Sayuri hadn't noticed which Pokemon it was till now as it had blinded her with water. "A Wooper huh?" She pulled out her Pokedex to see if she had any information on one. Luckily it wasn't wet and she was able to get a good reading. From the pictures she saw on the Pokedex and to the Pokemon she saw in front of her, she figured it was male with its twin spikes crossing vertically over the twin horizontal ones on each side of its head. She always thought the female had the longer ones as they looked like outward pigtails... "Yeah. It could be a good match for me. Um..." Which Pokemon to use... Bellsprout... He needed to learn more obedience... Oddish... Too hyper, both of them. "Well... Guess it's all yours Hanawa. Ready?"

"Chiko!" She braced herself in front of the little Pokemon, ready to attack.

The Wooper gave a determined look as well as it was ready to go with this one. "Woopa!" Didn't give Hanawa a chance to avoid as a Water Gun went spraying her in the face.

"Chiko!" She endured and sent a Razor Leaf right back at it, knocking it right on its back. Being a bit more experienced, the Wooper took a lot of damage.

As the attacks were being sent back and forth, Sayuri still debated on whether she wanted it or not... Her vow on the first morning of her previous journey was to only go for Grass types, but that was after she'd studied the Kanto gyms a bit. Now with the Johto Gyms... She didn't know what to expect.

After some thought and a loud 'Chiko' waking her out of her daze, a Pokeball went sailing toward the Wooper, hitting its head, which always worried Sayuri, then shook before stopping with a 'bing'.

"While it's always nice to watch new trainers, I think it's time for me to return to the Gym," Falkner said once the small 'battle' was over. "I look forward to seeing you three challenge my Gym." With that, he gave a little wave and turned to head back towards Violet City. The twins watched him go, and then looked back at Sayuri.

"You'll have an easier time at the gym now that you have something not weak to Flying-types," Naomi commented. She flipped through the region guide, skimming the Gym pages. "And if you keep that Wooper, it'll help against Pryce in Mahogany Town, too."

"You can still borrow Landslide or Buzzer, if you like," Hunter offered. "Either one would be good against Falkner." He would even tell her what moves the pokemon knew, so she wasn't floundering and grasping at straws in battle.

Naomi wasn't worried about her own team at all. Staryu knew Zap Cannon and Ice Beam, and Natu knew Psybeam. She would be okay.

Sayuri was slightly embarrassed. She had battled a wild Pokemon and caught it quite pathetically, she thought. And right when the gym leader was watching! Now he knew she had another Pokemon he figured she'd probably use in battle... Before her Kanto gym battles, she always liked to keep her Pokemon a secret till they occurred. But now...

Sayuri shook the thought off and turned toward her friends now, smiling the best she could without seeming embarrassed at how the battle went. "Yeah. I should now. Water and ground. Should help a bit, but..." She really didn't want to say it... How she was embarrassed nor how it happened. She wasn't sure how well she did at capturing the Wooper either...

"Pryce? I've heard of him. Ice types." He was really the only one she read about as she changed the subject. "That's pretty far off. Isn't he the 7th gym leader?" They were only approaching the first one. She turned to Hunter. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks. Though won't you be needing them for your battle?" Sayuri figured the battles wouldn't take place in only one day, but still... Falkner would know which Pokemon he had used if Hunter went first with the battle. If she was using the same ones the following day, the gym leader would be better prepared to face them again. This kind of worried her as well.

"Onix are crazy common," Hunter replied, shrugging. "I mean, you can find them in just about any cave, and probably even in some places outside of caves. And around here, with Union Cave right there?" He shook his head. "That guy's not going to think twice about someone coming in to take the Gym challenge with one."

"Besides," Naomi added, "it's not like he knows you prefer Grass-types. All he knows is that you just caught a Wooper."She shrugged. "As far as I know, Wooper are like the Oddish of the water. They're everywhere." Hunter snickered.

"Just like Tentacool are the Zubat of the sea?" he joked. Naomi couldn't help but giggle at that.

