Gemini chuckled. "You won't be disappointed. For something with such a girly reputation, some of those fairy types can be truly powerful. Capturing them on film would be a great thing for your travel photos, and for research for the professor." She said.

Petting Fennekin happily, Todd nodded. "I know. I understand. I just...I've never been one to take a lot of credit." He said sheepishly. Todd was truly a humble person, and usually preferred letting his Pokemon take the spotlight.

Gemini was right, taking photo's of fairy type Pokemon and their moves would be well worth the while. He could always make copies and send them back to Professor Rowan, that ought to make the old man smile. "I don't think I will be, from what I've heard so far, I'm looking forward to it. Now, I'll go and pay for our lunch and we can move on if everyone's ready."

"Well you deserve it. How many trainers can say they've beaten the Elite Four?" It wasn't every day you met such a humble trainer in Kalos, it was a refreshing change. "Don't forget to tip, Adrian, it's a custom over here." She said as she watched her friend rise from his seat.

Gemini nodded, content. "I'm certainly ready. I can't wait to meet everyone's Pokemon." She said, watching Sionnach finish her lunch and pounce on Gemini's head. "And Siobhan is ready, too." She added with a laugh.

Todd smiled, but he was glad for the change of subject. "Tipping is a custom here? Interesting. What other customs are there that I should learn about?" He asked as Fennekin stretched.

Adrian laughed at Sionnach's playful behavior and then raised a brow at his friends words, though kept them in mind as he headed inside to pay. A few minutes later he returned with a smile on his face. "I wasn't sure how much to tip but she seemed more than happy with 100."

"Well you don't have to but it is considered polite, especially if the person serving you has been helpful." Seeing that they were almost ready to leave, Furret jumped up onto her trainers left shoulder and draped her long body around her neck. "There are many different customs, you'll pick them up as you travel. You'll also find that in some towns and cities, the better you dress, the better perks you're given."

Gemini stretched as she stood up, careful not to dislodge Sionnach from her head. "Ah, like Lumois city. The people there are near-obsessed with fashion. The more fashionable they find you, the better they treat you. I don't ever spend enough time there to be very fashionable, myself. I prefer the country to the city." She said.

Todd nodded and stood up, Fennekin jumping onto his shoulder as he did. "It'll be interesting to learn the customs around here. As far as fashion and being well dressed, though, I'm afraid I'm out of luck. I'll just have to deal with not being fashionable." He said with a chuckle.

Adrian remembered speaking to Oseye once and she did mention she was finally able to shop in some elusive clothing shop. Was getting into a shop and a getting a few other perks really work looking good? "I think I'm more a country person too. I don't think looking good should entitle you to more perks than everyone else." He said, sliding his hands into the pocket of his coat. "So which way is out?"

"Each to his own, I suppose. But if you plan on staying in Kalos for a while, it may be worthwhile dressing in your best one day and properly exploring Lumios." Oseye said as she stood and slid her bag back over her shoulder, mindful of Furrets long body in doing so. "Out is over there." She motioned to the far side of town before walking towards it.

Gemini chuckled. She saw both sides of the argument, but mostly agreed that dressing up wasn't always worth it. Motioning for Todd to follow, she started walking the same way as Oseye. "Your journey is just beginning, Todd. I know you'll make lot's of friends here."

Taking Fennekin with him, Todd followed the others to the way out of the small town. "Thanks. I think I already have made some friends, though." He said, glancing at the people and Pokemon around him. Fennekin seemed content to sit on his shoulder and sniff the air as they walked.

Adrian felt the same way, it made him smile to think he'd made two new friends on his first outing in a new region. Once they were a few feet outside of the town, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a single Pokeball. "Well, since I've met one of your Pokemon, it only seems fair to introduce you to one of mine." He said as he tossed the ball a few feet into the air and in a burst of light, Infernape was released from the ball and once his feet were on the ground, proceeded to perform various acrobatics on his hands and feet. "This is Infernape." Hearing his name, the Pokemon stopped bouncing around and stood to his full height to observe those around him.

Oseye had met Infernape before and though she was impressed with the speed at which he moved, she wasn't impressed with the pranks he'd pulled on her not only at this stage, but as a Monferno too. Furret waved to the fire ape and received a wave in return.

