The Crystalline Cathedral- Ami and Chroma's Secret Base

[Missingno. Master]

Keith noted how doubtful Ami sounded. It didn't bother him much- if she wanted proof, he and his Pokémon were more than capable of providing it. He smiled and nodded as she stated that she would likely seek his help if ever she got one of her own. "Works for me," he replied. "If you ever need to know anything about Poison-types, by all means, don't hesitate to ask."

"Y-yeah, that's true," Aster agreed. "J-Jack wants to try teaching him, though- h-he's a Ditto, he's Transformed into stuff that s-swim like humans before."


"Nah, not much," Dennis shook his head. "Only other move like that I can think of is Flatter, and neither one of us can learn that- works like Swagger, except it's for Special Attack instead of Attack. But any other way of trying to weaken him, that'll still work like normal," he added. "Paralysis'll still slow him down, burning him'll still weaken his physical attacks, things like that. You really wanna slow him down? Learn an attack that can paralyze the opponent. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Stun Spore is one of the only spore-based moves we can't learn, but if your Trainer's willing to spend a little extra cash at the Move Tutor, there's another option- Thunder Wave."


Chuck couldn't help but grin and chuckle, pleased by how happy the Inkay seemed to be. It was kinda sad, he realized, that such a nice Inkay was so feared by his teammates merely because of the bad reputation Malamar had. He vaguely wondered whether there might be any way he could help with this.

[Median Dia]

"Okay, that's cool." Ami paused, feeling like she had made things a little awkward. "Well, it seems like these guys have hit it off," she stated, referring to the conversation taking place on their shoulders.

'Transform?' Bell asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term. 'That mean's he takes on another shape, I guess?'


'Yeah, da whole stun Spore thin' kinda struck me as odd,' the pumkasaur admitted with a nod. 'Thunder Wave should do da trick then, if I'm understandin' ya right!'


'Em htiw taht lla gnirahs rof hcum yrev uoy knaht!' Elenchos bowed slightly toward the visiting specter. 'Dnim ym ffo thgiew taerg a koot ti!'

[Missingno. Master]

"Yeah, looks like," Keith agreed, seeing that Aster and Bell were currently in a conversation. "And Aster's kinda shy, so this is pretty good to see." Just then, Nagini slithered up to them. "Oh, hey," Keith smiled, stroking the Arbok's head. "What'd you think of the battle, Nagini?"

"Chaaaaboka," Nagini replied approvingly.

"You liked it, right?" Keith grinned. "That's good- Anion really did well for her first battle, and Ami and Bell were pretty good themselves."

"Chaaaa," Nagini, hissing her agreement.


"Y-yeah," Aster replied. "H-he can make himself look e-exactly like anything or anyone he wants... a-as long as it's right there for him to see... h-he can Transform from m-memory, b-but it doesn't always come out right when he tries that..."


Dennis nodded. "I think you're understanding me right," he grinned. "So, Butternut, want to meet my Trainer?"


Chuck bowed back to Elenchos. "Happy to help," the Gengar replied. "Say, Elenchos, earlier, it sounded like you started to ask me something when I mentioned Mega Evolution?" he added.

[Median Dia]

"Bell does seem to have an easy time at speaking with others, apparently.' Ami attested. "He was able to get Kawaii's skitty to show him around her place before, and that little kitten's pretty shy as well!" The purple form of Keith's arbok then came into view, and the two of them had a brief conversation, followed by a challenge. "Oh, um..." She looked over to the dewpider on her shoulder.

Bell listened on with a bit of awe in his eyes. 'Woah. Even with the mistakes, it must be pretty fun to be able to become anything, right?' The humans' conversation then changed as Nagini slithered into it, urging the dewpider to shake his head furiously. 'Nope, not me! One electric battle's enough for today, really don't need another!'

"Guess that's a no from Bell, and Nadie isn't even here right now... Guess all that leaves is Glimmerwood. Oh, dear..."


'You mean da guy wit' da giant marble on his hat?' Butternut asked, already sure that it was the right answer. 'Why not? You must be gettin' cramped in here, anyway!'


'Haey, ho!' Elen squeaked in recognition of the term that had gotten swept away by other conversation. '"Noitulove Agem" si yltcaxe tahw?'

