[Pokemon] It's Big.

[L. Malady]

Setting : Hearthrome City, Sinnoh Region. Mostly sunny with a few clouds in the sky. Around noon.
Status : Open like a boss.

----

In a small town, it was quiet. Everyone knew everyone and were almost always friends. There was a friendly atmosphere, and life was as slow as the clouds that rolled by today, or the soft breeze that whistled through the alleyways and streets and every other obstacle that presented itself to the mighty wind. However, no one stopped to enjoy it here. This was a big city, with shopping centres (though not quite as big as Veilstone City's famed mall), big buildings and apartments in general, and most importantly, the Pokemon Contest Hall. The girl had been traveling through the wilderness for days to find it...but now, she found herself utterly lost.

Having tried every fathomable road she could find, the girl, only nine years old, had almost given up. Instead of roaming the streets in a futile search to find the Contest Hall, she found herself sitting in defeat on one of the little red benches by the grand fountains in the front of the city.

"Things aren't going as planned," she sighed, melancholy, as she looked down at the minimized Poke Ball she held in her palm. "I don't want to get lost, but I really need to get to the Contest Hall...!" She sighed again, a little growl coming with it this time with her current frustration, and leaned heavily into her free hand. This was disappointing. She moved to return the ball, which contained her Shinx (her newest Pokemon), to the belt of others hidden under her white sweater, and once it was securely on, she leaned back and stared at the sky. How could no one stop to look at it, it was so pretty? Her now free hands moved up to play around idly with the straps of her denim overalls, which were worn over an emerald green medium-sleeved shirt. The overalls themselves fell down to her knees, and she wore a pair of red lace-up tennis shoes on her feet.

She yelped a little when she suddenly realized her hair got caught in the buttons again. In an attempt to alleviate her sudden discomfort, she tugged at the light blond strands which found themselves knotted around the metal buttons. After a moment, or so, she got it out, though not without unintentionally ripping some out. She scowled at the small knot she pulled out and simply brushed it off to the ground. With this done, she put her hands back down and slumped forward, her hazel eyes falling to the golden-bricked ground. It was best not to look up at the towering buildings, which were absolutely everywhere--but not the one she was looking for!

With another defeated sigh, she pulled her legs up into the seat, and finally, she decided on it. "This city is too big."

[Exigent Contact]

"Come on, Arkham. We've got work to do."

With a sharp little whistle, the Magnemite levitated low to the Trainer's waist, looking up at him. Arkham was loyal. More than loyal. His father left him with five Voltorbs and this tiny Magnemite. He was a runt, barely three time the diameter of a collapsed Poke Ball. Whoever manufactured the little guy must have built him out of spares. With another cheerful chime, he continued ahead happily. The Voltorbs flaked. He didn't blame them. He thought Pokemon were supposed to be loyal. Slowly, they all left him. The last one left two months ago. The fact is, they were loyal.

Loyal to Dad. The one they all merrily rolled back to. Tour of duty over, I hope we get hazard pay.

Leon Riley - son of Captain Riley out of 106th Division, the "Fierce Arcanines" as they were called - was no one. His father, famed as a war hero, a philanthropist, a family man...now that was somebody to look up to. Leo Riley was just another punk wandering around the world with his Pokemon, no focus, no drive, other than some vague attempt to "be the best". At what? Battling, he assumed. But the real battles were won elsewhere, where his father lead the charge. Nobody questioned the appearance of the son of the hero in Violet City, or even Mahogany Town. It was normal for children to embark on an adventure, a coming-of-age, really and get to really know their world and its diversity.

