(Reboot) Pokemon: Beyond the Tall Grass

Catia narrows her eyes at the boy. "And how would you know that something so specific is bothering me?" She asks dangerously. She already didn't like this boy considering she knew what was on her mind without her saying anything.

Genesis chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Well I might kinda sorta be a little bit psychic."

Catia frowns at Genesis.  "A psychic huh?  I'll tell you what, if you don't mind staying out of my head I'd appreciate it."  She growls at him, turning away and walking off.  What was happening to her was none of Genesis' business.  It was probably best that he didn't know about what's happening to her anyway.  The less he knew the safer he would be.

Genesis frowned as she walked away from him.

"Its not like you were hiding it very well. If you ever want it though, the offer is still on the table. Trust me. I know what its like to lose people you care about."

He pat the head of his beloved Ralts.

"I know all too well"

Loka raised an eyebrow at the interaction between Genesis. A psychic was now among them... Good thing her dark type abilities make her immune to mind-effecting effects. 

Why'd she snub him so hard though, she wondered to herself. It seemed that Genesis only wanted to help... With that thought now pushed to the side, she and the group proceeded on their way to Vermillon.


((TIME SKIP~))


Reaching the great port town of Vermillion, the group could hear the blaring horns of ships docking and leaving. The path that lead into the town went past the docks. A ship pulled in as the group walked past. 

Leaning on the railing of the incoming ship was a boy with Bright purple hair, and fluorescent green eyes. His long white coat billowed in the sea breeze. He had to do a double take as he looked down at the small group that was walking along side the incoming ship.

"Alright!  Vermillion City!" Decoda shouted, raising his arms into the air excitedly once they entered the city.

Many happy memories flooded back into his mind as they walked along the docks.  Decoda loved this coastal town mostly because he traveled here for the first time with Brock and the other Gym trainers during the first year he trained with them.  The Gym leader wanted to research the type weaknesses of Rock/Ground type Pokemon (water) so the trainers had a better chance of trying to combat them in battles.  Of course, most of them got distracted by all the beach-goers and tourist attractions!  He had come back to the city a year later with his father on vacation; his dad liked the area so much he considered moving here for retirement, and Decoda approved of such a future plan!  Not to mention, one of the coolest Gym leaders resided here, Lt. Surge!  Every single one of these factors helped get Decoda super pumped for the adventure here, completely forgetting about the weapons they were supposed to get from Loka's family friend.

He hadn't even noticed the purple haired guy they were headed for, as he looked out to sea with a broad smile on his face.  He wondered if one of his special friends was out there somewhere...

(OOC: Catia got a Vulpix for that mystery dungeon test thingie Rocky. Figures.... =w= )

Catia breathed in the fresh sea air and smiled as she watched the water ripple and move with a soothing sound.  Even if she couldn't swim, the sea was still really calming.  Fox however, fidgeted a and mewed in Catia's arms, not really liking the sight of the water very much.  Catia giggles and gently gives her a quick hug and cradles her, calming her a little bit before she turned to the others.  "Sorry, I'm really not that into water.  I'm just going to go and get us some rooms at the Pokemon Center before I go looking around.  You guys have fun."  She told the group, avoiding Genesis' gaze for the time being.  She had calmed down somewhat from spending a little more time with the psychic but she still saw him as a bit nosy.

After getting everyone's rooms at the Pokemon Center and feeding Fox, Catia returned her to her pokeball and decided to give home a call.  Dialing the number on her pokegear, she smiled as her mother eventually picked up the phone.  "Catia!  I'm so glad that you're safe!  How are you?"  She asked, breathing a small sigh of relief.

Catia rolled her eyes playfully.  "I'm fine mom.  I got a couple of new pokemon and made some friends to travel with.  I was in Saffron a little while ago for the Open Mic thing too."  She told her.

Catia's mother squeaks in delight.  "Oh my god did you sing for a crowd?!  What did you sing?  Did you perform with anyone?"  She asked rapidly, eager to hear every detail of her oldest daughter's recent adventure's.

Catia laughed.  "Yes of course I performed for a crowd mom!  I sung the song that I wrote after father died.  They really liked it.  I even got to play the song with a nice boy who played a guitar to it.  It sounded so great~"  She told her.

Catia's mother squeaked again.  "I'm so proud of you!  I'm glad that you had such a good time!  And who are your new pokemon friends?  Can I meet them?"  She asks rapidly again.

