(Reboot) Pokemon: Beyond the Tall Grass

Catia shrugs.

"I don't have anything better to do for the time being. I'll go to the rooftop cafe first though. I think Fang and Poochy could use a nice drink of water or juice right about now." She says with a smile before getting up to walk past Loka and back into Celadon.

Decoda narrowed his eyelids to try and get a better look at the scars on Loka's back, but the scarf moved over them too quickly for him to get anything out of it (like how she got them). Picking up Mudkip in his arms, he readjusted his guitar bag and his jacket before following the girls into the city.

"It sounds like a great plan," he smiles, a little bit lost in thought, so his voice wasn't as energetic as it was a minute ago. "Maybe we can win something big, and impress everyone, right Mudkip?"

"Kip!"

The little blue Pokemon pawed playfully at his jacket's collar. It seemed to not mind anything right now and was content doing whatever Decoda wanted to do, though its eyes wandered about to admire everything.

Loka lead the group back to Celadon, to the top floor of the shopping center. There was a cozy little cafe there. People and pokemon alike were relaxing and enjoying themselves. The waiter showed them to an empty table and placed dished of water down for the pokemon.

"And what may I get you all today?"

Mudkip eagerly began to lap up some water from the bowl once the waiter put it down, but backed off a little so its friends could share.

Decoda smiled at the waiter as he slung his guitar case to the back of his chair.  He then moved to a chair and seated himself.

"I'll just have a light coffee and your pastry of the day if that's alright!"

He then began looking around at all the other trainers and their Pokemon while he waited for his friends to order.  It was certainly nice of Loka to treat them on a day like this!

As the group entered the cafe, Cerise paused momentarily to take in the cafe's comfy vibe. Seeing so many pokemon relaxing here was quite different from what he was used to! He wondered if any wild pokemon wandered in here from time to time? He blinked before jogging a bit to sit down with the others, his Chespin reclaiming its spot on his shoulder.

"Hm..." Cerise gazed at the menu options for a moment, finger poised over various items as he  tried to decide. So many of the items looked so good! His eyes lit up as Chespin pointed to a menu option. "Can I have an Oran berry pie with a glass of Moomoo milk, please?"

With a satisfied "Ches", the grass type jumped to the floor, and began to greet a few of the other pokemon in the building.

Catia's mouth watered when she sat down, the scent of the warm food sending her into a fantasy land of sweets. She hears what Cerise orders and grins before turning to the barkeep.

"I'll take what Cerise had. The Oran Berry pie and some Moomoo milk. And can I have a couple of saucer's of the milk for my pokemon? I think Fang and Poochy would appreciate it!"

She tells the barkeep, setting Fang down in her lap before letting Poochy out of his pokeball and onto the counter. He instantly gives a cute little growl and jumps up onto Catia's head, curling up there and closing his eyes to nap.

The waiter wrote down their orders and walked off. He shortly came back bearing a tray with a full Oran Berry Pie, several glasses of moomoo milk and Decoda's coffee, as well as bowls of the same liquid for the pokemon. He sat them down in front of everyone.

"I do hope you enjoy your time at the Rooftop Cafe" he said, walking off again.

One of the pokemon that Chespin approached happened to be a Belossom. She held her skirt and seemed a bit shy as She and the Spiky Pokemon Conversed.

Catia grins happily at the food and milk before she picks up Poochy and Fang to put them onto the counter for a second. Taking a couple of the glasses of moomoo milk and two saucers, she fills both if them up to the very top and pushes them towards her two Pokemon. Fang gives a cute cry and eagerly begins to lap at the milk, his tail wagging ferociously. Poochy sniffs at it before carefully lapping up the milk, finishing about half of his bowl before giving a great big yawn and hopping back up onto Catia's head to sleep. Catia immediately begins to dig into her Oran Berry pie, taking generous bites out of it and swallowing it. She was quite hungry after all!

By the time Decoda had only a few sips from his coffee, Catia's pie was gone.  He blinked at the sight, then chuckled lightly, trying not to spill the coffee on his bare chest or lap.

"You were certainly hungry!  How was it?  It looked good.  I might want to take one for the road.  How about yours, Cerise?"