Gemini's face lit up at the sight of the agile fire type. She had seen so many Pokemon, but none quite so fast and acrobatic as Infernape. "Oh, you're gorgeous! What shiny fur, and such a bright flame! And the intelligence in your eyes, so keen!" She was fawning over the Infernape, her hands twitching as if itching for a pad and pencils. Sionnach pranced up and introduced herself with a happy exclamation of her name. With a bright light, Gemini's two other Pokemon leapt out of their Pokeballs to say hello. "Oh! Nibbles, Grace, you shouldn't just jump out like that!" Gemini chuckled as Nibbles went to greet the other Pokemon, and Grace hid behind her leg.

Todd was suitably impressed. While he didn't go into overdrive like Gemini, he did smile and wave. "Nice to meet you, Infernape. I'm Todd, and this is my new buddy Fennekin. I gotta say, Adrian, you can tell how strong he is right away. He's obviously well cared for." He said. Fennekin barked his name in greeting, a tiny flame escaping his mouth as he did.

Clearly enjoying the attention he was receiving, Infernape puffed out his chest and proudly held his head high. "Oh I think you two will get along just fine." Adrian chuckled to Gemini and watched the Pokemon interact. The smaller Pokemon didn't escape Infernapes attention and eventually crouched down, his left knuckle coming to rest on the ground in front of him presumably to keep him from losing balance. Each of the Pokemon was looked over in turn and the only ones he'd seen before was the Vulpix and the shy one hiding behind its trainers leg. So what were these others? Fennekin was obviously a fire type and the other? Curious, Infernape, with his right hand reached out a long finger to attempt to poke Nibbles.

Oseye watched the Pokemon interact with one another and arched a brow as Infernape seemed to be trying to Poke the thunder Pokemon. Did it's trainer call it Nibbles? She could only speculate why it was named as such and didn't think it such a smart idea to stick a finger near it.

Gemini bit her lip, smiling as Infernape inspected the other Pokemon in the group. It seemed to recognize Grace and Sionnach, but was curious about Nibbles. It crouched down and stretched one finger out, and Nibbles scampered forward to meet the appendage. Sniffing at it, apparently the thunder mouse decided it was interesting, and started gently nibbling on the finger in front of him. Gemini couldn't help but chuckle. "Careful Nibbles, don't hurt him. Remember your teeth." She reminded gently, but she needn't have worried.

Todd felt a huge grin take over his features at the interaction of the Pokemon. He had enjoyed the story about how Nibbles got his name, but he enjoyed even more seeing it happen in front of him. Glancing at Gemini, his grin grew as he reached into his pack and brought out a piece of paper and pencil. "Here, I know you want to use them." He said, handing them to the girl. He chuckled as Gemini grabbed the items and started intently sketching the scene in front of her, with Nibbles holding onto Infernape's finger, Grace watching from a safe distance, Sionnach jumping up and trying to catch Infernape's tail but failing, and Fennekin chatting happily with Furret.

Well that had never happened before! Infernape's eyes widened as the Pokemon started to nibble on his finger, not in pain but rather surprise. Letting the Pokemon nibble on his finger for a few minutes, the Pokemon seemed enthralled with this new species on the end of his finger and looked up to with a lop sided grin. "Made a new friend?" Adrian asked seeing the look on the fire Pokemons face. This seemed the perfect photo moment and would make a great first entry into his journal, so he wasted no time in fishing the camera from his back pack and snapping a few shots of the group interacting. Infernape unfisted his other knuckle and held his palm upwards from the ground beside Nibbles, wanting to pick him up. Having noticed the Vulpix behind him trying to catch his tail while looking up to his trainer, Infernape started to show just how nimble his tail could be too.

From the gestures Furret was making to Fennekin, Oseye could only assume that she was telling him about the giant berries her grandfather grew in his greenhouse. All of the Pokemon seemed to be enjoying themselves except that little Ralts behind it's trainers leg. After a moment, she slid her hand into her bag and pulled out a decorated Pokeball, then threw it to the ground less than a foot away from her. From the Pokeball emerged a male Meowstic and it didn't take him long to figure out why he'd been called out. The Pokemon observed the other Pokemon for a minute, before walking over to the Ralts to say hello.