[Missingno. Master]

"Ah, yeah, I've seen that Skitty," Keith nodded. "My Ivysaur's pretty good friends with her. Well, then again, Pomona's good friends with lots of people and Pokémon. She loves to make new friends." Then, once Nagini slithered over, Ami seemed to be silently asking Bell something, to which the Dewpider's answer was apparently an emphatic no. Keith and Nagini exchanged confused looks for a moment, and then he realized something. "Wh- oh, no, no, we weren't challenging you to another battle," he said, hastening to try and clear up an apparent misunderstanding.

"Chaaa," Nagini nodded.

"I mean, I wouldn't say no to another battle," Keith said fairly. "But all I was doing was telling Nagini that you two did pretty good against me and Anion. Besides, I get the feeling you have no desire to use Glimmerwood in battle, so I don't think it'd be right to force it, y'know?"


Aster nodded at Bell's words. "Jack s-says it's a lot of fun," she confirmed, before the conversation turned to the alleged battle challenge. "Uh... uh... um..." she murmured shyly, torn between trying to volunteer herself to battle if anyone was willing, and her naturally shy nature, especially around those she'd only just met.


"That's the one," Dennis confirmed. "And yeah, a little, now that you mention it," he added, ready to get moving as soon as Butternut was.


"Well, it's a transformation certain Pokémon can undergo in battle if they hold their respective Mega Stone. Which is what this is, by the way," he added, indicating the spherical gem set into his headband. "That stone's called a Gengarite. And since Keith's got a Key Stone- that's that rainbow-colored marble set into his hat- he can use that to enable me to Mega Evolve into what's known as Mega Gengar. He couldn't Mega Evolve on his own, but for the sake of giving some sort of demonstration, he phased into the floor, leaving only a Gengar-shaped shadow, which he slowly morphed to look like a Mega Gengar. Once he was sure Elenchos had gotten a good look, he emerged from the floor. "In that form I'm much faster and more powerful. I turn back to this form when the battle is over, of course."

[Median Dia]

(OOC: I am an idiot with a low WIS score. Sorry about that misinterpretation...)

Both Ami and Bell heaved sighs of relief, a couple bubbles floating to the top of the latter's dome. "Oh, thank goodness. That would've been even more one-sided than normal..." Ami paused as a thought occurred to her. "Though if Glimmer somehow survived the onslaught of Poison Attacks, I don't think the opponent would. I'm glad you liked the last one, though!"

'Phew, that was a close one.' Bell was evidently calming back down. 'After feeling what you-' he nodded at Anion, acknowledging the rider of the other shoulder- 'I wouldn't wish you guys on anyone. That Acid Downpour was definitely not pleasant...'


Butternut headed toward the collection of travel devices and waited for the venusaur to catch up. 'I think it was... Dis one!' He jumped on one of the magic circles and instantly warped out of view.


'Huh, noitulove yraropmet a?' The inkay blinked, not quite sure if he had the right idea yet. 'Gnitseretni eb dluow ti ekil sdnuos taht.'

[Missingno. Master]

Ami and Bell both seemed very much relieved as Keith cleared up the misunderstanding. Keith gave a small grin as Ami mentioned how Nagini would not likely withstand Glimmer's counterattack should her Poison attacks fail to KO- it sounded like Bide to Keith, a move he quite liked. "Yeah, it was a good battle," he confirmed. "I liked seeing Bell use Savage Spin-Out- it was my first time ever seeing that Z-Move in action."


Aster's eyes lit up at Bell's words. "Acid Downpour?" she repeated. "Oh- Anion, you used it?" she asked the Minun.

"Heheh, yep!" grinned Anion. "And it's awesome!!"

"I know..." nodded Aster. "I... I was hoping there'd be a battle," she admitted to Bell. "I... I can use Acid Downpour too, and I r-really want a chance to practice with it."


Dennis followed Butternut, stepping onto the same warp panel as the Pumpkasaur, hoping, as did Butternut, that it was the right one.


Chuck nodded. "Definitely interesting," he confirmed. "Mega Evolution even changes my Ability from Cursed Body to Shadow Tag, so opponents aren't able to run away or be switched out by their Trainers. In fact, I could get Keith to help me demonstrate, if you'd like to see?"

[Median Dia]

"Well, it may have gotten us out of a jam or two, but it really isn't a whole lot at the moment," Ami admitted. "The base moves are rather weak, so Bell's Savage Spin-Out isn't at its true potential quite yet."

'Ehe, sorry to disappoint...' Bell still sounded a little nervous. 'Maybe the other human would be willing to? Honestly, I can't help but have this feeling that your Poison attacks are even more powerful than hers were, Aster, and that's saying something.'


