Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Aspen narrowed his eyes and looked over at Hugh as though the Gym Leader were crazy. ".....So, you're going to prove a point by beating me to a pulp." he sighed. "Oh boy, what emotions will be exchanged this battle, I wonder..... What Pokemon will you even be using?" Aspen asked warily, unsure if this would really go all that well.

Aria thought over N's question, closing her eyes and holding both her hands out in front of her as the Lucario attempted to find what N was asking. "......No, Aspen is not my first trainer, if that is what you were asking." Aria said at last, looking N directly in the eyes. "In fact, I have only been with the boy for a few days, not even a week yet. My last trainer..... Well, he has entrusted me the task of bringing forth Aspen's potential. And I will keep my promise to my former master....." Aria resolved. 

Olivia turned down at Zach, seeing the tiny by comparison Snivy go up against the much more imposing Golurk. "Are you out of your mind or something?!" Olivia shouted. "You better know what you're doing, you know! Don't disappoint me!"

IC: Ruth Fishers

"Ow, Fuerte, get out of there!" she directed, cringing at the painful looking face punches. Fuerte complied, immediately letting go of Machop's limbs, using his legs to send the Machop away from himself as he landed, not in the best condition. Fuerte quickly used Hone Claws once more, while anticipating the next attack.

[Parugi]

IC - Goldhawk/Blackskull/Silvermind - The Alamo, Boardroom:

 

James' elaboration of what he had done elicited a quiet, "Oh, dear . . ." from Blackskull, who went ignored by Goldhawk. The head Liberty Leader shook his head, briefly closing his eyes. "That really was not your call to make, Executive," he said, his tone suggesting disappointment more than anger. Goldhawk paused for a moment, standing up--and taking the WEAVER file with him. He looked squarely at James. "This project exists on the simple belief of using living creatures as tools--tools to be thrown away without a second thought. Bringing this technology to Vert allowed her to create life purely for the purpose of creating weapons--simultaneously ending those lives in the process." He tossed the file back onto the table in clear disgust. "How is that a price worth paying?"

 

Silvermind looked from James to Goldhawk for several moments, before shaking her head and speaking up. "To be fair, sir," she said. "Executive Arthur is right: At the time he would have done this, we hadn't yet declared our ceasefire with Team Rocket. As an anti-enemy endeavor, this is a unique and powerful contribution to the war effort, however morbid it may be."

 

"Be that as it may, there's a reason why this kind of weapon development has never happened," Goldhawk said. "Projects WEAVER and HARMONY, as they are currently constructed, are direct violations of every code of morality out there--they give no weight to the rights of the Pokémon involved, neither of those being cloned nor of the clones themselves. I would gladly lose access to this kind of asset if it meant the end of experimentation on involuntary subjects. We're no better than our enemies, otherwise."

 

"As far as Ross goes," Blackskull said, his more peaceful presence somewhat easing the tension in the air. "He's . . . very lucky to have survived, all things considered. That Hyper Beam came within a hairsbreadth of melding the Flying-Type suit's components together with him inside; as it stands, he incurred a significant number of burns instead, and it's unlikely the scarring will ever go away." He sighed, making a small gesture with his hand on the table. "But, he is stable, so it's not all bad."

 

"Which brings to mind another point," Goldhawk said. "You hospitalized another Agent--almost killed him, for Arceus' sake, using technology that should never have existed." He shook his head. "You realize that there have to be repercussions here?"

 

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

Sonja nodded, looking around as they spun slowly in place. She appeared deep in thought, saying nothing until, with a sigh, "Well, hopefully you find out something. There are only so many places he could have gone, right?"

 

IC - Jackson Sang/Sleight - Chapel, Sleight's Office:

 

Sleight's expression could only be summed up as one of surprise, with perhaps a hint of hope and annoyance thrown into the mix. As Sang approached him, the Shadow Admin steeled his features, nodding at the freelancer. "Sang," he said. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon. Take a seat, please." Sang gave the Shadow Admin a brief smile and nod as he moved around one of the chairs in front of Sleight's desk, sitting down in it. "I can't imagine you've found anything yet, but . . .?"

 

With a heavy sigh, Sang shook his head. "Sorry, Chief," he said. "Haven't actually had a chance to start searching yet, to be honest. No . . ." He leaned back in his seat. "I'm here for a . . . favor, for lack of a better term. Would've asked when I initially answered your call, but it slipped my mind, so here I am now. Before that, though, I feel the need to ask . . ." Sang glanced up at Sleight. "Is . . . everything alright between you and your wife?" Sleight took a deep breath and steepled his fingers, looking away. "I apologize for asking, really, but I mean, I stumbled in during a pretty heated part of the conversation, so . . ."

 

"It's not an issue," Sleight assured him. "That said, it's not something I want to touch on too deeply." He looked back at Sang, who couldn't help but notice that, all things considered, Sleight looked utterly exhausted--and not just physically. And as he continued to talk, the freelancer noted that his contractor's speech sounded much slower than usual, just barely meeting the level of elegance and power that typically radiated from him. "The short of it is that Eileen and I are both concerned with Levi's safety--more than you can know. Unfortunately, circumstances hinder the extent to which the two of us can get involved--myself more than her."

 

"Yeah, I got that much . . ." Sang said. Part of him wanted to continue further--dismantle the excuses that had been offered to Eileen Alaric, about providing political targets and openings for damage--but decided to wait. Clearly, now was not the time. 

 

The Shadow Admin nodded. "At any rate," Sleight said after a moment of silence. "You mentioned that you needed something?"

 

"Right--was going to get to that," Sang said. "I know it's a bit of a long shot, but do you happen to have any Beheeyem hanging around Chapel?"

 

"Not here, no," Sleight said. The freelancer let out a long breath, leaning forward in his seat. "I'm sorry--they just aren't part of our breeding program. You might have better luck with Abyss."

 

"I was afraid of that," Sang said, rubbing the back of his head. "No, it's cool--I'll just find and capture one, no big deal. Hear they aren't entirely unheard of outside Viridian City, anyway."

 

"Any particular reason why you need one?"

 

Sang paused. "It's a bit complicated," he said. "Some blond guy messed with my head in Cerulean not long ago--barely remember a thing of what we talked about, except that he might've been one of Ford's." He shook his head. "I'll figure it out, though. I get the feeling most of it was flat-out posturing and not worth my time, anyway."

 

"Right," Sleight said, sounding not at all convinced. "Well, let me know once you've got that all sorted out."

 

"Will do," Sang said, standing up. He stopped, pointing at Sleight. "By the way--if I could get a recap of where Levi was last seen in writing, that'd be incredibly helpful."

 

"I'll get that to you as soon as possible."

 

"Great, thanks! In that case, I'll get looking as soon as I can." Sang spun on his heel, beginning to walk away. At the door, he stopped, looking over his shoulder. The friendly smile he had worn was now gone from his face, replaced with a frown. "Also, if you'll excuse me saying, Chief . . ." he said, his tone much less cheerful than it had been a moment ago. "I'm with the First Lady on this one; You owe it to your family to look for Levi." Sleight stared at him. Sang lowered his gaze, focusing on the carpet at his feet. "Because, whatever it is you're afraid of finding . . . it's only more likely to come true the longer you wait around here." He placed his hands in his pockets, walking again. "Later."

