Route 101-The Social Experiment (open for anyone)

Blink smiled. "Nin, Nincada nin." (No problem.) Rex barked and began to run, hitting top speed rather quickly. He wagged his tail as he ran, causing some sort of air interference. Gnash laughed. "Gib, Gible!" (No you won't!) Just as he boasted this, Gnash tripped on a tiny rock and fell over, laughing. He rolled a little, but stayed in the same area. Brick rolled all the way down the hill, up to the other hill, then back to the one everyone else was on. "Mhm. School was fun for me, albeit short. My parents taught me from the age 6 to now. And it's nice to know our Pokemon get along well." He sighed contently and laid back, putting his arms behind his head.

"So you were home schooled? I was public school. We could stop by my old school when we get into Petalburg."

She looks over to Tanner and sees how relaxed he is. He would been fun to hang out with during high school and Merri is thinking of a couple of her friends who would have the enjoyment of trying to get him out of the suit.

"Have you always done the white suit thing? I've got a couple of friends who went a little nuts on the fashion thing. Maybe they could help me out with any future coordinator outfits since it would give them an excuse to go shopping. Problem of it is, I think they shopped so much where they have yet to wear half of the clothes they bought. It doesn't help their parents let them travel all over Hoenn on shopping trips. Last I heard, they were supposed to go on a trip over to Kanto or Johto for their graduation present but I think it is later in the summer."

Strong Claw eventually got up to Gnash and when he was only a couple of inches away, found the same rock Gnash did and rolled a little with his claw landing very close to Gnash. Raltsy reached up and gently grabbed Blink's legs in order to get a good grip. The idea of flying or floating pleased Raltsy and made her wish she could do something similar on her own. Sprucia put her head closer to Rex's as Rex ran full speed. Sprucia's tail was also up in the air with Rex going full speed.

"Yeah, homeschooled. That might be interesting." Tanner nodded. He looked down at his suit, and laughed a little. "Uh, no, actually. The suit doesn't completely fit my 'taste' so to speak. I just promised my mom I'd wear it. It was my dad's when he was my age." He adjusted his glasses when he heard about her friends. "Heh, it would be useful to have friends like that when you're in the coordination lane. I don't have too many friends, but most of my friends are like me. So we were typically reading books or quizzing each other. Because where I come from, Floraroma Town in Sinnoh, it's pretty small and rural. So there aren't too many things to do."
Rex spotted a group of flat stones of various sizes and started to jump between them like platforms, enjoying the challenge. Brick accidentally rolled into Gnash, and Strong Claw, creating sort of a dogpile. Or a Pokepile, if you will. Blink floated gently with the breeze, wishing she could go maybe a bit faster.

"Being a small town girl myself, I'm not overly sure on what the country people did. You probably met several Pokemon on your walks. Being the socialite I was in high school, not sure if I could have dealt with being in a very small community. I do appreciate and admire the well educated considering my parents. I'm glad they let me have a social life though. Some wonder how I got out of high school without a serious boyfriend but I told them I prefer being friends with people over anything overly serious. Now, I did have one or two in my freshman and sophomore years but saw the troubles my friends were having in their relationships and wanted nothing of it. So instead I decided to help solve problems if I saw them. There were still guys who tried to get my attention but most were being silly and not in a good way. One thing I enjoy about Pokemon, most can be quite friendly and gentle if you approach them right. Others can be rather territorial which I think was Strong Claw's problem when we first met. Anyways, I'm way too young to get serious about any guy when I've got all of my travels ahead of me. I've got long term goals to get done and now a new goal of being a coordinator. One other possible long term goal is finding my real parents. You see, I was adopted by my parents who found me one stormy night on their door step. At the time, they were debating of having a child so I guess I was the answer to the debate."

Strong Guy got hit by the rolling Brick and immediately got up. He looked squarely into the eyes of Brick with both claws wide open.

"Corphish!!! Corphish!!!"

Strong Claw had bubble getting ready in both open claws. Raltsy heard the angry Strong Claw and teleported with Blink still attached. Raltsy appeared between Strong Claw and Brick.

"Raltsy, ralts, ral, ral." (What happen here?)

