Fortunately, Megan had mostly missed talk of alien attacks – or rather, had mostly dismissed them as sensationalist. Otherwise, she would have been a lot more uneasy about all this, especially the part where a Magnezone had gotten involved. But now, that was behind them and the UFO-looking Pokemon safely secured in a Pokeball. Meg didn’t really know what to make of that one yet, but right then, she did need all the strength she could get.

And speaking of, somehow her goal had gotten entangled in all this too. Which was kind of surprising. In fact, she blinked at first. Then, her eyes narrowed, briefly debating a potential scam. But that didn’t check out either. Gym leaders were important and such, yes, but randomly hooking you up with one was something most people did not care too much about.
Hence, she nodded, deciding to believe him. “That would be pretty nice, actually. I did want to look into the local gym anyway. Not really for fighting it or anything, just interested in how it works and everything. It’s….a pastime of mine, really.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a hobby, but she did not want to bring up her goal with a total stranger, either. Speaking of: “Thanks though….um, I didn’t quite catch your name in all this commotion, I fear.”

Well, not like he hadn’t taken the hits already so far. Still, it clearly hurt her Lucario to be hit like this from behind. But on the other hand, he was getting in some good hits on the Volbeat instead, especially when that one decided to protect everyone at the expense of guarding against the punches. Megan still felt a little bad about beating up someone who so clearly was not made for Close Combat – neither to use it, nor be hit by it. But she didn’t exactly have another choice here. That ‘Mon could have just as easily hung back and watched the fight, much like Graveler had. But it had decided to fight and would hurt her Pokemon if it wasn’t stopped. Heck, Lucario was hurting despite that.

After all, he’d been body checked into the Volbeat at the same time. That wasn’t as effective as anything before, but he’d still grunted it in pain. And thus, he’d decided to make an executive decision, as the dust from the thrown stone was coming down all around them. Even Meg couldn’t see what happened. Graveler wanted to throw another stone, but she signalled it not to, given that they couldn’t see at all what was going on there properly. And at the end of that, Luca would be panting too – but he would have instead tried to weave around the Volbeat, which was clearly nearing the end of its rope, seeking to bring it between himself and Illumise, which was still aggressively fighting. But maybe that would give her pause, especially with a stern hand on Volbeat.

“Uhm, I’m not quite sure how these things work, but shouldn’t we recall the injured. I think the other two will do just fine slapping each other silly, but your Volbeat looks kind of…well…beat?”

“Hmm?” The question really wasn’t on her radar too much, so she looked up to the stranger. It was not quite clear how their engagement so far would lead to that kind of question. Hence, she blinked at him briefly, thinking that over.

Then, she shrugged. Not like it would hurt her to answer him, anyway. “I don’t have one yet. Figured I’d find a pension or so to stay in while I’m here. My parents used to live in this town back in the day, but they moved later.” Another shrug. Not like she had figured out where to spend the night just yet. She was on a Pokemon journey, after all. Those sorts of things were just part and parcel of that.
“What about you? You from this city?”

Yeah, she didn’t fall for it. In fact, she lightly pouted when he pointed that out. Not because of what he said, of course. That was valid, and she had kind of forgotten. Or maybe she had subconsciously chosen something weaker because of how the Volbeat had been crunched by that hit. At least they seemed rather even matched.
But no, she pouted because at that time, the other bug was getting back on his feet and into the game. Maybe it was coincidence, but it definitely seemed like he was trying to distract her from that. “Not falling for it. Go for the other one, Luca!” That was rather obvious, of course, but unlike him, she didn’t try these sorts of distractions.

Yes, that left Lucario open to being restricted momentarily by the encore, even though he was already bounding towards the other one. No matter. He was still high on Sword Dancing, so even his Close Combat that he’d dish out on the Volbeat would not be pathetic. Plus, he couldn’t spend too much time doing that anyway, so Encore would probably fade.
Probably. Truth be told, she had never actually encountered it, only read about it in one of her cramming sessions.

