JiMing

IC: Reyna Pherae Reyna paused, hearing Azure speaking over the comms. "Reyna Pherae here. I was to help out another Hero, but..." she muttered, suddenly feeling conflicted on who to help. "Can't be in two places at once, hmm..."

IC: Reyna Pherae "I'm on my way!" the hero declared over the comms to Katherine, taking a moment to determine where the comm tower was. Then she began dashing towards it at breakneck speed, low to the ground with her cape flowing behind. Reyna wasn't sure if she could make it before things wrapped up in there, but she was going to try. OOC: Not sure how tall the communication tower is, never kept up with Hero Factor sadly. xP But if it's too tall to run up, I'll have Reyna voice her objections.

IC: Reyna Pherae Reyna turned her attention to Dane, and nodded. "And what a fine job you did!" she congratulated earnestly, holding her sword above her head in a sort of salute. The Hero then opened up comms again, looking around. "I've landed safely and without issue. Any Hero around with other pressing issues, give me a call and I'll be right there as soon as I can!" Reyna communicated, turning again to Dane. "What's your name, good hero? You're obviously not someone to be trifled with!"

OOC: I'll just drop her in the middle of the fray then. IC: Reyna Pherae Several Hero Pods had already fallen on Tranquis in a short amount of time, but the flood of pods wasn't over yet. As the battle raged on, one voice cut into everyone's comm lines. "Don't forget about me!" With that, a pod careened near the other heroes, and before it landed, out vaulted out Reyna in her regal glory, cape flowing elegantly behind her. She took hold of her blade, and swiped the area in front of her as she landed, both looking flashy and potentially cleaving any stray enemies in her path in two. "This is Reyna Pherae, joining the fray! A pleasure to meet you all!" the Hero called out, holding her sword close while observing the situation. "What's the current situation? Anything urgent that needs immediate attention, perhaps?"

OOC: Woo! Approved! But uh, mind suggesting a point where Reyna could be dropped off? I'm uh, kinda not sure what to do. xP

IC: Lachina Adaon "You had one job. One. Job." Lachina muttered, glaring at everyone present. She turned to Aolani, who was definitely grinning and ready to fight, causing the Ranger to frown. "I think we should fall back. Don't want to be trapped inside and have to fight our way out." she said. Though, it wasn't the fear of being unable to escape that worried her... It was the fate of those who went up against the savage Altaria that Lachina was concerned with.

OOC: Finally have a character concept. Name: Reyna Pherae Powers and Abilities: Reyna's armor is specially designed to be even more resistant to flames and high temperatures than that of other heroes. She also has better reaction times than other heroes, though this does not affect the actual speed at which she can move. Weapon(s): She fights with a regal-looking sword which she wields with grace and power. It can also exhume flames from the the blade, able to light up her melee attacks or fire the flames out like a flamethrower. Appearance: Reyna's armor is adorned and decorated with blue, gold, white, and red, looking like a classic lord. She also has a flowing blue cape on the back with a red underside, which can quickly be detached at a whim when it becomes impractical or potentially hazardous in the given scenario. Bio: Reyna was constructed rather recently, and has not been on nearly as many missions as some of the more experienced Heroes. Despite this, she was built to take charge and think tactically when the situation becomes dire, though her ability to do so is offset both by her inexperience and general idealistic nature. However, Reyna spends most of her free time training to fight, so her combat prowess is not lacking, and her determination to bring justice upon the wicked makes her powerful nontheless. When not honing her swordfighting abilities, she prefers watching historical dramas, either by herself or any poor soul willing to sit through them with her, which few would likely be willing to do despite her thoughtful and friendly nature.

IC: Ruth Fishers Ruth glanced around her, and shrugged. "Don't ask me what's up with your eyes. I have no clue!" she said, blinking. "Though... It's sorta cool. Now we have a flashlight with us... Sorta." The trainer crossed her arms, and reached for the railing. "Well... Time to go downstairs. Wish me luck." she said, slowly walking down the steps. At first, things were eerily silent. That wasn't to last though, as halfway down the stairs, she could hear faint voices speaking, and the sound chilled her to the bone. Ruth shuddered, and when she finally reached the end of the stairs, there stood yet another hallway, this time with a door lit by two candles on each side. "...It's not so bad." she muttered nervously, gulping. "I mean... Maybe they're fixing things inside and the candles are there for them to see. Yeah... It'll be fine. Totally." IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina paused, and looked at Mercury. "Well... We can't be that loud at least." she whispered. "Maybe send one of us over the corner and see what's going on, and relay that info back to the other two?"

