We Made It!

Foxi growled at the seviper after it let go and squirmed away. A few yips were heard as Foxi scolded the creature in front of her. As it came in for another lick attack, Foxi made as if to bite the snake's tongue before dodging out of the way.

"Nice feint, Foxi! Use nasty plot and then quick attack once more!" Nova shouted out to the pokemon. Foxi followed Nova's instructions as well as she could, since her hind legs were still hurting. Her face contorted into this evil looking sneer meant to distract the seviper. She kept sneering at it for a while before going in for the attack!

Cockiness proved to be a terrible weakness for the Machop, as he was not expecting a counterattack so soon after attempting another Low Kick. Blitzkrieg had a clear shot, zapping the Fighting type with a powerful, charged bolt of lightning! It was a bit too much for the Machop to take all at once. With a weak battle cry, it stumbled and hit the ground, unable to fight any longer.


The Seviper was a bit startled when Foxi psyched it out so easily. Before it had a chance to recollect its thoughts, the Ninetales was hitting it again with Quick Attack. The snake Pokemon slid back a bit and took a few moments to plan its next move. Unlock the Machop, it knew better than to underestimate its opponent.

Suddenly the atmosphere seemed to shift. The air went from carrying the intensity of a battle to the wonder of a child taking its first few steps. It was a strange, magical feeling... but where was it coming from?

Sophie and Nova got the sudden urge to check the eggs they'd been carrying. Upon doing so, the two would come to find that they were about to experience a miracle of life.

First was Sophie's egg, as the Pokemon inside seemed anxious to come out. It thumped around from inside, trying so desperately to find an escape. After fighting for a bit, a crack finally appeared on the shell. Then another... and another... Crick, crack, crick, CRACK! The eggshell fell apart, revealing a tiny, fuzzy puppy Pokemon. It took a quick look around before its eyes rested upon Sophie's face. Almost instantly, there was a spark of something that set off in that puppy's face. It had determined to love its master from now until the end of the earth. Its tail started wagging as it yipped a few times before jumping towards its Trainer.

Lillipup (Female, Level 1) hatched from the egg!

Nova's egg was quick to follow. Tiny sparks could be seen flying from the cracks in the shell as the Pokemon fought for a way out. It could be heard making noises as it knocked bits of the shell away before finally revealing itself. The little cream-colored Pokemon rubbed its eyes with its red-tipped paws, then gazed upward at its Trainer. A smile grew across its face as it reached out, greeting the one who would care for it from now on.

Plusle (Male, Level 1) hatched from the egg!

Despite the beauty of the event that had just taken place, the wild Seviper was not quite finished yet. It hissed loudly as if to gain back the attention of the Trainers, then bolted towards Foxi in another attempt to attack. Seviper used Wrap!

Sophie cheered when she witnessed Machop go down! That was her first real battle with Blitzkrieg and it was good to know that at least in battle he was serious. Blitzkrieg ran over and she stroked his mane in a job well done. "Good job Blitzkrieg." Suddenly Sophie got the urge to check on her egg. She ran back around the fenced in area and back over to her pack where she spotted newly developed cracks. Her eyes widdened when she realized it was hatching. A small puppy emerged from the egg and Sophie's face lit up with a full ear to ear smile. It was a Lillipup! The lillipup looked up at her and yapped while wagging her tail. Sophie instantly picked her up and cuddled her to her. "You're so adorable! I'm gonna call you Lilly. Do you like the name?" The lillipup yapped again and licked her hand which Sophie took as a 'yes'. "Ok, Lily it is, I'm going to take good care of you so you don't have to worry about a thing. ok?" Sophie held the lillipup close to her as she went and stood next to Blitzkrieg, both watching the fight between Foxi and the Seviper as well as trying to see if Nova's egg had hatched yet too.

The egg in Novali's arms started to shake slightly, so she held onto it a little tighter. She could hear it cracking and sparking, as curious as she was to know what it was, she knew that she couldn't let Foxi get distracted or she'd be attacked with no chance to dodge.

"Foxi, dodge the attack and then hit it with an ember!"

Foxi jumped clean out of the way, her tails only getting mildly tugged as they slid from the seviper's grasp. She would turn quickly and, on her own, perform a quick attack to get in close and then fired an ember at the snake.

