AU: Groundhog (Pokemon Players)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean Neville had spent much of his life around Pokémon. He had spent time as a Pokémon breeder, and as a Pokémon researcher, as well as general Pokémon training, albeit never on the badge circuit. He had a soft touch with them, and a unique ability to communicate, empathize, and bond with the creatures, which resulted in strong friendships and strong Pokémon, albeit with some particular quirks.

Eventually, he had decided to go out for a while and wander, perhaps trying his hand at some of the gyms to see how he could manage. He had taken some of his favorites, Pokémon that he had encountered over the years and persuaded to join him.

That was one of the skills that set him apart as a Pokémon trainer. He didn’t use Pokeballs; he simply convinced various Pokémon to join with him rather than capturing them unwillingly. That led to stronger bonds with the creatures and greater overall happiness; none of them resented him, if nothing else.

Due to not using Pokeballs, he walked alongside the creatures. If he needed to ride his bicycle, he had a cart to pull them behind him, and sometimes the winged ones flew above them.

They had traveled for a long time, and finally found themselves outside the town limits of Lavender Town. There was a gym there, where they could fight. First things first, he needed to take them to the Pokémon Center.

[Samantha Emerson]

Samantha held her wings out, enjoying the sun on her back. A slight breeze allowed her to coast as she followed her unique trainer Sean. She had been impressed by his keen sense of communication, and had been following him since she was a Swablu. She had never seen the inside of a Pokeball, however, and thus was technically still wild. This freedom pleased her, though she couldn't even imagine leaving the little family.

As the town came into view, the cloud-like Pokemon let out a cheerful warble. She knew what was coming up, and was eager for the chance to experience a good match. Whether or not she would actually be chosen to fight was up to Sean, of course, but either way she'd get to see it. A quick gust of wind bore her up, and she swooped through the air in an upside-down loop before circling lower to her friends. 

((OOC: Just going off on a limb here, hopefully this is alright. Tell me if I need to change anything))

[Samuel Rixon]

Sam was happy to trot after Sean, tail waving happily behind him. It was a warm day, which always made the Charmander happy, and he was with his friends. Just to add to the fun, they were going on an adventure! Life didn't get much better than that. Friends, Sean, and adventures!

His head tipped up as he watched Samantha fly above them, his merry trot faltering somewhat. Almost always distracted, Sammy often found it hard to do two things at once. That included walking and watching things overhead. Tilting his head sideways, he watched her float and made a happy noise at her.

Right. He was supposed to be following Sean. The fire Pokemon scurried to catch up, only to skid to a stop. Just off the path was a pretty little shard of rock. The cracked side of it glittered slightly in the sunlight, and it caught his eye. Surely Sean would want it!

Sam was somewhat akin to a packrat, often picking things up along the way to wherever they were going. Without pockets, he didn't really have the means to carry the things he found, but that was okay with him. More often than not, unless it was really special, or food, he would merrily give over his treasures to his trainer as a gift. This rock would be in the latter category. Scooping it up in his paw, he turned to see his trainer further up the path than he'd expected. Giving a short 'Char!', he scampered back to the group and reached up to tug on Sean's hand before offering the rock to him with a bright smile on his face. He was a good Charmander.

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Mojo was not your normal average everyday pokemon. Of course, she didn't know what made her so different, but any trainer would understand. It wasn't that she was a female Eevee - though that was a rarity in itself. And it didn't have to do with her size - she had always been quite small, even for an Eevee. No, Mojo was different for another reason.

Mojo was hatched from a egg by a trainer on a quest to defeat every gym leader in the region. The newly hatched Eevee was nearly immediately thrown into battles - an attempt to begin her training. The trainer noticed something, though.... it seemed as if Mojo didn't respond to the sound of his voice. That was because Mojo was deaf. A deaf pokemon was a rarity indeed, and frankly it was a challenge that most trainers didn't have the patience to overcome. That was why Mojo was released shortly after being hatched, left in some tall grass as her trainer flew away on a Pidgeot. Mojo waited in the grass, naievly expecting that the trainer had simply forgotten her and planned on returning. However, the Eevee was soon captured by another trainer. Though in this case her fate was the same.

Mojo had been captured and released more times than she could remember, and it was very confusing for the young pokemon. It wasn't until she met a psychic pokemon trainer with an Abra who was able to communicate with the small one telepathically. He explained to her why it was that these trainers set her aside - that they were giving her commands that she could not follow. While the pokemon was disheartened, soon after she met Sean who ended up being different than all the other trainers before.

He approached Mojo cautiously. The Eevee cowered slightly, initally believing she would once again see the inside of a pokeball just to be left once more. But instead the trainer seemed to try and communicate with her. His lips moved, but of course the Eevee heard no sound. She simply cocked her head to the side, and made a low purring noise. When the trainer walked away, he kept looking back, and gesturing to her, as if asking her to come along. The Eevee tentatively followed, hiding in tall grasses so she could run if she needed.