 

As the elevator doors closed, he was given a brief view of Sleight, who continued to stare after him.

 

Within seconds, Sang was alone again.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (James):

 

James was silently listened as Goldhawk expressed his very... heated opinion on the Executive's justification, his face as unreadable as he was capable of giving. When the Leader said the words "tools to be thrown away with a second thought" James focused on those words for what seemed like a while. It was both accurate and precise to say that was what James had considered.... just about everyone on that island. With about a grand total of ten exceptions, he would have sacrificed everyone and everything on the island he was now on, if it meant furthering whatever end he was chasing.

 

And now the thought made him sick.

 

Not just out of pure guilt for breaking just about "every code of morality out there" as Goldhawk put it, though now that may have made some degree of effect. Nor was it due to the idea of it being "wasteful" that he would have considered first and fore most before the events of the day before. It was due to him realizing, that he would even be willing to sacrifice those ten exceptions to get what he wanted.

 

If any weakness was seen in James' features it was from that.

 

Then Blackskull said something, that James did -not- expect and was so very thankful to hear.

 

Ross was alive.

 

That thought hit James like a hurricane of sweet smelling air. If not for James' control over his emotions, he would broke down and said "Oh thank Arceus" and let out a huge sigh of relief. As it was, he briefly had to cover his mouth to hide the shadow of a smile that crept onto his face. There were so many reasons to celebrate Officer's Ross survival that he almost shouted. There would be the obvious one "so glad I did not just kill someone I did not mean to". The one a more greed filled self would have cheered "my punishment will be a bit less severe for it." But the one he most focused on now was, "I still have the chance to make things right," to both Ross, and (to him more importantly) the six members of his team. 

 

"I understand," was all the Executive (for it may be the last time he may get to call himself that) was able to say.

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Did someone say evolution?

 

Nickname: Smugleaf

Species: Servine

Trainer: Zach

Gender: Male

Appearance: The 'monocle' from being a Snivy is now in the shape of glasses.

Personality: This Servine acts like what you'd expect a Servine to typically be from it's looks... This Servine is smug. However, even with his smugness, he's still relatively Mild, and doesn't boast that all the time. However, that was the first thing that Zach noticed about Snivy, which is why he got the nickname "Smugleaf".

With Smugleaf's first evolution, however, he's definitely gotten more confident; and while still mild, is totally willing to be overconfident at times.

Ability: Contrary

Specialty: +Speed, +Special Attack, +Attack, -Defense

Known Moves: Leaf Blade, Leer, Natural Gift(EGG), Leaf Tornado, Wring Out, Slam

 

(Vine Whip to Leaf Blade, Coil to Leaf Tornado, +Wring Out, +Slam)

 

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh thought the question over for a moment.

"Flygon, Serperior, and Unfeazant." Hugh said finally, as he motioned to an area nearby which had a battle field set up; since they expected people to get inspired by the fights and then challenge others.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach smiled at the statement; even as he nodded to the Snivy. Shauntal looked at Zach skeptically as well, however.

"Vine Whip!" Zach yelled out, as the Golurk walk over toward the Snivy. Smugleaf attempted to lash out at the Golurk and use its own weight against it by trying to trip it... However, the Golurk simply phased through the trip-vines; although the individual attacks dealt a bit of damage each.

"Shadow Punch." Shauntal said, seeming bored, as the Golurk didn't give the Snivy a chance to respond. The Snivy was hit by the ghostly fist, and sent tumbling back, fainted instantly. Zach blinked for a moment, and then paused and looked down at the Snivy at his feet, not having expected that to happen.

... Did I... Miscalculate? Zach wondered, as he recalled the fainted Smugleaf. Of course, as he did so, he noticed a glow inside the Pokeball, and then peered inside to see a Servine, and just stared at that in blank disbelief.

... Nope, Smugleaf just wanted to hold it off until he fainted. Zach sighed, and then chose his second Pokemon, as Blade appeared.

"Night Slash!" Zach called out, as the Gallade shot forward, and then spun around, sending a number of quick slices at the Golurk. The slower Pokemon stumbled back, as it had not expected the sheer speed of the attacks. It attempted a second Shadow Punch... But all that really seemed to do, was reveal that the Gallade was really a Zoroark.

"Katie, keep it up, then go for a Night Daze!" Zach called out, as Shauntal realized his plan after that.

"So, you're scouting on your first Pokemon, huh?" Shauntal asked, as the Night Daze hit, and staggered the Golurk, sending it to a knee.

"Too bad it won't help." Shauntal said with a grin, as the Golurk prepared a Hammer Arm. Katie focused, and then dodged out of the way quickly, as she skidded just out of the way of the Hammer Arm's impact zone. In response, however, Katie fired a focused Night Daze at the Golurk's face as it was recovering. After having dealt with the Night Slashes and the Night Dazes, the Golurk finally fainted, and Shauntal sighed, as she recalled the Pokemon, and Zach and Katie both waited cautiously.

 

Zach realized now that he probably would need to keep Katie in for the rest of the match, unless he got very lucky... And while Katie was fast, if she got hit, then that could ruin his plans entirely... Shauntal thought for a moment, and then smiled, as she sent out her Chandelure next.

"Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Fire Blast!" Shauntal called out, as the Chandelure fired off three consecutive blasts at the Zoroark, intending to try and trap Katie in between them without room to dodge. Frowning at that, Katie focused, and then fired off a counter blast at the Shadow Ball right in front of her, using Night Daze. As she dashed forward, she got a Nasty Plot prepared, and then fired off a point blank Night Daze once she was out of the smoke, and then followed it up with two Night Slash attacks... However, the fact that the Chandelure wasn't attacking after the initial attack soon became apparent, and Zach frowned, as he wondered why... Zach's eyes widened, as he realized the Chandelure had a potential ability that could be made use of. However, before Zach could call out, the Flame Body took effect; although not before heavily damaging the Chandelure again.

So Katie's on a time limit now, and I can't use physical attacks... Zach thought, as he noticed the Zoroark's burn.

Fine by me. Zach thought, as Katie focused another Nasty Plot to make up for it; catching a bit of Zach's intentions as she looked back for a second. The Chandelure, however, took advantage of the Zoroark seemingly being caught off guard. It focused another Fire Blast, and launched it directly ahead. Katie looked back, and then fired off another counter Night Daze which deflected most of the damage, however, some of the flames still got through, and Katie was pushed back with more damage...

Edited July 16, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

Machop didn't land gracefully at all. Instead of being slammed into the ground, he skidded on his back to the edge of the arena. He shakily got back to his feet, trying not to let on how much that fall had hurt him.

 

Jake winced. It almost felt like he had felt the impact as well for some reason. What he hadn't noticed, however, was how his irises had flickered blue for half a second when he felt the sensation. Shrugging it off, Jake decided to continue the battle. "Machop, try for another Karate Chop!" Jake called. In response, the fighting type sprinted towards his opponent, not quite as quickly as before, as both of his hands became encased in a white glow.

