Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-
 
Ryan wandered through the mansion as he tried to wrap his mind around everything that had happened that day. It had started out such a calm and peaceful day; it was hard to believe things had gone so wrong. He sighed as his feet took him down a hall toward the medical wing, where the nurses had taken Shannon earlier. He knew that Zach and the Seaton siblings were right: he had to talk to her. It wouldn't fix what he had done, but it was the least he could do to try and make things right. As he continued down the hallway, he noticed a nurse scurry out of one of the rooms. Ryan stared at his feet as the nurse rushed past him, but then he strode over to the door as it closed again.
 
Ryan peeked into the room, looking through the glass window on the door as he noticed the medical team still running around, working on helping Shannon. The girl in question was laying in a hospital bed, several tubes and wires coming out of her, connected to IVs and a heart monitor that gave off a steady beeping. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, as her condition seemed stable. However, beyond the scrambling nurses he made out dozens of cuts and bruises along Shannon's arms and face. A guilty feeling began to form in his chest, as while he was relieved she was alright, he still felt bad for putting her in that situation.

He would have been unable to tear his eyes away, but at that moment a nurse gave him a stern yet soft look before closing the blinds, cutting off his view. With a sigh, Ryan turned away from the door and leaned against the the wall outside the room. He slowly slid down to a sitting position, where he rested his head in his arms. The ticking of a nearby clock echoed down the empty hallway, jarring with the beeping heart monitor inside the hospital room. Ryan closed his eyes, the exhaustion from the day's events finally catching up to him.
 
----
 
Chaos. Confusion. Hatred. There. There's the chance. It needs to be taken. It needs to. Protests. Why? Why were they trying to save him?
 
A blur of memories and emotions flew through Ryan's head as he reached a hand to his head, trying to make sense of it all. Everything seemed to melt together; attacking Rockets shifted into collapsing houses that morphed into blockades that cast long shadows over the ground. But beneath it all, one scene in particular kept sending out waves of emotion out toward him, trying to force its way to the surface. He felt a pit in his stomach as he hesitantly tried to focus on the scene. It didn't take much effort, and he suddenly found himself being pushed along the current of scenes, as if being dragged down through a whirlpool. Laughter, chaos, relief, anxiety, everything was flashing past him in the blink of an eye as that dreaded scene drew ever closer. Just as he was about to be overwhelmed, the cacophony of images stopped.
 
Ryan was trapped. His body couldn't move. He was standing arms outstretched. As his focus cleared, his eyes widened at the sight of his Tyranitar. A spiky stone floated in front of the giant Pokémon, and Ryan felt beads of sweat as the stone began to fly toward him. He tried to duck out of the way. But his body was paralyzed.

A desperate cry. A flash of blonde hair. A firm shove. He tried to speak, but his voice was a stubborn as his arms, and the world was spinning, and he was falling...

He hit the ground facing Shannon. He watched in horror as she stood in his place... no, he had been standing in her place. There was still time. He could take the hit meant for her. He wanted to act, to stop this, to do something, but his body refused to work. Why? Why could he only stare helpless as the horrible memory repeated itself in his mind's eye? A heavy rain began to fall, even as he was forced to watch.
 
A flash of green. The shattering rock. But this wasn't right. The fragments of rock were too big. Ryan stared in horror as the stone pellets embedded themselves in Shannon. A chill unrelated to the sudden precipitation ran down his back, as he felt himself able to move once again. Suddenly he was on his feet. Running. Sobbing. He knelt at Shannon's side, shaking his head in anguish. The poor girl was struggling to even breathe.

Voices. Harsh. He tried to ignore the angry tones. He tried to stop the bleeding. Was he imagining that heart monitor? Blood pulsed out in time with the beeps. He tried to do anything he could, but there were too many wounds. So much blood. Why were there so many wounds?
 
Yelling. Why? Hatred. Her eyes grew unfocused. Why? Confusion. His eyes blurred with tears. Why? Chaos. A long, drawn out tone sounded as her body went limp.
 
----
 
Ryan gasped out in shock as his eyes shot open wide. He tried desperately to catch his breath, feeling his heart racing after the horrible dream. It was just a dream, right? He felt cold, drenched in sweat. As his ears stopped ringing, he heard a faint and steady beeping. He started to calm down as he realized where he was. The steady beeping was like music to his ears. He sat there for a moment listening, unwilling to close his eyes, for he knew what would await him when he did. His doubts, however, were reawakened, as he slowly and shakily pushed himself to his feet. I can't stay here... not... not like this... not after that dream... no, that nightmare...
 
Ryan sunk his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked back through the halls of the quiet mansion. He was unnerved by his nightmare, and shivered slightly, trying to push the vivid images out of his mind. Why... why did I need to... see that... He clenched the inside of the pocket with a distressed look on his face. He looked up in surprise as he approached the doorway to the kitchen, noticing a dim light inside. Slowly, Ryan entered the kitchen, wondering who could be up at this hour... and what 'this hour' even was. As he peered into the room, he noticed his mother sitting at the table, seeming a little distracted. Before he could actually make up his mind whether to stay there or go wander somewhere else, Cassie noticed and waved him over.
 
As Ryan walked inside, his mother smiled warmly at him. The smile gained a trace of worry, however, as Cassie noticed the look of pure uncertainty and pain on her son's face. She wasn't entirely certain whether Ryan got up at 4:30 every morning, but had a funny feeling that this was not a common occurrence. "Trouble sleeping?" She guessed, a soft look on her face, as the black haired man shuffled awkwardly. "Here, have a seat..." she said, watching her son walk over and slowly sit down. "If you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen." She softly looked at the man, a pang of guilt of her own washing over her for a moment.
 
Ryan looked over uncertainly, as he tried to figure out where to even start. With a sigh, he began to explain his dream. Cassie gave him a sad look as he recounted the nightmare, and then got up, walking over to the kettle to pour another cup of tea. She walked back to the table and handed the steaming mug to the worried trainer. "It'll help calm your nerves..." she explained. "It won't make things any better, but it'll help you deal with it."
 
Ryan nodded and took a long sip of the drink. "I'm... I'm scared," he finally said, which prompted Cassie to look over. He focused on his tea intently, staring into the cup as if that would somehow help him out. "I... I was supposed to help her. She was the only one who believed in me, and trusted me, even when she didn't agree with my ideas at first... And I repaid her like this." He sighed again and took another sip of his drink as he looked up, a lost and worried look on his face. "I just... even if it's just my imagination, even if Zach and the others are right... I just... especially after that nightmare... I'm scared. I'm scared of how she'll react. I just, I don't know what to do. I'm scared to even close my eyes now, after that..." He trailed off, staring back into the abyss of his cup. "That... that reminded me too much of what happened in Goldenrod... and this time, it was my fault. I just, I wish I could go back and change that..."
 
Cassie stayed quiet, keeping her eyes on her son as she took a drink of her own tea while listening to his explanation. "Would changing that have really been a good thing, though?" she asked, prompting Ryan to look up in a slight bit of confusion. "Things happen for a reason... sometimes we make choices we regret for a long, long time afterward." She looked into Ryan's deep blue eyes, and he realized she was talking about more than just his own failings. "But I don't think that things happening 'better' might really be better in the long run. Things might seem good in the moment, but actions have bigger consequences than just the here and now. This will make you stronger; you just have to weather it all out." Her voice wavered slightly, which surprised Ryan, especially when he noticed the tears that Cassie wiped away.
 
"I wish... I just wish, that I could have seen you grow up. That I could have seen you become the young man sitting here with me now. But, just like I was saying, everything happens for a reason. And you've gotten stronger from all the hardships that I caused by not thinking about the consequences... it's not fair to want to change that, even if it would seem to make things better." She sniffed slightly, but still managed a small smile. Ryan stared at his mother in shock, realizing she probably felt just as bad as he did. "I want to be there for you from now on... at least there would be one family member for you five. I don't know how well Jessie and Ray would take it, but... I want to at least try to give them a kind and loving parent." She smiled slightly, and Ryan nodded.

"Alistair probably would want to be included too," Ryan said finally, echoing his mother's smile. He noticed Cassie's shock, realizing she probably didn't know the eldest Hakuda child was still alive, but simply nodded, too tired to explain at the moment. "I understand what you mean, though," he said, scratching his head. "I mean, Shannon's still alive, right? That... that's at least one good thing... I just hope that everything still works out..." His voice trailed off as he looked back down to his cup. Cassie smiled warmly. She was still curious about Alistair, but knew there was a time and a place for everything. She decided she would ask about that later.
 
"It's alright to be scared of the unknown," Cassie said, walking over to Ryan, and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's only natural, after all... in fact, it's perfectly fine to be scared, period. Everyone is at one point or another, and you're not any weaker because of it." Ryan looked up in surprise, not sure what to say. "I'm sure it will be alright," his mother assured him. "You just have to believe in yourself. From what it looked like during that fight, Shannon really believes in you as well. Just keep hope." As she spoke, the first rays of the new dawn began to filter through the window. Cassie glanced at the time, surprised to find they had been talking for a whole hour.
 
"Thanks Mom... for everything..." Ryan said with a soft smile, standing up and hugging Cassie. He wasn't totally certain what would happen, and anxiety still lingered on the fringes of his mind, but the tea had done wonders to calm his nerves, and his spirits had been raised a lot by simply having someone to talk to.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

The brown-haired girl relaxed, and walked forward, smiling at Erika. "He's great! Turned out to be totally safe and unharmed, thankfully." Dahlia explained, then looked at the garden the Gym Leader had been tending to. "Your garden's beautiful.... This is more like what I'd want to tend to, eventually, gardening's sorta my passion." the middle Seaton rambled, and smiled afterwards.

"So uh, Erika... What exactly did you call me here, for?" Dahlia asked. "To thank me... Right?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Erika==-

 

Erika smiled with a subtle giggle at Dahlia's enthusiasm, and nodded at the young gardener's question. "Yes. I wanted to thank you, and give you a token of my thanks as reward... Well, two tokens, actually." The gym leader explained, as she walked over to a nearby table. After a couple moments, Erika walked back, and held out a Pokeball and a badge to Dahlia, a sincere smile on her face. "I'd like you to have this Turtwig, and one of my badges. Though, a word of warning, she is a little quirky..." She seemed a bit amused, and looked over in surprise, as the Turtwig in question released herself from her Pokeball, and looked around. Upon seeing Dahlia, however, the little Turtwig ran toward her, and attempted to half tackle her in happiness, and half leap into her arms.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

If Jamie were the type to skip, her feet would hardly be staying on the ground with the mood that she had now. Even without skipping, it was clear that she had a spring in her step that had not been there earlier. A big goofy-looking smile was working its way onto her face, despite her best attempts at covering it up (which only served to make her look even goofier).

 

She was technically leading the other Rocket agent through the city, but she wasn’t really paying attention to where she was going. In theory, they were going north-east back to the Pokémon Center but Jamie had sort of picked a direction in with that vague idea and went with it.

 

So stumbling into sight of Ethan and Gavin was a coincidence rather than a planned reunion. A happy coincidence, but a coincidence all the same.

 

“Ethaaaan~ Gaaaavinnn~” Jamie called out to her fellow agents, she said breaking into a short run towards them.

 

The pair barely had any time to register and turn around before she was upon them. The shorter man was targeted first on the basis of him being slightly closer to where Jamie was initially. With no time for Gavin to react, a peck was placed on his nose. A second kiss made its way onto Ethan’s cheek as Jamie passed closer to him.

 

Must you continue to make my death more difficult? The Haunter muttered towards his trainer while he continued to restrain a now re-enraged Pelleas.

 

“Ethan, Gavin, it is so good to see the both of you unharmed,” Jamie said, still failing to cover up that same large goofy smile.

[Konuju]

IC: Alaina/Drew/Kiri
Alaina bit her lip as she listened to Mercury's story. Her Spearow fluttered to her shoulder and kept its keen eye on the Lucario. She wasn't sure what she had expected the list to be -- perhaps a map leading to treasure, like those wild tales told by the older street kids. But Mercury's story was unlike anything she had anticipated. "So wait," she said with a frown. "You're saying what happened this morning was planned?"
 
"No way!" Drew said in amazement, his argument with his sister forgotten. "A list that can tell the future?"
 
"Don't be a dimwit, Drew." Alaina rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as a list that can tell the future. Someone must have triggered the attack."
 
"What else is on the list?" Drew asked, ignoring his sister and reaching for the paper in Mercury's hands.
 
"Alaina. Drew." Kiri walked into the room and pushed the kids away from Mercury, giving them both a stern look. "What did I tell you about bothering this man?" She turned around to face Mercury. "Sorry about that. I'm glad you're feeling better. But what is this about places getting destroyed? I can affirm that the attack this morning was planned; my nieces and nephew encountered the perpetrator and followed her to Celadon. With any luck, they'll have helped to minimize the damage to the city." Kiri glanced down at the list curiously. "I wonder, though... if the attacks in Sootopolis and Celadon are related, could the rest of the places on your list be connected as well?"

IC: Ellen/Paul
Paul gave Xander a curious look, wondering just whose side the boy was on. Terry let out another whimper as the blacksmith recalled his Skarmory with a sigh. "I won't fight you with Terry," Paul said, softly petting the Herdier. "That would be cruel... Terry deeply cares for us both." He glanced up at his daughter with a stern look of determination. "However, that won't stop me from using my other Pokémon. I won't give up until I bring you home safely. Kimber, come on out!" The Torkoal emerged from her Pokéball, her white smoke billowing in the rain. "Bring that Turtwig's defenses back to normal with Clear Smog!"

Ellen bit her lip. She knew the Torkoal assisted her father with his blacksmith work, but she was not as familiar with it as she was with his other Pokémon. "Maturin, hit her with Crunch, then get away from there!" she cried. The Turtwig ran through the smog, his speed increasing as he came out on the other side of the attack and delivered a powerful crunch to the Torkoal's leg.

"Smokescreen, then Lava Plume!" Paul cried. The smoke billowing from Kimber's back grew darker as the red spots on her shell began to glow.

"Maturin, retreat!" Ellen cried. She knew Maturin could do next to nothing against the fire-type tortoise. This required a different approach. Duo! She activated her mental link. Get out there and start up a Rollout!

The Smokescreen dissipated quicker than normal in the rain, and Paul saw the Duosion barreling toward Kimber, doing its best to ignore the stealth rocks that had struck it. The blacksmith's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that... Solo?"

Seriously? Duo said to Ellen as he rammed into the Torkoal. What, so your dad doesn't even recognize me now? Well I'll show him! I'm stronger than Solo ever was-- Hey, what's Terry doing over on that side of the field?

"Please not now, Duo," Ellen growled. "I need you to focus! Turn around and prepare for another attack!"

Paul had heard enough of his daughter's odd speech patterns around her Solosis to recognize that he was hearing only half of a conversation. "So you've named him Duo now?" he said in surprise. "What was wrong with Solo?"

"What's it matter?" Ellen quipped, turning her attention back to her mental struggle with her Pokémon. Duo, we need another Rollout! Don't worry about Terry, just attack! If we don't win this battle, we won't be able to help our friends in Celadon!

"What does it matter?" Paul repeated in exasperation. "We're talking about your best friend's name here. Artemis kept her name when she evolved -- Kimber, block the attack with Protect! -- so why didn't Solo?"

