Sayuri wasn't sure how she lost track of Chikorita. One second she was on the counter waiting to be healed and the next she was out the door... Perhaps while placing her Pokeballs back into her bag had been enough of a distraction for her Pokemon to make a run for it. In any case, Sayuri had to find her before she got herself lost.

It wasn't long before she could hear her Pokemon yell out and she followed the direction of the sound, only to bump into someone.

"Would you watch where you're going? Sheesh... You're worse than your Pokemon." Ruben looked annoyed again as he continued to hold the Chikorita while he watched his cousin pick up her bag, which had not been resting in on the opposite shoulder as usual. She had also dropped the suitcase which flung open causing more of a mess. Ruben had to laugh a bit at that.

Hunter followed Sayuri until they found Ruben with Chikorita. He didn't say anything, since he didn't want to end up popping the other guy in the nose again, but he kept an eye on them anyways. He would help Sayuri if she needed it. Absently, he knelt down to pick up some of her things when the suitcase opened and handed them back to her.

In a hurry out of embarrassment at seeing the contents on the ground, Sayuri quickly gathered them up and placed them back in the suitcase. Not neatly however, but it would have to do till she got home which wasn't far. Then she glared up at her cousin as she placed her Pokeballs back in the bag, not as quickly.
"Put her down. You know she doesn't like to be held that way!"

"It's the only way to hold her when she's squirmy like that. If I don't hold her like this she'll just run off again and get even more lost. At least she remembered the way back home this time." He gave a sneered smug-like look in her direction indicating he was right as he placed the Pokemon down. Then he looked at Hunter. "I see you still have your bodyguard nearby. But... Something's different..." He looked around trying to figure it out. "Ahh yes. Your other half. She appears to be missing."

"Naomi's not missing. She's just..." Sayuri paused at the thought, not wanting to tell the real reason. "She's..." She noticed the look as if saying 'go on' from her cousin as she tried to think. "...resting nearby." She said the last part as a mumble, hoping Ruben hadn't heard.

Ruben didn't really care at that point as he adjusted his backpack. "It's getting dark... You should start thinking about packing soon. If you want, you and your friends can rest at home. Looks like a horrible storm is on it's way." He seemed kind again without knowing the situation, but had a weird prediction... "Mom's Cloyster is there if you need to use Barrier for protection. Later." He was soon off again, walking toward Saffron City.

"Naomi is out on Route Seven training with her Medicham," Hunter covered smoothly. He was used to making excuses for his sister like that, by now. "You know, meditation training and all that." He didn't think Ruben would need to know any more than that. "It's not like she and I always have to travel together, you know. It's just easier to keep track of each other that way."

He watched as Ruben walked off towards Saffron City. Then he looked at Sayuri.

"If you want, I can ask Naomi if she's willing to stay here for the night. If not, we can figure something out." He wasn't sure if the bit about the storm was true, but he still didn't want to leave his sister out on the route by herself after dark.

Ruben had stayed long enough to hear what Hunter had to say about Naomi which seemed to be why he'd gone that way instead of going down the bike path. He was heading for Fuchsia City, having already earned his Rainbow badge the day before.

After she was sure the guy was far enough away, Sayuri stuck her tongue childishly at his back before returning to the issue at hand. "Well he did say my aunt's Pokemon is there. I think he tried to have good intentions anyway. Could rain, I suppose..." She wasn't sure about that herself whether he was telling the truth or not. "Plus the Barrier move might be handy... Think it'll keep the noise out? Or..." Another thing she wasn't sure of as she was only starting to learn about the side effects.

Meanwhile Ruben was just exiting the gateway when he saw Naomi deep in her meditation. He didn't want to seem rude by interrupting her, but being in a good mood and willing to help, he approached her and started to talk without warning. "Your friends seem worried about something. I think I know what it is. The experiment, right?"

"My brother knows better than to interrupt my meditation," Naomi said softly, in an even tone. It took her a moment to even respond to him. Her meditation was deep, and she had been keeping tabs on her brother through their bond. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stretched a bit, then looked at him. "What do you know about the experiment?" She didn't bother to deny it, she could hear it at the top of his mind. He knew about the experiments, even if the details weren't clear.

"It might help," Hunter admitted. He wasn't sure, though. It was possible Light Screen would work better, but it was still worth a shot to try Barrier. He paused when he felt Naomi's presence leave his mind. "And she's awake again. I'll call her pokegear in a bit, if I need to."