IC: Lachina Adaon "...Did you both just... Ugh..." Lachina muttered, facepalming. The Ranger walked in the door as well, catching up to Mercury and Zac. She shot the two of them a dirty look, before looking around the Gym.

IC: Lachina Adaon "Tch. Don't like flowers, huh? You're going to cut someone on that edge of yours, Mr. Brooder." Lachina replied, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. When they reached the Gym doors. Upon Zac's comment, the Ranger raised an eyebrow. "That means something could be seriously wrong. We need a plan of action before heading in. First of all, try being innocuous. Don't want anyone to think we're there on an investigation." the Ranger said, and looked down, trying to think of more possible actions they could take.

IC: Lachina Adaon "Floaroma Meadow? So it's got a lot of pretty flowers, huh?" Lachina asked, turning to Mercury. "Hmm, maybe I should hope our travels take us to Sinnoh. That would be a pretty nice place to visit someday, wouldn't you agree?" she said, as all three of them walked closer to the Gym, nothing seeming suspicious in that moment.

Sooo that contest Blade's running. http://strawpoll.me/5360518 Obviously it'll be ultimately up to her which designs to use but it doesn't hurt to gauge what others think. Oh, and the main rule's up on the poll itself. I'll open up a poll for names later, if anyone wants it, since I think name and design are the two main factors of the contest? Not sure at this point. xP

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina looked over at the Machoke, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... That's not bad, then. Definitely, working together with people and Pokemon, that's great." she said, but then looked up thoughtfully. "....Everything does seem a lot more industrialized here though. Back in Almia, the place with most development is Pueltown, and even that's essentially a gigantic park with a lot of green. Here though, a lot more streets and taller buildings." the Ranger noted, and sighed. "So... I'm a bit out of my element overall." Lachina muttered, still following Zac to the Gym, looking over her shoulder to make sure Mercury was there.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina blinked and scratched her head. While some of the specifics went over her head, she thought for a bit, and looked back at Zac. "Interesting. From what it seems, these 'Gyms' and 'Contests' are a big part of your culture here. Those are competitions, right? So a key element of your culture is going head to head with Pokemon in tow." the Ranger said, looking up with a thoughtful expression. "That's not really like Almia at all. Back there, I'd say the biggest element in our culture is cooperation. Us humans coexist with Pokemon and nature, and do our best to protect and nurture both. That's especially why us Rangers exist, and probably why we shy away from Pokeballs." For a while, she had that same thoughtful expression, looking up. Only a while later did Lachina register that they should be moving on. "Oh, oh right! What Mr. Brooder said, lead the way to the 'Gym'." the Ranger said at last, not noticing Mercury's smile.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina was still staring at the sudden Darkrai, a mixture of amazement and wariness on her face. "...Yeah. We could spare some time to investigate the... You call them Gyms?" the Ranger replied, seeming confused. "Gyms are where you work out, right? That's a confusing name... These regions are so... Different." she muttered, wearing a mixture of confusion and frustration on her face. Try as she could, Lachina was still out of her depth, and would likely have to rely on Mercury and any good samaritans they encountered.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina sighed again, but maintained her composure, nodding as Mercury explained. "That's right. Rangers arrived on the scene in Sootopolis. I was one of them, but now I'm accompanying Mercury thanks to his list." she said, frowning at the mention of Celadon. "Last I heard, they were considering sending Ranger to Celadon, but the force they sent was pretty limited, so they might still be in Sootopolis..." Then the Darkrai named Shadows made himself known. Aolani squawked and leaped back, with Lachina also doing a backflip out of surprise, putting distance between her and the legendary. She seemed nervous, but quickly regained her composure. "That's right. We're here to investigate Two Island. Mercury has said nothing about Vermillion..." the Ranger explained, before turning to Shadows. "...You wouldn't happen to know any Darkrai from Almia, would you?"

