So, this was a safari. Interesting. Or maybe not. She wasn’t sure yet. Aside from the fact that she was not supposed to battle Pokemon before catching them, this seemed no different from just walking down a route where wild ones ran around. It just felt very different. More…purposeful, if that made any sense?
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Well, maybe it just did to her. Megan just shrugged, then resumed walking. This was at least somewhat refreshing. And a good little reward for her recent gym battle, too. Who knew? Maybe she might be able to catch another buddy that would help her with the next one. Probably nothing as awesome as her Hydreigon, of course, but she doubted that they kept anything that big or dangerous in a preserve like this. But who knew? Everything was possible.



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Unlike him, she had very little idea as to why this odd stranger kept hanging out near her. The idea of stranger danger was not very far from her mind still, but yet it was still dismissed as well. She just accepted that he was there. Maybe she should feel flattered and imagine that he was hitting on her. That would not be too far-fetched after all. She’d hit on herself, too.
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Maybe it wasn’t too bad to have him around. Even if his attitude struck her as a bit condescending. Then again, she was very, very easily triggered in that regard. Years in retail having mostly male customers treating her like a little girl did that to a gal. “Oh, so now you want to make a pair, eh?” she exclaimed, somewhat jovially, a sly grin on her face. “I am not even sure that you can keep up with me, really. But you are welcome to try. As long as you don’t try anything funny, mister.”



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“Uhhh,” she started, scratching the back of her head with her left, while she had her right and on her hip. A typical thinking pose for her, really. The young woman in skirt and shirt certainly did not look like a survivalist – and she didn’t feel like one, either. In fact, she had very much hoped that someone with a better idea than hers would be present when the guy at the phone said there was someone else coming.
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But, alas, they apparently were both at a bit of a loss here. Well, almost. At least she had come somewhat prepared. “I mean, I wouldn’t really call it much of a plan per se. But I figured, well, berries! I mean, those usually get Pokemon worked up. And I figured if they had some incentive, you know, they’d do….something, I guess? Honestly, I have little experience with breeding, human or Pokemon, so I kind of hoped you would know more about this.”


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“Well, in your desperation, I will gladly give you the clams you desire,” she responded, snorting briefly, very much capitalizing on that, too. Megan honestly did not want to bully that woman in this moment. It just came so….naturally. Probably because it was easy. At the very least though, the woman did not seem to mind too much, which probably meant that it was all okay. And as long as this was all in good fun, no one got hurt, right?
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Plus, she was, as always, a generous victor. “Two will be enough.” Though, admittedly, it was probably still twice as expensive as otherwise. But she was being paid by the item without too much care about what it was, so this was fine. Megan looked around briefly, seeking some kind of overhead they could go to in order to do that. They would get too soaked out here, otherwise. “Anyway, let’s head over towards the buildings. As much as I would love to seal the deal with you right now out here in the open, a less public – and less wet – place would probably be better, don’t you agree?”
Another snort, because of course. She really should go a little bit easier on her from now on. Starting right about in a few minutes, for sure. But for now, they went off to do some clam business.



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Ugh. He was making fun of her now, wasn’t he? Yes. That was definitely it. Megan glared at him lightly. “What makes you think that I would need guidance? I will have you know that I am quite decent at this.” Decent. Not good, not great. Just decent. That was the most apt description, really, so she stuck to that. Megan was not going to let this man goad her into lying or anything like that. It would just give him what he wanted, after all. And she definitely didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.
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Hence, in order to prove her words, she carefully moved again, attempting to go in a circle about him. That worked, kind of. It was a bit stiff and awkward after all that had happened, but at the very least she did not fall flat on her face, either. “See, I am good enough to move on my own, so I don’t need anyone to hold my hand.”



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Ahh, good old route 114. She had fond memories of this place. After all, it was here that she had caught her Hydreigon, with whom she had just recently earned her third badge. Which was also the primary reason why she had made a quick detour to this place today. Taking a breather – with the intent to catch some more ‘Mons she also rewarded the three headed one, who had spent quite a while just flying about.
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Now though, they had found a cave. That was a little bit uncomfortable for Hydreigon, but the dragon somehow managed regardless, seemingly having been here before. Megan just shrugged and followed. Whatever they might find in this cave was probably worth the trip, one way or another.



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If she herself had an option to mega evolve, Megan would probably also have been tempted to use it. After all, the melee was devolving into frantic attacking now. Hydreigon just tried to bite and bite, while the other dragon, in turn, kept wailing at it with its claws. From a technically point of view, the Salamence was probably doing better, using a dragon attack instead of a dark typed one, but it also seemed to have already lost quite a bit of power.
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Plus, she really didn’t have a lot of better options here. At best, they could try a dragon rush – but much like the other’s stone edge, that was nigh impossible to do without giving up this grip on the wings. Which, in turn, would just allow the other to move again, thus potentially doing more harm than good.[break]
No, this was a battle of endurance now. And the best she could do now was to have faith in her partner, who clearly was suffering from those slashes, to be able to take them without fainting and wearing the other down first. It was not a grandiose tactic, it wasn’t a very dignified one. But it was the best she got here. So, she did not avert her eyes but instead watch the other intently, as if trying to project power into it and see if they could outlast this gym leader.



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Phew. The frantic biting and attacking of the three heads caused that Flamethrower to go awry. That would probably been rather badass, had it been calculated. But Megan just considered them lucky in that regard. It did slightly remind her of that embarrassing HST match, but she was not going to let him get a free hit in return or anything like that. He would probably hate that. Much like going soft on someone whom she had an advantage over. At least that had been one of the major lessons of her first gym battle.
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Hence, she did not stop Hydreigon who kept biting at the other, trying to sink its teeth into the other’s body to stop it from moving, so that the others could hit. If nothing else, they were trying to do as much damage as possible in order to bring the other dragon down. It already had an injured wing, so if it did a little more, that would probably be enough to at least ground the opponent.


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