Just taking a quick 'break'...[Open]

[Wrath]

They were everywhere. Even if you didn’t see them, they were never too far. Hidden in a nearby tree or bush, lurking underground, or flying high over the heads of people. Bugs. They were his greatest passion, his ultimate obsession. As if knowing the Bug-maniac he would later become, his parents had named him after the things he would grow to love so much. Bugsy was his name, and even though he had left Viridian Forest behind, at least for the moment, he was still looking out for any sign of them.
Bugsy was technically supposed to be taking a break from the manic Bug-chasing, but hey, he couldn’t help where his mind kept going. Even with the pretty scenery around Mizukage Pond, all he could see was imaginary Surskit skating along the pond’s surface. But of course, Bugsy knew, Surskit only inhabited Hoenn. The thought made Bugsy tap his hand against his knee in a subtle display of impatience. So many Bugs, so little time.

He almost leaped up and sped back to Viridian Forest then and there. But, the thought that the rest was not for him, but for his pokemon, kept the 12-year-old Gym Leader seated. Bugsy’s Spinarak was concealed in a nearby cluster of trees, hanging off a tree branch. His spider web glimmered prettily in the sun at certain angles. His Metapod was at his side, dozing against his hip. He put a hand on its green body affectionately. Bugsy blinked, trying to locate his other pokemon.

He found them, and what he saw made a wry smile quirk his lips. Heracross and Scyther were visible in the air above the center of the pond. They were sparring, their thin wings barely able to keep them aloft as they fought rather fiercely. The sparring successfully managed to scare away anything the fishermen on the bank could have hoped to catch. A few of the surly fishermen were flaring around as if trying to find the owner of the two troublesome Bugs. Bugsy tilted his head down innocently, letting his square-cut purple hair hide his blushing face. This is what happened when you didn’t pay attention.

Bugsy stood up with a groan, forcing Metapod awake. He stretched his legs and tugged at the bottom of his unusually short shorts to adjust them slightly.
“SCYYYTHER! HERAAACROSS!” Bugsy shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice carried. The two pokemon froze at their trainer’s voice, one of Scyther’s razors against Heracross’ horn. They flew toward him, and the moment they were close enough, he returned them to their pokeballs. That was enough of a ‘rest’ for them.
Bugsy felt the glare of fishermen’s eyes on his back as he picked up Metapod, and walked a short distance away from the pond toward his Spinarak. This was enough of a break for now.

[Gary]

“Squirtle, protect!”

The sun’s rays reflected off of the attacking teeth in a glare that shot the smooth, blue pokemon in the eyes. The rattata rushed at him: her purple fur shuddered in the wind, and her lips were peeled back, red eyes set squarely on Squirtle. He didn’t know what to do; Rattata was coming fast; he concentrated with all his might, but he just didn’t know what to do! so he did all he could do: he braced himself against the attack, felt the mud between his tiny toes and felt the humid air biting against his shell.

“Squir!” Poor Squirtle cried as the tender skin of his arm broke, making way for the progression of sharp teeth through his muscle. He couldn’t help the tears stinging the back of his young eyes, and he promptly fell on his bottom, Rattata still attached.

Rattata had felt the metallic taste against her tongue and immediately sympathized for Squirtle. Her red eyes grew large and sorry, and she fell forward along with Squirtle. After grounding her tiny paws on Squirtle’s chest, her first impulse was to yank her teeth free. Blood tore through the air and splattered onto the grass; some of it stained her teeth pink. She immediately removed herself from Squirtle and watched his plight with concerned features, curly tail and ears alert. The sense of her trainer’s feet approaching reached her and twitched her whiskers, and she quickly glanced over her shoulder. His height towered over her own; his boots themselves were taller than she was. He had what she thought were naturally scornful eyebrows and a mouth that was wry and haughty. Currently, these features of his were severely indifferent, save for a slight disapproving curve of his lip. He walked past Rattata and placed his hands on his hips once he reached Squirtle’s side.

Gary sighed. “That’s enough for now, Squirtle.” He held up Squirtle’s respective pokeball, and in a flash of red, the distraught squirtle disappeared. Things weren’t going quite as planned--he had wanted to teach Squirtle ‘protect’ so that he could avoid further occurrences like the one that had happened when catching Rattata, at least until Squirtle got stronger. It seemed that Squirtle wasn’t capable of using ‘protect’ until he got stronger first. Still, those hours of training hadn’t been completely worthless--Squirtle had learned ‘bubble,’ which would prove to be a useful attack, of that Gary was certain. Being around the lake had been enough for Squirtle to learn how to handle the water inside of him, at least enough to muster a passable attack. Tackle was just too mediocre.

Sliding his hands into his pockets, Gary stretched his spine slightly and rolled his neck, brown hair wavering in spikes that cascaded down the front of his head. It had been a couple hours since he had first left his home town and had arrived at Viridian, but there was still plenty of day to utilize. He hadn’t bothered searching for his car or his cheerleaders yet--he had wanted to get started with Squirtle’s specialized training right away. As his first pokemon, and as a representative of his team, Squirtle had a strict duty to be strong. He wasn’t so disappointed with his first catch, either--Rattata, although young, had a lot of attack power. Gary rolled his head over and glanced down at said pokemon, who had been staring up at him until a wave of water suddenly leapt from the lake and drenched her as well as Gary’s shoes.

“Hey!” Gary yelled, angry eyes searching for the maker of this inconvenience. The water had barely swept through his boots, but his Rattata was now soaking wet. Her fur was weighted down; she looked as if she had been pasted to the ground.

“Ta-aa…” Rattata whimpered as she gathered herself up and looked around, clearly irritated. Her ears and whiskers twitched as droplets fell from her body, and it was all around uncomfortable!

Other angry voices were heard around them: fed up fishermen were packing their cases and waving their fists. Their cause for exasperation were two pokemon fighting in the middle of the lack, creating all sorts of havoc for the water below. Gary frowned at them; who were allowing their pokemon to battle in such a boisterous way? By the looks of the pokemon, they weren’t any weakings, by Gary’s standards anyway--he was just getting started, hardly had a grasp of his own. This pained him. He wished his Squirtle would have learned protect; then he might’ve stood a fighting chance against whatever losers were holding this battle. He curled a fist and glanced around for the offenders just as the names of the pokemon were called. Gary followed the direction of the voice with his eyes, and found a small girl returning them to her pokeballs.

“A little girl?” he groaned. He decided to march the way the two pokemon had retreated, a frown on his face and a wet rattata close behind.