"I can name my Pokémon whatever I want!" Ellen shot back as Duo bounced harmlessly off the Torkoal's protective shield.

Paul watched his daughter glare at Duo, likely issuing another mental command. The blacksmith's eyes had a quiet sadness to them. He had never seen Ellen get this agitated. He wasn't sure if it was his insistence on taking her home, her irritation with Duo, or some combination of the two, but the result was a far cry from the daughter he had known for nine years. The Duosion's eyes glowed with energy as a Psyshock struck Kimber, but Ellen's eyes gave off a cold fury that shook Paul to his very core. He realized that he had to win this battle at all costs. He had to get his daughter back. "Kimber, back to the offensive!" Paul cried. "Lava Plume!"

A burst of red-hot lava erupted from the tortoise's back, raining down upon the battlefield. Duo darted around wildly, trying to dodge the incoming blasts. On your left! Ellen cried a mental warning. No, the lava's on your left, don't go to the left! Now duck to the right -- Duo, your other right!

This is hard enough with two brains! Duo yelled as lava scorched him on all sides. I don't need a third!

Fine, don't worry about dodging then, Ellen snapped. It'll be easier to just use Recover!

As Duo twirled about in a mad dance, blasts of lava chipping away at his strength faster than he could recover it, Paul crossed his arms with a worried frown. "You and Solo used to be inseparable," he said pointedly. "What in the world happened to the two of you?"

Duo paused when he heard Mr. Burks' words. Hey, your dad has a point, he said. Why don't we play together as much as we used to?

"Don't listen to him, Duo," Ellen growled. "He's just trying to distract you."

"No, I'm not." Paul gave his daughter a hard look. "I just want to know what happened to my little girl. You didn't used to be like this."

He has a point, you know, Duo remarked. What was with keeping us cooped up in our Pokéballs after Sootopolis? You never do that!

"Shut up and focus, Duo!" Ellen screamed. "We've got to finish this –- just let me think for once!" The girl's mind raced. Her father's Torkoal was too resilient. Even with the rain weakening its fire attacks, the smoky tortoise would still outlast Duo in a test of endurance. She needed a new strategy. Her eyes shifted to the churning water on either side of the narrow strip of land on which they stood.

"Your enemies will not give you time to think," Paul said. "And neither will I. Lava Plume!"

"NOOOO!" Ellen shrieked in a furious battle cry as a plan took shape in her mind. She mentally conveyed her strategy to Duo not through words, but through raw emotion. Duo didn't waste any time processing the command, he simply reacted. He and his trainer were one. Echoing Ellen's scream across the mental plane, Duo rushed toward the Torkoal, whose back was just starting to glow in preparation for another Lava Plume. The glow grew brighter, but it was not the fiery glow of lava that illuminated Kimber's shell. It was a pinkish-purple glow, one reflected in the infuriated eyes of the Duosion barreling toward her.

When Duo was right on top of his enemy, he gave a mental shove with the strength of both his brains, throwing Kimber into the air with all his telepathic might. But he didn't stop there. With the precision of a master psychic and the rage of a savage monster, Duo directed the Torkaol's decent, sending her plummeting straight into the frothing bay.

"Kimber!" Paul cried, racing to the water's edge and desperately reaching for his Pokéball as the Torkoal frantically dog-paddled to try and stay afloat. "Kimber, Return!" A beam of light shot out from the capsule, but it refracted at the water's surface as Kimber sunk like a rock beneath the churning waves.

Paul took a deep breath and immediately dove into the bay, keeping one hand closed around Kimber's Pokéball as his strong arms pushed him through the water. The heavy tortoise was sinking fast, and he knew he only had a few precious moments before he lost her. Cursing himself for having never trained any aquatic Pokémon, Paul swam with all his might toward his sinking partner. When at last he was close enough, he aimed the Pokéball at her. A red beam shot out once again, this time enveloping the flailing tortoise and pulling her into the safety of the capsule. With his lungs crying out for oxygen, the blacksmith kicked his way to the surface. He gasped for breath as he pulled himself ashore, taking a moment to recover before looking up at his daughter with an expression of shock and horror.

"Kimber's... not accustomed to battling like my other Pokémon," Paul said softly, his voice barely audible above the roaring wind. "She can produce a fine flame, and she's helped me out of a number of binds in my blacksmith work. But when it comes to battling... that was her first battle in a long time. What you just did was cruel beyond belief."

The terrible scream had sapped Ellen of the last of her strength. At the sound of the Torkoal hitting the water, she fell to her knees, her whole body shaking as she panted for breath. As the realization of what she had done hit her, her rage began to dissipate, giving way to a sudden revulsion. Behind her, she heard both Chrono and Maturin gasp. A sickly feeling twisted its way into the pit of her stomach, rising to the back of her throat. But as much as her Pokémon's reactions shamed her, her father's words were like adding salt to the wound. It was all she could do to keep from retching.

"My daughter would never dream of using such a heartless tactic." Paul's voice sounded both stern and broken at the same time. "You've changed, Ellen. I told you those friends of yours would be a bad influence."

Ellen shook her head as burning tears mixed with freezing rain. "N-No..." she said weakly. "D-don't bring them into this. I... I did what I had to. For Celadon..."

"So you chose to sacrifice my precious Pokémon for the good of a city," Paul said. "In the letter you left us, you said that you couldn't agree with Ford's actions. But is this not the same thing Ford did in Castelia? He sacrificed a single city for the good of an entire nation."

Thunder clapped above the battlefield as Ellen stared up at her father, eyes wide in shock. "No..." she whispered. "No... I'm nothing like that..." She spoke the words as if they were true, but she found that she could not believe them. She recalled what Amelia had told her: that people will believe what they want to believe. Every faction Ellen had encountered, every person she had come across in the past several months had believed that what they were doing was the right thing. And Ellen herself was no different.

"The difference is that Ford is an adult, capable of making his own decisions," Ellen’s father said harshly, replacing Kimber's ball on his belt and reaching for another. "You're still a child, Ellen. You can't always be trusted with making the right decisions. Now if you still refuse to back down, I have no choice but to send out my final Pokémon. And you can rest assured, I will not hold back in the slightest."

Bisharp emerged from his Pokéball in a burst of light and moved into a fighting stance. Without waiting for a command, the Sword Blade Pokémon began sharpening his blades with Swords Dance. The sharp sound of metal on metal echoed under the bridge as Bisharp kept a watchful eye trained on Duo.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia smiled sincerely when Erika offered both a badge and a Pokemon, bowing in respect. "Thank you for your generosity, Erika!" the gardener exclaimed, taking first the badge and pinning it to her shirt. She looked back upon hearing the distinct sound of a Pokemon being released from their Pokeball, her smile widening upon seeing the Turtwig. "Well isn't she just the cutes-" the middle Seaton began, before said Turtwig leaped forward with no warning. Dahlia attempted to catch it, however, she significantly underestimated the weight of the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, and was sent sprawling back onto the ground from the impact. 

While the gardener lay on her back in a daze, the quirky Pokemon snapped open her mouth and snatched Dahlia's sun hat, crawling off to run around the blue-eyed trainer. "Geez, you really weren't kidding when you said she was quirky...." Dahlia said after slowly getting up, looking down to see the Turtwig offering her hat back, to which the Seaton giggled, and accepted the offering. "Very sweet, though...."

 

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina listened, closing her eyes and blocking out any background noise while she considered Mercury's words. After considering what was told to her, the Ranger at last opened her eyes and spoke. "Tell you what.... You can keep that paper for now. But you're going stay with me, until I have a chance to bring you to my superiors."

She frowned, and looked up thoughtfully. "...To be honest, this is quite literally, the first time I've been out of Almia. But I've heard bits and pieces of what conflict goes on in other parts of the world. And the ability to forsee destructive events... That could be huge. But...." the Ranger said, and looked to Mercury, her grey eyes appearing like a mirror. "That begs into question, how you got the list in the first place. You say you're amnesiac from trauma but... I have no way to tell if you're being completely honest." Lachina muttered, sighing.

 

"I'm sorry, but at this moment, you're a potential threat to the safety of millions, with or without your memories." she said sternly. "I'll do my best to keep you safe and under watch, but if you attempt to flee, I've got handcuffs, and I won't hesitate to restrain you. Understood?" 

[MELON LORD]

IC: Mercury

 

Mercury waited for the children to calm down, and the listened intently to Lachina. The thought of being put in handcuffs wasn't pleasant, but he nodded. "Please, if you feel like I might be a threat, do whatever it takes. I don't know how dangerous I might actually be, even on accident." He didn't mention his near-attack from just a few moments ago; it wouldn't help his case.

 

"I don't want to threaten anyone, though. If I can, I want to help stop whatever else is coming. You probably want me to see your superiors before anything, but we have two weeks before the next attack." He locked eyes with Lachina, grey meeting grey. "If you can guarantee that we'll still be able to make it to Two Island in time, then I'll gladly meet with them."

 

IC: Xander

 

Xander could only watch as the fight grew more intense. Every word spoken between father and daughter was punctuated by an exchange of blows from their pokémon. He breathed a sigh of relief when Ellen switched her Turtwig out for Duo in order to fight the Torkoal.

 

He knew that battle could bring out the desperation in people. He knew that sometimes you had to become ruthless. Even so, he was surprised when Duo threw the fire-type into the water. When Paul failed to immediately recall the turtle, Xander nearly went to dive in himself. Just as he was tearing off his jacket, Paul resurfaced. Xander did not help the man come onto shore.

 

When Paul spoke next, Xander's heart turned to stone against him. Nobody should speak to their own child like that; Ellen was clearly having a rough enough time without Paul adding to her guilt. When Paul sent out his last pokémon, his Bisharp, Xander moved to kneel beside Ellen, lightly offering a hand to help her stand up. "You're not a monster, Ellen. You're trying to help people, and he's trying everything he can to keep you out of the line of fire. Don't let him."

 

Then, he whispered, "Alright Ellen, your Mienshao-- Artemis-- is out of the fight. If you don't have any way to revive her, it's going to be tough. Duo has a disadvantage to Bisharp's dark-type. Nothing he can learn will help against the steel type, but if you have a bug move like Infestation or Signal beam, you can at least deal normal damage because of dark's weakness. Understand?"

 

He glanced towards the battlefield, silently signalling Paul to hold off on attacks. If you attack now, you're every bit the monster that you just accused her of being. The thought was Xander's, and it wasn't relayed through Sylph.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Erika==-

 

Erika seemed surprised at first, when the young gardener was sent to the floor by the quirky and mischievous Turtwig, however, she smiled, as the two seemed to get along, and played a bit. "I think she likes you already!" She said with a chuckle, as she seemed impressed by the young girl's appreciation. "I think that you two will become fast friends, at this rate. I can't thank you enough, however, for helping out today. You put your life on the line for a city that isn't even your home, and I think a lot of people would agree." The gym leader said, as she watched Dahlia and the Turtwig with a smile.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia pet the small Turtwig's head happily for a moment, before getting up from her knee and looking back at Erika while she was being complimented. "It's really nothing... I'm just glad I could help even just a little bit." she replied humbly. "Doesn't matter that Celadon isn't my home... Its people don't deserve an attack of this kind ever, and being able to defend this wonderful and its city... That's a reward, in it of itself."

The Tiny Leaf Pokemon looked up at Dahlia while the gardener spoke, nuzzling against her leg afterwards. When the Seaton bent down to start petting her again, the Turtwig once again snatched away the hat, leaping away with a mischievous chuckle, leaving the girl to simply scratch her head in confusion, smiling and watching the Turtwig wave around her sun hat.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Erika==-

 

Erika smiled, and chuckled softly. "The world needs more people like you." She said, and watched as the playful Turtwig grabbed the girl's hat again. "I don't mean to keep you, though; I'm sure you'll want to go spend time with your family some more." The gym leader spoke, a thankful smile on her face even still.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

As the morning waned on, Ryan helped his mother prepare breakfast. He was glad for the opportunity to spend time with the mother he had thought dead for so long, and he found the mundane task helped keep his mind off of darker things. By the time they had finished their breakfast and cleaned everything up, the morning was still young. Ryan was just beginning to wonder about the rest of the day when a nurse knocked on the kitchen door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the nurse said. "But Miss Willows is awake. She's far from recovered, but she's been asking to see you."

Ryan looked around in surprise. "She wants to see who?" he asked hesitantly.

"You, Mister Hikari," the nurse said. "She's been asking for you all morning. I'm normally against having visitors during recovery from such a critical condition, but she's so insistent. I think it might put her mind at ease to talk to you for a few minutes."

The black haired trainer nodded uneasily. He was anxious about talking to Shannon, though he was also glad, for one of his many worries had been taken away. Shannon was at least willing to talk to him. "Alright," Ryan said with a smile of thanks. He looked over to his mother. "Thanks for the help, mom..." Even as Cassie smiled at her son, he walked off, disappearing down the hall.

Ryan made his way through the mansion a bit faster than the last few times. He was still nervous about what Shannon had to say, but was feeling a lot more optimistic. Given recent events, this was the best news he'd heard in a long while. Even still, the trainer paused at the edge of the hospital wing, noticing the door to Shannon's room standing ajar. His mind filled with worry once more. Ignoring his doubts, Ryan forced himself to step forward, poking his head around the door frame, wondering what the situation even was.

Much to his surprise, Shannon was sitting up in her bed, propped up by a handful of pillows. Her nose was deep in a book. Although her arms and face were still lined with scars, she looked as calm and content as if she were relaxing on her living room couch. Ryan smiled slightly in amusement, finding it fitting that she was reading. Stepping further into the doorway, he gave a small knock on the door frame to get her attention, a slightly nervous look on his face.

Shannon looked up in surprise, but smiled when she saw Ryan. Marking her place with a tissue, she placed the book on the nightstand and motioned for Ryan to come in. "Good morning," she said brightly. "How are you doing?"

Ryan was caught off guard by her bubbliness, but walked in and gave her a nervous smile. "Um, well, kinda good. What about you...?"

"Oh, I'm doing just fine," Shannon said, pointing him toward a chair that sat against the wall. "These IVs are a bit annoying, along with the constant beeping of that heart monitor. And the nurses won't let me scratch my wounds... but overall I'm just happy to be alive." She smiled at Ryan. "I hope I didn't worry you too much."

"Th-the beeping is good..." Ryan mumbled quietly as he walked toward the chair and sat down. He stared awkwardly at Shannon, unsure how to respond to her surprisingly happy attitude.

Shannon looked over at him with a slight frown. "You can scoot the chair closer, you know."

Ryan blinked, and scratched his head. "Oh, right, my bad," he said awkwardly as he pulled the chair a bit closer. He continued to stare at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face. How could she just sit there like nothing had happened? Did she not remember what he had done?

As Ryan drew closer, Shannon studied his face carefully. After a long moment, she finally spoke in a hesitant voice. "...What happened to your father?"

Ryan paused and scratched his head. "Mom said he was taken to prison by Lucia and Jamie... I... I wasn't really there for that," he muttered, suddenly growing even quieter. He was dreading the direction the conversation was heading, for it was only a matter of time before she addressed the main issue.

Shannon sighed in relief at the news of Gerald's imprisonment. "That's good... I'm just glad you're alright." She offered him a smile, though she seemed more tired than she had when he'd first entered the room.

Ryan nodded, then looked down at his feet when he noticed her tiredness. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled, unsure whether he should just leave her be or not.

