Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

The special-based fire attack did something. The Serperior was hit by the attack, and attempted to push itself back up, but finally fell to the ground, fainted, as Hugh shrugged and recalled the fainted Pokemon.

"Unfezant, Aerial Ace." Hugh said, as he sent out his Pokemon once more, and it dashed forward quickly, intending to end the fight with this one quick attack, before it could start Wild Charging again.

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

Flare attempted to power up a Wild Charge before the Unfezant could strike him, but the Aerial Ace was simply too quick. The Quilava was struck, and already weakened from fighting earlier on, fainting on the spot. "Good job, Flare." Aspen said, recalling his fainted Pokemon. Then he turned around and started walking away from Hugh, without even looking the Gym Leader in the eyes.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh simply stood there with a frown, as he shook his head, even as Cheren walked up to Aspen.

"You really do have talent, but your fighting style is... sloppy." Cheren said, and thought for a minute. "How about you visit Aspertia City one day? You could sign up for the Trainer School for a bit and I could mentor you for a while, if you want." Cheren offered, as he had been trained in the past in a similar way.

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

When Cheren made his offer, Aspen rolled his eyes. "Like I'd ever learn from the stuck-up Pokemon League gurus who only speak in cryptic riddles. I'm sticking to my own guns, because I really just don't want to trust anyone else. And maybe my fighting style isn't sloppy. What if it's just something different that you haven't seen before, and therefore dislike? Either way, no thanks."

The trainer continued to walk away from Cheren, muttering under his breath. That battle had done little to change his outlook, but at least seemed to stop Aspen from being as vocal.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Cheren==-

 

Cheren frowned, as he watched the young trainer leave.

That's a lot like I was... He's going to have to learn the hard way, then. Cheren thought to himself, as he glanced toward the battlefield again.

 

OOC: There's another video, but I don't have the link right now.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach healed up his team, and then walked over to his side of the battlefield, as the woman smiled at him.

"My name is Iris; I am the champion of the Unova region." The dark skinned woman said, as Zach nodded in response. "How about you show me how you fight?" Iris asked, as the two trainers selected their first Pokemon.

Zach sent out his Luxray, as Iris chose her Aggron.

"Ren, Quick Attack then Fire Fang!" Zach called out, as the Luxray dashed forward quickly. The Luxray's jaws clamped down on the Aggron that still had not moved, and the Luxray then just jumped back with a frown, as the Aggron didn't seem to be affected by the attack.

"Oh, how cute!" Iris said, as she giggled. "He thinks that will do anything! Let's show him how wrong he is, shall we, Aggron?"

The Aggron growled nicely in response, as it nodded, and then smiled, as it raised its foot, and quickly stomped down. Zach's eyes widened, as a ripple in the ground was sent toward Ren quickly. The Luxray attempted to avoid it, as it sensed the danger... However, in a flash, the Luxray was on the ground, fainted already. Zach stood there in shock, as he desperately tried to think of something to do.

 

"Blade; come on!" Zach called out, as the Gallade appeared on the field. Not waiting for a command, the Gallade dashed forward, and attempted to punch and slice at the Aggron. The Aggron seemed almost to yawn, as it fended off a majority of the attacks, and not really seeming to be phased by the rest. The Aggron was hit in the face by a Close Combat, which dealt a good chunk of damage, and forced it to stagger back.

"Oh my... Looks like this one actually puts up a fight, huh?" Iris mused with a determined smile on her face. "Let's see how long that lasts!" Iris yelled out happily, as the Aggron seemed to get more serious, and began to fend off Blade's attacks with more determination after that. The Aggron jumped back at one point, however, after it spun around and knocked the Gallade away with its tail; and then rushed at Blade as the Gallade was standing up, and then smashed the Gallade away again with a Head Smash. Zach's eyes widened, as the Gallade roughly fell across the battlefield, and then rolled for a bit, and then laid there for a moment, being very slow to stand up.

"Careful..." Zach warned the Gallade, as it nodded, but then teleported behind the Aggron, who didn't move even with the obvious location and gap between the appearance and the Close Combat that the Gallade followed up with. The Aggron then whirled around and tried to use a Head Smash again; but got caught with a second Close Combat in a row. The Aggron fell back from the third strong hit, and then sighed before it fainted, as Iris raised an eyebrow, and then smiled amusingly.

"Well done! You defeated... One of my Pokemon. Who was going easy on you." Iris said with a small clap, as Zach seemed wary at the friendliness, but nodded.

 

Iris, however, quickly sent out an Archeops, who waited for the Gallade's Psycho Cut to hit it.

