Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Konuju]

OOC: Permission granted by Minun for mild bunnying.

 

IC: Zoe
Zoe had picked herself up when the second Earthquake struck. This time she managed to keep from falling over, but it took all her effort to do so while keeping Richard's prized instrument safe from harm. Meanwhile, Merida leapt aside to avoid the falling Swampert, but found herself dazed from the subsequent earthquake. At that point Richard entrusted Zoe with a second task of utmost importance: keep the Swampert distracted.
 
Then the Mud Bombs were launched. Still disoriented, Merida was unable to avoid getting hit by a few of the pellets. Zoe wasn't able to do much of anything to help the poor Meditite, let alone distract the Swampert, as she was too busy spinning in a mad dance as she tried to shield the violin under her protection. She knew the bard would not be pleased to see his instrument given a new coat of soily, grimy paint.
 
Seeing that Zoe and Merida were not in any position to distract the Swampert at the moment, Hades decided to take matters into his own hands. When the Swampert paused in its volley of Mud Bombs, Hades countered with Night Shade. The giant mud fish roared in fury, hurling a single Mud Bomb at the Sableye. Hades didn't even have to Detect the attack, which missed by a wide angle thanks to the Swampert's confusion.
 
With the Swampert focused solely on Hades, Zoe saw the opportunity for a surprise attack. "Quick, Merida!" she cried. "Calm Mind, then finish it off with Confusion!" The Meditite closed her eyes, doing her best to clear her mind -- a task that's easier said than done when an angry mud fish is roaring like a tank. Nevertheless, Merida somehow managed to gather enough focus. She opened her eyes, now glowing a bright pink, and launched waves of psychic energy at her opponent. Had Merida been faced with a smaller opponent, her attack would have gone awry. But the Swampert was a big enough target that the poorly-executed Confusion still managed to hit. Of course, the attack did little to 'finish it off' as Zoe had so confidently declared. If anything, the Swampert had become even more dangerous.

 

Merida's attack could have inadvertently counteracted the effects of Hades' Confuse Ray, or it might have just been a coincidence, but at that moment the Swampert snapped out of its confusion. With sudden clarity, the Mud Fish Pokémon narrowed his eyes at his opponents. The Sableye and the Meditite were proving to be far more annoying than the headache that had brought him here. And he wasn't going to let the little girl nor the bard (whose head was just barely visible over the top of a boulder) escape his wrath, either. With a guttural growl, the Swampert summoned a torrent of water from the depths of the earth, aiming to sweep everyone away with a single Muddy Water.

 

As the wave of murky water rose behind the Swampert, Zoe felt a sudden panic. There was nowhere to run. She already knew what Richard would say. The only thing worse than a violin caked with mud was a waterlogged violin caked with mud.

 

But as it turned out, the wall of water wasn't the only thing to rise out of the ground. Realizing what was happening by the water churning all around him, Ponos chose that moment to pop up right under the Swampert's feet. The unexpected maneuver sent the Swampert stumbling backward, where the wall of water crashed on top of him.

 

Merida was on the Swampert before it could regain its focus, pummeling it with repeated Force Palms. Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, then looked back at Richard. "I don't know how much longer we can hold him off, Mr. Bard!" she cried.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Right, emotional support." Dahlia responded to Palmer. "Yeah, I can do that.... It's not as glorious a job as military strategist but... I'm okay with that." the gardener said with a small smile. She never thought that anyone in her family could get involved in conflict of this scale.... An entire city under siege. Turning away from the Tower Tycoon, Dahlia went to heal her Pokemon. During that time, she wondered just how good she really was at getting her siblings to calm down.... After all, they haven't been responding to her pleas nearly as much lately.... M-Maybe things will get better after this is all over....

 

Meanwhile, Aspen stood off in the corner of the Pokemon Center, far away from the others. Occasionally, he would shoot them a glance, but his mind was elsewhere.... He gripped the Pokeball of the Eevee he dubbed 'Saya'. Turning towards the wall, he held it up and looked at it with confusion. She seemed so afraid of us... Even Ellen, who seems like she's a natural with Pokemon. Just what could have happened to Saya that she'd even be afraid of her....? Aspen wondered with worry. Maybe I should have given her to Ellen.... She might have been in better hands.... It's too late for that though, so I guess after this stupid battle is over..... he thought, but was unable to finish and gave up. Whatever. I'll have time to figure out what to do later... the trainer resolved. No more was his condescending and cocky front up... Now, he was confused and lost, unsure of what to do.

 

Olivia smiled at Zach's response. Whether fate actually cared about their sentiments she didn't know, but Zach sharing her desire was enough to reassure the trainer. Then came Luke, who asked if Zach knew where to eat. It was only then that she recognized the somewhat empty feeling in her stomach, and so listened intently for his reply. Then came the innocuous comment of going to the Gym, and suddenly food didn't matter nearly as much anymore. Olivia's spirits dropped like a rock when Zach mentioned that one event, as it was perfectly clear that Zach had led a very active life not long ago.... One that didn't involve her in any way whatsoever. The redhead quickly looked downwards so that the others didn't see the melancholy expression on her face.  We... Used to do everything together.... And now he's off being a dashing hero with his merry band of friends... she thought. Am I... Still even relevant to him anymore? He said he still likes me, but that's probably the Zach from six years ago speaking.... Would the Zach from now still even bat an eye at me? Even with all the things he's done and friends he's made? she thought in despair. Olivia was so caught up in her doubt that she didn't look up to see the small grin on Zach's face...

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"........Huh." was all Ruth could muster in response to the Cranidos just fainting right then and there. "I... guess I win, then. Great battle, Roark!" she called out to the Gym Leader, smiling.

 

Fuerte stared in shock at what just happened. Then the Pokemon started an angry tirade of shouts and screeches, furious his opponent fainted before he had a chance to battle. Then the Hawlucha's fury was cut off by him returning to his Pokeball.

 

"So uh, Jake one or two's going up next, I guess." said Ruth. "I kinda forget which was which....."

[Ehksidian]

IC: Arius Jacobson

Arius stood up, and clapped. "Good fight! And I guess that does mean I'm next after all, huh? Hopefully I'll be able to do well..." He smiled, and stepped down towards the field.

"Ready when you are, Roark."

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, At a Computer:

 

Sonja glanced at Ray, and then, after activating her Pokétch, scanned the Fighting-Type. Loki watched her curiously, and then gave Ray a look, his eyebrows raised. "He's pretty close," she said. "It should only take one or two more battles for him to evolve." Sonja grinned, pounding her fist into her palm. Loki mimicked her, as if he knew exactly what was going through her head. "And once you do, that jerk's Blaziken won't stand a chance against you, right, buddy?" The Gurdurr nodded, a confident grin stretching across his face.

 

IC - Joker/Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall/Cyan Vero/Zack Furler/Drake Masters - Havoc, Lower Halls:

 

"And what makes you so 'inclined'?" Drake asked James. "Last I checked you were a Rocket defector, so how do we know that you aren't--?"

 

"That's irrelevant," Cyan cut in, a tangible air of impatience in his voice. It was clear--even from a look--that he was paying as much attention to the surroundings as he was to the conversation, as if tracking the progress of the destabilization of the base. Without giving Drake time to respond, Cyan gestured to the group of Rockets. "Look, I have as much misgivings about Team Rocket as you probably do about Team Liberty, but if you level with us, we'll level with you. Deal?"

 

Ethan looked to Joker, who blinked slowly at the group in front of her, equally impatient--though for different reasons. "If it gets us moving, then fine," she said. "You already know why we're here, so why are you?"

 

"We received a distress signal from Team Magma," Zack said. "Came to help out. Get more people here in order to fend off whoever's attacking."

 

"And, as we've said," Gavin said. "that would be Quincy Adams and whomever else from Ford's group she decided to bring in."

 

"Regardless," Cyan said, mental timer still ticking. "Due to circumstances, that's no longer happening. Namely, the fact that this facility's cooling systems are no longer stable--we have about an hour before Havoc is swallowed by Mt. Ember." A collective breath of surprise seemed to escape the group of Rockets. Either they really weren't involved, or they were all incredibly well-trained actors. "You can perform a mental check if you want to verify that. While you do that--previous encounters have indicated that Ford does not utilize large numbers of his own forces in these kinds of assaults, so I have to ask whether you have any idea about other parties involved here."

 

Joker closed her eyes, sweeping through Cyan's words and memories for a glint of truth. To her displeasure, she found that what he had said was accurate. Had she been looking for it, she might have noticed that Cyan's information regarding Ford's tactics were fabricated--that was not something he had had any capability to find out. Nevertheless, it fit with what she and the others had observed whilst in Havoc. "Adams' teleportation signature was tracked here not long ago, which is how we arrived," she said. "She has at least one other agent operating with her, likely a member of Déoza given past incidents and known affiliations, and who was in possession of a bomb and a Beheeyem--a partial source for the teleportation barrier. It is likely that others like him are here. Aside from that . . ."

 

"We have noticed a number of Team Energon bodies mixed in with those of Team Magma," Ethan offered. "The issue we're having is that we don't know who--"

 

"If they're fighting Magma, then Team Energon is working with Déoza and Adams," Cyan interrupted. "Energon works with neither Team Liberty nor with Team Rocket. Likewise with Déoza. None of them have reason for being here unless they are attacking an ally of Team Liberty with the intent to destroy it. That would explain how they managed to disable both the facility itself and any outside help that could have managed to get in." He started moving forward, turning down the hall that the Rockets had not yet gone down.

 

"Wait, how can you be so sure of that?" Drake demanded.

 

Cyan stopped, turning around and looking directly at him. "Considering who you're talking to, I would think the answer is obvious," he said. "At this point, Team Magma is compromised. We need to get to the control center, get Maxie and whoever else we can, and get out. There's nothing more we can do."

 

Zack nodded, and--after a moment of internal debate--Drake did, too, albeit begrudgingly. As they moved to follow Cyan, Joker stepped forward. "Hold it," she said. The Liberty agents stopped to look at her. "We're coming with you."

 

"It'd be in Team Rocket's best interest for you to leave," Cyan said. "This is our business, not yours."

 

"I wasn't asking for your permission," Joker said, a sharp edge dotting her words. Skye glanced at Gavin uncomfortably at this. "Adams is more than likely targeting Maxie. Wherever he is, she'll be there as well." She stared him straight in the eye. "And for the record, what concerns her became my business the moment she placed her death sentence upon my Golurk."

 

"Trust me," Ethan said. "Even putting personal business aside, Adams isn't someone you want to trifle with. You'll want our help once you meet her yourself."

 

Cyan looked between the two for a moment, before finally shaking his head. "Fine," he said. "Hopefully you'll understand if we don't let our guard down around you."

 

"As long as we're leveling with each other, then you should know the same," the Shadow Admin replied, her tone icy. "Now, lead the way, Mr. Vero."

 

OOC:

Next post: Havoc: Beginning of the End - Vs. Quincy Adams Part 1

Edited October 11, 2014 by Parugi

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny smiled, as she took the picture that Evan handed her, and nodded, quickly hopping into the photo booth, as she inserted the money as well. Taking a deep breath, she struck an energetic pose, and then stepped out of the booth and handed the resulting picture to Evan in return.

"And here you go!" Jenny giggled, as fair was fair, after all. "Now, the both of us." Jenny said with an amused smile.

[Makuta of Time]

IC: Dandy

 

Th Feralgatir charged Razorface with its powerful jaws.The Barbaracle blocked its atta by holding its jaws open and pushing it back. "Click, show this gator what small packages contain." Dandy extended his left arm out and the purple Joltik made its way towards his palm. It let out a web of electricity which tangled itself on the Feralgatir.