"It's not your fault..." Shannon reached over to place a hand on his shoulder, then winced and recoiled, cradling her injured shoulder. Nevertheless, she looked over at Ryan with a sad expression.

With a sigh, Ryan looked up uncertainly. He was glad for her trying to help, but there was just one thing still he couldn't get off his mind. "I should have listened to you. To you, and Lucia, and everyone else. But because I didn't, you nearly paid the ultimate price, and I just..." The trainer looked down to hide the distressed look on his face. "I was worried. I was just trying to make sure there was not even a small chance he could do anything evil again, and..."

Shannon continued to grip her shoulder. "Darn painkillers aren't strong enough..." she muttered, before forcing her face back into a reassuring smile. "You did listen to Lucia and me," she said. "Just... not as soon as I'd have liked. But everything's alright now. There's no need for you to worry."

"Are you sure you're okay...?" Ryan asked, a little unconvinced, especially as he recalled what the nurses had said about her still recovering. "I just, I thought..." His face turned downcast again, wincing slightly as the moment of her injury once again flashed through his mind. He tried to keep himself calm, so she wouldn't hurt herself trying to help him again. "I'm sorry."

"Stop beating yourself up over this," Shannon said sternly. She sighed, her expression softening as she shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed and looked up at him. "I... the... the nurses told me about how you brought me here. I... thank you." She stared at her twiddling thumbs in her lap. "You... you saved my life."

"W-well, it was admittedly a team effort, but..." Ryan smiled awkwardly. "You're welcome... Th-though..." He sighed as he continued to stare at her. "Can you, um, promise me something?"

Shannon looked up, still twiddling her thumbs shyly. "Y-yes...?"

"Please... promise that you won't do something risky like that again..." Ryan seemed a bit awkward, not wanting to upset her, but not wanting to see her put herself in danger. "If it had... gone badly... I don't know what I would've done..." he explained quietly.

Shannon felt her cheeks redden, and quickly looked back to her thumbs. "I... I didn't think..." She forced herself to meet his eyes. "Don't you do anything like that again, either." The heart monitor began to beep a little faster as she held his gaze. "You're not a killer, Ryan..."

Ryan scratched his head, but nodded with a sigh. He noticed the faster beeping, and seemed a bit uncertain about that. "Alright." He said, as he tried to awkwardly figure out how to change the subject, afraid he was upsetting her. "Uhh, maybe I should, um, let you rest?" he asked tentatively, not wanting to interfere with her recovery.

Shannon gave a long sigh. "I suppose I should try and get some rest, shouldn't I? Those painkillers take a lot out of you." As she adjusted herself under her blankets, the girl reached out to grab Ryan's arm before he could walk away. "Promise me you'll come back, though. It's... nice to have someone to talk to. Besides the nurses, that is."

Ryan smiled, but nodded. "Alright. Hopefully you'll be awake when I return." He offered an amused smile, feeling a little calmer now.

"Oh, I will be," she assured him. "I'll be too bored to sleep." With a slight giggle, Shannon waved goodbye to Ryan. As the black-haired trainer left, Shannon reached for her book and opened it up to the spot marked by the tissue. But try as she might, she found she was unable to focus on the story. It must have been the pain meds.

[Konuju]

IC: Drew/Alaina/Kiri
"So instead of helping people after they're hurt, you can stop them from getting hurt in the first place?" Drew asked, looking at Lachina with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"

Alaina rolled her eyes at her brother. He didn't used to be like this. Growing up on the streets, the siblings had formed a tight bond with each other. They were nigh inseparable, always looking out for one another. But ever since Lachina had come into the picture, Drew had become less focused on their survival. He looked more like a kid in a candy store. A kid in a candy store with a pocketful of cash. Alaina had to admit it was a tempting proposition: with Lachina or Kiri or even Mercury taking care of them, they wouldn't have to worry about food or shelter. But with the promise of bounty came a disease, the signs of which she could already see in Drew's face. It was the bane of all thieves. Guilt. Guilt made the pickpocketer hesitate. And Alaina knew that in their line of business, hesitation was fatal. If Drew's thieving skills waned from lack of use, Alaina would just have to pick up the slack.

Kiri glanced at the list in Mercury's hands. "Two Island, you say? That's south of the Kanto Region. If you're not teleporting there, it will take some time." The woman turned to Lachina. "Are your superiors here in Sootopolis, or are they back in Almia? Even with your Altaria's speed, I don't think it would be wise to fly all the way back to the Ranger Regions."

IC: Ellen/Paul
Paul cast a hard look upon the man kneeling beside his daughter. What did this trainer know of their situation? Who did he think he was, that he could tear Ellen away from her family like that? Still, the young man had one good point. "He's right, Ellen, you're not a monster." For a moment all was silent but the pattering of rain and low rumble of thunder. "You're my daughter. Please, Ellen. Just come home. Don't make me do this."

Ellen remained silent. Her eyes were unfocused, and she gave no sign that she had heard Xander's words. She wanted to save the world -- and her father wanted to save her. Who was doing the right thing? Were any of them right? To her surprise, it was Duo who spoke up next.

We still can't give up, the Duosion said. We've come too far to stop now. I'm with you, Ellen. We have to win this battle, no matter what. Taking Xander's words to heart, Duo turned to face the Bisharp and fired off a Signal Beam. Quick as the lightning that flashed above the sky, the Bisharp dashed forward. He took the Signal Beam head-on as he struck the Duosion with the dark energy that enveloped his blades. Duo flew back from the powerful Night Slash, landing heavily on the ground.

The attack snapped Ellen back to reality. "Duo!" she cried desperately. "Retreat and Recover!" She got to her feet, nodding her thanks to Xander before turning her focus to the battlefield. Just as Duo had been her first Pokémon, Bisharp was her father’s. Ellen had heard plenty of stories of how the two of them had been together since her father was just a boy. Her father and Bisharp boasted a powerful bond, making them an almost unstoppable force.

"Keep up the attack!" Paul said, eyes blazing with determination. "Don't let them retreat -- Fury Cutter!" Even as Duo backed up and started to heal himself with Recover, Bisharp leapt into the air with incredible speed, striking once again with his sharp blades. Duo responded with more Signal Beams, but Bisharp was relentless in his pursuit, striking the Mitosis Pokémon again and again, his eyes shining with the same determination as his trainer's.

Duo, you have to retreat! Ellen called. He has you at a type disadvantage -- let Maturin or Chrono take your place.

No! the Duosion insisted. I can take at least one more hit – maybe another attack can take him out. We have to win this!

He's too strong, Ellen argued. And his defenses are too high...

Then maybe I can change that, Duo said smugly. Don't forget, Signal Beam isn't the only new trick I've learned. The Duosion closed his eyes as psychic energy built up inside him. The energy started to radiate out in pulsating waves, creating an odd distortion in the air around the battlefield.

"Wonder Room..." Ellen breathed, realizing what Duo had done.

There, Duo panted. Now Bisharp will be more susceptible to physical attacks. Hopefully we can--

A Night Slash from behind silenced the Duosion as he fell limply to the ground. "Duo!" Ellen cried as she rushed over to her Pokémon. A wave of nausea swept over her as she ran -- her heart was still racing from the battle against the Torkoal -- but she ignored the sickly feeling as she cradled the Duosion in her arms. "You did that for me... despite all our arguments... you insisted on fighting to give us a chance to win. Thank you, Duo..." The girl glanced back at her two remaining Pokémon. Duo had given them a fighting chance, but they had to act fast before the effects of the Wonder Room wore off. "We can do this... Maturin, start out with a Curse, then use Seed Bomb!"

The Turtwig, still recovering from his battles with Scar and Kimber, stepped forward and braced himself as another stealth rock collided with his hard shell. He stood his ground, the ragged leaf on his head fluttering in the strong wind. The Turtwig did not agree with Ellen's actions during the battle against Kimber. The very thought of what she had done made his stomach turn. But Evan had placed him in her care, and he trusted Evan. So he stood by Ellen's side, determined to fight.

"Let's finish this, Bisharp," Paul said. "Fury Cutter." As Bisharp raised his arms for the attack, Maturin blasted him with a volley of seeds, slowly backing away from the Sword Blade Pokémon. Even with Duo's Wonder Room crippling Bisharp's defenses, the Dark/Steel-Type still resisted the attack. The same could not be said for Maturin. The Turtwig cringed as the Fury Cutter connected with his hard shell, but he managed to hold on.

Ellen was about to call for Maturin to retreat, but she saw the determination in the Turtwig's eyes and realized that he was willing to fight to the end, just as Duo had. "Great job, Maturin. Now Razor Leaf!"

Maturin planted his feet in the ground and gave a valiant battle cry. The gleam in the Turtwig's eyes began to envelop his entire body in a soft glow. His head and body elongated, and even as the withered leaf on his head wilted away, twin bushes of foliage sprouted out of his back. With Bisharp practically on top of him, the Grotle roared and unleashed a blast of sharp leaves point-blank, doing much more damage than an ordinary Razor Leaf could have. The Leaf Blade managed to cut through the Bisharp's defenses, landing a critical hit.

Despite the powerful attack, the Bisharp refused to let up. Maturin's evolution had bolstered his defense, but his movements slowed significantly. He found himself unable to avoid the Bisharp's two consecutive Fury Cutters.

"Maturin, no!"

The Sword Blade Pokémon honorably stepped back as Ellen rushed over to where Maturin had collapsed to the ground and watched as the girl threw her arms around the fallen Grotle. "You're down to your last Pokémon," Paul said, folding his arms. "And from what I've heard, you aren't exactly on the best of terms with that Purrloin."

Ellen glanced back at Chrono, who merely scowled. "A lot's happened in the past few months," she insisted. "Chrono, Hone Claws!"

The Purrloin retreated further under the bridge, licking himself dry from the rain.

"Chrono," Ellen pleaded. "Don't do this to me! Not now!"

Chrono ignored her. This was not his fight. He didn't care who won, and if Terry had managed to get out of battling, he didn't see why he couldn't as well.

"Face it, Ellen," Paul said. "You've lost."

"No!" Ellen shook her head, refusing to believe it. Frantically grabbing her Pokéballs from her bag, she recalled Maturin, Artemis, and Duo to shelter them from the storm. Then she ran back under the bridge and knelt down next to Chrono. "Listen, I know you don't want to fight my battle for me, but think of everyone in Celadon! I promised Zach I'd get there with Ryan to help defend the city. Do you really want to see what happened in Sootopolis happen to Celadon?"

Chrono gave a casual shrug and resumed licking his paws. Just like Ellen's fight with her father, the fate of Sootopolis or Celadon didn't concern him. For a long while, the only sound was the howling wind and the pouring rain.

"You really are worried about Celadon, aren't you?" Paul said quietly as he, Bisharp and Terry joined Ellen and Xander under the bridge. "But please understand, Ellen, I'm just as worried about you."

"What will it take?" Ellen asked through her tears, still kneeling next to Chrono. She refused to meet her father's eyes. "What do I have to do to prove that I'm capable of handling myself?"

Paul sighed, laying a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You don't understand, do you? Even if you had managed to defeat me, I still wouldn't let you go. You have all this compassion for others, but you've been forgetting about the ones closest to you." In that moment, all the emotions Ellen's father had been holding back for the past several months erupted, and the blacksmith fell to the ground in tears. His voice shook as he spoke. "As your father, I've always dreaded the day you would leave us, whether it would be to go on a Pokémon journey, or years down the road when some handsome young man asked for your hand in marriage. I just want to hold you tight in my arms and keep you safe. The years may age us both, but you will always be my little girl. Even still, I never thought the day I'd dreaded would come so soon. When you abandoned us last Christmas... your mother and I, we were devastated. We saw what happened in Southeast Unova and were worried sick. I've been all around the Hoenn Region searching for you. Just trying to make our family whole again."

Hearing the strain in her father's voice, Ellen hesitantly looked up. "I-I'm so sorry..." she whispered. She had been through a lot in the past few days, but seeing her father break down like this caused what was left of her emotional dam to burst into thousands of pieces. Turning around, she threw herself against her father and wept into his strong, gentle, shaking arms. "I--I had no idea... I mean, I didn't even think about..."

"You were kind enough to leave us that letter," Mr. Burks said, running a hand through his daughter's hair. "For that, at least, I thank you. But after what happened in Southeast Unova we had no idea where you'd gone -- you might have been killed by those Darkrai for all we knew. In Déoza's dealings with Ford, I tried my best to help prevent the Rocket-Liberty war from coming to you. I wanted to protect you. But I guess all that effort was for naught; you ended up coming here yourself, willingly placing yourself right in the middle of the war. We-- we didn't know if we'd ever see our precious daughter again."

"I never meant to make you and Mommy worry," Ellen cried. She felt awful, worse than she had when she'd sent Kimber into the water. "I only wanted to help -- to find a way to end the war peacefully. But you're right: I've been so focused on helping everyone here that I've been ignoring both you and Mommy." The girl cracked a sad smile. "I guess I really am as stubborn as Chrono."

The Purrloin's ears twitched at the mention of his name. He had been watching the exchange between father and daughter with a blank expression. He wouldn't admit it, but he was genuinely intrigued by what was happening. Mr. Burks' love for his daughter reminded Chrono of the love that Ellen stubbornly insisted on showing him. Of course, he didn't see himself weeping into Ellen's arms anytime soon. He cast a sideways glance toward Xander and his Pokémon, inwardly amused that Ellen and her father had such an unusual audience for such an intimate moment.

"Stubborn though you may be, we love you all the same," Paul said, tightening their embrace. "Never forget that. No matter what happens, you will always be our daughter, and we will always love you. Nothing can change that. Nothing can ever break the bond of our family." In that moment, Ellen wanted nothing more than to remain in her father's comforting arms forever. All her worries, all her fears, all the horrors she had seen in Sootopolis seemed to dissipate, carried away by the warm tears that rolled down her cheeks. As father and daughter wept in each other's arms, the storm around them began to die down. Soon the rain was no more than a soft drizzle.

Finally, Ellen lifted her head, looking into her father's glistening eyes. "I'm still worried, though," she said in a soft voice. "About Celadon. I promised to bring help. I don't want to give you and Mommy any more grief that I already have... but please understand that I have to help them. I can't just sit around and do nothing as Celadon gets destroyed like Sootopolis."

"You always did have a heart for others," Paul said as he brushed Ellen's hair out of her eyes. "But what about your friend here?" He looked up at Xander. "Could he not go in your place?"

Ellen bit her lip. "Xander doesn't know Zach and the others, though," she said. "I couldn't ask him to fight alongside people he's never met before."

"Tell you what," Paul said with a sigh. "I'll go with you and Xander to Celadon, and together we'll see what we can do to help your friends. But afterwards, you're coming home with me. Agreed?"

"Yes. Thank you, Daddy." Ellen wiped her tears on her sleeve. "But we should stop by Fortree to get Ryan first. He could help in Celadon too... and I wouldn't want to make anyone else worry about me."

"Sounds like a deal," Paul said as he embraced his daughter. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is for you." Reaching toward his belt, the blacksmith closed a rough hand around a Pokéball. With a soft smile, he placed the capsule in Ellen's hands. "Happy birthday, Ellen... about three months too late."