"Of course... Now I can stop going easy on you; since you gave me the opportunity to!" Iris said, and Zach paused, unsure what she meant. A spot on the Archeops, however, glowed shortly after, and the Archeops jumped into the air, and then quickly struck out at the Gallade's back, suddenly appearing behind it, as the Gallade just fell to the ground. Zach stared in shock, and then recalled his Pokemon, and that was the first sign that things weren't going well. Zach sent out his next Pokemon, his newly acquired Weavile, who dashed forward with Ice Shard; however, the super effective attack wasn't enough to faint the Archeops, who weakly attacked back with a Dragon Claw. The damage dealt to the Weavile was greatly reduced thanks to the ability the Archeops had; however, the Weavile had no clue it was walking into a trap as it used an Ice Punch to finish the Archeops off. Iris smiled confidently, as she recalled her Pokemon, and then sent out her Hydreigon.

"Now then, Focus Blast!" Iris called out quickly, as Zach breathed in quickly. the Weavile had dashed forward for an Ice Punch; however, Elsa was quickly hit by the Focus Blast and was then sent flying back across the field, fainted on impact.

 

Zach frowned, as he recalled the Dark/Ice Pokemon, and then considered his remaining options. Half his team was down, and the other half was weak in comparison to this tank of a Pokemon.

Let's go out fighting, then. Zach said, as he sent out what seemed to be his new Lucario.

"Focus Blast." Iris said, almost as if she was bored, and the Hydreigon breathed in, and then fired off a second Focus Blast, which also hit its mark. Instantly, Katie was fainted, her ability wearing off the second she was hit. Zach recalled the Zoroark and began to panic, as he switched Pokeballs and then sent out the real Luke. "Focus blast again." Iris yawned, as the Hydreigon nodded with all three of its heads.

The Hydreigon launched off another Focus Blast; this one, however, Luke dodged. The Lucario looked smug for all of two seconds, before the left head looked up at him, and then fired off a second Focus Blast. Zach winced as the Lucario crashed to the ground, and then the trainer sighed, as he recalled his fifth Pokemon, and then sent out his last Pokemon, his new Servine.

"Smugleaf... It's all up to you." Zach said, and the Servine just looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Finish the fight, Fire Blast." Iris said, and Zach winced as the Servine looked back and got a face-full of fire. The Servine looked back in time for Zach to see his scorched face before he fainted, and Zach sighed, and then recalled the last Pokemon.

 

"You put up a good fight; but you're not nearly ready for anything champion wise." Iris said, and Zach nodded in agreement.

"However... As I said; it was a good fight!" Iris said happily, and extended her hand with a smile as the two walked to the centre of the battlefield. Zach smiled back, and then shook her hand, and then nothing happened, as the two broke off the handshake.

"You did well to beat the Elite Four... However, you need more training. I'd like a rematch sometime as you made me have to get serious; but it can't be for a long while..." Iris said, and sighed, as she shook her head. "Too much stuff lined up for like the next six months... You could take that time to train, though!" Iris suggested happily, as Zach wondered inwardly if she was for real with an unsure smile, but then nodded, as that smile became more normal.

"Thank you for the honour of being able to fight you." Zach said, and then began to walk away, as Iris waved.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

All three of the Seatons rose from their seats in the stadium, walking down to meet up with Zach again. Upon reaching him, Dahlia was the first to speak up.

"Heeyyy, nice battles! Sorry I wasn't as vocal as 'Liv', but what you did was impressive. Good job!" she said with a smile.

Olivia decided to ignore Dahlia's comments about her, and looked over at Zach with a shrug. "...You did alright, I guess.... I mean, I expected better, especially from that last battle, but overall, those battles weren't too terrible." she muttered.

"So, Mr. Hero, how does it feel?" Aspen asked with daggers in his voice. "The mighty, invincible hero... Losing at the very last moment. Hmm, wonder if that's a familiar feeling......"
"Bravo, human..." Aria sighed, rolling her eyes. "This has been fun, but ultimately a massive waste of time. Don't you people have anything else more important to be doing?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach smiled with a nod at Dahlia, but then paused at what Olivia said.

"I tried... She was too strong and fast..." Zach said with a sigh, and then glared over at Aspen. Zach was about to respond to him before Aria responded, and then he paused. "Uhh... Actually, no, I don't think we had anything else planned really..." Zach admitted, as he scratched his head, and looked to the others. "Any... ideas for what to do next...?" Zach asked, unsure about that himself.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"...I don't know." Olivia admitted. "Everything we've done for the last couple of days has seemed to be impulsive and out of the blue.... I have nothing."
"...Oh!" Dahlia exclaimed. "Don't we have relatives in Hoenn? Maybe we could visit them! After all, they'd probably want to know I'm alright. Hmm... Our aunt Kiri might be a good place to start. What do you guys think?"
"Problem. How will we even get to Hoenn?" Aspen asked. "We teleported by complete accident to Unova. And I don't think we have any money for a plane or boat....." 

