some mad hope [quest, mod]

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It took only a moment for Kadyn to fall in love with Emerald Island. Actually, he didn't really fall in love. Falling took time - he just immediately began to love the place. The small island was wholly visible from just a short bit out into the ocean, indicating that its size was hardly large. It was nothing but a massive, lush forest. Flowers sprouted everywhere, some so rare that they were fenced in and watched over. Of course, the second he and Sirenia, his new Charmander, stepped off he boat, she ran straight for them. Apparently, the girl loved flowers. In fact, she tried to scratch the man that ripped her away from the patch. It was rude for anyone to touch another's Pokémon without permission, but he didn't say anything about it. Mr. Kroeger was still mad about being soaked with sea spray, so he collected Ren and moved on to the PokéCenter, where he spoke to the Nurse Joy and got Ren her check up, just to make sure she was fully and totally ready for battle. She was fit and strong, and even acting like a princess, How she knew she should be acting, of course. His blue eyes gazed over Nurse Joy as she propped her jaw open to speak. "Here are some paper for you and Sirenia. Everything you need to know about is on them, so I'd recommend keeping hem with you! Also, here's your personal computer information. Feel free to use the PC, create some settings, and personalize everything. I hope your journey is splendid!" Kade nodded and smiled at her before moving toward the PC.

He poked some buttons and opened his account up, not remembering to swipe his trainer's card for an easy way to open it up. He set everything up in about ten minutes, only taking so long because he was setting backgrounds for his storage boxes and putting some memos down. Apparently, his old friend Chloe was back in town! Okay, not in town, but in his town. She was visiting the Golden Islands as well as he was! That was amazing, but she would be so much better than him . . . He had to beat her in the contests they entered. That was a personal goal. Sighing, he switched off the PC and turned around in time to see Ren pouncing upon something. Something small and purple . . . A Rattata! He ran over to the two and pulled Ren away from the purple mouse that swatted back at her, not noticing that neither were growling or doing anything too offensive. Behind him came a femenine laugh as he tried to get Ren back in her Pokéball. He spun around, anger flaring in his eyes at the other trainer laughing at him. How dare they? The girl in front of him had to have been no younger than him, though she looked rather mouse-like. Fitting for her starter, actually. "They were only playing," she explained as he looked at her with a defensive glare.

Only when he thought back to what was happening before he leaped in between did he realize how stupid he was being. "Oh, my mistake! I - I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." He ran a hand through his silver/gray hair and chuckled with embarassment, his face turning a bright red. The girl chuckled as Ren and her Rattata scootched together to watch them speak. "It's fine! I have the perfect idea for what you two could do, though. Haven't battled or anything yet, right? Why don't you go over to the house diagonal to the center? Knock and ask for Penelope, a little girl. Or just talk to her if she answers. She'll have a job for you to do that'll be good for you two! She asked me, but we need to get some rest after that stupid boat ride." The girl made a face and walked to the counter to engage in conversation with Nurse Joy, her Rattata following after saying a goodbye to Sirenia. "You up for it?" She nodded at him and started walking toward the door, wobbling a little when the sliding doors moved. He chuckled and followed her all the way to the home, a comfy little place fit for Emerald Island. He knocked on the door, trying to stand tall and make himself look presentable for whoever answered.

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

[ SCHOOL GIRL PENELOPE ]

“Someone’s here, someone’s here!” She cried, leaping up off the floor that was surrounded in crayons and paper, with drawings of pokémon upon them. The little girl dashed over to the front door, swinging it wide open with a bright smile on her features and a twinkle in her eyes that could only be described as innocence and excitement. “Hello mister, I’m Penelope! Are you here to help me?” She asked, leaping up and down a little, obviously unable to hold her excitement. Then, before the young man had enough time to reply she dashed off into her house, clearly unable to keep still. “Stay right there, I’ll just be a moment!” Running over to her room where the pictures were all over her floor, she scooped up a small little bag with some items inside, a notebook and pen, one Pokéball and a small candy in a blue wrapper. She didn’t waste any more time as she slung the bag over her shoulder and dashed to the front door, leaping out and closing it behind her.

“I’m back~ And what’s your name mister?” She said to the boy with white hair, her eyes twinkling in excitement as she looked up at him, then she noticed the Charmander. “Oh wow, a Charmander so cool!” She cried, her eyes widening as she looked at the little fire lizard with curiosity, though she didn’t touch her, she didn’t know if they would want her to. “I can’t wait to get my own pokémon.” She sighed before looking back at the ivory haired boy and smiling brightly. “That’s what you’re going to help me with, I don’t know how to catch a pokémon. So if you help me catch one, I’ll give you a rare candy.” She chirped, showing the boy the rare candy for a moment before placing it back in her bag for safe keeping. “You lead the way!”