Ellen's eyes widened as she took the capsule in her hands and pressed the release button. With a burst of light, a small blue radish-looking Pokémon popped out: an Oddish. The Oddish leapt into Ellen's arms, overjoyed at finally meeting her trainer. "She's wonderful, Daddy!" Ellen said brightly. "Thank you!" As she looked down at the Oddish, her lips curved into a thoughtful smile. "You're going to need a name. Hmm... Isabelle -- no, Isabella. How does that sound?"

The Oddish crooned happily as Ellen ruffled the leaves on her head.

"Alright, then. Welcome to the team, Isabella!"

Paul couldn't help but smile as he watched his daughter embrace her new Pokémon. His only regret was that Anna wasn't there to join in this precious moment. But he took solace in the fact that they'd soon be home. Soon, their family would be whole once more.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia looked back to Erika, smiling. "Ah, no, it's no problem!" the gardener said reassuringly. "The world needs more people like you, thank you for being so generous!" she said, moving to grab the Turtwig's Pokeball. "Though, you do have a point... I shouldn't keep the others waiting like that."

Upon seeing the Dahlia take her Pokeball, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon trotted back and placed the hat gently by the gardener's feet, quickly after being recalled. The middle Seaton picked up her hat, and started walking out the door, turning back to face Erika. "Thank you so much! Good luck to you, and all of Celadon!" she said, before finally heading out of the Gym, and back to Stacy's mansion.

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina turned her head to look down at Drew, once again ruffling his hair. "We'll have to see, but yeah, that's definitely a possibility!" she replied, as Kiri asked her where her superiors were. "We've got leaders here in Sootopolis too... Keith, for one." she told the woman, and put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "They could alert Operators in Almia, and perhaps we could have a teleconference.... At least, that's how I hope it'l work."

The Ranger turned to Mercury, and thought for a moment. "Enough time to get to Two Island.... I'll have to mention that to them." she said, and looked down at her Capture Styler. "Hold on, lemme contact Keith... See where we could meet him." 

IC: Zach's Room

The first light of day creaked out of the dark, though Zach and Olivia still snoozed throughout. In fact, they were still both fast asleep. Even as the morning progressed, neither one showed any indication of waking from their rest anytime soon.

 

After a while, a certain Pokeball released a certain baby Torchic. The tiny fire chick ruffled her feathers, and looked around curiously to see where she was. Then she caught sight of the nice people who took her in, and chirped happily, running over. However, neither of them reacted, still laying perfectly still. Intruiged, the Torchic hopped up on the bed, and looked over at the auburn-haired trainer. The fire chick then lightly pecked the side of his head, attempting to get his attention.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

Zach awoke with a quiet, but startled yelp. He brought a hand to the side of his face, as he blinked. As he looked to his left, he smiled as he saw a still-sleeping Olivia. As he looked to the right, he chuckled, as he saw an inquisitive Torchic. "Hiya cutie. So, you're the one who woke me, huh?" He asked, as he giggled at the young Torchic. However, he paused as he was about to call her by her nickname; only to realize she didn't have one yet. "How about... Bree as your name?" The auburn haired trainer suggested, and smiled at the baby Torchic, finding the silly acts funny.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Mercury

Mercury watched the others discuss, a small smile on his lips. Relief flooded him, and it felt as if a weight had lifted off of his chest. He didn't have to do this alone anymore. He glanced at Anubis and amended the thought. They didn't have to do it alone. Lachina was willing to help, and Kiri and the urchins seemed eager to join in as well.

 

"I'd be up for that. The sooner we do this the better." He looked at the children and moved so he was squatting in front of them. "You two want to join in on this, right? I'm not sure if they'll let you." He tilted his head towards the other two in the room. "But if you do get to tag along for any of this, we have to get along. I'm sorry I lost control earlier. At the same time, I can't have you stealing anything from me. I don't have much, and you could find yourself injured if you take the wrong thing."

 

He thought of the Absol he had caught recently, shoved into an inner pocket on his jacket, where he could never accidentally let it out of its ball. "So, promise not to swipe anything that's mine, and I'll see if Lachina and Kiri will let you guys come with us." He smiled gently as he spoke. The boy- Drew, he amended- was excitable and seemed attached to Lachina. The girl was a bit more reserved, someone who had been burned before. It would take a while for her to open up, and he knew it would take more than this simple act for the children to trust him.

 

Still, he thought as Anubis moved to stand behind him, it will be a start.

 

IC: Xander

 

Xander watched the conclusion of the battle with bated breath. He knew that the Bisharp would be a tough fight, but he hadn't realized how tough it was. When the Purrloin refused to fight, Xander had to look away. Two of her pokémon refusing her in one day had to be rough.

 

With the fight over, father and daughter started to speak more calmly, letting emotions other than anger show. Xander shifted from foot to foot, and then walked over to kneel by the Purrloin. While Ellen reconciled with her father, the other trainer held a hand out near ground level, palm-up. "Hey there, Chrono," he said softly, not wanting to interrupt the moment.

 

"Ellen cares a lot about you, you know. She was going to travel to Kalos to see if she could figure out why you were so distant." He smiled softly, watching the dark-type. Sylph stayed well back. "Let me tell you, that's a long trip. But she would make it for you."

 

He glanced back towards the girl, smiling. "She's a really strong girl, even if she doesn't have the same skill her father does. She made it through Sootopolis without completely losing it, and was immediately wanting to go on to help people in Celadon City. That's another long trip to Kanto." He turned his gaze back to the purple cat.

 

"You probably don't care what I have to say, but I thought you should at least know that she cares for you, and seeing you acting aloof hurts her. I'll leave you alone now, if you want." So saying, he stood and made his way over to Paul and Ellen. The younger trainer was now holding an Oddish, and Xander smiled at the sight.

 

"That was an impressive battle. Ellen, sorry my advice didn't work out too well." He looked to Paul. "Sir, sorry for..." He drifted off, not really knowing what he should apologize for. Trying to keep Ellen from going home? Calling Paul a monster? There were quite a few things there. "But, congratulations on the victory. Did I hear you say that we'd all go to Fortree, then move on to Celadon? After that, before you take Ellen home, you should stop in Lilycove with her. The memory girl who lives there should hang around outside of the Pokémon Center."

 

He smiled at Ellen. Even if he couldn't continue to travel with her after they handled whatever happened in Celadon, he could at least help her in this respect.

[Parugi]

IC - Signs Thugs - Forest, Outside Signs Compound:

 

The thunder worked. It disoriented them further, and the guards, the thugs, whatever one wished to call them, they appeared very confused and frustrated indeed. So much so that, in their efforts to continue scouting the area--which they now did in two groups, one composed of five and the other of four, spreading out in opposite directions--some of them had begun to send out Pokémon, helpers in the search.

 

By sheer virtue of luck, they were not moving in the direction where Noibat was hidden.

 

 

IC - Leda Garven - Fortree City, Garven House:

 

"I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken," Leda said. "Gem and I don't have any children. Never have and never planned on it." She moved slightly to the side. "If you want, you can step inside and see for yourself. I suppose Gem could have an idea of what you're talking about, but I wouldn't bet on it."

 

 

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner - Celadon City, Streets:

 

Neither Ethan nor Gavin quite knew what to make of Jamie's cloud-nine demeanor. Maybe it was the total mood whiplash that had occurred as a result of her appearance, adding in an extraordinarily happy element to what had previously been a decidedly-not-happy situation. Maybe it was the fact that such an extreme was entirely dissonant with the condition of Celadon and the events that had transpired there as a whole, and thus seemed like an odd emotional state to reside in following the conclusion of the massive battle that had just devastated the city. Or maybe it was simply that Jamie was not typically possessive of such an emotionally expressive attitude.

 

Either way, as weird as it was, they were both at least glad to see that Jamie and Lucia were alive.

 

"I could say the same about you, Miss Arthur!" Ethan exclaimed with a wide grin, wrapping his arms around Jamie and, by extension, Gavin.

 

The shorter Rocket Agent tried to direct a glare at them for their apparent attempts to suffocate him, but found that he could not sustain the look. So Gavin instead resigned himself to the two bear hugs with an involuntary smile.

 

"Not that this isn't . . . totally amazing or anything," Gavin said sarcastically. "But what's with the smiles and kisses?" He paused, suddenly looking very concerned. "You haven't bought anything from any shady Grass-Type specialists, have you? That stuff's terrible for you, if you have."

 

 

IC - Viajero/Esen Windred - Signs Compound, Main Yard:

 

The scent was located. It started close to the large entrance of the garage that the guards had retreated into and moved further into the main compound structure, to parts unknown. But it was most assuredly a trail leading into the building.

 

The group paused outside the large doors, watching the activity within. Contrary to Bat's earlier report, there was more than one truck within this garage; Esen presumed that these others must have either come here from other collection points, or else had been stowed here until they were needed for further operations. At the moment, the larger man was directing his underlings to load a number of containers into them, whilst setting others up as guards around the warehouse. At the same time, he appeared occupied with his phone, as if communicating with someone. Judging by his frustrated expression, they did not appear to be cooperating.

 

The trail that Viajero had picked up would lead into here, directly around the right-side door. Following it would bring the group to a long wall where, in its center, a door lay, leading to a hallway going further into the center of the building--where Kyle seemed to have been taken.

 

Esen clenched her teeth, glancing between Cero and the Signs crew. "I count twelve of them, including their boss," she whispered. "I can't guarantee that we're going to be able to get to that door without being seen, so I'm thinking Noivern and I can keep them busy while you go on ahead. That, or we can try to find a backdoor, but that doesn't seem as cathartic."

 

 

IC - Route 110, Bridge:

 

"Oh, man, everyone's just getting all sappy and emotional today, now aren't they?"

 

The sudden voice elicited a jump from the group, since it had come from directly behind them. Turning, they found that they were not alone. A somewhat familiar face to Ellen and the face of a stranger to all others had appeared at the other end of their shelter, leaning against the concrete base of the bridge. His dark clothing hid him well in the dark, leaving him betrayed only by his golden blonde hair and equally striking eyes, as well as the bright colors of the battered and scarred Xatu that stood by his side.

 

"Hello," McKinley said, offering a broad smile to the group. "I feel like it's been two years and a month since we last talked, Ellen. Glad to see you're back in your proper, action-packed element."

Edited July 22, 2015 by Parugi

[JiMing]

IC: Zach's Room

 

The young Torchic chirped, almost sounding as if she were giggling in response to Zach's questioning, taking a step closer to the auburn-haired trainer. Then he mentioned a new word 'Bree'. The fire chick blinked a little and wondered what it was, but made an approving squeal, finding the word to be very pretty, nodding as well.

 

Olivia yawned, and slowly started sitting up from the bed, stretching her limbs. "Morning...." she mumbled tiredly to Zach, before looking down to see the baby Torchic was once again outside her Pokeball. "...Can't stay out for long, can't you?" she said amusedly, as the Pokemon unwittingly christened as Bree looked up with wide eyes at what she saw as her two new parents. Then the tiny fire chick hopped off the bed and stared up at the door curiously. 

Edited July 22, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach giggled, and watched the small Torchic run around and be amazed at seemingly everything. "Yeah, Bree seems to be very curious about everything. She's really cute in that respect..." The auburn haired trainer giggled again, and then looked over at Olivia with a slight yawn. "How was your sleep? I don't know how much dreams interfere with rest, so I'm not sure if this is just normal tiredness or what..."

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

The Liberty agent's head was spinning as he processed Mrs. Garven's words. It made no sense. Had he made some mistake? A chill ran down Ryan's spine as he recalled how Albero had become an entirely different person under the guise of Gluttony. From what he'd heard, Melanie and Melissa had similarly denounced their former identities in favor of Lust and Greed. But how could that make their mother act as if they'd never existed in the first place? He couldn't see any reason for Mrs. Garven to be lying to them. What in the world was happening?

 

Slowly, Ryan nodded. His throat was dry. "Yes... I think we should speak to Gem," he said, struggling to recall if he'd ever heard Mr. Garven's first name before. Perhaps there was another Mr. and Mrs. Garven? Living in the same house? The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.

 

IC: Drew/Alaina/Kiri

The urchin boy instinctively stepped back as Mercury knelt down next to him, but nodded eagerly at the opportunity to tag along. "That would be awesome!" he cried. "You'll get to see Miss Lachina in action... and Spearow and Buizel can help out too!" At the mention of his name, the small weasel that had been curled up in the corner poked its head up and darted over to Drew.

 

The small bird on Alaina's head chirped indignantly at Drew telling it what to do, and Alaina's pointed face mimicked the Spearow's expression, although her glare was directed at Mercury. "They can't tell us what to do," she declared, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at Kiri and Lachina. "And neither can you. Whether we stay or go is our decision. And so is what we steal."

 

"Absolutely not," Kiri said, walking up and placing a firm hand on each of the children's shoulders. "You and Lachina will go by yourselves," she told Mercury. "I have no battle skill in battle, and neither do these children. Besides, I'm needed here. Sootopolis is my home, and I have to do what I can to help this city recover."

 

IC: Ellen/Paul

A slight shift of the eyes was the only sign Chrono gave that he was listening to Xander. He flicked his tail impatiently. He didn't need to be lectured about the type of person Ellen was -- did this trainer honestly think he didn't already know about Ellen's stubborn attempts to bond with him? Chrono's face remained set in an irate frown as he tried to tune out Xander's words. He was relieved when the young man finally stood up and headed toward Ellen and Paul, glad he could finally get some peace. Yet he couldn't help but admire the lengths Ellen was willing to go to try and help someone. The only problem was, Chrono didn't need her help.

 

Paul looked over at Xander, nodding in response to his question. He didn't recognize the young trainer from the group that had stayed at his house around Christmas, but he couldn't be sure. He was wary of letting the man travel with them, especially after all the support he had given Ellen. But as long as Xander didn't try and convince Ellen to not go home, Paul figured there wouldn't be a problem. When the trainer mentioned Lilycove, however, Paul raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Memory girl?" Suddenly he recalled how the Berry Lady had told him of the Kalos woman said to be able to read a Pokémon's memories. "Is this about the Purrloin?"

 

Before Ellen or Xander could respond, the group was startled by a sudden voice speaking up behind them. It took Ellen a moment to recognize the golden haired man, but when she did, her face lit up with a smile. "It certainly does feel like it's been a while, Tyler," she said. It had only been a couple weeks since their last encounter, but with everything that had happened recently, that day in Fortree felt like an eternity ago. A few feet away, Chrono scowled in recognition. This was the man who had tried to convince Ellen she could win Chrono's friendship through Pokéblocks. At the time Chrono had thought him little more than an arrogant fool, but the ragged Xatu at his side suggested otherwise. Suddenly alert, Chrono kept an eye trained on the battered bird.

 

"Is this another one of your friends?" Paul asked, looking over at the newcomer. This time, the blacksmith was positive he hadn't seen the man before -- he would have remembered those striking features. "How long have you been standing there?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander and Sylph spun, instantly on their guard as the man spoke behind them. Sylph's hands sparkled lightly with a prepared Moon Blast before she collected herself. The man addressed Ellen like a friend, and Ellen responded in kind.

 

With matching sighs, the two calmed their nerves. Xander studied the man lightly, scowling. Blonde hair, golden eyes, and a big smile, the man radiated kindness; all the same, something about him bugged Xander. How had he gotten there? He certainly hadn't been there a few minutes ago. Xander hadn't heard him come up, and Sylph hadn't even felt the two extra minds come upon them.