 

"Nice going little buddy." The bug replied with several clicks. Though the Feralgatir was now even more angry than it was before. It broke the web and was now in a state of rage. "I think we mad it more mad." Razorface placed himself ready to take any hits to come to Dandy at any cost. The Water Pokemon usd Aqua Tail and hit the Barbaracle as it tried to block.

 

"Hang in there Razorface! Click, use your Discharge!" The Joltik happily replied by doing as it commanded and let out a discharge of electricity at the Feralgatir. The Feralgatir was still in rage and it seemed no help was in sight. "If only we had some help."

Edited October 12, 2014 by Captain Caboose

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa Amusement Park

 

"All right, let's try something energetic for the first photo.", Evan said, placing the picture in his wallet, "We'll try striking poses, sorta like the ones I strike. I'll make sure that we both get a copy of these next two pictures."

 

Evan deposited the required payment for two copies, and gestured Jenny to get in the booth with him. Noting that the booth did not afford him much room to do his more dynamic poses, Evan went with smiling in a daring fashion and pointed to the left. Jenny followed suit, pointing to the right instead. The camera flashed, and out came two pictures of the two striking dynamic poses.

 

""Now what to do for the second picture...", Evan said, rubbing his forehead, "Any ideas, Jenny?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Roark==-

 

Roark nodded with a smile as he finished healing his Pokemon, and was about to throw the first Pokeball, when his Poketch began to ring. Roark blinked, and looked at it oddly, as he took a step back, with a hand signal to show to wait, and held his arm to his ear.

"Hello?" Roark asked, and then paused for a moment, as the person on the other end explained the situation. "What? What do you mean the conveyor belts have stopped working?" Roark asked in confusion, as he listened quietly for a moment. "I see... So, it seems like somewhere between the Power Plant and here has been interrupted? But the only place is Alamos Town..." Roark said, and then thought for a moment, as a look of understanding dawned on his face. "Alright, got it."

 

Roark hung up, and then turned to the two trainers and his challenger. There was no other place an interruption could truly happen along that route. So there was only one explanation.

"So, I've got a proposal... If you three could head to Alamos Town for me, and check out things, that'd be great! If you happen to find out why the conveyor belts are down, even better. Either way, it'll give a break, and if you manage to find that out, I'll give the badge for free." Roark said with a smile, offering that much, though he still wondered just what could have happened to drain the power, since the mine was the only thing powered on that route...

 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Hmm..." Jenny thought for a moment, and then smiled, and nodded, as she led the way back into the photo booth. "Something nice." Jenny said, as she leaned against Evan in a sort of hug. "Something like this." Jenny smiled at the camera, hoping that this worked out nicely.

 

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray looked over at Sonja, surprised that Loki was that close to evolving. Ray thought that over for a second, and then recalled that Aizen might be pretty close to evolving as well.

"What about a battle?" Ray wondered out loud, as he looked over to see what Sonja thought about that idea. "Could be a double battle in some way." Ray suggested, unsure exactly what other Pokemon to use, however.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach stretched for a moment, and then looked to the side, as he realized Olivia had been rather quiet. As he looked over, he noticed she seemed... unnerved about something, almost? She definitely did not seem herself, however.

"You alright?" Zach asked, slightly confused, as he wasn't sure what could have made her seem so distant all of a sudden...

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette walked forward confidently, in comparison, as she looked down at Alexa a couple times, trying to help show her that everything would go perfectly fine. It didn't mean she wasn't paying attention, however, as she constantly scanned as best as she could focus, to make sure nothing did jump out at them.

"Right then, let's go." Colette said, as she sent out Myriam and Kammy quickly.

"Double Aura Sphere!" Colette called out, hoping that Kammy would have enough reach with this Aura Sphere to get at least to where the Feraligatr was, as she figured that attacking from above at that precise moment was best. Myriam's aura sphere reached to the beach, and Kammy's managed to reach as well, barely; but lacking in power due to the distance, and the Aura Sphere still being incomplete at that moment.

 

-==IC: ???==-

 

"Heh... Looks like we've arrived, everyone." The red hatted trainer stepped onto the docks of Vermillion City, and then stretched with a yawn. "That trip felt like it took forever, wouldn't you agree?" The young teen asked, as the red jacket blew in the wind. The trainer's Growlithe yipped out a reply, and the trainer looked up with a smile, as his brown hair ruffled slightly from a gust of wind that made him hold onto his hat.

"Shadows, let's go." Zac Blazer was back.

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Hallway:

 

Sonja and Loki glanced at each other, visibly thinking about the offer. "I think we'd be down for a single battle," she said. "Don't want to force an evolution so soon after being healed, right?" Loki nodded, striking a muscle-man pose. With a shake of her head and a chuckle, Sonja logged off of the computer. "Alright, then. To the arenas!" She started forward, leading the way.

 

OOC: Vs. Quincy Adams Part 1

 

IC - Quincy Adams/Maxie/Michael Travis/Lidiya Vasilyev/Abbing/Styles/Magma Scientist - Havoc, Central Command:

 

A sharp gasp of pain escaped both Maxie and Travis as they were slammed into the wall by a psychic force. They remained suspended there, helpless as the walls bent around them, encasing the two in a cage of metal. All the while, Adams hummed softly to herself, tapping her chin as if in serious thought.

 

"I can't decide," she said after a moment. "Should I drop the two of you into the lava outside? Or should I leave you here until the bombs go off? So many options . . ."

 

"Hold it right there, Adams!"

 

The Third Child closed her eyes, shaking her head with a sigh. She turned around. Down the hall, a group of five people blocked the passage. Four of them bore the same armor that Déoza had provided for Team Energon; one appeared to be a scientist who had been roped into a situation that he did not fully comprehend. Though he immediate reaction was to merely brush them off, upon closer inspection she realized that one of the Energon agents was . . . familiar. And then it clicked: This was the man who had taken the fall for everything in Unova. Why he was here--and why she had not seen him earlier--she did not know, though his presence hardly phased her.

 

"How about that," she said. "A group that managed to avoid extermination . . . That's impressive." She pulled two Poké Balls from her belt. "How may I help you?"

 

"Release Travis," Vasilyev spat. "And turn yourself in. Otherwise we will open fire."

 

Adams chuckled. "No can do, chief," she said. "I'm afraid the time's come for old Travis here to disappear." Her eyes narrowed. "Likewise for you."

 

What happened next was almost too fast to process. Wizard's psychic powers suddenly shifted to the Energon Energy Guns, shattering them. The Magma scientist immediately turned and ran. Seconds later, dozens of metal shards splintered from the walls and ceiling, coalescing in a cloud before Quincy's Beheeyem before shooting forward, toward Vasilyev. And the Lieutenant, surprised by the destruction of her weapon as well as their guide's break for escape, could not respond quickly enough.

 

Abbing, however, could. She gave only a single shout of "Lieutenant!" before jumping forward, pushing her commanding officer out of the way. In payment, the others were allowed to bear witness to the shards striking Abbing and flinging her back.

 

The end result did not need to be described.

 

"Abbing!" Styles yelled, eyes widening in horror. He managed a few uneven steps toward her bloodied body before collapsing to his knees, too stunned to do anything else. Vasilyev, too, could only stare in shock at the scene.

 

Adams . . . was not impressed. "I guess nothing gets to go as planned," she sighed. "Oh well. If that's the last heroic-type around, then I guess we'll make do." She tossed the containers into the air, releasing Ent, her Abomasnow, and Doll, her Gothitelle, onto the field.

 

"You . . ." Styles growled through clenched teeth. "I . . . I'll . . ." He pushed himself to his feet, turning to face Adams. In a flash, he had unleashed his Pangoro, the bear already seeming to channel its trainer's rage. "Pangoro . . . Hammer Arm!"

 

With a roar, the Daunting Pokémon charged forward, rearing its arm behind it. Adams smiled, nodding at Ent. The Abomasnow unleashed a monstrous bellow and ran to meet the Fighting-Dark-Type. At the same moment, they swung, Hammer Arm meeting Wood Hammer and putting both into a stalemate--at least, until the Frosted Tree Pokémon pulled an arm back, slamming a powerful Focus Punch into Pangoro's side a split second later . . .

Edited December 13, 2014 by Parugi

[Ehksidian]

-==IC: Roark==-

 

Roark nodded with a smile as he finished healing his Pokemon, and was about to throw the first Pokeball, when his Poketch began to ring. Roark blinked, and looked at it oddly, as he took a step back, with a hand signal to show to wait, and held his arm to his ear.

"Hello?" Roark asked, and then paused for a moment, as the person on the other end explained the situation. "What? What do you mean the conveyor belts have stopped working?" Roark asked in confusion, as he listened quietly for a moment. "I see... So, it seems like somewhere between the Power Plant and here has been interrupted? But the only place is Alamos Town..." Roark said, and then thought for a moment, as a look of understanding dawned on his face. "Alright, got it."

 

Roark hung up, and then turned to the two trainers and his challenger. There was no other place an interruption could truly happen along that route. So there was only one explanation.

"So, I've got a proposal... If you three could head to Alamos Town for me, and check out things, that'd be great! If you happen to find out why the conveyor belts are down, even better. Either way, it'll give a break, and if you manage to find that out, I'll give the badge for free." Roark said with a smile, offering that much, though he still wondered just what could have happened to drain the power, since the mine was the only thing powered on that route...

IC: Arius Jacobson

Arius was silent for a moment. The other two had gotten to battle, yet he hadn't...then again, Roark himself was probably getting tired of fighting three trainers, and so were his Pokemon. Arius nodded, and smiled. "Might as well do it. You've battled two people already, so you should have a break anyways. At least, that's what I think."

He turned around, and glanced at Ruth and Jake. "What about you guys?"

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Sounds great. Hopefully it's just something minor..." Jake trailed off as he began thinking of all the possible ways the power could fail. "Well, anyway, sorry you didn't get to battle Jacob. Thanks for having us here Roark." Jake glanced at the wall behind him. "And, umm, sorry about your wall," he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, referring to the small furrow his Machop had made whilst sliding down. Realizing they were leaving, Pikachu jumped back up to Jake's shoulder and put the green hat over his trainer's face, which was immediately snatched by said trainer and placed on his head.

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron/Alexa/George/Feraligatr
The Feraligatr had been completely focused on Barbaracle when Click's Discharge struck it in the side of the face. The giant lizard-like Pokémon gave a guttural growl. Swiping the Barbaracle aside with a Slash, the Feraligatr charged forward, aiming to squash the annoying little bug on Dandy's outstretched palm.
 
It stopped when an Aura Sphere struck the back of its head. The lizard turned in a rage, just as a second, unformed Aura Sphere exploded right in front of its eyes. The attack had the same effect as a flash grenade, temporarily blinding the monster.
 
Up on the edge of the cliff, Alexa watched Colette's Pokémon in awe. She continued to hug Amber tightly, wondering if the young Growlithe pup would be of any use. Behind them, George, Peter, and Jimmy ran up to see the situation.
 
"Colette, your job is to keep my daughter safe," George ordered. "Leave Alexa out of this. The rest of us will--"
 
"Look out!" Peter cried. Having noticed the trainers on the cliff, the Feraligatr opened its jaws and sent a massive Hydro Pump at them.
 
George, Peter, and Jimmy all leapt back, ducking against the surge of water. Jayron instinctively threw up an aura shield around the trainers at the edge of the cliff. Unfortunately, he did not have the foresight to extend the shield to the cliff face itself. The force of a thousand gallons of water striking the rocky cliff was enough to weaken the structure, causing the edge of the cliff to crumble.
 
Jayron felt a sudden feeling of weightlessness as the stone crumbled beneath his feet. Beside, him the same thing happened to Lucario, Colette, Alexa, Myriam, and Kammy. Jayron maintained his aura shield against the torrent of water still aimed at them as they all slid down the steep face of the cliff. To his left, Lucario focused on creating a cushion of aura in the sand to soften their landing.
 