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"That is a good idea..." Zach agreed, but also frowned, as that was a good question. I've never been to Sootopolis before, otherwise I might be able to help...

As Zach was lost in thought, Darach approached.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" Darach asked, as Zach paused, and wondered if he could help at all.

"Have you ever been to Sootopolis City?" Zach asked, and Darach nodded to confirm that. "... Would you mind helping us out, then...?" Zach followed up with a second question, and Darach smirked in response.

"But of course... After all; I was the one who brought you here, after all, was I not? It's only fair that I bring you where you want to be next."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Oh? Thanks, Darach!" said Dahlia. "Though, are you sure it's not too much trouble?"
"Amethyst, why can't you just teleport?" Olivia asked mentally to her Gardevoir.

"I haven't been to Sootopolis in quite some time now, my memory's rusty. If I tried teleporting everyone there, who knows where you might end up?" Amethyst responded. 

"....Okay then, fair enough. I'd like to make it to Sootopolis in one piece." Olivia agreed.

Aspen did not say anything, choosing to nod instead. Though immediately afterwards, he shot a glare towards Zach once again.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Darach==-

 

"Positive." Darach said with a nod, as he glanced over at Aspen, and then adjusted his glasses and sent out his Gallade.

"One trip to Sootopolis, coming right up!" Darach said with a smug look, as the group teleported to the city in the southeast Hoenn.

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius Jacobson

It didn't take too long for Arius himself to sign up for the League and do a quick checkup with his Pokemon. He came out of the Pokemon center, and walked up to Ruth and Jake.

"So, what did I miss?"

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Awesome! I generally swim more than run, but reading is something I do a lot as well." He noticed the Center's doors opening and saw Jacob come out.

 

"Nothing much. Should we head over to the Gym now? I'm getting really pumped!" Jake exclaimed in excitement.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

The siblings all quickly regained their bearings from the teleport, though Olivia recovered quicker due to having teleported with Amethyst before. Looking around, Dahlia smiled. "Hmm, I wonder how much this place has changed since I was last here?" She brought out her Pokeballs and released all of her Pokemon out. "Come on guys, let's see what's new here!"
Olivia saw Dahlia get her entire team out in the open, and decided to follow suit. "Come on out guys, we've got some looking around to do." 
Aspen rolled his eyes at the actions of his sister, and yet nevertheless copied them. "Here's a chance to move around, hope you like it." He then frowned, and looked back at Dahlia. "...Do you remember where Aunt Kiri's house is anyways?"
"Hmm...... I might need to think about that one...." Dahlia admitted, scratching the back of her head. "Give me a moment...."
"I have no patience with you humans, why does it take so long for you to think?!" Aria said exasperatedly. "For once, could you stop wasting my time?"

"Oh, I know how slow humans can be." Amethyst agreed. "Though, unfortunately, we have no choice but to accommodate them." the Gardevoir said with a smirk, as Olivia rolled her eyes.

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Ruth turned her head and saw Arius exit the Pokemon Center. "No, we were just starting to talk." she said in response to his question. "But who cares, let's go!"
Soon after, the three walked up to the entrance of the Gym. Smiling Ruth stood to the side and motioned with her arm. "After you, Jakes one and two."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Route 4

 

Evan shook his head at Gerald's response. He was tired of people like him not getting the idea behind what he was saying.

 

"Last I checked, my pokemon follow me because I actually care about their well being.", Evan said as he advanced towards Gerald, "They are more than tools to me. They are my comrades."

 

Evan then stopped in front of Gerald, leaned down, and grabbed one of the Poke Balls Gerald had.

 

"You have no right to even have these pokemon.", Evan said coldly, "I shall release them, so that they may not suffer any further under your control."

 

Evan activated the poke ball, releasing Gerald's Porygon Z. After it was sent out, Evan then laid the poke ball on the ground, and stomped on it with his foot. Evan continued to send out Gerald's pokemon and destroy their poke balls, until there were four poke balls remaining. Evan reached for the poke balls that contained Thundurus and Tornadus, released the two pokemon, and crushed their former poke balls.

 

"I'll leave you with those two of yours.", Evan said, "It would be cruel to leave you defenseless, especially here. Now, leave my sight. That includes you pokemon."

 

At those words, three of Gerald's pokemon ran off. Thundurus and Tornadus fled into the skies above. All but one pokemon that was owned by Gerald remained behind, and that was his Scizor.....

 

 

OOC: Took me a while, but I return.

[Parugi]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray furrowed his brow, as he glanced over at where he had last seen Ryan, and then looked back.

"I see... I wonder what happened, then..." Ray mused, more to himself, but scratched his head again, as he sighed.

"I'm not really used to this sort of thing, and haven't been thinking right tonight, sorry." Ray apologized, as he tried to think of other things to say, that weren't quite so 'talk about other people'.

