Post by 2gamers on May 21, 2011 7:14:26 GMT -5
New Bark Town was a classic small town situated on the southern portion of Johto. To call it a town was somewhat inaccurate. It was really a neighborhood, home to workers from Cherrygrove City. In fact, much of the amenities like the pokemon center were in Cherrygrove. The only prominent landmark was a laboratory, which also had a ranch for a vast collection of pokemon. Other than that, there wasn’t much to see in New Bark.
So it wasn’t a surprise when a crowd gathered around a spectacle not often seen in the town.
On a particularly thick clothesline tied between two poles, a girl was walking back and forth upon the thin rope. Her costume coat and leotard identified her as some sort of performer, an acrobat to be precise. Underneath her was a pair of pokemon, a shinx and Mime Jr., along with a piece of cardboard from a large box. Written in marker on the side of the cardboard was the name of the act:
“Zippy Araceli as the Tiny Tailow”
People watched in amazement as Zippy performed a handstand upon the rope. She was clearly gifted with great balance as she stood back on her feet, still upon the rope. For the next feat, the mime grabbed three soda cans and tossed them directly at the acrobat. Zippy ducked the first can and lifted her right leg to dodge the second. Even while balancing on one leg upon the rope, she still managed to catch the third can. The act ended when the acrobat jumped down from the rope, which was suspended five feet from the air.
The audience applauded, some quite enthusiastically. It wasn’t everyday a youngster performed a circus act in their town. Their gratitude was clearly shown when Zippy checked the collection jar she placed in front of her sign. It seemed to be half full. However, when she tried to reach in to count the donations, her hand was blocked by an invisible barrier. Zippy immediately looked over to the Mime Jr., who had a wide grin across his face.
“Oh Loki,” Zippy said with a smile, tossing a soda can at him. On reflex, the mime pokemon put his hands over his face to block the projectile. This created a barrier in front of him, allowing the can to bounce off. Since Loki couldn’t concentrate on both barriers, the one over the can disappeared, allowing Zippy to reveal the fruits of their labor.
“Not bad for a little demonstration,” she said to her team. “It’s enough for a celebratory cake once the others find me. Or pie. Either one works.”
“As for you, Ari,” Zippy grabbed ahold of her shinx, “We’ll work on getting you in an act soon enough.” The cub initially struggled against his human’s hug, but eventually relaxed. Besides, there weren’t too many people around to witness the act of affection.
Future performances weren’t currently on the acrobat’s mind, however. As she put her shoes back on, she recalled the events from when she arrived in New Bark.
Earlier that day...
“Hey kid! What in the world are you doing out in the wilderness all by yourself?!”
The gatekeeper within a newly installed gatehouse began questioning the young girl that just passed through from Route 29. Zippy was quite startled at his attitude. She never had a problem traveling between cities with her family. The gatekeepers always gave a nice wave as they passed through. Now that she was alone, this particular gatekeeper was taking a very stern position towards her.
“Well, my parents-”
“Oh, here we go! Let me guess: your parents allowed you to run around outside the city to go play with monsters. Well guess what? According to the Trainer Code of Johto,” the gatekeeper pulled out a thick book and flipped towards a saved page, “no underage persons are to wander outside of population centers without adult supervision. Exceptions are made for apprenticeships. So unless you have ID or a trainer license that proves otherwise, you’ll be staying in New Bark until your parents arrive. Now go on, but don’t let me catch you trying to sneak out of here!”
Fortunately, the local inn was much more forgiving to Zippy. After recounting the story of the fire that had left her homeless, the innkeeper allowed her to stay free of charge for a few days. Zippy didn’t think she needed that much time; she was confident that her parents would arrive soon enough. It was just as they discussed: if something happened at the circus, she was to go to the nearest town and wait for her parents to arrive. So far, the plan worked out quite well. That in itself deserved a little bit of a reward.
“Come on guys, let’s go see what else this place has to offer.”
Zippy lifted herself off the ground, with Loki sitting comfortably behind her head. Ari took the lead, eager to start looking around their new surroundings.
Little did they know that a grand adventure was about to begin…
So it wasn’t a surprise when a crowd gathered around a spectacle not often seen in the town.
On a particularly thick clothesline tied between two poles, a girl was walking back and forth upon the thin rope. Her costume coat and leotard identified her as some sort of performer, an acrobat to be precise. Underneath her was a pair of pokemon, a shinx and Mime Jr., along with a piece of cardboard from a large box. Written in marker on the side of the cardboard was the name of the act:
“Zippy Araceli as the Tiny Tailow”
People watched in amazement as Zippy performed a handstand upon the rope. She was clearly gifted with great balance as she stood back on her feet, still upon the rope. For the next feat, the mime grabbed three soda cans and tossed them directly at the acrobat. Zippy ducked the first can and lifted her right leg to dodge the second. Even while balancing on one leg upon the rope, she still managed to catch the third can. The act ended when the acrobat jumped down from the rope, which was suspended five feet from the air.
The audience applauded, some quite enthusiastically. It wasn’t everyday a youngster performed a circus act in their town. Their gratitude was clearly shown when Zippy checked the collection jar she placed in front of her sign. It seemed to be half full. However, when she tried to reach in to count the donations, her hand was blocked by an invisible barrier. Zippy immediately looked over to the Mime Jr., who had a wide grin across his face.
“Oh Loki,” Zippy said with a smile, tossing a soda can at him. On reflex, the mime pokemon put his hands over his face to block the projectile. This created a barrier in front of him, allowing the can to bounce off. Since Loki couldn’t concentrate on both barriers, the one over the can disappeared, allowing Zippy to reveal the fruits of their labor.
“Not bad for a little demonstration,” she said to her team. “It’s enough for a celebratory cake once the others find me. Or pie. Either one works.”
“As for you, Ari,” Zippy grabbed ahold of her shinx, “We’ll work on getting you in an act soon enough.” The cub initially struggled against his human’s hug, but eventually relaxed. Besides, there weren’t too many people around to witness the act of affection.
Future performances weren’t currently on the acrobat’s mind, however. As she put her shoes back on, she recalled the events from when she arrived in New Bark.
Earlier that day...
“Hey kid! What in the world are you doing out in the wilderness all by yourself?!”
The gatekeeper within a newly installed gatehouse began questioning the young girl that just passed through from Route 29. Zippy was quite startled at his attitude. She never had a problem traveling between cities with her family. The gatekeepers always gave a nice wave as they passed through. Now that she was alone, this particular gatekeeper was taking a very stern position towards her.
“Well, my parents-”
“Oh, here we go! Let me guess: your parents allowed you to run around outside the city to go play with monsters. Well guess what? According to the Trainer Code of Johto,” the gatekeeper pulled out a thick book and flipped towards a saved page, “no underage persons are to wander outside of population centers without adult supervision. Exceptions are made for apprenticeships. So unless you have ID or a trainer license that proves otherwise, you’ll be staying in New Bark until your parents arrive. Now go on, but don’t let me catch you trying to sneak out of here!”
Fortunately, the local inn was much more forgiving to Zippy. After recounting the story of the fire that had left her homeless, the innkeeper allowed her to stay free of charge for a few days. Zippy didn’t think she needed that much time; she was confident that her parents would arrive soon enough. It was just as they discussed: if something happened at the circus, she was to go to the nearest town and wait for her parents to arrive. So far, the plan worked out quite well. That in itself deserved a little bit of a reward.
“Come on guys, let’s go see what else this place has to offer.”
Zippy lifted herself off the ground, with Loki sitting comfortably behind her head. Ari took the lead, eager to start looking around their new surroundings.
Little did they know that a grand adventure was about to begin…