As George lowered his arm, his heart skipped a beat. Alexa was gone, along with Colette, Jayron, and the Lucario. "Alexa!" he cried, rushing to the cliff's edge. He sighed with relief when he saw the trainers picking themselves up from the sand below, Colette checking to make sure Alexa was unharmed.
 
"I'm a scientist, not a fighter," Peter said, his Magneton whirring behind him. "But you're giving the orders, Captain. Do we launch a counterattack?"
 
"Not quite yet," George said with a frustrated sigh. "Alexa's down there, and I don't want our attack to hit her by accident. We'll have to wait until Colette can bring her to safety."
 
"Not to be the bearer of bad news," Jimmy said with a frown. "But it doesn't look like they have anywhere to run. They're stuck between a croc and a hard place."
 
Down on the beach, Jayron tentatively lowered his aura shield and threw the Pokéball he still held in his hand. His dark grey Absol emerged, immediately taking up a fighting stance. To the naked eye, this Absol had a dim red glow around her scythe and on the oval on her forehead. But Jayron, Lucario, and Colette could see what others could not: a shadowy red aura that seemed to engulf the Absol like a blot of dark ink. That was because this Absol was an Enhanced Shadow Pokémon, one capable of using aura. And so it was that her aura itself had been overtaken by shadow.
 
Jayron held back a slight grimace. He had never quite grown used to seeing auras so infused with darkness. But the Liberty Executive knew his Absol's condition had vastly improved since the time he had first caught her. Day by day he had worked to bond with her, hoping to one day purify her of her shadowy condition. With a grin, Jayron pointed at the Feraligatr that stood before them. "Night Slash," he said.
 
Silent as the night, the Absol leapt toward the monstrous lizard, swiping her scythe across her enemy's chest. The Feraligatr roared in fury and began to Thrash the Shadow Absol. If one thing could be said, it was that the Feraligatr was no longer focused on Dandy and his Pokémon.
 
"Get yourself and your Pokémon someplace safe!" Jayron called to the trainer that now stood behind the Feraligatr. "Quick, we have it distracted!"
 
IC: Luke/Palmer
The Tower Tycoon watched as Dahlia went off to heal her Pokémon, the subtle curve of a frown forming on his face. He was worried about her. The middle Seaton did not seem to grasp the full power of what she called 'emotional support.' Palmer felt sure that the Seatons had a deeper emotional strain between them than they chose to let on. His eyes darted to Aspen and Olivia. Both of Dahlia's siblings had also grown unusually quiet.
 
Were Palmer an optimist, he'd have written it off as pre-battle anxiety. But the Frontier Brain knew better. He began to seriously worry if this group of trainers could really work together to prevent the oncoming crisis.
 
Luke, on the other hand, paid no heed to the sudden silence that had befallen the group. Truth be told, he couldn't hear the silence over his grumbling stomach. "Well what are we waiting for?" he asked impatiently. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a Rapidash!"
 
IC: Dack/Madison
At that moment, Dack and Madison walked through the doors to the Pokémon Center. "I hope you're planning to save some for the rest of us," Dack said to Luke's comment. "Although I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty busy with the Staraptor."
 
Luke looked up at Dack with a dumbfounded expression. "I... I didn't mean Hannah's Rapidash," he said, twisting his face in disgust. "Zach just told us about a restaurant he has in mind."
 
"We don't have time for the six-course buffet," Dack growled. He pulled out the map he had bought. "We need to-"
 
"Why can't we sit down at a nice restaurant?" Madison asked, placing a hand on Dack's outstretched arm. "I don't think any of us have eaten since last night, and we don't want to be facing an army on an empty stomach. Besides, the restaurant table will be a good place to lay out our map and strategize."
 
Dack bit his tongue, staring at a spot on the tiled floor as he took a deep breath. Now that he thought about it, he actually was pretty hungry. "Alright, fine," he said, looking up at Zach. "Where's this restaurant of yours?"

[Ehksidian]

IC: Jake

 

"Sounds great. Hopefully it's just something minor..." Jake trailed off as he began thinking of all the possible ways the power could fail. "Well, anyway, sorry you didn't get to battle Jacob. Thanks for having us here Roark." Jake glanced at the wall behind him. "And, umm, sorry about your wall," he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, referring to the small furrow his Machop had made whilst sliding down. Realizing they were leaving, Pikachu jumped back up to Jake's shoulder and put the green hat over his trainer's face, which was immediately snatched by said trainer and placed on his head.

IC: Arius

"Well, I guess it's decided then. After all, Alamos isn't too far away. Unless Ruth thinks otherwise?" Arius glanced over at Ruth, to see what sh had to say on the matter.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa Amusement Park

 

Evan leaned next to Jenny, in a sort of embrace as well and smiled at the camera. The camera flashed and two photos came. Evan grabbed one and handed it to Jenny, and placed the other in his wallet.

 

"Well, I suppose we've kept your brother waiting long enough.", Evan said, smirking a bit, "Let's get back to the hotel and get packed."

[JiMing]

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"Alamos, eh?" Ruth said, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Well, it's pretty close by, so I don't see the problem with taking a quick visit!" she decided. "Sorry you didn't get to fight Roark... Maybe later, as a bonus battle when we get that Gym Badge?" the trainer suggested, shrugging afterwards. "Either way, I say we go!"

 

IC: The Seatons

 

Olivia was lost in her doubt and worry, until Zach called out concernedly. She turned to face him, somewhat confused at first, before rolling her eyes. "Nothing's wrong, alright genius?!" she snapped, before taking a deep breath and looking back apologetically. "J-Just... Tell us where this restaurant you were thinking about is..."

Olivia felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to snap at Zach, who had been so kind to her lately.... Problem was, she couldn't tell if it was just the Zach from six years ago coming through, and if she even had any place in his life now...

 

Dahlia continued to keep a small smile on her face, despite all the doubt clouding her head. The gardener turned back after her Pokemon were healed, and looked to see Dack and Madison having caught up to the group. The two of them seemed to have a similarly close connection as Olivia and Zach did years back, she noticed after Madison lightly brushed Dack's arm. They were obviously close. How close Dahlia didn't know nor care to find out, as there were other things to worry about, like the upcoming battle and-

"Food, huh?" she said, walking closer to the group. "Well.... I think that anyone, even soldiers would have to keep up their energy. Where's this restaurant anyways?"

 

Aspen kept to himself, though he did walk ever so slightly closer to the rest of the group. Dack and Madison had finally arrived, which was great and all.... But the boy scowled at Dack's implication of eating Pokemon, rolling his eyes as well.

Hannah says I'm just like that jerk? Fat chance. he thought. If I was, I'd hate myself more than I do now....

[Makuta of Time]

IC: Dandy

 

Dandy saw the Liberty members fall down to his level. He went to check to see if Razorface was alright, but the look of him was not so well. "You got hit real good there. C'mon I got ya." He helped left the big lug up as it tried to stand up. Once it gained its balance it looked at the Feralgatir with anger.

 

"C'mon let's get out of here. I'm sure they got it under contr..." But Dandy was soon cut off as his Barbaracle went up towards the Feralgatir and does his Skull Bash move. "Why does his always do this?" He got Click on his palm again and the Joltik shot out an Electro-Web at the Feralgatir. "Let's do this together!" He said to the others who are helping him.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Captain Caboose

[Ehksidian]

OOC: First in a trio of jams between JiMing, sonyaxe, and I.
IC: Arius Jacobson, Ruth Fishers, Jake Harris
After conversing with everyone for a bit, making another stop at the nearby Pokemart, and actually figuring out which way to go, Arius, Ruth, and Jake were all ready to head out to Alamos town. It didn't take long for them to exit the town and set out on the path they had plotted out.

 

"So, what do you guys think made the power grid fail?" Arius asked as they walked down the path. "I can't honestly think of anything that could break it...well, other than an actual earthquake or something. But we would have heard about that first, right?"

 

"It’s possible that an Electric-type gnawed through the lines, unless they are underground. Then maybe an Onix or something disconnected something on accident? I really can't figure it out." After saying this, Jake looked thoughtful, and Pikachu made a motion like stroking an imaginary beard.

 

"If it was an earthquake bad enough to knock out the power, I'm pretty sure we would have felt it all the way over here." Ruth said. "I mean, Alamos really isn't that far away from Oreburgh.... I don't think it was caused by anything like that....." the trainer stated, frowning confusedly afterwards. "Still don't know what could have caused it though.... Like, maybe a rusty wire breaking or something? Or.... Someone could have tampered with it." she muttered, quickly becoming quiet. Ruth hoped the power failure was purely mechanical, if the three of them had to deal with a criminal knocking out electricity..... They were just first-time trainers coming out of their first Gym battles. Well.... Whatever it is, it can't be too bad. Right....?

 

"Yeah...you're both kinda right," Arius mused for a moment, "But seriously, what could have caused that? And why were we sent to fix it? Aren't there technicians there or something that can deal with it more than a bunch of kids?"

 

That realization made him frown. In fact, why did he question this at first? It didn't make any sense to him.
 

Is something else afoot?

 

Arius' realization did nothing to help Ruth's worrying. In fact, it made it worse. If there was someone, or someTHING [/size]back at the plant the technicians didn't want to approach....

 

".....Maybe it's just their day off, and hiring us three is cost-effective? I mean, when you come down to it, we're basically working for a Gym Badge." Ruth offered. Immediately after saying that, Ruth realized the thought of being pseudo-hired as quick, cheap labor was probably not a good one. Still, such a situation was safer and more ordinary compared to other reasons for being asked to go over....

 

"Another possibility could be that they haven't actually gotten there yet, and if there is a strong pokemon there then three trainers are probably better for that kind of situation than some technicians. But that raises the question... do they monitor the power lines? We are essentially going in blind here." Jake added.

 

"I'd think that an off-day would make more sense. Why pay the workers for overtime when you can get some kids to fix a few fuses?" Arius pursed his lips, and nodded to himself.
 

Yeah, that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense!

 

It wasn't very long after that when the trio arrived in front of the forest they would have to pass through. The trees seemed to stretch well into the stratosphere, and noises could be heard from within. Pokemon cries, the sound of walking, leaves rustling...it was loud, even from outside.

 

"...You guys ready to go in?"

 

".....I guess?" Ruth said. "This is the next point on our adventure, after all. Even if we didn't exactly plan to come here." she pointed out, while releasing all three of her Pokemon to accompany them through the trip through the forest, just in case something rushed out to attack the trainers. Caliburn immediately went to Ruth's side, looking very much like her literal shield. Fuerte continued to fume about not getting to battle Roark, and went off to the side. Locke simply lazily floated in place, not concerned about anything at that moment.

 

Jake released his Pokemon as well, but Charmeleon seemed to be asleep so he was quickly returned before Pikachu could draw on his face. Squirtle and Machop stood close to Jake's feet, while Pikachu remained on his trainer's shoulder.

 

"Well, waiting out here won't get us closer to Alamos." Jake pointed out.

 

Arius nodded, and glanced between the two other trainers.

 

"Alright. Let's go, guys."

Edited October 26, 2014 by Ehksidian

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray nodded, figuring that was a good point about the evolution. Helped with trying to figure out what would work for his second Pokemon, anyway. Ray quickly followed Sonja, trying to keep a mental map of the base so he wouldn't get lost any more.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan's eyes widened in shock, as he saw what happened to Abbing. Ryan clenched his fists in anger, as he struggled to keep his calm, and then sent out his Porygon 2, and his Dewott.