 

IC - Esen Windred - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

Esen shrugged. "No problem," she said. After a brief pause, during which she looked around again, she settled her sights of Ray once more. "So . . . I take it you're not with Team Liberty?" She lifted her glass. "Might be a bit of a presumption, but it's the only reason I can think of for why you're not interacting with anyone else here."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray chuckled at that, but nodded.

"Very perceptive." Ray said, and nodded once more. "Yeah; I was a Rocket, but joined up with the Separatists late last year before we went on an adventure in Unova." Ray said, as he looked over, as he wondered what she actually was doing there too, since he thought someone had mentioned her being a guest.

 

-==IC: Gerald/Jenny==-

 

Gerald growled slightly, but put his head down, as his Alakazam appeared behind him from his Pokeball, and warped him away somewhere. Jenny frowned, as she saw the Scizor still there, and walked up to it, and knelt down.

"You didn't want to do any of this, did you?" Jenny asked, as she fished out a Pokeball. The Scizor looked at it, and looked up at Jenny in understanding. "Then join my team!"

Jenny nudged the Pokeball against the Scizor's forehead, and the Pokemon was caught. Once sent out again, however, it started bawling as it hugged the trainer. Jenny, surprised, could only awkwardly pet the Scizor, as she looked over at Evan, unsure what to do after that.

[Ehksidian]

IC:

Arius rolled his eyes, and asked "Which one am I? One or two?" He chuckled, and stood outside the door for a bit. "I'm still not completely sure I want to do this, though...maybe I can watch you guys fight first?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach sighed, but smiled, as he sent out his entire team, sans Raikou, as well. This did seem like a bit of a good chance for some downtime, which they all still needed a lot.

"Lead the way, if you guys know." Zach said with a chuckle.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"I think you are going to have way too much fun with that phrase in the future," Jake remarked. "Does anyone mind if I go first?" He asked.

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius

"Go on ahead, Jake number two."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Ignoring the comments made by Aria and Amethyst, Dahlia concentrated, attempting to remember where Kiri's house was. A few moments later, she looked back at her siblings and Zach. "I'm pretty sure I know where we need to go. Follow me, everyone." 

Aspen and Olivia followed Dahlia as she led them along the outskirts of the city, their Pokemon not far behind. Their gazes darted throughout the entire walk, absorbing the vibrant sights and sea breeze. There were people all around them walking by, chatting, or sitting down outside of a restaurant. Dahlia smiled as she saw their happy faces, looking forward to having some downtime. When she looked up near the cliffs though, Dahlia blinked. She saw a little girl with auburn hair sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking out to the sea with no else around besides her Pokemon. 
Olivia noticed Dahlia pause, and looked in the same direction. "....What, Dahlia? You okay?"
"That girl.... What's she doing up there, without family or friends?" Dahlia responded, frowning slightly as she attempted to make sense of the situation.

"Why do we have to care?" Aspen spoke up. "I'm sure that little girl is fine on her own, whoever she is. This isn't something we need to worry about." 
Dahlia shook her head, turning back around to face the group. "Well, I'm going to ask her anyways." 

She then quikcly walked along stairs built into the cliff. Olivia soon followed, not wanting Dahlia to be out of their sight. Aspen sighed, yet followed anyways, not sure why Dahlia was even getting involved in other people's business.

"Excuse me?" Dahlia asked. "Are you okay? Why are you just sitting around here without anyone else?" 

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Ruth grinned at Jake's comment, chuckling afterwards. "Oh hey, that rhymed. That a crime?" 
Laughing at her own terrible joke, Ruth nodded. "I'm fine with Jake Two heading up first. That leaves me to go afterwards, and Jake One to go last." 
She pushed the door open, once again motioning with her arm. "Let's see what we're up against. You two ready?"

Edited July 27, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Parugi]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray chuckled at that, but nodded.

"Very perceptive." Ray said, and nodded once more. "Yeah; I was a Rocket, but joined up with the Separatists late last year before we went on an adventure in Unova." Ray said, as he looked over, as he wondered what she actually was doing there too, since he thought someone had mentioned her being a guest.

 

IC - Esen Windred - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

"Eh, not really," Esen said. Whether she meant it as a joke or not was difficult to tell. "So, you're working for Bounty, then? How's that working out?"

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Why do I have to be Jake two?" He asked, grinning. "It doesn't matter anyway. I am so ready for this." Jake walked into the Gym, noticing the rocky battlefield.

 

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Jake called, looking around for the Gym leader.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach gave a look to Aspen that basically told him he was nuts, and then shook his head, but then paused, as he looked over at the girl.

Wait, she looks familiar... Zach thought, as he thought for a moment... And then his eyes widened as he realized who he was trying to think of. But... That can't be her, can it? Zach wondered, even though it seemed a lot like the girl who had traveled with his group six months earlier...