 

Xander sent a silent order, and Sylph's hands started to glow faintly, ready to go on the offensive if necessary. "Friend of yours, Ellen?" He didn't take his eyes off of the black-clad man as he spoke. If the man could sneak up on them all, there was no telling what he could do if not watched closely.

 

IC: Belle

 

Belle was in the Laverre City's Pokémon Center when she got the call. She had made a few illicit contacts through the years, and they had all been told to contact her if any rumors of rare, powerful, or unique pokémon popped up, or if they had heard of any trainer capturing pokémon from trainers.

 

She pushed the button on her pokénav (a wonderful device she'd picked up in Rustburo City), and leaned back in her chair. "This better be good, Al. The last rumor you gave me had me wading through swamps for three days."

 

On the other end of the line, her informant snickered. "Yeah," he told her, "it's good. Heard about a trainer on Four Island who had weird device on his arm. It doesn't quite match the description of your Snag Machine, but you might want to look into it."

 

Belle paused thoughtfully. Four Island was only a few days' travel if she ferried over to Kanto and then headed down from Vermillion City. She stood, smirking softly. "Alright. If you could keep track of him for me and let me know if he changes locations, I'd appreciate it."

 

 She knew that it would most likely be a fight when she met the guy, so she would have to train her pokémon as much as she could on the way. From Laverre City, she would have to go back south down the Nature Trail to Lumiose. From Lumiose City, it was then north-west to Coumarine City. That was where she would catch the ship to Kanto.

 

 

There were dozens of trainers in between here and there. She smiled as she walked out of the Center. There was almost no way she could fail.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Unown Mercury

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

"Ehh... Don't feel any less tired than I normally do, to be honest." Olivia replied, stretching again, and stepping off the bed, looking over with a grin at her best friend. "...Named her Bree, huh? That's so cute~...." the red-haired trainer said, chuckling quietly, stepping closer to the Torchic in question.

Bree looked up and smiled happily at the eldest Seaton, chirping and hopping up slightly. "Settle down, kiddo." the Seaton replied, picking up the tiny fire chick with both arms, before looking back at Zach. "Know what time it is maybe? The others might be up by now...."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach smiled at her explanation, and sat up, and looked at the clock. "Hmm, it's 8:30, so people probably are up." He explained, as he stretched with a yawn, and then threw the covers off, and then blinked, and chuckled. "I didn't actually realize we slept in our clothes last night... I was just so exhausted." He said with a sheepish smile. As he got off the bed, he walked over toward his backpack, and looked over to Olivia with a smile, glad she liked the name for the Torchic. "You two look so cute together, too." He giggled, as he rummaged through the contents of his backpack for an outfit for the day.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Olivia listened to Zach's noting of how quickly they fell asleep last night with an awkward chuckle, then grinned at his comment towards her and Bree. "Of course you'd say that, of all people.... Thanks, though." she said, walking over to their backpacks as well. "Well Bree, it's nice to see you in the morning. But you'll have to stay in your Pokeball for a little bit more, alright? Good..." the eldest Seaton told the baby Torchic, petting the Pokemon's head happily before recalling her, and reaching into her own backpack, looking for suitable clothing. "Be right back." she said to her friend, grabbing her clothes and heading inside the bathroom. 

In almost no time at all, the red-haired trainer came out in much more sport-like attire, fitting the restored summer weather. Olivia looked over to find Zach in a new outfit as well, and smiled, walking over. "You look great..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her head, before raising an eyebrow. "...Your face is kinda bruised and scratched up.... Here, lemme get something for that." the eldest Seaton said, reaching into her backpack again and pulling out a small makeup kit. Immediately, Zach's eyes lit up with amusement and his mouth curved into a grin, causing the Seaton to blush subtly. "...Wh-what? I can do makeup too... Sorta." she replied awkwardly, before sighing. "Whatever, this should help..." Olivia told Zach, applying makeup on his face to cover up the damage caused by yesterday. 

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Barely a jam. =P

 

-==IC: Zach/Olivia==-

 

Zach was admittedly a bit surprised by the offer, but smiled and sat still while Olivia worked on the makeup. He blushed slightly at a thought, however, as she finished up, he scratched his head. "Uhh, do you mind if I go check it, and see if it's all alright?" The auburn haired trainer asked, as he trusted that she had done a good job, but wanted to double check, to be certain.

 

Olivia blinked for a moment at the question. "Hmm?" She seemed a little confused at first as to what he meant, but then smiled. "Oh... Yeah, I see. Sure, why not?" She said, and then handed the kit to him, a subtle blush on her face. "Just in case it needs work." She explained, as she pressed the case and brush into his hands with a smile.

 

Zach nodded, and awkwardly walked into the bathroom, trying to balance the still open case in his hands, as he closed the door behind him with his foot. He placed the kit on the counter, and glanced in the mirror. His more plain green t-shirt seemed to look better to him at the moment, but wasn't what he focused on. He thought for a moment, and began to work on fixing the makeup as best as he could think. To Olivia's credit, it was mostly done well, however. After a few minutes, the door opened again, and Zach stepped out. "I kinda used the wrong brush, but didn't want to wash it all off..." He scratched his head, seeming a tiny bit awkward, as a light blush had been applied to his cheeks subtly. The rest of the concealer had been worked in better, too, to look more natural.

[JiMing]

OOC: The sun is bright, our shirts are clean, we're sitting up above the sea.

Come on and share this jam with me~!

 

Peach or plum or strawberry, any kind is fine, you see.

Come on and share this jam with me~!

I'll do my best to give this jam the sweetness it deserves~.

 

And I'll keep it fresh, I'm jamming on these tasty preserves!

Ingredients in harmony, we mix together perfectly, come on and share this jam with me~!

 

IC: Seatons/Zach

 

Olivia had waited right outside the bathroom door, and perked up once she saw Zach exit. She stood up off the bed, and moved closely to Zach, examining the adjustments he made to the makeup, and grinned slightly. "....I like the additions you made. Seems like you've got more finesse in your fingers for this than I do." she said, chuckling softly even as the hint of a blush on her face stayed.

 

"Um, thanks..." Zach blushed slightly, and scratched his head. He thought for a moment, but then smiled, as he yawned for a moment. "Should we go see if the others are up, then? We should probably have breakfast too..." He relaxed a bit, smiling as he wondered what was for breakfast.

 

"....Good point about the breakfast. We really didn't get a chance for dinner last night, what with the whole.... Well, tiredness, thing..." the red-haired trainer replied, as her stomach punctuated her agreement by moaning indignantly. "Yeah, breakfast's good. The others are probably up by now... Wonder what they'll think of your makeup..." she snickered, before the two of them opened the door, and made their way through the hallway.

 

"Oh, morning!" Dahlia said to the two of them, as she and Aspen had made it into the kitchen around the same time. The middle Seaton blinked, and took a look at the two of them, smiling. "Matching shirts, huh?  How cute!"  the gardener exclaimed, as Olivia's tank top was roughly the same shade of green as Zach's shirt. she looked again, and that smile widened ".....And you've got a bit of makeup on your face, Zach? It looks nice! Really suits you."

 

"....Yeah." Aspen replied simply, and nodded in agreement with his sister. He was feeling rather shaken up about the revelations about himself from the Pride battle, and was attempting to be as careful with his words as possible, so that he didn't stray from Zach's good side once again....

 

Zach blushed a bit at both comments, and rubbed the back of his head. "It's to, um, cover up some of the bruises from yesterday..." He replied, as he walked over to the table. He wasn't sure if there was breakfast that was going to be served or not; but his question was answered, as Stacy walked into the kitchen, a surprised look on her face.

 

"Oh, good! You all are up, just in time; I was right about to make breakfast for myself... Anything you four don't like?" The older woman asked with a kind smile, as she walked over to the fridge to get out the food to cook.

 

"No, not really.... Oh! Do you need a hand with cooking?" Dahlia asked, turning her smile to Stacy. "I could help you! I think most of us are going to be pretty hungry, so more hands means less time waiting." the gardener offered, chuckling slightly.

 

"....I could help too." Aspen said quietly, and cleared his throat. "....I can help. I know how to cook, kinda." the trainer repeated, this time a bit louder, before looking down and scratching his head. Cooking wouldn't make up for anything he had done... But it would be a start.

 

Olivia turned her head, blinking to run into Stacy as well, with the five of them somehow converging in the kitchen at the same time. "I'll help too. I definitely know how to cook." the red-haired trainer said, and poked Zach. "Well? Whattabout you, you feel like helping or you still too woozy?"

 

Zach chuckled, and stood up again. "I'm up for helping." He giggled with a smile, as he walked forward. After a little while of everyone helping out with the cooking, they finished preparing the meal in question, and sat down at the table to begin to eat. Zach in particular looked over at Aspen, as he wondered about what was with Aspen's behaviour, and whether it was connected with the incident yesterday.

 

Aspen on the other hand, was doing his best to avoid Zach's gaze.... Or anyone's for that matter. The young trainer seemed to be mulling over things that had occured yesterday, absentmidedly poking at his food.... When he should have been complaining loudly about how hungry he was.

 

Dahlia looked over at her brother with a concerned look, and attempted to tap him on the shoulder. He simply looked back and smiled, before going back to his routine. She sighed, and turned to Stacy afterwards. "Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your house.... We really appreciate it."

 

Olivia had been wolfing down her food, but stopped to chew and swallow when Dahlia spoke up. "Yeah... Having a place to sleep last night was really nice." she said, smiling back. "Geez, that was a long day...." the eldest Seaton sighed, and took a deep breath.

 

Zach nodded in agreement about what Dahlia and Olivia had said, and continued to watched Aspen curiously. "You alright?" He asked, as he seemed a bit confused about everything that the younger boy was up to right at that moment.

 

Stacy smiled in response. "You're very welcome! I couldn't just let you all just sleep on a sidewalk or something, after all." She said with a chuckle, as she ate her food as well. She also was a bit concerned with Aspen's quietness, from what she had heard in the past, but left that up to Zach, since he was already handling the situation.

 

"H-huh? Zach?" Aspen muttered, looking up from his food, slightly confused. "Oh, uh... Yeah. I'm fine, now...." he replied, but bit his lip. "Let's eat first, I'll..... Talk later about this stuff. Yeah, later." the hazel-eyed trainer said.

 

"....Well, alright then." Dahlia said, frowning. "It wouldn't have anything to do about that Pride person.... Would it?" she asked, to which Aspen looked back, and hesitated, but nodded slowly.

 

"....Zach, didn't you mention Pride being similar to something?" Olivia asked, furrowing her eyebrows as well. "What was that again? Wrath or something...?" muttered the red-haired trainer. Even though Aspen didn't want to talk about things at that moment, she still wanted to know all the details she could before doing so.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Fortree City

 

"We may as well." Evan said, yawning as he spoke. "We've come all this way. Might as well find out what's going on."

 

There were other things burning in Evan's mind, like where Ellen had gone. It was not really like her to run off, especially from Ryan. There was something else going on, but Evan wasn't sure what....

[JiMing]

OOC: We're all jam buds here~

 

IC: Lachina Adaon/Mercury

 

Keith Summerfield activated his styler's call function while supervising the removal of debris. He hadn't spoken with Lachina since their arrival, and was glad to hear from her. "Lachina," he said in his brusque way, his deep voice gravely from a long day clearing dust and rubble away. "What are your current status and location?" Even as he asked, he was viewing the capture styler.

 

Each of his Rangers had a small device in their styler so they could send out SOS messages without speaking if necessary. "Give me a full situation report." By now, he was sure he didn't have to remind her for details, but he did anyways. "Tell me everything, nice and slow."

 

Lachina instinctively took a deep breath. Keith was a highly respected Top Ranger, a rank few could ever hope to achieve. Furthermore, he had aided many years ago, with the Altru incident that had threatened to plunge the region into darkness. He was a living legend... But he was asking a question and she needed to answer it.

 

"Right, lemme review the facts, Mr. Summerfield." the Ranger replied, pausing for a moment. "While I was aiding a woman named Kiri handle two street urchin kids, Drew and Alaina, we happened across an exhausted man, named Mercury. Stands at about 5'5, looks to be in his early twenties, and has silver hair and eyes." she explained, glancing behind her shoulder to  make sure Mercury was still there. "He possesses a list of locations, that appear to be accurately predicting attacks happening on major cities of various regions... I got a quick glance at the list. The exact date and time for Sootopolis was there. I didn't see what was next, but apparently he wants to get to Two Island, fast."

Lachina stopped there, and put a finger to her chin. "But he doesn't know why he has the list, or if he does, he's not sharing. Said something about losing his memory six weeks ago, thanks to trauma. Whether he's telling the truth or not, I can't tell, but at this moment, he seems to be willing to cooperate... Even said he wouldn't mind handing the list over. Apparently has it memorized..."

 

Keith listened to the report without interruption. Despite her age and occasional overzeal, she was good at her job, and he respected her. At the mention of the list, Keith raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. And you're sure he didn't write this list after the fact? Sounds pretty hard to believe."

 

He trusted Lachina, but she was fifteen, prone to gullibility and naivety. Keith was't going to clear anyone for a mission to Two Island without probable cause. "Is this guy's story consistent? He's not just some loon who saw everything going on and decided to capitalize on it?"

 

Mercury sat back down, watching Lachina silently He ran his fingers along the edges of the paper idly, feeling the cloth-like texture of the worn paper. This was the only outward sign he gave that he was nervous. If her superior ordered his subdual, they would lose precious time.

 

"That's what I'm worried about.... I'm completely sure about his story." Lachina said, frowning. "The two urchin kids? They tried stealing his list. I was already reprimanding them accordingly, but he flat-out threatened to harm them either way. But afterwards he's apologizing, saying he overreacted. That doesn't sound like consistency to me, but so far he's cooperating... Which has me wondering." 

Lachina sighed, and scratched the back of her head. "Says the next attack is like, in two weeks. I can't confirm anything else at this moment, other than Mercury possesses a Lucario. Should I bring him over, see if we could get any more information out of him?"

 

Mercury scowled a bit. "I didn't," he growled, "I didn't threaten them." He folded the paper over his index finger, giving it a new crease. He had started to reach for Drew, but he'd caught himself.

 

"Two weeks? Well, he certainly isn't giving us much time to weigh our options here, is he?" Keith sighed. This was just part of the job, he supposed, making snap decisions. "Alright, bring him over. I'm near the Pokémon Center, east end of town, up the stairs to the north. The sooner you get here, the sooner I can approve an expedition to Kanto."

 

His head pounded at the thought of the paperwork needed to approve such a mission. That alone could take two weeks. He would have to send the Rangers and then fill it all out after the fact. It would get him chewed on by hishigher-ups, but it was necessary. No more people would die if he could help it.

 

"Ask him what other pokémon he has. If he doesn't cooperate, restrain him and search his person. We don't want any surprises from this guy."

 

"Alright, got it, Mr. Summerfield. We'll head over soon. This is Lachina Adaon, signing off." Lachina said, shutting down the communicator of her Capture Styler, turning around and motioning to Mercury. "Alright, Mercury. We've got an audience with Keith Summerfield, and it seems he'll try to get us to that Two Island place as soon as possible. But first, I have to ask you a few questions.