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Kadyn wasn't even sure he was done knowcking before he heard the rapid scuffling of a child through the door. Shortly following was her excited cries of joy that made him chuckle uncontrollably. He jumped out of his laughing spasms as she opened the door, causing him to straighten up and try to act more like a proper coordinator. Her cute childish features looked up at him, eyes filled with nothing but innocence and excitement. Kade smiled down at her, feeling better than he had for a while. “Hello mister, I’m Penelope! Are you here to help me?” He propped his jaw open to reply to her, but the young girl ran back into the house, leaving him with a 'stay put' sort of comment. Shaking h is head at her restlessness, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his legs. Sirenia had her head poking from around one of them, examining everything closely. She seemed all to interested in the child's home, probably because she was so like the young girl. Though he'd just gotten her, Ren was obviously fairly child-like. She was a baby, though. At a level five, she was hardly close to evolution even. He'd gotten that from her general personality, as well as the feeling that she was pretty headstrong. She didn't listen well, especially when it was a female trying to speak to her. She listened better to males, which was rather humorous.

A whistle came from his mouth and he tilted back to look up at the sky, which was surprisingly clear after the small storm Onyx Harbour had recieved just a bit earlier. Footsteps snapped him out of his small revelation and his blue eyes shifted to the young girl in front of him, who just now asked his name. Smirking over a response, he was about to answer when she noticed Ren. "It's nice to meet you Penelope! My name's Kadyn, but feel free to call me Kade. That's Sirenia, and you can pet her or do whatever you'd like with her." He ran a hand through his hair in embarassment, though he was just speaking to a child. Ren walked out from behind his leg so she was fully visible and waved a paw up at the schoolgirl. At her next comment, he realized he still didn't know what exactly he was going to do for her. Hopefully it wasn't anything to hard . . . He'd do whatever it was no matter what, but he was hoping to get a room at the PokéCenter before he was forced to camp outside from lack of room. His eyebrows rose when she stated his job and inside of him, nervousness rose up. He hadn't even caught his first Pokémon! He knew how to - he'd seen his dad do it before. But still . . . "What Pokémon have you seen around here that you'd like?" He wasn't about to help her catch a Starly when she really wanted a Caterpie, or whatever her choices were.

He turned on his heels and began walking toward the grass around the outskirts of the forest. It wasn' necessary to take her into the lush paradise in order to get her a good Pokémon. Of course, if she wanted a Jumpluff or something that would be hidden deep in, he'd be more than willing to go get it with her. His sneakers came in contact with the grass just as Sirenia ran forward, leaping through a bush and into the outskirts of the forest. "First off, we'll just scout out whatever Pokémon you'd like. Whenever you're doing this on your own journeys, just keep the terrains in mind! A water Pokémon wouldn't be in the desert and a fire Pokémon wouldn't be in the ocean. Though I - um - am sure you already know that," he said with embarassment lighting his face once more. He side-stepped around the bush his Charmander ran through and looked back at Penelope, then into the clearing that he had just entered with her. It was small, surrounded by the bushes on the very edge of the forest and the trees lining that sprouted everywhere. All around them, he could hear the scuffling of small Pokémon, and even caught the flashes of a Pidgey up on a branch above them.

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

[ SCHOOL GIRL PENELOPE ]

Penelope couldn’t help but squeal a little as she heard Kadyn say she could pet his charmander, which he had named Sirenia, which Penny thought was a very cute name. She lightly petted her hands over the little orange lizard, making sure to not go near the flickering flames at the tip of the tale. “She’s beautiful.” Penelope cooed, smiling at Ren with such an adoring and innocent look. She looked up at Kadyn, his ivory hair stood out brilliantly in the lush green forest but to Penelope his hair was beautiful and she really wanted to touch it. However, her mother had told her not to be rude to any strangers, especially the coordinators taking part in the Golden Island challenge. Instead, she stared for a few moments in wonder at his pearly white hair before focusing on his eyes as he talked to her. “I don’t have any pokémon in mind mister kade. Mummy says that the pokémon that is meant for me would be the one I will catch.” She said with a smile, producing a the crimson and white sphere, commonly known as a pokeball. “I have my own, so you don’t have to use any of yours.”