 

-==IC: Ray==-

 

"It's working out pretty okay." Ray said with a shrug. "Nothing really too bad, though I've basically had a vacation for the last little bit... If you could call it that." Ray said with a sigh, as he thought over everything that had happened in the past two weeks alone.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan walked into the building, and then looked around, as it seemed relatively normal.

That's a lie. Ryan thought, as he knew better, and casually strolled to the elevators, walked in, and pressed the button to go to the second floor. To everyone else, he was just a normal person; badly dressed maybe, but normal. Ryan idly checked his team, as he went over the different things about this place.

So there's a lot of different tech pieces... I should try and take some, so that the tech is intact if it can be used for good purposes... Ryan mused, as he went over his plan. The lab section was his first target, as there were some things there that he definitely needed. Then he'd hit the weapons room and try to disable the energy stealing weapons and try to pick up any of the high tech equipment that was there. Then he'd finish the job by trying to take down the leadership directly.

The question is... Am I strong enough for that?

 

As the elevator door opened, Ryan walked out, and calmly walked through the halls, as he headed to his first destination. Some people gave him weird looks, as most seemed to be preparing for... something. However, Ryan paid no attention to that, as he continued to just walk.

Almost there... Ryan thought, as he noticed one technician approaching.

"Do you have clearance to be here?" The lab tech asked, and Ryan seemed to think for a moment.

"This is my clearance." Ryan said, as he sent out his Porygon 2; which infiltrated the lights and overloaded them, causing the lab tech to flinch, as Ryan ran past. Reappearing by his side, the Porygon 2 floated nearby, as Ryan held his hand out. "Open that door!" Ryan called out, as the Porygon 2 quickly unlocked the door to the main part of the lab. Ryan burst in, as the technicians all looked up in surprise. Ryan quickly sent out his Excadrill, and the technicians scattered out of the lab, as Ryan heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. "Better be quick..." Ryan mumbled, as he searched around to find some of the equipment he was looking for.

 

"Sir... There's an emergency alert on Floor 2." One of the assistants to Michael Travis said, as the Energon leader looked up with a frown.

"An emergency?" Travis repeated, perplexed by that. "What kind of emergency?" The assistant paused at the question, as he wondered that himself.

"Well... We've detected an odd intruder in the lab area. Backup was sent to investigate, but there hasn't been word since." The assistant explained, as he wondered what was even happening there; and how their leader would react to the news, as the Energon leader stayed stoic for a moment.

"Can we get a video feed down there? If so, do it. Send another two teams, as well--whatever this threat is, we need to contain it." Travis commanded, as the assistant paused for a moment and then nodded, as he tapped buttons on the screen, which showed a black haired man also dressed in black walking out of the lab area, headed toward the equipment room from the looks of the way he was walking. Travis looked at the screen in disbelief for a moment, and then stayed quiet for another second. ". . . Is that . . . one of ours?" Travis inquired, as the assistant fidgeted, as he flipped to another camera, and noticed an Energon ID tag around the man's neck.

"It... it looks like it, sir." The assistant said, as he wasn't sure why the man would be doing this at all. Travis thought for a moment, as he watched the screen intently.

"Interesting . . ." Travis mused, as he turned away, and began to think of a way to quell the damage. "Get the blast doors closed in that area--that should contain the damage for a little while. I'll find out what our friend here is up to." Travis said, as he stood up, and the assistant nodded, and hurried out of the room, as Travis frowned, and wondered just what this person was even up to.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Route 4

 

Evan looked at where Gerald once was, wondering if he would see the madman again. He also wondered if it was the right thing to let him escape, seeing as he was a wanted criminal, responsible for the deaths of many people. He'd let Maddison Hayes get away with what she had done. Evan then turned toward Jenny.

 

"Well, now that he is gone, I think we'd best take a breather.", Evan said, yawning as he did so, "Let's start by finding a place to rest, then we'll go from there. So, lead on and I shall follow."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Roark==-

 

"Hello?" The Gym Leader who ran that gym asked, as he walked up behind the group, looking at the people there inquisitively, as he wondered if they were actually there for a gym battle.

 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Alright. I think I know my way around here." Jenny said with a chuckle, as she began to lead the way to a rest stop Pokemon Center near the Join Avenue that was nearby. "I've had to be here a number of times before I joined with you guys six months ago..." Jenny added, as she scratched her head. "Never actually thought to stop here, though, since both times I ended up back at the Nimbasa Pokemon Center..." Jenny mumbled, feeling a bit awkward about that.

[Ehksidian]

IC:

Arius jumped, and looked behind him to see Roark.

"Oh, uh, hello there. We're looking for the Gym Leader for this gym."