'Uuh, I think I messed up.' The pair plant-toting reptiles found themselves in a wide, dimly lit room whose floor was absolutely littered with warp circles. 'Are you still on the one we just went through?'


'Ot ekil yletinifed d'I, ho!' Elen answered enthusiastically, before asking a question his own. 'Elttab ot ylno detimil ti si?'

[Missingno. Master]

"I know what you mean, yeah," Keith nodded. "Aster here only has Poison Sting to base her Acid Downpour off of, so it's not as powerful as it could be, but we're working on it," he added, giving a small smile to his Shiny Mareanie. "I can't wait until they start selling TMs again- I'm gonna buy a whole bunch of Sludge Wave TMs for so many of my Pokémon."


"What, Aster's Poison moves, stronger than mine?" Anion huffed. "I don't think so," the Minun shook her head. "She's only got Poison Sting, and I'm rocking Gunk Shot. Aw, c'mon, don't take it like that," she added, noting how downcast her words were getting the Mareanie. "Your Poison moves got nothing on mine right now, but I think we both know that ain't gonna last forever."

"Y-you think so?" Aster quietly asked Anion.

"No. I know so," smiled the Minun. "In fact, why not go for that battle? I wanna see you in action, and I think you'd put up a hell of a fight."

"A-a-alright, then," nodded Aster, sounding a bit less shy now. She gently tapped Keith on the shoulder with one of her tentacles (taking care to not tap him with any of her spikes.

"Hm? Aster, what is it?" Keith asked.

"Ma! Mareanie reanie!" Aster said excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

Though Mareanie language was not among the few Pokémon languages Keith understood, he had a feeling he knew what Aster was trying to say nevertheless. "Heh, sounds to me like you want a battle, am I right?" he asked Aster.

"Ma! Mareanie! Mareanie! Mareanie!" chanted Aster. She hopped down off of Keith's shoulder and made her way back out to the battlefield. She looked around, and upon spotting Chroma, jumped up and down. "Reanie! Mareanie!" she exclaimed, trying to get the idea across that she wanted a battle.


"Yeah, this don't look like the place," Dennis agreed. "Yeah, I'm still on it," he added. "Should I try stepping on it again?"


Chuck shook his head. "It's primarily used for battle, but it's not limited to just battle by any means," he replied. "I once had Keith Mega Evolve me so I could travel to see my girlfriend at a much greater speed than I could ever go in this state. And another time, Keith Mega Evolved me so I could hold off a fleet of military ships who wanted to kill a Missingno. Shadow Tag really can come in handy," he grinned.

[Median Dia]

"TMs, huh? I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into those either." Ami sighed. "Chroma's got a small stockpile, though all I've got is this Aurora Veil one I got shortly after Bell hatched, and, well... That move isn't exactly the greatest for us right now."

'Really?' Bell asked when Anion brought up the fact that Aster only knew one of the weakest moves of the type. 'I agree with Anion- something about you says that you have around the same amount of potential with Poison as I have with Water!'

Chroma wasn't exactly expecting to get stopped on her way to the arena proper, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. "Oh, hello there! You're a mareanie, right?" She knelt down to be a little closer to Aster's level. "Hmm, you want a battle, right? I'd have to find one of my pokemon for it, but it's certainly doable. But first..." She stood up quickly. "Hey Ami, you got a ping from the GTS! You might want to check up on that!"

"Wait, really?" The younger girl was certainly surprised, but quickly regained her composure. "Sorry, Keith, I gotta go for a bit. Can you help keep an eye on Bell for me?"


'Yeah, do dat please,' Butternut groaned at himself. 'At least dere aren't a whole lot of warp pads over dere...'


'Looc, ho!' Elen looked ready to dart off. 'Rehtaf dnif og s'tel, won!'

[Missingno. Master]

"Yeah, Aurora Veil's situational," Keith agreed. "I had a TM for that myself- taught it to my Weedle. It works well with her Frosted Flake Fall attack. I still think that move should have a name that's less of a mouthful, honestly- I like the sound of Razor Snow, personally..."

Aster blushed at Bell's praise. "Th-thank you," she said shyly, before she had gone off to challenge Chroma to a battle. She jumped up and down, nodding eagerly as Chroma correctly interpreted her intentions. The Shiny Mareanie looked a bit downcast at having to wait for the battle, but was excited for said battle nonetheless.

