The First Test

Lexi grit her teeth, seeing the attack miss. "Darn, should have gone for a tackle," she scolded herself. She watched Pidgey flit back down to the ground, stirring up another gust. However, how did one dodge the wind itself?

"Take cover!" Lexi ordered. Amiya ducked down, doing her best to expose as lite of her body to the stinging gust as possible. "Alright, now tackle that Pidgey!" Lexi called out. Amiya got back up with a nod. She charged at the Pidgey, lunging in attempt to tackle him!

Pidgey was surprised that Amiya was able to avoid the Gust so well, and it wasn't expecting a Tackle attack right afterwards. Amiya slammed into the bird, knocking it back a few feet before it came to a halt.

"Are you alright, Pidgey?" Falkner asked, getting a strained chirp in return. He knew the little bird wouldn't last much longer, but he was going to keep trying.

"Hit it back with a Tackle!"

Pidgey lowered its head and began charging towards the Mareep, intent on hitting it and dealing damage. It wasn't going to be outdone by an Electric type! (Or at least, that's what it told itself.) Pidgey used Tackle!

Perfect, Lexi thought as she heard Falkner's next command. "Quick Amiya, prepare a thundershock!" the trainer called out. Pidgey was already headed toward Amiya when she realized what she was on about. 

Nodding, Amiya held her ground and charged up the electricity in her body. She would wait for the moment of contact, then release it in a flash, sure that it couldn't miss in direct contact!

As soon as Lexi called out her next command, Falkner knew what she was planning to do, but it was too late for him to call Pidgey back. The bird was already inches away from the sheep Pokemon, and just before he made contact with her, he felt a shock shoot through his entire body.

Pidgey let out a cry, feeling stiff from the electricity, then it fell over. It was unable to battle any longer.

The foe's Pidgey fainted! Amiya gained 9 exp! Amiya grew to level 12!

Falkner returned Pidgey to its Pokeball, then picked out his next Pokemon. "You did well, Pidgey. But now, to pick up where you left off..." He threw another Pokeball into the air. "Pidgeotto, it's your turn!"

The ball burst open, revealing a bird Pokemon with wings much larger than Pidgey's. It immediately took to the skies, looking down upon its opponent as it waited for Amiya to make a move.

(Pidgeotto, male. Level 13)

Lexi saw Falkner summon the new bird to the field. This one was larger, and clearly more powerful than the last. She thought about it for a moment before pulling out Amiya's pokeball. "Amiya, return!" she called, the red beam swallowing the sheep up. 

She clipped the ball back to her side, then grabbed the other with her. "Come on out-" she started, pressing the button to enlarge the ball. She tossed it up in the air, popping open in another burst of light. The powder blue elephant formed, stretching out with her golden ribbon shimmering. "Sutara!" Lexi announced.

Sutara trumpeted, announcing herself in as flashy a manner as possible. She looked up, seeing the Pidgeotto before her and crying out to it, "Phaaan!" She seemed more than ready, now that she realized she was in a battle.

"Alright, Sutara! Your ground type moves wont do any good, so let's start with a take down!" Lexi called out. Sutara trumpeted in acknowledgement, charging quick as she could at the enemy. She attempted to jump at it, using all her weight and force to attempt a Take Down!

Pidgeotto was surprised to see the Phanpy jump high enough to hit it, and it was hit due to its underestimation of the foe. Falkner quickly called out, "Hang in there, Pidgeotto! Try not to let that happen again!"

The bird cawed in response, acknowledging its master's words. It shook off the hit as best as it could, then flew up again.

"Start off with Quick Attack!" Falkner said, giving Pidgeotto its first orders for the battle.

With a battle cry, Pidgeotto swooped down, hitting the ground running and transitioning into a Quick Attack!