IC: Lachina Adaon The Ranger bounced the possibilities in her head, eventually sighing, and hanging her head low. "One day... I'm finding whoever designs the Capture Styler and make them figure out how to null Pokeballs." Lachina muttered, taking the Pokeball Mercury had offered her, and walking up to Aolani. "...I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this... But someone else could take away your freedom." she said to the cloudbird, wrapping her arms around her Partner Pokemon. "If you ever want to leave me... I'll let you go. But for now, you're my partner, and we gotta stick together... Alright?" The cloudbird nodded, and stood, looking directly at the Pokeball. Lachina moved back, hesitating one final time, before closing her eyes and throwing the Pokeball. She opened her eyes later when she heard a click, immediately scooping up the Pokeball and fumbling for a moment, before finally releasing Aolani. "...There. Now she's safe." the Ranger said with a sigh, putting the Pokeball in her backpack, frowning. "...I hope I made the right choice..."

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina turned to Mercury, and sighed. "...She's been following ever since my graduation ceremony... Which she actually crashed." the Ranger replied, but sighed. "From my understanding, you can just immediately recall any Pokemon if they try running, and force them inside the Pokeball... And that sounds awful to me. But... Are you two sure that capturing Aolani is the only way to stop anyone else from taking her away?" she asked, still seeming reluctant as she stared at the Pokeball Mercury was holding.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina whirled around to face Mercury, an incredulous look on her face. "I-I couldn't...!" she protested. "That would restrict Aolani's freedom... She follows me because she wants to, not because she has too!" the Ranger pointed out, very indignant at that idea.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina frowned, and sighed. "I think I get why Rangers usually don't operate in other regions with lots of Pokeballs...." she muttered, and frowned. "Yeah, Aolani's a wild bird. What's wrong with that? She still helps me and is my Partner Pokemon...." the Ranger said, and crossed her arms more, closing her eyes. "...But yeah, I can't really do anything, I guess you're off the hook... But I probably need to watch Aolani a lot closer now." she muttered, looking over at the indignant bird that swooped down to give a death glare to Zac, still unsure of what to do now. "Hmm...."

IC: Lachina Adaon "Ahahahahaha no." Lachina responded, turning briefly to give Mercury an unimpressed look. "For starters, I'm not a Pokemon Trainer. Didn't you hear me? I'm a Ranger, specifically, from Almia." she said, getting out her ID and shoving it in Zac's face. "Pokeballs are -very- rarely seen in my region, most often it'll be a foreigner using them. And even then, laws are restrictive on their usage, and Rangers simply don't make use of them." the Ranger explained, crossing her arms. "So what you just did, was akin to an attempted kidnapping my Partner Pokemon, Aolani. I think I'm very justified in treating this matter seriously.. Don't you?" Lachina asked, raising an eyebrow at the trainer, unimpressed at his behavior. Even without her uniform, her air of professionalism returned, and she was in on-duty mode.

IC: Lachina Adaon Lachina slowly looked up, eyeing the dazed boy who thought capturing Aolani was a good idea. While the indignant cloudbird squawked and complained, the Ranger slowly walked up to Zac Blazer. "Lachina Adaon, Pokemon Ranger. State your name, age, and career if you have one." she said, crossing her arms. "Also provide a reasonable explanation of why you assaulted my Partner Pokemon, or I'll have to report you back to the Ranger Union."

IC: Lachina Adaon Aolani flew above both Mercury and Lachina. To her, walking was just a bore, and being bored was the last thing the Altaria wanted. So she continued her flight path, though heard noise behind her, turning her head. Then she saw a strange object flying towards her, and squawked indignantly. Lachina was thinking, but that didn't mean she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. The sound of an excited boy's voice and Aolani's squawking alerted her, but the final nail in the coffin was the whooshing sound above her head. The undercover Ranger, almost as if acting on instinct, leaped up in the air, and caught the Pokeball hurling at Aolani in one fell swoop. Then, twisting her body, she threw the Pokeball back in the direction it came from, before finally landing on the ground, both knees bent and the arm used to catch the Pokeball stretched out behind Lachina, her swift aerial maneuver ending with a three-point landing.

