Flashback! Return to Pewter City!

It had been a long journey for that day. Miku had woken up in Viridian Forest, made her way to Viridian City alongside Rokas and Professor Oak, and now found herself back in Pewter City. To say the least, she only considered it the same day since she had yet to sleep. The sky was dark, and though the stars faded the closer they were to the city, they were still rather crisp and visible. The light pollution was worse in bigger cities with more buildings. 

Her wooden sandals clicked against concrete as she and Rokas finally made their way back. Only a few street lamps lit their way. Two buildings seemed to glow, as their signs were still lit. The Pokémon Center, and 24-Hour PokéMart had their signs aglow, red and blue respectively. Miku stretched her petite arms up and over her head, yawning wide before she brushed a strand of long black hair from her face. 

She turned to her shy companion, blue eyes seeming to light up in the pale light. "See, knew we'd make it. The Pokémon Center is right over that way!" She drew her finger, gently aiming it toward the red glowing light. The city was much more tolerable at night, especially one like this, which was small in comparison to some. Few people were on the streets at night, just the way Miku liked it.

Upon entering the sliding doors, Miku instinctively approached the counter. Though it was late, they were open 24 hours and often offered boarding which Miku was hoping for. She rand the little bell to alert someone to her presence, as she pulled her satchel onto the desk. She carefully lifted the flap, inspecting the egg to make sure it had traveled safely thus far.

Miku sighed softly at the mention of no beds. Still, the sofa with a pillow and blanket was gonna be much better than the alternative. Even considering all that, she would at least get a proper bathing the next day, if only in the community bath house. "That's quite alright..." She mumbled, glancing over to Rokas who was clearly wiped out.

"Uhm, but..." She started, a bit louder. "I uh- I found this egg while. I was coming through the forest. Well, I tripped on it really. Lucky it didn't crack," she was sure to avert her gaze from the Nurse as she unsheathed the colorful thing from within her bag. "I didn't want to leave it in the path for another person to step on, or for some stupid kids to break..." Her voice again became quiet toward the end of her statements. She carefully slid the egg, still partially wrapped in a cloth, across the counter to the Nurse.

"I didn't know what else to do, so I thought I would being it here..." She fidgeted, rubbing her hands nervously. "Um, Rokas, you want some blankets and pillows?" She tried changing the subject at hand, turning back to see if her companion was still awake or not.

Miku was genuinely surprised when the Nurse offered her the expensive contraption to use and take with her. She had been expecting to be scolded, or have to hand the egg over in all honesty. "Oh- right. It was dark, or else I promise I would have been more careful!" Miku bowed apologetically, somewhat embarrassed. Still, she really was, in a way, fortunate to have stumbled across such a commodity.

"It really is something...I'll do my best to take care of it, for sure!" Miku said in a determined manner, rubbing the egg. She gently opened the incubator with a slight pop as the seal opened. She situated the egg inside, blanket wrapped around its lower half to keep it standing upright properly. 

"Thank you for this...I appreciate it," Miku said, taking the incubator into her arms. Her Pokédex began going off, alarming Miku who set the incubator back down. She retrieved the bright red device from its designated pocket to see what was wrong. The small indicator was flashing red as she flipped it open.

It had apparently registered the incubator! Now it was asking her to return one of her current Pokémon to the PC storage, as it didn't want to force transport an egg. Apparently that could be messy business if not done manually. "Oh...it's this again. I guess at least this time it didn't just disappear..." She said, looking to her pokéballs with a frown.

After a solid minute to debate and take into consideration her upcoming battle, Miku reluctantly walked up to the PC. She set Magikarp's ball on the transporter, and forwarded a message to Professor Oak. She told him about the egg, and asked him to please take care of Magikarp for now. He wouldn't fare well at all against Brock, so she decided the fish may enjoy a vacation at Oak's expansive lab grounds.

Sighing softly, she retrieved the egg from the counter after putting her gear away. She made a spot on the sofa, carefully placing the incubator in her bag for safe keeping overnight. With a wide yawn, she was out for the night.

Miku hated waking early, which was quite apparent as Rokas was able to wake before her easily. She merely groaned and tried to sleep longer, until she heard unfamiliar voices. Her eyes shot open, bloodshot from the long day (and subsequently, night) prior. She sat up quickly, wiping her face of any potential drool, and trying her best to flatten her hair until she could get to a mirror.

She glanced around in a panic manner before she really got her bearings, and realized what was going on. She tried resisting a yawn to no avail, looking down to her bag with the incubator humming lightly. She smiled, now remembering what had transpired as she gently picked up her pack and glanced to the chair Rokas had been in. Gone.

