him and be cautious with accepting any female.

“What experience do you have with battles?”

“I’ve done quite a bit of training on the Bike Route; it helps me keep in shape too. I’ve tried out for Erika’s Gym before, but she wouldn’t accept me. I don’t know why, although I think she was just jealous.”

That was probably too dangerous a subject to touch on right now. “All right. What does a Poison-type Trainer have to be careful of?”

She glanced at her painted fingernails; obviously, she had been through this process a couple of times before. “I suppose making sure you aren’t poisoned yourself, although you’ve got to keep them clean. Both of mine are Plant and Poison, so I have to have them out in the sun for some time.”

She would probably need some help adapting to Pokemon that weren’t Plant and Poison, he noted. That is, if she’d accept anything past the Oddish or Bellsprout families. According to her application, that was all she had trained. “Right. Could you tell me some about your Gloom?”

“Sure. I haven’t gotten an evolution stone for her yet; they’re scarce, I mean, even with the Celadon Department Store selling them. She listens to me most of the time, but sometimes she gets lazy and doesn’t want to do as I ordered, so I’m like, whatever, just so long as I win the match. I especially hate it when macho guys beat me, cause then they’re all uppity and smug about it, like it was a given that I would lose to them.”

Her first word fumble indicated that she would much rather get a Sun Stone for a Bellossom, not a Leaf Stone for a Vileplume. And the way she didn’t speak much directly about the Gloom showed a distance that Koga didn’t like to see in his Trainers. She was definitely not cut out for his Gym. He felt certain his reasons were the same as Erika’s.

-Vermillion

So far, so good. Having spears installed in the bathrooms was a new one. It just meant that Bolt had to be really thorough when it came time to hunt down all of his father’s traps. Having grown up with him, he knew his father’s handiwork when he saw it.

And his current applicant might help a lot with that. He was an electrician already, despite only being nineteen. He could probably take a look at the wiring and see where things were off. Although, Surge could remember his father telling him to question any such tradesmen as completely as he could. As Trainers, they were most used to fighting to fighting Electric Pokemon that were parasites to power lines.

He started off in the usual fashion, up to, “What experience do you have in battling?”

Predictably, he responded, “I mostly fight off parasites that are sapping power to people’s homes.” But then he added, “I have fought a number of Trainers passing through the Route west of town. I always wanted to join this Gym, but Lt. Surge was just too crazy and unpredictable to work under. You are more grounded than him, right?”

“So far,” he replied. But it wouldn’t matter what else this guy had to say. He wasn’t about to hire anyone who disliked his Dad enough to badmouth him like that.

-Viridian

Camilla watched the boy for this interview, an eleven year old wearing ratty sneakers, jean shorts, a powder blue jacket over a white t-shirt, and a floppy straw hat. He was rather hyper, unable to sit still in the seat for half a minute. Glancing aside, she saw that Miguel was unimpressed with him. The Scizor had his eyes shut.

“What experience do you have in battling?” she asked. These were fairly standard questions, but she saw no reason to deviate from them.

“I battle a lot of my friends after school... oh, I did get my teacher’s permission to be out here now. I’m not skipping class, honest. Anyhow, I fought Blue once! Except, um, he absolutely wiped out my Weedle team with his Bulbasaur. I don’t get it; I should’ve had him from the start.”

Taken out by a Plant type. It was possible, under the right Trainers. Or wrong Bug Trainer, she considered. “It happens. What do Bug Trainers have to be careful of?”

He swung his feet, thinking. “Um, don’t touch the horn of a Weedle. Oh, and it isn’t always good for a Bug to evolve.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well I always get rid of my Weedles when they evolve to Kakunas, because then they don’t want to do anything except use Harden, which makes them really awful for battles. And I heard Scizors are slower than Scythers, which is one of their best points. But you still use one.”

“Hzzzzt,” Miguel grumbled from the corner.

“His new defenses and power make up for that slight loss of speed, and the ability to fly,” Camilla pointed out. “How many Weedles do you have right now?”

“Four! And one of them has this really impressive horn! I’m always looking for bigger and badder Weedles to catch. I just wish I had an Everstone to keep them from evolving.”

Camilla wrote a clear ‘No’ on the boy’s application.

[Flintlock]

Locky strolled into the room nonchalantly; one could almost hear him whistling. His years as a co-ordinator had given him an amount of control of himself. If it hadn't, he'd be running away right about now. He sat down accross the table from Camilla.

"So, your name is Lachlan?"

"Yes, Lachlan South, but most people call me Locky."

"What experience do you having in battling?"
Locky thought about this for a moment; collecting his thoughts and carefully making sure he didn't trip over his own words. This was one of the questions he'd prepared himself for. Probably over-prepared.

"Well, my main experience is in contests, but I've done quite a bit of battling on the road. I had one or two rivals who I regularly fought with as well as the generic wild pokemon and run of the mill trainer. Whilst I stopped contests a year back, I've been practicing my technique for battling sporadically. I reckon I could hold my own, but I'm no genius and I don't have explicit experience as a trainer who only uses bug pokemon."

Locky watched the leader's face. It was as stern as ever. He imagined her thoughts, something along the lines of This guy isn't cut out for this. She finished writing notes and asked him the next question.

"What does a Bug-type Trainer have to be careful of? "

Another question Locky had prepared for.

"From what I can tell, there's four things you have to be careful of. Firstly, there's the obvious typing match ups, which goes without saying. Secondly, there's causing permanent damage to your own pokemon through battle or training, since many bug types have parts of their body that are very fragile. This is especially significant for flying bugs whose wings can rip very easily. Thirdly, there's the kinds of hurt a bug can put on its trainer, mainly bites and poisons. Finally, there's lifespan as many bugs die much quicker than other pokemon..."

Locky started to trail off at the end of his short shpeal. He wasn't completely sure of the last point. Camilla's face was still as impartial as ever. He didn't even notice her finishing writing when she asked the next question, or... well.. commanded the next piece of information.

"Tell me about your Shuckle."

Locky's expression froze for a very slight moment, before relaxing again. He'd almost started talking about his Honchkrow. Luckily, Shuckle was another pokemon he'd had a long relationship to. He internally breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't asked about Gordon, who he'd picked up only a month ago. His speech during this part was a lot less formal as he hadn't practiced it.

"Well, yeah, Balboa and me. We go way back. WAY back. I've known him for five years. And for four of them, he was my enemy."

He laughed slightly, then faltered. Tough crowd.

"Yeah, Balboa used to be my rival's pokemon, but he traded it to me for my Ninetails after I retired, since Balboa was getting impatient with all the contests and Ninetails was bored with being at home. Me and my rival were pretty close, compared with my other rivals anyway. I was also pretty close with Balboa. Balboa is definitely a battler at heart. He was named after the boxer guy from the movies since he's so determined and serious. He does love fighting however. And also playing tic tac toe. His main opponent in both are my Honchkrow, Lui-"

"Yes, about that. You say one of the pokemon you'll officially be using is your Honchkrow. A Honchkrow doesn't exactly learn many bug typed moves, does it?"

Locky had prepared an arguement for why Luigi was a viable pokemon for use in the gym, but he'd gotten lost in describing Balboa and wasn't ready to use it.

"Well..."

He paused a moment, once again collecting his thoughts.

"Luigi's hidden power is bug typed, and with thunder wave, roost and psychic and being as fragile as he is, he's a lot like Venomoth, see? He's also about as good a flyer as venomoth, since his wings were damaged a while ago and he's never really been able to use them as well ever since then."

"We'll see..."

The way she left it hanging indicated she was far from convinced. To Locky at least.

Camilla once again finished writing her notes.

"I wouldn’t know much about Contests. How do Bugs do in them?"

This question seemed a lot less formula. Locky hadn't prepared for it, but it was a subject he wasn't unfamiliar with.

"Well, bugs are kinda like ghosts when it comes to contests. Bugs are a really mixed bag; many of them, like Parasect, don't offer much despite most having some kind of powder, whilst others, like Butterfree, are contest regulars. Judges can also be quite biased against bugs, just like poison types and ghosts. In fact, there's a number who believe bugs shouldn't be be given the opportunity to participate in contests, though very few listen to them."