While Foxi was busy, Nova turned back to the egg which was almost opened. Suddenly a small Plusle popped out and went to hug her. She allowed it and giggled softly. "Well hello, little one. I think I'll call you Sparky, do you like that?" The little pokemon would then hug her once more and she would turn back to the fight. Sparks would sit in her grasp and watch the battle with excitement.

Seviper was not expecting this Ember attack to hurt so much. It was worse than the last time, no doubt due to the Ninetales' use of Nasty Plot. The flames hit the snake Pokemon, burning away the last bit of its strength. At this point, it couldn't battle any longer, nor did it want to. It quietly gave in and let unconsciousness take over...

Sophie winced as she saw how much the seviper had gotten burned. Foxi totally destroyed that thing. Still, it would be less of a danger to the town now. Lily nuzzled into her trainer's chest, her eyes dropping a little. Sophie put the small pokemon's light brown fur as she made her way over to the other girl. "Good job Nova, you too Foxi!" Sophie looked down at the pokemon that had hatched from Nova's egg. She smiled at the adorable creme and red colored electric pokemon."Well hello there! Your plusle is very cute Nova!"

At that point, Blitzkrieg slowly walked his way over to Foxi, not directly, but rather around her. His short tail swished, attempting to hit her with it slightly and a small shock would register. If that indeed were the case, Blitzkrieg would dash back behind his trainer.

Lily then looked up from Sophie's arms and over at the company in front of Sophie. She yapped in a friendly manner at Nova and the plusle as her tail wagged rappidly back and forth. Sophie giggled at this. "I think that means hello."

Foxi bounded over to Nova happily, proud that she had beaten the pokemon. Nova met her by squatting down and allowing the Plusle to touch Foxi's nose. Sparky reached out and touched the soft nose with his little red paw and Foxi snorted gently. The mouse pokemon squeaked in happiness and hugged the fox's muzzle.

Foxi couldn't help but blink rapidly at the little pokemon's reaction. Nova just laughed and looked over to Sophie. "Thanks, I really though Foxi would have a bit more trouble. Speaking of, are your hind legs okay girl?" The fox nodded and snorted again, causing the plusle to laugh.

Nova set Sparky on Foxi's back and then turned back to Sophie once more. "Aww! So cute! You got a lillipup! I named my plusle Sparky. He seemed to really like the name," Nova smiled brightly and went to pat the little dog's head.

Lily nuzzled Nova's hand back, giving it a small lick, at being petted. Sophie placed the Lillipup on the ground and watched as she ran in small circles wagging her tail and yapping away at everything. Sophie found herself giggling when She saw Lily wasn't paying attention and looked like she was about to crash into one of Foxi's front legs."Lily be careful. Settle down." One of Lily's ears twitched at her trainer's warning, but was too interested in the large Ninetales in front of her and the small mouse pokemon on it's back.

Sophie left the pokemon to their own doings and turned back to Nova. "Sorry you kind of had to rush your breakfast. But the eggs hatched at lease. Sparky is a cool name for a plusle. The lillipup seemed to prefer the name Lily, as generic as that is. I don't mind though because she's happy." It was then that Sophie looked back at Blitzkrieg appeared and be standing aside in a bored manner. Sophie took out his pokeball and called him back inside it. It would give him a rest and he wasn't very social anyway. "Oh you know what we should do?!? We should check out Pokémon Zoo that they have here in town. How's that sound?" Sophie was grinning from ear to ear and shaking with excitement. She had never been to the zoo before.

Foxi moved her leg out of the way only for the little pokemon to run into her stomach. Sparky hopped down off of her back and looked at the little dog pokemon. The plusle smiled brightly and reached out to pat the other pokemon's head. Foxi looked down in between her front feet to see the little dog pokemon underneath her. She blinked at it a few times and cocked her head. She was curious about this thing. She hadn't seen one before.

"It's alright, I was actually munching on some ham before we started battling those pokemon. And, seriously? Lily might seem common, but it looks like it really fits her. One of my family's vulpix's name was Lily and she was a curious little spit-fire. You might want to watch out for the spit-fire part," Nova chuckled and turned to look at the pokemon. It was really cute to see them all playing.

"There's a zoo? That would be wicked! I've never been to a zoo before!" Nova exclaimed, clapping her hands together in anticipation. "We're going to a zoo!" The girl excitedly snatched up Sparky. He let out a bit of electricity in surprised but hugged his trainer when he realized it was her that was holding him.

She turned off in the direction she thought the zoo might be in and started walking. Foxi just sat there next to the lillipup, but Nova didn't really notice.