OOC: It's jam after jam after jam lately. Not that I'm complaining. IC: Lachina/Mercury Mercury leaned against the railing at the stern of the ship, feeling the cool sea breeze blowing through his hair. It had been a surprisingly fast week on board the ship, despite the close quarters. Now, Vermilion Harbor was within view, a few ships like this one and several smaller ferries bobbing in the gentle waves. With a soft sigh, he pushed off of the railing. He went down to the cabin to grab his gear and see if Lachina was still asleep. He knocked softly on the door before unlocking it and stepping inside. Lachina was still under the covers of her bed, eyes closed and breathing lightly. It was clear she didn't hear Mercury knocking on the door whatsoever and was still fast asleep. The Ranger shifted slightly when Mercury went inside the cabin, but otherwise slept peacefully. The trainer chuckled lightly, picking up his backpack and checking its contents. He had shoved his coat inside on the first day, allowing him to enjoy the sun and breeze in T-shirt and jeans. Adjusting the bag, he turned to the ranger and shook her shoulder lightly. "Lachina, we're almost to port. Get up and get ready." For a ranger, she seemed to enjoy sleeping late. Of course, he couldn't really blame her. After waking up at dawn for a month and a half, he had slept late the first day of their journey. After that, however, he had forced himself awake to meditate and practice with his aura in private. He shook her again, smiling lightly. "Come on, kid. You must be the laziest ranger ever." "Hzzzvwlugh?" Lachina mumbled sleepily, yawning as Mercury's prodding had gotten her up. "I'm awake, I'm awa-I'm not lazy! I just like to be well rested!" she replied indignantly, bolting upwards off the bed. Though, the Ranger had to admit there was a grain in truth in the trainer's words; when she could afford to, Lachina would try to sleep in as long as possible. Quickly tossing herself off the bed, Lachina shook her head to clear away the sleepiness, having fallen asleep in her civilian outfit, and bounded out the door, Aolani following her. "Well I think I've got the 'get ready' part covered, wouldn't you?" she asked Mercury, a smirk on her face. Mercury scooped up the spare backpack and followed the ranger. The ship was pulling into harbor as they went topside. Vermilion City loomed nearby, a small city despite its large shipyard. As they stepped off, Mercury spoke to Lachina. "So, the ferry to the Sevii Isles doesn't leave until this afternoon." He had looked up the schedule on her styler to be on the safe side. "I'll go get tickets taken care of. Why don't you guy see if the Pokémart has clothes?" He dug into is pocket, pulling out a small wad of bills and coins. "Get us each at least one change of outfit if they do." "Umm, sure, I don't really know what your size is, but I probably won't mess it up." Lachina said, taking the wad of cash. "Alright, I'd say to call me when you got your the tickets, but you don't really have anything that could work for that, so we need to agree on a place to rendezvous back to..." she muttered, looking around. "...Except I really don't know the layout of this city at all, uh.., Hmm." the Ranger said, putting a finger on her chin while thinking of a way to get around this. Mercury shrugged. "If nothing else, meet at the Pokémon Center in an hour or so." He waved, heading towards the line at the ticket counter. Lachina frowned again, and folded her arms. "Yeah, uh, still don't know where that's at. Almia doesn't have Pokemon Centers." she replied, and shrugged, following Mercury in line. "I'll just find a map somewhere, maybe my Capture Styler has it? We'll see." He raised an eyebrow, shrugging. "Fine, if you really want to stand in line with me, be my guest." He elbowed her lightly, grinning. "What kind of backwater region doesn't have a place to heal your pokémon? Honestly." "Oh, we have Ranger facilities that handle healing and nurturing for Pokemon, even in some of the more remote parts of Almia. We just don't call them Pokemon Centers, same goes for Fiore and Oblivia." the Ranger explained, and grinned. "Hey, I'm here to make sure you don't sit in a dark corner and brood about whatever it is you brood about... Brooder." Lachina replied, punching him in the back lightly. "I don't brood," he growled, scowling at her. "I just have a lot of things to keep in mind. I wouldn't expect a kid like you to understand." He stretched. "Speaking of brooding, though..." he reached down, grabbing Anubis' ball and letting the Lucario out into the open. They had argued on the first night aboard the ship. Anubis had insisted that they do something about Styx right then and here, with Mercury arguing that the crazed Absol was the least of their concerns. For the time being, it would remain safely in its ball on Mercury's belt, where it could do no harm to anyone. The fight had escalated almost to physical force before Mercury had returned his trusted companion and locked the ball so Anubis could not free himself. Now, the Lucario sulked, arms crossed over his chest as he