Keith nodded at Ami's request. "Sure, I'll look after him," he agreed. He held out a hand, offering the Dewpider a ride. Anion smiled at this, and made sure she left sufficient room on Keith's shoulder for her new friend.


Dennis nodded, and stepped back onto the same warp panel, which, if his limited knowledge of warp panels was correct, should take him back to where they started from. Of course, the Venusaur knew next to nothing about warp panels, even though he knew Keith had apparently ordered a few of them among the other materials that were going into his new Secret Base...


Chuck grinned. "Lead the way, then," he said to the Inkay, ready to follow.

[Median Dia]

"The hail's kinda the situation that's being problematic. I'd rather have it as an advantage of it's own than an even playing field of pain, you know?" Ami's call stole her attention away, and she held out her own arm for Bell to cross. "Thank you! I'll try to complete this errand as fast as possible!"

Bell scurried across both limbs and up to Keith's shoulder, being a little hesitant about taking someone else's spot. 'Hello again...' He waved to his trainer as she hurried off, satisfied that her pokemon would be alright.

Choma nodded to her sister as she passed, understanding the risk she just took. "Alright that's task one complete," Now to find someone for you to tussle with, little one." She looked around, trying to see if any of her pokemon were in the arena already.


Sure enough, the venusaur reappeared in the arena's stands, with Butternut not far behind. 'Sorry about dat, I'm still kinda new to dis place myself.' He walked over to another panel. 'Good thing dis place only has three, huh?' And with that, he disappeared from view again.


'Thgirla!' Elen quickly darted off, looked back to see if Chuck could actually keep up, and made his way to the stairs leading into the arena.

[Missingno. Master]

Keith nodded his agreement. "Makes sense," he agreed, before Ami left. He gave Bell a reassuring smile, noting the Dewpider's hesitance.

"Hiya!" grinned Anion, seemingly possessing enough enthusiasm for both herself and Bell. "Hey, no need to be nervous- Keith ain't about to shake us off or anything, and I got no problem sharing the seat with a friend, y'know?"


"Reanie! Mareanie!" Aster smiled in response to Chroma's words.


"It's no problem," Dennis replied, following Butternut to the new warp panel.


Chuck not only could keep up, he was doing just that. Of course, when Elenchos looked back, he wouldn't actually see Chuck, but if he were to notice that his shadow seemed to have morphed itself to look like a Machop riding a bicycle, that might clear up the mystery somewhat.

[Median Dia]

"Oh, okay then.' Bell took up position, shifting his bottom legs a bit in attempt to find stable purchase. 'He's definitely a different climb than Mother. He's got more bulk, steeper contours, and I think his removable skin's made of different stuff? Not quite what I expected, to say the least!'


"And it seems we have one coming now!" Chroma turned toward the stairs on one side of the arena as Elen appeared coming down them... with an oddly shaped shadow. Squid and shadow flew past them (with a small wave from the former) and headed towards Keith and his collection of shoulder'mon. "That was pretty odd, even for him." Chroma shook her head and addressed the anemone at her feet again. "Guess we're heading back to the group first. Come on!"

'Rehtaf, rehtaf!' Elen flew around the visiting trainer before landing on his hat again with a soft plop, figuring that it would be best for Chuck to explain the situation to him.


'Yep, I got it dis time!' Butternut proclaimed proudly as the Pokemon's Loop shimmered into his field of vision, despite the fact that no one could hear him yet. 'I'm makin' steady progress, it seems!'

[Missingno. Master]

"Yeah, I bet climbing him's different," nodded Anion. "The removable skin, though, that's called clothes," she added.


Aster looked to see Elenchos incoming. Oddly, she smiled and waved specifically at the shadow. She looked up and nodded at Chroma. "Ma! Reanie!" she agreed, already heading off towards Keith.


Keith chuckled as Elenchos landed on his head once more. "Hey, there," he smiled, looking up at where he knew the Inkay to be.

It was at that point the odd Machop bicycle shadow rose up out of the ground, revealing the grinning Gengar that it truly was. "So, I've been talking with Elenchos there," said Chuck. "Really very interesting. You recall me telling you of the deceased Malamar I met in the spirit world?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," Keith nodded. "Yeah, you said some of them spoke in some sort of backwards language, right?"

"Indeed," Chuck nodded. "Elenchos speaks in such a way himself. Very fascinating. I'm glad I'm fluent, as talking to him is enjoyable. But getting to my point, one thing that seemed to interest him greatly was my mention of Mega Evolution. Seems he'd like a demonstration."