Edited July 16, 2014 by sonyaxe

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Aspen walked over to the arena, still wary about this battle. After thinking over the matchup, he made up his mind on what his team would be. "Flare, Torrent, and Jet." Aspen said, the Quilava, Buizel, and Braviary heading over. "Our teams are now in order, which Pokemon will you send out first?" Aspen asked Hugh, planning to at least have somewhat of a chance in this battle by making the matchups favorable.
 

Aria looked over curiously, seeing her trainer was about to battle. "Oh, now this could be interesting.... Not as flashy as an Elite Four battle, for sure, but let's see how my new trainer handles this....."

 

"What kind of a tactic was that?!" Olivia called towards Zach once Smugleaf was knocked out. "Do you want to ruin your chances right off the bat?! Well don't!" she called indignantly, watching afterwards. Once the Golurk fainted, Olivia rolled her eyes. "Now you decide to play this seriously! Keep that up, will ya?!"

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

At that moment, Ruth was far too busy looking at the battle too see Jake's eyes flash for a moment. Rather, she instead saw a Machop that was still not out of the fight, as well as Fuerte who was on his last legs. "This is it! High Jump Kick!" 
The Hawlucha grunted and leaped forth, leg outstretched. The two Hone Claws he had accumulated from the fight gave him pinpoint accuracy, and he sped along towards the Machop. Perhaps he was going to lose the fight, but Fuerte was determined to go out in a blaze of glory.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: N==-

 

N nodded at both Aria's response, and at how she reacted to the fight.

"It will be interesting indeed... Perhaps he might even learn a thing or two." N commented, an enigmatic smile on his face again.

 

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh nodded, as he thought out his Pokemon, and sent his Flygon out first.

"Right; let's start." Hugh said, as he waited for Aspen to actually send out his first Pokemon.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach looked up at Olivia for a moment with a slight grimace, as he looked back to Katie, who stood strong.

"Nasty Plot, Night Daze!" Zach called out, as the Zoroark paused for a moment to plot again; and then launched off another Night Daze at the Chandelure; who tried to block with a shadow Ball, but got overpowered this time. Zach knew the fight was on a timer now, and nodded.

"Again!" Zach yelled, as the Zoroark spun, and launched off a second Night Daze, striking the Chandelure once more. This kept up for a while longer, as the Chandelure began to start to just try to dodge the attacks and stall out the fight. However, that all changed after a few more tries, as the Zoroark finally landed an attack. The ghost type finally had had enough; and fell to the ground, fainted, as Katie collapsed to a knee. Zach frowned, as the third Pokemon, a Froslass, was sent out. Katie stood up, and then nodded, as she launched off another Night Daze, which struck hard right off the start... However, as Katie was recovering, she noticed a shard of ice flying toward her. The Ice Shard struck Katie and sent her flying back, as the Zoroark was finally knocked out. Zach recalled the fainted Zoroark, as he sighed, and chose his final Pokemon.

"Blade, let's do this." Zach said, a grim look on his face. He knew the odds were stacks against him now, but had to try this...

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
Ryan nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah. I suppose if I look hard enough, I'm bound to find him eventually." He sighed, then glanced at Sonja. "If I do manage to find a lead, you're more than welcome to join me in my search."

 

IC: Zoe

"Zoe Llyan," a painfully familiar voice jeered. "Imagine seeing you here."

 

Zoe turned in surprise to see a young boy about her age approach her and her sister. "Hello, Travis," she said dully.

 

The young boy, Travis, was the top of the class in the Liberty Academy that trained up-and-coming agents like Zoe. Tonight he wore a fancy tuxedo, and his hair was gelled back. Zoe almost wouldn't have recognized him if he hadn't been wearing that obnoxious smirk he always had on his face. Zoe's other classmates stood in a cluster behind Travis. The other students worshiped Travis, for lack of a better term. He was by far the most popular kid in their class of agents-to-be.

 

Travis shook his head disapprovingly. "Zany Zoe, spinning like a madman. Why am I not surprised? Is that what you call a dance?" The boy turned his eyes to Colette and extended a hand, his smirk widening into a grin. "How do you do?" he asked with sickeningly sweet politeness. "The name's Travis. A lovely lady like yourself shouldn't be reduced to spinning madly in circles. Allow me to give you a proper dance."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette slowly turned her head to the punk kid who was picking on her younger sister, and slowly withdrew her hands from Zoe's. Colette took a few steps toward the punk, as she leaned down intimidatingly, making sure to step into his space and force him to step backwards.

"Listen here, you. One, I don't appreciate everyone asking me to dance and just ignoring my little sister. Two, I don't appreciate people bullying my little sister. Three..." Colette put her face right in front of Travis', a very, very unamused look on her face.

"I really, really don't appreciate people who are two-faced." Colette said, as she narrowed her eyes.

"Got that?" Colette asked. She would probably regret having said that much later on; however, in this moment, it seemed rather fitting, and definitely very pleasing.

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"Yeah, you tell him, Collie!" Zoe cheered.

 

Travis backed up as Colette approached him, his smirk faltering as his face betrayed a hint of fear. He quickly resumed his usual smirk, glancing from Zoe back to Colette. "Ah, so you're sisters. I see. Zoe's told us all about you... although she failed to mention your remarkable beauty. It's honestly hard to believe that anyone so fine could be related to Zany Zoe."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette stepped forward again with a slight growl, her face growing more annoyed as time went on, apparently.

"Go on, keep talking, it's most definitely helping you." Colette said sarcastically with a slight edge to her voice, as she was most definitely unamused by this situation.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus):

 

Being invisible has its advantages, Claus thought as he slipped a Poké Ball out of his pocket and sent the occupant inside to do his dirty work, as a particularly insufferable child came up to them. That particular Poké Ball contained his messenger for the mischief to come, a rock who had merely wanted to sleep through the dance.

 

Baccio didn't particularly care for having a part in this mischief, but still Autotomized through the forest of feet, taking care not to be underfoot as he made his way to deliver his message.

 

Claus watched the particularly annoying suitor-child only do worse and worse and hoped the entertainment would arrive to help calm Colette down. Before someone got seriously injured at least. He watched the sea of feet, and upon seeing a flash of orange and red, he knew help had arrived.

 

The child was about to respond to Colette when suddenly he felt hands climbing up his back, before a Monferno jumped on top of his head and started being as much of a menace as possible. The Fire-Fighter began tearing at Travis' neatly prepared hair, and scuffing up the tuxedo (maaaybe scorching it slightly) but mostly screeching about as loud as he could (and certainly as obnoxiously as he could) without disrupting the entire dance.

 

Claus watched and knew there would be consequences to this... but boy did it feel good.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Valorous Angel Minun4

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Aria rolled her eyes at N's vauge comment. "Why do certain people feel the need to be mysterious and dramatic? It's not intriguing, it's annoying." the Lucario said.

 

"Okay then, Torrent, you're up." Aspen called, the Buizel immediately smirking and crossing his arms at his target, who was much larger and more experienced than Torrent. Despite that, Torrent's cocky grin showed he saw this as an easy win. "Ice Beam!" Aspen decided, the Buizel preparing his new move and firing it, though with slight strain due to the newness of the technique to him. "I hope this goes all right...." Aspen thought to himself, watching the battle with concern.