“You!” Gary growled in a high-pitched voice after following the girl and her metapod. “You shouldn‘t let your pokemon run rampant like that.” Rattata held a stern face at his feet, but Gary suddenly sported a haughty smile. Gary hadn’t seen the girl’s face up close yet, but he didn’t care much about introductions. He might be weak now, but the next time he saw this girl, he would make sure he wasn’t. He had no room in his heart for sympathy towards anybody, and especially not obnoxious little kids. “Someone might decide they're better unconscious.” His voice was all pride and self-grandeur. How could a trainer be so neglectful of their own pokemon? Gary would never be like that. His pokemon would always be powerful, conduct themselves well, and scare the living crap out of anyone who messed.

[Wrath]

"Spinarak, come out, it's time to go."[/b] Bugsy muttered into the bushes and trees, searching around for the lime green colour of his Spinarak's body. He glanced around nervously, seeing a group of fishermen were gathering nearby, gesturing at him and crossing their burly arms. He didn't know what they intended to do, but he wanted to leave before he found out.
Aha! There was Spinarak. Sleeping in one of the trees, concealed almost completely by leaves. But before Bugsy could call his pokemon's name, his own name was called. Well, not really his name, but the closest one who'd never met him could get. 'You'.
There was no doubt who the owner of that voice was calling. Bugsy cringed, freezing in place for a moment before turning around guiltily to face whoever had called him.
Bugsy plastered a politely apologetic expression on his face, but it gave way to one of surprise when he saw who had called him. He didn't look like a fisherman, but judging by the soaking wet rattata by his side, it was a trainer. Bugsy looked back up at the boy's face when he continued speaking, telling Bugsy that he should not let his pokemon run rampant. Bugsy was just about to reply when he realized the boy, who was suddenly sporting a rather disdainful smirk, was not done.
The young gym leader had remained politely attentive and quiet throughout this time, but he stared at the boy in shock when he not-so-subtly threatened to knock his pokemon unconscious. The threat, which may have immediately enraged other people, seemed to have no effect on Bugsy. Instead of snapping back, he smiled ruefully.
"I'm very sorry,"[/b] Bugsy told, bowing his head humbly. He aimed his apology both at the trainer, and his young Rattata, who, judging by her wet fur, had been the true victim of Heracross and Scyther's fighting. The Rattata’s large teeth caught his eye as he noticed there was a small red stain on them, as if of blood. The sight made him bite his lip. He would have to take Scyther and Heracross to the Pokemon Center to make sure they hadn’t hurt each other.
"I was keeping an eye on them, especially after what happened last time I let them both out together, but I got a little distracted."[/b] Bugsy continued. He shot a glance at the pond, where he could still see Surskit skating away. He shook his head and looked away.

Up to this point, Bugsy was all apology and courtesy, but suddenly his expression became cold and unreadable.
"But if I may,"[/b] he began, pausing a moment as if to let the trainer tell him he may not. He had learned from watching other adults that this was a polite way of saying, 'shut up, I'm talking, so listen to me as I verbally checkmate you'.
"I think you should train your pokemon some more before saying something like that, or someone might decide you're all talk."[/b]
Perhaps he was overstepping his boundaries with the statement. After all, he was at fault, and the trainer had every right to be angry, but Bugsy wasn't about to let him threaten his Bugs like that!
He took another look at the wet Rattata, as if to make sure his assumption was right. The purple rat looked tough, but inexperienced. Paired with the fact that Rattata were fairly common around Viridian, Bugsy had decided this was a new trainer, or at least that he had just captured this Rattata recently.
However, if this was a new trainer, he sure had a lot of arrogance already.
The air around the two trainers could have been considered tense, and even the fishermen standing nearby dispersed and went home. However, the tension was broken, at least for Bugsy, when his Spinarak awoke, leaping onto his shoulder, clicking his red pincers happily.
Bugsy smiled at it, turning back to the trainer.
“I’m Bugsy from Azelea town, by the way. Who’re you?”[/b] He asked as if they were on their way to be friends.

[Gary]

Once the kid had turned to face him, Gary’s eyebrow twitched in something of a realization--his face fell somewhat while his callous smile faltered. He hardened his expression quickly; he knew who this person was. He was a little put-off by the extreme politeness in the boy’s voice, especially after Gary’s challenging introduction.

The water was calming behind him, and the fishermen were either going to their houses with their already-packed-up things, or returning to where they felt at home on the lake side. A soft breeze disturbed the brown mane of spikes on Gary’s head and swept through Rattata’s chilled skin. There were no cinders on the wind: Gary’s previous encounter with the Legendary Volcano God had long since passed, though it had not taken its weight off his mind. His senses, however subtle, were still on the lookout for the being’s irrefutable presence.

Gary was quite conflicted within himself about the whole thing--of course he wanted to see Entei again. Who wouldn’t? The only hindrance was his utter weakness. It was disgusting. He stood no chance against Entei, no chance at all; and what if a dispute were to break out again? If Entei wanted to, he could easily wipe out Gary along with his pokemon. The angry circumstance from before drove Gary even further towards his goal--he was determined to push even harder, and he had already been set on working strenuously to begin with. It would be tough on him as well as his pokemon, but it would be worth it. Especially the day they met up with Entei again. They’d be worthy.

And then came the boy’s rebuttal to Gary’s challenge. Brought back to the real world, brought back to a comfortable place, the trainer smirked. He couldn’t expect anything less from a Gym Leader (for he had realized Bugsy’s identity before the boy had even properly introduced himself; Gary had his grandfather to thank for that.) It had been apparent from the beginning that the kid--even if he was an unimportant she to Gary at first--was a capable trainer. With both Scyther and Heracross, who were known to be potentially powerful pokemon, Gary had already known there was a good chance a battle with the kid would be pointless, the kid victorious. He now knew that Bugsy had Spinarak and Metapod on top of that--he had also been taught that Bugsy’s entire gym was home to a myriad of other bug pokemon. Still, Gary was perfectly confident with himself and his ability to train his pokemon, however short his time with them had been. Now that he knew that this was the Gym Leader Bugsy, Gary became assured with another idea that had conjured itself within his head.

“I’m Gary, of Pallet Town.” he said just as smugly as ever, although there seemed to be a new hint of respect laced in his nasal voice. He crossed his arms over his chest, although his yellow and green pendant still hung in view against his black shirt. He wondered, for a moment, why Bugsy hadn’t mentioned his gym leader status. He supposed he wanted to build the shock factor? No matter, Gary knew Bugsy’s face. “I guess it’d be pretty foolish of me to challenge a Gym Leader, huh?” He was as vague as ever, though that sly smartness still riddled every feature on his face. “Until after I have a couple days to train my pokemon, anyway.” It was a challenge: Even though this was Gary’s first day as a Pokemon Trainer, he had no doubt that he could train his pokemon to a level above Bugsy’s within a matter of two days. Too haughty, too confident? Not for Gary. He thrived on such ventures.

