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"Well that's okay," Wayne said, hands behind his head as he looked at the sky, "it's just who you are. Nothing to worry about."

He frowned when he realised something. Looking back at Henrietta though hardly moving his head, he said:

"Wait, how do you have three pokémon already if you've never battled before?"

"My, hum, parents got them for me. They wanted to make sure I'd be safe, so..."

She looked down again, realized where that put her eyes and shot her gaze upward and off to the side, her face red again. "Hum, I don't mean to take you away from your training."

"...You're an odd girl, Henrietta," Wayne said, bringing his hand from behind his head and down onto hers so he could ruffle her hair, "but I guess you're right. Gym Leaders don't beat themselves."

He grinned and took his hand back, putting both into his pockets, "We should battle again after you get stronger. Maybe then you'll be able to look me in the eye."

--

"Your Solosis is all well again," chimed the nurse as she handed the pokéball back to Wayne. She paused when she met his eyes, which were narrowed and staring at her intently, "Is there something wrong?"
"Don't think I'm not onto you," said the trainer as he turned away, leaving the nurse confused as he left the pokémon center and stepped out into the fresh air.

Wayne stretched in the sun and looked about. It didn't take him long to choose a destination and he soon found himself on the hill where Ghetsis had made his speech. From here he could see just about the whole town. Shouts and the sound of pokémon fighting could be heard from just beyond the Pokémon Center, from the battle area. Wayne was struck by a stiff breeze and he lowered his gaze to inspect the grass.

"This is gonna be my starting point," he said to himself, plucking a few blades of grass and grinding them togther with the tips of his fingers. He stood up and let the grass scatter on the wind, "Alright. I'm ready. Let's do this."

--

"Down and out," Wayne said as Hitmonlee completed his Rolling Kick and landed back down on the ground. The losing trainer started to whine about his defeated pokémon but Wayne let it wash over him. What's with the trainers around here? Henrietta was tougher than this.

"Thanks for the battle," said Wayne, cutting the kid trainer off mid-excuse. He checked his trainer card and frowned as the bank balance was updated with his prize money. "Only went up by 65. That's no good."

"I'm gonna get stronger! You'll see!" the youngster yelled before flouncing off, leaving Wayne to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Shorts are stupid!" he shouted as the kid went through the town gates and then shook his head, "Nice work, Hitmonlee," the trainer grinned and Hitmonlee struck a power stance. Wayne sighed, "Gonna have to work on your victory pose though."

Hitmonlee started blinking, confused, as Wayne scrolled through his pokédex, walking further down Route 2. He stopped when he reached some tall grass, noting that there was nobody else about.

"How far can you kick?"
"Lee?"
"Like, your legs are springs. How far can you stretch them? The Pokédex says double but I bet they can go longer."
"Hitmon... lee?"
"Okay, see that big rock over there? Try holding onto it while I pull on your legs."

Hitmonlee looked worried but when he met Wayne's eyes, the trainer just grinned and the pokémon's resolve was iron clad. He rubbed his palms together, approached the rock that was blocking off one of the branches in the path and hung onto either side. Wayne grabbed Hitmonlee at the ankles and wedged his feet under his arms.

"Hold on as tight as you can," he told the pokémon as he began making tracks backward, "hold on... tight..."

Wayne was gritting his teeth and Hitmonlee was grunting. Wayne reached Hitmonlee's supposed maximum leg length and carried on pulling. It was difficult, but second after second the pokémon's legs gradually got pulled out. Wayne's shoes were digging into the dirt path and started sliding back towards the giant rock. He forced the legs against his torso and took a hard step back.

Hitmonlee's fingers were aching, threatening to tear away from the rock. He scrunched up his eyes. His hands were shaking by now and his grip was wearing thin. Wayne carried on pulling. Pulling. Eventually it became too much and Hitmonlee had to let go. At the same time, Wayne's feet slipped and he was pulled forward; both trainer and pokémon collided and then landed in a heap on the ground.