"Cor, corphish, phish, phish" (He rolled into us.)

"Sals, alts, tsy, tsy" (I'm sure it was an accident)

Merri looks down when she hears the fight brewing between Strong Claw and Brick. She stands up and almost walks over there until she sees Raltsy doing exactly the same thing she did back in high school.

"Looks like my Raltsy may have a very kindred spirit with me since she is trying to keep Strong Claw and Brick from fighting."

Tanner nodded. "I didn't really have the time to pursue any possible girlfriends, my parents kept me studying at most times. Since they were both Trainers, I had experiences with Pokemon since I was first born. I like Pokemon because they're like us, in a way. They all have personalities, and they have qualities that make them shine. I haven't met many territorial Pokemon, Strong Claw would be the most severe I've ever seen." Brick rolled his eyes at Strong Claw as he got up. "Ron, ron, Aron ar." (If he wants to believe it was on purpose, let him.) Gnash sighed and shook his head, sitting down. Tanner walked over as well and looked his Pokemon. "I was more like Brick, to be honest. I never wanted to get into fights, and whenever it looked like I would, I would ignore the problem."

"Strong Claw, calm down. I'm pretty sure Brick ran into you guys on accident. When he is rolled up tight like that, I doubt he knows where he is going most of the time."

Strong Claw looks over to Merri and sees a stern look from her. He releases the bubble up in the air with them popping harmlessly and giving the Pokemon and Tanner a light sprinkle. He then walks towards Merri and drops his head and claws once he reaches her feet. She then picks up Strong Claw and hugs him. His arms reaches around her neck in a hug.

"We have to stay calm when we are with friends. Accidents do happen and when they do, we need to understand that and hope they apologize when it is their fault. I would expect the same from you, Strong Claw."

She pulls Strong Claw away from her far enough so they can look into each others eyes.

"Do we have an understanding?"

Strong stays silent but nods with head and claws. Merri then puts him down onto the ground and Strong Claw walks over to Brick with a claw out.

"Phish?" (Friends?)

"Like some of the guys I known in high school, Strong Claw seems to like to not take much flack from hardly anyone. Some of those guys were the protective type and others just wanted to be left alone. Sadly, the ones who wanted to be left alone rarely got the opportunity since we had our fair share of bullies. If we are to get any ideas going, it might be wise to get started before it gets too later. I know I packed a tent but it only fits me and maybe my Pokemon. It looks like I'll have to invest in a better tent when I get back home. You know what, if someone like a good breeder, had a good business sense they could create some sort of Pokemon resort where both trainers and Pokemon get pampered. I know my two shopaholic friends get their pampering done when they go out shopping for 8-9 hours."

Brick shook Strong Claw's claw with one of his stubby paws. "Ron." (Friends.) Tanner nodded. "That would be a great idea." He said. "And I've got my own tent, so it's okay. He unbuttoned his suit and took off his tie, to reveal a gray, slightly decorated tee-shirt underneath. He folded it carefully and stuck it into a pocket of his bag.

When Tanner started taking his suit coat and tie off, Merri started to get a little red. Then she saw the t-shirt underneath and breathed a sigh of relief. It did puzzle her as to why he plugged it into his bag.

"Um, why is your t-shirt being plugged into your bag? Is it something like a float jacket for ships and you are airing it up?"

Tanner laughed. "No, I'm just putting it in the side-pocket so it doesn't get all wrinkled up on the inside of my bag with all my stuff in there." He explained.

"So is your t-shirt your tent or do you have your tent somewhere else? I usually don't have guys start taking their clothes off in front of me. I've had offers but always turn them down."

She finds a good spot a little away from the group. Merri takes off her back pack and puts it down. Then she unties her tent and puts it up. Raltsy walks over stumbling a little bit and gets back up. She works her way over to Merri and proceeds to help unpack the back pack. Strong Claw looks over and walks over to see what is happening. With the help of Raltsy and Strong Claw, the tent is up in no time at all.

"Ah, no, that would be this." Tanner got his tied up tent from his bag. He set his bag down and started to set up the tent with help from Gnash and Brick. Eventually it was up, and he smiled. Blink helped un-pack and set things in the tent. Rex started a tiny fire in a patch of dry grass with Ember, which stayed contained and calm. Tanner pulled out some containers of food he had. A few for Pokemon, a few for humans.

