The meadow outside of Isido Town hung heavy with the scent of wildflowers. The lovely scent permeated the air like perfume. It was a beautiful afternoon, and Emeline found herself enjoying the scenery of the grassy meadow. It looked like an excellent place to find more pokemon. That's why she had come here in the first place.

Her eyes moved to the small handbag she was carrying that held the pokeballs of the three pokemon she already had. First there was Topaz. She was an excitable little Ponyta that was able to use ember despite not being at a high enough level. She was energetic, even overly so at times, but there was a lot of potential. Next was Jade. That Bulbasaur was stoic and needed a bit of an attitude adjustment. Still, she was a fierce fighter and a handy addition to Emeline's team. Finally, there was Haku. The male Kecleon was a bit slow to react sometimes and tended to eat a lot. He hadn't gotten much chance to show his capabilities in battle, so Emeline would have to figure out a decent strategy for him as they went along.

The young woman had a fairly impressive team for a beginner. That's not what she wanted though. She wanted a team who could stand up to the best of the best. It was a goal that would take quite some time to achieve, and Emeline knew that the first step was to capture more pokemon. She would be able to go much further if she had more than half of a team. Hopefully there would be some good candidates wandering around the meadow on this fine afternoon.

"Seriously, Hannah?!"

A voice cried out in the distance. If anybody had cared enough to look, they would have seen two girls standing beneath one of the few trees scattered across the meadow, seemingly arguing about something. The shorter of the two had her arms folded across her chest defensively, looking guiltily to the side at nothing in particular. "You promised you wouldn't!" Her companion continued, her bright teal eyes narrowed accusingly. A Pokèmon could be seen on her shoulder, playing anxiously with her golden-brown locks, but couldn't be identified from afar.

The shorter, Hannah, shook her head sadly. She too had a Pokèmon with her, although it was hiding behind her legs, frightened by the yelling. She continued to talk, but not loud enough for anybody else in the area to hear.

Not far from them, a pack of Hoppip floated by, enjoying the warm breeze.

[How & when did Topaz learn to use Ember? It's not on your character sheet, and seeing as she was your starter, she shouldn't have any special moveset. >am confused]

Emeline's attention was caught by the group of red dots that were floating in the corner of her eye. Upon closer examination she realized it was a group of Hoppip. The Creighton daughter paused. Hoppip were somewhat weak pokemon from what she had gathered. Then there was the fact that she already had a grass type n her team. Still, capturing one of them might turn out to be a pleasant surprise. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Hmm?" Before Emeline could start making her way towards the pack of Hoppip, she heard a loud voice coming from two girls that she was currently sharing the meadow with. She blinked and watched the two of them from across the way. However, she couldn't quite tell what was going on from here. Not only was the young woman curious as to the reason for all of the shouting, but this could also be an opportunity to spread her name. All Emeline had to do was swoop in, solve whatever problem they were having, and then she would be on her way to the fame she was seeking. In addition, she would awe them with her exceptional grace and beauty. Surely they would tell everyone they know about such an encounter. Yes, Emeline was a tad vain...

"Oh dear! Such shouting isn't fitting for a pair of young ladies such as yourselves. What seems to be the problem?" Emeline asked as she waltzed over to the two of them. The pack of Hoppip would have to wait. Hopefully they wouldn't dissapear while she was dealing with this.

((Allister stated that she could use Ember in the topic at Professor Hawthorn's lab that got deleted. It has something to do with her being hooked up to a strange machine.))

The girls stopped what they were doing to turn and look at you. Hannah seemed somewhat relieved, but the taller just looked annoyed.

"Smea!" Hannah's Pokèmon, a lanky looking Smeargle cried out happily.

The brunette placed her hands on her hips, glaring at you. "'Young ladies such as yourselves'? Who even talks like that anymore? What are you, 70?" She shook her head. "Whatever, it's not any of your business, but Hannah here, just decided to up and leave to travel around the friggin' region without me. You promised you would wait!" she snapped, stomping on the ground dramatically.

"I've waited 3 years, how much longer do you want me to sit around and put my dreams on hold?"

They continued to bicker endlessly, almost forgetting about you entirely.

It’s a good thing Emeline prided herself on her superior acting talent and restraint, or she would have rung the little brat’s neck for such insolence. She needed to keep calm. Murder would draw the wrong kind of fame to her, and not even the wealthy Creighton family could do much to save her reputation at that point. She would just need to show the mouthy child what’s what.

Without even flinching on the outside, Emeline continued to smile and keep her overly bubbly demeanor. She raised her hand and waggled her finger at the unnamed taller girl. ”Now, now… One’s age has nothing to do with how properly they speak, or how much dignity they carry themselves with. Perhaps you should give it a try. You would seem far less brutish that way, teehee,” the young woman replied in the most sincere tone she could come up with. Maybe that would shut the tall one’s mouth so she could solve their little issue and be done with them.