While vaguely aware of some girls walking past and giggling at them, Wayne was more concerned about what he'd just learned. The Pokédex could be wrong. He grinned at the thought of it. Also Hitmonlee's legs were probably stretched out like a spring right now. That wasn't so good. He bolted upright and Hitmonlee did the same, resulting in a double headsmash that caused them both enough pain to flinch away, nursing their foreheads.

"H-how you feeling, Hitmonlee?" Wayne asked with a tear in his eye. Hitmonlee gave a thumbs up then tried hopping to his feet. He eventually managed to get upright. His shadow stretching over Wayne, who just stared up with his mouth hanging open.
"Monlee?"
"I think we stretched them too far!" Wayne cried, eyes wide.
"Lee?!"
"Relax! Relax!" Wayne shouted, standing up, "This is so for a good reason, alright!"
"Hitmonlee!"
"I know what your name is, stop saying it!" Wayne shouted. This was no good. Hitmonlee's legs were longer than Wayne was tall. The trainer slapped himself on the forehead and drew his palm across his face. Okay. All they had to do was put the legs back to how they used to be, right? He looked up. If nothing else, he was determined to try.

Takamaru Walked down the Street of Accumula Town in the direction of route Two. A Cany bar half unwrapped hung from his mouth. Removing the bar of candy he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled "Drill!! WHERE ARE YOU!!" and with that a Mid sized mole looking pokemon jumped out from behind a nearby building and waddled twords Takamaru.

"where Have ya' been? me and Templar almost left with out cha'" he said to the pokemon as smaller Insectoid looking pokemon Jumped from out from behind him with a large grin upon its face. "alright you two lets get going. i wanna reach striaton city before night fall." and with that Takamaru recalled them to there respective pokeballs.

Further down the road he spotted two people in the middle of the road, one a female and the other.... Rather large. he approched the duo carefuly, not speaking until he grasped the situation in full.

Salieri grinned at the acceptance of the duel, showing off a playful yet mischievous smirk. "Hehe, excellent," she said happily as she pounded her fist into her open palm. "Chen Zhen, time to step up."

The Pansage happily flipped, tumbled and carthwheeled over towards a large patch of short grass. Salieri followed, standing a fair distance behind her grass monkey. Liuye Dao silently stalked after his trainer, standing besides her with his eyes focused on the field.

"We'll make it a one on one. First move's yours, Emi," Salieri told Eunmi with a relaxed bow, putting her hands into a monk salute as she did so.

As Darumi waddled Accumula Town, a teenager with long green hair sat on the edge of the fountain in the town'scenter, fumbling with something that looked like a Rubic's Cube hanging off the side of his belt. He was a nice looking guy, but with his head down and his concentration clearly on the cube, there was no way he would be social enough to interact with the other trainer.

But as Darumi passed him, his ears perked up, and his eyes shifted away from the cube and towards the Darumaka. A mellow smile crossed his face and he stood up, dropping the cube and allowing it to hang off of his belt as he took a few steps towards the Fire type.

"Hello little friend," he called out to Darumi, holding out his hand in an inviting manner. His speech was quick yet comprehensible, as if constant thought pushed his ideas out of his mouth faster. "Are you lost? I've never seen a Darumaka in this area before."

The teen laughed at Darumi's jovial attitude, accepting the high five as it came down. "Adventuring? I like seeing a pokemon with an attitude like yours."

The teen bowed down to Darumi, extending one arm out to his side while keeping the other over his heart. It was a bow fit for royalty, which combined with his casual outfit of a black trucker hat and plain trainer clothes made him look a little out of place among the other townsfolk. "My name is N, and it's very nice to meet you."

Turning around, N gestured to Accumula Town. The main streets weren't congested like in a busy city such as Castelia Town, but they still bustled with activity. "Tell me new friend, what do you think of the town before you? Isn't it an eyesore?"