Rattata, meanwhile, sat obediently at her trainer’s feet. She kept her large red eyes on Bugsy, though they transferred to the green spider pokemon at times. She felt under some pressure, especially considering she was currently soaked in water and probably appeared rather vulnerable. She felt some resentment towards her trainer, but felt she had no choice but to suck it up, stiffen her spine, and stare the other pokemon down.

[Cassie]

[/color][/b]

The scream that errupted from the teenager seemed to shake the very foundations of the gym, and even cheerful Togepi was slighlty awed by her trainer's fury, scuttling over to hide behind Psyduck, who just looked... Confused. But that was no different from usual really, he was just dim. Misty glared feircly at Daisy, who found new appreciation for the fact 'if looks could kill' was only a saying, or she would be dead on the floor. Which would be awful for her hair. Besides, wasn't there a saying about not shooting the messenger? All Daisy had done was very politley inform her baby sister that she'd been left a message about going to greet a visiting Gym Leader. It was hardly her fault was it? Then again, the Gym Leader Association was not in the room, Daisy was. She was also in projectile range, the blonde realised in alarm as she saw Misty's gaze slide around looking for something to throw. Intervention was needed; Fast!!

"Um... I.... I could give you a lift? Yeah! Then it would totally get you quicker, and you can do you're whole meet and great at super speed get it over and done with and then do whatever it is you wanted to do today! Okay?

Misty paused, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her sister, weighing up the words for a few tense moments before heaving a sigh and relaxing her violent pose. Daisy sighed in relief, and immediatley began to search for her car keys, desperate to get her sister out before Misty's rage resurfaced. She had a manicure at three, she didn't need to be thrown into the pool and have to spend hours blow drying her hair back into perfect curls.

Ten minutes later a disgruntled Gym Leader and her still nervous sister were speeding down the roads at what was probabbly an illegal speed in order to get Misty to Viridian as fast as humanly possible. With Daisy's careless attitude to speed limits and the suprising lack of Jenny's on the road, it didn't take long to arrive. Misty glared around the town, looking for the Gym Leader while Daisy peeked over her sunglasses. It was the blonde who spotted Bugsy.

"Hey Misty, there the kid is. Over there by the lake, the little one."

She pointed her sister towards the little lake, and then ushered her sister towards Bugsy without further ado. Misty scowled for a moment before climbing out of the car, slamming the door shut with un-nessecary violence Daisy thought. However, the blonde was allready driving away, not wanting to be around where her baby sister found out exactly what type of Pokemon this Gym Leader trained. She didn't think anybody did. Misty shot her departing sister a final glare for good measure, before arranging her face into a much calmer and happier expression and walking towards the purple haired kid.

"Hi there! I'm Misty, welcome to - EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!"

The later part of the sentence was clearly not the regulation introduction Misty had intended to repeat, the shriek echoing through the town, and caused several Pidgey to flee the nearby trees. The colour drained from her face as she became aware of the Spinarak perched on the boy's shoulder, her large blue eyes widened in terror. For a moment she stood frozen in the aftermath of her shreik, and then with a whimper she threw herself on the third person in the clearing, grabbing his shirt and hiding her face against his frame. She bunched the material in her fists, clinging to the male in question without real concious thought. Her thoughts were mostly consumed by the fact there was infact a bug in her imediate area. After a moment she sneaked a glance upwards to try and see who exactly it was she clinging to. When she recognised the face, Misty decided that karma hated her. GARY OAK of all people! It just wasn't fair!! However, if it came to a contenst between Gary and the Bugs, Gary was definatley the lesser of two evils. Though Misty was certain that he'd never let her live this down for as long as the both lived, he was at the moment her only chance of a saviour.

"Gaaaaaaaaaary.... Make it go away? ....please?"

Her pleading whimpered was slightly muffled as she'd buried her face again, not wanting to even catch a glimpse of the awful, terrifying bug that was no doubt planning to kill her at this very moment. So what if it was Gary Oak, surely he couldn't be mean enough to not help her? She shuddered in fear, wondering of Gary would actually leave her to the mercy of the bug's, and clung on just that little bit tighter. Oh, Gary was so never going to let her forget this, and Ash wouldn't be too happy about her clinging to Gary but right now Misty didn't care too much. All she cared about was the fact there was a BUG and it didn't seem to be going away! Gary would take mercy on her, he'd protect her from it, right? Right?

ooc: Aaaaw, scared Misty. xD [/ul]

[Wrath]