Leo Riley's concept of diversity, however, was split twofold. It was a duality of whether or not he was going to get to eat a warm meal that night, or eat the almost molded berries in his backpack. It was a duality of whether or not he would scrounge up enough to sleep in a Drifters' home, or sleep outside the already packed Pokemon Centers. Sinnoh was cool enough for his army jacket, which was still several sizes too large. Perhaps its size was the final act of compassion from good ol' Dad because he would be at least somewhat warm and comfy in the years to come. Certainly, Dad didn't leave Leo Riley any money out for this journey. That was another duality to deal with. His denim jeans were tattered, faded and had holes at the knees where the typical battle scars of a young man-scrapes, bumps, bruises, boys will be boys-could be seen peering through. His bandana, which had once proudly adorned his head as small thing, had been tied around his wrist. The left one, where the sleeve was pulled up slightly. Just below his bandana sat his Poke Gear. The thought of it caused his left hand to twitch and push his teashade sunglasses up. The head that once acted as the sole precipice for his bandana now held an olive green beret. His hand scratched just to the side of it. It occurred to him that his Poke Gear, his sunglasses, heck, even his black sneakers had all been stolen, as had his last meal. He paused.

Hearthome was a pretty, if quaint little city. To Riley, it was glamorous to an extreme. Uppity old crones pranced about with their prized cutsie-wutsies showing off one-trick-pony moves to impress the old judges and get in their good graces. He had counted five Pikachu, ten Pachirisu and too many Jigglypuff. It had been getting to him. He was tired of cute Pokemon, just like he was tired of being without food. At eleven years old, he was already nearly as jaded as his father. He had previously rolled his eyes at the Contest Hall, and now he was rolling his eyes at a little girl. At first, his anger swelled. How could anyone be so upset when there was nothing really wrong with her? She was just another...another...

Then it occurred to him that he was angry at himself. Like a wind changing direction, he felt sorrow for the poor thing, because he was like her. Just fine. We kids are all just fine, aren't we? Off to adventure again, with smiles and happiness and our friends the Pokemon! What a load of-

Arkham buzzed sorrowfully at his master's expression. Had Riley been able to see it, he would have compared it to the way his Mom looked as Dad kicked him out of the house. Pitiful, helpless. Leo slowly snapped out of his gaze and allowed the softball-sized Magnemite hover in his palm, as its eye looked outward, toward the girl.

Through the old magic of intuition, he asked with a sly, yet sincere smile, "What's the matter? Lost? I can try to help."

He knew that not one adult would.

[L. Malady]

She jumped a little when she looked up at the boy, a little older than herself. She'd been ignored for most of her short visit here to Hearthrome, she didn't expect anyone to stop and help her, or so much as look at her. He looked...worn, though. Like one of those real Pokemon battlers who ventured all over Sinnoh--maybe even places beyond it?--with only their Pokemon as companions. She herself generally traveled in groups with people like that, though they looked a little less...ragged. She frowned a little, but he had Pokemon. He didn't seem like an adult that wanted to whisk her away, like her parents told her about, just in case. He seemed okay to go with. If not, she always had her Pokemon. After giving it a little bit of thought, she nodded. "I came to go to the Pokemon Contest Hall, but the city is so big...! I can't find my way there, can't even find the Pokemon Center, and everyone around here seems too busy to help."

She huffed a little, silently cursing her poor sense of direction. "Could you help me find it? Please?"

[Exigent Contact]

"I'd have no problem helping you find the Contest Hall, because I was just past it," he said, nodding his head in its general direction. Arkham turned in a snapping motion and hovered off of his hand, making a static buzz to where it was exactly. "Arkham, calm down! But uh...do you have any food? I haven't eaten in two days."

The sound of his voice saying that made him realize how weary he was. He had all day without drinking, and only just manged to clean himself off in a nearby stream. He wanted to find a bed and die in it. He hoped food would be enough to sate the urge for a little while. That is, if she had any. He felt himself shake. Was it noticeable? It probably was. Still, he was used to being hungry. He could help her, and maybe find a trashcan to loot from after he had finished helping her...

[archedthunder]

He stood there, staring into the Trapinch's eyes, determined to get his bag back. The wild Trapinch held tightly onto the boy's bag with its oversized mouth with no sign of wanting to let go. The boy grabbed one of the shoulder straps and pulled as hard as his ten year old muscles could, but it was a waste of energy, a Trapinch's jaws are stronger and any human could ever hope to be. He pulled the strap over his shoulder and tried to rip it out of the Trapinch's mouth by pulling with his upper body.