Sayuri had noticed how common Onix were. She'd come across quite a few of them in Rock Tunnel and not all of them were wild either. Some were used in trainer battles along the way. Hikers usually had at least one or two in their party. Which reminded her something else. "I've noticed Geodude are pretty common, too. Though I can't say what they remind me of..." The twins' Pokemon jokes were quite impressive even if she didn't see the similarities... Oddish to Wooper? Yeah they were pretty common...

"Anyway, we'll see how it goes first. Maybe training Kawatouji a bit will help make the battle easier." She also wanted it to evolve eventually like she did her Bellsprout, but that would take time.

She turned to Naomi. "Yeah. He only knows so far that I have one grass type and one water and ground type." She figured she'd only use those two in battle since they seemed a bit more reliable... Unless it was a three on three battle. Then she'd have to use one of the others... Worried her as they weren't quite ready for this type of battle... Even though they'd been helpful against Lt. Surge, this gym seemed a bit to far up their league...

"We call Tentacool the Zubat of the sea because of how common they are," Hunter explained. "The same way you can't walk ten feet in a cave without coming across a Zubat, you can't Surf more than that far without coming across a Tentacool."

"And going through Viridian Forest at night is insanely hard, because all you trip over are Oddish," Naomi added. She made a face. "The only thing that made it tolerable is that Oddish are part Poison, so any Psychic-type is able to keep them at bay."

"Anyways, I don't mind lending you Landslide for the gym battle, if you want," Hunter said, changing the subject.

"Flying-types are weak to Electric-types, Rock-types, and Ice-types," Naomi continued. "Unfortunately for you, they're strong against Bug- and Grass-types, and most Ground-type moves don't affect them because they can just fly above them."

"I see now... Yeah I've noticed how common both types are. I got my Oddish on the same day, around an hour apart in that very area at night time." Viridian Forest. "First Tsubomidoku." She'd finally figured out a name for her male Oddish. "The males seemed to be more common in that area. It took me a while to find Hanabira. The only way I could tell she was a female and he was a male was 'cause he flirted with her during battle and she blushed right back." A sweat drop type expression came to her face. "I was very happy that day to get them, however. Though, they still have a lot to learn..."

After catching Hanabira, Sayuri had placed a small pink pearl sticker to the bottom of her Pokeball. She'd done the same thing with the other one with a black pearl sticker. It helped, but only when they were in them. When out, they'd both acted the same way so she had to tie a pink ribbon on her female as she couldn't tell them apart unless she returned her or him. After a while they started to differ as Tsubomidoku started to act more serious than Hanabira, especially when it came to battling. She was able to tell them apart then. She figured it happened when using him to catch her Bellsprout.

She turned to Hunter then. "I suppose if you don't mind..." She paused to think it over for a second. "Maybe I should borrow Landslide. That is, if it's a two on two battle. If it's a three on three... Might need to borrow them both..." She was referring to Buzzer then as well. Turning to Naomi she smiled. "Yeah. I suppose you're right about that. I'll need to train Kawatouji as best as I can before tomorrow." Luckily it was still early... Sort of...

"If you want, I do have a flying-type on my team," Naomi offered. "We can have a quick match, if you like, so you can get a feel for that Wooper's abilities." She didn't mind the battle, it would be good practice for both of them. She was distracted for a moment when Eevee nudged her leg, and then gestured to the water that the Wooper had come out of. Naomi looked over and blinked. "Hey, look, a Water Stone!" Right then, she decided she really wanted that stone, and she looked at Sayuri. "Could your Wooper jump in and get that?"

Hunter just rolled his eyes. He had no use for the stone, and he suspected Sayuri didn't, either, but Naomi had two pokemon on her team that could use a Water Stone, and another that needed a Leaf Stone, although he knew that she wouldn't use the Water Stone on her Eevee. He knew his sister well, and knew she wanted her Eevee to be an Espeon, so she would use the Water Stone on her Staryu instead.

"Sure. We could try that." She was also looking through the Pokedex now for the moves he knew. And would soon learn. Also what level he might be now, knowing Wooper evolved around level 20 or so... The only thing the Pokedex couldn't tell her was his agility level. But she knew this Pokemon was a bit on the silly side...