Catia smiles and let's Fang and Fox out of their pokeballs.  Fox mews and paws at Catia's pokegear curiously when she sees another person's face on it.  Fang just gave a small yawn and nuzzled up to Catia's arm, wanting attention.  Catia giggled and happily obliged the little rat pokemon, scratching it behind its ears and making it cry in delight and roll over onto its back.  "I'd like you to meet Fang and Fox.  Someone found Fox separated from her mother and lost so he gave her to me to raise and take care of.  Fang was the first pokemon I ever caught with Poochy's help."  She told her.

Loria squealed in delight upon seeing Fox, making her jump in surprise at the loud sound coming from Catia's wrist.  "Oh my god she's so cute!  I'm so happy to see you raising pokemon so diligently like this!  Makes me so proud of you.  You and your sister both!"  She exclaimed.

Catia blinked for a second upon hearing word of her little sister Kiria.  "Kiria's gone off on her own journey?"  She asked.

Catia's mother nodded.  "Yes!  She went off to the Johto region yesterday with a Piplup that the good professor sent her!  She named it Bubbles~"  She told her.

Catia smiled.  "Good to hear that she's not just sitting around at home all day.  How's Volt?"  She asks.

Catia's mother smiles brightly.  "He's doing fine but he misses his playmate terribly.  "  She tells her.

Catia laughs.  "I bet he does!  I'll have to see if I can find a way to get him over to me."  She tells her.

Catia's mother nods as a loud whistle sounds in the background.  "I gotta go now sweetie!  Tea kettle's boiling!  Call again soon okay?  And make sure you say hello to your sister at some point!"  She tells her.

Catia nods.  "I will.  Love you mom."  She tells her before cutting the call.  Upon sitting back and continuing to give Fang some much needed attention, she remembers that she hadn't called Wes back yet.  Seeing as she was separated from the rest of the group for the time being, perhaps now would be a good time to call him back?

Putting his number into the dialer on her pokegear, she pressed send and waited for him to pick up.  "Hello?  It's Catia."  She greets him.

At first, Catia hears the sound of a motorcycle on the other end, as well as Wes shouting something. An explosion shortly follows.

"Huh? Oh, uh... hey there!" He said, the noise of his vehicle now steady and not as loud. "What do you, ugh... hold on." he paused, then shouted. "ESPEON, PSYWAVE!" another explosion, as well as tires screeching. "What uh... what can I do for you?"

Catia blinks a bit at the sounds, the loud noises making Fox fold her ears back and lie down at the edge of the bed so as to not hurt her ears. "Am I interrupting something?" She asks curiously.

Rizu sighted Loka and waved happily. "Heyy!!" He lowered his arm looking down to pet Albion. "Loka's actually here on time. And with..." He squinted as he took a third take to her 2 companions. (Decoda and Cerise) "friends?"

Albion purred(?) at the touch of his trainer. After a few moments it began chomping rapidly, causing Rizu to flinch.

"Hey! ... You almost got me that time." He began walking to the ramp. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you too."

The ship pulled in and he began departing onto the dock.

Loka blinked, hearing a familiar voice. She looked up at the passing ship and spotted Rizu waving at her. With a grin, she waved back.

"Long time no see!" she shouted back, her pokemon barking loudly and excitedly upon seeing and hearing Rizu. She then turned to Decoda and Cerise. "Pardon me, but feel free to follow!"

She raced to the ramp and waited there, Luxray letting himself out. The three creatures circled Loka excitedly, whining and jumping around.

"Oh relax you three! Let 'em get off the ship before y'all go pouncin' on him." 


"What? Oh, uh... nah. You're not." Wes paused. "Ok, I think I got away. What do you need?"

Catia frowned a bit before responding. "I told you that I'd call you back at some point and you told me not to call you everyday. Sounds to me like you've got bigger nuisance's though. What exactly were you trying to get away from?" She asked curiously, Fox hearing Wes' voice and blinking curiously before mewing at Catia's pokegear.

With members of the group splitting off to do various things, Cerise looks around a bit, taking in the sights a bit. Not much seemed to be here of interest... at least, not in comparison to Saffron or Celadon. Decoda seemed excited, though! As Loka ran off towards the port, Cerise sees her wave to one of the passengers, a purple-haired male who waved back.

He swept a hand over his face, adjusting his glasses as they began to slide down the bridge of his nose. He certainly didn't want to seem intrusive on Loka's meeting with the boy on the ship, but he wasn't interested in standing around, doing nothing. Seeing a blue-roofed building near the Pokemon Center, Cerise waved off to the others present, gesturing that he was going to buy some items at the PokeMart. Honestly, restocking on supplies was something Cerise probably should have done a while ago.