But she did know one thing that was effective against bug. “You too,” she added. After all, the Illumise had asked for an Encore. And since she was still kind of infatuated with her, Graveler was more than happy to oblige. That little rest had helped, of course, but she already had that Pokemon’s ball in hand. She’d recall her before she took another of those beams to the face. But if she was willing to throw more rocks, why not?


tl;dr: - Thinks he tried to distract her with that effectiveness comment. Megan will remember this.
- Sends Lucario after the Volbeat when she notices that one standing up.
- Graveler throws a Rock at Illumise, clearly as a token of affection.

Megan smirked. The only reason as to why she did not exclaim a ‘yay’ or so was because she did not want to jynx this. Lucario had sent one of the two flying, and it looked like it was in pain. Part of her wanted to just order him to ignore the other and finish that bug off but….no. She had meant what she’d said. The next step was always the most important. And it mattered how one took it. Just hurting someone solved little at the end of the day. She’d learned that during a certain night. It felt good in the moment, but the next time, your hand just hurts.

Megan made a fist again. She’d take this step correctly. Lucario clearly approved, for he had already turned away from the momentarily downed enemy and instead focused on the one attacking him now. “Answer with Close Combat,” she ordered him and he did – both Pokemon trading blows in the process. She could tell that this wasn’t greatly hurting her Pokemon, so she decided to deal as much damage as she could for now. Just not on the one that currently was down. Luca wouldn’t stand for that, either.
However, Megan would keep an eye on the Volbeat, trusting her Pokemon to handle the melee for the moment. That way, she could warn him in case the other bug tried a cheap shot. Her, Luca and Arcanine had sworn that day to not be jerks about it, but also not to be taken advantage of.

Brace himself she did. The charm limited what it could do offensively, but it was still a big, reliable rock. And it didn’t have to do much more than sit there and take it, really. A myriad of factors would naturally go into a situation like this, from boosted power to strongly resisting types. But at the end of the day, it was simply a strongly empowered beam going for a big rock. It did quite a bit of damage, yes, but it lacked one important thing that allowed Megan’s idea to still somewhat work.
It had no weight. In the light of that Signal Beam hitting her Graveler, illuminated from behind, Lucario finished. And unlike his theatrics, Megan’s voice was much quieter, smaller in comparison. “Go,” she simply told the fighter.

He wasted no time, outright jumping over its compatriot and rushing the opponent with Extreme Speed. Graveler created an opening, hopefully, and Lucario was set to exploit it. Quite a bit of their strategy hinged on this, but she felt rather confident in the speed and strength of the attack to at least put a dent into one of the bugs. Lucario’s focus was the Volbeat, which had just hurt its buddy, so it went after that one with priority.
Graveler, in the meantime, was barely holding on, having slumped to what amounted to a knee. That had hurt, even for a bug move, but she had at least survived it for now. Megan didn’t give it much of an order though, focusing instead on the other three, hoping to intervene with orders in case Lucario got entangled in some kind of quasi-electric web from the two that she could barely remember were not of that type.

---

Kucario Extreme Speeds at Volbeat
Graveler hurt badly

It worked. That…was kind of surprising. Something so big, caught with relative ease. Megan picked up the Pokeball, initially disbelieving. That huge Pokemon seemed quite strong indeed. And now it was…hers, right? She had caught it. She could use it! That was kind of amazing!
Lightening up, the burgeoning trainer started to finally take note of the other person proper, who was returning her bag to her. Only she quickly looked away again, simply because she needed to check whether or not everything was still there, so she started rummaging.

“Seems like everything is still in. With some needle and threat, I should be able to fix this. Hmm….might need a patch or two. But it’ll work.” She was surprisingly good with these sorts of things. Well, surprisingly for a Pokemart employee, at least. They’d never been allowed to fix things, just give out or sell replacements. But for her own clothes, she had learned this just so she wouldn’t spend a lot on tailors.
That settled, she nodded towards the bag before getting up from her squatting position again, quickly turning to the other proper. “And um, thanks. I might have been a bit bossy but…pretty much everything I properly own is in here. So losing it would have been a pretty big blow, you know?”