Sayuri looked into the water as well soon after putting the device away and saw the blue stone glittering. "It's beautiful!" She pulled out the Pokeball she recently used and called out her Wooper. "Okay!" She bent down towards the small Pokemon so she was near eye level. "I need your help with something, okay?" She pointed to the bottom of the river where the stone was as the Wooper tilted his head in curiosity. "See that stone? Could you please retrieve it for me?"

"Woopa?" He looked down into the water at what she was pointing at and dove in revealing his head. "Woopa!" He dove again into the water and swam around a bit under water till finally he came back up, hoping out of the river.

"Well?" She held out her hand.

"Woopa!" As he said his name with a small bounce, a stone went flying up toward Naomi at a pace where it could hurt if it hit her on the head.

"Ooh! Flying stone!" The stone was so quick she couldn't tell if it was the right one or not.

Naomi yelped, but managed to catch the stone before it smacked her in the face. She juggled it for a moment, trying to get a good grip on it, but she managed not to drop it back into the water. She grinned at Sayuri and the Wooper.

"Thanks," she said. She looked at the Water Stone. It was cool in her hand, and it looked like there were bubbles trapped inside. "This is perfect!" she squealed. Carefully, she tucked the stone away in her bag for later. Then she reached to her belt for her Natu's pokeball. "We can have that practice match, if you want," she offered.

"Who's going to take on Falkner first?" Hunter piped up suddenly.

"I can," Naomi said, shrugging. She didn't mind being the 'guinea pig.' "The only one I'm not going to use is Exeggcute, because it's part Grass. And if I evolve Staryu, it'll be better." She grinned. "Anyways!" She took a few steps back and released Natu, who shook out her wings and hopped around a bit. Naomi looked at Hunter. "Ref for us?"

Hunter nodded.

"Sure," he agreed.

Sayuri sighed in relief as the stone didn't harm anyone... Made her feel a bit embarrassed, but at least now she knew what her Wooper would do if that happened again and with anything. Not just stones.
"Heh... No problem. Anytime!" She wondered how a stone got down there. Did someone drop it? Could they form down there? Probably not.

Though, now for the battle... "Sure. I'm ready." She'd have to pay close attention to Wooper's actions in battle as she had no clue since her Chikorita had nearly knocked him out with only one attack, not taking much damage from the Water Gun. "Okay Kawatouji. Ready for another battle?" She hoped he was rested enough after catching him in battle. Wasn't very long ago...

"Woopa!" He braced himself for battle against the tiny, hoping bird Pokemon with the same determined look in his eyes. Seemed he'd recovered enough, but she still wasn't sure as she waited for the 'begin battle' cue from Hunter...

"Ready?" Hunter called out, taking a few steps back from the battle area. "Start!"

"Future sight!" Naomi called immediately. Natu's eyes glowed, and Hunter could tell the Wooper was a bit confused when nothing seemed to happen. The Wooper and the Natu exchanged blows for a few more minutes, and Hunter could tell that Natu had the upper hand, as it were, since the Wooper seemed to constantly get distracted by things outside of the battle. It put in a decent effort with its Water Gun, but it seemed to get frustrated when its Mud Shot attack never hit Natu. Finally, the Future Sight attack kicked in and the blow came out of nowhere, hitting Wooper. Hunter could tell that that was it.

"That's enough!" Hunter called. "Wooper is down, Natu wins the battle!"

"Oh!" Sayuri went running toward her Wooper after he fell for the last time during battle. "That was a good first start. Are you okay?"

"Whoo-Whoopa..." Swirls were in his eyes as he attempted to talk as she held him up.

Sayuri had noticed his silliness and lack of focus during the battle and it taught her a lot. She really needed to do a lot of training with this one. Her Pokedex had told her something else and she was sure that was why he acted the way he did. Slightly naïve, just like his nature... "Looks like I have a lot of training to do with you, don't I." This made her worry. If he couldn't handle that attack how was he going to handle a gym battle? Made her think now.

"That was a great first battle," Hunter commented as Naomi checked Natu over. "For a new catch against a Natu that's practically ready to evolve, that was really good."

"You just have to keep in mind, ground-type moves like Mud Shot don't work against flying-types," Naomi added as she recalled Natu.