She sighed, somewhat disappointed. He had probably just used her for safe passage through the forest, and took off before she could notice. She should have seen it coming, it was only a matter of time. The Nurse Joy chimed in upon seeing Miku's face, mentioning how her 'friend' had gone for breakfast.

Red in the face, Miku nodded in thanks and headed to the bathrooms to freshen up. She could take a proper bath that night, for now a quick shower would suffice. At least she was clean. She pulled her hair up, still, rather wet, and headed to the mess hall to grab a bite and search for Rokas.

Miku grabbed a tray and some food, nodding to Rokas when she spotted him. She made her way carefully through the crowd, nearly losing it when someone quickly scooted their chair out. She almost fell over, but managed to merely stumble, keeping most of her food in the designated areas of her tray. She sighed a breath of relief, then approached Rokas.

She sat her tray down, taking her seat as she dismounted her bag and set it in an empty chair. Yawning, a small tear formed in her crystal blue eyes. "Not enough sleep..." She groaned, looking to Rokas who obviously fell asleep. "Still better than waking with Weedle in your sleeping bag, though..." The last few words were muffled by the sound of food being shoveled into Miku's mouth. Eggs over medium, rice porridge, and a hefty portion of sausage. A little mixed fruit in a juice cup was on the side, along with a bottle of MooMoo Milk.

"Did you sleep alright?" She asked, more as a way to break an awkward silence than anything. Her meal was made quick work of, as the petite girl scarfed it down with ease. She popped the cap off the milk, the seal audibly breaking before she began to chug it. She finished it off, cringing as she held her chest. "Cold..." She whimpered, having chugged it all in one breath. She breathed heavily to catch back up, wiping her face free of the milk with her sleeve. She was quite unrefined.

"Did you have anything you wanted to do today?" She asked, rubbing her eyes to try waking up further. "I think I'll challenge Brock, but that's hardly a full day of activities..." She clapped her hands against her cheeks, leaving little red marks before she stretched her arms above her head. "Oh yeah, Nurse Joy gave me an incubator for that egg we found. Looks like I'll be taking care of it!" 

"That sounds like a good way to burn some daylight," Miku said in response to the idea of the museum. After all, she heard they had some old water Pokémon fossils there. That would be neat to see, at least. "But I should fight Brock first while I'm still fresh. I think I procrastinated long enough. Wanna head over now?" 

The girl stood stretching, arching her back and raising on her toes for full effect. When she snapped back, she felt the rush of energy it brought as her blood flow increased. "Ah yeah, that's the stuff..." She said softly, rotating her neck on one hand gently.

She picked up her bag, gently laying the strap over her shoulder before she motioned to Rokas. "Let's get going, then." She headed out of the. Pokémon Center, ready to prove herself to the rock hard leader of Pewter Gym. The pair headed through town, north west past the Museum. Finally they were there, at the gates to the massive Gym. 

Taking a deep breath, Miku pushed on the doors, and entered. She stepped slowly into the vast corridor, spotting from a distance the trainer she beat before. She inhaled deeply again, turning forward and walking out to the main battle floor. She looked around slowly, like she was going to announce herself in an epic manner. Instead, she froze and was unable to raise her voice past her lips.

Miku about stuttered when Brock stepped out and began talking. However, his words left a bad taste in her mouth, and she felt a flare of rage. "I just had other things to take care of, first!" She snapped back defensively. Her hand was balled into a fist, teeth clenched a bit. It all softened after a moment, though. It was her first sanctioned Gym Battle, he had that part right.

She swallowed hard, lump in her now dry throat. "Y-yeah...you're my first Gym challenge. So what?" She asked, trying to keep a strong composure, which was clearly not working well. "I wouldn't expect any special treatment!" She growled, brushing her hand across the pokeballs at her arsenal. She hoped her Pokémon were truly prepared for this challenge.

Miku grit her teeth. Whether he intended it to be offensive or not, Miku did take offense. "I'm not nervous," she said, crossing her arms. Not about the battle anyway, she just hated social interactions. Still, he'd pissed her off now, so it was on. "I say with that advantage, I can't lose!" She smirked, lips furling a bit as her brow lowered.

"I'm Miku Hamasaki, and today, I challenge you, Brock!" She announced, now with a ridiculous amount more courage. She unclipped a pokeball from her waist, tossing it into the air. The orb popped open, the resulting beam of light manifesting her partner out on the field. As it returned to her hand, her Pokémon of choice became clear.