Before she knew it, Penelope skipped after Kade, not leaving his side as they walked to the edge of the forest. “Mummy said its dangerous in there and I can’t go in until I’m older.” She sighed, though she was relieved Kade stopped, she was secretly a little scared of going into the forest just yet. A sudden rustle in the bushes caused Penelope to jump a little, grabbing onto Kade’s arm for a moment before watching as something scuttled out of the bushes. From the green leaves came a small cream and brown striped body with wide black eyes, a wild Zigzagoon, Penelope couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, a smile creeping onto her face. “Look mister Kade, a Zigzagoon!” She whispered, not wanting to scare the creature away.

male
level 07
tackle , growl , tail whip

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It was hard not to smile when one was near such innocence. Kade had always loved children, though he usually thought of babies as children. Instead, he decided he wouldn't mind babysitting kids like Penelope. She reached out to pet the Charmander, who pressed herself against her hand happily. The Pokémon seemed to be enjoying the praise and care she was getting from the young schoolgirl all too much. He sighed, knowing he really needed to build up a bond with the creature. Sure, they had a connection by then. When his hand touched her ball, it seemed like electricity shot through him and physically drew him toward the fire lizard. But . . . Did she trust him enough to follow his instructions whenever he gave them? And would she give her all in a battle for him? Maybe he was just overreacting and overanalyzing everything because he was a bad leader at times. His cloudy eyes cleared up for a moment when he looked at her, listening to her cheerful words. Relief washed over him, though he had nothing to really be relieved about. He would have gladly given up a Pokéball if it meant this girl could have gotten her first Pokémon. He didn't like waiting so long for his, so anything to encourage her. Besides, by the time she started her journey she'd have a very powerful partner if she played with it and trained it at her school. "That's great! How about this? I'll battle the Pokémon with Ren and give you instructions as I go along. Then, I'll give you a signal to throw the Pokéball. Sound good?"

Kadyn nodded as she spoke once more, knowing very well that the forest looked a bit intimidating. Even a full-grown man could have a problem with going into the forest. Of course, he would have taken her if necessary because he had no problem with going in. He would never want to conflict with the girl's mother, though. 'Never mess with the Momma Bear.' He learned that one when Chloe's mother, his rival's mother, all but attacked a boy that taunted her by repeatedly stepping on their lawn. Smiling at the thought, he watched as Ren wobbled back over to them from the left side, obviously cheerful. All three in the party jumped suddenly when the bushes rustled, though Kade jumped because Penelope grabbed his arm. He watched intently, not minding that she was clinging to him for the time being. From the bushes came a Zigzagoon, a Pokémon Kadyn had heard quite a bit about. "Your future Zigzagoon," he whispered back over a smile. Looking down at Ren, he put out a hand in an effort to point out where she needed to go. She bounded out in front of them, standing opposite of the Zigzagoon. "Let's do it, Sirenia!"

The lizard Pokémon lifted her head, and scented the air, trying to understand her surroundings. Kade had never felt more thrilled. His first battle and he would be helping to catch a little girl's Pokémon! Smiling over everything, his shining blue eyes looked over their surroundings quickly. He needed to make a move before something else happened . . . "Start off with scratch, and hide in the shrubs before you move!" She was one of the most obvious things he'd ever seen when approaching something, so maybe a little cover would have been good. Instead, as she scrambled in through a tiny openening, she rattled most of the bushes. Shaking his head, he wanted to yell something else out after her, but his mind was shot at the moment. She proceeded slowly and, for a few moments, the rustling stopped. That is until she shot out of the bushes and near the Zigzagoon, attempting to land her scratch attack.

[POKÉMON & NPCS]

.penelope !

The young girl gazed up at Kadyn with wide eyes. “My future Zigzagoon?” echoed Penelope, trying to sound out the words in order to understand them. She then gasped, smiling a dazzling smile that would kill any sort of negativity. “I’ll pay attention to every word! I promise!” Excitement seized Penelope’s manners, clearly as she let go of Kadyn’s arm and began cheering Siernia on with encouraging words. The wild Zigzagoon, however, wasn’t as enthusiastic about this encounter. He was hungry; not in the mood for battling and such, but he wasn’t that hungry. Sucking it up and shaking his barbed fur carelessly, he then snapped into the battle approach, rearing around as the slippery crimson lizard disappeared into the bushes, causing quite a ruckus in the process. A Weedle could have seen it a mile away! Zigzagoon chuckled softly, content with how easy this match would be for him. He patiently watched the noise gradually make its way down the length of the bush, until it finally grew silent. Now, to anticipate where he would leap from in order to make his move. Zigzagoon’s beady eyes ran up and down the bush, watching with sensitive eyes for the slightest bit of movement.