"Not much... I do know however that it's dangerous. Being around so many people with so many minds to read... Without helping it... Can damage certain parts of the brain." He was a whiz with certain things. Even if this theory of his was wrong in some way, he'd find out what was accurate or correct somehow. "I suggest you get out of this dangerous area before the Houndour appear. There's a Cloyster at my place that knows Barrier. If that doesn't help, I'm sure my cousin's Chikorita still knows Light Screen. She probably forgot about that considering that Pokemon's been inactive for a while now." Inactive meaning not in many battles. "Your choice." With that said, Ruben continued on his way.

When Sayuri was checking Chikorita's level, she forgot to check her moves as well. However, that was passed her now and she wouldn't think about it unless reminded somehow. "It's worth a try I guess..." She seemed a bit doubtful now. The Cloyster had been inactive a lot longer than Chikorita so Sayuri wasn't sure how long she could keep the move going for. "Awake? You mean not meditating anymore, right?" She wasn't sure if that a good thing or not. Not many people crossed that Route so no worries there, but could Naomi pick up the thoughts of Pokemon instead and have the same thing happen? Sayuri still wasn't sure how it worked...

"Thank you for your uncharacteristic concern, but I have someone to protect me from the Houndour," Naomi said. She'd grown up knowing there were Houndour out around Saffron, and she was prepared. Her Medicham would be able to take them on. There wasn't anything she could do about reading people's minds, though... She hadn't been able to figure out how to shield herself from it, yet. However... The thought of being behind a Barrier was very temping.

"Yeah, she's not meditating anymore," Hunter replied. "She was keeping tabs on us all day, and she's not anymore, so I know she's awake again." He didn't take out his gear to call his sister, though. He had a theory that he wanted to test. "Come on, we should go and see if that Cloyster will agree to put up a Barrier for us. If it will, I'll call Nao to join us."

((Hopefully this is okay... I missed role-playing here...))

"I'm sure she will if I persuade her enough. I mean she and I are kind of friends, having lived together for a while... Though I also know she's stubborn... Also..." Sayuri hesitated to continue... "She'd also have to be in a good mood..." Sayuri knew the Cloyster had a few issues from the past to work out, but nothing really prevented her from doing the best she could. She could handle favours from time to time, but other times she'd just ignore them. Sayuri had been trying to help the Pokemon resolve those issues, but most of the time the Pokemon would withdraw herself from everyone as dark thoughts approached her mind. A method of dealing with the pain, Sayuri figured. Rather than having her attack anyone that came too close or forced her to do something.

Hunter just listened, not sure what he would be able to do to help. He worked with steel-types, not water- or ice-types. He wouldn't be able to connect to a Cloyster like he could his own pokemon, and he knew Naomi wouldn't be able to, either. They each had a part-water pokemon on their teams, but it was because the pokemons' secondary types matched up with what Hunter and Naomi were comfortable with.

"We'll see," he said finally. "If nothing else, I think Nao's Exeggutor knows Light Screen. We'll figure something out."

"Yeah. I'm thinking before we get her to come here, however I should at least try getting the Cloyster to co-operate. Just in case she gets stubborn, I mean. I wonder, though... If I somehow manage, will it be enough to just have that going?" In some cases more was better, but with this... Sayuri wasn't sure if more was required or if it would be too overpowering. 'Cause if both methods broke at once they'd be in trouble. It was only for the night, though and she knew Cloyster was capable of keeping the attack going even while sleeping.

"Chiko!" Chikorita was eager to help as well as she knew of her own attacks even if Sayuri was clueless. Rather than proving her power to her trainer, she'd save it for when it was needed later. Cloyster had a tendency to give up using attacks when she was feeling too tired and Chikorita somehow knew that, even after only meeting her once.

"We'll figure something out," Hunter said again. "Don't worry too much. Exeggutor can take care of Nao for a while if he has to. He's done it before." Hunter knew for a fact that his sister's pokemon was very experienced with Light Screen, and was protective over his trainer. All of Naomi's pokemon were protective of her, as if they knew how fragile she could sometimes get. When Naomi had her good days, they were really good days, and she was back to her old self: strong and cheerful and in good spirits. But when she had bad days, they were really bad days, and Hunter had to find a quiet place for her to hide behind a Light Screen until she stopped crying in pain and clinging to him.