Bugsy watched Gary’s facial transformation rather curiously. For a moment, the older boy’s self-righteous expression faltered, and the gym leader could not fathom why. But the next moment, his face was back to what Bugsy already considered normal for him; tough and smug.
He suddenly seemed pensive, and vague emotions played across his face as his eyes grew thoughtful. The new trainer’s expressions were much too subtle for Bugsy, however. Ask him what it meant if a Yanma started screeching at you, or how to calm a raging Pinsir, and Bugsy could answer without hesitation. But people were much harder to read.
“Nice to meet you, Gary.”
Bugsy said politely, smiling slightly. He thought for a moment, and realized that Pallet Town was only a bit south from Viridian City. It wouldn’t have taken long to get to Viridian from there. Bugsy was now confident in his guess that Gary was a new trainer.
He noted the new note of respect in Gary’s voice with some curiosity, wondering what had spurred the change. Remembering also the way Gary’s face had changed when he had seen Bugsy, the Bug maniac realized he may have been recognized as a gym leader. Any new trainer, even one as proud and rather rude as Gary would react to seeing a gym leader. However, Bugsy had no idea how he could have been recognized. He was from the distant Johto, and some new trainers didn’t even know all the gym leaders from their own regions, nevermind a different one.
Bugsy thought about this for a moment, and it was then he realized that something about ‘Gary of Pallet Town’ rang a bell in his mind.
Of course! This must be Gary Oak, the grandson of the famous Professor Oak. Professor Oak had recently contacted Professor Birch, and mentioned that his grandson Gary was soon going to be leaving on a Pokemon journey. Bugsy had been with Prof. Birch on a research expedition at the time, and had overheard.
If Gary really was the grandson of Prof. Oak, it would make sense for him to know all about pokemon and people from his own region, as well as others. The Oak family was very well-connected.
Bugsy smiled wryly at Gary’s subtle statement about challenging a gym leader so early on. If he hadn’t realized it already, he really had been recognized. He would’ve mentioned the fact he was a gym leader earlier, but he noticed that people seemed to treat him differently the moment they found out who he was, and he didn’t much like it.
Back in Viridian Forest Bugsy had been talking with some local Bug-catchers, and had been enjoying it immensely. However, Bugsy then mentioned he was a gym leader, and suddenly the conversation turned polite and careful, as if they were frightened he was going to set them on fire if they spoke their minds.
The world of political power and feigned politeness did not interest him. It was all big words and fancy speech. And it had so little to do with Bugs.
“So you recognize me even if I’m a gym leader from a region other than your own? I guess I should’ve expected nothing less from Professor Oak’s grandson,”
Bugsy told, with a carefree and unreadable expression. He wasn’t looking at Gary, rather, he kept his eyes on his Spinarak, who had lazily jumped off his shoulder onto the ground, his eyes half-closed.
It was sort-of fun to show that he knew who Gary was, just as Gary knew who he was.
Sure, Bugsy didn’t much like the rather strict and delicate adult word, but he knew how to play their little games. And one of their favourite ones was the ‘let’s not say things straight out but speak in funny little riddles’ game. Bugsy often won that one.
At the second part of Gary’s statement, Bugsy turned to look at him directly, his blue eyes wide in astonishment.
“Two days?”
He asked in surprise. “Well in that case you better go to Viridian Forest to catch some Bug pokemon! You can’t expect to beat a gym leader without a few Bug types to rely on! They’re the best.”
Bugsy informed him cheerily, showing no sign of insult or anger at Gary’s arrogance.
His eyes slowly drifted to look at the trainer’s Rattata.
“Besides, if your Rattata gets sick ‘cause you’re letting it walk around soaking wet, you’re going to need to catch other pokemon if you want to challenge a gym leader.”
Bugsy added.
It was at this point that Bugsy became aware of someone approaching them. It was a red-headed girl, and Bugsy watched her in curiosity.
She began by greeting him, and introducing herself as Misty. He recalled that Misty was the Cerulean City gym leader, an expert in Water-types. However, what began as an introduction turned into such a deafening shriek that Bugsy took a step back in shock.
Spinarak, however, panicked at the sudden sound. Uttering a Screech of his own, he bounded from the ground directly back onto Bugsy’s shoulder, then scurried sideways so most of his body was hidden behind Bugsy’s neck. He tilted his head so he could still see Bugsy, but he remained motionless in his position.
Metapod was the only one of the three who didn’t react. Staring emotionlessly at Misty, he remained motionless as a stone.
Bugsy finally managed to find his voice.
“Make-make what go away?”
He asked in confusion and shock. He watched as Misty clung to Gary and hid her face like a child watching a horror movie, unable to comprehend the fact that she may be frightened of Bugs.


OoC:// Ohh, the hilarious-ness. xDD Made my day.

[Gary]

The mention of his heritage sent a certain amount of pride sprawling across Gary’s pale features. He noticed how Bugsy had a rather distracted attention--what could you expect from a kid, anyway? Gary wasn’t normally fond of children, but Gym Leaders were a different story. Either way, it didn’t help loosen his arrogance at all.

“That’s right, I’m Gary Oak.” It was quite obvious that Gary relished the fact, and was encouraged even moreso by Bugsy’s acknowledgement. He had to admit, he was a little surprised his reputation had ventured as far as the Johto region (if that was where Bugsy had learned of him) but accepted it with an air of ‘well, of course.’

Once the purple-haired boy had pointed out Rattata’s vulnerable, wet state, Gary did a double-take. Before he had the time to muster any verbal reaction, however, yet another familiar face made itself known in the form of an orange-haired girl named Misty. The boy turned a glance at her, vaguely irritated that his conversation with the gym leader he would defeat in two days’ time had been interrupted. It was true that Misty was a Gym Leader as well--and although she hadn’t always held such status since Gary had known her, he had received news of it as of late. This hardly changed the way he thought about her. First impressions went far, and Gary only remembered the Misty as the annoying, hot-headed girl who followed Ashy-boy around for some stupid reason no doubt. It was beyond him why anyone would want to keep the company of Ash around, but anyone who did certainly must have a few screws loose. Right?

As Misty approached, Gary’s expression as reproving as ever, an ear-shattering sound suddenly shot from her mouth. The water seemed to instantly jump from the rattata at his feet as her purple fur stood on end. She grabbed her paw from the ground and brought it closer to her chest and farther away from the girl who suddenly threw herself on Rattata’s trainer.

“Uh--” Misty’s hands had found the front of Gary’s shirt, and she had somehow buried her face in his chest. He lifted his arms as if repulsed by the spectacle, and was at first very obviously embarrassed for even knowing this person who freaked out at the sight of a harmless little bug pokemon. He lowered his eyes to the blindingly orange head of hair currently occupying his chest and sighed away his embarrassment, rather opting for the sort of demeanor a superiority complex would provide. He lowered his arms slightly and rose an eyebrow that twitched with irritation. “Get off of me.” he muttered. “You’re embarrassing yourself.” How could a Gym Leader act so… undignified? It was embarrassing. Gary stood there and waited for Misty to pull herself together, and perhaps salvage the last few traces of her self-respect before it disappeared entirely.

[Cassie]

[/i]. There had never been a traumatic incident in her past that therapy could help her with, or that time would help her get over like with the Gyarados issue. No, there wasn’t a reason just a large helping of consuming fear which led to screaming and clinging to Gary. In this situation at least, because Misty quite clearly did not run to Gary whenever she came across a bug… That would be weird. At the questioning words, Misty turned her face slightly so she could catch a glimpse of the speaker. Small, shorts that may or not be shorter than hers, purple hair and of course-

”The bug, the bug!! Make it go away please.”

Misty hated herself for having to resort to pleading (she refused to believe the fact that she was closer to begging, because she wouldn’t do that) for help from a kid and Gary Oak of all people, because she was acclaimed to be tough. She was tough! But she wasn’t insanely strong either mentally or physically and there were some things she just couldn’t deal with. Like bugs. Which were creepy, and crawly, and scary and…. They were bugs for pity’s sake! BUGS! She turned her face back into Gary’s chest, which led her some more self loathing because a passer by might dare to have the nerve to assume she actually liked Gary, which was most definitely not the case. Because he was a jerk to say the least, and Misty couldn’t wait to drown him when he challenged her for a badge. She had yet to decide if she would drown him in a literal sense or not, she supposed it would depend on her mood at the time. Her hatred for the male was renewed when he spoke. How could he be so heartless?! He knew she was scared of bugs, Misty had a vague memory of him chasing her around Pallet Town with a Weedle once, but then again that could have been Ash. But because she was already annoyed at Gary, she decided that it was indeed he and if anybody dared to question this moment of recall, she’d deal with them later.

”I hate you. You’re mean, spiteful, arrogant and evil and I really, really, hate you.”