"Dewott, Night Slash, Porygon 2, Tri Attack!" Ryan yelled out quickly, as the Porygon 2 quickly shot off a Tri Attack at the Abomasnow while it was distracted by the Pangoro, and the Dewott quickly dashed forward to where the Gothitelle was, and swung its scallop quickly, sending a dark wave of energy out, as she tried to attack with the dark type attack quickly. Ryan resisted the urge to look back to where Abbing still laid, knowing that it'd be worse to see her like that, but... No-one deserved any of this.

"You monster... You're gonna pay." Ryan growled out, as he stared right at where Adams was. The one responsible for the day's mess was right there... And he was gonna make her face justice, one way or the other.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette's eyes widened, as she found herself falling; and then wrapped her arms around Alexa to shield her from the fall; even as the fall was broken by Jayron's aura shield. Colette stood up, and brushed herself off, as she looked over at Alexa cautiously.

"You okay?" Colette asked, as she thought out the plan for the Feraligatr.

"Dragon Pulse, Kammy!" Colette called out, knowing that since they were closer, it'd like do more. And since the other two wouldn't be as good at the moment, it was kinda necessary.

"Myriam, go on and Force Palm!" Colette yelled out, as the Mienfoo quickly dashed forward, and then ducked around the Feraligatr's attack, as she quickly launched a Force Palm up, toward the Feraligatr's chest area.

 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Alright, good idea." Jenny said with a nod, as she took the other picture, and followed Evan back. When they got back to the hotel, the two quickly split up, and went to pack. Jenny smiled, kinda caught off guard totally still, but still finding it to be a pretty nice turn of events. After she quickly tossed things back into her bag, she headed back out to meet up with Evan again.

"Ready to go?" Evan asked Jenny once she had left her room, and she nodded.

"Hmm... How should we get back, though?" Jenny asked, curious about that.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa City

 

"We can take a flight at the Airport here in Nimbasa all the way to Vermillion.", Evan said cheerfully, "After that, we fly to Four Island by my Garchomp''s ability to fly. Does that sound good to you?"

 

Evan was going to suggest flying on Gnip's back to Four Island from here, but she probably couldn't do that if she wanted to. Carrying two people would probably be very trying to her.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny nodded in agreement, as she figured that was the best idea.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan to me!" Jenny said, equally as cheerful, as she thought about how her team currently was. Her new Scizor seemed to be rather friendly toward her, which was nice, considering who the previous trainer had been.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach looked up in surprise, as Olivia had snapped out; and he nodded. Normally, that wouldn't have seemed odd... But something just seemed really off still, and he looked confused for a bit, but nodded again.

"Alright then... Follow me, everyone." Zach said to the others, as he lead the way to the restaurant in question.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa City

 

"Well, if I recall, the airport should be close by.", Evan said, "We should be able to get through quickly."

 

Evan was wondering how Ray would react to the developments that had occurred in the Park. He honestly did not care, but it would still be amusing. As he thought, Evan and Jenny walked towards the Nimbasa Airport, holding hands the entire way.......

[sonyaxe]

OOC: Second in Jam Trilogy between us three.

 

IC: Arius Jacobson, Ruth Fishers, Jake Harris

 

Upon entering the forest, the temperature dropped a few degrees. The calls of wild Pokemon filled the air, and if one looked closely they would notice the slight burbling of a stream somewhere near the path.

 

 

 

"Do you guys think that we are almost to Alamos? I am getting tired of seeing just trees and stuff." Jake punctuated his statement with an (obviously fake) over dramatic yawn.

 

 

"I hope so." Ruth groaned, stopping to stretch. "This path feels like it's taking forever..... I thought traveling around and seeing nature would be the best thing ever. Now I know how mind-numbing it can get....." the Trainer sighed. Caliburn followed the girl's side faithfully, while Fuerte hopped from tree to tree, annoyed at the group's slow pace. Locke had been recalled on account of falling asleep-again.

 

 

 

"Jake One, you've got the map, right?" she asked. "Can you tell how close we are to Alamos?"

 

 

Arius rolled his eyes. "We just got into the forest, you know. I mean, we're kinda almost there, but still." He scratched the back of his neck, and glanced around nervously. Forests had scared him quite a bit, mainly the idea of pokemon leaping down from the trees to attack.

 

That wasn't a fun thought ever, really. Arius shook his head, and kept walking. "A bit...chilly in here, isn't it?"

 

 

Jake shrugged. "I guess, but it isn't really that cold." He frowned. He was getting a funny feeling from... somewhere. He closed his eyes and shook his head, and the feeling vanished. That was odd... Jake thought to himself.

 

 

"Oh, so I'm not the only one...." Ruth said in dismay. "Guess that's why trying to think warm thoughts isn't exactly working..." she muttered while shivering slightly. This cold seemed weird..... Like it was a sign of sorts. But for what....?

".....Anyone got anything interesting topics on hand....?" the Trainer asked, wanting to move past the low temperature for some reason.

 

 

"Well... this isn't really an interesting topic, but does anyone know how to fix power lines?" Jake asked.

 

 

"Uh...you...throw stuff at them until they work? Replace fuses until it works? I dunno, never had to fix them before myself." Arius said. He kept his hands near his Pokeballs, just in case anything tried to attack them. He was being paranoid, yes, but it would be better to be safe than sorry.

 

"Uhm, well..... Not really." Ruth admitted sheepishly. "I'm no mechanic by any means. I mean, I don't even understand how a Pokeball works. How does it shrink em and keep em inside all nice and comfy?" she said with a small giggle, trying to lighten everyone's mood. "But uh, I guess we'll have to hope they have some instruction manuals around, huh?" 

 

 

"Yeah...I mean, it's interesting to think about. Wonder what it's even like inside a Pokeball, honestly." Arius tapped his index finger on his chin thoughtfully. He hadn't thought about that before, really.

 

 

"I honestly don't know anything about that... we should ask the next Pokemart owner we see, because they might know. But if worst comes to worst with the power lines, I know someone who probably knows someone who could walk us through the entire thing. Of course, it is possible that something just needs to be plugged in... which would make this, if not a waste of time, then simply a detour." Jake smiled. "But hey, if I get to hang out with you two more because of this, then all the better I say." Pikachu agreed with this by giving a grin and two thumbs up.

 

 

"Yeah, we could always do that. They might know something. about it." Arius paused, and chuckled a bit. "It is nice spending time with you guys, since it's fun actually not being stuck at home. Really, it'd take a lot for me to consider going back to sitting at home, barely ever getting to leave..."

 

 

"Oh, well that's pretty nice of you to say, Second Jake." Ruth said teasingly, giving her traveling partner a friendly punch to the shoulder. "But yeah, you two seem pretty cool. I know my parents would have my head if they found out I took the gamble to travel with two complete strangers. Luckily, seems like I actually had good judgement." she said while smiling. "Welp, either way, we go to Alamos Town, figure out what's wrong, then head back to seeing the region and fighting Gyms along the way. Sound like a plan?" the Trainer asked, stopping to hold out her hand, waiting for handshakes from both Jake and Arius.

 

 

Jake shook her hand enthusiastically. "Sounds like a great plan. Hopefully, after that we could all enter the Pokemon League and go for the top!" He said, excited by the mere thought.

 

 

Arius stopped, and nodded before shaking Ruth's hand. "Yeah. Sounds like a plan." He smiled warmly, and glanced over at Jake. "Maybe we will. Heck, we probably will in fact! We're going to go until we can't go any more!"

 

 

"Shoot for the moon!" Ruth said enthusiastically. "Even if you miss, you'll end up among the stars. Sorry for the cheesiness, but I think this is one of those moments where cheesy is good." she said with a wide smile, rather enjoying this moment with her newfound friends, almost forgetting about all the worries she had earlier....

 

 

 

Then Fuerte cawed loudly at the group, telling them to get a move on before continuing to leap from tree to tree.

 

 

 

"....Welp, looks like we need to start moving again." the Trainer sighed, resuming her walking.

 

 

"Cheese is always good! Especially on crackers..." Arius said, mumbling a bit at the end of his second sentence. He chuckled at Fuerte, and started walking on the path once again, towards Alamos.

 

"As long as we don't get too cheesy too often, I'm fine. And I think moving along is a good idea, unless we want Fuerte to have an energy overload." Jake commented, then continued walking down the path.

 

[Konuju]

OOC: About time I got Ryan actually doing something.

 

IC: Ryan
Ryan awoke with a jolt as the dryer he had been leaning against gave a sharp buzz to indicate his laundry was done.
 
The Liberty agent blinked, realizing that he must have dozed off. He vaguely recalled weaving in and out of dreams full of angry Sonjas, exploding Colettes, and scripted apologies. Ryan buried his face in his hands. He had insisted on doing the laundry as an attempt to delay his inevitable encounter with any one of the people who were less than pleased with him after the events of last night. But he felt no more prepared than when he'd begun the laundry. He had half a mind to seek out James Arthur and ask him to use Celebi to turn back time and make it so that he had never gone to that stupid dance.
 
Another loud buzz pierced the air, reminding Ryan that his laundry was waiting. Startled by the sudden noise, Ryan shook his head to clear his thoughts, then opened the dryer and started tossing clothes into his laundry basket. He knew that as soon as he stepped back into his room, Entei would start nagging him about when and how he was going to make his apologies. He knew the Legendary Beast meant well, but Ryan was feeling bad enough without being constantly reminded of how much he had royally screwed up.
 
For several minutes he stared at the mountain of clothes that now filled his basket. Then, with a heavy sigh, he began meticulously folding each item, wanting to avoid Entei's nagging as much as he wanted to avoid the apologies he knew he had to make. But as is often the case when trying to avoid the inevitable, things are only made worse by dragging out the anticipation of the dreaded event. As Ryan carefully measured each fold, his mind wandered to imagining what Entei, Sonja, Colette, and Ray would have to say to him. Before he knew it, his clothes were all neatly folded and stacked in his basket, and he had no more reason to avoid returning to his room.
 
He stared at the basket of clothes for a few more minutes before finally coming to the realization that he could delay no longer. Picking up the basket, he stepped out of the laundry room, walking straight into a passing Gurdurr. He took a step back and started to apologize, but the words died in his throat when he saw the Gurdurr's companions.
 
Sonja and Ray.
 
IC: Jayron/Alexa/Feraligatr
Alexa was shaking from having just fallen down a cliff, but thanks to Colette she was physically unharmed. She silently nodded to Colette's question, then looked down at Amber to make sure she was also fine. The Growlithe pup hid her face in Alexa's arms, cowering in fear from the Feraligatr's roars.
 
The Feraligatr's roars, however, quickly turned from roars of fury to roars of confusion. First Kammy's Dragon Pulse struck it in the jaw. Then Myriam darted under the lizard and attacked with a Force Palm from below, just as Dandy's Joltik fired off an Electro-Web. The Feraligatr whirled around and ripped the webbing off like before, spotting the Barbaracle and aiming a second Thrash at it. Myriam, still beneath the Feraligatr, was unable to avoid getting hit by the Joltik's webbing as well, which did considerably more damage to the less-durable Mienfoo.
 
Jayron nodded at the other trainer. "Alright, let's take down this croc! Absol, knock it off its feet!" The dark Absol lowered her head and charged at the Feraligatr, which was still busy thrashing the Barbaracle. The struck the lizard in the back with a powerful Megahorn, sending it crashing into the sand. For a moment, it lay there, stunned.
 
"...Did we win?" Alexa asked in her tiny voice.
 
The Feraligatr lashed out at Absol, sending her skidding across the sand, then unleashed a roar that echoed across the rocky beach. In that moment, the dark clouds that had been hanging above the island all day released a downpour of rain. Jayron couldn't tell if it was just a coincidence, or if the Feraligatr had used Rain Dance. But the massive swell of water at the beach was no coincidence. The aquatic lizard had grown tired of getting pummeled by all these attacks. It was going to end this battle decisively, by crushing its foes in a massive Surf.
 