looked away from Mercury and Lachina. The Ranger was still unaware of Mercury's Absol troubles, and especially clueless he and his Lucario had had a falling out. Lachina stared at the two of them for a bit, frowning. "...This is about that thing you mentioned on the first day... Isn't it?" she said, crossing her arms. "I know you told me you don't want my help until this is all over, but it's really starting to eat away at you from the looks of it. You certain I shouldn't do anything right now?" Lachina asked concernedly. Mercury shook his head. "It's not anything we can deal with right now. There are too many people, and we can't take time from what we're doing." Anubis growled, turning to glare at his trainer. If you won't tell her, he said, I will. You're trying to keep her in the dark about something that could injure or even kill her. Mercury glared, grey eyes going hard and cold. "It can wait until after--" If you put it off until later, then you'll always find some new excuse not to tell her. Anubis looked to Lachina. My master carries a monstrosity on his belt, a creature that is so far beyond reason that it lashes out blindly. It knows no logic, feels no pain, and has no mercy. The third ball on his belt, if anything happens to us, needs to be destroyed. Mercury flinched, eyes looking down. He didn't want to worry you, but it is something that you should be worried about, and may have been a distraction at a critical moment. He was thinking of using it as a last-resort weapon, and attempting to bring it back from its madness if the chance presents itself. But that will be a long time coming, I feel. Lachina stopped. The Ranger blinked, and frowned, and blinked some more. Her grey eyes grew stormy as she put a finger to her chin, lost in thought. "Define monstrosity." she said, still thinking hard. "I don't know how much I can do. I don't have any special abilities like your aura, Mercury. But I know I would prefer not to euthanize a so-called 'monster' if it can be reached to." Lachina declared, and thought more. "Hmm, perhaps at some point, we could contact the Ranger Union. Maybe they have connections that could help..." Mercury shook his head. "It's an Absol." He sighed, looking up at her again. "It attacked us outside of Fortree City. It intended to kill us, would have if Anubis hadn't been so quick to react. But it- he didn't choose to be like that. His aura is twisted and dark. It's like someone or something invaded its mind and turned it into a fighting machine." He grabbed Styx's ball, holding it up for her to see. "This is it. The aura that surrounds it is visible to me even here. I can hardly feel Anubis' when he's contained, so I know for a fact that it's not natural, what happened to this Absol." He glared at Anubis. "But it doesn't matter, not right now. Maybe not even until after One Island. Once we reach the end of the list and aren't sure where to go. That's when I'll worry about purifying its aura. Until then, it stays locked away. I don't want it to hurt anyone." He clipped the ball back on and then turned back towards the line. "I don't want to ask the rangers for help with this. I captured it, I made the choice, it's my responsibility." He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. His brow scrunched and he hunched his shoulders forward, looking away from his companions. This was just great. Now he was brooding. Lachina focused her eyes at the ball with a look of disgust. "Why would anyone-or anything warp an Absol for their own purposes...? Pokemon are living creatures. They're meant to live and grow... Not be reprogrammed like an unfeeling piece of machinery." The Ranger sighed, and looked to Mercury. "Okay. So you don't want the Rangers to help. So what do you plan on doing then?" she asked him, a hand on her hip. "I mean, is this really something you can solve all on your own? Sounds like you'd need all the help you can get with this." she explained. "Plus... He's a Pokemon. Rangers are meant to help Pokemon. I'm sure we can put in a good effort to heal him..." Mercury sighed. "I think that I can connect to him through the aura, and use that to control him. As my aura blends with his, the corruption should start to disappear. That's the idea anyways." He shrugged. "As for why... Well, obviously someone wanted a killing machine. They probably weren't expecting it to escape into the wild." He looked back to the girl. "You might be able to help, like I said. I just don't want to take it to your higher-ups unless we can't do it ourselves." He stepped forward, now at the ticket counter. Lachina closed her eyes, and was quiet. "...Okay. I'm going to help, even if my higher-ups can't." she said. "No Pokemon deserves to be used as a weapon... They are living, breathing creatures in an ecosystem. This is wrong... All wrong." The Ranger's eyes went stormy once more, as she looked down at the ground. Lachina said nothing as they went to buy the tickets, and nothing after they walked away from the booth. She focused on the ground, and seemed lost in thought, even as the two of them walked the streets of Vermillion.