Huh? That word seemed out of place. Granted, it wasn’t like she actually knew this girl at all. But she just had not struck her as the kind of person who said ‘fuck’ all over the place. Maybe that meant that she was losing her cool? But that was weird. Meg would have figured for that to happen if the wild pokemon did become overbearing. But running out of empty balls just mean you couldn’t catch any more of them, nothing more. It was bad if you wanted to save an injured wild pokemon, but to her, it just wasn’t something to swear over.

Though, admittedly, she would have at least grunted in dismay, had she ended up without a means to capture this Empoleon. That one was kind of amazing, really. It would have been a shame to miss one. Megan did not feel bad at all for having to beat it up. At least by now they were in control of their strength enough to not accidentally kill wild Pokemon they wanted to catch. It had taken her quite a bit to get to that point, though. She had been a lot more antsy about all this in the past.

But now? Now she was getting into the groove. When she spotted a Lairon further down the tunnel, she decided to go after that one, too. “Come on, that one as well!” Her call to Lucario was heeded, who rushed over there and once more used the power of Close Combat to great effect, beating up a somewhat confused Pokemon before it could do anything.
Yeah, Meg was definitely getting carried away already, tossing yet another ball at this Pokemon as soon as she saw it weaken, her thoughts becoming a bit narrow in the process. Heck, she was barely paying attention to the other girl now. There was a rather nice song coming to her ears from the back though, but that only served to put her half to sleep, the other half of her mind going into overdrive to keep herself up, as if forcefully caffeinating herself mentally.

---

Attempting to catch Lairon

character tag: Megan Whitmore[break]pokemon & movesets:Lucario Male Steadfast Starter Aura Sphere | Rock Smash | Meteor Mash | Close Combat | Swords Dance | Extreme Speed[break]notes:

I would like to use my Type 3 Evo to turn Marshtomp into a Swampert
Further, I want to teach it the Egg Move Wide Guard with an Egg tutor
and Hammer Arm with a level Tutor

10/10

If my Pokemart had had more customers like him, I might still be working there!

Meg's Review: 8/10 as a gym leader, very educational fight. Does have a very, very nice cape. I am not jelous of it. Definitely not. But I will get my own, if I ever make gym leader, and it will be even better.

Also, they probably should meet again at some point, maybe after she goes to another gym mhm.

Ah, well, at least the Buffolant seemed more used to these sorts of things. Ampharos, on her direction, tried to keep its smaller brethren in line but had some obvious troubles with that. It was decidedly not made to grab small fluff like this and push them back into the herds. Yet, there it was, doing exactly that. Not like it had much of a choice.

“Same here. I kind of ran into the big guy while chasing a thieving Meowth and more or less picked him up right there. But he’s a reliable sort.” Actually, was he even male? She always had some difficulty telling that at a glance. A certain gym leader would scold her for that, but he wasn’t here. “I actually didn’t start properly training until recently. Always had some Pokemon, sure, but we never did too much aside from random training and stuff. But now I am going at it for real! I even earned my first badge by now!”

She pouted, in return. In her opinion, that was not an excuse, but rather a reason. But then again, it probably sounded like one. She had to acknowledge that much. Megan had not exactly allocated a whole lot of time to learning about odd types like this, so he was certainly right in that regard. But she just didn’t want him to be right in that moment, so she decided he wasn’t. Simple as that. It totally worked like that. Definitely.

Still, it was difficult to stay mad when someone presented you with a badge, so she quickly lit up in response. “I – thank you,” she replied, swiftly changing track in that moment she realized what she was taking possession of there. Truth be told, she had been burned often enough in the past, she had not truly accepted that she would actually get this badge until this very moment. Not that she wanted to see the worst in him or anything like that, she was just jaded enough to think that fate might snatch this from her at the last possible moment.
Now though, she had something. She’d properly taking the first step. Time to work on the next one, of course.