Jayron wasted no time throwing up a massive aura shield in front of the other trainer, who was closest to the water. The wave crashed harmlessly against the face of the shield, much to the Feraligatr's dismay. Meanwhile, Lucario lobbed an aura sphere at the Feraligatr before it could run over and start thrashing Jayron. The Liberty executive used the opportunity to dash to his Absol's side, trusting the other trainers and Lucario to keep the Feraligatr distracted for the time being.
 
IC: Dack/Madison/Luke/Palmer
Dack followed Zach out of the Pokemon Center, shaking his head at Olivia's outburst. "Good to know we're not the only ones who can't get along with Zach," he quietly muttered to Luke.
 
"Yeah," the blackbelt grinned. "Of course, that Olivia girl doesn't exactly get along with you either, man."
 
Palmer, who was walking behind the Snowpoint trainers and overheard them, spoke up. "That's what worries me," he said with a sigh. "If you all can't figure out how to work together, you won't stand a chance."
 
"We can work together just fine," Dack said, motioning to himself, Madison and Luke. "It's the others who are being disagreeable."
 
"Yes, but we need them," Madison said. "In Sootopolis we were fighting four Pokémon and we had an additional trainer with us. Now we'll be up against an army -- we need all the help we can get."

 

"Starting with Zach and the Seatons," Palmer said. "What you need is to find a way to work with what you're given."

 

"What I need is a half pound burrito with extra cheese," Luke said impatiently. "Trust me, I think everyone will be acting much more agreeable once our stomachs are full. Oi, Zach!" he called out. "How much farther is this place?"

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Each of the Seaton siblings answered Zach's call and followed him to the restaurant. Olivia continued to grip his hand, albeit more hesitantly. Dahlia was sandwiched between the now-a-couple and the Snowpoint Trainers. Meanwhile, took to the front of everyone else, despite having no clue where the restaurant even was. 

 

Being behind them, Dahlia caught most of the things Dack, Madison, Luke, and Palmer had discussed. The gardener turned her head and made eye contact with everyone, focusing on Dack. "I know we're not who you would have chosen to take into a warground." she began. "Maybe you've got more friends you'd trust your life with, or maybe it's only those two. I don't know. What I do know is that you get along with them much better than you do us." Dahlia said. "You and your friends have reasons for disliking my siblings and Zach, they have reasons for disliking you. Maybe our reasons have some basis, maybe not, but we could spend weeks arguing in defense of one another, while we barely have a day before that Hannah person sends an entire army at Celadon. I think for now we should accept the fact none of us are perfect and try to avoid getting into another argument." she finished, turning her head away and looking forward.

 

Olivia on the other hand, only managed to catch Dack saying she didn't get along with Zach. Such a notion nearly caused the redhead to turn back and give him another jab to the jaw, but settled for turning around and shooting a dirty look. Right at that moment, her aggression was tempered by struggling to keep the doubt in her mind at bay. That bit of worry still lingered in her head, even after Zach had confirmed his feelings. Now it was the thought of Zach having new best friends whom he had traveled with and fought alongside that unnerved her.... True companions forged through fire and strife. Could my friendship with Zach even come close to matching that? Olivia wondered. Zach said it could only be her, and how he never felt himself around other people. But one corner of her mind kept asking who Zach would really choose if he had a chance to truly size her up against his friends from Unova. And no matter what, the thought refused to die.

 

Aspen was similarly lost in his own concerns, with some anger on top of all that. On one hand, there was the Eevee he and Ellen had rescued from that burning building. On the other, there was that Hannah person, who had the nerve to attack an entire city for some petty plan of revenge.... Aspen simultaneously wished to be a caretaker for the raggedy Pokemon, yet also wanted to be the harbringer of justice and punish the Rocket Executive adequately for her crimes. Unable to reconcile both halves, the boy elected to turn around and look at Zach. "Yeah, how much farther away from the restaurant actually?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Alright, that'd be good." Jenny said, as they walked in the direction of the airport. As had been said, it didn't take too long, and after a while of going through the process of getting a ticket and flight-related stuff, Jenny and Evan got to be on the plane finally.

"So, in just a few hours, we should be reaching Vermillion City, from what the flight information says." Jenny said, as she sat down in her seat.

[Metal Gear Minun]

OOC: I'm not even gonna try to find accompaniment for this one, because no version is probably gonna quite cover it.

 

IC: (Richard, Orpheus, Hades, Gawain)

“Do you think you’ve gotten it?”

The Whismur nodded meekly, not really sure if the lesson had sunk in or not.

“Just follow my lead and hopefully this will work.”

The bard looked over the rock he was behind and signaled to the Sableye, who really didn’t understand what Richard meant, but guessed it was something along the lines of “bring him this way.”

Gawain was getting extremely tired of the Meditite. Now that Merida had been picking better moves to use against him, the Meditie was actually causing a small degree of pain. Adding that on to the efforts of the meddling Sableye and Diglett, and he was hurtin’. Not near fainting, but he would definitely be feeling it later that night. All of them were merely meddlers, adding onto a bad idea. But this next attack would be blow them all away. He began to focus all of his power into his legs, preparing an Earthquake far more powerful than the one he used near the start of the fight.

He froze when he remembered that the last opponent he used this much power upon was now dead (whether he had actually killed it or not seemed to matter little. He used Earthquake on it, and then it was dead).

Yeah… can’t let you do that, Hades said scratching the side of the Swampert’s face, causing him to turn around with a scowl.

What he saw confused him (not as bad as the Confuse Ray had done but still a bit of confusion). The tall scrawny human was standing and top of the rock by the noise box that he climbed out of the water to silence. The human was waving his arms in some weird rhythmic pattern.

If I didn’t hand my violin over to Zoe, I could have played us in. Ah well! Richard thought as he took a deep breath in. Time to earn my keep as a Team Liberty Bard! Let’s see if I can teach solfege!

 

“Somewhere over the rainbow way up high!”

“ho Ho! He hol ha he Ho, ho ha hollll”
 

 

“There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby”

 

“haa ha hii ho hey hi ha hey he ho hey hi ho”

 

“Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue”

“ho Ho! He hol ha he, Ho ho ha hollll”

“And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true!”

“haa ha hii ho hey hi ha hey he hey hi ho!”

 

Visible sound waves appeared when Orpheus began to Sing. The waves were pleasant in Gawain’s opinion, at least until he realized that they were distracting him. But the singing was pretty good, the Whismur was pretty loud, and slightly off key, but filled with a calming energy.

SNAP OUT OF IT! He thought punching himself in the face.

Naw, just sit back and listen to the bards, Hades said as he blasted the Swampert with another Confuse Ray, to keep him unable to focus on anything but the song.

“Someday I'll wish upon a star”

“Hol hii hol hii hol hii hol hii”

“And wake up where the clouds are far”

“Hol haa hol haa hol haa hol haa”

“Behind me”

“HOL Hii Hii!”

 

The first to fall was actually Ponos before anyone else. The poor fool started shaking side to side rhythmically with the song. This had the unfortunate effect of lulling him to sleep first. The Swampert on the hand, was doing his best to summon all of his focus while under the effects of Confuse Ray and the song. If he could just summon one Earthquake, this would all be over.

“Where troubles melt like lemon drops”

“Hol hii hol hii hol hii hol hii”

“Away above the chimney tops”

“Hol haa ha haa ha haa ha haa”

“That's where you'll find me”

“Ha He He Ho ha”

 

The Swampert was beginning to show signs that he was failing in his battle to stay focused. He had managed to stomp the ground, but there was no force behind the attack. Merida tried to take the opportunity to Force Palm the Swampert once again. This didn’t go as well as earlier, as between initiating the attack and reaching Gawain, she was the next Pokemon to fall asleep. However, since Gawain had virtually no balance at that point, the light push was enough to bring the Swampert to his knees. Zoe had to the sleep out of her eyes, growing a bit drowsy, but the Sableye appeared unaffected. Part of the reason why, was Hades’ focus not on the song, but on the movement of Richard’s arms.

“Somewhere over the rainbow Swablu fly”

“ho Ho! He hol ha he Ho, ho ha hollll”

 

“Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh, why can't I?”

“ha haa hii ho hey hii haa. Hey Hi ho Hey hii Ho”

 

The Swampert was fully on the ground by this point in the song. Richard was nearly tempted to stop, himself only able to stay awake do to his natural energy and his desperation to make sure this worked. He was compelled to finish the song, when he saw Gawain begin to stir slightly.

“If happy little Swablu fly”

“hol hii hol hii hol hii hol hii”

“Beyond the rainbow why, oh, why can't IIIIIIII?”

“hool haa hol haa hol haa hol haa Hi DOOOOOO!”

 

HE PRONOUNCED DO! Richard thought about to gasp, but he silenced himself as he turned around. He let a sigh of relief as the Swampert had finally been lulled into a deep sleep.

He allowed himself to do a brief and silent ‘YES!’ before he turned to Zoe.

“Zoe!” he yelled quietly. “Throw a pokeball!”

“What?” she said snapping out of her drowsiness, “Gotcha Mr. Bard!”

Now sleepiness or not, Zoe was not going to risk the violin in anyway. Especially not now that the Swampert was asleep and she was so close to being done. She carefully repositioned the violin and the bow, so as to allow her to hold both with one hand. She pulled a Pokeball out of her pocket and walked over to the sleeping Swampert and dropped the Pokeball on its head.

The Pokeball opened and covered the Swampert in red light… before promptly snapping shut, leaving the Swampert outside.

Richard had to restrain himself from not shouting.

So… this is a trainer’s Pokemon? Where is the trainer?!

Anger was not Richard’s thing, so it only lasted about a second. More importantly he had to deal with a Swampert that could not be placated by Pokeball, a good healing, and a lifelong adventure of epicness and bonding. He could cut their losses, run with Zoe and the others in tow and the Swampert would never be able to catch them when he woke up. But that left a sour taste in his mouth. Something seemed off about the Swampert, and he’d have to admit, that Hyper Voice was bound to give anyone a headache.

No, this was a place to kill his opponent by kindness.

“Hades come with me,” the traveler said to his Sableye.

-----

The effects of Sing began to wear off of Ponos, Merida and Gawain around the same time. Gawain was trying to remember what was going on before he had fallen asleep. Then he saw the noise box before him, and began to try and call together an attack.

“Um, Mr. Swampert,” Gawain paused. “Orpheus wants to tell you he’s sorry.”

The Whismur nodded meekly and sniffed up a tear as he gave his best ‘pathetic’ face.

We got you these berries for an apology gift Orpheus whispered (though no one else could tell) standing aside to reveal the horde that Hades and Richard had pulled together. There was a large number of a variety of different berries set before him, with Richard and Hades running back in to deposit more.

“That’s about as much as we could find in the nearby trees,” Never underestimate a duo that had to feed a Snorlax with virtually nil net income. “But I want to apologize too. It was my fault that Orpheus let out his shrieking and for that I’m sorry.”

Gawain felt absolutely crushed by this turn of events (meanwhile Richard felt particularly pleased at how well the script he wrote was working out). After what he did to them, and they had had him at their mercy, they chose not to seek vengeance but to apologize to him. And all they really did was cause him a headache on a bad day. He’s the one who really had to apologize. He nearly used power that he’d only before used in life or death situations to take revenge on a headache. There was no excuse for that.

Trust me, Hades said on seeing the Swampert’s expression, these two are good enough goody two shoes to forgive you on a dime... Well under the layer of prankster-fools. But you gotta accept the gift first. Then tell ‘em you’re sorry.

