Pokeballs! (Tacorem and Nornico)

[Nornico]

Cindy gave a little squeak in surprise as Tanzie started to pull her away, before chuckling as she followed along with the Chancey, her hand in the Pokemon's as they walked. She walked with pride as well, showing that she had no shame in being the trainer of a Chancey of all Pokémon.

[tacorem]

The Chancey led the way down to the casino, her eyes lighting up as she entered. She really seemed to enjoy it, despite her history of having been taught to play by the Nurses whom she had clearly disliked, so why the pleasure in gambling? Whatever it was, the Chancey seemed happily, and quickly led the way over to where a small line of players left for the tournament stood, waiting to pay their entry fee and get to gambling.

[Nornico]

"Well, I hope you've got money for the entry fee" Cindy remarked to Chancey with a smirk, almost teasing before she pulled out her wallet from her pack, ready to pay for Chancey's games. "I bet you'll love Celadon City when we get there..." She said with a smile.

[tacorem]

Chancey felt a sudden cold shiver run through her for a moment before shaking her head as Cindy paid to enter. When the trainer gave the ticket to her pokemon, the man at the entrance paused for a moment. "Just as a rule, we don't allow psychic type, ghost type, or flying-type pokemon in here, in case you planned on bringing any others," he said, letting them pass into the area separated from the rest of the casino. The Chancey looked over the ticket and made her way over to table 12, sitting herself down and getting a few strange looks from those around them. "Ahh.. Guys... Is that a Chancey or a fat lady?" one of the other players called, one who looked to be on his third glass of beer. Tanzie, for that was her name (>.>!) sighed a bit, her little feet kicking as the dealer called the manager over his radio for a few moments. "Uhh... Chancey... are you playing or... your trainer...?" he asked, seeming rather confused himself. In answer, the Chancey held out ticket which the dealer took and exchanged for their starting chips. With the table full of players, the dealer dealt out the first hand...

[Nornico]

Cindy didn't bat an eyelid as they came through the entrance, taking most of the registration in her stride as they passed through, heading to table 12. Her eyes instantly nailed onto the more inebriated player at the table, who'd dared to call her Tanzie a fat lady. Cindy's look of disdain was intense, and she was certainly planning some kind of revenge for the remark already. Cindy stood behind Tanzie, giving the Pokémon's shoulder a few assuring rubs. "I'll be right behind you, okay?... Don't feel pressurized, you're not here to impress me, okay? Just treat it like a game, and no matter how it ends, you and me are still friends" She said to Tanzie, hoping it would keep her spirits up. With a smile, she stepped back just a bit when the game started, so she couldn't be accused of cheating.

[tacorem]

Tanzie smiled back at Cindy, leaning into the relaxing massage for a few moments. "Thanks Cindy. You know, despite all the weirdness with you and the rest of the team, I'm much happier with you than with those Joys," she said with a smile before turning back to the game. She was accustomed to such a table not being made for her... short arm length, making her lean quite a lot over the table each time she looked to her cards or bet her chips. Still, with a gleam in her eye, her cheerful demeanor seemed to fade, becoming much more intense, focused on every other player at the table. Rather than looking at her cards and weighing those possibilities, it seemed she was much more interested in reading the players which, after many, many rounds, left her alone at the table, a mountain of chips at her side. "Well how was that?" she chirped, the dealer still not having gotten over her shock of a Chansey playing, let alone winning the table! "I think that puts me into the next round, don't you?" Tanzie said with a grin, looking back to her trainer as she hopped out of her seat.

[Nornico]

Cindy was wide-eyed at the spectacle she had been privy to. Whilst she had definetly had faith in her Pokémon, somehow seeing it actually happen was something else entirely. She was wide-eyed and somewhat open-mouthed as she stared at the pile of chips in awe. Hearing Tanzie's voice seemed to awaken her somewhat, and Cindy looked down at her Chancey companion. Still completely shocked, she could only nod in agreement, and managed to give Tanzie a thumbs up. The girl was speechless, but still trying to be encouraging.

[tacorem]

Tanzie smiled back happily as she left the dealer to collect her chips. They would hold them for her until the next round, which had a short lapse time to allow the other tables to all finish up at the same time. Eventually it was time to go again, and Tanzie headed back, to a different table this time, and, almost effortlessly, repeated her winnings throughout the night. It would last for several hours at this rate, and the Chancey let Cindy know that she was fine if she wanted to head back to the room before the night was done.

[Nornico]

"Oh, I'm not missing this for anything, and I'm definetly not letting you out of my sight" Cindy robustly assured Tanzie in response, staying with her for all the games, mainly in part because she was getting a little defensive. Tanzie was attracting all this attention, but at the end of the night... Tanzie was still a Chancey, a normal type Pokeman better known for it's healing abilities than it's combat prowess. Everytime she caught someone give Tanzie a dirty look, Cindy caught their eye and shot her own threatening one back.

[tacorem]

Tanzie was soon at the final table, and it looked like quite the showdown! The other players had quite the large stacks, though none as high as the Chansey's as she settled into her seat. Tanzie wasn't ignorant of the eyes watching her, and she was a little bit relieved that Cindy had decided to stay. It was a long walk back to their room after all... She shook her head at that thought with a smile. Already counting her winnings? Well... it wasn't like these people had a chance! That confidence stayed with her throughout the last table, smiling at every hand she got, good or bad, which unnerved a few of them, making for a few folds when she could have lost, and a few wins decidedly misjudged by her competitors. She didn't win in any spectacular fashion, rather, she steadily out bet and all-ined one player after another until the prize pool was all hers.