Those were all the questions the gym leader had for Locky. He hoped she would give a slight smile, since he heard some leaders pretended to be incredibly serious, then lighten up after the interview, but one wasn't forthcoming. He was told to leave and wait. Which he did.

[Orihime]

Um, hi. I'm just here to tell you that Jason-Kun will be gone for a while, not forever, mind you

[Mrmagius]

OOC:

Hmm, I wonder whats wrng with Jason-Kun and why he couldn't say himself...

Also, this seemed shorter on a word document and on preview mode, oh well...


----------------------
BIC:

“OK, we should be coming up to Viridian City any moment now” The seventeen year old spoke to himself.

As the boy waded through the lush, moist grass he held a small piece of laminated paper up to his eyes. The sheet was illustrated with an artists rendition of the Kanto region. It was unnecessarily flashy but contained all the important information – most routes, towns, places of interest etc. – so Gray didn’t particularly mind. Stumbling over a mole hill, the trainer pulled his jacket hod a little tighter to give that tiny bit more protection from hanging branches and such. He made sure to keep a slow pace. The forest, which he had been travelling through for three days now, was awfully dim due to the thick canopy above that blocked out much natural light so he was doing his bet no to trip. All around him, the boy was surrounded by thin but numerous trees, with a twisting, linear clearing between them a.k.a. the path. Suddenly he came to a fork in the path. Two identical, cleared lanes. He couldn’t tell from his map which way to go.

“Veno-nat” Cried an unseeable Pokémon in the distance of the right lane. Robert started walking down the right lane. He had released the larger-than-average bug type from its pokéball upon entering the woods to act as a guide. Besides it size the Pokémon had special eyes which were adapted to low light conditions. They also acted as a short range radar and so could easily weave through the area showing him the way ahead, identifying the correct route from the dead end, it saved a lot of time in places such as this. This also allowed it to act as a scout and detect any Pokémon waiting to ambush them. After a few minutes more walking Robert was beginning to wonder if his Venonat had made a mistake and they were going the wrong way after all and then, all of a sudden, a morning ray pierced the air, stopping the trainer in his tracks. He took a few second to allow his eyes some adjustment to the abrupt change in light intensity. As he moved forwards more and more sunbeams lit up the forest floor and in a matter of minutes he was standing at the very edge of the forest, the entirety of Viridian City spread out below him. When he reached the outskirts of Viridian Forest, he saw Venonat stood just beyong waiting for him.

“Ven-Ven!” She cried again, as he stood on the grassy verge just outside the edge of the woods beside her, the Pokémon’s voice tinted with excitement. Or at least, that’s how Gray was interpreting it. After having put his rucksack down he brushed his clothes, drenched from the dew on the tall grass. Good thing his clothes were waterproof. He then lifted up his jacket just over his belt and retrieved the two pokéball attached to it. He held them up to the sun, not far above the horizon which was directly opposite him, past Viridian and on into the distance. As held held the pokéball upto the radiant orb its rays pierced the translucent skin membranes, revealing the Pokémon inside the devices.

“We’re finally here guys – Viridian City, The Eternally Green Paradise” He spoke to all of them. Although Pinsir looked on uncertainly, Venonat with awe Mothim was fast asleep in its pokéball and couldn’t tell a thing. Gray had had Venonat use sleep powder on it earlier in order to insure it wouldn’t pop out of its pokéball half way during the interview. That would be embarrassing, especially in front of such an intimidating figure, or so the rumours go.

There was a thick mist hanging around the city and not too much was illuminated however one could clearly distinguish the Pokémon Centre, Mart and Gym, the latter being the easiest due to being on raised ground. It was also the closest at only twentry metres from the forest edge.
“Venonat, return” He spoke to the Pokémon, a scarlet ray of light engulfing her until there was nothing left but a red silhouette of the insect “Wish me luck girl”
With purpose in his stride he replaced his pokéball, picked up his things and headed for his final destination.
------------------------------------------------------------

Beofre he'd even reached the door a girl, around his age, went flying out of it like a nervous wreck. H jumped about ten feet backwards in shock. She was then suceeded by another boy in his teens.

“Wow is the new leader really that harsh?” He pondered in his head. A bit more nervously now he walked into the barren, spacious room. At the end there was door to a back room which he supposed Camilla Chavich was waiting for him in. He walked up to it confidently and rapped the door again. He wasn’t too worried. Each night since arriving in viridian forest he’d practiced answers for possible questions he supposed she’d ask him. “Still that girl…”

After being ushered in by a foreign voice he opened the door.

“You must be Mr Robert Grayson, please, be seated” The woman in the room spoke. Doing as told he sat down without a word and only a nod to confirm her statement, he placed his bag on the floor and his hands on his lap, intertwined within each other in an executive fashion. Nothing about the room did anything to calm the small populous of butterflies which invaded his stomach. Her attire was the only thing cheery about the place. The left wall was adorned with two lethal looking longswords and a Scizor hummed impatiently in the background, watching him intently. The woman herself wore a stony, unreadable expression. Overall Gray got the idea that she was quite a to the point, clinical woman.

“What experience do you having in battling?” She asked him straight off. He anticipated this question.

“Well, I’ve been actively training Pokémon for a couple of years now. I started my league challenge in Fuschia city and since then I’ve collected three badges from around the region” At this mention of his successes he pulled the left side of his jacket open to reveal The Soul, Marsh and Rainbow badges. He just hoped she wouldn’t notice that two of them were from leaders whose primary type was weak against his. Or worse yet, judge him for it “However I gave up on actively seeking out Gym leaders about two years ago and since then I have been battling all types of trainer across Kanto to perfect our skills. So you could say I’m quite experienced”

At this she said nothing only quickly scribbled something he couldn’t see on the pad in front of her. So far so good.

“What does a Bug-type Trainer have to be careful of?” She now asked, lift those penetrating eyes of hers towards him again. Another expected question, thankfully.

“Several things in my opinion. In battle one should cautious of fire, rock and flying types. But also of fighting types. Although fighting moves are ineffective against bugs the same is true for the other way around and fighting type Pokémon can often pull other tricks from up their sleeves like fire punches or aerial aces and with their overall superior physical power its easy for them to get the upper hand on the unsuspecting bug trainer. Some Bug types may also turn aggressive towards their trainers in the field when agitated or confused and risk poisoning them or worse so full heal should always be handy.

Also, a serious mass bug trainer should be mindful of their Pokémon’s activities in the field their other pokemon. Almost every bug Pokémon is able to breed with another bug Pokémon and if left unchecked the trainer could easily find themselves with a swarn on hand like that”

At this he raised his hands and snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. For a moment he though he saw both the Leader-to-be and her Scizor tense up at the action, but it disappeared so quickly he wasn’t even sure if he had seen it. Nevertheless he carried on with his final point regardless.

“Lastly wild bugs are easily startled and tend to react more aggressively and quicker than other Pokémon, possibly due to a lot of them having a smaller brain capacity, so one should be mindful of that” At his final sentence he noticed the Scizor had begun humming significantly more loudly and the leader tensed up again. However she said nothing but an ominous “Hmm” and jotted something down again.

“Tell me about your Mothim” She spoke suddenly. This one threw him off a bit, Gray hadn’t even considered that Mothim might be drawn into this. In fact he had put the sleep on him just to keep the Pokémon out. Still, the only external sign of this surprise he gave was a rapid series of blinks and then started again.

“Well…It was the first Pokémon I ever owned. I was ten yeas old when I first got him as an egg and he hatched a couple of days later. Normally he’s really energetic and doesn’t like to leave me for any length of time, probably because he believes I’m his…Parent.” He didn’t really want to demean himself by saying mother even though it was probably closer to the truth “He’s also really mischievous. He’s usually quite, strong and versatile but not the quickest Pokémon in the world so I like to have him as more of a second choice after Venonat or Pinsir. Although occasionally he ignores me when his health is low in battle, but I think its more of an ego thing rather than an evolution thing, you know.”