”So, Miss Hannah has grown impatient after waiting three years to start her pokemon journey? A promise is a promise, but I can see where one could grow impatient from the long wait,” Emeline mused. She then turned back to the unnamed girl. ”So, what is it that is keeping you from joining Miss Hannah?”

Emeline smirked inwardly. She didn’t believe the girl’s pout for a moment, seeing as how she was just talking to her in such a manner. Not only that, but Emeline could do the exact same thing; she was just better at it. The young woman would play along regardless and remain oblivious.

”A doctor, you say? Such a noble profession… That certainly explains why you haven’t been able to travel,” Emeline remarked to Kaylee, whose name she had just now learned. Both sides had reasons not to budge on their decision. How could Emeline mediate this? It was then that an idea sprung into her head. She looked back at the pack of Hoppip and then to Hannah.

”Perhaps a compromise can be reached. If you could each catch one of those Hoppip, would that be enough to tide you over until Miss Kaylee is able to complete her education?” It was a brilliant idea. No wonder Emeline thought of it…

Should she side with Kaylee or Hannah? That was indeed the big question at the moment. Her first instinct was to side with the less bitchy one, Hannah. Somehow Emeline couldn’t help but think that there was a better solution that would make her look like more of the hero that saves the day. Anything that could get her more positive recognition was more than welcome.

”I must admit, it is a difficult decision to make. Both sides of the argument seem quite valid,” Emeline pondered aloud. She was slightly put off by the fact that her idea had been shot down. However, another idea popped into her head. This one was certainly far better than her other one. ”Hannah, you are eager to become a trainer, correct? You already have some pokemon of your own. What if I became the deciding factor in this decision?,” Emeline proposed. ”I, Emeline Marie Creighton, wish to challenge you to a battle. You see, I recently became a trainer myself. If you are truly ready to start your journey now, you should be able to defeat me. If not, then you must honor your promise and wait three more months. That should be ample time to better prepare yourself for the road ahead.”

Never one to charge blindly into a situation, pulling out her pokedex was the very first thing Emeline did. She didn’t like the fact that Smeargle was two levels higher than her two strongest pokemon. There wasn’t anything she could to about that though. It didn’t matter much anyway; Emeline was determined to win her first official match. It would just take a little more effort on her part.

”Normally I am opposed to gambling. However, this is an official battle and I suppose it would only be proper,“ Emeline stated, agreeing to the bet. The young woman opened up her silk handbag and pulled out one of her three pokeballs. She examined it carefully before making up her mind. Hopefully this first pokemon that she was sending out would be the correct choice. ”Present yourself Haku!“ Emeline called as she released the Kecleon from his pokeball.



Haku stared down the Smeargle. He could tell his opponent had a bit more experience than him, but her wasn't easily deterred. ”Kecleon!“ he called out in anticipation, psyching himself up for his first trainer battle. Emeline wasn't sure what moves the enemy Smeargle had learned with Sketch, so she would have to be careful about this fight. ”If we are both ready to begin... Haku, start things off with Fury Swipes,“ Emeline commanded. The green chameleon pokemon nodded and ran at the Smeargle, flailing his arms wildly.

Emeline narrowed her eyes as she watched the display. So the Smeargle had picked up a fire type move with his Sketch attack? It was a good thing that Kecleon had a high special defense compared to a Smeargle's special attack, but it certainly didn't help that he had gotten off the attack as such a close range. The young lady had done plenty of research before setting out on her journey. If she was going to raise and train pokemon, she had wanted to be educated about it.

The fire attack looked like it hurt, but it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Still, it would be best not to allow Smeargle to keep doing it. "Haku, show them that you are not to be trifled with. Put that special ability of yours to good use, and then hit him with another Fury Swipes. Be more cautious and try not to let him grab you this time," Emeline instructed. Color Change would help immensely if Smeargle decided to let out another stream of flames. Since Haku was now temporarily a fire type, it wouldn't do nearly as much damage to him. "Indeed, meadow fires are dangerous. You wouldn't want to hurt the poor little pokemon that live here," Emeline added in a serious tone. She knew it was just playful banter, but she had to keep up her overbearing big sister act.

Haku rubbed his singed face and looked at Smeargle with intense determination. He knew that his trainer was all about perfection, and he wanted to show her that he had the right stuff to be number one! "Kecleon! he cried. Haku felt his body change slightly as his Color change ability took place. The Kecleon regained his bearings and began swinging his arms for another Fury Swipes. Hopefully this time he could avoid being grabbed since he didn't have any damaging long ranged attacks.

((Out of curiosity, was that flamethrower, ember, or a completely different move?))