The fact her hands were already fisted in his shirt, made it a lot easier for the female to hammer them against his chest. However the blows were light, hardly counting as blows and the murmured words lacked real heat due to the soul reason Misty was still terrified. Because she knew that despite her pleading that the creation of eight legged evil was still perched high and mighty on the boys shoulder and when she turned around it would give her a death glare and then try and… eat her or something. She also knew that Gary wasn’t going to save her, not even to act high and mighty and try and prove he was superior which was what she’d expected of him. She knew both of these to be facts, which meant that really she needed to let go of Gary and try and face her fears. All very well and good, but there was the whole element of fear in the situation. Her eyes screwed shut, Misty engaged in a short mental debate (which really was rather insane when you thought about it, seeing as she couldn’t win or lose arguing against herself) where she weighed the pro’s and cons. On the one hand, there was the foul, loathsome bug, but on the other hand there was the foul, loathsome Gary, who was actually in her hands in a roundabout sort of way. This did give the impression that she was one of his desperate fan girls, which was not something Misty ever wanted to be thought of. She was nobody’s fan girl! So the redhead took a deep breath, and then untangled herself from Gary, spinning on her heel to try and prove that she was strong enough to deal with this messed up situation full of bugs.

However, as she peeked nervously towards the second Gym Leader in the situation, Misty became aware of the awful truth. There were TWO bugs! A squeak of fear escaped the teenager, and she automatically took a step backwards, leading to her bumping into Gary again.

”…Sorry.”

She squeaked to the male in question, suppressing the desire to hide behind the boy as she took the tiniest of steps forward, only moving forward enough so that she wasn’t actually standing on Gary. Really though, she preferred that than taking a single step closer to the bugs. The redhead’s face was blanched of colour, contrasting sharply with the mop of flame coloured locks and her wide eyes were full of fear. An obvious shiver ran through her frame as she was aware of Metapod’s emotionless eyes watching her. No doubt it was planning ways to kill her…

”Y-You must b-be the G-Gym Leader from Johto…right?”

She stammered the words uncertainly towards Bugsy, her fearful gaze trying to look anywhere but the bugs. Misty chanced a glance over her shoulder, trying in a vain attempt to gain some comfort or reassurance from Gary. If only Ash had been here, he’d look after her... Why wouldn’t Gary? Of course Misty knew the answer to that question; because he was Gary!
[/ul]

[Wrath]

The unexpected shock of Misty's scream was beginning to wear off of Bugsy. He watched the older girl in obvious concern, his gaze occasionally wandering around as if searching for what she was so frightened of.
The knowledge that she was a local gym leader added to the mystery; gym leaders were normally confident; they had to be to be able to deal with the pressure battling could bring. Now to see this girl clinging to Gary as if surrounded by hideous monsters on all sides was rather unnerving. Little did Bugsy know at the moment that in Misty's eyes, she was surrounded by hideous monsters on at least one side.
As Misty cowered in pure terror by Gary, Bugsy reached over his shoulder to delicately lift his Spinarak off the back of his neck. Spinarak was the newest addition to his pokemon team, and he was still young and inexperienced. The fright of Misty's scream had not worn off of him yet, and he shook slightly in his trainer's grasp. Bugsy gently stroked Spinarak's back in an attempt to relax him, and steadily the Bug pokemon recovered. However, upon seeing that Misty was still close by, he crawled back to Bugsy's shoulder, then climbed down onto his back so he could no longer see her.
It was at this point that Misty made it clear that what she feared so much was the two Bugs standing harmlessly nearby.
Bugsy's mouth dropped open.
"Y-you're scared of BUGS?" The statement of mingled shock and outrage escaped him before he could stop it. It was rude of him to say, perhaps, especially to speak in anger when Misty looked scared for her life. If she had been scared of anything other than Bugs, he wouldn't have said anything, but Bugs were his life.
He had himself under control a moment later, however, and he turned apologetic, then suddenly pitying. This poor Misty. She feared Bugs, so she would never be able to see their wonder, their beauty, their sheer awesomeness!
Bugsy frowned at Gary, seeing that he didn't seem to care that a terrified girl was begging him to help her. Sure, Misty wasn't in any danger; his Bugs would never attack a harmless girl. But still, it was horribly rude to be so uncaring and callous. It was common courtesy to comfort someone when they were so terrified. He almost felt satisfied after Misty yelled at him and insulted him; he definitely deserved it.
However, soon after Misty pulled away from the spiky-haired boy, and took a tiny step towards Bugsy, despite the fact that brought her closer to his Bugs. It was admirable that she had conquered her fear, and Bugsy smiled as if to tell her she was safe. His eyes widened as he realized he had been almost as rude to her as Gary. He hastily pulled out Metapod's pokeball, returning the green cocoon it was no longer scaring Misty. He coaxed Spinarak onto his arm again, then returned him as well. Satisfied that Misty had no further need to be frightened, he looked back at her.

In a stuttering voice, Misty asked him if he was the gym leader visiting from Johto.
He nodded slowly, as if concerned fast motions might scare her.
"Yes, I'm Bugsy. And, as you might have guessed I train...Bug pokemon." Bugsy told her guiltily, almost as if he felt bad that his passion in life happened to be the thing that caused her terror. He steered the conversation away from his beloved Bugs by asking her, "So you train Water pokemon, right?"
Bugsy chuckled nervously at this point. Of all the gym leaders in Kanto, the one that greeted him first was one that was terrified of Bugs. He sighed ironically.

[Gary]

Misty’s behavior was laughable. She was supposed to represent Kanto as one of its gym leaders, and quite frankly, Gary was embarrassed to hail from the region at this point. He remained adamantly unsympathetic towards Misty’s distress, hands propped up on his hips and his head turned slightly away from the girl hiding against his chest. He wasn’t going to make the bugs go away--that is, until he had the chance to battle them in two days.

Gary rolled his dark eyes when he was meant to be affronted by Misty’s insults. The truth was, he couldn’t care less about what Misty thought of him. Misty was Ash’s friend, a loser, and hardly worth Gary’s time. The only business he had with her was winning that Cascade Badge. Although, the Cerulean City gym had been a bit of a joke before Misty took over--from what rumors Gary had heard, Misty’s sisters weren’t exactly tough on their challengers. He supposed he had to give credit to Misty for that.

The punches against his chest hardly meant anything--they were dull thumps against his rib cage and affected him no more than Misty’s verbal abuse. When she finally released him, Gary peeked at her from the corner of his eye. Somehow, now that she had earned the title of Gym Leader, she seemed more mature, in the very least. He raised his eyebrows at this, bringing his full attention back to both Misty and Bugsy. He watched in a sort of pompous silence as Misty shivered through her fear of bugs, but she didn’t manage to contain it, and went stumbling back into Gary. He only wanted to distance himself as much as possible from her embarrassment, and looked away as she collided with him. He was sturdy enough to remain straight and still, feet planted firmly into the ground beside Rattata.