Clearly she didn’t as she merely looked down again and scribbled something on that damned paper. Looking up once more she asked the final question:

“Is there anything particularly interesting you’ve learned in watching wild Pokemon?”

“Sure, lots of stuff” He started leaning forward in a more informal position now with his legs spread apart and hands hanging between them, disentwined. This question was also a bit of a bolt form the blue but it didn’t throw him at all; he was in his element “For example, lots of Pokémon have a really fine tuned sense of smell so often they manage to escape before the person has a chance to meet them. The trick is to approach them against the wind. That way you’re almost invisible. Releasing sleep powder or stun spore into the wind also helps to decrease the chances of a Pokémon fleeing but will be too dilute to harm them in any way. Also, although everyone knows that most Pokémon have a have a voice what they don’t know is that all of them have a very low or high frequency cry, sometimes above or below human hearing range, I suspect this is used mostly to call mates over vast distances and to aid in forming pair bonds like a courtship dance”

He decided to leave it there. He didn’t want to bore her to death and risk ruining his chances. Making a final note on the sheet she excused him and informed the boy that they’d soon be in contact.

“Thank you for your time, madame” Gray replied and with that he left the gym. On leaving the gym he headed towards he Pokémon center. If she was going to continue with him then he’d need to have his Pokémon primed and ready for the afternoon battle.

------------------------------------------

There, first post all done. Camilla certainly giving everyone a grillin'!

On the last question I took inspiration from the games when I mentioned "cries" and ad libbed from there. Hope thats alright! 

[Ybbob]

Darrell walked in as a older teen of about 19 walked out the door from Bolt Guitar's office in a dissapointed fashion. Probably he had been rejected by Bolt, but he didn't seem like the battling type as he wore a electrician's outfit and gloves. Still, Darrell was worried as he thought of his chances of being accepted. As he thought to himself, he must remain resolute and make sure he did not show obvious signs of discomfort or nervousness as to lower his chances of being accepted by Bolt. Yet Darrell still walked with a nervous, slightly trembling gait as he was called into Bolt's office for his interview. He saw the gym leader and former rock star, an intimidating figure who stood above even Darrell's tall 6 foot frame, with wide shoulders and still with semi-crazy hair from his rockstar days, from which it seemed that Bolt had unsuccessfully tried to tame his hair.

"You are Darrell Dark, is that correct?", Bolt spoke in a voice that was his best attempt to try to sound authoritative. "Yes", Darrell replied with a mechanized voice which Darrell tried to hide his nervousness behind. "Very well, now let us begin this interview", Bolt continued on. "What experience do you have in battling with Pokemon?", Bolt asked as his first question. Basic, thought Darrell, and replied "I've been battling with Pokemon since my school days, where I used to crush my friends and most people at that school. After that, I began to train Pokemon seriously and began the league challenge to test my skills. I got a couple badges and even battled the champion, Blue Pallet himself". Darrell pulled out a small metallic case and opened it to show the Cascade and Marsh badges. "Hmm...", Bolt replied as he showed discomfort in attempting to ask the next question. He said, "How did your battle fare with Blue?". To this, Darrell was slightly shocked and recessed back for a second. "Well", he replied, "I guess I did decently, considering the class of trainer he was. I managed to take out one of his Pokemon, his Squirtle, before he defeated me". Bolt seemed unmoved, as if he had predicted that result. "Next question", he replied.

"What does an Electric-type trainer have to be careful of?", Bolt asked. Standard fare, Darrell thought. He replied, "Well, in battle, the main enemy of Electric-types are ground types, as they are completely unaffected by Electric type moves and can deal tremendous damage to any Electric Pokemon unable to dodge their attacks. It's not a problem for my Magneton, but my Elekid sometimes gets caught up in ground-type moves. Apart from battle, Electric-types have to be handled carefully, as they contain large amounts of static electricity and you can easily become deep fried if you don't pay attention. Also, excessive water is a danger as it can easily short-circuit an electric pokemon, causing them serious damage." Darrell was relieved as he quickly gunned out his answers.

Bolt looked down to the paper with some more interest then had been in his expression before, and prepared to ask the next question. "Tell me about one of your Pokemon....how about your Elekid?"

Darrell seemed slightly surprised and flinched for a second, as he had thought his Magneton would be the obvious talk of discussion, not his less experienced Elekid. Still, he replied, "I caught my Elekid in the Power Plant about a year ago, when I was setting off from my home, and I came across it being attacked by larger Pokemon. It seemed like a weakling at the time, but my Magnemite wasn't strong enough to help me catch a stronger pokemon at that point and I saw Elekid's firm and resolute nature as a perfect opportunity for a great Pokemon." He felt he was rambling on too much and cut to meat of his Pokemon, "One of my mentors at my old school taught Elekid two moves, Ice Punch and Fire Punch, that make him really versatile and useful in combat. I can easily take out the Achilles heel of my Pokemon, with Ice Punch and cover pesky Grass types with Fire Punch. I trained Elekid a lot in the past few months and now it seems really close to evolution, as it's attack power has increased exponentially in this time. I'm really excited for when it evolves." Darrell felt he was running on and slowed his breath to calm down.

As Bolt looked back down to the paper, he said, "Last question:". Darrell breathed a heavy sigh of relief but also waited in anticipation. "Your school records show that you’re good in science. Do you know about electrical engineering?".

Darrell thought this one was a piece of cake compared to the others, even thought it was slightly...unexpected. He quickly replied "Yeah, I know a lot, actually! My father was the head electrical engineer at the Power Plant and taught me about electrical engineering as well as battling and raising Electric Pokemon. I worked part time during the summer before I began my league battling and picked up quite a bit there. I heard Lt. Surge set up quite the traps in his heyday, would you need help in disarming them, or would you be interesting in augmenting them?" Darrell slowed his breath again and waited for a reply.

"Yeah, I wanna dismantle my father's traps. Some of them are downright dangerous, such as a spear trap in the bathroom". Daaamn, old Surge was crazy, Darrell thought, but he made no motion. "Anyways", Surge continued, "the interview section of our recruiting process is over. Report back here at 12:30 PM sharp to begin the battling test."

As Darrell walked out, he was still trembling and anxious from the interview, but felt the warm feeling of confidence melt his icy limbs. He was still nervous for the battling portion, but hey, that was several hours away. Let me relish the here and now, Darrell thought to himself as he strode out the gym to grab a late breakfast before it was too late.

[masterleo]

Logan walked into Bolt Guitar's office, his raichu close behind. He was unsure what to think, he had never applied for a gym post before, or even a job. He sat down, a leaned back in his chair, a habit of his he never grow out of.

"Before we begin," Bolt started, "may I just ask, our sheet says Logan Corwin, same Corwin as the star Relief pitcher for the Electabuzz?

"Yup" Logan replied, usually he kept the information to himself, but now he wanted to mention anything that may impress the gym leader.

"Anyway, first question:" said bolt. "What does an Electric-type Trainer have to be careful of?"

"Not getting shocked first of" Logan Answered, "bathing an Electric-type can be trickly to, since you need to keep the pokemon from shocking itself. An Electric-type needs to dischrage it's energy periodically or it develops a fever. In battle, An Electric-type needs to learn ice, grass, or fighting moves, or beating a ground type will be nearly impossible."

"I see" said bolt, who seemed sadisfied. "Question Two: can you tell me about one of your pokemon, that raichu perhaps?"

"Okay" Logan said thoughtfully "I first met raichu as a pikachu in Viridian city on my way to my dad's game that day, when I found a staving pikachu on the edge of town I figure was drawn by the smell of food but passed out before it could get there. So I took it to the game with me, and it ate three hole hot dogs before passing out. After that the two of us were inseparable and on my 11th birthday my dad got me a Thunderstone whitch pikachu accseped. He's sly around new people"Logan noted nodding two his pokemon, who seemed uncomfterble. "but you should see him in battle. We've known each other for 7 years and most of it training" Logan finished.