Sprucia got off of Rex as he lights a small area of dead grass on fire. Sprucia backed away very slowly at first and then turned around and ran towards Merri. She climbed up Merri's leg and body as if it was a tree and got to her right shoulder. She then looked around for the back pack and saw it inside the tent. Sprucia then jumped down onto the ground and got into the back pack. Merri was surprised by the reaction of Sprucia. She bent down and looked into the bag and saw fear in Sprucia's eyes. Merri tried to coax Sprucia out of her back pack but Sprucia refused to get out. Then Merri tried to pull Sprucia out and got scratched for the effort.

"Hey Tanner, something spooked Sprucia. She seemed fine with Rex and then she came running to me and used me as a tree. After she found my back pack, she went in there and is now refusing to get out. I tried to get Sprucia out but got scratched on the hand. It isn't a major scratch from what I can tell but still shocked at this. What do you think happen?"

Tanner looked over at Rex, who had not noticed making a fire. "I think Rex accidentally scared her when he made that tiny patch of fire. I doubt he was trying, I think he was just thinking ahead." He called Rex over. "Hey Rex, did you make that?" Tanner pointed to the fire. Rex nodded. "Sprucia's a Grass type, so it'd make sense she'd be scared. D'you think we should have Rex go talk to her or something?"

"Sounds like an idea to me, Tanner. It would make sense for a Grass type to be scared to fire. I didn't realize Rex made a fire but now I smell it. We probably should put a ring of rocks around it to make sure it doesn't spread."

Once Rex walks over to where the back pack was, Sprucia very slowly pops her head out of it.

"Trecko" (Bad trainer)

"Reck" (Used fire)

"Ecko" (Hurt me)

Sprucia then went back into the back pack and tried to cover herself up with it.

"Yeah, that would be smart." Tanner said. Brick had heard the conversation and had already started rolling rocks over to the fire to surround it.

"Liiith. Grow, growl. Growli. Grow, growlithe?" (I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?) Rex slowly approached the backpack, and sat down when he was a few inches away from it.

Sprucia waited several minutes before popping her head back out of the back pack. She then tips over the back pack and crawls out of it. Then she spots the fire and sees the rocks being put around it by Brick. The smoke still bothered Sprucia but she was able to walk up to Rex's face and give him a hug around his head. Sprucia's body is still shaking from fear.

"I think the fire really spooked Sprucia. She came out but I can see her shaking while holding onto Rex. I'm not sure if this is normal for a Grass type but still concerns me."

Raltsy walks over to Rex and Sprucia. She places her short arms on both as she joins in with the hug. Not wanting to be left out, Strong Claw gets on the other side and touches Sprucia and Rex with his claws.

Tanner nodded. "An aversion to fire is normal for Grass types, but not on this level. I'm assuming that she's had some kind of bad experience with fire." He smiled as Gnash and Blink joined. Brick, not one to join in groups, continued to roll rocks around the fire. "But I have a feeling that as long as these guys are around, she won't have anything to fear."

"I was sick to my stomach when I first saw Sprucia on the road. She was so beat up and thankfully Professor Birch had a potion ready. I don't think I saw any burn marks but the damage was so severe they could have been there and I missed them. People who abuse Pokemon should be tossed in jail or something similar. The..."

Merri couldn't hold it anymore and dropped to her knees crying. She put her head into her hands. Raltsy, Sprucia, and Strong Claw noticed so they came over and tried to pull over to the other Pokemon. Merri got up and joined them all in a group hug. Soon she calmed down enough and got back up.

"Why do people have to be cruel to each other and Pokemon? Is there enough meanness and hatred out there to last this world for the next hundred years? Maybe I'll go into counseling once I get my college degree and focus on trainers and Pokemon. Everyone needs love and to be taken care of would they be human or Pokemon."

Merri's face was still red and tears welled back up in her eyes but this time she held them in. The images of a severally beat up Sprucia were flashing behind her eyes when she found Sprucia on the road and when Professor Birch was administering the potion.

