"Ferries... That's helpful to have. They didn't have them a year ago..." She knew that much after reading the previous year's guide book. Also it was on the news. A story or something about too many complaints coming from trainers demanding an easier way of getting there. The gym got that discussion started. Seems they listened to the complaints and did something about it. "Still thinking of getting a Pokemon to teach Surf to. It's a good battle move. I completely forgot about flying there as well..." Sayuri giggled that off. "But wait... Wouldn't we have to get there first before being able to fly there?
Now... Fighting... She knew Naomi had an advantage against that type. Her however... She'd need a flying type so the Hoppip or any of its evolutions would be helpful. As for Hunter... He'd have a slightly hard time... But would probably manage anyway.

Naomi flipped to the back of the guide, looking at the list of Pokemon native to Johto. There had to be something that Sayuri would like.

"I don't see any Grass/Water Pokemon on this list..." she murmured. "I know I've heard of one like that, though. It might be native to Hoenn or Sinnoh, though. I just don't remember its name."

"I think there's another Grass/Flying type, too," Hunter added, sifting through is Pokedex. "It's not native to Kanto or Johto, though, I don't think..." He trailed off. "No, I don't have it in here... I might have read something about it somewhere."

"Yeah. Lotad with its three evolutions and Tropius." Those are the ones she figured they were talking about. Her cousin may be a jerk at times, but he knew his stuff. Even if she was just eavesdropping on whatever conversations they were mentioned in that day. He also mentioned Shaymin, but that was one of the legendary Pokemon. Hard to catch. "I also wouldn't mind getting a Snover someday either." Grass and Ice was an interesting combination. The two types would be a bad disadvantage in battle, but together they looked pretty cool in one Pokemon.

Meanwhile Ruben was still busy doing something productive, though he was also getting a bit bored and impatient. He wanted to be there now! He probably should have taken the first train, cousin or no cousin. He was sure there would be other seats away from her on it. He also figured it was closer to getting to its destination by this time. He almost cursed under his breath for not thinking of that ahead of time. He was just so focused on not coming face to face with his cousin that he forgot that it was a big train. With lots of people. So many he wouldn't see anyone familiar to him.
His Wartortle continued to wait patiently till his trainer was ready to talk or something to be more communicating, but all he really did was focus on machines... It was kind of annoying...

"Lotad, that's the one I was thinking of," Naomi agreed, nodding. "I don't think it has any major weakness. Water is weak against Electric and Grass, primarily, and since Lotad is part Grass, that negates both weaknesses. And being part Water gets rid of the Grass-type weakness to Fire and Ice. The only thing you can really use against it is a Flying-type." If there was one thing Naomi was good at, it was type-matching. If she knew what type a Pokemon was, she could figure out its weaknesses pretty quickly. Hunter stayed quiet and let his sister do her thing. "It's a good Pokemon to have. Tropius has a major weakness to Ice, though, but it can learn Fly."

Sayuri was nodding away at what she was saying even though knowing weaknesses was her own weak point. Things like those confused her, but slowly she was learning which type matched which when it came to beating an opponent. With how her party was now, she'd have a tough time at the first gym in Violet City. She knew that much as Flying was strong against Grass. An Electric/Grass type would be helpful, but there weren't any for miles. Same with the Snover she wanted. "You sure know a lot about weaknesses and which type goes better with each. You probably study them a lot." She thought about Tropius next. Another Pokemon she couldn't obtain for miles, even if could learn Fly. It wouldn't be very helpful right now... "Do you know if Hoppip can learn Fly even after evolving to its final form. Or would it be too light to carry someone?"

"I'm not sure," Naomi replied. She flipped to the information page in the guide for Jumpluff, Hoppip's final evolution. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, I don't think it can."

"It doesn't have any sort of wings," Hunter pointed out. Trust him to realize the practical reason. "No wings means no real flight."

"Doduo and Dodrio can learn Fly, though," Naomi pointed out absently as she looked through more of the guide. Clearly, she relied very heavily on the regional guidebooks. Hunter paused.

"...Then I don't know," he said. "That's just weird. Maybe they just run really, really fast."

"Hmm... Well Surf could be good enough. At least for those places where there are no boats or ferries." She was thinking for hidden places. She also wasn't sure if a ferry could go to the Whirl Islands or not. That would be a bit dangerous... "I know they float in mid air... I figured they had to learn to fly, too." Maybe after encountering and catching one she could figure that out using her Pokedex.
Her Chikorita was still on the floor, now laying on her stomach like a puppy or kitty looking either bored or sleepy. It had been a long ride so far and Sayuri didn't blame her. She was starting to feel a bit sleepy herself from the motion of the train.