Hence, she nodded. “Yes, Gym Leaders are not the strongest. If they were, I reckon very few people would earn badges.” Her own joke made her chuckle, briefly. “But yeah, I want to become the proper kind of strong and then help others do the same. Though I first have to learn what that truly is. I don’t think I have the concept fully realized yet.” First, she shook her head, then nodded. “But I do think I learned something today. Thank you for that. Though to be frank for a moment, as much as I like capes, your original bum-look somehow suits you way better than that proper leader look. Just aesthetically.”

Ohey, Mareep. Those were pretty cute. In fact, she’d sometimes wished that her big oaf of an Ampharos was still of that lesser evolution, but that couldn’t be helped. She’d caught him that way, after almost running him over in a way, while chasing a different Pokemon. Meg still kind of felt like she owed him some niceness because of that. Hence, she released him so he could at least watch that herd of his brethren. Not like this was the kind of situation where one would release a Pokemon to the wild in order to be with their brethren. This was a domesticated heard, clearly, which was now crossing their path. But she would wait for it to pass anyway. Since getting her first badge recently, Meg was in no rush to reach a new town or anything like that.

A break had most certainly been earned. Though, apparently, it was not meant to be. At least when it came to having a full break here. Ah, well, couldn’t exactly turn an old man away, now could she? Megan shrugged. Fortunately, the other girl around there asked the pertinent question. Though, admittedly, Meg would have helped without compensation, too. “Hmm, I guess the Ampharos can make do? I don’t really have a lot of herding pokemon, come to think of it?” She basically mused to herself, though she did intend to involve the other as well, just giving her an in there.

She shrugged in response. “I figure if I knew, I would be.” Honestly, that was the best answer she could give in that regard. After all, being one was as much about character as it was about skill, if she understood matters correctly. Granted, she didn’t exactly enjoy this man’s character at all times, but he seemingly did have the act down at least. Even changed up his accent, if ever so slightly. Meg, meanwhile, was just Meg while she battled. Then again, she didn’t do it all too often, after all. “Though I do think that experience is at least part of it. I mean, I still have a lot to learn, I think, and need to just get used to it more. To my strength, and when and how to use it. Does that make any sense?”

It probably didn’t. Most people were not so hung up about matters as she was. Then again, they had not exactly lived her life, either.
Megan was starting to relax a bit more, though she soon found herself slightly blushing when he had to bring up types. “I do know the basics! It’s just like….bug is weird. Really weird. They are weak to Rock but I guess Rock doesn’t resist them? While it’s just the opposite for fighting. I mean, how does that make any sense?”

Wait, what? He ended the fight? Sure, Meg appreciated winning, but this just felt weird. Kind of because she had just suggested taking this one and graveler off the field earlier. In her opinion, while it might not have been exactly the same, it at least kind of felt like it. But when she’d suggested it, it had been her not getting the point. Now he pulled that one back without fighting to the end! A bit flabbergasted at first, she lightly grumbled, but then decided to not express that any more for once. Instead, she smiled wearily towards Graveler, who was clearly quite exhausted. Fortunately, she had not pushed to the edge. Megan recalled her, before giving a slightly quizzical glance towards the leader. Follow him? Wasn’t this the part where one was simply given a badge? And why did this kind of feel like being called to the principal’s office?

Then again, Meg did not exactly have a choice, so she followed. Taking in the interior of the base, she tried to make sense of the aesthetic. Still didn’t really feel a lot like a gym. More like, well, an army base. But it had absolutely zero to do with bugs, in her opinion. But it was also not exactly a comfortable place to be in for a civilian such as herself. Even as she sat down, she did so more proper and stiffly than she usually would have had. It simply was a place for soldiers. And people like here usually only got there when they’d done something particularly bad. Though she had given her Pokemon to the nurse as well, she felt somewhat assured that she still had a few others on her belt.