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
"Wait, what?" Ryan cried as Colette took him by the hand and dragged him through the crowd. When he glanced back, he realized that Colette had spotted Muscle Man still searching in vain.

The two trainers ducked in, out, and around dozens of dancers as they made their way to the opposite corner of the dance floor. Ryan felt his heart start to beat faster at the thought of Muscle Man finding them and exacting his revenge. He had broken into a sweat by the time Colette rested her hand on his shoulder and resumed their dance.

"Well, that was a close one," he chuckled. "This sort of thing doesn't happen to you often, does it?"

IC: Ellen
Ellen! There are people coming!
 
Ellen was still humming her song to Maturin when Duo's thoughts interrupted her own. True to the Duosion's warning, a group of people were quickly traversing the cliffs, traveling towards her, surrounded by several Pokémon. The first was a brown haired girl in a sun hat. Her forest green vest matched the skirt of the Bellossom that happily scuttled at her feet, trying to keep up on the rough terrain. A Buneary hopped a few feet ahead of the girl, easily traversing the rocks, much to the Bellossom's disdain. A Surskit shyly peeked out from the girl's shoulder, looking at Ellen and her Pokémon with wide eyes before hiding back behind the sun hat. The long, elegant form of a Dragonair slithered beside the girl, eyeing Ellen as if sizing her up.
 
A fiery red-head in a tank top ran up behind the first girl, looking slightly worried about her friend running ahead. A Sneasel ran at her legs, its dark skin a sharp contrast to the bright pink of the Sneasel Amelia had. A Vibrava hovered beside her, while a timid-looking Nincada scuttled along behind. A bored-looking Croagunk followed a few paces behind, with an elegant yet sharp-eyed Gardevoir bringing up the rear.
 
Behind the second girl ran an irritated young boy with a gray shirt and thick glasses. This boy was heralded by a snide Roselia and Buizel. Both Pokémon exuded a look of arrogance, but in different ways. While the Roselia seemed to flaunt her beauty, the Buizel simply seemed prideful of its own strength. A fierce-looking Braviary flew above, one that seemed to have lived through many a battle yet still thirsted for more. In fact, the Quilava that ran at the boy's side seemed to be the friendliest Pokémon of that bunch, although Ellen saw in his eyes a trace of sadness. Behind the boy came a Lucario that looked about as disdainful as her trainer. The Lucario turned her greenish gray eyes on Ellen for a moment, and she almost seemed to be peering into Ellen's soul. The sight unnerved Ellen, who quickly looked away.
 
"Excuse me?" the first girl asked in a pleasant voice as she approached. "Are you okay? Why are you just sitting around here without anyone else?"
 
Ellen cocked her head. "What do you mean? I'm not by myself -- I've got all my Pokémon with me."
 
At that moment a fourth trainer came up the cliff. This one seemed to have the strongest Pokémon out of the bunch. A modest-looking Typhlosion that reminded Ellen somewhat of Quil walked by the trainer's side, tailed by a determined and familiar-looking Luxray. A curious Pikachu rode on the trainer's shoulder, twitching her heart-shaped tail. At the trainer's feet walked a Servine with a look that oozed smugness. Behind the trainer, a sly Zoroark eyed Ellen with a smirk; the Weavile by its side had an equally mischievous look. A Lucario scaled the cliff and eyed Ellen with much more concern than the previous Lucario.
 
But it wasn't until the Gallade approached that Ellen did a double-take at the trainer. "Wait a second," she said, a smile forming on her face. "You're Zach, right? We traveled Unova together!"

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

Barely managing to hide his surprise (he flinched slightly), Jake turned around. "Err... what he said. We all would like to challenge the gym here, if it isn't too much trouble," Jake said, guessing that this was in fact Roark or at least someone who worked at the gym.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"What do you mean? I'm not by myself -- I've got all my Pokémon with me."

 

Dahlia curled her lips in a somewhat amused smile, managing not to giggle. "I can see that." she began in an equally sweet tone as her words before. "But I was wondering if you had any family or friends around waiting for you." 

When Ellen spoke to Zach, every one of the Seatons widened their eyes, and all had to take a step back for a moment. "....Oh? You two.... Know each other?" Dahlia asked, not expecting this turn of events.

Aspen snapped out of his small state of shock, adopting a self-pleased smirk as he glanced at Zach. "Oh look, guess I was right about her not needing our attention. You on the other hand, couldn't even recognize her...." 

Olivia glanced inquisitively at Zach, her gaze then darting back to Ellen. "....M-My name's Olivia, Olivia Seaton...."
"O-Oh, right! We didn't even get to introduce ourselves! My name is Dahlia Seaton, and that's our brother, Aspen." said Dahlia. 

Aspen shot a questioning look at Dahlia for a second, but did not protest his sister introducing him to Ellen. Instead, he simply nodded in confirmation. 