Phanpy might be a power house of a Pokémon, but its low center of gravity and surprising weight were definitely not built for speed. Bot Lexi and Sutara knew there was no way she'd move fast enough to dodge. Sutara took the hit, sliding back about a foot but managed to stay standing. Like I said, low center of gravity.

"That's alright, Sutara!" Lexi encouraged as Sutara shook off the attack herself. We wont get as lucky if we try another take down...long range secret weapon it is, Lexi decided silently. "Alright, ice shard now!" She called. As Quick Attack was, Ice Shard was also a priority move. In other words, it was fast. 

Sutara opened her mouth, lifting her trunk. A blue orb formed in front of her, between the tiny tusks. She began flash freezing chunks of ice, hurling them at a surprising speed to the flying type.

The icy attack caught both Pidgeotto and Falkner off guard. They didn't expect this Pokemon to know any super effective attacks, but now they knew better. Unfortunately, though, it was far too late for Pidgeotto to even attempt dodging, and it could only brace itself for the oncoming attack.

The bird cried out in pain, feeling the ice scrape against its feathers. It took quite a bit of damage that time, and it was already having trouble staying focused in battle.

The gym leader carefully considered his options. He didn't want to leave his Pokemon vulnerable to any of the opponent's Ground type moves, but the only other option was to risk taking a crushing blow from Ice Shard again. Decision made, Falkner called out his orders. "Pidgeotto, use Roost!"

The words came as a great relief to the bird Pokemon, who quickly touched down and rested its wings. It remained still for a bit, allowing its strength to return to it.

"Fair enough..." Lexi muttered as the Pidgeotto went to land. She knew it would quickly regain some of the health they'd managed to pick at. However...now she could go for STAB. "Now, Bulldoze!" She quickly ordered, seeing the bird touch down.

"Phaaan!" Sutara trumpeted, as though leading an army to battle. With the way her feet pounded against the ground, one might even thing there WAS an army! She rushed at the landed bird, lowering her head and tusks in attempt to bulldoze right into the bird!

Well, this certainly was a predicament for the gym leader. He had two options... One: Cut the healing move short and dodge Sutara's oncoming attack. Or two: Take the hit and hope Pidgeotto would last through it. Falkner wasn't sure which would be worse. He had to come to a decision-- fast!

"Pidgeotto, don't--!" Falkner started to issue orders, but he was too slow in doing so. The bird was hit by the Phanpy, stumbling back several feet. It remained still for a few moments, struggling to stand once more. The health it regained from Roost seemed to be sapped rather quickly, thanks to Bulldoze, but it was ready to get back in the fight.

Falkner thrust his hand outward. "Back to the skies, Pidgeotto! Use Gust!"

Pidgeotto quickly complied, flapping its wings fast and hard until it flew upward and whipped up a windstorm. Pidgeotto used Gust!

Lexi watched intently as Sutara plowed through the enemy. However, it seemed that what it had healed was enough to withstand the hit, and was once more out of striking distance. Knowing there wasn't much else she could do, she watched as the powerful gust was whipped up.

Sutara closed her eyes, bracing herself against the blast. She was pushed back a few feet, the wind was just that powerful! Even Lexi raised her arms to shield her face. The wind died down, her arms lowering. Sutara was cringing a bit in pain. However, she was far from finished. That was the good thing about Phanpy. You might sacrifice speed, but they're a tank!

"Great!" Lexi announced, looking from Sutara to the flying bird. "Alright then, if you want to play that way...Ice Shard!" She called, pointing to the foe. Once again, Sutara formed the orb, sending flash frozen chunks of ice at Pidgeotto!

The last thing Pidgeotto wanted to hear was the call for another Ice Shard. Falkner quickly shouted for his Pokemon to dodge, which the bird attempted to do without hesitation. However, with as tired as it already was, it had trouble dodging the entire attack, and a few icy shards hit its wings.

The bird began spinning out of control, falling down towards the ground. Falkner wasn't sure if it would be able to pull up, but he knew that if it hit the ground like that, it would be all over. "Come on, Pidgeotto, to the skies!" he urged.