The Ranger cleared her throat, and began speaking again. "Do you possess any other Pokemon besides your Lucario? And would you happen to be carrying weapons, firearms, or any other sort of lethal tool? I don't mean to upset you, this is par for the course." she said, and waited for a response.

 

Mercury sighed a bit, standing. "I have two other pokémon. My Lapras, Oggie, and an Absol." He pushed his coat back, showing two pokéballs on his belt. "The Absol is in my coat's pocket for safety reason."

 

He turned out his jean and coat pockets, showing just his trainer card and the list. "No weapons." He paused for a second, and then held his hand out, palm-up. Silver light formed into a ball above his palm. "I can see auras and manipulate my own into a sphere, like the fighting move." He shrugged. "Other than that, nothing."

 

He sighed. "Let's go, then." He gestured for her to lead the way.

 

Lachina kept a straight face, even as her eyes widened at Mercury's aura abilities. "....Mr. Summerfield will need to know that, too." she muttered, and sighed. "Alright, if I bring up a map of Sootopolis on my Styler... Got it. We're going over." she said, motioning for Mercury to follow. "Thanks for all your assistance, Kiri, Alana, Drew! Maybe we'll run into each other another day!" the Ranger said, shaking hands with all three of them, and giving Drew one last hug before she stood up again. "Stay safe, you three. Good luck." 

Edited July 24, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[MELON LORD]

IC: Alma Mason - ???, May 15th

The girl sat in the corner of her room, sharpening her knife. By now, it only held an edge for a few days before it needed to be resharpened. She had thought often of putting it somewhere to admire, but she had trouble parting with it.

 

It was, after all, the knife she had use on her father. She glanced to a darkened corner of the room and smiled a bit. "What do you think, Shadow? Maybe I should put it on a shelf."

 

The Gengar formed from the dark area, his fangs flashing in a wide grin. He nodded softly, red eyes glinting. A knife that did not hold its edge was no good for killing, he told her.  It would be best to cherish the memories, rather than let them wear away with the blade.

 

Alma nodded. She would ask her master to get a shelf for her room. She could even frame her family picture and put it there to look at!

As if on cue, there was a knock on the iron door to her room. Alma put her back to the wall, knowing he was watching through the peephole. She had tried to get the drop on him before, in the early days, and he knew better than to trust her.

 

As the door swung open, Alma tossed her knife onto the bed. Shadow moved into Alma's shadow, grin turning into a frown as he watched the man. The two had come to an understanding, but the Gengar still did not trust the man who had taken Alma from her family's home.

Her master spoke quickly, telling her that she had a mission. He set a manilla envelope on the floor and slid it towards her. The albino girl opened it, dumping out the contents. A face, handsome enough for someone her master's age. A name, a list of pokémon, and a location were on the back of the photograph, written in the grey ink that signified Team Liberty.

 

Alma smiled. Her master smirked. "Alma," he said, "would you kindly dispose of this trash for me?"

 

Alma giggled. "Yes, master. May I please have my toys?"

 

Flash forward, July 1st.

Alma watched silently as Howler dodged the Goodra's slam attack. The dark-type was definitely earning his place on her team. He darted in and out of range, harassing the dragon with repeated uses of Bite.

 

A taunt early in the fight had left the Goodra enraged, attacking Howler without any strategy. Despite this, Howler's natural size and evasion left him relatively unscathed. Still, it would only take one or two solid hits for the Poochyena to be out of the fight.

 

As she thought it, the Goodra inhaled, stomach expanding. As Howler darted in, it released the breath. Howler was sent head over heal's from the force of the dragon-type attack. He barely held on, but Alma grinned."Assurance, Howler."

 

The small dog rushed back into the fray and slammed into the dragon. Her enemy's Goodra reeled from the blow, and Alma cackled. She called Howler back to her side and cast a hand out. Shadow stepped up, teeth flashing.

 

The Goodra was the last pokémon their opponent had at his disposal. They had attacked late at night. Shadow had slipped into their target's tent and, as quickly as he was able, destroyed the pokéballs that held the rest of the team. The only reason the purple dragon had been spared was because it had been keeping watch nearby.

 

Howler had done plenty of damage, but Alma wanted to ensure its destruction. Shadow disappeared into the darkness of the night. The Goodra went on guard, throwing up a Protect while it waited for its opponent to strike.

Shadow appeared behind it, pounding against the barrier in an attempt to scare it. The Goodra barely twitched, turning to face the ghost with a glare.

 

As soon as the Protection died out, Shadow used Shadow Sneak again. He appeared in the dragon's shadow, reaching out with clawed hands and raking them over its throat and face. The Goodra screamed as the claws ripped at skin and eyes, leaving gashes deep in its flesh. Alma giggled, stepping forward.

 

She did not even need to order her Gengar to finish this fight. A ball of shadows crackled to life in his hands, slamming into the defenseless Goodra. As their opponent fell, the albino girl locked eyes with her target. He watched her with steel in his eyes.

He had heard her. The girl normally used stealth tactics, as she had tonight, but he had actually seen her in the field once, in Hoenn. She had moved through the battlefield with all the calm of a seasoned soldier. Despite combat going all around her, she had moved purposefully towards her target.

 

And now, those eyes were locked on him. He had no more pokémon, and he didn't have his gun on him. As she stalked towards him, he turned to start running. A pair of hands shot from his own shadow, grabbing his ankles and tripping him. As he hit the dirt, he heard that horrific giggle again. He rolled to his back as the girl cast her own shadow on him.

 

Flash Forward, Present Day

The grunt made a face as he looked at the scene. Blood everywhere. He knelt, searching the body quickly and nodding to his teammates. "Yep, this is him. Someone tell Executive Stone that Kai Stone is dead."

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Jam everywhere.

 

-==IC: Zach/Olivia/Aspen/Dahlia/Stacy/Ryan==-

 

Zach nodded, as he looked over to Olivia. "Yeah, from the sounds of it, he sounds like the guy Ryan had to fight before we met back up. Ryan had drawn the guy to him with his pent up anger... but he overcame it, and as you can probably tell, is a lot calmer than the last while before that." He explained, and then heard footsteps behind him.

As Zach turned around, he noticed Ryan approaching himself, a small smile on the black haired trainer's face. Ryan yawned slightly, and then waved at the others, and sat down with a sigh, a slightly tired look on his face. "Morning."

 

"Morning, Ryan!" Dahlia called out pleasantly. "In case you're wondering, yes, we prepared some breakfast for you. I bet you're feeling pretty hungry, huh?" she asked, and smiled, though had secretly heard what Zach had said to Olivia. and wondered....

"....Hey, good morning." Olivia said to Zach's half-brother, waving slightly, before looking back at Zach again. She -did- find Ryan's subtle change in attitude odd before... But the red-haired trainer didn't pay it much mind in that moment. Now, it had seemed her brother had done the exact same thing, and she wondered how that would change things...

Aspen didn't even speak. He simply waved and smiled at Ryan, and looked back down at his food. Wrath, huh...? So that's why Ryan's nicer and all. the trainer thought. ....I guess Pride must have been in cahoots with them, then. Wonder what I should do now, anyways, though....

 

Ryan blinked at Dahlia's mention, and thought for a moment. "Well... I ate not too long ago... But, honestly, I'm hungry again." He said, as he chuckled in amusement, and sat down, with a smile. Zach looked over at his older brother, curious at the fact that he seemed less downcast than he had even been when the other four had left him the night before.

 

Olivia chuckled at Ryan's comment. "Yeah, we all were. Long day, yesterday." she said, before realizing that yesterday wouldn't be the best topic of discussion. She then thought for a moment, and spoke up again. "....So, this house is pretty huge. Err, mansion."

Aspen actually looked up, and chuckled quietly. "Yeah uh, I got lost a little bit, looking for a room... Had to ask someone working here where there were beds. Probably weird for them to see a dirty plebeian like me wander into such a high-class place." he said, and halfheartedly shrugged, slowly eating again.

Dahlia looked over with concern at her brother, and sighed. Why? Why didn't he want to talk about Pride, when everyone was around, everyone could help him? She sighed, and turned to the others, wondering what they would say now.

 

Ryan shrugged slightly. "Stacy's nice, I'm sure they weren't too weirded out." He replied with a smile, but seemed a bit confused. He tilted his head slightly, even more confused about the response after he processed it a bit more, and realized that Aspen hadn't really been mean, in comparison to the times before.

 

Dahlia bit her lip, and looked around, trying to change the conversation again. "So uh, I visited Erika again, last night...." she began, sensing the confusion in the room.

"...Hmm? Oh yeah, you mentioned that." Aspen said, looking over at his sister. "What happened?"

"Well.... First, she gave me a badge, for helping protect Celadon..." the gardener said, pointing to said badge pinned to her shirt. "And the second, she actually let me keep a Turtwig of hers... She's a friendly one, but I don't know what to call her..." Dahlia admitted sheepishly, and took out said Turtwig's Pokeball, releasing her.

The Tiny Leaf Pokemon looked around sleepily, before the scent of food reached her nose. Then she walked over to where the scent was coming from, underneath the table, before getting confused, and walking out. The Turtwig looked up confusedly at Dahila, who giggled and pet her affectionately on the head. "Erika called her quirky, for the record..."

 

Zach giggled at the Turtwig's antics, as he got up, and walked over to the Turtwig, and knelt down to see the tiny turtle. "She seems cute to me..." He said with another giggle, as he held out his hand toward the grass type Pokemon, wondering how she'd react to him.

 

The Turtwig smiled up at Zach and pushed her head into his hand, smiling happily. Then she darted around Zach, and tried to leap up on his head, and balance herself on top. Olivia reached a hand out to stop the resulting clash, but was too late...........

 

Zach squeaked out in surprise, not having expected the sudden leap. However, to the trainer's credit, he managed to keep balanced for a moment, before he was forced to fall toward the floor. Despite all that, however, he reached up a hand to try and pet the Turtwig, albeit hoping the turtle got off his head soon.

 

Dahlia winced, and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly "....Okay, okay.... Could you uh, get off Zach's head, please?" she asked the Turtwig, who complied and got off, walking to Dalhia's side. The gardener looked back apologetically. "Sorry... She seems to like doing that...."

 

Zach giggled and looked up with a wince, as he sighed. "No worries; barely managed to stop my head from hitting the floor; it's okay. She's still very nice, though." He said with an amused smile, as he stood up and brushed himself off again.

 

Olivia looked down at Zach, and helped him back up to the floor, concerned about whether he was alright, but after the auburn-haired trainer confirmed he was alright, she giggled slightly. "Gee, seems like Bree would get along well with her, huh?" the green-eyed trainer said to her best friend, grinning.

"Huh? Bree?" Aspen said, blinking. "Who's that again?"

 

Zach looked up with a blink, and then chuckled. "Oh, our Torchic; I named her this morning..." Zach giggled, as he smiled over at Olivia with a nod, to confirm he thought the same about Bree getting along with the Turtwig.

 

Aspen blinked again, seeming to snap out of his rut for a moment. "Torchic? You mean the one from the breeder? You actually payed that guy?"

Olivia shook her head. "Nah, when it started snowing... The breeder got so desperate he literally offered her for free. Of course, me and Zach were polite and gave him some money, but yeah... That Torchic's ours now." she said, taking out Bree's Pokeball. The eldest Seaton looked at Zach, asking if they could add Bree to the mix at the breakfast table, or whether to wait for later.

 

Zach nodded, as he stood up, and smiled. "Yep! Here, how about we show you her?" He asked, as he stepped beside Olivia with a smile. He wondered what the others would think of the little Torchic, but he really liked her, and knew Olivia did too...

 

Olivia smiled, and nodded to Zach, standing up as well. "Yeah, alright Bree... Your time to shine." she said, smiling widely, releasing the baby Torchic from her Pokeball.

The fire chick ruffled her feathers after being released, and saw all the people around her. Bree chirped happily, and looked around with amazement, gleefully walking around the table, stopping to rub her head against Stacy's leg, and looking at the older woman with a cheerful chirp.

 

Stacy smiled down at the little Pokemon, and seemed very amused. She gently picked the Torchic up, and ran a hand against the fire type's head. "She's very friendly... I think you made a good choice." She smiled, as she put the Torchic back down on the ground so she could run around some more.

 

Bree let herself be set back down on the ground, running around the table again, this time hopping up onto Ryan's lap and making herself comfortable. The Turtwig saw her, and walked over, the two Pokemon engaging in a conversation, seeming quite happy to meet each other overall.

"They're so cute...." Aspen muttered, a wide smile on his face. In that moment, he was legitimately happy.

 

Zach giggled, as he noticed the two Pokemon interacting. Ryan seemed equally happy, as he tried not to distract the two Pokemon's discussion, but decided to pet the Torchic on the head anyway, a smile on his face.

 

Olivia smiled and grinned at the two Pokemon and their antics, but scratched the back of her head, since both Bree and the Turtwig were busy. "So uh, anything else you guys wanna talk about?"  she asked, somewhat awkwardly.

 

Zach thought for a moment, and then paused. "Hm. Didn't someone say something about Snowpoint yesterday?" He mused for a moment, as Stacy looked over in surprise. "I think Madison had said something, about something happening in Snowpoint, and I think I remembered I was out on a mission or something then..." He sighed, oblivious to Stacy's growing frown.

"There was an avalanche last year. There were a lot of casualties." Stacy said grimly, as Zach looked over in surprise. "I don't know what happened to your cousins; I didn't really stay in touch with your father's side of the family. But... given how that avalanche went..." She trailed off there, as Zach went quiet for a moment.

"Then, why don't we go check ourselves?" Zach suggested, as Ryan looked over in surprise. "Yeah, you too, worry head. Maybe a new perspective would do you good." The auburn haired trainer suggested, as his brother tried and failed to think of a way out of that.

 

Aspen had been smiling happily when Zach brought up Snowpoint. The trainer's grin quickly disappeared when Stacy shed light on the situation, as he looked down sullen once more. The suffering of others was nothing to smile about, after all....

Dahlia had a shocked expression on her face, the rest of her features softening accordingly. "You have cousins in Snowpoint...?" she asked. "Then we should go. Checking up on relatives is always important, but...."

 

Ryan frowned, as he looked around. "But... right now?" The black haired man was slightly torn. He wanted to stay longer since this was kinda needed downtime; but yet, he knew what they were saying were true. But if it had been months since whatever happened, wouldn't it just not matter? Ryan sighed, as he shook his head. "... Fine, but can we at least leave after lunch? Even if we just get lunch once we're on the way..." He sighed again, as he didn't want to just leave without trying to find the others to say goodbye to.

 

"Fair enough, we could stay here a little longer." Olivia replied to Ryan. "But you gotta remember, they're your family. Yeah it was months ago... But the safety of those you care about... It should always be a priority." she muttered, quickly glancing at Zach in that moment, before turning to her siblings, and ultimately, Ryan.

 

Ryan nodded, and sighed. "Yeah, you're right." He said, as he went quiet for a moment. "I'm gonna go try and see if I can find Lucia and the others to tell them we're leaving; ciao." He waved to the others, as he stood up and thanked everyone for the meal, and then walked off.

 

Dahlia watched Ryan leave the mansion, and turned back to the others "Well... Maybe we should finish our food, then. Then we can prepare for the trip to Snowpoint...." the gardener suggested, noticing the overall sullen nature of the group.