Once Misty focused on the other Gym Leader, and not his apparently disagreeable pokemon, Gary returned his gaze to the both of them again. It was one thing that Misty had appeared, and that she had freaked out over a few harmless bugs--but she had completely interrupted his challenge against Bugsy. He groaned inwardly and decided he would have to let them introduce themselves before stepping forward and resuming his previous conversation. He had hardly paid any attention at all to Bugsy during Misty’s freak-out: she had occupied quite a bit of him, and it was difficult to look another person in the eye when you had a girl clinging to your chest. He made himself alert, however, as they began speaking of their roles as gym leaders. He might be able to gather some valuable information about Bugsy. Bugs were, overall, considered weak pokemon--but Gary knew better than to underestimate them.

He realized Misty was still having trouble recovering from her initial scare. Wanting the situation to calm down back to its previous simmer, Gary stepped forward and placed something of a friendly hand on her shoulder. He decided to give Misty time to gather herself and what was left of her dignity, and answered Bugsy’s question for her.

“Yeah, Misty uses water pokemon. She’s the gym leader of Cerulean City.” He couldn’t help if he sounded like a bit of a know-it-all. He absent-mindedly patted Misty on the back, perhaps as a somewhat-awkward gesture of comfort as he addressed Bugsy. He wondered how their behavior towards each other might appear to someone who didn’t know about them and their history, like Bugsy, but only briefly. “She can’t stand bug pokemon.” Gary went ahead and stated the obvious; he didn’t completely hold back his laugh, which came out as a soft snicker. He recalled when he had first learned of Misty’s fear, and of the teasing that ensued afterwards. Knowing the girl personally had caused Gary to evade any respect he might have for her as a gym leader, save for a few unseen traces of admiration. “I, on the other hand, have no problem with bug pokemon. And you can depend on battling me in two days,” he reminded Bugsy of their previous subject. He glanced up at the sky, though the movement was small and hardly visible--there was still quite a bit of day left to get some training in, and then he would have the next two days to prepare as well. He wanted to begin as soon as possible, and now that his challenge had been set in stone, he had no further interest in keeping the other two company.

Beside the trainer, Rattata observed the others. She seemed quite confused and a little repulsed by Misty’s hysterics, but continued twitching her white whiskers in observation. She hadn’t noticed the pink stain of blood on her front teeth, and although it faded slightly, it was still visible.

[Cassie]

[/i] something comforting about the touch, so the redhead made no move to brush it off. Instead she simply stood there, allowing Gary to talk for her, which she never normally allowed. Hell, normally she didn't even like Gary talking to her. However, Misty had deduced that today was most definatley not a normal day and she didn't ever want to relive it. However, she nodded along with his words, shooting him a not so venomous glare at the snicker. Hadn't she suffered enough, was the laugh really nessecary? Misty didn't think so, but she decided that since Gary was being really quite nice (for him at least) she wouldn't hurt him for it. Well, she wouldn't hurt him for it today at any rate. She might use in as an excuse in future rows though.

Her thoughts were following this train as she nodded along with Gary's words, when her attention was suddenly caught and she snapped back into attention, her sea-like eyes wide with disbelief.

"Two days?"

She repated in disbelief, her mind whirring as she realised what Gary had just implied. Two days? Misty was recovering from her panic attack now that the bugs had gone, and her mind had slipped into what Daisy liked to call her 'Battletastic Mode'. Misty... Didn't like to call it that. But she glanced down at the Rattata and then back towards the now Bugless Bugsy and did some quick thinking. Really, it didn't take too long to realise that Gary stood no chance. Bug Pokemon were icky, and horrible and creepy but what was worse was how strong they could be. The damp Ratata didn't seem tough enough, despite the rather ominious blood stain on those very sharp fangs. Misty searched through her thoughts, trying to remember what starter Gary had got. She remember Ash complaining mentioning it in one of the conversations. It was a... A... It was on the tip of her tongue (metaphorically speaking of course), but she couldn't remember! Misty's gaze slid around the clearing, resting on the shimmering water of the lake, and then suddenly it jumped up and hit her like a slap in the face.

Again with the metaphors. Becuase if anything had jumped out of the lake and slapped her in the face, hell knows Misty would have slapped it back.

There was no trace of fear on her face now, and the colour was returning to her face now that the imminent threat of the bugs was gone. She stepped away from Gary's pats, shooting him a quicksilver smile to say thanks for the comforting guestures before opening her mouth again. He wasn't going to like what she was going to say, but hell, she was going to say it anyway.

"Not going to happen Gary, you're deluding yourself! Two days? You're crazy!"[/color]

She declared, shaking her head in disbelief but she didn't leave much time for reponse before she plunged onwards.

"There is no way you are going to beat a Gym Leader in two days time! You got a Squirtle as a Starter! Good choice by the way, but water Pokemon are still weak against Bug Types. I bet you're not even raising your's properly, there's no way it will stand up against properly trained Bug Pokemon! Unless you're Ratata can breathe fire, you're screwed Gary Oak. Screwed."[/color]

Misty had always been blunt with her words, and today wasn't proving to be an exception to that characteristic. She placed her hands on her hips, her expression feirce and her eyes gleaming with the thought of the battling. Misty loved a good Pokemon battle, but knew Bugsy would surpass Gary in this one. He knew his Pokemon better, had been battling longer and was a Gym Leader. Gary knew Pokemon true, but not his own, he was still a newbie. She implored him to understand this, but she knew he wouldn't really listen, she needed back up. So she turned to Bugsy, wondering if Gary would listen to the kid. Gary seemed to show respect for some Gym Leader's, Misty was just not one of those.

"Tell him Bugsy!"[/color]

She barked, pointing towards Gary as she willed the other male to tell Gary he was in fact crazy. She was hardly recognisable as the girl who'd been hiding her face in fear moments ago, but that was Misty for you. Unpredicatable.[/ul]

ooc: Icky. Bleck. Sorrrrrrry!