Mudkip nearly finished with its drink, but while Decoda was socializing, it wandered off to look around the rooftop.  It wasn't worried about getting lost, since it could use its radar to find Decoda's voice again.  It smiled about, strolling to the edge of the rooftop to look out on the cityscape.

"Kiiiiiip~"

Smiling as his pie was placed before him, he began to slice the pie into pieces with his fork and knife before eating it. The cozy atmosphere of the shop really helped stimulate his senses! The warm smells of baking from the kitchen wafted through the cafe every now and then, with new and exotic smells accompanying it.

"This pie is delectable!" Cerise replies with a smile after finishing another slice. If this wasn't gourmet, he didn't know what was. He took a few sips of the Moomoo milk, the warm liquid quenching his thirst. "I definitely suggest you try some!"

Chespin began to turn a slight shade of red as its conversation with the Bellossom continued. His tail began to wag from side to side as he smiled at the Flower Pokemon.

Loka pushed her plate of pie into the middle of the table.

"One of y'all can have it." she said, taking a sip of the milk. She looked over to the Bellossom and Chespin, then glanced at the Pokemon's trainer. She did a double take. It was Erika; the Celadon Gym leader. Loka gave her a dark look.

Erika smiled at the two pokemon conversing, but when she looked up to find Chespin's trainer, her eyes met Loka's and she scowled. The two went on making faces at each other, making it fairly obvious that there's some bad history between them to anyone that looked.

With the finishing of his drink and the adjusting of his hat, Decoda immediately swept up the pie for later consumption, using Catia's empty tin for a lid to cover it.  He bound the two containers together and shoved the pie into his guitar case.  When he turned around to do so, he laid eyes on the beautiful Erika, her silky dark hair shining in the sunlight.  He grinned at the Gym Leader, but she appeared occupied with the vicious gazes coming from Loka's direction, making some pretty terrifying faces herself.  He spun around in his seat to see the experienced trainer's eyes locked into battle with Erika's.

He opened his mouth wide as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself, trying to find the right words to use for this moment.  Then he spoke in his usual relaxed tone.

"Looks like we've got a company," he stated as he bit his lower lip, his eyes sliding to look at the pretty pissed off Loka.  "We don't have to confront her right now.  The badges don't have to be earned in order, anyway.  Come on, let's go to the Game Corner, guys."

He pushed his chair out and got up, slinging the guitar case over his shoulder again.  Though he tried to change the subject to get them out of there before a battle broke out, he couldn't help but wonder what happened between them, or what they knew about each other to trigger such hateful glares...

Catia gulps down the last of her pie before leaving her share of the pay on the table with a small 300 zenny tip for the bartender. He was very nice and kind of deserved it. When she went to talk to Loka and tell her that she was going to go out into the forest for a bit, she saw her scowling at another trainer. She didn't quite recognize her but her arid beaty made her growl a little bit. She hated prissy girls that constantly relied on their beauty to do things. She got up from her chair, putting Fang in his pokeball for the time being and picked up Poochy into her arms. She walked over to Loka, her clear displeasure with Erika's presence still showing all over her face.

"Who's that beauty queen you're scowling at there?"

She asks her, saying the word 'beauty' with obvious distaste.

"...?" Cerise stared at the girls, confused as to why they were glaring at some random person. At the very least, it didn't seem like Catia knew who the stranger was, but maybe Loka did. Either way, this seemed like a situation that could go downhill fast. His pie now eaten, he threw Decoda a look and jutted a thumb towards the door. Avoiding confrontation with random people was something Cerise wanted to avoid.

"Chespin, we're leaving, buddy." Cerise said as he also stood, placing a small tip down on the table. His pokemon partner looked back at him and nodded before bowing to the Bellossom. The Chespin then hurried over to Cerise's side.

"...Erika, the Celadon Gym Leader. We had a... run-in a long time ago." She said, not taking her eyes of the girl. "It wasn't a very pleasant one to say the least."

The bellossom curtsied as Erika picked it up.

"...Lets go. The air's a bit heated right now." Loka spoke, getting up.

Once Mudkip saw Chespin bounding towards his trainer, it made a fast dash for Decoda.  On its way, Mudkip glanced over at the girls about to glare each other to death.  It never saw humans battle, but it would be quite the show if they did...