Down, down, down went the bird Pokemon, falling faster to the floor. It seemed to last ages, but it was really a short distance to fall. Finally, it became obvious to Falkner that his Pokemon was finished, and rather than allow it to hit the floor so painfully, he held out the Pokeball and called Pidgeotto back. "Return!" he shouted.

There were a few moments of silence after that. Falkner was taking deep breaths, allowing the adrenaline to work its way out of his system. He was relieved to know that he no longer had to worry about his Pokemon getting hurt, but it was always disappointing to know that they lost. With a sigh, he held out his hands in defeat. "Congratulations. Victory is yours! Come and claim your badge." He reached into a pocket on his belt and removed the Zephyr Badge, which he held out for the girl to recieve.

The foe's Pidgeotto fainted! Sutara gained 13 exp! Sutara grew to level 14!

Lexi watched anxiously as the bird's wings were clipped, sending it tumbling down. She half expected it to spring back to life and take out her Phanpy. Thankfully, this was not the case as she saw the red beam engulf the Pokémon. She sighed right along with Falkner, her fists loosening. She hadn't even noticed how tightly she was clenching them before!

"You did it, Sutara! That was great!" Lexi called out, running to her Phanpy. Sutara reciprocated, trumpeting triumphantly and rushing to meet Lexi half way. Aysel was quick to follow, waddling along behind her trainer. After a quick hug and congratulations, Lexi returned the satisfied Phanpy to her pokeball. 

She stood, brushing off her knees and looking to Falkner. She smiled, walking over to him with Aysel by her side. She took his hand, shaking it graciously before pinning the badge into her badge case. "One down, seven to go!" She said, looking down to Aysel, then back to Falkner. "Thank you very much for accepting my challenge!"

Falkner could only smile as he watched Lexi celebrate with her Pokemon. As disappointing as it was to be on the losing side of the battle, he always enjoyed seeing new Trainers get excited for winning their first gym badge.

He waved his hand dismissively at Lexi's gratitude. "That's what I'm here for, but you're welcome anyway. I'd also like to give you this..." He held open her hand and gave her a TM disk. "It contains TM 83: Work Up. Use it wisely."

The gym leader then gave a bit of a bow in respect and bid the Trainer farewell. He headed towards the back of the gym and into a room where he could heal his Pokemon.

Lexi got :PD: 1560 for winning!

Lexi nodded, graciously accepting the TM and money from Falkner. These would surely help on her travels. She placed them in the appropriate pockets, glancing up as Falkner headed to the back room. "Thank you again!" She called, waving before she turned and headed out the door.

She stopped once outside again, stretching. She glanced down to the Teddiursa beside her, smiling. "We did it, Aysel! Our first Gym Badge! I bet Daddy will be excited to hear about it, let's go call him!" The girl said, rushing off to the Pokémon Center. Aysel thought 'we' wasn't quite the right word to use, she hadn't gotten a chance to battle! Still, she nodded and followed her trainer loyally.

Lexi burst through the doors of the Pokémon Center. At least, she would have if they hadn't slid open just in time. She paused in the center of the room looking around. "Oh right, I should heal my Pokémon first..." she said, approaching the counter. 

Setting the two pokeballs on the table, she addressed the nurse. "Pardon me Joy, but could you please heal my Pokémon? They just got done with our first Gym match!" She decided it would be pointless for Aysel to heal, as she hadn't even battled. She was already rested to the maximum.

Nurse Joy beamed bright upon hearing the good news of the Trainer's victory. "That's wonderful to hear! Congratulations!" she said as she took the two Pokeballs. "How did they do? I'll bet it was an exciting match." The nurse made light conversation as she placed the Pokeballs into the machine, healing the Pokemon within.