 

"Don't you dare mess up when you've come this far!" Olivia warned. "What is it with you and your penchant for last minute victories anyways?!"

Edited July 17, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: N==-

 

N tilted his head to the side, confused.

"What do you mean? It's a simple formula that he will likely learn something from this fight. I wasn't trying to be mysterious there at all." N said, as he shrugged slightly.

 

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh simply stayed calm, as the Flygon was hit in the side by the Ice Beam; but continued on; damaged, but not out.

"Stone Edge!" Hugh called out right after the attack, as the Flygon, without hesitation, flew forward and attempted to whip its tail at the Buizel in quick succession once close by.

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

Zoe was waiting for Colette to Aura Sphere Travis into oblivion. As it turned out, what happened next was far more entertaining.

 

"What the-?" Travis yelled, whirling around to see who was climbing up his back. By the time he did this, Flint had already reached his head. Travis, having not seen the Monferno, had his trademark smirk wiped completely off his face, replaced by a look of utter terror. "What's happening?!" Travis screamed, his voice cracking as he tried to shake the monkey off his head. Flint kept a firm grip, which inly served to mess up the boy's slick hair. Travis tried to grab at Flint, but the Monferno slapped his hands away with a loud screech. "Who let this monster out on the dance floor?" Travis cried, his face turning red (although whether from anger or embarassment it was hard to say). "I'll find whoever's responsible for this, and I'll make them pay!"

 

Flint's response was to swing his tail down, brushing it against the collar of Travis' tux just long enough to singe it. The burning smell caused Travis to panic even more. The boy turned to his classmates for help, but they were as dumbfounded as he was. "Hold still," one boy said bravely, swinging his arm at the dancing monkey. Flint nimbly dodged the blow, which instead struck Travis squarely in the head, causing him to cry out in pain.

 

Zoe could hardly control her giggling as the scene unfolded. She looked back at Claus with a wide smile. Then she turned back to Travis. "I guess this is what they call a 'Travisty'," she laughed as Flint gave her a wink.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Switch tactics, Machop! Grab its leg and use Seismic Toss!" Jake called, hoping that Machop would be able to time it correctly. Hopefully, the added momentum from high jump kick would be enough to knock out Fuerte.

Edited July 17, 2014 by sonyaxe

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach frowned, as he wasn't sure what to do. The only move that would truly work, would be Magical Leaf; and that would be a bad thing to rely on, when he wasn't sure how much damage was left on the Froslass. Zach sighed, as he was about to give a command, when he felt a presence in his mind.

"Zach, let me handle the fight." The confident sounding voice said, and Zach paused.

"... Blade? But what-?" Zach began to say when Blade cut in again.

"Just trust me on this, alright?" Blade asked, and Zach nodded, as the Froslass prepared another Ice Shard. As it was launched, Blade leaped into action. Blade teleported forward, and then spun around, as his armblades glowed a dark purple, much to Zach's surprise.

"Night Slash!" Blade called out, as the super effective dark attack slashed at the Froslass. Both Pokemon and Trainer were surprised, as the Froslass tumbled forward. Zach's mouth opened in surprise, but he nodded with a smile.

"So, when'd you learn that?" Zach asked, and Blade shrugged.

"I've been watching Katie. Seemed easy enough to pull off." Blade replied, as he dashed forward, and swung out at the Froslass, as he began to turn the tides. Obviously, neither the Froslass nor Shauntal had expected this, from Zach's nervousness.

"Shadow Ball!" Shauntal yelled out in response; the attack landed, but didn't really do anything to stop Blade, as he continued forward, and dealt one final blow to the Froslass. The icy ghost fainted as well, as Shauntal looked impressed and intrigued.

"That Gallade didn't know that move before, did it? I could tell from your nervousness and surprise." Shauntal said, and chuckled slightly.

"It also seems to be your go-to Pokemon, considering it appears to be miles above the rest of your Pokemon." The Elite Four member commented, as she walked off the battlefield as well. Zach sighed in relief, as he walked over to the healing station, and figured out what the logical conclusion to this marathon fight would be...

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette resisted the urge to chuckle for a good while... Up until the Monferno lit the collar on fire. Then she just burst out laughing; she regained her composure shortly after, but it definitely was not something that happened often.

"A Travisty it is." Colette agreed with Zoe, a smug look on her own face now, as the punk was getting his just desserts.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus and Flint):

 

On top of the punk's head, Flint responded clandestinely to Zoe's wink with his one, before making sure any and all fires were out (causing mass chaos was not on the itinerary for the dance) while he gave the punk a noogie.

Good luck punk, Claus thought as he heard Travis make his threat. If he was invisible, then he'd never get found out. If he wasn't... well he'd have to deal with Claus Diamond then, wouldn't he?

 

He'd have to learn how to smirk before that time came.

 

And now for the finale! Least for this venue, Flint thought as he finally hopped off the young punk's head.

 

The playful Monferno hopped a bit before turning his head around, and Taunting, slapping his butt and sticking his tongue out at, Travis and the other boy who had tried to help him. It probably wasn't necessary, but it did the job in getting the two to clumsily chase after him as he lead them out of the ballroom, and into a wonderful night of them getting made fools of by the Monferno and any of Richard's or Claus' team that decided to join the fun.

 

"You know I was joking when I suggested I'd sic Flint on the next guy... but that was brilliant. I love that little guy."

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

"Yeah?" Sonja said, finally looking at Ryan again and--for the first time--smiling. "Well, you'll have to let me know whenever you do."

 

IC - Jackson Sang - Chapel:

 

A beep from his Poké Gear prompted Jackson to bring the device out of his pocket. The screen had lit up with a message from Sleight, which he opened and skimmed through. It consisted of little more than a list of places and times--what appeared, after a moment, to be almost a complete schedule of where all Levi had been to and how long he had spent at each location on the day that he had disappeared, as well as a few details on the days before.

 

"Pretty quick work, Sleight," he muttered, taking a deep breath. "All right . . . Most recent location was . . ." Jackson raised an eyebrow. "At home, huh? Interesting . . ." He flipped the device closed again, placing it back in his pocket. "Guess I know where I'm starting, then . . . bleh." His expression essentially melted at the thought. "Chapel is one thing, but how am I supposed to get into la Maison d'Alaric?"

 

IC - Goldhawk/Blackskull/Silvermind - The Alamo, Boardroom:

 

"I'm glad that's not a point of contention," Goldhawk said. "With that being said--consider yourself on probation, Arthur. Until further notice, any Executive-level security clearances you hold will be restricted. Assets stemming from Team Liberty will also be frozen. Furthermore, I'm going to require your assistance on a set of on-field assignments in the near future, operating alongside an as-yet undecided senior operative. Other restrictions may or may not be applied later, as we further discuss the severity of your actions. Should they arise, you will be informed immediately." He began to straighten the pile of documents, clearly doing his best to rein in his temper. "Be thankful you're not Executive Vert, otherwise this would have been far uglier than it was."