But she soon found that the trainer had a slew of Pokemon with him, walking alongside him happily. It took a bit for the Eevee to truly join the group. She spent some deal of time simply following them, but remaining hidden. She wasn't even sure that Sean knew she was still in his presence. Though one night when she was particularly tired, the small one hopped into Sean's wagon and fell asleep curled into a little ball. It was pretty much history from then on out.

Today Mojo hopped alongside Sean and all his other Pokemon. Her legs had to scurry much quicker than the others to keep up, but she didn't mind. If anything else, she had become very fast from their adventures. She had to in order to keep up. She certainly appreciated Sean's wagon when he brought it along. She was also known to climb up onto Sean or his other Pokemon's shoulders to give her tiny legs a break. She still wasn't really able to battle - she couldn't take in the direction like the other Pokemon could. However, she and Sean had developed a bit of communication - mostly hand signals from the man which the Eevee learned to properly respond to.

Today Mojo was having fun, chasing Sam's tail, yelping a little when she caught it one time and she realized fire is HOT. But this didn't stop the Eevee from trailing behind the other pokemon, running between their legs and causing a little trouble. She chased after Sam as he carried his present to Sean, and she hoped up to climb onto Sean's shoulder, peering down at what Sam had given the man - always a curious Eevee.

[Deleted]

"Prrrrrrrloin~" Ah, it was such a nice day.  Brooke wanted to lay in the sun until doomsday, it was so  warm and cozy.  But…alas…she didn’t have much more than a moment at a time to spend doing so before her companions caught up to her.  Yes, Brooke was attached to the human who called himself Sean Neville, but that didn’t mean she had to stay by his side 24/7.  So she had sprinted up ahead to do her lounging at her own pace, while she waited for the human and his other companions to catch up.

Brooke rolled over, feeling that her belly was just about done toasting. Time to work on her back.

Her sun-bath was cut short, however, upon a very familiar “Char” sounding from the brush, causing her ears to twitch in recognition. She listened. Yes, that sound was the cadence of Sean’s footsteps. Brooke had been with the human long enough to recognize it when he was coming up on her. And like the feline she was, Brooke neglected to react until the party was close enough to actually disturb her. When they were nearly upon her, Brooke stretched and sat up, licking her paw adorably.

She watched as the crowd continued past her, the Purrloin neglecting to follow right away. Though once past, she stood on all fours and continued after, keeping her slick eyes on a particular Charmander. She stalked him silently, slowly closing the distance and once close enough, she crouched, aimed, and pounced. It was all just play of course, though what she was really after was that shiny thing he’d plucked from somewhere. Brooke would try to nab it amid the chaos of a good rough and tumble.

[Erik Stewart]

Erik the Grovyle was still quite the unfriendly creature to humans and Pokemon alike. He had grown from an egg in the woods virtually on his own, and besides that, Pokemon of his species were territorial, lone hunters; once a Treecko had been neglected to be socialized, they would likely remain that way. He’d been well on his way to becoming one of the peerless jungle warriors his evolved relatives were said to be when he happened on Sean by chance. Curious of the human’s bond with other Pokemon, he followed him of his own accord…though it took weeks before he would even approach. Even now Erik preferred keeping his distance. It wasn’t uncommon for him to disappear for days only to show up without explanation, or fanfare.

It wasn’t only the promise of a human bond that kept him coming back; the Pokemon seemed to thrive in battle, too.

He wondered where they were going, down this dirt path. He loped about on the side, in between the branches, where he was comfortable. By now Erik was familiar with the sights and sounds of the other Pokemon, Samantha’s shadow passing over him at intervals. He was sure to steer clear of the burning flame on the end of Sam’s tail.

[Marnie Sullivan]

From a distance, an onlooker might have viewed this parade of critters as one trainer and five pokemon, or perhaps one trainer, four pokemon, and a lone Purrloin lounging on its own. Had that onlooker stepped a bit closer, or had a trained eye, or was simply watching the footprints the parade left behind, they would have been able to spot the sixth - trailing along in the middle of the pack was a disembodied, reddish-brown zigzag, floating about a foot above the ground. Occasionally it zipped from one side of the path to the other, but for the most part it bobbed leisurely along, keeping pace in the shade cast by Samantha when she was low and slow enough to provide it.

For many Pokemon - or those who were capable of it, anyway - hiding like this was a sign of something wrong; there was a reason to hide. Danger. A need to flee. Ironically enough, for Kecleons it was the opposite. When Marnie's parents had pushed her from the nest, insisting that it was time for her to explore the world, she had flashed every color of the rainbow. When trainers wandered through her grass, she'd had to resort to ducking behind tree trunks and into abandoned Diglett holes to avoid them. Then one day she'd been spotted before she had a chance to escape, but that trainer didn't attempt to capture her or sic his own Pokemon on her. Instead, this one was different. The Pokemon following him radiated comfort, and admiration for this person who was offering her the opportunity of safe travels. And Marnie, well, she'd wanted to see the world. She'd just been afraid of doing it alone, or worse - with a trainer who expected her to battle till exhaustion everyday.