"Although I doubt Falkner will use anything as exotic as a Natu or something," Hunter said. "He's the first gym leader in the circuit, he probably uses something common like Pidgey or Taillow as his gym team."

"Kind of like what Brock did," Naomi said. "He said he had things like Probopass and Rhydon, but against rookies, all he used was a Geodude and an Onix." She opened her mouth to say more, but was cut off when the PokeGear that Hunter had started to buzz, indicating an incoming call. Hunter answered it quickly.

"Hello? ...Mom, we just left Saffron. ...No, we're not still in Goldenrod, we're just outside of Violet. ...Yeah, the Ruins." Hunter paused and blinked. "Already? But we were just about to go challenge the gym leader!" He was whining, but it seemed to work the way he wanted to. "As soon as we beat the gym, alright? See you then." He hung up, and put away his gear.

"What was that about?" Naomi asked.

"They want us to come back home," he replied, sounding puzzled. Naomi looked just as puzzled.

"Already?"

"That's what I said. We're allowed to challenge the gym, but after we get the badge we have to go home."

"Yeah. It was pretty good. Though I kind of did forget about the ground type being ineffective to the flying type..." Truth was she was more used to battling wild Pokemon than with Pokemon of Trainers. She knew it would take longer do it that way, but trainer battles made her slightly nervous. She preferred to endure those as much as possible for now.

"Yeah. I remember him using both those and he was no match for my grass types. He almost got me down, but I sprang right back and got him down at the last minute. That was an exciting battle! One to never forget. Then there was the Cerulean City gym. Also a thrill and pretty easy after a bit of training. Surge... He was tougher... His Raichu may not have been very fast, but it was still pretty powerful."

All those good times. She'd never forget them. Though, they were soon briefly gone as a buzzing sound startled her then. She had pretty good hearing even in a daze and knew right away it was a Pokegear phone. Before she could grab her own, thinking it was hers, she heard Hunter talking into his.

For a moment she listened in on the conversion from his end and got curious about what was going on even before Naomi asked what it was about. Then she found out...

"So... You have to go back to Saffron? Why so soon?" She figured it was important or maybe confidential and left it at that unless either of them wanted to talk about it. Even if they didn't, she'd understand.

The twins both shrugged.

"No idea," they said together.

"I thought maybe they found that Beldum Nao wanted," Hunter said, "but they would have just sent it to her if that was what it was. So I have no idea."

"Maybe it's about their research on type affinities?" Naomi suggested to her brother. Hunter seemed to think about that.

"Maybe," he admitted. Neither of them understood much about the research, but they knew it was important. Maybe they were needed for something?

"Guess they didn't say then..." It was a guess. It sounded that way to her. "Seems like something a parent would do, though. If they said what was going on the child or children probably wouldn't want to go home when they were already doing something..." It happened to her cousin not too long ago... "So after the first gym..." She wondered how long after that they'd be gone for... Slightly upset her then, but being strong Sayuri didn't show it.

Ruben had just finished battling Falkner to earn his first badge using only his Wartortle against his birds. Wartortle was quite the powerhouse and was easily able to take them both down. Even without Ruben having to use his second Pokemon. Thus, he had a smug grin on his face as he made his way to the Ruins of Alph, being his decided destination after beating the gym. He had no idea or had forgotten his cousin was there.

"Well, I'm not challenging the gym until tomorrow, anyways," Naomi said.

"And I'll do it the day after," Hunter added. "So that Falkner has a chance to get his team back together after Naomi crushes them." He grinned at Naomi, and she rolled her eyes, but she didn't get a chance to reply because she noticed Ruben coming out of one of the guardhouses that led into the Ruins.

"Hey, isn't that your cousin?" she asked Sayuri. She gestured to Ruben. She was kind of hoping he would be long gone by now. She hated his attitude, and really wanted to take him down a peg or two. She didn't know what pokemon he had besides his Wartortle, but she didn't care. She was sure she could take him.

"I'm not sure about me yet... Falkner and his Pokemon..." She didn't seem ready for that one yet... "I'll get a better idea after seeing your battles and it might boost my confidence level."