The Swampert hesitantly picked up a nearby berry. It appeared to be a day before ripeness, and yet just the sheer amount of effort needed do this for him. He tasted the berry, and it was sour, wonderfully sour. But then it began to taste like ash, from his own guilt.

For a moment, Richard thought the whole plan was about to majorly backfire when the Swampert lunged up seeming to make a grab for all of them. But that was short lived, when he was pulled into what was unmistakably a group-hug (and Richard was something of an expert on that subject).

IIIIIIII’M SORRRRRYYYY! Gawain yelled as tears began to flow from the sides of his eyes.

OOC: For a happy little translation from Orpheon to Solfege
Ho = Do
Hey = Re
Hii = Mi
Haa = Fa
Hol = So
Ha = La
He = Ti

 

For a reference, Richard is a lower tenor, Orpheus is a high tenor.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Claus Von Minun the 4th

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Airplane

 

"If that is the case, I'm gonna get some rest.", Evan said through a yawn, "If that is all right with you, Jenny. Wake me if you need anything."

 

Evan then shut his eyes and started to doze off, snoring quietly...

Edited October 31, 2014 by Hades

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Hallway:

 

Well. That was unexpected.

 

When the door opened, Sonja had not expected Ryan to come out. Immediately following that, he ran into Loki, which would have been awkward enough without the stunned look that appeared on his face when he saw Sonja and Ray. All things considered, Sonja could not blame him--she, too, could not quite find a proper greeting for the occasion.

 

Luckily, she didn't have to. After getting over his initial surprise and recognizing Ryan, Loki gave a laugh of joy, and after dropping the two halves of his girder to the ground, pulled Ryan into a friendly hug. The action pulled Sonja back to her senses, enough that she was able to shake her head clear. "Ryan," she said, keenly aware of how much effort she was putting into speaking in a normal manner. "What's up?"

 

IC - Quincy Adams/Maxie/Michael Travis/Lidiya Vasilyev/Styles - Havoc, Central Command:

 

A protective field suddenly arose before the smirking Doll, deflecting Dewott's Night Slash with an air of boredom. The Protect quickly dissipated, and as soon as it did, the Gothitelle slid her hands forward as if she were giving the Water-Type a gift. A Signal Beam shot forward, aimed directly for Dewott.

 

Styles's Pangoro roared out in pain. It did so three more times as Ent slammed three more Focus Punches into its side, before hefting the Daunting Pokémon into the air and launching it back at its trainer. In the process, Pangoro's body flew into the path of Porygon2's Tri-Attack, whose freezing effects quickly took hold. The Fighting-Dark-Type froze solid in the air, and a moment later landed with a horrid crash in front of Styles.

 

The Energon Agent could hardly process what had just happened. "Pan . . . Pangoro . . ." he stammered, brain stuck halfway between shock and anger. He had barely managed to return his Pokémon to its container when a heavy and rapid thudding began to worm its way through his ears, the sound of something very large running his way.

 

"Styles!" Vasilyev called. Then, more frantically, "STYLES, GET OUT OF THERE!"

 

But it was too late. By the time Styles looked up, Ent was already upon him. The Frosted Tree Pokémon threw a hand forward, catching the Energon Agent's face in its grip. Ent lifted him off the ground, claws shimmering with icy power. Styles struggled the entire way. With a flash, he stopped moving, his body freezing utterly solid from the Abomasnow's point-blank Ice Beam. With a firm squeeze that elicited a sharp crack and a spray of splintered ice, Ent nonchalantly tossed the body aside.

 

"A monster, huh?" Adams repeated. She shrugged. "I would think that depends on your interpretation of the word. Then again, I suppose you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" The Third Child smiled. "Besides, better a monster than an insect, am I right?"

 

Vasilyev pushed herself up, immediately sending out her Meowstic. "Meowstic, use Shadow Ball, now!" The Psychic-Type did not need to be told twice. Gathering energy in her hands, she launched the attack at Adams herself. The Ford agent merely chuckled at this, sidestepping out of the way of the attack. In retaliation, she directed Wizard forward, the Psychic-Type teleporting in front of Vasilyev and Meowstic and unleashing a direct Synchronize attack upon both of them . . .

 

IC - Eileen Alaric/Jackson Sang - Alaric Estate, Fireside Lounge: Previous post

 

The roaring fire cast the finely-decorated sitting room with a yellowish tint. Sang and Eileen sat in separate armchairs before the flames, angled slightly so that they could still see each other. On the low table before them lay a tray with hot water and various drink mixes. Sang sipped carefully from his mug, the sweet taste of hot chocolate daring to bite at his tongue. Eileen simply stared into the fire, eyes glossily reflected the thoughts swirling in her mind. She held Levi's drawings close to her stomach, fingers loose around the paper. Sang's team snoozed around the room, providing obstacles for the Alarics' maid as she went about tidying up the room. It did not take long for her depart.

 

At the sound of the door closing, Eileen took a long, slow breath, as if realizing where she was. "I don't know where to begin . . ." she said, her voice quiet. She leaned forward, resting a hand against her face and shifting her gaze to the floor in front of her. "I really don't . . ." Sang remained silent, only watching as Eileen composed herself, gathered her thoughts in a series of small head shakes and false starts of speech. At last, pictures grasped tightly in her hand, she looked at him.

 

"I guess . . . the war's as good a place as any, isn't it? That's how these stories always start . . ." Eileen shook her head. "Mr. Sang . . . I mentioned that Levi likes the forest, didn't I?" Sang nodded. "I meant it. That's his place--his home, I'd even dare to say. It's the only place he's ever felt truly comfortable, so he spends a lot of time out there. I'm not one to stop that. But Elijah . . ." Eileen looked down at her hands. "Elijah worries. This war with Team Liberty, with Ford, with everyone else--it's made our family a lot of enemies. And at any time, someone could come and attack one of us. Elijah and I can handle ourselves, but Levi . . . He's so young . . ."

 

"Even kids can be strong," Sang said. "But I understand where you're coming from."

 

"You say that now . . ." Eileen said, unable to hold back a short, bitter laugh. "I wish I could believe that . . . Times have changed, Mr. Sang. The world is more dangerous now. And while it's slightly better today than a year ago . . ." She paused. "A year ago . . . That's about when it happened. Things were getting bad. Team Liberty was getting more desperate; I remember the Shadow Admins talking about how they were on the verge of victory, how one more push would end the war. But that was before things exploded in ways that no one could have imagined . . ." A sigh. "With desperation comes hostility. That's what Elijah said. He wanted to protect Levi, and so told him that he was not to leave the house unless one of us were with him. And that might have been fine, if we weren't so ###### busy. If Levi had actually followed that, then the poor kid would never have been allowed out of the house . . . so I can't blame him for disobeying. Can you?"

 

"I can see why something like that might be an issue," Sang said. There was a lengthy pause. "So what did he do, exactly?"

 

"The same thing as always: He went into the forest. Same, predictable Levi, spending his time out there in the deep brush, away from the house and yet so close by . . ." Eileen sunk into her seat, gazing forward with cloudy eyes. "I don't know how the fire started, that day. I don't remember a lot, in all honesty--everything's a blur. Perhaps it was an accident; perhaps not. Whatever it was, it was bad--worse than anything he could have been prepared for." She lifted her hands to her face, covering her eyes. Her voice shifted into a weak tone, shaking as the fear and horror came rushing back to her. "Can you imagine something like that? Being alone in a burning forest, surrounded by fire on every side? Choking on smoke, blinded . . . If it weren't for his Phantump, he might not have made it out alive. Even then . . ." Eileen took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Something caught fire, something volatile, and it popped right as they were passing by it."

 

Sang's jaw clenched. Eileen straightened up in her seat. "I'll never forget those burns . . . that pain . . ." She moved her hands, indicating the exact spots as she spoke. "Left side, base of the neck down to the bottom rib--shoulder included, going midway down his arm--that entire section of his body . . ." Eileen shuddered. "We found him by the tree, just . . . lying there in shock, not responding . . . I thought we'd lost him . . ." Her left hand started to shake. She gripped it tightly with her right, holding it close as she struggled to keep talking. "Elijah was furious. And things . . . things took a turn for the worse after that. And the entire time--the entire time that the war was beginning to fall apart--all I could think about . . . those burns . . . I don't know if he . . . if he ever really recovered . . ."

 

She trailed off. The crackling fire punctuated the weight in the air, as not even Sang's Pokémon moved anymore, enthralled as they were--as Sang was--with what they had heard. Eileen closed her eyes, clearly working as hard as she could to keep her emotions under control despite the pain she felt. The only other sound was the ticking of a tall grandfather clock, which chimed as it struck the hour.

 

After a while, Sang shifted in his seat. "I'm sorry you're having to go through this again," he said, very quietly. "But I think this might make it easier to understand what's happening with him now, if we can find the rest of the puzzle pieces." He sighed, shooting a glance at Eileen. "Um . . . If you need to cry, I can . . . you know . . . step out . . ."

 

She shook her head, pressing a steadied hand to her eye. "How will that help anything?" Eileen asked. "I don't want to mourn anymore--I don't have time for that. I just want to find him." She pushed herself back onto her feet, grabbing her coat and walking to the door. "Crying can wait until the end."

Edited November 2, 2014 by Parugi

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
Ryan looked at Sonja from the depths of Loki's hug. For a moment he simply stared into her eyes. Then he quickly tore his eyes away, focusing instead on a nearby spot on the wall. "H-hi," he said meekly. He tentatively looked back at Sonja, and did his best to give a casual shrug (something easier said than done when you're being hugged by a Gurdurr). "I was just... you know... laundry." He gave a nod toward the basket in his arms, which he had somehow managed to not drop amidst Loki's hug. "So, uh... how're you... two?" His eyes darted to Ray. He was desperately wishing he had waited another minute before leaving the laundry room.

IC: Zoe
Zoe had been thoroughly surprised so many times recently that she wondered if she wouldn't grow desensitized to the feeling altogether. She had been surprised when her sister, who she hadn't thought she'd see for another year, arrived on Four Island to begin her life as a Liberty Agent. She had been surprised when Claus had allowed Flint to use Travis' head as a walking dance floor. She had been surprised when she learned that she couldn't accompany Collie on her super-secret ultra-awesome mission as an Official Liberty Aura Master. She had been surprised when Richard had found her wallowing in the worst kind of misery -- the kind that only occurs when life is devoid of Collie. When an angry Swampert erupted out of the ground and started to fight them, Zoe thought her life couldn't get any more surprising.
 
Then Richard and Orpheus started singing.
 
Even without his violin, the bard remained a mastermind of music. The effect of the song was so calming, that Zoe wasn't even shocked when her Pokéball failed to capture the Swampert -- a first sign that her surprise levels were starting to saturate. But what did surprise her was what Richard did next. The bard did not gloat over their victory, nor did he shower anyone in endless praise (both of which Zoe herself would have done had she not been so sleepy). Instead, he and his Sableye started picking berries for the enemy they had just defeated.
 
Zoe was too tired to question the bard's actions. After returning the violin, she happily helped him, softly humming Orpheus' song to herself. In the back of her mind, she was slightly disappointed. She had been looking forward to telling her epic adventure to Collie when she returned, but she felt the story would have been better if it ended with them conquering the evil Swampert and banishing it forever from the island, rather than feeding it lunch.
 
Zoe was still feeling pleasantly tired when Richard and Orpheus started explaining their gift to the Swampert. Then the Swampert reached out with its massive arms and pulled them all into a giant bear hug. That was enough to shock Zoe out of her groggy state of mind. She had reached a new level of surprise she hadn't thought possible before. She was completely dumbfounded, at a loss for words -- which may have been for the better, for the group hug was starting to squeeze the breath out of her lungs.
 