 

Blackskull nodded--both in concurrence with Goldhawk, and in sympathy for James. Silvermind, meanwhile, shifted between looking at the two of them, seeming very much as if she wanted to voice some sort of objection to the senior leader, though unwilling to fully commit. Instead, she resigned herself to simply shaking her head at James, as if to say, 'I disagree with his decision.'

 

"If that's all," Goldhawk said after several moments. "You're free to leave."

 

IC - Kyle Eston - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

The outside air was, thankfully, much less stifling than that of the ballroom, even less so when Kyle loosened his tie and unbuttoned the neck of his shirt. The balcony appeared mostly empty, save for a few individuals scattered around and three or so couples dancing quietly in one corner. Kyle did not approach any of these people, instead taking a place at the railing of the balcony. He leaned against it, looking out over the vast forest that surrounded the Alamo. Above, the moon shone brightly, brilliant silver light illuminating the treetops and casting intricate shadow-shapes on the walls behind him, which appeared to dance in the wind alongside the melody of the music coming from within the ballroom.

 

With a sigh, Kyle leaned forward, letting his head droop slightly. The soft breeze gently caressed the skin of his face and neck, slowly but surely cooling the heat that had accumulated from the dance. 

 

"Mr. Eston," a voice said from behind him. "Enjoying the night, are we?"

 

He looked back, and then turned with a double-take, instinctively shifting into a salute. Although the woman's silver dress and the make-up she wore looked almost completely different from the norm, there was no mistaking the identity of the person before him.

 

"Silvermind," he said. "Yes, ma'am."

 

She crossed her arms, a sly smile on her face. "At ease, kiddo," she said. "This event isn't that formal."

 

"Er . . . Right," Kyle said, cautiously lowering his hand and arm. "Sorry, just . . . I don't typically run into you or Goldhawk or Blackskull around base, much less during something like this." He gestured to the open doors that led back into the ballroom.

 

"Of course. I understand," Silvermind said. "Well, truth be told, I actually need to talk to you about something." She looked around, frowning. "Though, this doesn't seem like a very appropriate place for it . . ." The Liberty Leader turned, listening to the change in music and looking back inside as the tempo shifted. She returned her attention to the Liberty Agent. "Care to humor me for a bit with a dance? Might make it easier to avoid interference."

 

Kyle paused, part of him recognizing that accepting the request would almost certainly turn out badly--something about this exchange, after all, did not feel all that right. Even so, another part of him realized that whatever Silvermind's topic of conversation was, it was bound to be work-related and thus unavoidable anyway. So, in the end, he slowly stepped forward. ". . . Sure," he said, as enthusiastically as he could manage. "Why not?"

 

"Excellent," Silvermind said, smiling pleasantly. "Right this way, then."

 

She led him back inside. On the outskirts of the group of dancers, she turned, holding out a hand. Kyle took it, the two shifting into a pose similar to the one he had shared with Esen earlier--albeit slightly less comfortable, as Silvermind was a good two or three inches shorter than him. Kyle found his neck constantly craned as he tried to maintain a respectable amount of eye contact.

 

"Alright," Silvermind said after a moment. "I don't want to bore you with nonsense, so I guess I'll just cut straight to the point." She glanced behind Kyle, in the direction of the snack bar. "Mr. Eston, are you aware of who that girl is? The one you were dancing with earlier?"

 

"Esen?" Kyle said. "Vaguely. I mean, we didn't talk a whole lot, but . . ." He shrugged, looking in the same place. "She's not part of Team Liberty, I know that much. From the sounds of it, she's not really associated with us at all--just visiting with someone, or something." He shifted uncomfortably. "And . . . I guess something happened with her mother?"

 

"Yeah . . ." Silvermind sighed. "You know even less than you think you do." Kyle looked at her, incredulous. "Don't misunderstand me--I'm impressed she talked to you at all. But it doesn't sound like she was completely honest with you." The Liberty Leader paused for a moment to brush her hair aside. She leaned her head back slightly. "See, Esen there is a very . . . peculiar case." She paused. "Do you remember Shadow Admin Ace?"

 

Kyle tilted his head, confused. "Who doesn't?" he said. "Between being the first Shadow Admin to be ousted from their position and the circumstances around her death, I'd be surprised if anyone in Team Liberty--or anywhere, for that matter--didn't know who she was." He stared at Silvermind carefully. "Why? What does she have to do with this?" Silvermind raised her eyebrows, glancing again toward Esen. Kyle followed her gaze, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Wait . . . Are you saying . . .?" He shook his head, looking back at the Liberty Leader.

 

"That Esen there is Ace's daughter?" Silvermind said. "I am. Or, at least, that's what she'd have me believe. But, I don't know . . . I feel like there's something else to the situation, personally." She shrugged.

 

Kyle glanced away. "So, why's she here, then?" he asked. "The Alamo seems like the last place she'd want to be . . ."

 

"I was getting to that," Silvermind said. "Executive Aaron, Agent Cero, and I encountered her in Cianwood City a few days ago, on our way to deal with some rogue Gym Leaders. I managed to convince her to come back here with us, though she was a bit uncooperative at first."

 

"You brought her here?" Kyle repeated. "Why would you, of all people, want a Rocket-born trainer on Team Liberty soil as anything but a prisoner?"

 

Silvermind took a deep breath, struggling to mask her annoyance at being interrupted again. "Because, Mr. Eston," she said. "I don't see 'prisoner' material with her. I see a potential asset." She looked squarely at Kyle. "Think about it. We're in a ceasefire with Team Rocket right now, but how long is it going to last? Eventually, tensions will flare up and the war will resume. And when it does, we're going to need everything and everyone we can get our hands on to get an edge up against them. So, what would make a better soldier--a better source of internal connections--than a Shadow Admin's child?" She shook her head slightly, expression one of enthused brilliance. "Isn't it a great thought? I mean, sure, Silver is nice and all as a mole--but we could do so much more with someone like Esen on our side."

 

Kyle stared back at the Liberty Leader with a mixed expression of hesitation, shock, and horror. "A great thought if you actually want the war to restart, sure," he said after a moment. "But not if you're content with its end--as you should be." He shook his head, looking away. "Jeez . . . Why are you telling me any of this, anyway? This is sounding less and less like a conversation and more like a battle plan that you need to get approved . . ."

 

"I'm telling you because I need your help," Silvermind said. "I couldn't help but hear about your departure to Kalos tomorrow morning. As it happens, Esen is going there on the exact same flight." Kyle slowly closed his eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. The action did not go unnoticed by Silvermind, who hastened her speech. "And then there's the fact that you and her danced together . . . I'm not saying it's perfect for what I need, but I'm not saying it's not perfect, either, Mr Eston. You have a connection now, and obviously she feels comfortable talking to you, so if anyone is going to have a shot at getting her to join Team Liberty--"

 

"No," Kyle said flatly. "If she already said no, then she said no, end of story. I'm not going to try and make her change her mind about it just because you want to . . . to . . . exploit her in the war." By now the two had virtually come to a stop, still locked in their slow-dance pose but no longer moving. Luckily--or unluckily--no one seemed to notice, the crowd of dancers simply continuing their own hypnotic movements. 