Heh. Would have been too easy if that went through, wouldn’t it? Still worth a try. Too many people just assumed that something wouldn’t work and never gave it a shot. But not Megan. She wasn’t going to give up on a perfectly good chance just because it seemed unlikely.
Still didn’t help much, now did it? Fortunately, they had already assumed that this opening gambit would fail. The leaders here offered doubles, so she’d figured that they would come prepared with synergistic teams. In fact, she had been tempted to go for the single battle instead, simply because she did not have the kinds of options this man had, Pokemon that already seemed like a team just from their looks. Lucario and Graveler were misfits in comparison, through and through. But that wasn’t exactly a death sentence, either. Now was it?

Heck, Megan and Lucario smirked, even though Graveler grunted, displeased. Couldn’t be helped. She was new. Luca though, he’d been with her forever. He knew how this was going to go. Only this time, they wouldn’t just take everything lying down. “Lucario, shelter, Graveler, do what you do best.”
…
What did a big rock do best? Well, just standing around, really. While Lucario dashed to the side, seeking to dodge those little hearts, Graveler didn’t even try. She just sat there and took it, like a champ. Which, in this case, meant that it became transfixed on the display in front of it. Fair enough. Megan didn’t really saw what she might see in a dancing bug, but she wasn’t a Pokemon. At least the charm didn’t affect her. “Don’t look at it, but I guess it’s time for you to dance too, isn’t it?” she further added to Lucario, who was hiding behind the Graveler, decidedly not getting into the show. Instead, it began its own Sword Dance to prepare itself for the next step of their battle plan.

“I…” she started, but didn’t finish. There was slight hesitation in her voice, certainly, but that was only the initial delay. Instead, she remained quiet as she watched what unfolded next. Honestly, it was surprising. But just because something was surprising did not make it shocking. Instead, things fell into place, even before the swap of apparels was completed. It certainly was an unusual act. And from the look on the girl’s face, this had not been a foregone conclusion.

Things changed. They were always in flux. Some things came more naturally, more predictably than others, yes. But that didn’t make one thing bad, nor another boring. Most things just were. And nothing would change that, ironically.
Megan briefly raised her left hand. It always had her stick out a little, to have strength in it. But it had gained another meaning on that night, 2:47 AM. And then, she had given it yet another meaning later. Things changed. But some things only changed once and if you had the will to accept their change.

Hence, she briefly made a fist and raised it towards the strange man. It wasn’t a threat. More of a challenge really. Or maybe it was really more her kind of salute. Whatever it was, it was hers. “Well, that’s just fair. I never introduced myself properly either, right? Just assumed everyone knows me.” From a lifetime of wearing a name tag when no one cared about who she was anyway, it was a habit that was hard to shake off.
“You called me Ms. Whitmore, but I am really just Megan. I’ve got nothing but a lot of years of nothing to my name. But that is going to change. That’s why I’m here.” She didn’t elaborate much more on her motives regarding becoming a gym leader. For one, it was obvious enough in her eyes. And for the other, a true gym battle should reveal these sorts of things to begin with.

Megan reached to her belt, pulling up the two Pokeballs she had prepared. One in each hand, she took another deep breath, closed her eyes. When she spoke, it was almost more to herself, though she did so loud and clear anyway. It just felt more…right that way. “Someone once asked me, which is the most important step? Is it the first? Is it the last?” Another brief pause. Then, she opened her eyes again, intently focused. “The most important step is always the next one.” And with that, she took said step, throwing her balls in criss-cross, managing to not have them bounce into one another. One of the stupid things she’d trained to do.
Both her Graveler and Lucario sprung forth, Graveler on her left, Lucario on her right. Megan would wait until there was an official go if there was one, or it seemed like everyone was ready from the atmosphere. Her mind a bit cleared, she would stick to the plan. “Like we trained! Aura Stone!” A simple, but hopefully effective combination. Graveler would heave a huge, solid rock from the ground and throw it at the target to her left, while Lucario shot an Aura Sphere the same way, while both kept their distance. Graveler did step a little bit closer though, subtly, though that could have also been the natural effect of throwing such a big boulder.