Decoda nodded without another word to Cerise, Catia or Loka and held the door to the elevator open for them and the Pokemon.  Mudkip had stopped gawking and hurried over to its trainer, climbing up his gray pants and black jacket to reach the red-head's shoulder.  Once they were all inside, he hit the button for them for the bottom floor.  It was now that he would comment at the potential tussle the leader and the trainer nearly had on the rooftop.

"So Erika's taking time off from her job to hang around a cafe?  How irresponsible.  I only got days off if some other guy or gal was subbing for me.  This is only the fifth Gym in the region.  It's not like she barely gets any challengers," he questioned aloud.

"Erika..." Cerise furrowed his brow. "And she's a gym leader? Different from what I thought... But she seems..." He recalls Loka's expression towards the gym leader. "...Interesting?"

Chespin nods, agreeing with its trainer. It looks back longingly at Bellossom for a moment before returning its attention to what was ahead.

"So... Game Corner next?" Cerise asks, recalling some of the others having interest in the building.

Catia nods slowly, Poochy starting to growl a little bit at the heated tension between the trainer's gazes and attitudes. She turns to Loka.

"I guess now's as good a time as any for us to talk eh? But...let's not do it here. Mind meeting me back where I met you in the grass? I want to relax in a tree..." She asks Loka, waiting for the trainer to respond before she heads off to go and relax like she had wanted to.

Loka and Erika finally broke their glaring contest as Loka turned to Catia.

"Yeah sure. We'll meet ya back there." she turned to the elevator and waited for the others to get on. "She's been busy not just with her gym. She part of a group called the Resistance. In case there's a war, they'll be the ones to fight. She musta' been off tryin' to recruit trainers an such." She scowled a bit at the thought and felt Sai's pokeball shake a bit. He must be feeling her anxiousness.

As Loka stood in the elevator, she closed her eyes. Images of her fighting through many of the different region's gym leaders played through her head. They had a full team of 6 pokemon, while she tore through them with just two. This was a reason she was a CIPHER elite back then. She had powerful abilities, and back then she wasn't afraid to use them. Her expert training skills made her one of the most feared elites on any team, and one of the most wanted as well...

Catia smiles slightly and takes the elevator down with the others before getting off at the bottom floor and heading off to the route that she had wanted to meet Loka at. Finding a suitable tree with the biggest branch possible, Catia climbs it after putting Poochy onto her head to sleep again. Sighing in relaxation, she leans against the trunk of the tree and closes her eyes to listen to the sounds of the wind blowing through the tree leaves.

"Hey! You up there!" Someone called to Catia. If she looked down, she would see what he looked like. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

An Espeon and an Umbreon sat on the ground next to him, waiting patiently. This man didn't seem hostile, as he looked up at the girl and rubbed the scar that went across his face.

(OOC: Wait a second....he? Scar across his face? Poiiint....we're not trying to induce a possible attachment of a romantic nature already....are we? o-o?)

Catia perks her head up and looks down at the guy calling up to her. She tilts her head and blinks at him. "Oh hello. I didn't notice you down there." She tells him flatly.

(What? No.)

The male lifts the shades from over his eyes so they rested on top of his head. His eyes are a gold color and have a cold glow to them.


"You're travelling with Loka, yes?" 

He knelt down and slung his bag over his shoulder to the ground, and started looking for something in it. He pulled out a small book with the word 'Journal' written in calligraphy on the cover. He flipped through it quickly.

"Take this. Read it at your leisure, but make sure that Loka DOESN'T know you have it. She'd kill you, then come after me." He held it up to Catia. "I can make keeping it a secret worth your while." he added.

Catia blinks at the cold eyed boy before carefully taking the journal from him. She stares at the cover of it. "So....logical question. What is this and why are you giving it to me?" She asks suspiciously.

The boy simply shrugged.

"Enjoy some reading material. You may wanna know about who you're travelling with, so I gift unto you, Loka's Journal." He reached into his bag again and tossed a pokeball up to Catia. "This should be enough to keep the journal a secret."

As he knelt, he petted his two pokemon, who purred slightly. He looked up at Catia again.

"What's your name?"


(If you wanna read a random page, roll a d20)