 

There was a brief moment of silence, accompanied by a thickening of the air. Before long, Silvermind sighed. "I was afraid you'd say something like that," she said. "Well, alright, then, Mr. Eston. If you're going to play hardball with this, then I guess I'll just have to make it an order, won't I?" She straightened up, expression flattening. "As an Agent of Team Liberty, after all, it is your duty to ensure that whatever edges we can gain in the war are gained. Therefore, you are not to leave Esen Windred's side while in Kalos, and in that time, you are fully expected to make an effort to convince her to understand our cause. Failure to do so, or to provide evidence that you tried, will result in punishment equivalent to that of insubordination."

 

"What?" Kyle said, in utter disbelief of the situation. "You can't just--! That's an abuse of power and you know it!" He glared at Silvermind, teeth clenched. "I have half a mind to go to my father about this--or Goldhawk."

 

"Is that so?" Silvermind said. "Tell me, who here outranks Executive Eston?" Silvermind peered back at him. "On top of that, who's Goldhawk more likely to believe about this--you, or me?" She looked away, closing her eyes. "Honestly, you would think I was asking you to kill her or something. Trust me, Mr. Eston, this is purely for Team Liberty's benefit. Maybe you need to reevaluate your priorities."

 

Kyle almost growled in frustration, knowing that he was essentially stuck. Heart thumping with rage, he took a forceful step back, yanking his hands away from Silvermind's. She blinked in surprise before crossing her arms, watching him expectantly. After several moments of glaring at her, Kyle looked away. "Fine," he said. "Have it your way. Just remember that when this inevitably backfires, the blame and the consequences are on you--just like with Paradise."

 

He spun around and began to cut his way through the crowd, ignoring the incredulous gape and glare that virtually burned into his back. Kyle didn't care. While he normally would never have considered addressing a higher-ranked individual in such a matter, he had also never expected one--a Liberty leader, no less--to stoop to such levels of pettiness just to gain something as insignificant as a war asset. And then to question his loyalties to the organization . . .

 

The music followed him to the exit, as did the turmoil of emotions in his chest. Briefly, he paused, looking back into the crowd, before forcing himself to leave, letting his feet guide him back to his room.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Pears Nivans

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

Zoe's peers had the unfortunate luck to be standing between Flint and the nearest exit. They scattered as Flint barrelled toward them, the girls shrieking and clinging to their dates for support, as if the hapless preteen boys (some of which were shrieking even louder than the girls) could do anything to protect them against the crazy Monferno.

 

"Hey!" Travis cried as he finally laid eyes on his assaulter. "Get back here, you darn, dirty ape!" Hair a mess, tuxedo in tatters, Travis chased after Flint, with the kid who had tried to knock the monkey off his head following in close pursuit.

 

Zoe stuck out her tongue as her classmates scattered. Then, while everyone was distracted, she quickly led Claus and Colette in the opposite direction. "That was totally worth it," she smiled. "You don't think I could bring Flint with me to class sometime, could I?"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus and Richard):

 

Claus chuckled slightly at the thought of Flint making trouble in a classroom, "Eh, maybe. I'm gonna need him around, and I don't want him getting into too much trouble. But we'll see," he said being intentionally vague about it.

 

On the stage, Richard had been watching some of the snippets from the series of unfortunate events that was taking place on the dance floor. He couldn't hear any of what was going on, but something made his blood boil about it... until the Monferno showed up and attacked the kid.

 

Claus... you are the greatest person that has ever lived... besides Colette, but that goes without saying.

 

The currently idle (though for a performer, idle had a different meaning than he'd use the word off-stage) was scanning the room to see where his friends had gotten off to again, when he saw something different that made his blood boil.

 

Him?! Richard thought as his eyes doubled back to see one of the two opponents who had ditched the tournament, was currently ditching the dance.

 

So he's Liberty, eh? Good to know... good to know...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

"Meanwhile, though..." Colette cut in, as she sighed.

"This whole stuff is getting tiresome... Mind if we take a break...?" Colette asked, as she wanted a rest from all this dancing and the whole fact that she was constantly being hit on and asked to dance and the like.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Oh, I understand that." Aria responded. "It's more the tone of your words, all large and mysterious. I find speech like that to be grating, why is it so difficult to talk clearly?" she sighed, shaking her head, before looking over at Aspen's battle. "Well, he's gotten basic type matchups correctly.... Let's see if he has what it takes to win."

 

"Aqua Jet, then Ice Beam again!" Aspen called out, knowing getting hit in this fight would be the last thing he wanted to happen. Torrent quickly leaped above the tail of the Flygon, and turned around after landing a bit away, firing yet another Ice Beam. This time, the firing was less awkward, as the Buizel was starting to get a feeling on how the attack worked. 

 

"Good job with the win! But that battle started off horribly so please don't mess up next!" Olivia warned again, not aware that her attempts at cheering on Zach weren't working exactly as she thought they would. 

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Unfortunately, Fuerte had his leg grabbed and was slammed to the ground. The Hawlucha cried indignantly before fainting instantly upon contact with the ground.

"Oh, that's a win!" Ruth said with a bit of surprise. "Guess that Machop does have some muscle behind him. Good job!" she said, walking over to shake hands with the trainer of the Machop who had triumphed over Fuerte.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

Ryan smiled back. "Sure thing," he said. The two Liberty Agents danced a while longer, until Ryan glanced over Sonja's shoulder and saw Ray by the snack bar, still sitting glumly by himself. His smile faltered. "I... I don't mean to be intruding," Ryan said, suddenly aware of how stuffy the ballroom was. "But I have to know. You and Ray. The two of you... you aren't... I mean..." He forced himself to look Sonja straight in the eyes. "You two aren't, you know... together -- are you?"

 

IC: Zoe

Zoe nodded at her sister's suggestion. "Yeah, it's getting impossible to dance with all these guys approaching you," she muttered. The trio found a table by the snack bar and proceeded to watch the crowd of dancers.

 

They had barely been sitting for a minute when a man approached Colette with a drink in his hand. "Want some punch?" he asked, offering her the cup. "I couldn't help but notice you getting pestered by that kid back there. That boy does not know how to treat a woman properly. Now myself on the other hand... I could offer you a dance in addition to the punch." The man winked at her. "Come on... it's an offer I know you can't refuse."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: N==-

 

N shrugged, as he paused.

"Do I really talk like that? I must stop and rethink my equations if that is the case, I might have gotten the wrong formula at some point..." N mumbled, curiously intrigued about that suddenly.

 

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh raised an eyebrow, as the Flygon spun around and fired off a Fire Blast to counter the Ice Beam.

"Fly up to the sun!" Hugh called out, as the Flygon nodded to its trainer, and flew upwards; and it began to glow as it did so...

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette looked at the man as if he were crazy.