Oh my. Ms. Whitmore. That sounded kind of regal, even in a tone like this. Probably especially in one like this. Hearing it in a stiff and prim tone of voice made it sound stilted. Like this, it was kind of nice. A lot better than those who’d said it to reprimand, or those who just called her variations of ‘you there’. Plus, she’d never allowed to have her last name on her tag in the Mart. There she had only been Megan. Now she could be Ms. Whitmore. Maybe even one day Boss Whitmore or something like that!

But enough daydreaming for now. Focus, Meg! There was still a conversation ongoing. “Oh, is that so? Haha. It might sound a bit silly but honestly, it’s just geographical convenience. I was in the area and decided to finally make my first proper step towards my goal.” Megan added a nod to these words, though that was meant mostly for herself. At the end of the day, she had to convince herself of all this, most of all.
Though, admittedly, his words did help. All these soldiers doing proper…soldier things around her? That put her slightly on edge, really. They clearly had their act together for real. She was just pretending to. At the very least until she got herself a badge.

Her focus was good enough for now, at least. When that bug type streaked by, she didn’t flinch too much, but instead tried to relax at least a little bit. While she hadn’t known about bugs, she figured it was fine anyway. Her strategy was ultimately going to stay the same – she had specifically chosen it for dealing with an unknown type anyway. The only thing she had known was that she was supposed to fight like this was a one-life scenario. Which was fine enough.
She was going to make the most of that, after all.

They got closer to a person who looked kind of imposing. But also kind of neat. That was exactly how she’d imagined a gym leader. “A cape? That is awesome! I mean, I have seen them in comics but never in real life,” she started to exclaim, though she did suppress the urge to rush towards the lady. This was an army base. She would behave herself. “Ahh, that is a welcome sight indeed. I did hear that those in gyms were allowed to dress eccentrically, and that’s at least part of what I want to begin with!”

Pokeballs x 4 x 20 = 80

Checkout: 80=80

Ah, good, he was both useful and polite. Both things she wouldn’t have assumed from the get-go. Well, more like, she didn’t take those sorts of things as granted. Megan knew retail. She knew the depths of human depravity better than anyone else.

But this was good! She already felt a bit better. Plus, he was offering to guide her and even called her in. Nice. On second thought, that was probably his job to begin with. That made her relate with the man almost immediately. He probably had to usher in just about any challenger. Meant he, too, had likely seen into abyss.
Meg immediately straightened up a bit more, resolving to not be a complicated customer. “Thank you. And yes, that would be great,” she replied. It wasn’t overly friendly and overjoyed, but it was genuine nonetheless. That was how she’d want to be treated too. Fake politeness and cheer were some of the things she was never ever going to employ again.

“I figured it was probably more on the bigger side. Though, to be honest, I haven’t really been to any other gyms proper so far. I saw a few in passing, but this is kind of my first time. Having a guide is much appreciated in that regard.” If he started to walk, she would fall in. Megan was going to let him lead, not waltz in like she owned the place.

Ohey. There was another. Once she had woken up sufficiently – and, more to the point, had heard the other talk – Megan did truly notice another woman nearby. Well, that one seemed like she was, if not a friendly, then at least a neutral. So that was already good to know. “Hey there,” she replied, slightly grinning. Two trainers together could probably deal with anything the wilds had to offer. Well, hopefully at least!

Either way, introductions were best kept court and short. “Don’t worry. I literally just got up. I’m Megan, that’s Arcanine.” Very much to the point. Mostly because she was still looking around, trying to figure out where those tremors had come from. But they seemed a bit more distant now. Maybe whatever caused it was moving away? Possible.

However, just because there was nothing big around the corner, they were not completely safe. Instead of a huge beast, a duo of groundly assailants appeared from the tall grass – a Trapinch that her partner of chance took care of, along with a Sandile from the east. Guess that was hers to handle. “Let’s not set anything ablaze. Extreme Speed!” she ordered her Arcanine, which swiftly thundered at the Sandile. Maybe it wasn’t strictly speaking going to attack them or anything like that. But she was not taking chance at this hour.
And she always, always damaged a ‘Mon before trying to catch it, which was why she followed it up with a Pokeball. “I was woken up by something big and or heavy. Not sure if it was any of those, though.”