"Oh, yeah?" grinned Keith. "Well, that's not a bad idea. Though, Aster went to try and challenge one of Chroma's Pokémon to a battle, so if you're thinking we show off Mega Evolution in battle-"

"-then perhaps it could be a double battle?" Chuck suggested. "If Chroma approves, naturally?"

"Hm. Interesting idea," Keith nodded. "I'll ask her." He turned, only to see Aster already approaching him. "Oh, hey, Aster," he smiled. He kept looking, and (presumably) saw Chroma not far behind. "Chroma," said Keith. "Hey- so I'm guessing you got the idea that Aster wants a battle, yeah? Well, Chuck was just talking to me- he's thinking maybe a double battle, because Elenchos seems interested in seeing Mega Evolution in action. What do you think?" he asked.


"Alright, that's more like it," grinned Dennis as he too arrived in the right place.

[Median Dia]

'So 'clothes' is the general term?' Bell asked. 'I haven't quite figured the specifics behind what is what with them yet.'

"I'm not against having a double battle," Chroma responded to the notion. "I'd have to hunt down another one of my pokemon for it, though, and your mareanie seems to be raring to go already!"


'Aha, so we do have visitors!' A feminine voice came from another warp circle across the room, and the mawile it belonged to began to make her way to the pair of Seed Pokemon.

'What d'ya want, Louise,' Butternut groaned in annoyance.

Her rebuttal was almost instantaneous. 'Nothing in particular, so quit glaring at me like that. The Amicae girl just rushed out of the place at a speed I've never seen her go before, so I figured something must've happened to her down here and came to check it out.'

[Missingno. Master]

"Yep," nodded Anion. "There's all sorts of different kinds of clothes, they come in all sorts of varieties and whatnot, and people wear 'em to cover themselves up, to keep warm in the cold, and even just because they like the look. All sorts of reasons."


"Heh, yeah, she really does," Keith nodded, smiling at the Poison/Water-type. "Aster's normally pretty shy, but when she's being given an opportunity to battle, she gets very enthusiastic. And I'll admit, I'd like to see just how well Aster and Chuck work together," he added.

"As am I," added the Gengar. "Should be interesting."


"Oh, hello," Dennis greeted the Mawile, with whom Butternut seemed rather annoyed. "Yeah, we don't know what's up with that either, we only just got here from the stands. You missed a good battle, by the way."

[Median Dia]

'Yeah, Mother's got a few clothes for specif purposes as well,' Bell replied, having a pretty good idea about it already. 'The hoodie's to blend in with the gang, the costume's to disguise her identity... But her usual combination doesn't really have a purpose. Why do humans feel the need to cover themselves up all the time...?'


"Well, most folks have something that gets them excited, and pokemon are no exception." She nodded upon receiving confirmation that this was to be an Orre-Style Doubles Match. "Alrighty then, that's settled! Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go find another pokemon to work with. Be right back!" And with that, she turned around and took off.

'Tunrettub gnirb t'nseod ehs epoh I,' Elen admitted. 'Eno-no-eerht a ni eb ton rehtar d'I!'


'I did, huh?' Louis shook her head, causing her horns to wobble a bit. 'That might explain the rush, then.'

'Are you happy with yer answer now?' If it wasn't clear that Butternut wasn't comfortable around the Deceiver Pokemon before, it certainly was now.

'Not particularly, but I've got something else to worry about now.' Louise walked past them to make her way to the stairs. 'I get the feeling that the megalomaniac's headed this way.'

[Missingno. Master]

Anion shrugged. "I mean, they ain't got fur like me. Or at least not nearly enough of it to cover themselves. I kinda like that about 'em, though- they don't naturally got what they need to keep warm, so they make their own instead."


Keith nodded as Chroma went off to look for another Pokémon to work with in battle.

"Why would that make it a three-on-one?" Chuck asked Elenchos. "Surely your own teammate wouldn't attack you if you two were to work together?"


Dennis watched as Louise walked off, then turned back to Butternut. "I get the feeling you and she aren't exactly good friends, either," he remarked.

[Median Dia]

'Seems to me like they have plenty of fur, but it's mostly hanging off their heads,' Bell mused. 'And they still wear it even when it's really hot out. Not quite as much, but it's still there. Does this mean they get cold really easily? No, that can't be right, they're constantly leaking heat... Maybe they just do it for looks, then?'


'Nosaer emos rof, em dekil yllaer reven sah he,' Elen explained. 'Oga shtnom wef a mih taeb I retfa esrow tog ti dna...'