"Like you had one." Ruben approached them with a glare shot at the twins. "I can't believe you're all still here even though there's really nothing to see or do till later! Don't you know the puzzles aren't activated till you beat at least four or five gyms?" It wasn't always that way. The region changed the rule for trainers to either prevent them or protect them against whatever the mystery was behind the puzzles. "But I hear you two will have to wait a little longer to get that far. You must really love your parents if you need to go home on their behalf. Or you're just homesick." He had that cheeky attitude again. This time with a slight sarcastic baby voice attached. Somehow he'd overheard the whole conversation at Hunter's end of the phone from the distance he was in.

"I-it's not like that! I... I have confidence. Enough to tell you-" The glare caught her off guard as he shot it at her now as she flinched. "Uh..." She paused to let the confidence settle in again. "They're not going home because they're homesick! It's for confidential reasons!" She wasn't sure about that herself, but it was the only thing she could think of to say to him without saying too much as her confidence rose.

"Really? Confidential huh? I'm pretty sure you don't even know what they do there." 'There' being Silph Co. He was getting smug again, knowing perfectly well what they did.

Sayuri was at a loss for words then as she hung her head, noticing him nod in accomplishment just before.

Naomi opened her mouth to tear Ruben a new one, but Hunter beat her to the punch.

Literally.

It only took Hunter a couple of steps to close the gap between them, and then his fist connected with Ruben's face with an oddly satisfying 'crack' that Naomi was pretty sure was Hunter's knuckles popping rather than Ruben's face breaking, but regardless. Both twins smirked, even though only one of them had done the punching.

"Next time you feel the need to cut your cousin down, remember that," Naomi said. Ruben's nose didn't look like it was broken, but there was going to be an impressive bruise on his cheekbone for a while, and she could already see a black eye forming. She nudged her brother, silently telling him 'not bad' as he massaged his hand a bit.

Ruben wasn't the type to yell out in pain whenever he got hit. He'd been used to this sort of attitude ever since he was a small child. Mostly from bullies at school whenever his smugness came out. "is that the best you can do? That didn't even hurt. Quite weak if you ask me." He looked hunter over with his eyes and figured he was right about one thing as he saw Hunter rub his hand. "You're very much a child. So small and weak." He wasn't about to be punched again however so he finished off the conversation. "I only really came to say good luck at the gym. You'll need it for the Pokemon he throws at you." He gave Sayuri a smug look. "That goes double for you. You may have a defense now, but it'll take more than that." He walked off toward the ruin's exit, hand in the air as if to say 'see you' and was soon out of sight.

Sayuri was quite surprised at the punch and what it did to him, but she also knew her cousin's hardships in school, being in the same class. It scared her the way the others would pick on him, but also felt a bit scared for him, too. This was probably one of the reasons why he'd become the way he was now. Not that she would say anything. She just hoped Ruben hadn't made an enemy of Hunter after that... Speaking of which... "How's you hand? That was quite the blow..." She completely ignored the warning, knowing she'd be okay no matter what.

Hunter waved off Sayuri's question.

"I'm fine," he said. "It'll take more than someone's face to bust up my hands." His knuckles would be bruised for a while, but he didn't mind. He got more bruises than that just working with Landslide and Aron. "You can't let him treat you like that. He has no right to treat you that way."

"You're not weak," Naomi added. "I don't know if either of you realizes it, but if it came down to a one-on-one battle between him and his Wartortle and you, you'd whip him easy. Any of your pokemon could take him down. And you're just as awesome as your pokemon are." Turning, she examined her brother's hand. It wasn't bad at all, so he wouldn't need any attention for it. She looked between the two. "Come on, let's head into Violet City. There's enough time left today for one of us to challenge the Gym before it closes."

Sayuri had no comment when it came to how Ruben treated her. She knew somewhere deep down he was still a kind person... Even though the earlier years had probably scarred him for life... She blamed herself for that as she remembered a time of how kind he was to her in school... The part about the bullies was only part of how it went wrong...

She must have had a dazed look on her face when Chikorita's face was soon upside down in her own, making Sayuri almost yelp and fall backwards. "Chiko?"