"I know right? They have all sorts of pokemon!" Sophie jumped this time before quickly following after Novali in the direction of the zoo. She had heard several people mention the wonders of the zoo and it would definitely be an interesting experience. "Hey Nova, do you think they have something for trainer's to do there with their pokemon? That would be cool!"The zoo just so happened to be just a short walk from where they were so it would take very little time if they kept up a good pace.

Lily kept on looking up at Foxi with curiosity, her head tilting from side to side, her ears twitching slightly. She smiled up at foxi, her tongue handing out before she yapped in a friendly manner to the fox pokemon. "Lily! Hurry up!" Lily's ears perked up at her trainer's voice and she turned and started running after Sophie, though her short legs causing her to still fall behind the two people even with her hyper activity elevating her speed. The small dog pokemon started to yap wildly after the two, feeling scared she was going to get seperated from her trainer.

Without hesitation, Foxi would grab Lily in her mouth gently and trot off to their trainers. Once they came closer, the fox would set the dog on its back and the mouse would join them happily on their walk.

"Well, I would imagine they wouldn't want us to let our pokemon in the exhibits. They could get confused, but like the inn, I would imagine if the pokemon doesn't like the ball, then it won't be barred from entrance," Nova smiled brightly and patted Foxi's head. She was such a good girl and was already looking after their brand new pokemon like they were it's hatchlings.

"Do you think Lily would rather be in your arms? She seems kind of comfortable, but you never know," Nova chuckled as she looked at the trio. Sparky was trying to pet the dog pokemon and Foxi would tickle them both with a tail now and again.

Lily yapped as she was suddenly picked up unexpectedly. She wagged her tail happily as she was carried over to where her trainer was and then placed onto Foxi's back. She kept herself entertained as she nipped one of Foxi's ears playfully.

Sophie smiled at the sight but kept up her conversation. "Of course, it would be horrible if people could just come in and battle the pokemon. The point of a zoo is to see them, not to attack them. I just thought maybe they would have some kind of special event we could participate in." Just as Nova asked Sophie another question, the pokemon zoo came into sight. It was hard to miss with it's pokemon signs and latest exibit posters. "Well, I would assume she would like being held, but she seems to be having fun with Sparky and Foxi, wouldn't it be mean to take her away from that?" Just as Sophie finished her sentence, Lily proved her point by attempting to lick the plusle's face and then swatting a paw at one of Foxi's tails as they tickled her, yapping happily.

As they drew closer Sophie ran forward, calling back behind her as she ran. "Come on, let's go! I can't wait to see the pokemon!" Sophie ran up to the ticket booth, purchasing two and then waiting by the gates for Nova.

Foxi would keep the two young pokemon entertained and make sure they wouldn't fall off of her back as they walked. She would allow occasional ear nips from the little dog and accidental fur pulling. Sparky would start getting into a more rough mood and made to play tackle Lily. Foxi chuckled at the little electric pokemon's antics and wondered how the dog would respond.

"Yeah, I don't think it would be right to go in and try to catch any of the pokemon as they are there for people to look at, not to corner," Nova would agree. "I know Foxi would have fun showing off her acrobatics and such. Oh! maybe they'll have a contest or something. That'd be fun!"

As Sophie and Nova strolled into the zoo, their Pokemon following close behind, they were approached by a young woman dressed in a khaki uniform. She wore a badge on her shirt that informed visitors she was an official staff member there at the zoo.

The woman nodded in a quick greeting as she put on a smile. "Welcome, young Trainers! I can see you have some fine Pokemon with you. How would you like to enter them into our little competition and see what the rest of the city thinks of them?" She spoke with great enthusiasm, obviously repeating the same script to each Trainer that came in, but her smile was genuine.

Sophie looked towards the woman just as Lily went to return the playful tackle that Sparky had just issued. Sophie looked back at her friend and then considered her options. "Well, I suppose it sounds fun. What would we be doing exactly?" Sophie was unfamiliar with how any type of contest was ran. Thus making it slightly confusing for the young girl. It was true that she was wondering if they had anything of the like but she didn't actually think they would have one. Perhaps her ponyta would be interested in something of the like."What do you think, Nova? would you want to do it?"

(short post, sorry lol)

Nova was slightly surprised when a woman came up to them and asked if they wanted to participate in a little contest. She wasn't so sure about it. Nova would listen to the woman's explanation and decide in a little bit.