"All right then" said bolt, who didn't seem to be showing any emotion, but Logan wasn't the best a reading people. "Last question:It’s unusual to find someone who dislikes Water Pokemon like that. Why is that?

"For this question," Logan said with a grin "I will use a visual aide." Logan then pulled back his hair, revealing an ugly black scar."Raichu and I were training when a wild gyarados whent on a rampage defeating raichu, and attacking me. I woke up in the hospital, But the only permanent injury was the scar" Logan said, pulling his hair back down."ever since then I focused my training on the type that kicks gyarados butt:Electric. So it's not that I hate water types, I just have a harder time opening up to them"

"Understandable" said Bolt "I have a few scars from old Surge's traps myself. "the interview section of our recruiting process is over. Report back here this afternoon to begin the battling test."

"l'll be there" said Logan, who turned and left, without another word.

[Psychic]

“Miss Areisas, I presume?” Wavy black hair seemed to cloak the older woman’s smooth face in shadow, seeming to hide any trace of thought or emotion, as if she were just a shell of knowledge and power examining her with cool, calculating cobalt eyes. Or so was Feli’s first impressions of the bug-type Gym Leader as she entered the office, sparsely-decorated but pretty enough, the walls, despite being yellow, failing to make the place all too cheerful. But she was used to people making the wrong impressions, and she wasn’t about to try and scrutinize her possible future-boss.

“Yup, that’s me.” Her brown eyes fell on the motionless bipedal red-orange creature, standing silently in the corner with crossed pincers, watching her intently. She couldn’t help but smile.

“I hope you do not mind, but Miguel will be observing the interview. He is my closest companion, and I respect his opinion highly,” Camilla stated simply as she got out a notepad.

“Not at all. He’s a handsome creature – he’s got a nice colour to him I haven’t seen before.”

Camilla smiled slightly, but the Scizor didn’t seem to react to the compliment. She gestured for the interviewee to take the seat on the other side of the large desk. “Yes, he hails from my home region of Amarillo, though not everyone notices the colour difference. I don’t believe you have a Scizor, do you?”

“Nope, never had a Scyther or Scizor,” Feli replied, sitting down with a smile suggesting this wasn’t her first time talking about it. “Don’t get me wrong; they’re some of the coolest bug-types in the region, and anyone who can train them properly has my respect – moreso Scyther than Scizor, no offence meant. It’s just that I want to train only bug-types, to make a name for them, right? But both species already have a terrific reputation and are pretty widely-used by many trainers, plus I’d think that most bug-trainers would be expected to have one of the two on their team. So, you know, I’ll do something a little more diverse and use slightly less-used bug Pokémon and show their worth as well.”

“Hm.” Camilla marked something down, though whether her face was set in interest or disapproval, Feli couldn’t tell. “Where do you come from, Felicia?”

“Some ways away in the country area of south-east Kanto, though I went to school in the bigger cities.” Another few words scratched in.

“So when did you begin training Pokémon?”

“Well,” Felicia started, thinking. “Technically when I was just finishing elementary, I guess. My sister helped me catch a Venonat I used to sometimes feed, sort of like a small graduation present, I guess. I started really training him later in middle school, and started getting serious with battling wild Pokémon and some of the random trainers in town in high school. Once I finished there, I left to travel Kanto as a trainer, and have been on the road battling, changing my team and just trying to prove myself since,” she explained.

Camilla checked something on what looked like her application form. “You never took the League Challenge. Why is that?”

“I never felt the need to. I wasn’t trying to prove myself by defeating Gym Leaders; I’m trying to spread the word about the strength of bug-types, and I fig the most logical way to do that is just by battling other trainers.”

“I see. So exactly what experience do you have in terms of battling, if not with Gym Leaders?” The Gym Leader’s pen was poised over the paper expectantly, and Miguel’s stare seemed to intensify, but it could have just been her imagination. He was so still he seemed to almost blend in with the room’s bare décor.

“Well, a fair few years’ worth. I try to battle as many different sorts of people as I can, and I’ll accept any challenge. I actually do get approached a fair bit. I mean, I don’t look exceptionally tough, and a lot of people think I’m younger, and so less experienced, because I’m kinda short,” she said with a laugh. “Easy target, you’d think. And nobody expects me to be using bugs unless I’ve gotten to talking to them first, and it’s pretty funny watching some of their reactions when they find out. But yeah, I’ve travelled around the region a fair bit, and you’d be surprised how many foreign trainers are in Kanto, so I’ve encountered all sorts of people and Pokémon.”

Camilla nodded, writing down notes. She looked back up with those same calculating eyes, giving Feli a slight chill. “And you would know, then, what the responsibilities of a Gym Trainer are?”

Feli had to think on that one. “I’ve looked into a couple of Gyms,” she said carefully, “And I have seen a couple battles, though not many. Mainly the task is to challenge any trainers and make sure they’re strong enough to face the Gym Leader. We don’t necessarily have to defeat them, but we should know whether or not they’re ready to face the Gym Leader, and make sure we present the proper challenge to them, at the skill level that they should be at. Otherwise we just beat ‘em to a pulp and humiliate ‘em real good,” she said, chuckling.

Camilla didn’t seem to find the joke very amusing. “What sorts of things must you be careful of as a bug-type trainer?”

“Well, obviously the usual when it comes to types; flying-, rock- and fire-types are the greatest danger, of course, and generally ice- or electric-types because the majority of bugs are partly flying, or anything else if your Pokémon is dual-typed. But just because your opponent isn’t the type of your weakness, doesn’t mean you’re home free since a lot of trainers do use TMs, and some Pokémon can learn some very diverse moves, especially with Hidden Power. Bug Pokémon also just aren’t always the best when it comes to brute strength or defence, so that needs to be taken into account in battle.

“Outside that, bug-types aren’t always the easiest to work with. Some, like Ledyba or Spinarak, tend to have a swarm mentality, and species like Pinsir or Heracross can be fairly territorial, and some really don’t like being disturbed, like Beedrill and Pineco. Helping them transition into life as a trained Pokémon takes patience, but can be incredibly rewarding. The fact that many are naturally dangerous, like in having spores or other toxic powders that can be easily released, is also a hazard that can’t be overlooked – I still have to be incredibly wary with my Venemoth, for instance, since he can’t really control the toxic dust that comes off his wings. Having some items on you for the treatment of poison, paralysis and even sleep can be essential. Some bug-types can also be somewhat frail, so you need to be careful, especially with wings which can often develop tears fairly easily. Compound eyes, antennae and delicate limbs, too. While the majority do have tough exoskeletons, the areas between the different segments – like between Yanma’s head and body – are also their weak spots, so that needs to be accounted for in training and in battle.”

Camilla seemed to write down maybe three words in response. Miguel remained silent, as if nothing more than an empty shell on display. The Gym Leader clasped her hands on the table, leaning over slightly to stare levelly at the blond. “Tell me something about one of your Pokémon – your Vespiquen.”

Felicia leaned back in her chair slightly, smiling. “Well, I had battled a Vespiquen or two before, and they seemed like some very interesting bug Pokémon not native to the region. So I got on the GTS network and started looking. When I finally received her, it was kinda a shock, actually. I think she might have been the actual queen of a Combee colony or something – not just a caught Combee who was later evolved. And she was…not what I was expecting. She…demands a lot of attention, so say the least, like we’re supposed to all treat her like royalty. Jest can never go wrong, because she’s perfect – that’s what we call her. The “official” reason is because it’s short for “your majesty,” but it’s also sort of because, well…it’s hard to take her seriously, she’s just too grave. So it’s also a “jest” like a “joke,” which is our own private little joke. Silly thing is always too busy being more important than everybody else to get it, though,” she said, chuckling. Jest was just so perfectly clueless – it wasn’t like she had anything against the bug, but one had to admit that it was pretty funny, and the absolutely severity only made it better. “She’s incredibly formidable in battle, though, I’ll give you that, especially if the opponent doesn’t take her seriously. She is not a happy camper when that happens, and she gets pissy.”