Seeing the hand that was almost the perfect size for him to sit in, Nibbles wasted no time climbing up onto Infernape's hand. His whiskers started twitching as he began chatting to Infernape. Meanwhile, Sionnach took the challenge of the moving tail with excitement, jumping and twisting to try and catch it. Grace, still hiding slightly, looked slightly nervous when the new Pokemon approached. Sensing that it meant no harm, however, and that it seemed calm, she slowly went to meet it. Quietly, she said her name, almost questioning whether she should or not.

Todd watched the exchange with interest. He knew Ralts could be rather shy, but Gemini's seemed more so than most. He wondered if there was a story behind it. All the while he kept an eye on Fennekin, who seemed to be enthralled by the idea of gigantic berries. He seemed to be asking questions about just how large they were, and what they tasted like.

((OMG guess what? Wolfie went and got a Pokemon Y version (she had wanted Y in the first place, but got X because of Mega Charizard X's dragon typing) so anyway she got Y, and got to Lumoise city where the professor gave her a starter. She chose Charmander, as always, and IT WAS FEMALE!!! That's the third time Wolfie's ever gotten a female starter, she was so excited!!!))

Once Nibbles was settled in the palm of his hand Infernape lowered his rear to the ground and sat down, long legs stretching out in front of him and the arm holding his new friend now at face height. Now one very happy Pokemon, Infernape not only chatted away to Nibbles, but also slowed his tail down enough for Sionnach to catch it. "This is the calmest I've seen him in a very long time." Adrian chuckled at his Pokemons current behaviour.

"Now how does that old saying go? The calm before the storm?" Oseye eyed Infernape, surprised at his sudden calmness and half expecting it to turn into one of his jokes. Meowstic's expression remained as stoic as usual and he spoke his name confidently when returning the greeting to Grace. The typically unsociable Pokemon didn't erupt into conversation like the other Pokemon had, instead he just stood with Grace. Furret was having trouble showing just how big the berries were, her arms simply weren't long enough but she was giving it a good try. She pulled a face to show what they tasted like and went on to explain they were grown to be the biggest and not for flavor.

(( =o Sounds like you've been unlucky with starter genders xD Though saying that, both my Y starters were male and I think my sister got two males too. I've never really thought about it until you mentioned it xD))

((Starters are almost always male. The chances of getting a female starter are next to zero.))

Gemini chuckled. "Nibbles tends to be rather calming, though I can never figure out why. Bigger Pokemon just love him." She said, laughing outright as Sionnach finally leaped on the elusive tail and started batting at it playfully. Nibbles, meanwhile, was talking excitedly to his new friend. Grace watched the Meowstic carefully, getting used to it's presence without saying much. Using her slight psychic powers, she sent a questioning feeling towards the other Pokemon, who she sensed was psychic also.

"Is Infernape usually not very calm?" Todd asked, watching the exchange. He had to admit he was slightly surprised. He had often heard Infernape described as lively, and a prankster. This one seemed different than he had expected. Meanwhile Fennekin seemed a bit disappointed to hear that the giant berries weren't tasty. He expressed this by making a face and moving on to question why a human would grow berries just for size.

(( =/ Well I'm thinking of getting X sometime soon, so I'll see how many times I have to restart to get a female. I also think Meowstic and Ralts would make a gret team, male Meowstic have a lot of supportive moves to support the females xD))

"Perhaps because he is much smaller in comparison?" Now that Adrian thought about it, Infernape did seem to target larger Pokemon for his pranks, he'd never bothered Furret or any of his own smaller Pokemon before. But the fire Pokemon continued to chat to his little friend, paying little attention to what was being said about him. The tail, upon being caught, 'played dead' on the floor and the tip twitched a few times as it was batted by the Pokemons small paws. "No, Infernape never keeps still. Whenever he's out of his ball he's always bouncing about and showing off."

It seemed as though Grace had finally worked up enough courage to want to communicate and after feeling the feeling from her, Meowstic lifted his ear closest to her just enough to send a slight psychic pulse back at her to confirm his own psychic abilities. Not wanting to hurt her though, his ear quickly folded back into it's original resting place. Furret shook her head in answer to Fennekin's question and simply gave the answer 'it must be a human thing'. She'd never known a Pokemon to exhibit such strange behaviour.