 

Amethyst had closed her eyes and folded her arms the moment Ellen mentioned having traveled with Zach before, opening her eyes after the Seatons had introduced themselves, the purple glow quickly fading. "....You're quite the character, aren't you, Ellen? Joining on a quest to save the world as we know it, forcing your way through trials that adults three times your age would have had trouble enduring. Even briefly taking command of a force that binds our very universe together..... You are no ordinary little girl."

"And yet, you are still looked upon by others as though you were." Aria cut in, her dull eyes slicing straight through Ellen's soul once more. "If there is one thing humans can never let go of it is their oh so misguided sentiments. A prevalent one that has been displayed just now is the concept that children are somehow 'innocent', pure, and a blank slate. That it is the evils of the world that tarnish them." Aria began to laugh bitterly, never averting her gaze from Ellen for one moment. "Such a notion is a lie of the highest order. Every human is born with the capacity to either do good or evil. And you, little one...." Aria muttered, taking one step closer towards her. "...I abhor the word I am about to use, for it has far too positive a connotation, and you will likely interpret my words as something entirely different. Do not make that mistake." the Lucario warned, eyes glowing blue for a second. "I see..... Potential. The potential to either save us from destruction..... Or be the cause of our demise."

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Ruth had been looking around the Gym in its entirety, absorbing every detail she could. When Roark snuck up behind the group, she did not flinch whatsoever, assuming that another group of people were conversing elsewhere. It was not until Arius and Jake spoke that something registered in her brain that prompted her to turn around.

"O-Oh, I missed you for a second there." Ruth admitted with an embarrassed giggle, rubbing the back of her head. "Pretty much what those two said, we're here to challenge the Gym. Not all at once, mind you, so no Triple Battle shenanigans, I hope at least."
Looking around and still not seeing anyone else, Ruth turned back to Roark. "....You wouldn't happen to be the Gym Leader, would you?"

Edited July 29, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach nodded to Ellen with a smile, as he chuckled.

"I thought it was you, Ellen..." Zach said, but then paused, as he looked around, slightly confused. "Where's Ryan or the others, though?"

The trainer scratched his head, as she always seemed to travel everywhere with the others, and while he wasn't sure what'd happened in the six months he'd been shut away from the others, he was positive that hadn't changed. Zach spared a moment to coldly glance in Aspen's direction after he commented, however.

Maybe I should have nicknamed YOU Smugleaf... Zach looked away as he shook his head, not realizing that Aria was ranting away until she had just finished, and then looked over with a disapproving frown.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

"No..." Colette sighed as she closed her eyes and looked to the ground. "No, this is definitely new to tonight..." Colette mumbled, as they slowly got back to the dance. "I don't even totally know why everyone's so obsessed with me..." She had to admit that she had some ideas, but even still... This was the sixth person? It had gotten out of hand by that point, and she just wanted to scream.

 

-==IC: Roark==-

 

The man chuckled, as he pushed his miner's helmet up slightly.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place!" Roark said, as he nodded to the three young trainers. "I am, as you guessed, the gym leader. The name's Roark!" The gym leader looked over and scratched his head. "You actually had good timing, very good timing, as I just got back from the mines. My dad always said that it was important to balance battles and work, after all." The man walked inside, and then frowned, as the gym seemed to be messy, and he sighed.

"The last trainers must have messed things up again... It's been a tough six months, repairing damage, and then dealing with the vandals who can't seem to take us seriously..." Roark said, and scratched his head again. "Hope you don't mind how the place looks." Roark said, as he cleared off some rubble from the battlefield.

[Parugi]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

"It's working out pretty okay." Ray said with a shrug. "Nothing really too bad, though I've basically had a vacation for the last little bit... If you could call it that." Ray said with a sigh, as he thought over everything that had happened in the past two weeks alone.

 

IC - Esen Windred - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

"Right--peace time and all that."

[Ehksidian]

-==IC: Roark==-

 

The man chuckled, as he pushed his miner's helmet up slightly.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place!" Roark said, as he nodded to the three young trainers. "I am, as you guessed, the gym leader. The name's Roark!" The gym leader looked over and scratched his head. "You actually had good timing, very good timing, as I just got back from the mines. My dad always said that it was important to balance battles and work, after all." The man walked inside, and then frowned, as the gym seemed to be messy, and he sighed.

"The last trainers must have messed things up again... It's been a tough six months, repairing damage, and then dealing with the vandals who can't seem to take us seriously..." Roark said, and scratched his head again. "Hope you don't mind how the place looks." Roark said, as he cleared off some rubble from the battlefield.

IC: Arius Jacobson

"Oh. Uh. Well...that's good." He looked at Ruth and Jake.

"So who wants to go first?"