Waving a hand, he gestured for Sayuri to keep moving.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get this all squared away so I can call my sister. It's starting to get dark."

"Yeah. That sounds helpful. If Cloyster feels tired in either way, physically or bored..." She had to hesitate there as she knew how the Pokemon acted. "...we should have a few back ups just in case. Could be a long night or a short night." While talking, Sayuri was also thinking she'll probably stay up a bit later to do some extra training. She knew two of her Pokemon were ready and able, but what if Erika were to use a third? Chikorita was an option, but there were her others as well who lacked practice who might be helpful, too. This time around it was hard. Even harder had she just stuck with her Grass type.
"Anyway, I'm sure we can manage with a few reflecting moves if we alternate by taking shifts." Sayuri was starting to walk now as she spoke again. Her house wasn't very far now after the earlier Chikorita chase.

Hunter nodded and followed Sayuri. Dusk was quickly falling, and he wanted to be able to tell his sister that they had a place to stay. Not that they hadn't both camped out on the path before, of course, but a real place to stay was always welcome.

Glancing around as they walked, Hunter was surprised when he saw a couple of familiar faces. There were a few people he knew from the affinity studies: the guy who liked water-types, the girl who had a thing for fire-types, and the guy who ended up with a team of normal-types.

"Interesting..." he murmured. He knew, of course, that he and Naomi were lucky that they'd been able to get most of their badges before the studies started. Most of the others in the studies hadn't gotten to, and were just now going around collecting them, but he still hadn't expected to see any of them again so soon. The normal-type guy noticed him and waved a hand, his Persian looking over to see what had caught its trainer's attention. Hunter waved back, but didn't say anything. The other two from the studies didn't notice him.

There were few people in town Sayuri knew or had known. Most of them were introduced to her by Ruben as she was just beginning her journey. After obtaining Chikorita, Sayuri spent a few days in Celadon just to get prepared, having not thought to do so in Johto. Though... With anyone she had met back then, there was no way she'd remember them now. Not even if she saw them. That was one thing that bothered her, but also something she couldn't help.

She dismissed the thought and pulled out her keys, knowing at this time of day the adults were either out doing their night shifts or were out of town doing other work. They'd be home otherwise to greet her.

As she stepped into the front hallway she was surprised by the large oyster Pokemon, as she was guarding the house. "Heh... I'm home..." Sayuri had turned slightly pale as the Pokemon looked her over before deciding she was safe. Even with the green highlights, the female Cloyster seemed to recognize the girl as she gave a small huff before heading into the living room. Sayuri removed her boots and placed the briefcase next to the closet, out of the way, before following after her only to trip over a pink backpack.

"Ow... Where'd this come from?" She spotted her name on it first, but neglected to see a note attached to the zipper.

Hunter followed Sayuri inside, although he made sure to steer clear of the Cloyster. Cloysters were notorious for being bad-tempered most of the time, although not as bad as Gyarados. Still, he made sure to watch his step. He didn't want to annoy the thing and have it chase him out or something worse.

"How many pink bags do you have?" he commented when Sayuri tripped over the bag in the hallway. "First the suitcase, now this one... I mean, I know girls like bags and all, but this is kind of ridiculous."

The Cloyster was startled by the sudden cry of Sayuri as she tripped over the bag she'd seen sitting there earlier. She was pretty good about not attacking, however, being used this type of thing happening, having lived with her for a while.

"Surprisingly, not many... This one's new... I've never seen it before. I'd always use my satchel for things and nothing else. Even the briefcase was new to me..." Sayuri never used more than one bag at a time. She'd prefer using only one till it was close to falling apart before getting another.

Sayuri examined the backpack as it sat there and figuring it was pretty good. Probably quite helpful, too as her current one was starting to fall apart which was making her shoulder quite uncomfortable as the fastener from her strap made the bag keep sliding downward making it heavier on one side.

As she picked it up to place on her lap, she noticed how heavy it was and reached for the zipper to see what was in it. As she was doing so, she noticed the note. "Huh?" She adjusted the bag to read the note and was quite surprised to see what it said. She read it out loud after she scanned it herself.