"Let go you oversized larva, I need to get to Eterna City before all the Pokemon are gone!"

Steven, the 10 year old from Pastoria City wanted to start his own Pokemon adventure, and Eterna City was giving out starter Pokemon this week for want-to-be trainers, and that's just what he was. He Had run away from home the night before to set out on his adventure, but with no Pokemon, its dangerous, especially for some one his age, to be out in the wilderness with no protection. He stood there, fighting to get his backpack back from a wild Trapinch. He wore a plain beige T-shirt with a red plaid over shirt tied around his waist. His once nice blue jeans were now torn and covered in mud, not to mention that so much mud was caked on his shoes that you couldn't even tell what color they were. He was almost at the end of Route 212, less than an 18th of a mile from Hearthrome City.

The small Trapinch was certainly strong for a Pokemon its size, it was only about 2 feet tall and couldn't have weighed more than 30 pounds. It must have been following him since he left Pastoria because this sand Pokemon definitely wasn't from a wet, mud covered route. Maybe it had escaped from the Great Marsh, an area inPastoria where they bring Pokemon from all over the world to, just to be caught.

Steven made one last tug with all his might, lifting the Trapinch off the ground and smacking it into his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Ugh, you little..." He was interrupted by the Trapinch dropping the bag out of it's mouth and letting out a deep groan. It couldn't be in pain, in fact it looked happy as can be. It looked almost as if it wanted to go with him. "Fine you can come with me." Moaned Steven. The Trapinch leapt off of Steven's back and and let out a shrieking noise that could have only meant that it had gotten what it wanted.

Steven stood up, cracking his back, and stared down the path. He could see Hearthrome City from where he was, it would take less than an hour to get there. He smiled and just as he did his stomach let out a loud groan. He hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours, but at least he would be able eat soon. He looked at the Trapinch, it looked like this might turn out to be his first Pokemon, it definitely wasn't what he was expecting, in fact he really wanted a Chimchar to start his Pokemon team. He continued on the path to Hearthrome ready to eat, and hoping deep down inside that the Trapinch would eventually leave him, but at least he had some protection for the rest of his trip to Eterna.

[L. Malady]

Her brows immediately arched. "Two days? Wow, you must be starving! Well, I have some berries I picked this morning and half of a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich." She paused for a moment, putting up her index finger as if to say "one second," and unzipped the pouch around her small waist. Her other hand dug around in the bag for a moment, came back with a bulging cloth sack, which she placed on the bench next to her (where it would not be sat on, she liked her berries), and after digging around some more, a clear plastic bag, which contained half of a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich, as she'd said. "I was going to have the sandwich for lunch, but you should have it."

She paused for a moment. Something was missing. What could you never eat without? A drink, of course! So she pulled off the canteen held around her neck by a strap and held it out to him. "You can have this, too," she offered. He looked thirsty, anyway. He looked like he wandered around a lot, much more than her. He deserved it more; she could always buy another, anyway. "I hope it's enough?"

[Exigent Contact]

Leo had almost greedily taken the sandwich and berries. It took him no more than fifteen seconds to devour the little purple fruits. He took a long swig of the canteen afterwards, hastily taking half of its contents in. He knelt on the ground, licking the berry juice off his fingers, not realizing that he was getting it on his nose and lips. He had been too hungry to worry about such trivialities. He took in a deep breath. Does air always taste this good after a bit of food? he thought. Arkham bobbed up and down at their new acquaintance, seemingly happy that his Master was fed above all else. It jolted the girl with tiny, ticklish barbs of static. That had been a sign of affection Leo had grown used to over the months, but he was unsure about how the girl would take it.

"Arkham, stop that!" he said, wiping juice from his lips, but forgetting(or perhaps not noticing) the bright purple on his nose and chin looking like silly bruises on the already tattered Leo. "I'm sorry, I think he just likes you. He does that when he's happy."