Ruben was finally communicating with his Wartortle, but instead of it being a friendly conversation he was discussing battle plans with him. It was better than nothing as he listened to the plans. The others were probably listening from their Pokeballs, too as Ruben kept talking.

"Snorlaxes can learn Surf," Naomi said as she closed the regional guide and handed it back to Sayuri. Leaning down, she picked up her Eevee and settled the Pokemon on her lap. Eevee cuddled close to her trainer and started to nap. "It's weird, but they float on water, so they can learn Surf. So can Likitongue, Rhydon, Kangeskhan, and Tauros." She glanced at her brother. "I know there are a couple other weird ones I'm forgetting..."

"Sentret, Furret, and Miltank," Hunter supplied. "And Aggron."

"Right," Naomi agreed. She paused. "Wait, Aggron? The final evolution of Aron, Aggron?"

"Yeah," Hunter replied. "It's bizarre, but true."

"That's odd... Some of those don't even relate to water at all or have a weakness to water. Wouldn't they lose HP while surfing?" It puzzled her as she picked up her Chikorita and gently placed her on the next seat over as Sayuri knew she'd prefer that then any lap right now. "Also, some of them are quite small. Hard to believe something that small are able to lug around a human for long periods of time even if the water makes things almost weightless... And Snorlax... It would be hard to ride on. I've seen one surf before and it practically just lunges forward using its arms. At a distance it kind of looks like a flopping motor boat..." It was a faint memory, but that was pretty close to what she saw and the best she could explain it. "Would be interesting to have a Pokemon like that. Something odd and unique using Surf without being a Water type to begin with."

Naomi giggled a bit.

"Yeah, I don't think Snorlax is all that graceful," she agreed. "You know, I wonder..." She took out her Pokedex and pushed a couple of buttons. After a few minutes, she grinned and handed it to Sayuri. "Here, the list of every Pokemon that can learn Surf," she said. "At least, as of three months ago, when Hunter and I got our dexes updated."

"There are a lot of weird ones," Hunter added. "A few Steel- and Rock-types in there. Lots and lots of Water-types, obviously."

"Hmm. I never thought to do that. Though... I couldn't get my Pokedex upgraded in Kanto. No one told me why... When I tried to call the Professor in Johto, I could never get a hold of him so it was never upgraded... I'll have to do it in person when we get there I guess." She looked through the list and noticed that Lotad could learn Surf, but it wasn't native to Johto. So she might either have to use Fly or have a different type on her team. Maybe a Water/Poison type... "Yeah. That's another weird one. Steel-types learning Surf... You'd think they would be too heavy and sink to the bottom... As with Rock-types... They'd be heavy, too, but at the same time also be affected by their weakness of water..." It puzzled her and didn't seem very possible.

Hunter shrugged.

"I have no idea," he replied. "But I don't really care. Once Aron is fully evolved, I intend to teach him Surf. It'll really throw off any Fire-type that thinks he's easy to take down because he's Steel."

Naomi rolled her eyes. She and Hunter both liked Pokemon with off-type moves. Nobody ever expected a Pokemon to use a move so completely against its natural type, and that meant that they were underestimated.

"I plan on having a bunch of strange moves like that in my team," she said. "Like a Starmie that knows Grass Knot and Zap Cannon."

"I'm starting to do that myself with my Chikorita. Or planning to..." She forgot she hadn't done anything like that yet. Chikorita was still quite young, having less experience than everyone else. Sayuri wasn't quite ready for her to battle seriously yet. At least not in Kanto. Even Johto sounded a bit challenging to her... But knowing the Pokemon in the first few routes were pretty easy, it put her mind at ease. She looked up the moves her Chikorita could learn by TM. Then she looked up the Tm options for Bayleef and Meganium, not that she planned on having Chikorita evolve anytime soon... There were some interesting ones... "Those sound like they could be quite helpful despite the type disadvantages they'll have to face." That was the point... And she knew it then, too, slightly blushing.

Naomi wasn't worried about her Pokemon being in battles. They were all fairly experienced by this point, and she wasn't too worried about running into anything they couldn't handle in the first few Gyms. Hunter wasn't worried, either. Steel-types were durable, and even though Onix and Scyther weren't evolved yet, they could handle themselves, for the most part.

The twins settled in for the remainder of the train ride. It wouldn't be too much longer, but it was still a ways to go. The two had already agreed to spend the night in Goldenrod before taking a bus or something to Violet City. No sense in taking the long way and possibly having their Pokemon hurt before they even saw the first Gym.