Butternut shrugged 'Nah, not really. Dat one just ain' very likable. Berue claims dat she's got da best intentions at heart, but she sure don' act like it.'

[Missingno. Master]

"That'd be my guess," shrugged Anion. "All sorts of different varieties of clothes they wear, and I gotta be honest, some of them actually do look pretty good, so if they're just doing it to go for a certain look, not sure I can argue with that."


"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Chuck frowned. "Have you ever tried just talking to him? Or... does he not understand the way you speak?" he added, that possibility having literally just occurred to him.


"I kinda get that," shrugged Dennis. "Keith's got a couple Banette. One of 'em, Myrtle, she's pretty disagreeable. Not that popular with most of the team. Despite that, she's got friends on the team, and she's very loyal to Keith, even though she spends half her time arguing with him over whatever she can think of. Maybe your teammate's the same way," he speculated. "Nice on the inside, doesn't show it so much on the outside, y'know?"

[Median Dia]

'Me neither,' Bell agreed. 'The costume she ha me help make came out pretty nice looking, and a few of the others I've seen were even neater than that!'


'Won em dnatsrednu nac eh niatrec ylriaf m'I,' Elen explained. 'Erofeb os od ot Yalp Elor gnisu deirt ev'I dna. Sseug I, dedaeh drah tsuj s'eh...'


'Dat is awfully similar to Louise,' Butternut replied ponderously. 'She bickers wit' Chroma a lot as well, even though da human can't tell exactly what she's sayin'. It's a bit weird...'

[Missingno. Master]

"Sounds cool," grinned Anion. "You help her make clothes? What, with String Shot, right? That's pretty cool."


"Ah," nodded Chuck. "Well, I hope he's not too hard-headed to work with you in a battle instead of against you, if indeed he's who Chroma intends to use."


"Sounds like they're pretty close if they can argue even without Chroma understanding Mawile language," nodded Dennis. "Keith is pretty good at working out what we're trying to tell him, we're that close to him."

[Median Dia]

'Well, that and Spider Web for the "frames", so to speak,' Bell answered. 'It's a little slower than a leavanny's Sticky Web, but a lot easier to clean up afterwards!'


'Yllufepoh...' Elen agreed. He then looked up when Chroma appeared in his peripheral vision with a mawile following closely behind. 'Sey! Esiuol s'ti!'


"...ask for any specifics. Their initial awe was all I needed!" Evidentally, the girl was bickering with her second champion. :If you really want to know, why don't you ask them yourself? Keith's got plenty of potential translators!"

The mawile muttered something along the lines of "I'll do that once this is over".

"Right. Chroma cleared her throat once they've rejoined the crowd. "Alright everyone, this is my first pokemon and partner of about ten years, Louise!"

Louise gave a small huff, as if trying to remind her trainer about something.

"Uhm, are you sure you still want me to do that? I have seen the memory, you know." Louise gave Chroma a quick jab to the side. "Ow, ow, okay, I'll do it! This is Louise Smith! You happy now?"

'Yes,' the Deciever Pokemon stated plainly as she crossed her arms.


'Yeah, probably,' Butternut sayed in agreement. 'Louise's da only one she can understand withou' telphaty or whatever it was called, do.'

[Missingno. Master]

"Ah," nodded Anion. "Yeah, you'd probably need something like Spider Web, too, wouldn't you? Hermione does help fix Keith's clothes if need be, but she only has String Shot, not Spider Web, I can't picture her making completely new clothes..."


Elenchos seemed quite happy with the Pokémon Chroma seemed to have chosen, a Mawile named Louise. "I take it you get along better with her?" grinned Chuck.


Chroma returned with a Mawile with whom she was bickering. Keith and Meowth exchanged looks, for the Mawile apparently took issue with Chroma introducing her simply as Louise, preferring, apparently, to be introduced as Louise Smith. "Cool," Keith replied, a polite nod to the Steel/Fairy-type. He knew the species well enough, as his girlfriend owned a Mawile of her own, so he had no need to go for his Pokédex. "Your first Pokémon, huh?" he smiled. "How'd you two meet?"


"Her first Pokémon, I'm guessin'?" asked Dennis. "Keith's like that with Gemini and Mustard- well, they're capable of telepathy, but I've been told that even without that, they understand each other perfectly. Gemini is Keith's Weezing- Mustard's the name of his second head- and he was Keith's very first Pokémon."