Arkham had put some amount of brake his static purr, but still continued his happy little bob around her. He laughed nervously and took the sandwich into both hands, unwrapping it slowly this time.

"Are you sure you don't want this? I could last the day on the berries, really-"

And then a noise, like a stampede of tiny Tauros thundered through the dirt path leading Hearthome's entrance. More like a single, tiny Tauros, thought Leo. It didn't matter. Suddenly the running beast shouted its warning call-

"STAND BACK, GOTTA GET TO THE BATHROOM!"

And the moment after, Leo stood with the sandwich in his right hand. The next, the rushing figure had gained too much ground to dodge, and the moment after was blank. First there was pain, then it got worse, then it dulled, and then Leo hit the ground it was worse than ever. He felt his cheek scrape into the cobbled pavement and watched in horror as his sandwich fell into the fountain. He was so hungry, he hadn't noticed his split lip. He just stared hopelessly at the fountain, his eye emptying into an odd sense of despair. Behind him he could hear the eager growls of a Trapinch, maybe? And the powerful electric currents of Arkham buzzing, too.

His face hit the dirt a moment later, and mouthful of bland tasting minerals and dust was sucked into his lungs and stomach. Eat up, boys and girls.

[L. Malady]

"Watch where you're going!" she shouted out after the one who had just gone running by as she hurried over to try and help the bigger boy up. It didn't help she was so short! "Are you okay?" she asked tenderly, concerned. She looked back over to the fountain for a moment, and, figuring she didn't want that half of the sandwich going to waste, pulled out a Pokeball from her belt. She made it grew, tossed it, and out came a Psyduck. A hungry Psyduck that smelled food. As fast as it could with the headache it always had, it scrambled over to the fountain and began chomping--as much as it could without any real teeth--on the now soggy sandwich.

"Um, there must be a store or something around here that sells food, right? I have some money, not a whole lot, but I can buy you something."

Behind her she could hear her Psyduck standing there, quacking oddly and quietly as it did when its mind went...blank. It did that a lot. There was nothing else here in the immediate area (it didn't have the best sense of smell), so it was done. Before it got the scent of more food somewhere, or anything else that might happen, the girl returned him to his ball. Better safe than sorry.

[archedthunder]

Steven abruptly stopped as he ran head on into another boy. He managed to keep his balance, but the other boy wasn't so lucky. The Trapinch was holding onto the bottom of the right strap of his bag while he was running, but now he stood face to face with a Magnemite, growling as if it had attacked him. Steven grabbed the Trapinch and gave it a dirty look. Without any words being spoken it knew that it was being told to stop.

After coming the Trapinch he set it down and extended his hand to the boy on the ground. "Oh man I'm so sorry, I just really need to wizz, do you know where the closest Poke' Center is?"

Steven helped the boy up and handed him a rag from his bag for his bleeding lip. Steven looked to the fountain to see a Psyduck with a mushy sandwich. "Was that yours? Here I'll make it up to you, I'll buy you both something to eat! But right now, I REALLY need to find a bathroom!"

[Exigent Contact]

Leo Riley felt a reassuring hand on his back. He was in a daze, a la-la land filled with silly tweets and distorted voices. Maybe it was a mixture of pain and hunger, but he found it rather hard to focus, too. He looked down at his upturned hand and saw the source of his pain. One of his fingers bent at an odd angle, and an ugly red and black valley cut through his palm, with blood pulsing through the wound regularly. Without even thinking, he unwrapped his bandana and tied it around the wound. Then he took the new kid's hand and was pulled up.

"At least you broke my weak hand's fingers," he said wincing, but otherwise stoically. "Now, I can get you to the Contest Hall, and I can show you where a quick bathroom is. I'm gonna to need to see a doctor about splinting my finger now, too..."

He knew neither of their names.

"Uh...what're your names?"

[archedthunder]

"Oh thank god, I hope your finger doesn't hurt to much, I didn't mean to hurt anyone. My Name is Steven Wake." Steven extended his right hand out to shake hands with the other boy, only to realize he needed to switch hands and quickly corrected himself.