“Interesting,” Camilla said mildly. “Lastly, you seem rather avid about only training bugs. Why is that?”

“To prove their worth,” she replied automatically, then paused. That wouldn’t be enough here. “I want to show that bug-types alone can still be powerful. They can work as a team just as any group of Pokémon can, and can still do great things and bring down even the greatest of opponents. I don’t want to throw in some extra Pokémon to cover their weaknesses, because I want it to show that they don’t need it. They can take care of themselves, and while they do have their weaknesses, they can still make for formidable adversaries without having to rely on other Pokémon to hide behind. I want to prove that they can do it, that they can achieve what any other Pokémon can, and finally make a strong name for themselves after being so quickly overlooked for so long.”

Camilla didn’t say anything for a moment, continuing to watch Feli intently. Miguel’s stare was unfaltering, though something about him seemed slightly changed, as if he was standing a little taller, a little prouder. The Gym Leader picked up her notepad and wrote something else down. Feli could only watch on expectantly, feeling her face slightly flushed. What now? She hoped she didn’t sound overambitious, or like what she wanted couldn’t be restricted to working as a Gym Trainer. This was what she desired, and she couldn’t stand the idea of hot having it – to go back out into the field without being given the opportunity of working under a powerful Gym Leader like Camilla, making a name for herself and bugs everywhere by creating memories of a strong trainer who relied solely on this single type to get to where she was. This was it, she could see this being her life, and if-

“You may go, now. Thank you for your time, Miss Areisas.”

Brows drawing over her brown eyes, Felicia stood up, body somewhat stiff. “Thank you, Camilla. I hope I get the opportunity to work alongside you. Have a nice afternoon,” she said, her jaw set as she exited the room, giving the Gym Leader one last nod of thanks. The woman didn’t seem to notice. The Scizor’s eyes were still on her, intent as ever.

Feli couldn’t help but wonder with a grimness that quickly began melting away as she exited the gym to be hit with fresh sunlight and a cool breeze, what working with a woman as stiff as this would be like.

Worth it either way, I think, the mused, looking upwards at the brilliant blue sky, just flecked with clouds as her hands reached for the Pokéballs containing her companions.

[lifesharker]

OOC: Sorry I didn’t post this sooner; wrote it as soon as I got the questions, but then completely forgot to post it /facepalm. Epic fail on my part, won’t happen again.

IC:

Seeing the previous interviewee leave the office, Simon got up, straightened his leather jacket and strode in.

The office gave an air of chaos. Simon had already surmised that it was most likely temporary given Koga’s current lack of a gym, and sheer volume of files teetering precariously in piles on the desk certainly gave that impression. He idly wondered where gym battles were held now. Rumour had it Koga was using a small field outside of town.

Composing himself, Simon sat down on the battered chair. The leader looked up, seemingly surprised.

“Ah. Mr Laurent, is it?” He pronounced it “Lowront”, but something about his hawk like features dissuaded Simon from correcting the mistake.

“Yes, sir.”

The leader plucked a file seemingly at random from the nearest stack and flipped it open. Apparently the filing system made sense to him, at least.

“What experience do you have with battling?” Simon took a moment to compose himself before answering.

“I took the Kanto gym challenge before, so during my travels around the region I fought a number of other trainers. I also defeated Brock, Misty, Surge and Erika. Since then, I’ve been keeping up to scratch on One Island, battling passing trainers and wild pokemon.”

Koga’s face gave nothing away. “What does a poison type trainer need to be careful of?”

“Well, obviously he needs to be careful not to become poisoned. This can mean a lot of things depending on the pokemon; some, like Muk, are poisonous in their entirety, so special care has to be taken when handling them. Koffing’s fumes are particularly dangerous as well, so they should only be used in a well ventilated area. Some, like Arbok and Beedrill, are more dangerous due to their temper, so you have to keep them calm to avoid a nasty bite or sting. Speaking of Beedrill, many poison types have another type, so the poison type trainer needs to know how to deal with these as well. My Weepinbell for example is part grass type, so needs lots of water and sunlight.” Realising he had probably talked to much, Simon abruptly stopped.

“You mentioned your Weepinbell. Tell me about it.”

“Weepinbell is quite serious, especially when it comes to battles. She won’t back down. She doesn’t really know how to take a joke, which often brings her into arguments with Phanpy, and she eats quite a lot so she’s quite large. Still pretty agile though, ‘coz she uses her vinewhip to get around most of the time.”

Koga glanced down at the file again before staring Simon in the face. “You’ve obviously not given up on being a trainer despite your setbacks in the league. But where do you draw the line between persistence and stubbornness?”

Simon’s jaw fell open. That was totally out of left field.

“Well… um..”

Koga waited patiently.

“I suppose the difference between persistence and stubbornness comes when the cause is lost. Persistence is fighting when there’s a chance of victory; stubbornness is fighting when there’s nothing to be gained from it. The trick is knowing when there’s a chance.”

The leader nodded. “That’s all the questions I had for you. Have you any for me?”

Simon thought for a moment.

“You’ve obviously faced a lot of problems, what with your gym blowing up and all…” The look that crossed the ninjas face made it clear he should get wherever he was going with this fast. “So my question is; Is it stubbornness of persistence that keeps you going? Where do you draw the line?”

Suddenly, Koga was on his feet. Simon hadn’t even seen the movement. He quickly rose too, no that it made much difference; the leader was deceptively tall, despite his lithe build. His eyes sparkled and a small grin crossed his face.

“That’s all the time I have. Thank you for coming; I’ll get back to you!”

Simon sincerely hoped that the small grin at his question was a good sign.

[CyberBlastoise]

Cory Velos
Cory went back to the Velos Ranch straight after his interview. When he was within seeing distance of the farm, Cory noticed his father, Jerry Velos, was already out from the crop field that he was in earlier, and that he is now tending to a wounded Tauros. Jerry was a large man. He was about 6'9”, had very broad shoulders and extremely muscular arms and legs, and had silver hair. He wore a blue and white plaid button-up shirt, a pair of very dirty jeans, and a pair of black hiking boots with a few holes near the toe area. Cory ran up to his father and said, “Hi Dad. What's wrong with Spike?”

“Ol’ Rusty got a hold of him,” replied Jerry Velos. “That's the third one this week.”

“Oh no, Ol' Rusty again?” replied Cory. Ol' Rusty as they call him is a really furocious pokemon. He is a brown beetle like pokemon with two huge horns sticking from his head, really sharp claws imminating from his two hands, and a mouth that opens outward and sideways rather than vertical and inward. “What are we going to do about that pinsir?”

Jerry rubbed his forehead for a moment then said, “Well, there’s only two ways I can think of. The first one is that we chase him off before that Pinsir causes any more damage. The second is that we trap him and release him in the Safari Zone where the other Pinsirs live. Either way, we endured him one too many times.”

“I’ll see if I can find him, Dad,” replied Cory. He headed off toward the barn to elevate himself enough to see if he could find the bug type pokemon. Cory scaled the side of the white building and then climbed the silver metal roofing. He looked around and saw the Pinsir. “Ol’ Rusty. Now I found you.” Cory climbed down and headed toward the direction that the pokemon was located. He whistled and yelled, “Slicer! Time for action!”

The Ninjask instantly appeared beside Cory and headed straight for the Pinsir. “Use Swords Dance!” The Ninjask’s blade glowed a bright white as it was still charging toward the Pinsir. “Now use Slash!” Slicer’s scythe like arm reared back and was about to cut the Pinsir. However, Ol’ Rusty turned around, grabbed Slicer’s arm with its hand and tossed Slicer straight into a tree. The Ninjask got back up and shook off its bruise.

Cory yelled, “Okay, try Bug Bite!” Slicer came close to the Pinsir, however the Horned beetle’s left arm started to glow, and it used Focus Punch on Slicer. The force of the fighting type attack caused Slicer to slam straight into the same tree and caused said plant to fall over. Cory ran over to the tree and yelled, “Slicer!” Luckily, the Ninjask rolled out of the way before the tree could crush him. Cory turned toward Ol’ Rusty to see that the Pinsir had disappeared. “Wha? Where is he?” He looked around and the Pinsir was nowhere to be seen. “He did it again.” Cory returned Ninjask back into his pokeball and went back to Viridian City to heal it. Maybe he’ll get lucky in the battle against Camilla.