"Yeah. Let's do that...." Aspen interjected. "Family is so important...." he muttered, eating at a far faster pace than he had been earlier.

 

Zach looked over to Aspen with a frown, and walked over to him. "What's up?" He asked, as he noticed the sudden change in mood again. "I-if this is because I brought that up, I'm sorry..."

 

Aspen paused, looking up surprised at Zach. "....No, it's not your fault...." he said, blinking and forcing a reassuring smile. "I'm not really, well.... In the best of spirits, to begin with...."

Dahlia sighed, putting a hand on Aspen's shoulder "We can spare a little bit of time to talk, if you want..." she muttered, and looked at him sadly. "Yesterday really did a number on you...."

The trainer paused, but shook his head. "It's fine. Zach's cousin takes priority." he declared, and looked down once more.

 

Zach frowned slightly, as he thought for a moment, as he reflected on Dahlia's words. He nodded to himself, and stepped forward, as he hugged the youngest Seaton, to try and help reassure him. "We can always spare time to help. It's okay to be feeling off after something like that; it's only natural. Just remember we're here for you, okay?" He said, as he stepped back with a smile, hoping that at least helped cheer Aspen up.

 

Aspen's eyes widened in shock, and his breathing became heavier the more Zach spoke. "I...... I......" he began, but paused. The young trainer had a few small tears run down his face as he sniffed. "Thank you....." he said quietly. The young trainer wondered if he really still deserved everyone's empathy... But was appreciative it seemed Zach thought he was.

 

Zach smiled, as he nodded to Aspen. "You're welcome!" He said happily, as he wondered if everyone was ready to go when Ryan got back, but didn't want to actually bring it up until he was certain Aspen would be alright with it.

 

Olivia finished the last of her breakfast, and walked over to Zach. "Ready when you are...." she said, smiling and reaching for his hand. Bree followed Olivia, looking up at her 'parents' with her wide eyes.

"Same...." Dahlia interjected, standing up as well. The gardener smiled at everyone present, and her positivity rose with that of the room. The Turtwig stood next to Dahlia, smiling at Zach.

"....I'm ready." Aspen muttered, finishing the last few bites of food he had, standing up as well, afterwards. "We gonna go prepare for the trip, then?" he asked, absentmindedly gripping a Pokeball on his belt... One he didn't have before yesterday.

 

Zach nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Though, um, does everyone have like, uh, winter jackets and such?" He asked with a sheepish smile, as he remembered why the city was called Snowpoint, and why Madison liked to wear like ten thousand layers.

 

Dahlia and Aspen blinked, and glanced at each other for a bit, before simultaneously turning to Zach and shrugging.

"I think you and I might be the only ones with winter clothing..." Olivia said to Zach, rubbing the back of her head. "Probably cause summer for most places is usually pretty hot..."

 

Zach blinked, and sheepishly smiled with a nervous chuckle. "Well, uh, I'm sure it won't be that bad..."

 

"Uhhh.... Yeah. Hope so." Olivia muttered awkwardly, preemptively looking apologetically at her siblings, who only seemed to blink more. ".....Yeah. It should be..."

[Parugi]

IC - Leda Garven/Gem Garven - Fortree City, Garven House:

 

Leda shut the door behind the group and then moved past them, leading them down a short hallway. Gem was sitting in a recliner in the room at the end of it, leaned back with a book held open in front of him. He appeared to be around the same age as his wife, and was visibly balding. At the sight of their guests, he raised an eyebrow, lowering his book and offering an uncertain, "Hello."

 

"Gem, this is Ryan Sanders--he lives around here--and . . ." Leda gave the others a short look. "I didn't actually catch the rest of your names . . ." She brushed it off. "Anyway, they had a . . . question for us . . ." The more she spoke the more uneasy she became, as if she were just realizing how strange the situation was.

 

Gem picked up on this, looking between the group and his wife. "What is it?"

 

Leda started to speak, and then paused. "Ryan says he knows us through a pair of girls named Melissa and Melanie Garven. Our daughters."

 

Gem stared blankly at Leda for several moments, and then looked at the group. "We don't have children."

 

 

IC - Tyler McKinley - Route 110, Bridge:

 

"Oh . . ." McKinley studied his left-hand nails, lines of nonchalant indifference etched into his forehead. "A while . . ."

 

He lifted his eyes to look at Paul. The gold in them seemed to almost glow in the shadow of the bridge, piercing straight into the quaint haze of Paul's heart.

 

"Heard you folks talking about my boss," he continued. "Now that was a fun little topic to listen to--it's not often I get to hear about him from Déoza's perspective, seeing as most of our foot soldiers aren't exactly of the right . . . caliber to hold a conversation." McKinley shifted his gaze to Ellen, a smile still plastered across his face. "Sorry to withhold that bit of information from you, honey, but after your encounter with the Second, I was afraid it'd start us off on the wrong foot. Now, though . . ." He crossed his arms. "Well, I'm hoping you'll be more open to the conversation I'd like to have with you, if you'll humor me."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray/Jenny==-

 

Ray watched in silence as he tried to figure out what was going on. Nothing seemed to make sense, and yet, he still felt he had a question. As he tried to decide on how to react, he looked around the room, trying to figure out if there were any signs of what was going on. He wondered if they weren't the couple's children, and maybe just relatives or something, though the lack of recognition was still unsettling to him too. "Wa-" He opened his mouth to start to say something, but surprisingly, was cut off by Jenny.

 

"We're sorry, sir, madam, we must have been mistaken and recalled the last name wrong." Jenny spoke up suddenly, an apologetic smile on her face. "We apologize for bothering you like that..." She said, as she tried to keep cheery. Inwardly, she was just as unsettled as Ray was, but with how things were going, she had a feeling that questioning further wouldn't do anything but cause more issues. She turned to the other three, and subtly tried to indicate with her smile that they should leave, since it didn't seem like this was going anywhere fast.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

Ryan frowned when Jenny spoke up. He knew Melanie and Melissa's last name was Garven. There was no mistake about that. He could feel the awkwardness in the room, however, and understood why Jenny wanted them to just leave. The Liberty agent bit his lip as he looked over at Gem. He had to make absolutely sure the man didn't know Melanie and Melissa. "Maybe they're not your daughters," he said slowly. "But I know that a Melanie and Melissa lived around here. They were twins. About a year older than me. Slim build, light skin, long brown hair... I think Melissa's was darker than Melanie's." As Ryan stared at the man in the recliner, he tried to recall as many details as he could about the twins. "Melanie had green eyes, Melissa had blue. You wouldn't happen to know anyone matching that description, would you?"

 

IC: Kiri/Drew/Alaina

"Good luck to you, too," Kiri said with a smile. "And know that either of you are welcome back here anytime."

 

"Yes, come back and visit us, soon!" Drew said as he hugged Lachina tightly. "Then you can tell us all about how you saved the world!"

 

"Assuming we're even here to hear it," Alaina muttered with a glare directed at Kiri. This woman so arrogantly believed she and her brother would stay with her, like her adoptive children or something. The worst part was, Alaina wouldn't put it past her brother to do just that, if it meant him getting a chance to see Lachina again.

 

IC: Ellen/Paul

The blacksmith looked at Tyler in surprise. "You work for Ford?" For a brief moment Paul wondered if this was about how he had left his work at Déoza to search for his daughter, under the pretense of finding new materials. The prototype metal he had left for Ford's Hojohsin League to use was able to withstand extreme heat, as per their request. However, in exchange for the heat resistance, the material had become very brittle. It was fireproof, but not bulletproof. He hoped Tyler hadn't been sent to reprimand him for that prototype. But no... strangely enough, the golden-haired man seemed more interested in Ellen.

 

"Ford?!" Ellen gasped as she took a step backward, her smile shifting into a nervous look of uncertainty. Memories of a Unovan tower flashed through her mind. A wiring of bombs. An argument between sisters. The sacrifice of a Suicune. "Th-that's impossible..." she stammered, staring at the man half hidden in the shadows. "You're so nice. You can't work for Ford! Maddison Hayes -- Sophia -- she took me hostage! She blew up Castelia in the name of 'peace!' H-how could you be like her? You just wanted to help me bond with Chrono..."

 

Chrono scoffed. He had never met Hayes, and he could care less about Ford. But in his mind, forcing a friendship was just as evil as bombing a city.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Although he had mentioned going to find Lucia, Ryan had another idea in mind. The black haired man sighed, as he trudged through the hallways. A frown steadily grew on his face, as he wondered how this would even go. He had made that promise earlier that day, but now he wouldn't be able to keep it, seemingly; especially when he had no idea when he would get back. The trainer stopped outside Shannon's door, and then peeked inside. He could see her sound asleep, resting peacefully. With a sigh, Ryan quietly opened the door and slipped inside. He wanted to make sure she wasn't surprised, so he walked over to the chair, which had been moved back since he had left the room last, and just sat there, instead of moving it closer.

[Parugi]

IC - Leda Garven/Gem Garven - Fortree City, Garven House:

 

"I'd say I do know people who look like that," Gem said. "None of them named Melanie or Melissa, though. Certainly not any other Garvens." He shrugged, adjusting the book he was holding. "Sorry, son. Wish I could help more than that, and I'm sure Leda does, too. But it's just the two of us here, and has been for the past twenty-three years."

 

 

IC - Tyler McKinley - Route 110, Bridge:

 

"We come in all shapes and sizes and from different types of background, my young friend," McKinley said. "Some of us are a little more . . . grounded than others. Truth be told, the Second had a grudge against Team Plasma--one that she chose to indulge in through the guise of Ford's name. In other words, she was acting out of line, counter to the ends that we truly seek. Don't let her be your definitive example of what our group looks like."

 

Plant the seed, watch it grow, let it sprout, harvest the fruit. McKinley's softening smile portrayed an inverse of the intense amusement that he felt in his heart. Doubt . . . What a funny, yet effective tool . . .

 

He suddenly paused, bringing a hand to his mouth. "Oh, I'm very sorry--I just realized I haven't even properly introduced myself yet! The name's Tyler McKinley, Fourth Child." McKinley gave a short bow--almost a curtsy. "Pleasure to meet you you."

 

 

IC - Victoire Coleman/Kyle Eston/Quentin Dallas - Signs Compound, Repurposed Meat Freezer:

 

From the door, Nidoqueen growled and braced herself.

 

Three minutes into working on the cuffs had netted no results, and now Victoire found herself quickly putting her makeshift pick away, rising to her feet to face the door. She gave Golem a quick hand signal, silently telling him to help her bring Kyle to his feet. With his hands forming a loop, she had to make due with supporting most of his weight on her back. The Liberty Agent's breath brushed against her neck every few seconds, a weak signal and constant reminder of the pressure of the situation and the fact that she needed to hurry.

 

Nothing she couldn't handle.

 

The door rattled from the other side. Someone barked out an order, and more rattling ensued.

 

Victoire's expression remained impassive.

 

"Nidoqueen," she said. "Take 'em out."

 

 

 

Quentin Dallas knew better than to stand directly in front of an unyielding door. And this case perfectly demonstrated why.

 

As his two guards--Costa and Whittle--worked to break through it, the metal suddenly shot forward, propelled by a rocket of earth and instantly broken free from its hinges. Whittle managed to duck underneath the bent projectile, barely avoiding a direct strike to the face. Costa was not so lucky. The door pressed against him, slamming him into the wall directly opposite with enough force to knock the poor guard straight into unconsciousness.

 

A growl above her prompted Whittle to look up, only to find an angry Nidoqueen looming over her. She immediately raised her gun, managing to pull the trigger just as the Drill Pokémon spun around, slamming her tail against the weapon. Bullet and pistol went flying, the former embedding itself in the ceiling, the latter clattering uselessly down the hallway. A moment and a backhand later, and Whittle, too, was unconscious.

 

"Are you done?"

 

Nidoqueen turned to look at the man called Shift. He appeared entirely unperturbed by her performance, watching her now as if he was observing nothing more than a rodeo. He kept one hand on the handle of his cane and the other in his pocket, making no move to act against her. She huffed, and then roared, bracing herself and charging forward.

 

Shift chuckled. With the press of a button, Nidoqueen found herself engulfed in a red light, which completely enveloped her before flying back into the meat locker and toward her Poké Ball.

 

Quentin Dallas walked forward, offering not even the briefest of glimpses at Whittle nor Costa.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Parugi

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Jamie looked towards the shorter man in the hug with a quizzical expression, not really sure how Grass-Type Pokemon could possibly have anything to do with her mood.

 

 

"No..." she said shaking her head towards Gavin. "It is just..." Jamie trailed off, slipping away from the bear hug, a rather impressive feat, considering the tightness with she had been hugged.

 

 

"This has been, bar none, the worst week of my life. This includes the week with the train incident..."

 

 

The young Rocket sighed slightly as she recalled the events of Havoc and of earlier that day.

 

 

"Between seeing so much death, meeting a number of unsavory characters, and having to confront something I never really wanted to.”

 

 

A bright managed to work its way back onto Jamie’s face.

 

 

"I am just so very happy to have lived past it all.”

 

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander stayed silent during the exchange, frowning. He did not know who Ford and Hayes were, but the way Ellen and Paul were reacting gave him at least some idea. He glared as the man introduced himself, and moved slightly closer to Ellen.

 

He spoke, trying to keep his voice level. "The pleasure is all ours, I'm sure." He did not quite manage to keep sarcasm from lacing his voice. "Is there something we can help you with, or are you just here to chat?"

 

Sylph was on guard, ready to act the moment the situation went south. It had been tense since Paul arrived, and, just when it had been calming down, this man had arrived and put them all even more on edge. This McKinley was likely dangerous from the way the other two trainers were reacting. While she had never battled outside of organized competition, that in itself could be intense and dangerous, even lethal. She would at least try to hold her own against this man's team if it came to it.

 

Xander attempted to gather his wits, but ultimately had to ask Sylph to relay to Paul. If we can get your Skarmory back up, would he be able to carry you and Ellen away? We could attempt to keep this man at bay while you two make an escape.

 

IC: Alma - Outdoors

The girl rechecked her revolver and blades, making sure each was in good condition and within easy reach. The ragged hem of her dress fluttered gently in the breeze that came over the plain. It had been two weeks since she had killed Kai Stone, and she was reluctant to go home.

 

She knew for a fact that once she was there, her master would keep her under lock and key once more. She would hardly get to feel the warm sun on her skin, the cool breeze blowing in her hair. She would not get to enjoy the sound of a flock of Spearow flying overhead, or smell the sweet natural scents around her. Rather, she would be confined to her wing of the compound,w here her master could monitor her constantly.

 

It was for both their safety, she knew. If she were able to go where she wished, she would likely find her way into things she should not, discovering things her master wished to be kept secret. This could result in either of their deaths, and the end of a mutually beneficial relationship.

 

She sighed. It pained her how much she relied on the man. Food, shelter, clothing, toys, all were given to her by him. In return, she trained, and every now and again went to eliminate somebody who had angered him.

 

Shadow rose from her Shadow, normally wide grin bordering on a scowl. Alma nodded softly to him as he asked her if she really wanted to go back. "I must. He saved us from bad things after the doctor's death. If we hadn't escaped, the people in town might have caught on to us." She paused, listening to her best friend. "I know, you do not trust him. But we do not have much choice. If we do not go back, we lose access to several things. We may get by for a short time on our own, but eventually..." She trailed off, not wanting to think about the numerous things that could happen, all the ways she could wind up dead and broken.