((Oh yeah, Wolfie had heard that. And they probably would make a good team =D))

Gemini chuckled. "That could be it. It makes sense, that a smaller Pokemon wouldn't be seen as a threat or a challenge, so they'd be more at ease around them." She mused, watching as Nibbles seemed to be telling jokes about humans. Sionnach finally got tired of chasing Infernape's tail and flopped down next to the larger Pokemon, staring up at it in wonder of a fully evolved Pokemon.

"Well, at least he's playing nice for the little ones. I'm glad they're all getting along so far. Even Grace has made a friend." Todd said, pointing out the psychic exchange to Gemini. "I'm glad. Grace is always so shy, she almost never interacts with others. I don't even battle her often, because she just doesn't have the confidence. Maybe having a friend to talk to will help her in a way I haven't been able to." She said.

Grace, feeling the return of psychic energy, seemed to feel encouraged. She moved forward a little more and held out her arm, reaching in innocent curiosity towards the ear that had just lifted. She touched it lightly, decided that she liked it, and started petting it. Over with Furret, Fennekin had noticed the large fire monkey, and was asking Furret about what it was. Fennekin was still very young and inexperienced, and had a lot of questions about the world.

((Yeah, who needs a female Meowstic when you have a Ralts? xD ))

"Plus, being hand size seems to be working in his favor." Adrian added having noticed the hand holding Nibbles had yet to move an inch. He was beginning to wonder what the two were talking about though, every so often after Nibbles had spoken, Infernape would look up to him, back to the small Pokemon, say something and then burst into laughter. The large Pokemon did look to Sionnach beside him and noticing she was a little too big for his free hand, reached out with his free hand to touch the curl of fur on her head.

"Call out a big one and watch him misbehave." Oseye sighed, remembering the numerous encounters her other Pokemon had had with her friends mischevious Pokemon. "Meowstic differ greatly by gender but work perfectly as a team. Female Meowstic prefer to attack and be the center of attention, male Meowstic prefer to stand at the back supporting the female. Your Grace may not be the same species, but she is female, psychic and looks like she could use a bit of support." Meowstic didn't mind the petting, in fact, he did seem to be enjoying it and though you couldn't tell from his face, the lazy sway of his tails gave it away. Furret looked over at Infernape and then back to her new friend. She explained that like him, the larger fire Pokemon had been given to Adrian when he first started his journey.

((lol true, true. Wolfie sees you changed your trainer card. It's cool!))

Gemini had also noticed the laughter of the Pokemon, and started to chuckle herself. "Oh dear. I think they're making fun of us. Nibbles tends to do that often." She said, amused. She didn't mind too badly, since she knew it was all in fun. At the end of the day, Nibbles loved her as much as she loved him. "I suppose humans probably seem rather silly to them sometimes." Todd said reasonably.

Sionnach, feeling the Infernape touch her head fur, made a happy sound. She loved having her head patted, especially the curl of fur at the top. Grace seemed to be slowly coming out of her shell, moving from one of Meowstic's ears to the other once realizing that he liked her petting them. She started talking a little, asking what kind of Pokemon he was, since she'd never seen one of his kind before.

"It sounds like Meowstic were made for each other. Though yours seems to like Grace well enough. Does the male Meowstic usually act so calm? It's hard to tell what he's feeling." Todd asked, opening up his Pokedex to get information on the Pokemon.

Fennekin was amazed that the much larger Pokemon was actually a starter. It was so big! He supposed that it must be fully evolved, and then asked Furret if it was fully evolved as well. He wanted to know what evolution was like, and couldn't wait to evolve for himself. He wondered if he would be lots bigger when he did. "Hey Todd, I think your Fennekin is rather taken with Furret. I wonder what they're talking about."

((Yeah, that's the team I'm using at the minute when I'm challenged to battles =) I spent hours fishing up Politoed Sunday xD ))

Adrian knew his Pokemon looked to prank and make jokes, but he'd never realised up until now that he'd probably been the butt of most of them. Though he didn't mind, he and his Pokemon had been through a lot and he trusted them not to make too rude a joke about him. "Yes, I suppose we do. Thinking back over some of the things we've done in the past, I do see why they find us silly." Infernapes smile broadened at the happy sound from Sionnach and began to stroke the curl of fur, amazed by it's softness.