From behind the counter, a large pink, round Pokemon stood up tall. It was wearing a nurse's hat and apron, much like Nurse Joy's, and it let out a cheer for Lexi. "Chan, Chansey!" It danced about as if to congratulate the Trainer.

Nurse Joy then handed the two Pokeballs back to Lexi. "There you are. Rested and ready to go!"

Lexi nodded to Nurse Joy, "It went very well, thank you. They did amazingly well!" She said, before taking back the balls containing her partners. She then turned to Aysel, smiling down. "Alright, let's go call Dad. He'll probably be happy if we use the center's phone instead of running up the PokéGear bill," she laughed. Aysel nodded, following her trainer to a nearby video phone booth.

The phone rang twice before a man picked up. He appeared to be in his mid thirties or so, and had apparently been busy trying to learn how to bake based on the flour coating the room. "Oh hi there princess!" the man said, clearly addressing Lexi. The girl flushed brightly.

"Dad I told you not to call me that!" she whined, glancing around to see if anyone heard. Seemed she was in the clear, good. 

"So, how are things going? I see Aysel is there with you. Did you make it to Violet City alright?" her father asked in a flurry of questions, only a few really registering in Lexi's mind.

"We're fine, Dad. We made it here without any troubles. Oh, and here!" Lexi said, holding up a pokeball. "I even caught a Pokémon!" she exclaimed excitedly. 

"Wonderful! Is it a Mareep, like you kept talking about?" he prodded. Lexi simply nodded. "Well I bet that'll be a real help in your battle against Falkner- you are gonna challenge him, right?" 

Lexi smirked. "Oh, she was a help alright. Took down Falkner's Pidgey all by herself," she said proudly, pulling out the badge and showing it to him.

"Well I'll be darned," he said, adjusting his glasses and examining the pin. "You'll have to come home to show me up close!" he said happily. Sure, that's why he wanted her home. What a laugh.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Well, Bugsy is next on my list, so I'll probably be headed that way anyway." Glancing at the time, Lexi quickly stood. "Gotta run, Dad. Love you!" she called, quickly hanging up. She grabbed her pack, quickly rushing out the door. "Thanks again, Nurse Joy!" she called, probably muffled by the end of her sentence.

Lexi rushed from town, running once more past the trainer school and Gym. She headed south, then took a right to hit the entrance to the Ruins of Alph. Aysel was a bit out of breath, bit she somehow managed to keep up. Lexi went in, wondering what kind of adventures awaited her now.

Walking through the entrance gate to the ruins, Lexi would hear a few other tourists talking with one another about the Ruins of Alph. Something about stone panels and the like. They were far too wrapped up in talking to each other to even notice Lexi.

Exiting the gate would seem to warp you to the past entirely. Ruins lay scattered as far as the eye could see. There was hardly a trace of modern civilization, except for the few signs dotted throughout the area and a cabin sitting a distance away. One of the signs near the entrance read: "Ruins of Alph. Feel free to explore the ruins and become a fossil professor!"

The main path was made of nothing more than dirt, and rocks of different shapes and sizes blocked it in some areas. Moss and other vegetation flourished, covering some of the ancient structures that remained standing.

The very atmosphere was eerily silent, as though time was standing still. Nothing seemed to move, and there wasn't even a hint of wind blowing, nor the sound of wild Pokemon's cries in the distance. Even the waters of the nearby ponds were completely still and silent.

"Hmm," Lexi said, thinking about what she'd overheard. She took a moment, glancing around her surroundings. It was eerie, almost like she was being watched. Far too quiet and still, maybe she should stir things up. Then again, she might get charged if she were to break something. She sighed, glancing around and reading the signs. "Hmm, what's this?" She asked aloud, walking up to one of the signs in front of a small duyg out cavern. Aysel shuffled after her trainer quickly, having troubles keeping up now and then.