[Ybbob]

Darrell walked out to get a bite to eat, since he had come to his interview straight after waking up since he overslept, and didn't have breakfast. Feeling slightly more relaxed after his interview, Darrell took out his cellphone and looked for a nearby Pokemon Center, which always included a restuarant. He found one within 1 mile of walking distance and left for it.

"Elekid, come out for some fresh air", Darrell said as he tossed a Pokeball, revealing a small, muscular yellow and black-striped Pokemon known as Elekid. "Elekid, Elekid", the pokemon affirmed and the two began walking on the paved sidewalk along a moderatly busy road.

About 15 minutes later, the two arrived at the nearby South Vermillion Pokemon Center. Darrell booked a table at the restuarant, and purchased a breakfast sandwich for himself, as well as some Pokemon snacks for his Pokemon. As Darrell ate, he spotted the electrician from before who had an interview at the gym as well. The other man, possibly in his early 20's, felt compelled to talk and came over to Darrell's table to begin conversation.

"How was your interview?", the man asked. "So-so, I guess", Darrell responded. "I felt I gave pretty decent responses, but you never know what the Gym leader was thinking".

"Yeah, same here. He rejected me for some odd reason, even though I had a lot of experience working as an electrician and with Electric types", the man responded. "Hmm...", Darrell responded, feeling anxiety creep up his veins.

"Want to have a battle?", the man replied. "Yeah, I guess", Darrell responded. The two walked out to the nearby courtyard, and the man begin to talk again, "1 on 1, standard league rules, ok?". "Sure", and the battle began.

Darrell sent out Elekid, who had been watching the man the whole time, and was pumped for battle. "Go, Electrode!", the man shouted, tossing a Pokeball which revealed a large 3' wide white and red ball known as Electrode. Electrode also seemed to be pumped, grinning widly.

"Elekid, start this off with Thunder Punch!" Elekid's left arm sparked wildly, and Elekid rushed for Electrode. "Rollout!", the man responded, and Electrode rolled a bit for traction and then launched it self in a fury. The two appeared to collide mid-air, but Elekid unleashed an uppercut right before that so that Electrode flew upwards in a daze while Elekid fell back to the ground from the recoil. "Nice job, Elekid", Darrell said.

"Electrode, Charge Beam!", the man said, and Electrode charged up a small yellow ball in front of it. "Elekid, Low Kick", Darrell said and Elekid rushed for Electrode again, unaware of the beam's power. "Unleash it!", and the ball of energy exploded into a massive beam, engulfing Elekid at point-blank range. "WTF!", Darrell said, and flinched back in shock. "Good job Electrode, now finish this with Rollout!", the man said. We're stuck now, Darrell thought, and ordered the best he could, "Elekid, get up and dodge, quick!". Elekid pulled it self up as Electrode was preparing and manage to jump just in time to evade Rollout, but it's foot got brushed and Elekid fell back down in pain. "Elekid!", Darrell cried out as the man chuckled, "I know how to fight Electric types well, they often pester our power lines". "Well then you're in for a surprise", Darrell responded, and said, "Ice Punch, Elekid!". Elekid pulled it self back up, more resolute and damaged then ever, and it's right fist was engulfed in a light blue blizzard. "Go!", and Elekid once again rushed, this time running in a zig-zag pattern. "Rollout, again!", and the two went on into a crash course. Elekid's fist struck first, and Electrode was punched back with most of it's right side now frozen in ice. "Electrode, break free with Spark!", and Electrode was engulfed with flames of electricity, shattering the ice. Yet, Electrode was clearly exhausted and had little stamina.

"Elekid, FALCOOOON PAUNCH(jk, Thunder punch actually)", and this time, both of Elekid's fists exploded into an electric torrent, and Elekid jumped high up aiming for Electrode. "Giga Impact, Electrode", the man's voice sounding for a last-ditch effort. Electrode exploded into immense energy, and white and yellow energy raced around Electrode. Then it sped off upwards into Elekid, the two colliding in an immense explosion of energy. The two fell like rocks from the air, both severely damaged. "Elekid, come on, we can finish this! Discharge!" Elekid released massive amounts of energy from it's body, exhausting it of energy, and fired it at Electrode. "Electrode, rush at it, then Explosion!". The man clearly was out of options and wanted a draw at least. No wonder he wasn't accepted. He would let his Pokemon destroy themselves rather then accepting a meager defeat, Darrell thought. Electrode, glowing in preparation for Explosion, shrugged off the electricity, but couldn't take it after a while, and exploded into a mushroom of white-hot energy while still 6 meters away from Elekid. Elekid was shaken and exhausted from the Discharge, but only recieved minor recoil from the Explosion. The man, without any sportsmanship, recalled Electrode and ran off to who knows where.

"Nice job out there, Elekid. But that was just a warm-up, the real thing is up ahead", Darrell spoke to the tiring Elekid. Elekid just nodded it's head in a tired resoluteness, and Darrell recalled it, walking back to the Pokemon Center to leave it off to heal. "Hey, I still a couple hours", Darrell murmured to himself and walked off into the lounge of the center.

[Son_of_Shadows]

With the rest of the morning free, George decided to investigate Fuchsia. He had only arrived the night before, and had had no time to see anything. He wandered through the streets like a hick lost in the big city, before eventually stumbling upon the Contest Hall. Ironically, for a sport that encouraged beauty, the building itself was ghastly. Tacky pink and yellow, along with hideous ribbons all over the place, and poorly architectured windows. George shuddered at the sight of the place. It was disgusting. However, he held his proverbial nose, and entered. The first thing he noticed about the interior was that it was teeming with co-ordinators. However, Victoria was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she was in another part of the region. He approached a frazzled-looking receptionist.

"Excuse me, have you seen-"

"Contest Passes can only be obtained in Cerulean City."

"No, I'm looking for-"

"CERULEAN CITY, DAMN YOU!!" George could only back away slowly. That hadn't scared the pants off him at all...

"Is something the matter?" He had bumped into a brown-haired woman in her late twenties, in a stylish dress, which was somewhat offset by the large nametag on its strap which read "Linda". He presumed that this was the manager of the Hall.

"Yeah... I'm looking for someone. Victoria Sands. About 18 years old, 5"10, blonde hair, blue eyes, annoying little goody-two-shoes...?"

"Hmm... I'm afraid I've never heard of anyone by that name. Sorry, sweetie," she said with a brilliant white smile that made George think she'd had her teeth whitened considerably. His heart sank. Where was his sister? Was she even still in Kanto? Perhaps if he stayed in Fuchsia, he'd find the answers.

OOC: Sorry to introduce Linda here, Ysavryl. If you don't like her description, let me know and I'll edit.

[masterleo]

Logan walked into his house. "Hi Joe, I'm home!" he yelled. despite the nickname, joe was a twenty-one year old woman who worked as a house maid for his father, but had to be a bit of a mother to Logan. "how did the interview go?" she asked "fine," Logan replied, I"'m supossed to come back in a few hours for a battle. Want to do some training?" Joe was from johto, and had trained under Leader Whitey. "I was just about to ask you"

Later: "Celfable use ice beam" Joe yelled "Volt use Flamethower" Logan yelled back. The two attacks colided and made one of those classic anime explosions both trainers knew that there raichu and clefable had feelings for each other, and rarely had them fight each other. "can we take a break?" Joe asked, " Clefable and Dunsparce are pooped." " Sure" Logan said looking back at his own pokemon, equally tired. I need to heal these guys before the gym anyway, he thought. It's only an hour away...

[Handy?]