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

"Wait, 'everyone'?" Ryan said. "You mean you've been heckled by guys like that all night?" Having been busy dancing with Sonja, Ryan did not know about the five other guys that had asked for Colette's hand that night. But the Liberty trainer felt a pang of pity for the girl as she stared at the ground. It slowly dawned on him why she had wanted to dance with him -- or why Zoe had wanted her to dance with him. "Don't worry about it. As long as I'm here, I'm sure they'll leave you alone." Ryan gave Colette a friendly smile. "Hopefully," he added under his breath.

 

IC: Ellen

"I'm Ellen Burks," the girl smiled. "And this is Maturin, Artemis, Terry, Chrono, and Duo." She pointed to each of her Pokémon in turn. Then she looked at Zach. "I've been helping Ryan with rebuilding Fortree. But he had to go to the Alamo to check on something. Haven't seen any of the others in a while, though."

 

She was about to ask Zach how he'd been when the Gardevoir and Lucario decided to ruthlessly analyze her and spit out their findings. The Gardevoir seemed fascinated, if a little concerned, about Ellen's adventures. The Lucario, not so much. It almost felt like the aura wielder despised Ellen for having been through so much at such a young age.

 

There's that word again, Duo said. 'Potential.' Is that like the word of the week or something?

 

Ellen remained silent, musing over the Lucario's warning. "The potential to either save us from destruction, or be the cause of our demise." Was this what the Absol in Lilycove had been trying to warn her about? She shuddered at the thought.

 

"I-I'll try to be more careful, then," she said hesitantly.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"My name's Jake. I think your gym looks fine, the rubble kind of makes the field look more authentic." Jake noticed that at some point, Pikachu had returned to his ball. "I think we decided that I would go first, right?" he asked to make sure no one had any last minute changes of mind, while stepping up to the challengers box.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

"Well, more or less... Maybe I shouldn't have said 'everyone', but it sure felt like it..." Colette mumbled, as she noticed the guy head off, seemingly giving up. He probably thinks that we ditched the dance by now. Colette thought, as she relaxed a bit for the moment. "That guy really had no clue how to ask people things, though, that's for sure..." Colette said with a sigh.

 

-==IC: Roark==-

 

Roark thought for a moment, as he nodded at what Jake had said about the field.

"Alright, sounds good." Roark said, as he didn't seem to see any badges, and so, the Gym Leader walked over to his side of the battlefield, and chose his first badge team. "Ready, then?" Roark asked, as he waited on his end.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Upon Ellen promising to be more careful, Aria narrowed her eyes further. "...You say you will be careful, but why have you set yourself on this path then? Following around 'heroes', battling your way through obstacles set up by 'villains'.... And you think you will able to avoid facing any situations that force you to make a decisive choice?" The Lucario was nearly incredulous at Ellen's words, not giving up her leer. "...Just who do you think you are?"

Before Aria could speak more, Dahlia cut in quickly. "These are Laurel, Coco, Gerri, and Dracos." she spoke quickly, pointing to her Pokemon in turn similarly to Ellen, and shooting a worried glance at Aspen.

"And these are Amethyst, Shade, Toxin, Dune, and Willow." Olivia followed up, turning around as well to glare at Aspen.

Not to be left out, Aspen spoke up as well. "Flare, Torrent, Meadow, Jet, and Aria." Aspen said, turning to each of his sisters and simply shrugging. 

"...So, Zach, you two know each other?" Olivia said, trying to prevent a certain Lucario from cutting in once more. She also glanced back at Amethyst quickly to tell her not to do the same thing. 

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"Vandals? That's awful.... Who do they even think they are?" Ruth muttered with a frown. As Jake asked whether he was to go first, Ruth nodded and walked over to the spectator's end of the battlefield. 

"So this Gym Leader's Rock type, huh?" Ruth began thinking to herself. "How lucky am I to have all three of my Pokemon strong against him.... Though I should watch this battle carefully anyways. Gym Leaders aren't to be taken lightly in any case...." 
Glancing over at Jake, Ruth wondered how the trainer would fare. "He seemed pretty excited about getting to challenge the Gym... Hope it goes well for him then."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach nodded, as he looked over at Olivia, who had stopped him from glaring at Aria.

"Yeah; she joined our group when we were traveling Unova last year; though admittedly the group split up after a while, and she wasn't there when everyone regrouped." Zach said with a shrug, as he hadn't actually realized that until just then. Maybe if he hadn't run off on his own, things would've worked out better...

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus):

"Well at least I have that goin' for me" Claus chuckled, as he continued to lead the dance.

 

They danced together with a bit of a silence spell, just enjoying the dancing and the music. Though for the moment, they lost track of Colette and her new dance partner.

 

"Ah found 'em" Claus said as he spotted Ryan and Colette, pointing with his head, "Wonder where they had gotten off to?"