Foxi paid attention to the human's conversation. A contest sounded interesting, especially since she might get to show off. Sparky just sat on Foxi's back playing with the little dog, quite oblivious to what was going on.

Seeing that she had the Trainers' full attention, the woman began to explain. "Every few months this zoo holds a little competition for Trainers to compete with their Pokemon. Every Trainer enters one Pokemon, and that one is expected to put on its own performance, similar to what we see in Super Contests in the Sinnoh region. But our competition is a bit more unique in the way that the only judges we have are the visitors here at the zoo."

She paused, taking a breath as she looked over the Trainers' Pokemon again. "The winning Pokemon will be featured all over the zoo and get their own special ribbon that's made specifically for this competition! So, do you think your Pokemon can dance? Maybe they can sing, or juggle? The sky's the limit so long as your Pokemon can perform for a crowd!"

Sophie listened intently to what the zoo employee was saying. It sounded fun to her and Azshara would surely agree. Though, she would be being watched by a large group of people. Still, it was worth a shot. It would ultimately be her pokemon's choice though. Sophie pulled out the ponyta's pokeball and called her out. The ponyta looked at her curiously as she noticed her surroundings, neighing at her trainer. "We're at the pokemon zoo. Would you like to perform for some people in a competition, girl? Show them how special you are?" Azshara whinnied in excitement at the statement, which Sophie took to be a very positive yes. Sophie turned back to the woman smiled brightly. "Ok, sounds like fun. My ponyta and I would like to participate!"

Foxi made the choice more so than Nova did. She kept yipping in excitement nearly knocking off the two young pokemon on her back. "Okay, okay, Foxi! Just calm down, will ya?" Nova said kneeling and patting Foxi's head.

Looking back up at the woman, Nova replied, "My ninetales and I will participate as well." If anything could be said about the last day or so, it was that it was certainly breaking her out of her shell.

With an enthusiastic cheer, the woman gestured for the two to follow close. "Right this way, please! We'll get you signed in, then you'll have a bit of time to prepare your Pokemon before the competition starts."

Nova and Sophie were led to building where other competitors were getting their Pokemon ready to perform. There were Pokemon of all shapes and sizes, and their Trainers were busy trying to make them look their best.

Another employee approached the two girls and handed them a clipboard. "Here you are. Just put the name of the Pokemon you're entering and tell us a bit about them, like their personality traits. Doesn't have to be much, just something to get the crowd excited to see them." he said.

Sophie followed the woman over to the building where other trainers had already begun prepping their pokemon. Azshara seemed a bit cautious as she followed closely behind her trainer. Sophie reached out and took the clipboard from the man as soon it was offered and went about writing down the specific information about her ponyta.

Code:

Name: Azshara

Breed: Ponyta

Personality: She has a fiery spirit as bright as the blue flames upon her back. While she is shy, she never fails to show off her skill and love of racing. It would not be a stretch to say she leaves literal flames in her wake.

Sophie looked over the information one last time before believing it to be relatively well filled out. This was her first actual contest after all though. With a sigh she handed it back over and then smiled at the ponyta before looking back at the man. "Ok, I think that's it. If there's any problems then let me know. We'll be ready whenever."

Nova took the clipboard from the second employee and filled out her information as well.

Code:

Name: Foxi

Breed: Ninetales

Personality: Foxi loves playing games and showing off. Playing and running are her favorite things.

"I hope that was enough information. If you need more, just tell me," she said handing the clipboard back and walking with Foxi, and Sparky in her arms, to the area with the other trainers.

Nova saw a bunch of other pokemon with their trainers getting ready with their pokemon. Choosing a spot, she pulled a brush from her pack and started brushing her golden fur. Foxi could tell that she was nervous and so she butted her head up against Nova's shoulder before licking her face gently. She smiled and rubbed Foxi's cheek giving her a kiss on the snout. "Thanks girl, I know you'll do fine. I'm just nervous still for some reason."

The employee took a quick glance over the information and nodded. "This will do fine. We'll call for you when it's your turn." he said, then continued to pass the clipboard around to other Trainers.

Before long, a crowd could be heard gathering just outside the building, along with the booming sound of an announcer's voice echoing from some speakers. "Ladies and gents, Pokefans of all ages! We welcome you to our annual Pokemon Mascot competition!" the announcer said, eliciting cheers from the audience.