When the Swampert finally let go, Zoe looked from Richard to the teary-eyed mud fish with a smile. "It looks like we made a new friend," she said. "Hi, I'm Zoe, and this is Merida." The Meditite, who had also recently awoken and was now standing next to Zoe, waved a hand at the Swampert. Merida soon realized that this was the same hand she had used to Force Palm the Swampert earlier, and she quickly hid it behind her back with an apologetic grin.

[Makuta of Time]

IC: Dandy

 

Dandy looked behind him as the waves nearly hit him, but thankfully were stopped by the aura shield. He had cupped Click so as to not get hit by the water, but soon took off his covering hand to let the little Joltik attack. "Alright everyone, give it everything you got!"

 

The purple Joltik decided to jump out of Dandy's hand and use his Bug Buzz move. Sun Hound, the Vulpix, used its Flamethrower to burn the water Pokemon into submission. Razorface regrouped with Dandy and readied itself for its attack. Once it was ready, the Barbaracle went up to it and used its Cross Chop move.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny laid back in her seat as well, as she looked up at the ceiling.

Hmm... What kinda tactics can I use next...? Jenny wondered, as she thought over her battles with Evan, and wondered how she could improve on the strategies. Her mind thought about how while her team had welcomed her Scizor kinda well in most cases, the synchronization in some parts still seemed to almost be off, in a way. As she thought about that, the plane continued to head toward its destination, and after a while, eventually reached Vermillion City...

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Madison

Madison gave Dahlia a friendly smile before the latter turned away. "I like the way that girl thinks," she told Dack. "We need to put our differences aside."

 

"I don't see her telling her siblings that," Dack muttered. "If we have to work with them, they have to work with us, too."

 

Madison looked at Dack in disbelief. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

 

"I'm not stubborn about working with others," Dack said. "I'm just stubborn about working with people who are stubborn. If Zach, Olivia, and Aspen refuse to work with us, there's nothing I can do about it."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette watched, as she recalled Myriam for the moment, the earlier attack having done more to her than hoped, considering the circumstances.

I'd leave her in, but like this, she'd just be in the way... Colette thought with a sigh, as she wondered about what to do, as she scanned the area, and paused mentally, as she noticed the weird aura that the Absol had. Chalking it up to it being injured, she motioned to Jayron's Lucario.

"Lucario, you go help Absol, okay?" Colette asked, as the Lucario nodded, and went over to assist Jayron.

 

At that moment, the Feraligatr was hit by the attacks from Dandy's Pokemon. The only one that really got on the Feraligatr's nerves was the Cross Chop, from the majority of its strength... However, the Flamethrower, despite being the weakest of them thanks to it being fire against water, irritated it more than the others, because of it leaving an annoying burn on it. The Feraligatr turned in annoyance, and then let out a roar suddenly, intending to intimidate the Vulpix and the rest. However, as it did, Alexa wrapped her arms around Colette once again, and clung tightly to her, and let out a high pitched shriek. The shriek was enough to make the Feraligatr pause, as it turned and looked at Alexa curiously. Roaring again, it suddenly began to charge at Colette, smashing Kammy out of the way in the process.

 

Alexa's eyes widened, as she saw the Feraligatr headed their way. She shrieked out again, and was about to turn and bury her face in Colette's jacket, when Alexa felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Just leave this to me... just; stay back please?" Colette said, as she looked down at Alexa with a confident smile, as Alexa seemed uncertain, but nodded.

"Mm-hm..." Alexa mumbled, as she scurried back slightly, and then looked back, as Colette turned back to the Feraligatr.

"Alright, you overgrown Totodile..." Colette mumbled, as she took a deep breath. The Feraligatr was still charging toward her; everyone was watching; and Lucario was on the other side of the beach by then. "It's my turn."

 

Colette held her arms to the side, as a subtle glow began to appear around her in general. Her hands began to glow, as two glowing lights began to appear in her palms, slowly taking the form of a glowing spherical vortex, as the aura around her began to brighten. To everyone around her, it would appear as if her hair had suddenly turned a golden shade of blonde, due to the tinting from her visible yellow aura.

"Now then..." Colette said, bending her knees slightly, as the Feraligatr hesitated for a moment, obviously confused by this turn of events as well. However, as the spheres grew bigger, Colette's eyes glinted, not hesitating in return. She felt a pang of pity for the Feraligatr, but knew it must be knocked out to understand.

"Aura Sphere!!" Colette called out, and in that moment, the Feraligatr knew it had made a huge mistake, as Colette brought her arms together, combining and launching the two spheres as one toward the Feraligatr; and she landed a direct hit as she did so, hitting the poor Pokemon and sending it flopping onto the sand, finally fainted, as Colette sighed, her aura's glow fading away, as she stopped using her powers for the moment.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan's eyes widened again as Styles was taken down in an instant. He growled for a second, as he took a moment to compose himself, and remember everything that Styles had done over the course of the mission.

"... Tyranitar, intercept." Ryan stated coldly, as he threw his Pokeball into the path of the psychic attack, it opening, as Ryan's Tyranitar attempted to take the attack...

"AND PAYBACK!" Ryan yelled out; as the Tyranitar roared out, and retaliated, the feelings of Pokemon and Trainer in synchronization, as both were utterly furious at that moment. Ryan's Dewott blocked the Signal Beam barely; still taking a bunch of damage from the attack. Ryan's Porygon-2, however, prepared its own Signal Beam, and launched it off at the Gothitelle quickly, while it was cooling down from the previous attack.

"Now; it's time..." Ryan said quietly, as he applied a stone to the surface of one of his Pokeballs, which was briefly enveloped in a blinding glow; and he then sent it out, a confidently smirking green monkey appearing. "Acrobatics!" Ryan yelled out, as the new Simisage dashed across the room with something in its hand, speeding from side to side, as it attempted to swing out rapidly at the Abomasnow, holding a sturdy stick in its hand to do so. As the attacks were launched, and Dewott backed off for the moment to take a breather from her failed attack, Ryan glared at Adams.

"Honestly, I don't know. Monsters are up front, and can deal heavy damage easily; but insects tend to buzz around, and can destroy you with smaller attacks, if you're not careful." Ryan said, a Pokeball missing from his belt, as the Simisage's hand was now oddly empty...

 

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray raised an eyebrow,as he stopped walking and saw both Ryan crash into Loki,and everything that happened next.

"We're pretty good." Ray said, trying to discern what Ryan's look even was at that moment. "What about you?" Ray asked, finding the look that Ryan was giving them rather odd, in that particular situation.

 

OOC:

 

Species: Simisage

Nickname: None

Trainer: "Black"

Gender: Male

Appearance: No differences.

Personality: Pansage is more mischievous than most, however, it also can be Jolly at times. It's not as mean spirited as Black's other Pokemon, but it does like to pull weird tricks on people. It has not changed since its evolution; however, it now seems to like to sing.

Ability: Overgrow

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

Known Moves: Grass Knot, Acrobatics, Bite, Leer

 

 

 

Fight:

Pansage > Simisage

Simisage - Acrobatics > Abomasnow

Porygon 2 - Signal Beam > Gothitelle

Tyranitar - Attempting to block Synchronize; Payback > Beheeyem

Dewott - Backing off

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron/Alexa/George
It is one thing to protect your own daughter, to stand between her and whatever evils in this world threaten her safety, determined to die before you see a hair on her head get harmed. It is another thing entirely to have someone else defend your daughter while you can only watch helplessly from afar. That paralyzing feeling of dread, coupled with an overwhelming sense of guilt -- the knowledge that "I should be down there; I should be the one protecting my child."
 
That is what George was feeling as he knelt at the edge of the cliffs, watching the battle rage in the sands below. He barely had time to register the fact that Jayron had just saved everyone by blocking a massive Surf attack with a wall of energy when he heard Alexa shriek. The Feraligatr charged toward Alexa, and in that moment, George was more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. He wanted to look away. And yet he couldn't bear to. He was frozen in place, his hands gripping the jagged rocks to the point that they started to bleed. He had never felt so utterly hopeless.
 
And then the light. That glorious, yellow light. For a moment, George couldn't tell where it was coming from. The last thing he'd seen was Colette motioning for Alexa to get back. When his eyes adjusted to the brilliant light, he saw Colette, surrounded by a fierce yellow glow, launching a sphere of energy at the Feraligatr. George couldn't be sure, but he thought the attack looked vaguely reminiscent of a Lucario's Aura Sphere.
 
"Sweet Arceus!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Where'd that girl learn to do that?! George, you never said those kids were psychics."
 
"Not psychics," Peter said in awe. "It would seem that Lucario of theirs isn't the only one who can wield aura."
 
"Aura wielders..." George muttered, his arms shaking from the experience of almost losing his daughter. "I owe them everything. They kept my Alexa safe."
 
***
 
Down on the beach, Jayron was busy tending to his Absol when Lucario approached him. "Lucario?" the Liberty executive said in surprise. "You were supposed to keep the Feraligatr busy."
 
Colette said she could handle it, Lucario explained. I'm needed here. The Jackal Pokémon closed his eyes and began to apply a Heal Pulse to the injured Absol.

 

Jayron shook his head. "What does she mean she can--" He was cut off by the sudden glow that emanated from Colette. For several moments the Liberty executive found himself unable to speak. "I... I know we both read that Operation H.O.P.E. file and Lucina's report," he finally stammered. "But actually seeing those aura abilities in action... it's astounding."

 

Lucario chuckled at Jayron's wonder. Now that is how you do an Aura Sphere, he said.

 

Jayron snapped out of his daze when the newly-healed Absol gratefully licked his face. The aura wielder moved a hand through the Absol's soft, damp fur, then turned his gaze to the other trainer they had met on the beach. "That was some battle, huh?" he said with a weary smile. "Thanks for your help back there. I'm Jayron, and this is Lucario and Absol." He stood up and walked over to the trainer, glancing briefly at the unconscious form of the Feraligatr. Although the lizard had been defeated, the light rain continued, leaving all the combatants on the beach thoroughly drenched. "Although I have to ask," Jayron added. "How did you end up with that Feraligatr trying to bite your head off?"

 

***

 

Alexa had been cowering next to the rocky cliff, clutching Amber in her arms, as the monstrous Feraligatr had charged toward Colette. Then her eyes grew wide and her mouth stood agape as Colette launched her attack. It was over before Alexa knew it. The Feraligatr was knocked out, and the aura around Colette had faded, leaving only the last remnants of the evening sun's orange glow to light the beach.

 

The young girl started to shiver in the light rain as she stared at Colette in awe. A small part of her was still fearful of the Feraligatr, wondering if it was really defeated this time. But the majority of her focus was on how Colette had just saved her life with her mysterious super powers. Alexa had always been a quiet girl. But now she found that she couldn't find anything to say even if she'd wanted to.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach frowned slightly, as he noticed Olivia react ever so very slightly out of the corner of his eye. However, she still seemed so worried, but he didn't know about what... Though, he could guess. Zach was about to open his mouth to inquire further, however, but at that moment, however, Aspen and Luke asked about the restaurant.

"Uhh... Hm, should be over this way..." Zach said, a slight frown on his face, as he glanced over toward Olivia once more, and then led the group to where the restaurant was. Zach heard Dack's comment, and then stopped and turned for a moment, and looked at Dack.

"Do you know just how much sense you're making?" Zach asked with a slight frown, but then shook his head, and motioned in the direction they were headed. "This is the way to the Olivine Garden; we can discuss this stuff there." Zach said, not wanting to have a repeat of the last time.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette let out a sigh, as she yawned slightly, and looked back to Alexa with a thumbs up.