Nothing. That Charmander was a slippery fellow. There was then an abrupt fray that caused him to whip his head around, completely unaware that the Charmander had been sheltered in layers of bush far from where he had been searching. It lunged out towards him, claws outstretched for a pain inflicting Scratch attack. Not relishing the thought of being struck, Zigzagoon attempted to dash away, only to be caught straight on the snout with the brutal Scratch attack. “Zagoon!” The creature hissed in pain, rubbing his bruised muzzle repeatedly. That had done it. Narrowing his eyes into vicious little slits, Zigzagoon glared at the lizard, which had so foolishly made herself close enough for him to retaliate. Without a moment’s hesitation, he charged forward, bracing himself for a Tackle. Penelope gasped lightly, fearing that the Zigzagoon would injure Siernia badly. She had even nearly closed her eyes. Instead, she whispered, “Come on, Siernia!” She had to stay positive and confident, that came with the deal of being a Pokémon Coordinator. Like Kadyn and the beautiful Siernia. The girl expectantly looked up to the young man, wondering what he would order his fire type Pokémon to do in this predicament.

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It may have been hard to believe, but for a moment, Kadyn thought that the young schoolgirl may have been dissappointed in the decision, or random coming, of the Zigzagoon. His face was about to flush in embarassment, but her bright smile quickly wiped away everything else. She was excited and ready for the Pokémon to become hers. If he and Sirenia could pull it off, that is. Kade smiled brightly back at her as she spoke to him, answering his statement about telling her what he was doing. Sometimes, the innocence of a child was really a pleasant thing. Most trainers that he had met recently were around his age. While quite often, girls were angels and a few boys were rather joyous, having a lot of teenagers around meant trouble. Cursing, anger, unnecessary yelling and violence - all things that never occurred when a child was near. His blue eyes looked at her with curiosity for a moment, letting it all sink in. Her mother was lucky, he had to say. If he ever had a child, he would start them out with Pokémon as soon as possible. From a young age he'd work with the kid so it was ready to start it's journey with gusto. Penelope was smart as well - a trait he also adored. The number of Pokémon trainers was lowering a bit, but the IQ of people was lowering so much faster. Honestly, it was hard to actually have an educated conversation at times.

Kade's eyes shifted from Penelope to the battle that was just starting to occur. It was rather obvious that Ren was inexperienced, but maybe the Zigzagoon would be slightly off. Or Ren would just learn some things (like stealth) naturally. As she ambled through the bushes and his smile faded to a frown. A big frown at that. The noise of her approach would surely give her away! But what . . . What was happening? The rustling slowly stopped and went down to just the sound of leaves hitting each other because of the breeze. She was waiting! Determination lighting his eyes, he allowed himself to mutter something softly to the girl. "Before you throw a Poké Ball, you should always lower a Pokémon's health and stamina down until it is nearly knocked out. If it does get knocked out, it's fine, there's just a chance of it not growing as attached to you as possible. Always remember to use what's around you for extra help in battle!" Eyes looking directly at the Zigzagoon, he almost wanted to frown again. It was stronger than Sirenia, which didn't make him impossible to beat, but just a bit tougher. As it seemed to search for her, a red/orange shape scrambled from the bushes and moved directly toward the brown Pokémon. Ren's claws lashed out at the moment the Zigzagoon turned, catching its muzzle and causing it to yelp out something. If a Pokémon could glare, that would have been exactly what the tuft of brown fur had done to Ren.

The Charmander hardly had time to think of moving before the Zigzagoon charged her. It was close, but in an attempt to move out of the way, she side-stepped. She wouldn't have done it, but when the Zigzagoon came charging, the young girl's words encouraged her to. To so do what came naturally and to help the girl at all costs. Not getting fully away, its head beat part of her lower left side with a thud. She bounced back a step of two, wincing in pain. "Char!"

[/color] She looked helplessly at Kade, who nearly broke out into a sweat. "Scratch once more, Sirenia!" Since the Pokémon was not far away, she pushed off the ground hard with her legs. Her slight movement may have been startling, but she landed beside the Zigzagoon in enough time to swipe her paw out toward its side again. Wishing she could close her eyes, she just waited for what would come.[/size][/blockquote]