"Uhh..." Colette blinked at the drink, unsure about it; but she didn't want to outright say no, since she was slightly thirsty. But something seemed off about it for some reason, and the guy definitely seemed sketchy like everyone else, what with asking her to dance... Although this guy had more of an excuse, since they were actually sitting this time. Colette, however, couldn't seem to figure out how to decline both without him harassing them constantly, and looked over to the other two for some help.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach blinked and nervously smiled at Olivia with a slight wave, before he focused back onto his strategies for the next fight. Shortly after, his opponent walked out, and if there were any doubts prior as to what type said opponent was using; the look of his opponent broke them into many pieces.

"Hya! My name is Marshall; Fighting Type master of the Elite Four." The muscled man with an odd haircut introduced himself, as Zach nodded, and the two walked to their respective places, as Marshall took a pose.

"Let's give a good, solid fight!" Marshall called out, as Zach smiled, and the two sent out their first Pokemon. Zach led off with Blade for once, as Zach focused.

Fighting type, just as I hoped. Zach thought; he had picked Blade, Ren, and Luke for the fight, but hoped he'd only have to use Blade this time; even as he noticed Marshall leading off with a Machamp, who seemed to be getting prepared as well.

"You know the rules... Let's fight!" Marshall said, as the Machamp and Gallade dashed toward each other. The Gallade was surprised, however, when the Machamp simply took the Psycho Cut with a wince, and then clenched his fist and then responded with a heavy blow to Blade's face; sending the Gallade crashing across the ground from the Dynamicpunch, as both the Gallade and Zach looked in surprise, as Marshall smiled slightly.

"Oh, that's right. You probably haven't ever seen this in action. This is a No Guard Machamp... It'll take the attacks its opponents give without any hesitation whatsoever... And then respond in kind. Almost like a Counter, if you catch my drift." Marshall explained, and Zach frowned, unsure what to do in this case...

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

Jake was slightly in shock; he had managed to beat a Pokemon that someone had trained with a recently caught Pokemon. Snapping out of his thoughts, he shook the offered hand. "Thanks! That was an awesome battle. Fuerte was really strong. But I can't believe Machop was able to pull off the Flying Press counter. That one looked really tricky!" He turned to Machop. "Great job, you were excellent. You should probably rest now." With that, Jake held out Machop's pokeball and the red beam of light enveloped Machop, returning him once more to his capsule.

 

"So... the Ariel Ace and High Jump Kick combo... where did you come up with that?" Jake asked Ruth, genuinely interested. "I thought it was really strong, and also lucky that Machop was able to hold onto Fuerte's leg, otherwise that definitely would have gone a different direction for Machop and I."

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius

He watched the battle in complete silence, noting what, exactly,was going on. As soon as Ruth had gone over to shake Jake's hand, Arius clapped.

"Nice battle, guys! It seemed really close." She stood up from his sitting position, and walked over. :So I guess this means you need to head on back to the Pokecenter? It would be stupid to just rush into the gym right now."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus):

Claus slinked off towards the punch bowl, while the newest suitor. He almost felt bad about this one, this one was at least being pretty polite, but enough was enough. He almost felt like trying to find a Stunky to keep people away. He poured two cups o' punch. One for himself, and one for the suitor.

 

And by that, he meant one for him to drink, and the other to toss and all over the suitor's head. Which he did. And before the suitor could have registered it, he was already part of the crowd.

 

Now I'm just abusing the privilege... he thought before trying to map the best way to rendezvous with the sister's Llyan. 

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"I don't know," Zoe frowned at the man. "Collie's been refusing a lot of offers lately. Besides, something seems oddly suspicious." The younger sister peered at the man with disapproval. "Are you sure you don't have any ulterior motives here?"

 

The man gave Zoe a pleasant smile. "Now what makes you say that?"

 

Before either sister could respond, Claus struck from the shadows, dumping a cup of punch over the man's head. The man whirled around, but Claus had already disappeared into the crowd like the ninja he had become (at least that's what Zoe saw him as).

 

"Hey!" the man yelled into the crowd. "Who did that?"

 

While the man's back was turned, Zoe gave her sister a look that said she did not trust this guy at all and that they should get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette nodded, and then subtly read his aura, and then frowned. Colette grabbed the drink that the guy had left on the table, as she subtly smirked, knowing that Zoe was watching, and then tapped the guy on the shoulder with her free hand, and then tossed the punch at the man's face as he turned around, hoping some of it got in his mouth.

"That's for the drink and the offer." Colette said, as she looked back with a look on annoyance on her face.

"I'd recommend you leave now." Colette continued, as she frowned at the guy, the look on her face subtly telling the guy that she was not someone to be trifled with.

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

Zoe looked in surprise as Colette splashed the drink in the man's face. The man looked in surprise as well. He gaped at Colette for a solid minute before turning on his heels and sprinting out of the ballroom, stumbling slightly as he ran.

 

"Wow, Collie, I don't think I've ever seen you this angry before," Zoe said. She sighed with a deep frown. "Not that I'm really surprised. This is getting ridiculous. Can we not even sit down for five minutes without someone interrupting us?"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Claus):

 

"I don't think so," Claus said rejoining the other two. "It's a shame, but we may have to deal with this all night, until we run out of guys. In that case, we should militarize ourselves. I suggest we take several slices of cake, and keep dancing, and when the next one comes, we all three cake his face all at once."

 

And a chance to swipe another piece of that delicious cake would be nice, Claus thought with a smile that betrayed that thought.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette took a deep breath and sighed with a nod, as she yawned slightly.

"Yeah, it is getting pretty ridiculous." Colette sighed again, as she sat down again awkwardly, not really paying much attention to proper posture or anything this time, because she just couldn't be bothered. Besides, who knew, it might actually deter the suitors. However, Colette caught a glimpse of Ryan and Sonja dancing again, as she looked around to make sure no-one was making a beeline to her again, and was reminded of what happened earlier. Colette's gaze sharpened as she frowned slightly... She didn't agree with what Ryan had done, and was making that rather clear at that moment.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"You know, I bet they'd leave you alone if you actually picked a guy to dance with," Zoe said thoughtfully. "Definitely not one of the creepy ones, but you've got to admit, the first few were sort of nice."

 

When Colette did not respond, Zoe noticed her unusual glare. "What's wrong?" she asked tentatively. Following her sister's gaze, Zoe spotted Ryan as well. A knowing smile crept onto her lips. "Oooh, you're jealous, aren't you?" she grinned, completely misinterpreting the glare. "You want to dance with What's-His-Name!"

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Liberty Ball:

 

". . .!?" It took Sonja several moments (what felt like hours) to fully process what Ryan had just asked her. She opened and closed her mouth several times, unsure of how to answer the question. "N-no? I guess . . . not really . . .?" She dearly wanted to follow that up with something, but couldn't think of what the proper continuation would be. Mentally, however, she could hear warning bells going off, accompanied by a little voice saying, Oh, no--this . . . tell me what I think is going to happen isn't actually going to happen . . .

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

"I-wait-what?" Colette blinked, unsure if she heard Zoe right.

"I didn't say that at all!" Colette said, as while that would solve a number of problems, it was by far not what she was thinking in the slightest. However, she had a bad feeling that Zoe was scheming something.

"Zoe... What are you thinking...?" Colette asked cautiously, unsure of what would happen next.