Sayuri settled herself as well in her seat which had become slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't used to sitting for so long and standing in the train wasn't really an option since it was slightly bumpy. With her endurance she'd fall straight on her face.
She was thinking of her other Pokemon now and how they battled. Her female Oddish was less determined than her male Oddish, but her Bellsprout was determined and also stubborn enough for the both of them. He'd have escaped from his ball by now or earlier had it not been minimized and sealed with two x-formed overlapping rubber bands. It was the only way to keep him in during these trips. She thought of using a rubbery substance all over the ball, but figured that would be bad. Especially since she didn't know how they worked in the case of breathing... Made her ponder about that now as she dazed out.

Finally, the train slowed down and pulled into the Goldenrod Station. The twins both stood up and stretched at the same time, and then Naomi pulled Eevee into her arms.

"Come on," Hunter said before Naomi could open her mouth. "We're heading to the Pokemon Center for the night, they usually have cots for trainers to stay the night. You want to come with us?" He grinned. "I'll warn you about Buzzer, though," he said. "He's got a habit of shocking people awake in the morning."

"Buzzer is his Magnemite," Naomi commented.

"Eh... Good to know." She'd never been shocked before, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad... "Sure I'll stay with you there. I was kind of planning to anyway. By the time we got here, it would already be close to night time so it's really the only last minute option. Unless a campsite could be set up really quickly in the dark." She made the cute stick out tongue face. She knew she couldn't do that. Even with the help of her Pokemon.
Sayuri picked up her sleeping Chikorita from where she placed her and held her like a baby as she walked towards the door. "I also have my own alarm clock. Hanawa..." She looked down at the cute thing in her arms indicating her nickname. "...likes to tickle me up the nose with her leaf to wake me up in the morning."

"None of mine have nicknames," Naomi said as they left the station. As soon as they were outside, she let Eevee walk on her own. "I've never found just the right ones."

"Not like me with Buzzer, Landslide, and Cutter," Hunter added. "Aron is the only one of mine without a nickname." As he spoke, he released his Aron. The little Steel-type appeared with a little sparkle, then shook itself and started to walk next to his trainer. Oddly enough, the Aron had red eyes rather than blue ones.

Once they were inside the Pokemon Center, both twins went over to the area reserved for traveling trainers and each claimed a cot. Naomi set about releasing her other three Pokemon. Soon, she had a Staryu, a Natu, and a clutch of Exeggute around her. Hunter, on the other hand, dragged his cot to an empty space, and then released his Onix, Scyther, and Magnemite.

"Some of mine do... I'm still thinking of a few that suit them all. Hanawa means 'wreath' or 'garland' in Japanese while Hana means flower. Meganium appears to have a somewhat wreath of flower petals around its neck, so that's how I came up with it." It was a pretty clever nickname. If she were to evolve someday anyway... "Hanabira is my female Oddish. It'll make more sense once she evolves into a Bellossom as the name
means 'petal' and the dress kind of looks like them... Though more leafy..." She didn't bother with the logic in that one. "So far that's the only two I've come up with."
She noticed the sparkle of the Aron as it came out of it's Pokeball and the red eyes. It wasn't normal... 'That Aron... Is it...' She knew about those as she thought about that, not saying a word...
Sayuri ceased her thinking as she moved her cot toward Naomi's as she really didn't need much room. Not like Hunter did, with his Onix. She also released her Pokemon. The two Oddish stood side by side, looking almost identical, but she could tell them apart. They never liked to be separated. Her Bellsprout, however, having been "locked away" for so long started running around the room. "Hey! Stop running! This isn't a gym!" She chased after him, but he was really fast and could dodge quite well. Even as she inched closer in the somewhat small room, he was still able to outwit her. "Stop!"

The twins both blinked when the Bellsprout suddenly started to run around the room with Sayuri chasing after it. They'd never seen a Bellsprout act like that before, the Grass-types were usually calm and bubbly, even a little absent-minded. They'd never seen one like... this. Naomi looked at her Pokemon, and both Staryu and Exeggute nodded. The Pokemon turned to the hyperactive Bellsprout, aiming carefully. A Reflect and a Light Screen shimmered into existence right in front of the Bellsprout, in an effort to stop it from running around. Hunter nodded to his Scyther, who used Agility to get up close and cut off one of the Bellsprout's escape routes, so that Sayuri could corner it against the Light Screen and Reflect barriers.