Pushing open the revolving doors leading to the PokeMart interior, he found himself in the medicine aisle, looking over the different brands of items present and comparing their respective prices. He picks up a small bundle of potions and examines them for a moment, before putting them back and placing his egg carrier on a nearby aisle-top. He takes out his PokeGear and brings up Zoe's app, wondering if it could tell him how close this egg was to hatching. There was still a LOT he hadn't explored on this app yet, after all!

Meanwhile, Chespin had made its way over to the envelope aisle, picking up different kinds of envelopes and marveling at the various colors and designs. It let out a little squeak as it placed the envelopes back in their spots as best as it could. Seeing that it was beginning to have trouble with putting things back where it had found them, Chespin coyly waltzes away, pretending not to have rearranged most of the envelops the PokeMart stocked.

Surprised to see Cerise and Catia leave the group so quickly, Decoda wasn't sure of what to do next.  Follow Loka to visit this strange guy who just got off the last boat, or go off on his own?  He could explore more of the town he loved, or he could see what this guy was all about and why he got Loka's attention.

After seeing the Luxray let itself out in sight of this guy (who might be the family friend she was talking about), Decoda decided that it would be a good idea to introduce himself. He followed Loka at a much slower pace, but called out, "I'll come with ya!" to let her know his game plan.

Rizu walked down the ramp, arms swaying back and forth as he strolled down. His Trapinch, Albion, scuddled down faster to play with Loka's Sparx (Luxray), Blitz (Houndoom), and Sai (Mightyena).

"I think this makes a new record. I usually have the entire day to myself before you show up." He blinked noticing only one of her companions following. "Busy day, I imagine?" He gave a quizzical look.

(My laptop's video driver's seem to be buggy... Long story short, I may only be posting when I'm @ home due to this inconvenience.)

Loka smiled, pulling her brother into a hug once he was off the ramp. She looked over to Albion, who was snapping his jaws excitedly. 

"More like busy week." she replied. "Oh, this is Decoda." she stepped aside, and waved a hand to Decoda. "The other two went off... somewhere. Eh, you'll meet them in a little while."



"Uh... Don't worry about me." He paused again, this time hearing the light mewing. "That the Vulpix?"



The screen on Cerise's pokegear blinked, and said 'processing' several times. After about a minute, the words 'Something can be heard from inside the egg!' came up on the screen.

After witnessing the hug, Decoda was sure that this was either the family friend she was talking about or someone closer to her.  Had she told them she had a brother or a cousin?  They looked similar - the cold glares, pale complexions, and their Pokemon seemed to enjoy one another's company, so instead of being nosy or obnoxious, he didn't ask and introduced himself as normal. Maybe he'd learn more as they all conversed later on.

"Hey, how's it goin'?  How was the ride over?" he asked Rizu with a slight wave and a smile.

Catia rolled her eyes before Wes asked about Fox. She gave a giggle and stroked Fox's head lightly. "Yes that's Fox~ She must've heard your voice and wondered if you were here. Speaking of which, if I really don't have to worry too much about you...." A hint of blush overcame her cheeks before she finished. "Maybe you and I could meet up for dinner or something? I would really like someone at least semi normal to hang out with for once. I've....had a kind of hard week." She asked him, expecting his answer to be a no. Loka was still around with her after all.

Rizu turned to Decoda after Loka. He grinned. "Well... I actually wrote about 44 pages of my novel about a group of trainers that just started their Pokemon Journey- but rather than getting too far into the plot, I decided it best for the reader to get to know them through a series of events, discussion, and side-plots. Along with a slight twist." He chuckled a little at the mention of a twist. "To be honest, if I had to wait any longer, I think I woulda just accepted a fate as dull as a Coma, haha. Needless-to-say it was quite boring."

Meanwhile, Albion locked his jaw onto Sai's tail.

[HINT HINT]

"Oh? It's come that far already?" Cerise murmured to himself as he gazed at the pop-up message. He puts away the PokeGear, and picks up a few Potions and Pokeballs. There wasn't much else he found necessary here, as far as he could tell. But on the other hand, being a novice trainer, he wasn't entirely sure of what else he'd need to begin with! He shrugs, and begins to head over to the counter when he realizes that Chespin wasn't present. Cerise looks around momentarily before heading over to the next aisle, and the one after that. Finally spotting Chespin staring up at a vending machine in a corner, Cerise walks over swiftly.

"Hey, bud! We're going back out to meet up with the others, alright?" The trainer says as he reaches Chespin's range of hearing. The hedgehog turns a bit too quickly and waddles over, seemingly very ready to leave. Cerise shrugs before heading over to the counter and paying for his items and exiting the store with his Partner. He begins to walk over to the docks, seeing the others had gathered near the docks, all talking to the purple-haired boy Cerise had seen on the boat before. It was obvious that Loka knew him, but Cerise wondered how the two knew each other.