The Trapinch Followed right next to steven, giving a mean look to the other boy's Magnemite and snarling at it. Steven bent down to slap it on the back of the head, but as he did the Trapinch opened his mouth and clamped down on his hand. He stared eye to eye with it for a second and then began yelling at the top of his lungs.

"AHH, LET GO TRAPINCH!" he yelped, waving his arm around while Trapinch was still clamped on.

[L. Malady]

"The Contest Hall can wait for a bit. I don't think there's a contest until tomorrow--at least, not one I could join in on. You look really busted up, and you're hungry. We'll focus on that first." She looked down at her belt for a moment, idly making sure all of the Pokeballs were in place, and answered. "I'm Laura Ramsden. Who are you?"

And then she glared slightly at Steven, as he apparently was named. How could he have such little control over his Pokemon...? She wasn't even really a trainer, and hers obeyed her more than that! They certainly didn't attack her. How many trainers really had to go through that sort of thing?

[Exigent Contact]

"Leon Dmitri Riley, son of Captain William Jacob Riley out of the 106th Division of the Armed Forces-" His face flushed. He couldn't believe he still introduced himself that way, as if he were another notch in his Dad's belt. Like a medal for his lapel, except this one fell off and got lost and stayed lost. He shook his black mane of hair, which had mangled some over the past few weeks. It didn't take a genius to tell he had a good head of hair, but it certainly could use some grooming before it really shone. He shot a glance at Laura. Don't pity me. Neither of you pity me.

"I'll be fine. It's just a couple of broken fingers, in my weak hand, too. Not a big deal."

His ribs were sore, and he could barely breath with all the dust in his lungs and he was bleeding in quite a few spots, but he was fine. Military boys put up with worse. Ever wake up to the sound of a pistol firing outside of your room? I have and...

A small puddle of blackened blood was met with another drip, from his hand. He tensed up, then felt rather tired. His deep blue eyes had paled considerably, but he tried to maintain composure.

"Fine, you win. We go to the hospital," not the Pokemon Center, the hospital. For humans. "Uhh, Steven, get to the store and get some grub, if you don't mind. I'm afraid I don't have any money to fence for myself, so I'll be in your debt if you do get something for me..."

He stepped with an odd limp. He might have pulled his leg in that little accident too. How pleasant. He limped halfheartedly towards the direction of the hospital, nodding towards them.

"Store's that way, hospital's this way," he said, cracking a wan smile.

[L. Malady]

"Okay, I'll come with you. Do you need some help...?" Laura offered the injured boy, holding out her arm for support as she slowly walked alongside him while still, delicately, trying to avert her gaze from the blood. She hadn't been to a hospital since she was little, when she broke her arm because she fell out of a tree. It wasn't even that bad then. How could that much blood come from falling on the pavement?

She certainly wasn't used to blood, either way. Hopefully, he would be okay, though. He had to be okay, right?

[Exigent Contact]

"I'll be fine. Most of the problem's my hunger. Truth be told, I haven't had a good meal in two weeks, just about. Mostly been eating berries as I went along. I must look pretty...what's the word Mom used? Gaunt. Yeah."

He limped ahead, breaking his previous pace and picking up speed. I'll be fine, he thought, grimacing as a sharp jolt of pain shot up his leg. Arkham hovered angrily around him, giving off a stronger variant of his affectionate static. He was charging up, threatening him.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll take your help."

He threw his right arm over her, not his left. Certainly not his left. He knew how girls reacted to blood. His Mom had been terrified by it. He didn't see the big deal. Maybe he would when he lost a sufficient amount of it, one day, in a stupid boyhood accident, but not now. Blood was blood. By then, Arkham had calmed down. His intuition was good enough, he supposed.

It felt...odd to wrap his arm around her. He hated the feeling of dependence, but this...felt okay. It felt normal. And in that normality, a slight discomfort washed over him. He was unused to normal. He looked to her and smiled a bit- as much as an injured boy could smile, and continued walking on.