"Sayuri,
By the time you got here I know you wouldn't have time to pack before tomorrow morning, knowing how slow you are, so I did it for you. All you need for this region is in this bag, so don't add anything unnecessary to it! It's heavy enough for your smallness! Any heavier and I'd have to take you to the hospital after one slip up!
There's also something on your bed from your mother just in case you didn't think to go up there.
You're on your own for dinner though as both her and my old man are both at work, but I'm sure you'd figured that out already.
Later,
Ruben"

"Huh," Hunter mused. "I think he's trying to take care of you." It sounded kind of strange, but that's the impression he got. As insulting as Ruben tended to be, it sounded like he was trying to take care of his cousin. "Check the bag, see what all is in there. I could tell you if it's got everything you need for Kanto." He glanced around before his gaze settled on the Cloyster. After a moment, he went over to the Pokemon.

"Hey," he said softly. "Listen, I need a favor." He wasn't as used to talking to pokemon outside of his own type as his sister was, but it was worth a shot. "Sayuri offered to let my sister and I stay here tonight, because my sister needs to be behind a Light Screen or Barrier if she's in a city. Do you think you could do that for us tonight? It doesn't have to be all night, my sister has an Exeggutor who knows Light Screen, but it would be a big help if you could try for us." He watched the Closyter as he spoke, almost wishing Naomi was there to talk to the thing.

((Sorry for not responding earlier. I was busy with my birthweek. It was early this year. :P Also with work as it's getting quite hectic with Christmas around the corner...))

"You think? It seems very unlike him... Usually he'd tease me more and let me do my own packing then later criticize that I've done it wrong and have an adult help me afterward... They're not here right now so maybe he just packed it for me because of that..." It puzzled her, but maybe Ruben was starting to grow out of his old habits or something. Unless Sayuri was right about him only packing it 'cause the adults were out... That was a good possibility...

As Sayuri was soon opening her bag to see what was in it, Cloyster was wandering about the house as she was bored. Usually the man of the house would have something for her to do, but today with both parents being out, there was nothing.

When she heard of the offer, she turned around to face Hunter and stared at him for a bit to see if honesty was there in what he was saying and was soon sure he was telling the truth before giving him a slight nod of approval.

"Let's see... We have a new guidebook. Guess the one I have is outdated..." She didn't want to ruin the neatly packed bag in fear of unable to get everything back in as neatly, so she just slightly dug in the bag while naming the objects. Besides the guidebook, there was a slot on the inside with a pink water bottle. There was also a clip attached to the bag in case she wanted to carry the bottle that way. She found some other things in there she couldn't identify including a weird kind of flat device that looked like a miniature tablet at the back of the bag, standing upright at the back. The bag was pretty small but felt heavy for some reason. Must have been the aluminum bottle and tablet combined. But what was this other stuff in it?

"Thanks," Hunter said to the Cloyster. "I really appreciate it." With a nod to the pokemon, he backed off again and went over to a quieter space to call his sister. He took out his gear and pushed the speed-dial for Naomi. "Hey, Nao... Come on, we have a place to stay tonight."

"Will it be quiet?" Naomi asked. She was still out on Route 7, but had moved into the guard house once the sun had started to go down. Hunter knew what she was really asking.

"Yeah," Hunter replied. "There's a Cloyster here that knows a protective move that agreed to help."

"Alright," Naomi said. "I'll be there soon."

"Will you be able to find us okay?"

"I can always find you, Hunter. I'll be fine. Xatu knows Teleport."

"Alright, see you soon then." Hunter hung up and slipped his gear back into his pocket. Then he went back over to Sayuri. "Anything interesting in the bag?"

The Cloyster went off toward another room to rest for a bit while she waited for her cue to begin, not that she needed one. She could always tell when moves were needed and which ones.

"Hmm... Nothing really. Pretty much what his note said." She said the last part with a slight shrug. "Everything I'll need for Kanto. Although, I did find a thermos that matched the water bottle so I'm assuming he packed it for hot on-the-go lunches or hot beverages for those colder areas." The bottle could be helpful for warm things, but only for so long... She knew that much. "I'd say he probably knew what he was doing when he packed this. You can go through it if you want... See if anything was missed." She stood herself up as she remembered another part of the note. Something upstairs... "I'll be right back." She walked toward the stairs and started upward toward her room.

Hunter waved it off.

"You should be alright, then," he said. "The only thing most people used to miss was a PokeFlute, but since there's a radio station for that now, it shouldn't be a problem. The thermos was a good idea, too, especially for if we ever go into the Seafoam Islands. It's the only really cold place in Kanto."