[Wrath]

Now that Bugsy had recalled his Bugs, he hoped deeply that Misty would calm down. Dealing with people could be a challenge, especially when the 'people' happened to be a terrified girl who looked as if she were about to cry. Just the thought of Misty tearing up terrified him. He shifted his feet nervously, his hands itching for the comforting feeling of Spinarak's fine hair under his fingers, or the soothing sensation of Metapod's scaly form.
But if he brought either of them back out, well, that would defeat the purpose. So Bugsy tried his best to remain still and calm, smiling cordially at Misty as he awaited a reply to his conversational question.
His gaze shifted to Gary in surprise when he stepped up, gingerly placing a hand on her shoulder. Bugsy's smile grew. Perhaps Gary really did have some kindness in him.
Bugsy kept his eyes on the older boy when he spoke up for Misty. Most of the time it wasn’t too polite to speak up for someone unless they gave you permission, but since Misty still looked rattled, Bugsy saw nothing wrong with it.
When Gary told him what he had inferred already, that Misty couldn’t stand Bugs, he felt his eyes narrow and his jaw clenched. He considered it a personal insult when someone didn’t like Bug-pokemon. He wasn’t going to explode with rage or anything, but at the very least the words made him surly. He did his best to keep his smile up, but it faltered, and ended up appearing very forced.
Instead of speaking, Bugsy nodded curtly at Gary, as if thanking him for providing that information.
However, Gary’s reminder of the battle they would have in two days time lightened Bugsy up immensely. He enjoyed pokemon battling, and a battle would give him a chance to show how Bug pokemon could be at their very best.
It didn’t hurt his pride, or anything like that, that Gary thought he could beat him in two days of being a pokemon trainer. Winning, losing, it didn’t really mean much to him. Sure, winning was fun, but even after a loss there were still hordes of Bugs out there to study, so he never really could mope for long.
Bugsy simply smiled happily, practically rocking back and forth on his heels.
“Yep. Two days.” He assured Gary cheerfully.
It was at this point that Misty seemed to recover completely. Perhaps it was the fact that she had been terrified from almost the moment Bugsy had laid eyes on her, but Misty had seemed like one of those very Zen Water-type trainers. All cool, calm, and collected. Well, after Misty’s words, Bugsy realized how very bad he was at judging people at first glance.
When Misty began to rant on how ‘screwed’ Gary was, Bugsy stepped back a foot, immeasurably glad that Misty was not shouting at him. He stiffened when Misty called on his to ‘tell’ Gary.
“Uhm, well, yeah, I think you’re right, Misty.” He began, flustered. He didn’t want to be rude to Gary, or deny him a challenge, but then again he didn’t want to disagree with Misty. “You should train up a little more, maybe, Gary. But if you insist on challenging me, I won’t say no to you,” Bugsy finished, deciding that this was the best statement he could come up with under unusual circumstances.
“Thank you for saying my Bugs were properly-trained, but I don’t need you to help me decide who to battle, miss Misty,” Bugsy told her quietly. Though his words may have been considered an offense, he didn’t seem to realize it, as he was looking at Misty with no trace of guilt or anger. A vague smile still played on his lips as he glanced from the aggressive Misty to the arrogant Gary.

[Gary]

Gary was hardly affected by Misty’s spiel against the capabilities of his pokemon, but Bugsy’s comment rubbed him the wrong way. He glared at Misty indignantly for even bringing the subject up--could both gym leaders not see that he had everything perfectly under control? And then that shot at his Squirtle! Misty hadn’t even seen his squirtle, whom he had hardly begun to train as it were, which was all the more reason to ditch her loud mouth and get on with it. First, however, he addressed Bugsy. He turned, narrowing his eyes and notching his forehead matter-of-factly.

“Whaddya think the two days are for, lamebrain?” Gary muttered, not bothering to quiet his last word. He placed his hands on his hips and jutted his chin into the air. Bugsy might have been a gym leader, but if he couldn’t see Gary’s awesome, then there was obviously something wrong with him. Two days was definitely enough time to get his pokemon trained enough to fight those bug pokemon. Gary had already seen Scyther and Heracross in action, and he had seen the physical conditions of both Metapod and Spinarak. Although he didn’t have a lot of experience with his own pokemon, he had had plenty of time in his grandfather’s lab to get to know other pokemon up very close and personal. The glances he had had at Bugsy’s pokemon had been enough for Gary to readily assume their capabilities in combat, especially with Heracross and Scyther. Gary had no idea why Bugsy would ever use a Metapod--the only move they knew was harden--so he figured that pokemon wasn’t something to worry about. Scyther and Heracross were Gary’s main concerns. Spinarak was so small, if Gary trained hard enough (he planned to evolve both Squirtle and Rattata within the day), he could easily wipe the floor with the small multi-colored spider. “Of course I’m gonna use that time to train. And I chose it specifically for that reason. I can get what I need to get done in two days. It’s a challenge to myself,” he glanced at Misty, “but I expect a nimrod like you wouldn’t understand that.” Gary’s voice seemed to take an extra liking to his nose the more arrogant he became.

That was how Gary worked--he would give himself these challenges, these feats that he couldn’t possibly lose without risk of, well, losing, and that just wouldn’t happen to him. It would give he and his pokemon reason to train as hard as they could. Beside his booted feet, Rattata twitched her whiskers and blinked rapidly up at Bugsy, who was standing inconveniently in front of the sun as it made its day’s descent. She had been paying attention to the conversation, however much she had wanted to begin preening her purple fur or wander off to rummage for food as a part of her feral instincts. However her trainer had pushed her beforehand, and made her do things she didn’t want to do, she began to feel the strong vibes he emanated. Enthusiastic bursts of energy, a piping hot bursts of raw drive towards victory--she began to understand, and even emulate Gary’s disposition. She stared hard at her trainer’s future opponent with her large red eyes, and wondered.

The sixteen-year-old trainer turned on his feet abruptly. In the midst of his speaking beforehand, he had placed himself in between Bugsy and Misty in order to focus his conversation in on the one he had been addressing, and the one who held the most significance in his mind at the moment. Now, he had swiveled around to become nose-to-nose with the water trainer who thought she knew all about his pokemon. “And you,” he frowned smartly, zeroing in on Misty’s vibrant eyes, “if you think you know so much about my pokemon, maybe you should train them!” he uttered with complete sarcasm, of course. Like Gary would ever allow anyone else to take authority over his pokemon. It was true: Squirtle didn’t have a whole lot of experience as of yet, but all that would change very quickly. Gary had a specific training regiment in mind for his pokemon, and they weren’t going to slack off in the least for the duration of the next two days. His eyes flickered from Misty just a moment as he temporarily wondered where in Hell his cheerleaders were with his limo, and when they would ever get off their lazy asses to tow him out of this place.

"But I don't see you making challenges for yourself," Gary muttered offhandedly, now successfully fumed-out. He relaxed his attack on Misty and rolled back his shoulders so they were no longer nose-to-nose as they were Misty's-face-to-Gary's-chest. "You probably couldn't handle the pressure." He shrugged as if this were no big deal, not a lot of people could handle the pressure like Gary could. With his back turned on Bugsy, his eyes now wandered to the lake, where he decided he no longer wanted to train. Viridian Forest sounded about right--full of pokemon like the one his opponent would use.

