All the World's a Pokemon - IC

[Major Mario]

'Pokemon Center' - Dewford Town - Hoenn Region - @Wriggle

---

Sherry glanced over at Yuuka with an incredulous expression when the machine failed to do its duty. She figured that this sort of thing didn't happen often given the 'nurse's' reaction. Of all the dumb luck to have crossed their path, this was the first and worst part of the day. However, Sherry shrugged and had an optimistic thought that it was all uphill from here, as the machine would be fixed in due time. Seeing that the 'nurse' had gone into a backroom to talk to their senile grandmother dashed that thought rather spectacularly. Scratching the back of her neck, the agent looked around aimlessly in embarrassment for the nurse.

When the girl came back, Sherry was tempted to just let her go her own way and come back later with a few potions, but after seeing that the machine that healed her partners was offline, she had another thought. If the machine was down, that meant nobody would be able to heal their pokemon in a quick and speedy fashion, thus being forced to buy potions. Sherry wasn't altruistic, but she couldn't let the girl take all that hardship without offering some help.

"It's uh... No problem... Is there any way we can help you out?" Sherry asked.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Dewford Town Pokemon Center

---

"Ah, no, it's okay..." Juna fidgeted. "I... I don't want to put any burden on you for my fault."

Juna opened her wallet to find that the wallet was mostly empty, save for a few old yellow slips of 100 PokeDollars.

"Oh no, I wouldn't even be able to afford an Ether with this..." Juna sighed, pocketed her wallet, and drew a small shrunken Pokeball. "Will I ever be able to earn enough money to become a trainer, Lexa?"

[Major Mario]

'Pokemon Center' - Dewford Town - Hoenn Region - @Wriggle

---

Boy, this girl really was in a bad situation. Sherry's heart felt for her, knowing all too well that she had been in a similar situation before, if not worse. She looked over at the shrunken pokeball in the girl's hands and gave an inquisitive tilt of her head.

"Lexa? Is that the name of your partner, Juna?" Sherry asked. "I got that right, right? Juna?"

Now that she was thinking about names, a certain someone came back to mind. Mr. Chui still needed to be found! Putting that thought aside for the moment, Sherry Birkin waited on the bumbling, unfortunate girl.

[S121]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

John was that Koishi was running ahead, so he quickly followed suit and made his way to the Pokemon Gym. As he entered the cave he noticed that it looked much like an actual mining cave. Perhaps it was simply for aesthetics, or maybe this place used to actually be a mining tunnel, but either way, John didn't really care too much. His objective was to beat the gym leader, and that was exactly what he was going to do. With that in mind, Joh walked down the middle path and readied himself for what lied beyond.

[WriggleRid3r]

Hoenn Region - Dewford Town Pokemon Center

---

"It's my Mareep." Juna answered. "I adopted her after she was abandoned by what was once known as Team Aqua... In fact, most of the Pokemon you see out in the garden are all abandoned Pokemon I adopted. I don't just run the Pokemon Center, I run the day-care and the kennel as well."

"Surely you must be getting quite a bit of money then." Yuuka asked. "How do you not have enough money?"

"...It's my grandmother." Juna answered hesitantly, glancing back at the room that her senile grandmother is resting in. "She has Alzheimer's disease, and tends to break the expensive machines, like she did right now. I can probably fix it... But when I can't, I have to buy a new one by travelling to Rustboro City or Slateport City... And they don't come cheap."

"Don't you have parents?" Yuuka inquired.

"They... They lost their lives while on the sea." Juna sighed, to which Yuuka gulped and wished she didn't ask the question.

---

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

---

"Right, I'll be your opponent!" A young boy wearing an oversized miner hat greeted Koishi inside a small chamber leading back up. The chamber was lit dimly by a gas lamp.

---

"Hey, you made it!"

John could see that Theodore, the miner that informed him about Ur Didact's presence in Sinnoh, was going to be his opponent. He could also observe that their fight was going to be held at the old wooden bridge with planks that are falling apart from the ground and greasy, stiff ropes. Fall would lead to a relatively short drop, and John would certainly be able to shrug it off, but it would still hurt for his Pokemon.

"I'm glad you're following the steps of the gym challenge." Theodore guffawed. "But I'm not going to let you challenge Roark. You'll have to get through me!"