With the two attacks combined and the Scyther blocking another escape route, Sayuri was able to corner her Bellsprout. She slowly got down on her hands and knees, knowing it was best to be at eye level with a scared Pokemon, and crawled over to him. When she was close enough, Sayuri sat on her legs and reached out with both arms, looking at the Bellsprout as she edged forward. "It's okay now... We're not on the train anymore..." The Bellsprout stared at Sayuri with his small eyes as he hesitated to move forward toward her outstretched arms. He didn't realize it, but he was scared, but also slightly angry. She knew it, too, the fear. It now explained the rubber bands. They weren't there to be cruel... More for protection as she knew he'd run around the train and hurt himself. Or get lost somewhere...
Sayuri edged forward a bit, arms still out as she looked at Bellsprout with apologetic eyes now. "Sorry... For the confinement, I mean..." She was sorry, figuring it was the best way for the first train ride. Seemed it backfired on her. "If you'd prefer, we can instead work on that fear... Together..." The Bellsprout thought about this for a moment and nodded, still angry as he walked over to an empty corner of the room, not even looked at Sayuri. He needed to calm down before he could face anyone. Sayuri sighed as she stood up, looking sadly at her Bellsprout. He wasn't always like this...

Naomi's Pokemon let the Light Screen and Reflect barriers dissolve once the drama was over, and Hunter's Scyther went back over to his trainer. Hunter took a Steel-type maintenance kit out of his bag and started to look over his Aron and Magnemite for any rusty spots. He started on his Magnemite first, using polish and a wire brush to get into the Pokemon's trouble spots. The Electric-Steel type closed its eye and buzzed in happiness.

Naomi, on the other hand, had started to brush out her Eevee. The Pokemon purred a bit as she was brushed out, and stretched out across Naomi's lap. Once Eevee was brushed, Naomi pulled a cloth out of her bag and went over to polish Staryu's gem. Staryu flashed a couple of times in gratitude.

This was normal for the twins. Whenever they got to a Pokemon Center for the night, they would take care of their Pokemon by brushing and cleaning them.

Sayuri sighed again as she sat down on her borrowed cot, her Oddish following as they hopped up and sat next to her. She wasn't really in the mood for fixing them up like she usually did, even with the cute coaxing of the two who seemed like twins. "Oddish?" Both said in unison in their cute but slightly different voices as the bag on her hip was being poked by each of their feet simultaneously a few times each. They were eager to be pampered to look cute, even if it was somewhat silly... "Oddi?" Sayuri had look up all she knew about Pokemon dress up from a Pokemon fashion magazine and enjoyed dressing them up. But she had no motivation to do it now... Even Chikorita, who usually opposed of it, was eager to see the routine and possibly have a makeover done herself. "Chiko?" "Hmm?" She looked at each of them then back to Bellsprout still in the corner, forgetting what time it was. She really had no motivation and she didn't seem very energetic either. Almost depressed... Bellsprout noticed this but didn't care as he stayed put.

"Your Oddish are so cute," Naomi commented when she got a look at Sayuri's Pokemon. She frowned a bit when she didn't get a reply, and glanced between Trainer and Bellsprout. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Sayuri was unhappy.

"I think I know where this is going," Hunter muttered when Naomi stood up. He watched as his twin went carefully over to the Bellsprout.

"Hey, buddy," Naomi said softly. She moved slowly and carefully so as not to startle the Pokemon. "I guess you don't like being confined, huh? Eevee doesn't like it, either, so I make sure to make it up to her when I can. I bet if you went back over to Sayuri, she'll try to make it up to you, too." She paused for a second. "You know, you and Exeggute might enjoy talking. I bet you two could exchange tips, you probably know some of the same moves."

Hunter just watched his sister and rolled his eyes. There was only one of two ways this could go: the way Naomi envisioned, or with her being chased off with a Vine Whip.

Bellsprout looked up at this strange new girl talking to him and stared for a while with his small eyes, now somewhat curious. This girl seemed to know a lot about what he was going through. Even though he knew Sayuri also had a reason for confining him. She knew his actions well enough, but to use rubber bands... That was maybe going a bit too far. Suppose he was curious about the train... "Bell..." His voice was harsh as if he was still angry, but understood what was being said and looked over at the multi-egg Pokemon, wondering if maybe he'd give it a try. Sayuri was watching the two talk, having heard what was said about the Oddish. A small smile crept up anyway at that and she felt better, grabbing her bag and pulling all sorts of things out from it. The two Oddish knew what this meant and hopped up and down on the cot. "Oddish! Oddish!" Chikorita also seemed happy to see the small smile, knowing her friend was feeling better, having known her longer. Pretty soon both Oddish genders were dressed up. The female now had a pink ribbon tied around the grass on her head. While the male was somehow wearing a small one-piece vest with attached pants. Despite the lack of arms, it fit him quite well without slipping down. Sayuri would have to make another suit like it when he evolved into Vileplume someday. Chikorita stared at the mess she made without looking at the Pokemon masterpieces and frowned.