"Sliding panels...a puzzle?" Her eyes lit up, the girl quickly rushing into the cave with her Teddiursa right behind. She looked around, the dimly lit room was covered in carvings of strange things that looked almost like letters. "Strange..." Lexi said, taking a few steps forward as her hear turned from side to side. She came to a podium, stone slabs with carvings that could be slid around inside it. "Hmmm...." Lexi said again, looking at the shapes of the carvings. She had no clue what the outcome was supposed to be, but she bet that if she approached it like she did other puzzles, she could solve it.

She started, looking for the pieces that looked like they might belong in the corners. Surely enough, there were four with deep curves in the edge of the carving. Surely these must be the corners. She pushed, sliding the slabs with minor difficulty to place them in each corner appropriately. "Alright, edges next...well, that one looks about right..." Seh pushed another up to the top, placing another next to it. The curves lined up perfectly, surely the top of whatever the solution was.

The slabs were rather heavy, but determination pushed Lexi on. She stared at the odd pictures for a while longer. She didn't get it, random seeming prongs, and these two seemed to come up at a sharp angle! "Ugh..." she said, placing her elbow to the podium, placing her chin in her hand. She ran her fingers along the curved designs, two of them were circles.

"Maybe it's a face..." Lexi said, pushing the two circles up just under the top row. They seemed to fit. Then again, it was harder to tell with those ones. "Hmm...wings? No...legs," Lexi said, pushing the strange pronged ones into place. Now for the strange pointed one. "Wait, I've seen this before!" she said, placing them appropriately. "Kabuto!" she announced, the pieces clicking into place.

Lexi's voice echoed in the empty chamber. Many moments passed in foreboding silence, like the calm before the storm.

The sand on the panels began to tremble, pebbles began moving across the ground as the whole earth seemed to shake, responding to the girl's actions. Suddenly, the panel beneath her gave way, plunging her into darkness.

Lexi fell into a much larger chamber, deep beneath the surface. Statues lined the stone walls, which were covered with odd hieroglyphs.

As if the eerie silence wasn't enough to drive one mad, there was a bizarre presence in this chamber. It was as though you were being watched from all sides, watched by many eyes, none of which you could see. It was unnerving.

Lexi looked around, hearing ancient gears grind. She looked down to Aysel, who was clinging close to Lexi's leg. Neither of them knew what was going on, or what was about to happen.

"I think maybe we should-" Lexi started, before she felt the ground below her collapse. She went to let out a scream, but her gasp caught in her throat and no sound came out. Aysel teetered on the edge of the hole, falling through after a moment.

Lexi landed hard with a thud, dust from decades of no human contact flying into the air. She laid there, unable to move for several moments due to the wind being knocked out of her. Aysel was soon to land on Lexi, the poor girl quickly jumping up with a gasp. She looked down to the dazed Teddiursa laying in her lap, then up to her surroundings. 

"Great..." she said, standing up and looking to the hole above her. "Tsk..." she turned to the room she was in. As if it hadn't been dim enough in the other room. Now she could barely see at all! She began walking down one of the long halls, every footstep echoing loudly. She hated the feeling of being watched, but she felt somewhat safer with Aysel by her side. She needed to find a way out...

((you can introduce the egg I bought for her if you like))

The darkness seemed to choke the zeal out of everything, making each statue look meaner and the walls look taller. One might say they felt that something was always right behind them, following so close that chills ran down your spine, but nothing was there.

Dust coated everything. Every step Lexi and her Pokemon took they left behind footprints in the layers of dust on the floor. The hall seemed to go on for a while, then took a sharp u-turn, leading to another hall that went in the opposite direction.

If Lexi were to look close enough, she would notice something sitting on one of the statues in the corner. The stone shaped like a Pokemon almost seemed to be guarding the round object beneath its feet, but that was ridiculous, of course. It was only a statue. But the round item upon the pedestal wasn't stone at all.

It was hard, but delicate at the same time. One could tell simply by holding it that it needed to be handled with care. It also seemed to be slightly warm, like there was something living on the inside...