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"I don't have to read your aura to know that you're jealous of that girl who's dancing with What's-His-Name over there," Zoe smiled. Colette gave her a worried -- almost panicked -- look. "It's nothing to be nervous about," Zoe assured her. "Here, I can ask him for you if you want."

 

Eager to help her sister in any way she could, Zoe hopped up from the table and dashed into the crowd of dancers before Colette even had a chance to respond.

 

IC: Ryan

Ryan sighed with relief. "That's good -- er, I mean, that's cool," he mumbled, averting his eyes from Sonja's. The room had become unbelievably hot and stuffy. "Listen, I've been doing some thinking recently," Ryan said slowly. He was well aware of the blush that had risen on his face. "You're a really great friend, Sonja -- one of my closest friends within Team Liberty. What I'm trying to say is... well... what would you say if we were to become... more than friends?"

 

He peered at Sonja tentatively, trying to decipher some meaning behind the look in her eyes. The two of them had come to a halt near the middle of the dance floor. Ryan felt his heart beat faster; it was practically fluttering in anticipation.

 

The next words came not from Sonja, but from a small girl. "Hey, What's-Your-Name! My sister said she really wants to dance with you!"

 

The words seemed to come from far away, and Ryan was sure they couldn't have been addressed to him. It wasn't until he felt someone pull his hand away from Sonja's and try to lead him toward the snack bar that Ryan looked down and recognized the young girl he and Ray had battled earlier. "Um... what?" he asked in confusion.

 

"My sister, Collie!" the girl repeated, pointing toward the snack bar. "She wants to know if you'll dance with her!"

 

Ryan did a double take. Had the girl not pointed out her sister, Ryan wouldn't have recognized her. Her light blue attire had been replaced with a similarly-colored modest dress. But the most shocking change was her hair, which was in a curly bun -- vastly different from the dog ears she had sported earlier. Ryan glanced back at Sonja, silently asking if this sudden turn of events was really happening.

 

"Come on!" Zoe pleaded. "She'll be really disappointed if you don't!"

 

Ryan turned back to Zoe, still trying to comprehend the unusual request. "W-we were kind of in the middle of something..." he stammered, looking to Sonja for support.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette watched helplessly as Zoe sped off before she could explain, and just sighed, as she held her head in her hands, wondering why things just kept happening the way they did that night.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Oh, I don't know if that's possible." Aria remarked snidely. "Depending on how long you have spoken like that, you may have no idea what the correct formula even is." the Lucario finished with a smirk.

 

Aspen frowned as the Flygon flew up in front of the sun, slowly coming to a realization. "Sun..... Torrent! Get out of there!" Aspen called when it dawned on him, the Buizel skeptically moving to the side to make himself a harder topic to hit. "Keep moving!" Aspen warned. 

 

Olivia watched skeptically as the Machamp seemed to be acting... Differently. "Zach! Keep on your guard!" she warned. "Don't you dare mess up now!"

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Recalling Fuerte, Ruth grinned upon being asked where the Aerial Ace and High Jump Kick combo originated from. "Oh, that? Well, both moves are great at doing damage, but they both have their downsides. You know how the Scientific Method goes?" Ruth asked. "Well, I proposed a hypothesis one day, reasoning that combining the two moves should cancel out their weaknesses. I then had multiple experiments using the combination to refine the technique, working on getting it juuuuust right. And hey! It seemed to have worked great!" Ruth said with a grin. "Good battle! ....Though, I think Fuerte is gonna hold a grudge against Machop now." she shrugged.

 

Turning to Jacob, she rolled her eyes. "Of course I'd head into the Center, I'm not that overconfident." she chuckled, walking around the building and into the Pokemon Center, to get Fuerte healed up and ready for the Gym battle.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"I know..." Zach mumbled, as he recalled his Gallade, who seemed to be dazed and confused; and sent out Ren quickly. Zach had no clue what to actually do at that moment. Zach took a deep breath, and cleared his mind, as he focused, and looked around the situation.

"Quick Attack, then fire up!" Zach yelled out, unsure if this would work, but willing to try. The Luxray ran forward, and then, once within range, bit the Machamp quickly with flaming fangs. The bright side was that the Machamp was burnt as a result. The downside, was that the Machamp retaliated with another Dynamic Punch. The Luxray was thrown back, as it slowly stood up. Zach knew it couldn't take too much more of this, but also knew that Blade couldn't either; and the Luxray didn't seem to be confused.

"Quick Attack, Crunch, Ice Fang, Wild Charge!" Zach called out a long chain of attacks, which surprised Marshall, but the Elite Four member simply smiled confidently. The Luxray leaped at the Machamp, who simply stood there, aiming to take the attacks again. However, this time, the Luxray took advantage of that, and crunched down on the Machamp's lower left arm. The Machamp winced in pain, and dropped its defenses more; however, as it moved to retaliate, the Luxray leaped into action. Biting down on the lower right arm, which was about to attack the Luxray, Machamp actually flinched that time, as a thin coat of ice spread across the arm. As the Machamp was recovering, however, the Luxray tackled the Machamp with a sparking full-body attack.

 

The Machamp was thrown across the field, as Ren rolled across the ground with a wince from the recoil. The Machamp attempted to stand up, but was very slow to do so. Ren was about the same, but managed it a long while before the Machamp did.

"Quick Attack!" Zach called out, as Ren dashed forward, and slammed into Machamp with a plain old Quick Attack. The Machamp fell back, and finally was fainted. Marshall frowned, but withdrew the Pokemon, and then nodded slowly.

"Lucario, go, Extremespeed." Marshall said, as his own Lucario was sent out, and, before Zach could react, slammed into Ren and fainted the already-damaged Pokemon. Zach frowned, as he recalled the Luxray, and then gripped Luke's Pokeball. He wasn't totally certain of the new moves for the newly evolved Lucario, but it was his best choice for the fight.

"Luke, come on!" Zach said, as the two Lucarios stared at each other.

"Aura Sphere!" The two trainers yelled out, and the two opponents obeyed the command, while simultaneously strafing around each other.

"Extremespeed, Force Palm!" Zach called out, as Luke took the initiative to dash forward, and then jumped over the other Lucario, who was surprised that Luke had gone for a physical approach. However, Zach smiled, as instead of generating a Force Palm, Luke charged up and Aura Sphere, and fired it at point-blank range at the other Lucario, who had been prepared to grab Luke's arm as he moved in, and instead missed badly, and got blown back by the super effective sphere.

"Interesting tactic..." Marshall mused, as the Lucario stood up and frowned at Luke.

 

-==IC: N==-

 

N thought for a moment, and then nodded at Aria, agreeing with her. However, he then looked at the fight going on down below.

"That one Lucario's very slow in comparison to the other... even calculating a zetta problems would be faster." N mumbled, as he shook his head.

"It's like it's moving in slow motion or something." N noted, and then looked back to Aria, unsure of what to talk about next.

 

-==IC: Hugh==-

 

Hugh, however, frowned at the seeming lack of synergy.

"Calculate it, Flygon!" Hugh called out, as the Flygon launched the Solar Beam a few feet away from where the Buizel currently was... And aimed toward where it likely would be in the next second or two.