Tanner patted her back lightly, feeling sympathy. "I know how you feel. The thought that anyone could be so cruel to Pokemon, or each other makes me feel furious, but sad at the same time. Pokemon are noble, beautiful creatures. Anyone who would be terrible enough to abuse them like that should be locked up." He shook his head, a bitter taste coming to his mouth just at the thought of someone like that. "I'm not sure how to answer your questions, but I agree that everyone deserves a chance."

Merri turns and faces Tanner and then proceeds to lean into his chest crying over his shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Merri is able to recompose herself and steps back a few steps and stands up straight.

"I think I'm getting tired. It has been a very long day and quite enjoyable. Maybe some food and rest will do us well. Tomorrow we can figure out what moves I can use in my routines."

Merri heads back towards her tent with her three Pokemon joining her. It is going to be a challenge to find a spot for each of them.

Tanner nodded. "Agreed." He walked back to the tent but only Blink and Gnash followed. Brick was at the fire, and Rex joined him. It seemed as though they were going to keep watch on the fire. Tanner looked over his shoulder, then walked over to them. "You guys sure you wanna stay out here?" The looked at him and nodded. "Alright. Come to the tent whenever you're ready." Tanner smiled then went back into the tent with Blink and Gnash.

Merri wakes up to a bright sun and sounds of birds singing in the distance. They are too far to tell which Pokemon they are but still a beautiful sound. Her three Pokemon slowly get up. It was a challenge when Raltsy was up in her chest, Sprucia in the middle of her back and Strong Claw down around her waist. They made Merri sleep on her side but she didn't mind it too much. With all three around her, she stayed quite warm.

"Good morning you three, I hope you all slept well."

"Treecko."

"Raltsy."

"Corphish."

All three nod at her with smiles on their faces. They all walk out the tent which allows Merri to freshen up a bit. Once Merri is done, she gets out of the tent and drags everything else out. Then she and her Pokemon start taking down the tent. After they are done, the head over to where Tanner and group is at.

"Morning, Tanner, I hope you are doing well and slept good. I think I am ready to get started on things with the coordinator training."

Tanner waved to her. "Mornin'." He had already been awake, and was watching Blink and Gnash play around outside while he had set up some pots and such to cook the food he had already made. There was one pot for Pokemon food and another for human food. "I am, and I did." He nodded a bit. "Rex and Brick kept this fire going all night, apparently, so I'm making some food while they sleep. Everyone's gotta eat sometimes, right?" He smiled as he motioned to Brick and Rex sleeping peacefully next to each other.

"Thanks, Tanner, I'll have Strong Claw put out the fire once we are done. It would worthless if we let it burn on its own for no good reason. We probably should gather up some wood for the next fire if we decide to stay here."

Merri walks over and finds a couple of bowls to one side and several on the other side. Figuring the two bowls were for her and Tanner, she picked one up with the spoon inside of it. Then she signaled her Pokemon to come get theirs. Strong Claw and Raltsy walked up to the campfire and picked theirs up. Sprucia stayed back several feet and refused to get close. Raltsy then took her bowl back to Sprucia and gave it to her. Then Raltsy got another bowl and started eating. After they are done eating, Merri looks around to find a stream but doesn't find one to wash the bowls out.

"Hmm, no stream so I just have Strong Claw use a gentle bubble to clean the bowls."

Merri puts her bowl in front of Strong Claw who uses bubble to clean her bowl. Then she does the same with Sprucia's and Raltsy's bowls. She puts her hand out for Tanner's bowl as well as his Pokemon bowls.

"You know, with this good food, you could get a person fat if they eat enough. It might also get the interest of a woman since cooking is often left up to us women type."

Tanner and his Pokemon finished eating, aside for Rex and Brick who had just woken up. He directed them to their food, which they finished quickly. Tanner handed the bowls to Merriam for Strong Claw to clean. Tanner smiled and put an arm behind his head. "Well, I learned to cook early so I could help my mother out, so she didn't have to focus on cooking and could do more work. I also did a lot of cleaning and such. But it wasn't exactly a chore. I enjoy cooking." He explained, packing up some stuff.