The white baby sea lion clapped his flipper-paws together, barking in anticipation. When he stopped his display, he looked at Brock and tilted his head. It was awfully adorable, between his big tusks protruding from his tan maw, his little red tongue hung out. He reared his head a bit, displaying his horn proudly to ward off the 'foe' and protect Miku.

"I'll start with my Seel," Miku announced. It might be a tad risky to start with her newest team member, but he still had the type advantage here. Besides, she thought, if he gets weak she can always switch out for Slowpoke or Psyduck!

Miku took note of the stone Pokémon, pulling out her Pokédex for a quick analysis. She nodded, folding her shiny new device and tucking it away as the battle started. "Alright then, Seel use Water sport!" Miku called out. She had to give him something more to work with, and this way it would hopefully dampen the field and weaken Geodude.

As Geodude rolled in place to polish its rough edges down, Seel began spouting water everywhere. It chanted its name in a traditional barking sound appropriate to his species. Hopefully Seel would be able to summon the water back up when needed as well.

Geodude began rolling toward Seel, apparently satisfied with his speed boost. Doubting Seel could dodge appropriately in the current situation, Miku went for the next best thing she could think of. "Icy Wind, now!" Almost immediately, a chill was felt in the arena. Seel seemed to summon it from nowhere, a strong breeze whipping toward the foe laced with ice crystals! If Geodude could make it through, Seel would likely get struck by his rollout, but fortunately it was a fairly weak attack before more speed could be built up.

Miku was glad that the first bit had worked in her favor, however she knew that Rollout would only get worse for a few more passes. "Seel, try to stay in the damp ground! Use Water Sport again!" She called out, hoping to build a small puddle like area to use to her advantage. "Growl at Geodude, try lowering his attack some!" She hoped maybe the combo would help lessen the damage taken.

Seel spouted more water into the area, building up his reservoir as Geodude built up momentum. As he turned and began the charge again, Seel turned his attention. He growled, trying to be menacing but coming off more cute than anything. Still, the attack struck, and with more damage than the first would have. Miku hoped her next move would seal Geodude's fate.

"Seel, roll over!" Miku called, hearing Brock's plan. The pup did so, splashing in the puddle as he flopped onto his back then over his other side back on his belly. Geodude scathed him, but it did less damage than a direct hit. Still, she had to do something to end this quickly. She couldn't stand watching her Pokémon get injured!

"Good," she sighed in relief. But it was a briefly lived moment, as Geodude's little rock body was still hurling about the battle field. "Now, Seel! Try using Surf!" Miku hoped the attack would work. They weren't on a big body of water, but she had made sure to put some into the field to work with. Seel tried his best to summon up the water, even trying to potentially summon up any from within the ground as he rocked his body to propel any he could muster at the rock Pokémon!

Miku felt the rush of defeating the first opponent, barely able to conceal her excitement as it welled up inside her. It was a good thing she had trained with Seel, it clearly paid off! "Thanks. Your Geodude isn't half bad either," Miku replied, watching as Brock summoned his next Pokémon.

The thing was beastly, towering over her in a very intimidating fashion. She felt a lump in her throat as she reached for her Pokédex to analyze the rock snake. "Onix, huh?" She said quietly to herself, snapping the device shut after getting the basic information. "We wont let that stop us, right Seel?!" The girl called out, encouraging her Pokémon.

Seel barked excitedly, determined to show off and defend his new partner. The loyal pup was ready to battle as hard as he could muster. "Here we go! Seel, start off with Icy Wind, then use Water Sport again!" She hoped it would partially freeze the arena, making Seel's movements more agile. The pup barked in acknowledgement, as he summoned the chilling breeze once more, ice crystals bombarding the arena. He quickly began to spout water afterward, trying to freeze it in the chilling temperatures.

Miku grit her teeth a bit, as rocks destroyed some of her created icy arena. "Seel, use the boulders to propel off of! Slide around and use water sport again!" She ordered. She wondered somewhat, since mud was a mixture of dirt and water, would Seel be able to use that to their advantage as well? She would find out soon enough.

Seel barked, sliding around on his belly. He used his flipper paws to steer and propel him, pushing of boulders that had landed about to give him a speed boost. All the while he spouted water on every rock, crevice, and dry spot he could find in his little ice rink. That didn't stop him from getting struck by stray rocks, unfortunately. Miku cringed, hoping Seel was alright. "Now, try surf again!" Miku ordered, hoping it would work.

Seel tried once more to summon the waters around him. He tried pulling it from any source he could muster, even the mud. Miku wondered silently if it would be some disturbing faux Muddy Water type move. Using his body, Seel again propelled forward whatever water he could muster. Seel used Surf!