Sayuri had barely gone upstairs when there was a knock on the door. Hunter already knew who it was. It wasn't as if it was hard to guess, really.

"Naomi's here," he called up the stairs to their friend even as he walked to the door to open it.

"Hey, Hunter," Naomi said. She seemed cheerful enough, which was a good sign. It would probably be a good couple of days for her, then.

"Hey, Nao," Hunter replied. He grinned. "About time."

"Hush, you," Naomi replied as she went into the house. "I had to hide out in the guardhouse. The Houndour were out early tonight for some reason. It sounded like something stirred them up."

"Weird..." Hunter said, thinking. "I wonder what...? Oh, I did see some of the others... Sarah, Jake, and Billy." Naomi blinked.

"Here?" she asked, referring to the city. Hunter nodded. "Weird..."

"Yeah," he replied. "Maybe Karen was out on Route 7 with the Houndour? She always did like messing with you..."

"Maybe," Naomi allowed. She glanced up at the stairs, where she knew Sayuri was.

((Sorry for the late response... Taking night shifts during this time of year can be quite tiring...))

Sayuri heard what Hunter said prior to reaching the middle step. "Yeah. It's a handy device to have. Most people don't even know how to play the Pokeflute. At least not well..." Sayuri continued to climb the steps and eventually reached the long hallway. "Be right there!"

Meanwhile Cloyster heard the knock at the door and figured out who it was as she waited patiently in the room she retreated to.

Chikorita remained downstairs with the rest of them as she sat on the fluffy carpet in the living room, almost falling asleep from the tiring day. She wasn't even eavesdropping on the twins' conversation even though it sounded amusing.

Sayuri was soon back downstairs the same as she always was. "Huh... I wonder if what was written in that note was a trick... I didn't see anything in my room that indicated something new..." She wondered if that really was the case or if she didn't look hard enough as she pondered about that, entering the living room. "Oh well." She sat herself on the couch and waited for Naomi to arrive, not realizing she was there already.

Naomi walked with her brother into the living room, still pondering what was going on, and grinned when she saw Sayuri.

"Hey," she said, going over to sit on the couch. "Did you manage to get to the Gym today? Hunter said you were doing some extra training, but my meditation got disrupted before I could ask him if you'd beaten the Gym. I still think you'll like Erika, she's really nice when she's not battling, and she makes this one perfume that you can't find anywhere else that's just amazing." She was rambling, but she didn't care. She'd spent almost all afternoon meditating and watching from afar, and it felt good to have human company again. She seemed to be doing alright, even though she was in the middle of a city, so she was probably having one of her good days. She paused when she remembered something. "Oh... Is it alright if I let my pokemon out? I only had Medicham out with me on Route 7..."

Hunter nodded, agreeing with his sister's question. They always thought it was best to ask first before they let their pokemon out in someone else's home. It was only polite, and it gave them a chance to figure out of the person they were with was afraid of any particular types or species before any problems came up.

Sayuri was reading the note again for what seemed like the tenth time, double checking if she'd read it correctly, but saw nothing that said what was up there... If anything. Could it have been a trick? Or had he hidden whatever it was? She'd checked under the sheets and pillows... Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Huh?" She looked up. "Oh. Naomi. When did you get here?" She placed the note on the table beside her so it wouldn't distract her again before answering. "Not yet, I'm afraid. I was doing some extra training, but it took a long time. Too long as it got dark. Erika's gym closes early this time of year. When I tried earlier last year or so at around this time, it was already closed. Something to do with early plant care according to the note on her door..." She wasn't sure if they were still doing that, but probably as they used their plants and flowers for perfumes. "I'll be sure to get there bright and early tomorrow morning so we can get out of here earlier!" She sounded determined now and Chikorita had acknowledged that as well as she yelled out.

"Sure. That's no problem. I do that all the time. So does my mom and uncle despite only having one. Cloyster here is my mother's and my Uncle's Pokemon goes to work with him. There's also a backyard and garage if we need more space. Ruben usually lets his stay in those, not to be cruel, though. All of his prefer them than being inside the house." Sayuri pulled her own Pokeballs out, having been reminded then and allowed them all to escape themselves, not wanting to force them to join. Eventually one by one they got out minutes apart from each other. The living room was one of the biggest rooms in the house.