[S121]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

John was slightly surprised to see Theodore here, but it was nothing overly remarkable. John was a little bit confused by Theodore's enthusiasm though. To John, it was simply a pokemon battle, not an actual fight, or celebration of any kind. Either way, Theodore was going to be his first battle, and if John wanted to get past him, he would need to defeat him. Right as John tried to approach Theodore, he noticed the horrible condition of the bridge. The bridge may have been able to support Theodore, but it would most likely fall apart if John stepped onto it. The wooden boards looked like they were rotting from the slight humidity in the air, and the ropes looked unsafe at best. If anything, this was a horrible place for John to stand, much less have a pokemon battle on. After a moment to consider his options, John looked over to Theodore and spoke.

"Would it be acceptable if we fought away from the bridge. It's going to collapse if I step on it.", John calmly asked Theodore.

[Koishi]

Oreburgh City Gym

---

"Mhm, alright." Koishi said. "Wiggly, your time to shine."

Koishi opened the pokeball, where the little Wiggly scurried out.

[Major Mario]

'Pokemon Center' - Dewford Town - Hoenn Region - @Wriggle

---

"So, you take care of your grandmother most of the time since you lost your parents," Sherry commented. "I'm... sorry for you, and I know how you feel. I lost my parents too."

It wasn't often that you found a person whose parents died from something natural like a disaster at sea, but that didn't take away the weight of how crushing it was. To take care of yourself at so young of an age was difficult, and without the support of family and friends, the experience could leave you broken down. Sherry only managed to get by because she had Leon and Claire, for if not for them, she would have forever been a simple test subject for Simmons' vile projects.

"Can't you ask for donations? As far as I can tell, you're the only one who knows how to run the healing machine, and that would make you invaluable."

[WriggleRid3r]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

---

"Alright, sounds fair." Theodore shrugged as he wiped sweat off of his forehead. "I'll head over there."

Theodore leaped from one plank to the next, and surprisingly the planks held. The old bridge look was, in fact, just a decoration.

---

"Go, Geodude!" The miner hat boy sent out Geodude, a common sight in rock type gyms. The little boulder Pokemon had rocky arms and was hovering mid-air. He looked like a smaller version of Tenshi.

---

Hoenn Region - Dewford Town Pokemon Center

---

"I used to get them until two months ago..." Juna explained. "Someone has been stealing my donations whenever I wasn't looking. I want to install a security camera to track the thief, but I end up not having enough money to do so, and the local police couldn't catch the thief at all."

"Hmm... Hey Sherry, you think the so-called Team Anarchy is up to no good again?" Yuuka hypothesized.

[S121]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

John was a little surprised that the bridge held, despite its appearance. Of course, it was all a matter of if it would hold for John. If John won, then he would soon find out. After Theodore got closer to John, John pulled readied himself for the battle and spoke to Theodore.

"Ready?", John asked Theodore as he pulled out Astron's pokeball and held it at the ready.

[Koishi]

Orebrugh City Gym

---

"Wiggly, show 'em your new trick." Koishi smiled.

A gush of water sprayed out from Wiggly, the stream headed right towards the Geodude.

[WriggleRid3r]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

---

The Geodude ducked sideways, the water jet mere inches away from him. He continued gliding until he arrived at the side of the chamber... where multitudes of rocks and boulders, beckoning to be thrown, resided. The Geodude held up a boulder larger than himself and chucked it at Wiggly.

---

"Sure am!" Theodore, enthusiastic about the battle, sent out his Pokemon, Machop.

Machop was a rugged-looking Pokemon with small but well-built body. He had three little ridges on his head, presumably his hair, and the attitude of a pro wrestler.

[S121]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

Just as soon as Theodore brought out Machop, John tossed Astron's pokeball into the air. As soon as the ball reached the highest peak of its flight, a red arc of energy shot towards the ground and Astron materialized. As soon as Astron materialized, John was already coming up with a battle plan. From what John could see, the Machop was a strong looking pokemon. Sure, Astron might be able to land a Water Gun on the Machop, but if he got hit, then he would take a lot of damage. The best course of action would be to increase Astron's defense, then attack when he was well protected from the Machop's attacks.

"Astron, use Harden.", John said to Astron.

[Koishi]

Oreburgh City Gym

---

"Wrap!" Koishi said. Wiggly's tentacles extended, catching the boulder in mid-air. Instead of wrapping it however, Wiggly threw it back and shot it with a Water Gun, propelling it faster, and making the boulder wet.

[WriggleRid3r]

Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City Gym

---

"Machop, that Staryu is hardening its' body, let's build up our power too!" Theodore bellowed, to which the Machop agreed as he began to bulk up his muscles, gaining both attack and defense at the same time.

---

The hastened rock smashed into the Geodude, but he seemed unfazed by it, thanks to his high defense. He slammed into Wiggly with a high-speed tackle, sending Wiggly to the wall.