((don't hate me for taking so long ;o; ))

[Cassie]

[/b][/color]

She exlaimed in triumphant delight, her eyes sparkling with her newfound victory. It was a small victory, yes, but it was still a victory and therefore, she was still the winner. Even if the other's didn't quite realise they were the losers in the situation. Well, apart from Bugsy - he'd been agreeing with her so he wasn't really the loser. It was just Gary who was the loser, something that made her even happier about the whole situation. She decided that really she should let Gary know he'd lost, but then the spikey haired male started to talk.

Misty knew people changed, it was a fact of life. However, Gary Oak seemed to be an exception of this rule, something he'd likely be very proud about if she told him so. Gary was still the annoying, arrofant and downright obnxious boy he'd always been and probably always would be. She narrowed her eyes at his insult, considering abandoning any shred of Gym Leader dignity she had left and throwing herself at him in a violent assualt. She knew that Gary was taller and stronger than she was, but Misty was confident her infamous red-headed rage would knock those imbalances straight out of the ring. She'd tear him limb from limb, and... Eat him, or something like that. Something violent, and definatley painful for Gary. Calling her a nimrod; the cheek!

She was about to tell him exactly where she'd shove a rod if she had one, when Gary suddenly whirled and she found herself very close to him. Her eyes widened in suprise, but she didn't take a step backwards. This wasn't a bug, this was Gary and she would hold her ground. Afterall, Misty would be damned before she let Gary Oak intimidate her! It was slightly unsettling being so close to him though, the clinging had been one thing but this was very much a different issue. For one worrying moment Misty thought she was actually going to blush, but she was saved from that humilating fact by Gary speaking once more. Any embaressment soon turned back into a much more familair emotion - anger.

"Fine! Maybe I should!"

She snarled back, her eyes flashing at the insult to her pride. Any insult was bad enough, but Misty would not have her training abilties challenged by the like of Gary. So what if his grandfather was a respected proffesor; Gary had never trained Pokemon of his own before and he no right to even insinuate that he could train them better than she could. Especially when they were talking about water pokemon. She glared back feircly, continuing to glare as he stepped back even if that meant she was only really glaring at his chest. It took her a moment to realise that his shirt wasn't really going to understand the fear her glare should be inspiring, so quickly lifted her eyes to glare at his face once more. Misty silently cursed the height difference, it meant she was forever having to look up to the boy - physically at least. After several moments, she slid her gaze sideways and was about to speak to Wrath and maybe apologise for pretty much ignoring the boy but then Gary's stupid mouth carried on making noise and Oak pretty condemned hisself.

"WHAT?"

She yelled, her tiny hands clenching into fists as she considered simply assulting the boy so she wouldn't have to listen to any more stupidity.

"You really don't know anything do you Gary? You're just a spoilt little rich boy who thinks he's really something, when really you're a lot closer to being nothing! I'm not shouting my mouth off about challenges, becuase I've allready been there, done that. I'm a freakin Gym Leader Gary, people challenge me becuase beating me is an acheivement. Beating you would just be a way to kill a few minutes!"

It was safe to say, Gary had well an truly touched a nerve with his last comments, as Misty's words were getting louder and angrier by the minute. But she wasn't finished yet.

"And don't you DARE talk to me about PRESSURE! You have no idea about pressure, the only pressure you suffer is down to your own arrogance and stupidty. Who the HELL do you thnk you are?! Oh wait, of course - You're Gary Oak. Tell me something Gary, what exactly have you acheived in your life? Apart from having a sucesseful granddad, I can't think of anything you've actually done that gives you the right to act so freakin condescending. So shut you mouth, or I swear to Mew I will cut off something very important to you and MAKE YOU EAT IT!"

Misty's rant finsihed on a yell, and she was aware of the fact that she'd lost her temper over something that most people would consider to be pathetic, and that Gary wouldn't give a damn anyway. She kept her angry gaze on the offending male for a moment, and then heaved a sigh before stepping away from Gary. She ran a hand over her fluffy orange head for a moment, her eyes closed as she slowly counted to ten, using her sisters dumb tactic. It seemed to be working though. When her eyes opened again, they were calmer, the flames of wrath gone for a moment.

"Sorry... I'm sorry Bugsy."

She apologised to the other Gym Leader, realising this was a scene he probabbly didn't need to have witnessed.

ooc: made of fail, sorry. Dx [/ul]

[Wrath]

After spending only a very short time with Gary Oak, Bugsy had already learned a few things. Firstly, that he had a seemingly endless supply of arrogance. It leaked out of every cell in his body, and was so palpable that even Bugsy noticed it. Second, and this was more positive, Gary was extremely determined. He had great potential, and he knew a lot about pokeomon, despite having only recently become a trainer.
But the most recent thing Bugsy had learned about Gary Oak was that one could not be around him for long before they were put-down, insulted, or before getting angry at the guy.
Despite the fact that Bugsy was normally a very mellow fellow, he felt his blood slowly starting to rise to boiling point as he was directly insulted by the older boy. He felt himself looking forward to their upcoming battle, but not simply because it would be enjoyable for him and his Bugs. He was eager to crush Gary, to show him that no, he was NOT the best, and maybe to force some humility into him.
"Don't call me a lamebrain, Gary! You haven't beat me yet! You can't train your pokemon enough in two days to knock out even one of my Bugs!"[/b]Bugsy huffed, stomping his foot and curling his fingers into fists.
He felt himself siding with Misty, and so he felt as if Gary had insulted him again when he called Misty a 'nimrod'.
"H-hey! Don't call her that!" [/b] Sure it wasn't the best comeback, and of course Bugsy knew that there were worse things to be called than 'lamebrain' and 'nimrod'. But somehow hearing Gary speak these insults made them worse than any profanity.
Perhaps it was also the fact that Bugsy was not accustomed to dealing with difficult people. Townspeople back in Azalea were, if a little obsessed with Slowpoke, very nice people.
And being a gym leader, being directly insulted was uncommon. But Gary didn't seem to have any respect for anyone but himself.
Bugsy listened in silence as Gary continued to speak to Misty, brushing off insults as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
But when Misty began to retort, Bugsy realized that his irritation with Gary paled in comparison to her's. He felt himself cooling off simply by listening to Misty's shouts, awed by her temper. He backed off a step, as if concerned Misty would turn and start shouting at him again. Honestly, he was glad once again that he was not on the receiving end of Misty's wrath.
He watched in shock as Gary, apparently unperturbed by the screams aimed at his back, began to walk away.
Then, even more to his astonishment, Misty turned around, an apologetic look on her face.
"Oh, no, it's alright!" He assured her hastily, wondering what exactly there was to say. "Uhm, what just happened?" He asked quietly. It was a rhetorical question, of course. One second he had just been sitting happily by the pond, the next...this. His mind reeling at the strangeness of the recent events, he stared after Gary.


OoC:// Mehh, I dunno what to sayyyy. DDx