“Phew…” Ryan slowly sighed as he walked out of the gym, regaining his breath slowly and carefully before making any rash movements. So, he had a couple of long, waiting hours ahead of him, which meant only one thing to him, he needed to jog. He slowly stretched his legs, before letting his Voltorb out of his Pokeball. “Now then…now you’re let out, you have to promise to behave yourself, you hear me?” He exclaimed, patting the Voltorb on his head, and not really being surprised when a volt of electricity came from the head into his rubber gloves, which didn’t do any damage, but he could still feel a tickle. His Voltorb winked, and suddenly sped away, using its rollout attack at quite a steady pace. Ryan enjoyed attempting to keep up with his Voltorb, as it kept him in quite good shape, but his Voltorb had been prone to annoy everyone else in the town on its rollout attacks.

Ryan jogged at a steady pace beside the Pokemon, as they headed out towards the Pokemon Mart, as Ryan was feeling a tad peckish, but didn’t have the money to buy a full blown meal. He slowly came towards the mart, and quickly returned the Voltorb before it was to crash straight into it, panting slightly as he calmed down for a second. He sat down on a bench outside the mart, and sighed slightly, resting his legs for a few seconds. His eyes looked around the area, and stared towards the nearby ‘beach’, watching some kids playing happily in the water, in October of all months, as he got up and walked into the mart, reaching into his pockets for his wallet as he did so.

He could tell that the Mart had been recently restocked, as all the shelves were completely full of merchandise, including the pokeball section, which surprised Ryan quite a lot. Pokeballs were often out of stock in the mart, because of the problem of the nearby electric gym. That wasn’t the problem, the problem was Diglett Cave, the cause of many victories against the Electric Gym. Of course, with his Lanturn, Ryan was prepared to fight any of these Pokemon, but nonetheless he would go training against these Pokemon later today to prevent the trainers gaining an unfair advantage. He slowly walked over the shelf, browsing through the different objects. He didn’t have a eye for much difference, so he simply took five simple red pokeballs, and one Net Ball, which may be useful later. He then went and bought a energy bar which he could eat, before paying for the items and departing.

He once again released his Voltorb, who went into a rapid Rollout, of which Ryan jogged alongside as fast as he could back towards the Gym.

[TheSequelReturns]

Shinji walked the streets of Fuchsia with his Paras, Snips, tagging along beside him. Whenever they passed a crowd of people, he would pick up the small orange bug and let him ride on his head until they passed, just to make sure no one stepped on him. Normally, he would have his Haunter, Spectre, out here with him, but Specs liked to sleep in the mornings and so would be a bit cranky if Shinji woke him up this early. He took another nervous glance at his watch, and was surprised to find out that only twenty minutes had passed since he had left the interview. Koga probably wasn't even done interviewing everyone yet.

Shinji thought back on his interview. Had he really done as good as he thought? Every minute that had passed since the interview had nocked his confidence down another notch to where now all he wanted to do was find someplace to sleep. Just close his eyes and forget all about the interview for a moment. He still had plenty of time left after all. Still, he didn't know how much sleep he'd get with all the worrying his mind seemed to be doing on its own accord. Her felt just like he had back on that day when he learned that his family would be moving here from Lavender. He had been confused and worried, uncertain about the future. Back then though, there had been Mr. Fuji to give him advice. Now, there was no one to ask and nothing to do except wait for the dreaded 12:30 mark on his watch.

He attempted to shut down his troubled thoughts and instead focused on locating whichever on of his "hideouts" was the closest. Settling on a particular tree, he headed in that direction to find that that part of town was relatively quiet today. As it probably should be considering the contest hall was nearby. Shinji made his way up into the tree where Snips finally climbed down from his head. Shinji settled into the small nook between branches that formed a kind of slanted chair and tried to focus on how his latest decision to apply for the gym would change his life, just as that day had several years ago when he had captured Spectre. Snips settled on a branch and simply watched the people down below as they walked off to wherever it was they need to get to.

"Hey, wake me up when my watch goes off okay Snips." Shinji said as he closed his eyes. Snips simply made a quiet clicking sound and continued to keep watch on the people down below.

[Ysavvryl]

((OOC: rotrum's out now unfortunately, due to computer issues. So I'm on a bit early today to post before t-storms strike.))

-Fuchsia 12:30

By the time lunch rolled around, the sky had cleared. Most of the mud had dried up, leaving only a few puddles around building edges and pits. It was a pretty afternoon for early fall. A few early trees were starting to yellow or redden. In the next week, Kanto should be full of vibrant autumn colors.

Having already finished lunch, Koga sat in a tree, mulling over the applicants. Some of them were walking around the small zoo outside the Safari Zone; he’d left a paper on the front door telling them to meet here. He made mental notes of those who did so. They hadn’t noticed him where he was yet. Fuchsia City was his home, so if he didn’t want to be found, no one would discover his hiding place.

He had already talked to his Pokemon about this last night. Most of them had participated in such matches anyhow, where the goal was less about winning and more about testing the Trainer’s style. But there was always the act. A Gym Leader and his or her Pokemon had to act serious, as if they were putting forth their full effort. Due to League rules about tiers, that wasn’t really so.

While some might not realize it, Koga felt that his training as a ninja made him perfect for the job. One was never to let an opponent know one’s full abilities. If successful, there was always the opportunity to surprise them.

The time had rolled around. Koga pulled out a Pokeball and released his Koffing. “Okay, kid,” he whispered. “Let’s see how your training so far pans out. Go cause a discreet distraction so I can get out there unnoticed.”

“Koorri,” he replied, bowing. His voice sound almost like a gong. Then the gaseous Pokemon slipped out. He hid between trees and bushes to get closer to the group that was gathering.

Silently, Koga dropped out of the tree and ducked down behind a retaining wall for the Lapras exhibit. He couldn’t tell from here what Koffing was doing, so he listened carefully to the background noise. After a moment, he heard a brief squabble between the zoo’s Golduck and a Pidgey.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough. The Gym Leader came out from behind the retaining wall and walked up to the applicants. They had been momentarily distracted by the Golduck and Pidgey. By the time they noticed him, he was leaning on the Lapras’ fence fifteen feet from them. Koffing was already back in his Pokeball; he’d have to thank the Pokemon later.

“Well, I’ve asked how you battle, but now you must prove yourself as a Trainer and your Pokemon as your partners. Part of my duty to my Gym Trainers is helping you improve in battle, but you need the right potential first. Understand?”

Most nodded. Nobody asked a question at this point, so he went on.

“We’ll be holding the battles in that empty lot over there,” he pointed to an opening past the Lapras exhibit, “so we don’t disturb the Pokemon out here. It’s a one on one match, so choose your partner carefully. If you’re ready, come with me.” He turned and went to the lot.


-Vermillion, 12:30

Bolt had let his Pokemon out for lunch, then to explore the Gym. The Magnezone was floating around by his magnets, examining the electrical flow within the walls. As for the other four, they decided to play a game. The Voltorb allowed his teammates to bat him around the room in an improvised version of kickball. Bolt knew the others wouldn’t intentionally hurt Beat this way, so he let them play.

Grace, the Jolteon, put her paw on Beat before pushing him back down the row of trash cans. Opera, the Manectric, barked and chased after him playfully. In the meantime, Scout the Raichu darted in and tried to snatch Beat away. But then the Voltorb gave off a pink glow. Opera yipped while Scout squealed. They both ran off.

“Pah-sha-sha,” Beat snickered, having conned them into thinking that he would use Self Destruct.

“Arrr,” Grace chided. The Jolteon padded up to him and shook her head. That had been a bad prank in her opinion.

“Vvvvv.” The Voltorb let off the pink glow again.

Grace flared her needle-like hairs up, showing that she wasn’t going to take that kind of nonsense. “Rrrrr.”

“Hmph.” Beat sniffed and rolled himself away.

In the meantime, the new Leader examined the control panel that handled the force field. He had the schematics his father had drawn, but it was becoming obvious that Surge Sr had left a few intentional errors in the drawing. Bolt flipped one switch and got a “Riiiii!” alarm from Axel. Scout, Opera, and Grace all looked startled at the sound.

He flipped the switch back. “Did that get the power down?”