Still, being called Miss Whitmore again felt a bit weird in this setting. She decided that she was not quite comfortable yet. Or rather, that she was not quite there yet. It made more sense in her head. “Well, um, I just like the look. They are fancy. I mean, I already have some more eccentric stuff, but somehow…I don’t know. A cape is something that should be worn by someone sufficiently badass. And I don’t feel ready for that sort of thing yet. Like, anyone could put them on, but actually wearing them is something else. Though I do want to be a gym leader. One day. When I’m…I don’t know. Ready for it I guess. And proved myself, of course.”
Yeah, not exactly the best speech to give for something like that. But it was how she felt. Nothing would change that anytime soon. “Also, are you putting on an accent now, or did you just forced yourself to speak differently earlier?”

Oh yes, the beep of rejection. She knew that one well. She’d had given it to a lot of hopeless nerds that tried flirting with the help. It was annoying to have a corporate mail address in the first place, but even worse when it was structured in a way that even an idiot could deduce. Yeah, whole lot of good it did her to opt out of a public listing when anyone knowing her first and last name could just guess correctly. Not exactly a lot of competition for megan.whitmore@pokemart.hn.

She sighed inwardly at that, outwardly at the deflation of not getting that meet and free lodging. But she rebounded from that one reasonably swiftly. “Ah, well, not like I relied on it. I’ll find something, don’t worry.” Regardless, she typed her number in anyway. Lopez, eh? Now that was a name with a lot more competition. “Heh, kind of like the champ,” she remarked, before handing it back. As someone who had met a lot of people with famous names but no relation, Meg was not exactly quick to jump to conclusions.

Ugh. Another one of those supercharged beams. Megan still remembered how that had hit Graveler back then. Lucario was better poised to take it, she thought, but he had already taken quite a bit of a beating. At the end of the day, type resistances did only do that much, really. And given how he was still trying to get back into the game proper, there was no way for him to easily dodge this. Ironically, while she had earlier suggested to take out Volbeat and Graveler due to being injured, those two would be the ones remaining after Lucario had to be recalled as well.

“Stealth Rock,” she noted quietly during all of that. Loud enough for Graveler to her, who put her hands on the ground and did whatever a Pokemon did to start up that move. It was not exactly the most straight-forward one, after all. This caused multiple rocks to slightly rise from the ground all around the battlefield, ready to shoot up at Pokemon treading or hovering too close to them with explosive force.
Not much else it could do against a flying opponent, after all. The big oaf had to ready herself to at least try to do just about anything before another devastating beam came by. “Anyway, why bugs? Are they used a lot in the military?” That was a bit random, but it had been something that bugged her for quite a bit. Those two bugs definitely did not match any kind of martial aesthetic.

---

Lucario out, Graveler prepares Stealth Rocks.

Sadly, being a Pokemon trainer didn’t pay quite as well as one might think it would. The stories she’d heard from and of travelling trainers hardly ever spoke of these parts. Then again, most people started their journeys real young, like age ten or so. Obviously at that age, one still had parents to support you and send you money. Megan though? She’d not seen a dime since she’d moved out of home, outside of birthdays and the like. Mother had been quite clear in that regard. If she wanted support, she’d had to move back.
It had been a serious possibility to her in the wake of losing her job, of course. But in the end, she had decided to try and do something better, something like this.

Even if that meant she’d had to go picking up literal trash just to be able to afford continuing her journey. Not that she was completely broke, of course. But she couldn’t afford even getting there. Megan took opportunities like this whenever she could precisely so she wouldn’t find herself caught up in a loop of having no money at all.

Besides, it wasn’t all that bad. Work like this still beat cleaning up the store after a bunch of rowdy teens spilled who knew what everywhere. It was more akin to a bit of a stroll on the beach, even if she wore shorts and shirt instead of a swimsuit, outside of peak hours and while picking up trash here and there. Her Magnezone was hovering nearby, utilizing its body and structure to attract metals from the ground. Helped her get everything and hey, sometimes that did net her some coins.
Noticing another member of the cleaning corps nearby, Meg would briefly but genuinely cheerfully wave at them.