[Nornico]

"...Tanzie, I'm not exactly sure how to express my pride and joy in a way that you won't be uncomfortable with..." Cindy said slowly. "So... this'll have to do" She said, and with that, she suddenly wrapped her arms around the big pink Pokémon, and held her in a close, warm hug, rubbing her head against hers and giving it a little kiss. "Goddamn, I love you, that was just amazing to watch!" She said, happily.

[tacorem]

Tanzie smiled up at her trainer, then blushed as she was hugged tightly against her, happiness blossoming through her as she was hugged and rubbed and kissed! "C-cindy," she stammered, feeling warmth spreading through her as she was held closely. "Y-y-you're welcome to it! I-I did it for you! U-umm... I know I don't really partake in the rest of the team's... "activities".. but I'm g-glad I could help you out too! I... I know I want to be a nurse one day... but for now I'm happy traveling with you, a-and this should make it much more comfortable!" she chirped up. While she spoke, a few reporters were lingering by, awaiting to interview the pair. "Miss trainer! What is your name? How did you train your pokemon to play poker? What will you do with the 100,000 pokedollar winnings?"

[Nornico]

"You'll be the best Pokémon Nurse in the world, one day, and I'll make sure of it" Cindy told Tanzie with a wide smile, giving her another little, compassionate kiss on the top of the head before she lowered Tanzie back down onto the floor, and turned to face the reporters. "My name is Cindy Pallet, and I'm the next Pokémon Champion, mark my words!" She told the television proudly. "Me and Tanzie here, along with the rest of our Pokémon family, we've all got dreams to chase, and we're not going to stop, mark my words again! All that money is going to on keeping us going... It's not going to be blown on luxuries or tat, oh no... that money's carrying us all the way to the Indigo Plateau and beyond!" Cindy said, proudly. "As for where Tanzie learned to play? Tanzie learned herself, by watching other people, I didn't teach her this myself... This win is all hers" Cindy said, beaming happily.

[tacorem]

Tanzie looked on as Cindy spoke to the reporters, beaming happily as they crowded around both of them, cameras flashing and zooming in on them. It was quite the story! A Pokémon intelligent enough to play, and beat humans, at poker? Was this the development of a Pokémon poker league? The name rolled off the tongue very nicely! Soon the clamor would disperse after Cindy had been given her cash, input directly into her Pokémon bank account so she didn't have to worry about it being stolen. With that the reporters and clerks dispersed, leaving the two of them alone again. "That... that was fun," Tanzie said cheerfully, hugging her trainer and closing her eyes, resting them for a few moments. "You've just been watching for hours now! Do you want to play the slots or anything?" she asked with a yawn, stretching up, but seeming quite pleased with herself this night.

[Nornico]

"Me? Oh no, no no no, I'm not going to go and squander all your hard earned money" Cindy assured Tanzie with a smile, ruffling the pink Pokémon's hair. "Besides, if I had to be honest... I'm more of a Tekken kind of gamer" She said with a smirk, before she nodded at Tanzie. "You've got to be tired after all that action, why don't we just head back to the room and call it a night?" She suggested.

[tacorem]

Tanzie smiled up to her trainer at the thought. Her trainer was really a tough girl... guy... She hadn't really thought of how to describe her trainer... "I guess her is better..." she thought with a smile, leaning in and pressing against Cindy's side. "You're right... we should be at the volcano island tomorrow... I'm sure Theo wants to be well rested for that, and they probably need us to be there, making sure they get to sleep properly," she said with a smile, though they were in for quite a shock when they got back to the room, to find Nido asleep at the foot of the bed, and Theo and Samanth also sound asleep at the side of it, each of them huddled close to the Pokémon egg in their sleep.

[Nornico]

(Yo, just to warn you, I'm about to be away for a couple of weeks, so sorry for even more delays)

Cindy smiled softly as she saw her Pokémon when she entered her cabin. She didn't say anything, though she looked down at Tanzie, giving the Chancey one last ruffle of her hair, before she quietly pulled out her bed clothes and got changed in the bathroom. "I think we should just turn in... are you staying out here, or do you want to be in your ball?" She asked Tanzie quietly, so as to not wake the others.

[tacorem]

(no problem, take care!)

Tanzie smiled at the sight of the team all passed out, and thankfully none inside each other. "I'll sleep out here, just in case the egg decides to roll in the night," the Chancey said with a soft smile as her trainer returned and moved onto the bed. The nurse pokemon settled herself down at the side of the bed, petting over Theo for a few moments until he let out a little "ruff" in his sleep, making her smile all the more as she settled in for the night.

[Nornico]

Cindy smiled and gave a nod of understanding as she sat down upon the bed, taking a moment to look at the slumbering collection of friends amassed in her few adventures so far. She found it hard to believe just how incredible the journey had been already, and she'd only beaten three gyms! She smiled to herself before she slipped herself under the covers of the bed, nestling down and starting to go to sleep herself, ready for whatever tomorrow could bring her...

[tacorem]

A slight rustling in the night occasionally made sounds other than the breathing of Cindy and her pokemon in their cabin. Tanzie stirred a little from the movements against her, but soon fell back asleep, tired as she was from the hours of poker she had played. In the morning, the Wingull outside of the ship could be heard calling with the light of the sun. It didn't shine directly in, but the room slowly grew warmer with light as the morning came. Samanth awoke first, stretching out and yawning, blushing a little as she tasted Theo's fur in her mouth, having slept with her head on his belly at some point. She shook herself awake, then noticed something else. "T-Tanzie!" she whispered, rocking the egg pokemon, who only murmured and rolled to the side. "C-cindy!" she tried next, moving up onto the bed and jostling her trainer with her vines. "Hey, wake up! The egg is hatching!"