When the introduction had finished, the first Pokemon was called out. An employee ushered a Trainer out the door and brought them out to a stage. The announcer read some information from the papers she was given, and introduced each Pokemon as best she could.

One by one, Trainers were called forward and their Pokemon were sent out to dazzle the crowd with their talents. There was a Mime Jr. that could juggle, an acrobatic Treeko, and some Pokemon that simply charmed the crowd with their silly antics.

Finally, the employee looked directly towards Sophie and beckoned her forward. "You and Azshara are up next. You ready?"

Sophie turned towards the ponyta and placed a sparkling silver bridle on Azshara's head. She then carefully mounted the small horse and grabbed the reigns like she had nearly every day of her life. This was what her family did, their ponytas were trained for this. Sophie nodded towards the man and entered onto the stage as their names were called.

The fair sized stage had been set up with a single poled a single poled jump, a double poled jump, and then a barrel at each end so that it was staged in an oval sort of display. This would end up being a combination of jumps and barrel racing. Sophie smiled brightly when she discovered this. She leaned down and whispered in Azshara's ear. "Alright Azshara, let's get off to a fast speed and show em what we've go ok?" The horse pokemon reared up on her hind quarters, frontal legs kicking as Sophie managed to stay on, waving with one hand at the crowd. As soon as Azshara came back level with the ground she bolted off faster than one could blink, heading straight for the first single jump. Sophie lightly kicked the ponyta's sides instigating the first smooth jump as she cleared it. "That's it! Onto the barrel! Get up to as much speed as you can and cut the corner sharply!" Azshara ran, nearly looking like a blue comet as the intensity of her flames grew. She reached the barrel and slowed down just ever so slightly in order to maintain the balance of her trainer and herself. The barrel was rounded a little close than Sophie wouldn't liked as she watched it wobble, after Azshara had just barely grazed it. They would need to make up for that. Sophie clicked her feet against Azshara once more as Azshara lept over the double vault. Managing to clear it with ease. Finally the last barrel came into play. Sophie knew this could be rough."Azshara, ease off the speed a bit more, but keep up the intenisty! You're doing great!" The ponyta did as instructed, this time rounding the barrel without hitting it, but not going nearly as fast as she had been on the other. Perhaps it had been enough.

Sophie pulled back on the reigns, halting Azshara and smiled back at the crowd. The ponyta whinnied her happiness at performing well for them. Sophie supposed any opportunity for Azshara to run would be a fun one. Sophie nodded and headed back to the prepping station she had been assigned and dismounted the horse pokemon, removing the bridle afterwards. The ponyta looked exhausted now that Sophie looked at her, but she still seemed happy. "You did good, girl. Now we just have to see how we did." Lily, who had happened to find her way over, yapped her approval.

[Sorry this is super long, I kinda went overboard on detail]

"I guess we're next, eh? That was great, Sophie. You ran really hard, Azshara. Just wait till you see what Foxi can do!" Nova exclaimed happily. "You ready, Foxi?" she yipped, and the fox responded in like manner. "Alright! Let's do this!"

She walked out with Foxi beside her, leaving Sparky at the side of the stage, he'd be of help later in their act. With only subtle hand motions and soft yips, the trainer would guide Foxi to stand across from her. "It's just like play time girl, so let's play!" Nova would yip like a fox and get down into a crouching position.

With little hesitation, Foxi would spring into action and charge at Nova. Paws hammered against the floor as she increased speed. Once they were close together, Nova would put her hands together like a step and help Foxi launch herself into the air. "There you go! Do some tricks!" Nova yipped.

Foxi twisted and flipped in mid air before landing solidly on her hind paws, giving Nova a playful paw gesture. Sparky would then dash over and hop onto Foxi's back. One long tail would hold the pokemon in place and two others would tickle it, causing it to laugh happily. With Sparky secured on her back, she took off and did an in air flip. At the very end, on one tail, would balance the mouse pokemon who was giggling in excitement before running back off the stage.

"One more thing, Foxi. Let's show them how strong those tails are!" Nova yipped in excitement. Foxi used her tails to catapult herself into the air as she did back flips. She came down, landing on one paw and pirouetting onto all four paws. In finish, she pointed her body and let her tails fan behind her, moving in the intensity and a small puff of fire was issued from her maw.

Foxi would hold the position until the crowd's reaction would start up and she would bound happily off of the stage beside her trainer and friend.