"All Meowstic are calm and stoic, they don't really show any emotion unless they're in the middle of battle." Well that was one of the few times she'd seen her Meowstic crack a smile anyway. Meowstic stood quite still, thoroughly enjoying the attention from the Ralts and answering her questions as best he could. Furret answered she was fully evolved too and tried her best to explain what evolution had felt like to her, though it had been so long ago now.

Todd shrugged. "My Charizard used to tease me all the time. He thought it was funny how I got cold so easily." He chuckled, remembering the Pokemon's affectionate joking. "Now, is Meowstic an evolved Pokemon or a primary? I'd love to catch one." He said, watching Fennekin listen raptly to Furret's explanation of evolution. Now Fenneking simply couldn't wait to evolve!

Having finally finished her impromptu sketch of the scene, Gemini gave Todd back his pencil and pocketed the paper. "What a great scene, Pokemon from many regions playing together." She said happily, watching as Sionnach slowly fell asleep to her fur being petted. Nibbles was imitating a human throwing a Pokeball, and Grace seemed content to quietly pat Meowstic's ears. "If only humans could be that happy together."

Adrian chuckled at the thought of being teased by a Charizard about his lack of warmth. "Well I don't know about the rest of the human population, but I'd say we were pretty happy together at the minute, wouldn't you?" The male asked Gemini. "Could I see your drawing? If you don't mind, of course." Infernape was in stitches with Nibbles impressions of humans, though he was careful not to move too much and wake the sleeping Pokemon beside him.

"He's an evolved Pokemon." Oseye replied, her gaze not moving from the two small Psychic Pokemon getting to know one another. Such an adorable sight, though she knew her Pokemon wouldn't like her saying such, but he did seem to be enjoying himself. "He evolved from an Espurr I caught a few routes away. He was such a scruffy looking Pokemon."

((You have some pretty awesome Pokemon! Thanks for Ponyta, it's one of Wolfie's favorites ^.^ BTW, did Haunter evolve after trading?))

Gemini grinned widely. "Oh, no, sure you can see it!" She said, holding out the paper with the sketch on it. Gemini didn't like to brag, but when it came to showing off her work she couldn't resist. She supposed it was an artist thing. "It's just a sketch, mind you, nothing fancy." She said shyly, keeping her eyes on the conversing Pokemon.

Todd nodded and smiled. "It sounds like you've got some fond memories with him." He said, watching the two psychic types quietly communicate. "I can't wait to catch more Pokemon and make more friends. My favorite part of being a Pokemon trainer is making memories with my Pokemon and raising them the best I can."

((Thanks =) I've spent ages collecting and breeding to try and fill up my Pokedex. Haunter did, yeah =) I have two Gengar now. If you wanted to trade to evolve sometime, let me know and I can get them out of the Pokemon Bank or sort out the items))

Adrian took the piece of paper and looked it over in detail, occasionally looking from the drawing to the Pokemon in front of them. After a few moments of admiration and comparison, the male offered the piece of paper back to it's artist. "Nothing fancy? You've caught the Pokemon perfectly and I really like your style." He smiled at her. "Would you mind if I took a photo of you with your drawing? It would be something I'd enjoy looking back on."

"I have fond memories of all my Pokemon, I don't keep them if we don't get along, it isn't fair on either of us." Finally tearing her gaze from the two small Pokemon, Oseye looked to the male she was currently talking to. "Do you have any ideas as to what sort of Pokemon you'd like to see or catch? There isn't a great deal of choice until you pass Lumiose."

((Wolfie needs to trade evolve a lot! Some of them she's going to trade between her X version and her Y version, though. Would you mind trading one Gengar back, for the sake of Pokedex completion?))

Gemini blushed slightly, and beamed at the praise. "Oh...thank you! I don't think it's that good, but it's certainly nice to hear! Um...sure, you can take a photo." She said, honestly flattered that he had even asked. That had certainly never happened before.

Todd shrugged. "I always try my best to make friends with my Pokemon. If they really just hate me, then I let them go. I try to make sure they have a choice int he matter." He said, turning to look at Oseye. "Honestly, I want to try and catch every Pokemon that I can. I don't really know how I'm going to set up my team, since I don't know most of the Pokemon in this region. I'll probably just make it up as I go along."