Lexi walked on, her loud footsteps leaving physical evidence of her visitation in the ancient dust. Ancient? Was that the right word? Lexi had no idea, she doubted that even the excavators around the area knew about this room. Stumbling upon it made her feel...special. 

Running her hands along the wall, she felt every carving and inscription. Though it wasn't like brail, she still almost felt like she was reading the ABC's with her finger tips. Some were a little harder to make out, but some were rather obvious in Lexi's opinion.

"That's an A...an X...Oh, that one I bet is a Y..." she went on, naming them off. It was the best she could do to shake that eerie feeling off. It still lingered, but so long as Lexi kept herself distracted, it was pushed to the back of her mind. That was her adventurous spirit, for you.

She checked out each statue she came across. Some she could swear moved, or at least were about to. However, she knew it had just been the shadows playing tricks on her vision. Still, she had no real clue of which Pokémon these statues were supposed to represent. She shrugged it off, and continued running her hands along things that she probably shouldn't be touching.

That is, until she came upon this statue. It was different, somehow. It seemed to be carved the same as the others, even standing in the same position. Aside from the minor blemishes and differences that come from hand carving, there wasn't an inch of the statue that didn't match the others. Well, besides that oval thing. Wait, what?

Lexi placed her hand against it, surprised it didn't feel like stone at all. No, it wasn't hard and coarse, nor was it cold and lifeless. It had a rather smooth texture, in fact...and was warm. Lexi lifted it without a second thought of any repercussions. Seemed funny for her after watching the Indiana Jones movies. Still, she held the object close to her, feeling the warmth through her cheek as she held it to her ear.

"An egg..." she whispered, realizing what she held. She quickly whipped her head around, expecting something to jump out at her. Nothing. She looked back to the egg, then down to Aysel who seemed just as confused and curious about the egg as her trainer. "But what would an egg be doing down here? It's closed off, certainly its parents aren't around..." Lexi trailed off, looking down the dark hall. How long had this egg been sitting here? How long had it been waiting for someone- anyone to find it? And...would Lexi face a similar fate? The pink haired girl shook her head, unwilling to accept that fate. She clung to the egg, holding it firmly to her torso, yet still gently enough to avoid breaking it. She began to walk again down the seemingly empty hall, her neck hairs standing on end. Aysel did her best to cling to the girl's leg, while still not tripping her up.

One might say there was a breeze that flew through the chamber as Lexi picked up the egg. It was almost as if the lifeless halls were breathing a sigh of relief. Of course, that was a ridiculous idea. Nothing about the chamber was alive, other than the egg that was sitting in it... right?

But the soft breeze continued blowing through the halls, making an eerie whistling sound. Depending on how one thought of it, if could be described as singing, or perhaps moaning. Either way, it came from around the corner, seemingly beckoning the Trainer towards a small ray of light beaming into the darkness.

There certainly was light shining into the chamber. There was a bit of a hole that had formed in the ceiling over the many years it was abandoned. Gazing upward, Lexi would see the blue sky high above. It clearly led straight to the outside world.

Lexi couldn't help but shudder at the sound the wind made. It only reminded her of her Grandmother's basement, and how the wind howled against the door. It made such an awful noise, that often Lexi was too afraid to descend the stairs alone.

Still, she pressed on, only clutching to the egg closer. She kept her eyes forward, and did her best to ignore the noisy wind. Wait...wind? That meant it was coming from somewhere! Lexi's eyes brightened, as she picked up her pace a bit. 

She followed the winding hall, whipping around the corner. The trickle of light was a sight for sore eyes. Lexi walked beneath it, peering up to the bright sky above. She let out a soft sigh. "Now...how do I get up there?" She wondered aloud. "Hello?! Anybody out there?! Please help!" Lexi called, hoping for two things at this moment. One, for the walls not to collapse around her, and two for someone to hear her plea.