"Uh... That's good to hear about the hand... And also your sister's right..." She returned her Wooper back into his Pokeball, having forgotten to do that earlier as he was resting in the pond then. Seemed to be recovering well. "Okay. Let's go. I'm ready when you are." She guessed it was maybe around 3 or 4 in the afternoon by now, as the sun was still high in the sky.

Once they got back to Violet City, Naomi made sure to stop at the Pokemon Center to make sure Natu was in good condition before making her way to the Gym. She didn't know if Hunter and Sayuri would follow, but she didn't mind. She wanted her badge.

The battle wasn't long, and frankly, Naomi didn't have much trouble. Falker only used a two low-level common Flying-types, which Naomi easily took care of with Staryu and Natu, and if she didn't have trouble, then Hunter definitely didn't with Landslide and Buzzer. After the battles, though, the twins had to go back to Saffron.

--Much, much later--

Naomi stretched and sighed as she left the house. She and her brother were living at home with their parents, after having been allowed to finish the Kanto gym circuit and most of the Johto circuit. Both her team and Hunter's team had expanded a little to a full team of six, and they were both experienced in battle.

Naomi ended up being lucky enough to become a junior trainer in the Saffron Gym three days a week. It wasn't the most exciting job in the world, and she didn't get to use her own Pokemon most of the time, but she enjoyed the chance to apprentice under Sabrina.

Espeon walked next to her, enjoying the morning sunlight and the cool air. Even when Naomi couldn't use her own pokemon in official gym battles, Espeon was always right next to her. The two of them took their time walking to the Gym. Today was one of her days to be a junior trainer, so she had to be there early to open the doors. Sabrina would already be there, of course, but she usually worked in the back with her own Pokemon.

Naomi was just going into the back room to collect her two 'gym pokemon' when Sabrina looked over.

"You may use your own team today," the Leader said. Naomi stopped and opened her mouth to ask why, and Sabrina continued, "Today is your last day as one of my junior trainers, so you may use your own team." The Leader gave her a small smile. "Perhaps there will be fewer trainers making it to me today with you using your own strength."

"Wait, what do you mean, today is my last day?" Naomi asked. As far as she knew, she didn't have any plans to quit the gym. Sabrina didn't reply, and just gave her that same mysterious smile. It unnerved Naomi, but she left the room anyways to take her usual post, Espeon at her feet. She was just in time, because the teleport pads in the gym came to life and delivered the first of the day's challengers to her.

Sayuri followed Naomi to the gym still curious of what Pokemon Falkner would use. Ruben had made her really nervous about the first gym battle only 'cause of her disadvantage. Once she saw a battle she'd know she would have nothing to worry about.

She'd be okay to challenge it no matter what. Her cousin may think she couldn't do it, but she'd prove him wrong. Sayuri knew he had a more advanced team than she did, but she had determination he probably didn't know she had.

Anyhow... The battles took no time at all and soon enough she was saying goodbye to her friends as they boarded the train back to Saffron. There hadn't been any time for her to challenge the gym that day.

Later on, in her slight loneliness that followed the departure, she spent a lot of her free time that day training, but not excessively.

~~Later on...~~

Sayuri was laying on her back watching the clouds go by as she held up her Zephyr Badge toward the sun, making it shimmer. As she did this, she was smiling as she tilted it from side to side with her fingers. Her determination had become her accomplishment in earning the badge the following day.

~~Much later~~

"Okay guys." She looked down at her friends before feeling a bit foolish. "...and girls." Better... "Calm down." She got to about their eye level to continue. "Now I know you've been waiting for this moment a long time and I know I wasn't ready earlier." Much earlier. "But I'm ready now. What do you say we finish what we started?"

The Pokemon who knew what she was talking about jumped up with joy. The others... They'd heard stories and were also excited.

Sayuri had a full party of six by this time excluding captures and releases along the way. They were all loved, however, wherever they all were. Some returned sometimes, others... She hadn't seen for a while.

Sayuri had continued her new dream after Wooper and no longer just liked grass types. She loved nature and therefore inspired her to get Pokemon that represented that love.

She stood back up and returned them all to their Pokeballs as they just couldn't calm down. Chikorita still sat upon her head however as she walked farther down the route to reach her destination.