His arms growing tired from carrying both an egg carrier and shopping bags, Cerise jogs over a bit to the gathered group of trainers before placing his bought items into his bag. Satisfied, he straightens his back as he readjusts the egg carrier in his arms. Cerise studied Rizu for a moment as the purple-haired boy spoke, a bit unsure of whether now would be a good time to introduce himself. After running over, it seemed like the logical thing to do... but he didn't want to interfere in their discussion.

"...Oh?" Cerise's eyes landed on Albion, and he fought the urge to squeal in delight. This certainly wasn't a Pokemon he was familiar with, and that was a pretty rare experience! He pulled out his Pokedex, lifting it at Trapinch with barely contained glee.

"Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokemon. This Pokemon is a patient hunter of the arid deserts. It digs inescapable pits in the desert and waits for its prey to come tumbling down. It's giant jaws have enough strength to crush boulders with ease. Because its head is so big, it has a hard time getting back upright if it gets tipped over onto its back." The Pokedex spoke.

Cerise stared at the Trapinch in awe. This little guy seemed really cool! Chespin noticed Cerise's reaction to Albion and crossed its arms, a little annoyed. This new Pokemon didn't seem all that great to him!

It was shocking!  Rizu's novel sounded eerily similar to what was going on with this little group of friends.  Then again, it's not like most of the made-for-tv-movies in Kanto didn't depict similar things, like kids walking along railroad tracks on some big adventure, so maybe it was more common to write about that kind of thing than he thought.  Decoda really didn't read too much, anyway, so he tried to brush off the somewhat creepy idea.

"Th-That's pretty cool!  You didn't come off as a writer at first glance, but nonetheless, I hope your story does well once it's all done!" he said a little shakily, a droplet of sweat dripping down the side of his brow.  "Either way, glad to meet you!  What was your name?"

He had just noticed Cerise out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head to smile as a sign of approval, that it was cool to walk over and be a part of the conversation.  "Cerise!  Hey, come over here!  I can help carry your bag if its too heavy for you!" he commented additionally, seeing that the pack was significantly larger than it was before he went shopping.

"Forgive me, I got ahead of myself." He straightened his posture. "I am Rizu Chicole, future well-known author and pokemon researcher!" He bowed at his introduction. Finally noticing what Albion was doing through his peripheral vision, Rizu raised his pokeball retrieving his Trapinch. He straightened again, this time sighting Cerise in the background. He turned back to Loka before speaking again. "Will they be introducing themselves or will you do the honors?"

Sai, who was nursing his tail, got up and nudged Rizu's arm, expecting himself to be pet. The other two were also sitting there in front of the boy, waiting patiently.

"Get 'em." Loka said. On cue, her pokemon leapt up at Rizu whining, barking (and meowing), and wiggling with excitement. The knocked Rizu to the ground and licked his face.

"Oh yeah. This 'ere is my brother. I don' get to see 'em much, but It's a reunion when we do meet up." she spoke, looking to her pokemon who were expressing their excitement. "A'ight you three, let 'em get up." The pokemon backed off, content with their welcome. Loka helped Rizu stand. "This 'ere is Cerise and his partner Chespin. Catia I think is in the Pokemon Center, gettin' us rooms. We were gonna go see Uncle. Feel like taggin' along?" 



"Uhh... Yeah sure. Where and when- hey! What do ya mean 'semi-normal??' I'm perfectly fine!" he said loudly.

Catia giggled at Wes' response. Finally she would get to do something normal! "Oh sure~ The explosions that were going off in the background weren't unusual at all~" She teased him before thinking about where they could have dinner. "I'm in Vermillion city right now. Know any good places there? I've never been here before." She asks him, wondering if the actual restaraunts around the city would just be all seafood buffets or not. She didn't have anything against eating fish. She just wasn't the biggest fan of it was all. Fox mewed again at Catia's pokegear and pawed at it, wondering why it could hear Wes and not see him. It made Catia laugh and stroke her head lightly.

Seeing Decoda motion for him to come over, Cerise slowly trudges over, hoping he hadn't drawn too much attention to himself. He did manage to catch Rizu introduce himself, and with Loka confirming that the two were siblings, Cerise began to notice the similarities. Sure, Rizu had purple hair as opposed to Loka's black hair, but they had enough facial similarities to be plausible siblings. He nods to himself before realizing Decoda had asked him a question.

"No, no, I'm alright, I think!" Cerise says as he joined the circle. He lifted a hand to Rizu, initiating a handshake. "As Loka said, I'm Cerise! It's a pleasure to meet you."