While he couldn’t see his Magnezone, the responding, “Clickik,” was an affirmative reply.

Opera barked and shook her head, sending off a shower of sparks. The Manectric got a shrug from Scout.

Moments later, a few of the applicants came in. “What was with that gate that appeared for a second?” one of them asked.

“Was that what it did? There’s extra traps around, so be careful of anything that seems out of place.” He shut off the panel’s power, as that was the main way to know for certain that most of them wouldn’t activate. Then he called his Pokeman back.

Before long, most of the group he had told to come back in were there. Bolt knew that he could put on a good act for people. That was, when he was on stage. It just came naturally when he was in an auditorium with his bandmates. This was quite different. It put him back into his Assistant Leader guise, which was a quieter but no less tough version of Lt. Surge. His Dad could dominate a room just by being there. Bolt didn’t know if he could pull that off.

‘Well just relax and do what comes to mind,’ he thought. It’d be like any other battle. He got up and went over to the group.

“All right, are you ready to prove yourselves?” he asked them. “This will be pretty simple, just one on one where you need to back up what you’ve told me. Now who will begin?”


-Viridian, 12:30

For the moment, the only ones in the Gym were Camilla and her six Pokemon. The Scyther, Ninjask, and Butterfree were flying around chasing each other. At least, Butterfree was trying to keep up with Skyra and Seth, but he wasn’t able to yet. Seth’s shell twin, the Shedinja, was sitting on a moving crate that was left behind. Heracross was pushing it around with her forearms and horn. Keeping to himself, Miguel was apparently meditating by the wall.

Camilla clicked her tongue; it was a signal for them to pay attention, which they promptly did. “We’ve got the interview battles in a bit. I want to remind you older ones that we’re still complying with this League’s rules. We’ve been doing so for a few months, but I don’t want any of you slipping back.”

Skyra dropped down to the floor. “Shi?” she asked in an almost cutesy manner.

Seth made a long joking buzz.

Butterfree flew back some, his eyes wide. “Eeee?” He was occasionally intimidated by what the others thought of as normal.

“We’ve worked as teachers before,” she reminded them. “It’s the same kind of deal.”

Still by the wall, Miguel made a buzzing comment that seemed to confirm what she said to the others.

“We’re expecting the Trainers soon. Be ready.” She recalled them back to their balls.

Ten minutes later, some had gathered and she had given them the standard format for this part of the process. She noticed one member of the group that she hadn’t told to come back, the boy with all the Weedles. Apparently somebody had taken pity on him and told him when the battles would take place. He really still had a lot to learn before he could take battling seriously.

So, he would be first. “Tim, you’re up.”

He grinned. “All right! My awesome Weedle is raring to go!” He released his Pokemon with unnecessary flourish. The Bug that was released was only nine inches long, but boldly held itself at ready.

A couple of the other applicants were trying to take him seriously, but failing.

It was somewhat disappointing that she had picked up a Caterpie a few months back, so she couldn’t fight him with a Beedrill. But the next best thing would have to do. She released her own. “Butterfree, your fight.” She held up a hand, letting him know to wait a moment.

“Poison Sting!” Tim called out.

The Weedle had no chance of physically striking Butterfree when the latter Pokemon was hovering two feet off the ground. But that didn’t matter. The smaller Pokemon fired off the outer shell of his horn; they kept an amazing number of layers just for that attack, each with the potential to inflict poison on whoever it struck. Since Camilla hadn’t given any orders this round, Butterfree dodged it without trouble.

The boy tugged at the floppy brim of his hat. “Slow it down now!”

“Harden,” Camilla responded.

Butterfree brought his arms in and made his pale wings a blur as he focused on strengthening his exoskeleton. In the meantime, the Weedle rolled forward so that his tail was in the air. He rapidly spun sticky silk to jet at Butterfree’s wings, making it harder for him to move. But not by much. It would take several rounds of String Shot to make a noticeable handicap.

“You kept that move on him?” Tim asked, bewildered.

“It’s not entirely worthless,” she replied. “Gust.”

“Uh, Poison Sting again!”

“Fwee!” Butterfree dropped his altitude a foot, then beat his wings furiously again. This time, it was a directed effort to weaponize the air.

“Eee!” The Weedle tried firing first, but the blast of air hit him hard. He tumbled back a couple of feet before falling unconscious.

“What? But that was my awesomest Weedle.”

“Sha?” Butterfree asked, looking to Camilla puzzled.

“You don’t have what it takes to work in this Gym yet,” she told Tim. “You should try keeping your Kakuna next time.”

He looked down, disappointed. “Ah drat. Can I watch anyhow?”

“If you want.”

[Mrmagius]

OOC: Sorry I took so long replying to this,though it was deliberate. I didn't know what to post for him in those hours so I decided to just wait it out lol. I assume its first come first serve with the battles, correct?

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After taking the time out of the afternoon to train for the upcoming interview battles, Gray now headed off towards Viridian Gym. This battle could make or break him, if he could land a spot in the gym not only would he get the mentor he'd wanted for so long but he'd get to face a plethora or trainers everyday, all with differet skill ranges and levels of experience. It would be the start of a new chapter in his life. If not then it was back to kickin the crap out of Geodudes at Mt. Moon. Fun.

All of his team were primed and ready, healed back at the pokemon centre in the city. He'd spent a lot of his training time contemplating which pokemon she'd send out first and how he could counteract the various possible bugs she could send into battle. He'd already ruled out Mothim due to its occasional tendecy to ignore him during low health; something which he did not want to happen. So it was down to Venonat or Pinsir, both had their ups and downs so he figured he'd decide which one to use when the time came. Maybe if he qualified that problem with Mothim would go away...

Finally the boy reached the dim, spacious gym, first to arrive, and took his place at the sidelines waiting for the others in absolute silence with only a mere "good afternoon, madame" to acknowledge the gym leader's presence. As he waited patiently he panned his vision around his suroundings. The Main Gym room was completely bare, stripped to the floorboards. Clearly Camilla didn't take to Giovanni's infamous puzzles and traps.

It didn't take long for the rest of the applicants to file in and he wasn't surprised either. He knew they to were eager to get this whole process moving. He noticed one of them was a small child wearing a large straw hat. Even though he was temtped to judge his skill by his age Robert thought better of it. After all Maylene of the Sinnoh region was about seven years younger than him and she was a gym leader already!

However, at the moment he released his pokemon that thought was tossed aside like yesterdays news. Everyone in the hall knew which way it was going before it had even started, most had tried to stifle a laugh, some had failed. Gray wasn't one of them. His attention was not directed at the newbie as the only thing Robert wanted to see was how Camilla intended to beat him. It would help him figure out what was her kind of battling style and hence possiby go a little way to beating her. Of course, he wasn't here to win, he was here to pass, to prove himself and the closer he got to beating the leader the closer he got to impressing her and so the closer he got to becoming part of this gym.

Sadly, due to the challenger's skill level the battle was over so quickly there was very little to learn, except for the fact that she owned a Butterfree as well as her Scizor. However, Gray was quite perplexed when she commanded a Harden from her Butterfree. Firstly, why would she keep the attack and secondly why would she draw out the batte with it. She could've had an OHKO straight off the bat.

"Its not entirely useless" The Mysterious Woman had replied to Weedle Boy. Maybe she did it in order to teach the others not to underestimate the useulness of certain moves? Maybe so that the wings would be tougher for the Gust which had followed and hence would be able to throw more air, making it stronger. Not that she needed the added strength but still it would serve as an example to how seemingly useless moves have hidden strengths...

As the boy sumpled off to the sidelines with the more experiened trainers Grayson filed all this information away in his brain for later on. Then, mustering up his courage Gray stepped forwards, pokeball in hand.

"Madame, would you allow me to go next?" Gray addressed her, hands held firmly by his side and meeting her gaze dead on. Maybe she would think it was impetuous and maybe she would think he was brave but Gray had never seen any point in unecessarily sitting on the sidelnes and waiting for something to happen, in any part of life. He wanted to take the bull by the horns.