Which was why she could now be found - or not found, rather - with her camouflage properly trained and her fears at bay. Who could be nervous on a day like today?

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s plan upon reaching Lavender Town was the same as he had in most other towns they had traveled to since he had left his past vocation. They would find something to eat. He would take his six Pokémon to a Pokémon Center to heal them from the journey. They would find somewhere to sleep for the night, a local inn or a stranger he could pay or barter with for use of a room upstairs, and then he would stock up on supplies the next morning. Then they would look for the nearest Gym to try for the badge. If none existed in their particular town, then they moved on to the next one.

However, they had only managed to get halfway to the Pokémon Center – if one went by the signs posted throughout the town – before someone ran past them screaming. He was out of sight before Sean could try to ask him what had happened.

Rather than proving to be a somewhat confused or disturbed individual, that first man simply proved to be the fastest person in town. Soon after, several other people, also screaming, ran by. The trainer managed to grab a hold of one person, a boy who looked no older than Sean’s nephew back home, and possibly several years younger. “What’s gotten into everyone?”

“There are ghosts,” the boy explained.

“Where?”

“There!” He pointed in the direction of a large tower before struggling out of Sean’s grip so that he could continue to move as far away from the building as the other fleeing people.

That wouldn’t do.

The trainer glanced up at the building on the horizon and then back down at his Pokémon. He felt a chill around him, which was ominous, even if he didn’t believe in ghosts in the traditional sense. “Does anyone feel like getting to the bottom of a mystery before we heal up and eat?” He looked straight at MoJo the Eevee as he asked the question, so that she could see his lips move, as he knew she couldn’t hear the question.

[Samantha Emerson]

Samantha watched the others' antics with laughter in her eyes. They were, in general, fun to be around, but for her it was often more fun to watch. She chirped and spiraled downwards as they neared the town. She'd had some unpleasant surprises in the past that consisted of wildly aimed flamethrowers and ice beams, and a few young teens who were a little too eager for battling. Since then, she'd made sure to enter civilization with the rest of Sean's little troupe - on the ground. 

The only downside was that Altarias didn't move very quickly when they were walking. They weren't slow either, but as always Samantha lagged behind the group a little bit as she hopped along. A sudden sound of panic tore through the air, and seconds later its owner tore down the road. Samantha flapped her wings in alarm as she felt the faint rumble of lots of moving feet. With a single push of her wings she quickly rose above the human-height as the terrified townspeople streamed past.

She carefully hovered a bit lower to catch the boy's explanation. Ghosts? She peered at the indicated structure and tilted her head from side to side. The air around her suddenly seemed heavier, but Sean didn't seem too worried about the paranormal, and Samantha trusted him. For that reason, and that reason only, the Altaria hummed her assent.

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Even though Sean tried to make sure he always looked at Mojo as he spoke, the Eevee still didn't always manage to figure out exactly what he had said. While she had definitely gotten better at it, the only word she had managed to decipher from the man's sentence was 'eat'. Eating was certainly something Mojo loved to do. With how much energy she exerted to keep up with the group, she certainly built up a hunger.

So in response to Sean's question, Mojo's tail wagged excitedly, and a few little noises reminiscent of what a hearing Eevee might sound like escaped her. She hopped down from Sean's shoulder, and ran a bit ahead, fully believing there was food waiting for her somewhere.

Even if Mojo knew what Sean had said, she probably wouldn't have fully understood. Mojo had only encountered a few ghost Pokemon in her short time, and she still didn't completely comprehend what they were. They were simply so foreign to her that she wouldn't know what to do when she encountered one. She wouldn't know if they were friends or foes. She would certainly know they were not food, though!

[Marnie Sullivan]

Remember that fun fact about kecleons? It was Marnie's comfort that allowed her to fade into the background so close to imperceptibly. Which meant that when a random human flew past them hollering to high heaven and spooking them all, her scales turned bright green and yellow with a startled "kek!" Not her preferred state, that was for sure, although the wave of terrified strangers hurtling past them meant Marnie had some trouble fading back to normal.

The closest she came to it was when Sean chose to address the group, inaffable leader that he was, but his suggestion gave her pause. Marnie wasn't in desperate need of healing, and she wasn't totally sure what ghosts were, but surely if so many humans were upset about them they were worth being upset about. Food and a rest sounded much more appealing.

And she had half a mind to object, if it weren't for the rest of the party. Ghosts were technically still an abstract, distant sort of fear; more immediate was the concern of being the party's biggest wimp.

"Kek!" Marnie kekked, trying to sound confident but still mostly visible.