"It's down this time." Colette confirmed, as she recalled her Squirtle, and then scratched her head, as she looked back over to the Feraligatr, trying to scan its aura for any indication of why it had acted out like it did.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Vermillion City

 

The pair of trainers made it through Vermillion City's Airport and were met with an incredible sunset. Evan grinned at the shades of red and gold mingling together. This was a good omen about flying to Four Island.

 

"All right, we're here.", Evan asked as he removed Gnip's poke ball from his belt, "C'mon out, Gnip!"

 

Evan then threw Gnip's pokeball with great force, releasing his prized pokemon. The Garchomp rushed towards Evan, growling softly. Evan grinned even more as a result.

 

"All right, Gnip.", Evan said as he got on Gnip's back, "We're gonna need you to muster what energy you have for this flight. You can do this right?"

 

The Garchomp growled softly once more in acknowledgement.

 

"I know you can, Gnip.", Evan said confidently as he turned to Jenny, "C'mon up! She won't bite!"

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Olivia was naturally still battling with her own doubts when Zach pointed out the direction of the restaurant they were all heading too. "Wait, what's Olivine have to do with any of this?" she said in a confused tone. "Aren't we in Celadon? Why would...... Oh." the redhead realized, making the connection that Zach had been talking about the restaurant name.

 

Dahlia had resisted the urge to turn around and say more to Dack, as despite her frustration, it seemed Madison had a handle on things. Then Zach pointed out where the restaurant was, and what it's name was. "Olivine Garden...." the gardener repeated, a small smile growing on her face. "It's kind of like home....." she muttered. These last few days had been absolutely insane and dragged her into ridiculous situations, even compared to her six-month kidnapping. And now, there was just a little bit of home....

 

"Yeah, whatever." Aspen muttered. "I don't even think they'll have any food actually from Olivine. Not that I'm really complaining..." he said more quietly, as he felt his stomach rumble.

[Makuta of Time]

IC: Dandy

 

"Honestly man, I don't even know how. All I remember is crashing onto the beach after our ship crashed back there. Next thing I know this overgrown lizard is charging at me with its teeth ready to kill me." He wiped the wet sand of his shirt and jacket as Click scuttled back onto his shoulder.

 

"Name's Dandy by the way. This is Razorface," he points to the Barbaracle. "This is Sunhound and my good buddy Click." The Vulpix bowed at Jayron and the others with grace while the Joltik gave several clicking sounds at his newcomers. 

 

Dandy noticed a while ago that Colette was able to use Aura Spheres, something he had never seen a himan do. "Dang girl, how'd you do that? You know the  Aura Sphere stuff. I've never seen anyone do that before."

 

He then turned to Jayron for bit and asked, "So how exactly did you guys find me? I'm the middle of nowhere and already have no clue where I am. Think you guys can help a pal out by finding a place to stay?"

Edited November 6, 2014 by Captain Caboose

[Parugi]

IC - Joker/Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall/Jamie Arthur/Lucia Z./James Arthur/Cyan Vero/Drake Masters/Zack Furler/Magma Scientist - Havoc, Main Halls:

 

The group of trainers had made their way up several stories, still encountering no living beings, when they finally happened upon something. It occurred as they were coming out of a stairwell near the main hall. The sound of rapidly-falling footsteps announced the approach of the man before anyone saw him; before long, he had rounded the corner, running full speed, and passed them by. His white lab coat indicated that he was a scientist, and the look of utter terror on his face--particularly the way he looked over his shoulder, as if to make sure he was not being followed--indicated that something was not right in the place he had come from.

 

The sound of shattering ice that came from that direction a moment later piqued the group's interest even further.

 

"Let's go," Cyan said. "I'd bet money that that's where we'll find our target."

 

And so they went.

 

IC - Quincy Adams/Maxie/Michael Travis/Lidiya Vasilyev - Havoc, Central Command:

 

"Cute analogy," Adams said. "But you forgot the part where the monster squashes the bug."

 

Doll readied herself for the attack. As the Signal Beam struck, a mirror-like wall of energy appeared around her. Though the force of the attack forced her to take a step back, she regained that ground when she redirected the energy back at Porygon-Z, her Mirror Coat attack putting an extra push behind it. Luckily for the Normal-Type, it had plenty of time to see the attack coming and was able to dodge, though could only avoid the attack by moving backwards.

 

A moving green monkey was not difficult to spot, and so Ent was able to prepare for Simisage's attack with a degree of ease. Instead of aiming to intercept the Acrobatic assault with a swing of an arm or a burst of energy, the Abomasnow stepped back, slamming his hand against the floor and unleashing an Ice Beam attack. Spikes of solid ice sprung up from the ground, a barrier between himself and the enemy Grass-Type that would stop any direct hits. As Simisage landed against the spikes, Abomasnow pulled his arm back, throwing a Focus Punch at the ice just as Simisage pushed off from it. Though splinters of crystal shot off in every direction, it was likely that actual damage to the newly-evolved Pokémon would be minimal.

 

Tyranitar's interception likely would have worked, had Wizard been slightly further back. But, as things were, it floated directly in front of Vasilyev and her Meowstic, Synchronzied waves of psychic energy bearing down on them with agonizing force. That was not to say that the Armor Pokémon did not manage to interrupt the Beheeyem, oh no; it simply meant that the Tyranitar itself was behind its target.

 

The same target that quickly teleported away, leaving Meowstic to take the hit. The Psychic-Type was thrown back into her trainer, knocking Vasilyev off her feet and several meters back from the impact. Luckily, it seemed that the two were not dead, only dazed--for now. A moment later, Wizard appeared above the pair, enveloping them in psychic energy and disappearing again, prisoners in tow. They materialized again behind Quincy, who approached the unconscious woman and, taking Meowstic's Poké Ball from her belt, recalled the Psychic-Type. Vasilyev soon found herself planted to the wall in the same manner as Maxie and Travis, both of whose mouths were now covered by twisted sheets of metal.

 

"You know what's sad about all this?" Adams asked, her question directed at no one in particular. "Everything could have gone so much more smoothly if you all had simply sat down and accepted your fate." She sighed, turning to face Ryan. "What a shame."

 

The wall and door rumbled as Wizard took hold of its numerous components. With a horrid screech, the metal bent and twisted, forming a massive cocoon around Adams's three prisoners. A flood of light accompanied this due to the sudden removal of a barrier between the hallway and the command center; when Ryan's vision cleared, he would find Adams standing in front of a large, egg-like block of metal, from which her prisoners could be heard, futilely hammering their fists against the walls of their prison. Past this, the Magma command center loomed like a ghost town, littered by the bodies of dozens of Magma agents, taken out by Wizard's earlier mental strike. Whether they were alive or dead could not be determined from such a far distance, though the likelihood of their being alive was, admittedly, fairly low.

 

"Of course," Adams said, walking slowly around the prison pod. "Tougher situations are more fun, so who am I to complain?" She laughed. "Wizard, I think it's about time we get rid of these three. Teleport them outside, won't you?"

 

The Beheeyem nodded, focusing on the prison. Psychic energy began to envelop it once again, as he prepared to transport it outside, into the volcano that surrounded Havoc.

 

A sudden flash cut him off.

 

Wizard beeped in confusion, finding that his teleportation abilities no longer worked, having been Disabled. Adams had just opened her mouth to say something when a new voice cut in, this one lined with a deadly edge: "Not on your life."

 

The Ford Agent turned back toward the hallway, exasperated at the thought of yet another distraction. Behind Ryan, a large group at arrived, Joker at its head, along with her Alakazam. There appeared to be ten or so trainers in total, several of whom she recognized--particularly Ethan Worth, the puppet she had used to seal the Unown away. And now that she had a face to put to the voice, she knew that it had been Cyan Vero, agent of Team Liberty, who had spoken. Adams trained a careful eye on the group, cupping her hands together behind her back and stepping toward them. Doll and Ent moved beside her, while Wizard hung back, Analyzing the situation and keeping a psychic field around the egg in order to block any . . . intrusions.

 

"Well," Adams said at length. "This is . . . unexpected." Behind her back, she pressed a button on her Pokétch. "Evidently you were serious when you announced your ceasefire . . ."

 

OOC: Going to have to request for my sanity that each individual character use only one or two Pokémon at any given time for this upcoming battle.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Parugi

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
"Oh, I'm doing pretty good myself," Ryan said. Still trapped in Loki's bear hug, he could do nothing but manage a forced smile, which faltered when his eyes darted back to Sonja. Finally, Loki released him, although his heart was pounding with a force greater than any the powerful Gurdurr could produce.

Ryan readjusted his laundry basket in his arms, trying to gather his thoughts. He knew this encounter had been inevitable, but he desperately wished it hadn't happened so soon. He opened his mouth and started to go into one of his scripted apologies, but the words died on the tip of his tongue. Instead he stood there in silence, unsure of what to say, or even what to do.

IC: Jayron/Alexa/George
Jayron chuckled at Dandy's reaction to Colette's attack, although he couldn't help but feel slightly hurt that Dandy had barely batted an eye at his own aura shield that had blocked the Feraligatr's Surf. He shrugged it off as Dandy started asking questions. He decided that with their powers no longer a secret, he had no reason to hide the truth from this trainer.

"Colette's not the only one who can do that," Jayron said with a small smile, his gloved hands glowing slightly. "She and I are aura wielders. We're investigating what's wrong with this island -- ever since this morning, radio signals have been going haywire. That would explain why your ship crashed: it probably got too close to the island and the navigation systems stopped working. As for how we found you, you have Colette to thank for that. We were using our abilities to read aura to try and locate the source of whatever's causing this radio interference, when Colette picked up on your panic."

I helped, too, Lucario muttered, folding his arms.

"As for finding a place to stay," Jayron continued, "we're in the same boat. But wherever we end up staying, I'm sure we could accommodate one extra person."

At Colette's signal, Alexa tentatively stepped forward. In her arms, Amber flattened her ears against her head, softly whimpering about the rain. The girls were too far away to hear much of Jayron's and Dandy's conversation over the dull pitter-patter of the rain against the sand. The beach felt oddly quiet now that the Feraligatr had fallen. Alexa approached Colette curiously as the latter closed her eyes and held out a hand, scanning the Feraligatr's aura.

At first, all Colette saw was anger. But Lucina had taught her that auras can become clouded by a single emotion and they are never as one-dimensional as they might seem. As Colette pushed past the anger, she found confusion. And digging deeper still, she sensed fear. Beyond that, she saw that the Feraligatr was normally a laid-back, jolly lizard. Something had driven it into its primordial rage. And it wasn't hard for Colette to guess what.

***

George could contain himself no longer. He had stood by and watched the entire battle from the edge of the cliff. He refused to wait on the sidelines any longer. Ignoring the shocked cries from Jimmy and Peter, George threw himself over the cliff and started to slide down the steep slope.

The incline was steeper than George had expected, but he wasn't the captain of the police force for nothing. He managed to keep his balance the whole way down and hit the ground running, only stumbling slightly as he made his way toward his daughter.

"Alexa!" he cried, pulling the girl into a tight embrace. "Oh, Alexa! Thank Arceus you're safe!" George gave his daughter a kiss, then looked up at Colette, his eyes swimming with tears. "I can't thank you enough. You and Jayron both. I am in your debt."

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke/Palmer
Dack opened his mouth to retort to Zach, but Madison quickly interjected. "I take it you're from Olivine, then?" the skier asked in a cheery voice. "I've heard it's a lovely place. We're from Snowpoint; it has a harbor much like Olivine, but it tends to be rather quiet for a city."

"Olivine, Snowpoint, who cares where it's from?" Luke cried. "Food is food!"

"I've been to Olivine before," Palmer said thoughtfully. "The city's Gym Leader was rather fond of the Contests we had in Sinnoh. Of course I've always been more of a battler myself." The Frontier Brain chuckled. "Don't mind me, I'm just an old man reminiscing of a time long past..."