 

Just like her father. Her dainty mouth twisted into a most unladylike expression at the thought. She lobbed a knife up into the air with an underhand throw. It spun quickly, the sun flashing off of its polished blade. "Fetch, Shadow," she commanded. The ghost floated up, turning into little more than a shadowy blur as he chased the weapon.

 

He caught its blade as it reached the top of the arc, and threw it down to stick in the ground between Alma's feet. She nodded softly, smiling. "Very good. Come, Shadow, we really must go." The Gengar disappeared, and Alma smiled as she felt the air around her go cool. Though he squinted, one could just barely make out the red glint of Shadow's two eyes in the shade cast by Alma.

 

She would go home. She had more than overstayed her time out of her master's complex, and it was time to go back. It would not do to anger him.

 

Still, she walked slowly enough that she did not get home until several hours later.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
The Liberty agent was completely lost and confused. He knew Melanie and Melissa's last name was Garven. He knew they lived around here. And yet these people -- Mr. and Mrs. Garven -- didn't seem to know them at all. He could tell Jenny and the others were growing frustrated at his persistence, and he feared Leda and Gem were, too. Ryan forced an apologetic smile. "Alright. Sorry for intruding, Mr. Garven. I didn't mean to disturb you."
 
He turned to leave, a brief glance at Evan, Jenny and Ray betraying his confusion. They had almost made it to the front door when Ryan paused and glanced back over his shoulder. "One last question." The Liberty agent winced as he practically felt Jenny's infuriated glare pointed at the back of his neck. Not wanting to overstay their welcome, Ryan flashed his apologetic smile once more. "I'm sorry, but we're also looking for a friend of ours, a young girl named Ellen. You might have seen her around; she's been living in Fortree for the past six months. She's ten years old, and her Duosion's always floating by her side. At some point in the past two weeks, she disappeared. We were just wondering if you happened to know anything about where she might have gone." Ryan bit his lip, fearing they had already overstayed their welcome. But he still clung to the hope that at least something good might come out of this visit.
 
IC: Ellen/Paul
Paul glanced over at Sylph as he considered her words. Although he was suspicious of this Tyler's motives, he knew better than to make an attempt to flee, especially when all Tyler seemed to want to do was talk. Even if they managed to heal Scar -- something impossible to do without McKinley noticing -- the Xatu would simply pursue them. Besides, McKinley had made no acts of aggression... yet. No, if things turned south, the safest bet would be for the Gardevoir to initiate a Teleport. The blacksmith tried his best to relay these thoughts back to the Gardevoir, although he was less versed in the art of telepathy than his daughter, so he couldn't tell how much of the message had actually gone through and how much was just him thinking to himself. Nor could he tell if the stalwart Xatu was able to read his thoughts. He decided not to dwell on it too much, and instead turned his attention back to Ellen.
 
"Fourth Child?" Ellen repeated. "And you called Maddison Hayes the Second Child... the two of you don't exactly look like children." Something about Tyler's pleasant smile unnerved her. She couldn't quite place it: he seemed so nice, and yet ever since he had revealed himself as a Ford agent, Ellen had started to doubt him. Why? It wasn't fair to label him a bad guy just because he worked for Ford -- after all, wasn't her own father allied with Ford? All she knew was that she really didn't know anything about the man standing before her. "You say I shouldn't judge your group based on my impression of Hayes," she said slowly, keeping her brown eyes trained on Tyler's golden ones. "But isn't it equally wrong to judge your group based on my impression of you?"

IC: Shannon/Ryan
The constant beeping of her heart monitor had lulled Shannon to sleep, so it was a strange irony that it was those same beeps that eventually roused her. She squinted her eyes against the bright fluorescent lights, grumbling about the nurses never letting her sleep. What time was it, anyway? It was impossible to tell with no windows leading to the outside. Shannon groggily lifted her head to look at the digital clock on the nightstand.

That was when she noticed Ryan sitting in the chair against the wall. Her confusion quickly melted into a warm smile. "Good morning," she said. "You're up early. Did you miss me?"

Ryan looked over at her with an amused expression. "You're like, barely missing morning, sleepy head."

Shannon blinked and looked down at the clock on the nightstand. "Oh," she said with a sheepish smile. "Have you been waiting here long?"

Ryan stretched as he sat up more in his chair. "Not too long, I think; came back, and you were sound asleep, and I didn't wanna wake you." He shuffled his feet nervously. The last thing he wanted to do was jump straight into the reason he had come, so he was more than happy to take the time for idle chit chat.

"Well, I'm glad you waited for me." Shannon sat up in her bed and smiled at Ryan, feeling more awake now. "Like I said, it's nice having someone to talk to. You have no idea how hard it is to be cooped up in the same room all day. I think I'm already starting to go crazy."

Ryan chuckled with a knowing look in his eyes. "Yeah, I think I can kinda relate to that a bit more than I'd like..." He fell quiet as he listened to the constant beeps of the heart monitor, subtly tapping his foot to the rhythm. "Um... Remember what we were saying earlier, on that note?"

"...What note?" Shannon stared at him blankly.

Ryan gave her a confused look. "I mean it's connected," he finally said with a sheepish smile. "Like, um, about how I said I'd come by and visit every now and then to talk with you..."

"Oh." Shannon felt her cheeks redden. "Sorry, I'm still a little sleepy. I think these pain meds are messing with me a bit. But yes, thank you for coming to talk to me. It'll make my recovery a lot easier with you being here."

Ryan bit his lip with a sigh, staring down at his feet. "Um... well... Zach and the others kinda dragged me into checking up on my cousin."

"Your cousin?" Shannon found it a little hard to process Ryan's words in her groggy state of mind. "I didn't know your Aunt Stacy had kids. Do they live here with her? Were they hurt in the attack?"

"Oh, no, not Stacy's kids, my bad." Ryan smiled sheepishly as he tried to explain. "My dad's siblings are all better than he is, but they don't live nearby. The cousin I'm talking about actually lives in Snowpoint, and Zach and the others got worried after thinking about the avalanche that happened last year."

Shannon fell quiet, staring at a spot on the wall. "So... you're leaving? That's why you came here, isn't it? This is goodbye."

For several moments there was a hard silence broken only by the persistent heart monitor. "I don't know when I'll be back," Ryan said quietly. "I, um, also wanted to apologize for earlier; how I basically forced you into promising you'd stay safe..."

"I... I understand." Shannon managed a small smile and turned to face him. "You were worried about me. Although I can't promise I won't put my life on the line again for your sake." The girl sighed, her bright spirits suddenly dampened at the news of Ryan's departure. "Why couldn't Zach just go on his own, though? Does he really need you to go with him?"

Ryan shook his head with a sigh. "I think it's because it'd seem uncaring if I was the only one to not show up." He fell silent again, troubled by her sudden sadness. "I'm sorry... I said I'd come visit to help you not be so bored, and then this pops up... And honestly, I haven't seen her in like four years. My cousin, that is." The black-haired trainer furrowed his brow, suddenly unsure what he wanted to do. He hadn't expected such a reaction from her. As both Ryan and Shannon fell silent, the heart monitor's beeping started to quicken in pace.

"I'm just being selfish, aren't I?" Shannon finally said in a small voice. "You go visit your cousin. You don't have to worry about me."

Ryan simply nodded, still staring at the ground. At long last he lifted his head, meeting Shannon's deep hazel eyes. "Do you have like, uh, I dunno, a Pokégear or something? I don't know what's popular here..." He scratched his head in awkwardness.

"I have a Pokégear..." Shannon reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the device to show him. "Should we exchange numbers?"

Ryan scratched his head again. "Do you think that might help, in any way...?" he asked sheepishly. "I mean, if we swap info, then it would still be like I'm stopping by... It'd give you someone to talk to, at least."

"It might help a little." Shannon smiled. "You'd better come back, though. This doesn't change that." She held out the Pokégear to him so he could type in his number.

Ryan got up and moved to her side. "I'll try and return when I can," he assured her. "Those four just like traveling everywhere they can." With a slight chuckle, he took her device and began to enter in his information. "You know, come to think of it, you were a grade... below me, I think?" Ryan smiled sheepishly. He struggled to recall his childhood, back before all the craziness had started. But try as he might, it was nothing but a blur. "I, um, realized I never asked how old you were, but I know you were close to my age..."

"You were a grade above me, yeah," Shannon said. Her memories of her life in Ecruteak were some of her fondest, so it wasn't too hard for her to remember a detail like that. "For the record, I'm twenty-one."

Ryan nodded as he handed back the Pokégear. "Twenty-two here. The probably goes without saying, but ages can be weird sometimes." He started to reach for his own Pokégear so Shannon could give him her info, but the moment he grabbed it Shannon shifted her thumb on her Pokégear’s screen and dialed him. The black haired trainer chuckled in amusement as he answered the call. "That was easy."

"I think on my feet." Shannon giggled as she hung up and set her Pokégear back down on the nightstand. "So when do you leave? Tomorrow?"

"Everyone wanted to leave, like..." Ryan scratched his head as he glanced at the time. "... Um, actually, I think they might be waiting for me now." A sheepish smile crossed his face as he looked back to Shannon. "Time really flew when I was waiting for you, it seems..."

Shannon's smile faltered. "I guess I shouldn't have slept in so much, huh? Sorry..."

Ryan pocketed his Pokégear with a shrug. "No worries; doesn't really matter. I doubt they'd leave without me anyway. Besides, I'm used to being on the bad side of people. Being late won't hurt."

Shannon chuckled. "I wish you could stay longer, though. Even if we can call each other, it's not the same as having you right here..."

"I know," Ryan said apologetically. "And again, I know just how annoying it can be to be stuck by yourself, bored out of your mind... but at this point, I don't think I can just ignore what the others want and get away with it."

Shannon nodded. "Promise me one thing, though."

"Yeah?"

The girl looked him squarely in the eye. "Try not to kill anybody," she said with a teasing smile.

Ryan smiled in amusement at that, but nodded. "I'll try my best. Won't guarantee I won't punch someone out, though, if they get too obnoxious." He gave Shannon a playful grin. "You try not to hurt yourself, either."

Shannon chuckled. "They're loading me up with so many pain meds, I don't think I could hurt myself if I tried."

"That's good," Ryan said in amusement. "Hopefully you can keep that up even if you get off those. Although I hope you aren't hurting too bad..."

"It's manageable," Shannon assured him. "The painkillers are really doing their job. It just feels weird having all these IVs stuck in me."

Ryan sighed as he scratched his head. "Well, hopefully you get feeling better so you're alright even without the painkillers..." His face turned sullen for a moment as he looked away in guilt.

"I hope so too. Cause when that happens, they'll finally let me out of here." The girl looked up at Ryan with a chuckle. "When you said I could stay at your aunt's house, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Yeah, that didn't exactly go quite as planned..." Ryan thought for a moment. "What'll you do after that, though?"

Shannon shrugged. "Mrs. Stacy says I'm welcome to stay here after I get better. In an actual bedroom, of course. I'll probably do that until I can figure out what to do."

"That makes sense." Ryan stood for a moment in silence, simply looking at the poor girl. She had lost so much, yet she still held onto hope. His eyes drifted over to the nightstand, where he noticed the time. "I probably should go to see the others..." he said with a sigh.

The realization that her only friend among those staying at Stacy's house was leaving hit Shannon like a ton of bricks. She managed a shy smile, but she couldn't hide her melancholy expression. "Yeah. Don't let me keep you..."

Ryan went quiet again. He hated leaving her like this. "Sorry. I'm sure Aunt Stacy will help too."

The girl nodded, though she seemed distracted. "Don't let me worry you." She appeared calm, but the heart monitor at her side was steadily increasing the pace of its beeps.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," Shannon insisted as she tried to force her heart rate down. She laid her head back on her pillow in an attempt to hide the color rising in her face.

Ryan opened and closed his mouth, but nodded. "Alright then... See ya." He began to walk away again. At the door, the black haired trainer paused for a moment, glancing back over his shoulder before quietly slipping out.

Shannon watched him walk out of the room. Who knew how long it would be before she saw him again? Her heart raced. On a sudden impulse, she called out to him. "Ryan?"

"Hm?" Ryan poked his head back around the corner, a slightly confused look on his face at the sudden call. "What's up?"

Shannon blushed. Her words felt like they were stuck in her throat. For a moment that seemed to stretch an eternity she just sat there in silence, her mind raging in an internal debate. At long last, her voice managed to cooperate, working in tandem with her mouth to form comprehensible words. "S-stay safe..." she stammered, offering him a shy smile.

Ryan blinked slightly, but smiled with a nod. "I will. You too, 'kay?" He nodded again and disappeared around the corner once more, leaving behind a very anxious Shannon.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

 

Xander watched McKinley quietly. Sylph listened intently to Paul's thoughts and nodded, relaying the new plan to Xander. We would have to go somewhere that he wouldn't find us quickly.

 

The only places aside from Slateport were in the Kalos region. Xander hoped it didn't come to that. Maybe this guy did just want to chat with Ellen. She seemed to have found her footing in the conversation, now, so maybe things would go smoothly.

 

Still, Xander sent another thought, a question to Paul in an attempt to understand what was going on here. Is this guy a member of Team Rocket? And who is Ford?

 

IC: Belle - Laverre Nature Trail

 

Belle glared at the opponent's pokémon, strategies flying through her mind quickly. She had seen a set-up like this often enough. A dragon-type pokémon, such as the Druddigon that faced down Hemlock, and a pokémon that could learn fire and ice moves to counter dragon's two biggest weaknesses. That would be the Hitmonchan her opponent sported.

 

In theory it was a good combo, but it fell apart in practice. Dragon type was only ever resisted by steel type, and too many dragons could learn fire-type moves for that to be a good idea. Even without the type advantage, dragon moves held plenty of raw power to overcome this strategy.

 

"Alright," she said. "Ready?" When her opponent nodded, she grinned. "Buckthorn, make it rain." She issued no order to Hemlock. The Dragonair was more than capable of acting on her own for most battles. As the Goomy started twirling and singing, Hemlock wove around herself, small sparks of energy shooting off of her.

 

The ace trainer across from them issued his commands quickly. "Chan, get that Goomy out with an Ice Punch. Dudley, Draco Meteor on the Dragonair!"

As the Hitmonchan moved to close the gap, Belle whistled. Buckthorn threw up a Protect as the first drops of rain came down. The ice punch hit the barrier, shattering it, but did not contact the dragon type.

 

As for the Druddigon... He had actually had it tutored? Draco Meteor was a powerful move, one that Belle had been trying to teach Hemlock for years. As the opponent summoned the attack, Belle called out. "You can't tank that, Hem! Dodge what you can and hit him with a Dragon Tail!"

 

Hemlock nodded, twisting her body around and shooting forward. The space rocks came crashing down around them, with Hemlock narrowly twisting away from the worst ones. Even with her best efforts, some of the debris grazed her.

 

Nevertheless, she closed with the Druddigon. She pulled up quickly, lashing her tail like a whip across the other dragon's torso. The goliath roared in pain, stumbling back.

 

"Buckthorn, don't let that Hitmonchan hit you! Protect and dodge! If you see an opening, hit it with a Dragon Breath, but keep your distance!" The small dragon cried out its understanding, hopping back to put distance between itself and the fighting type.

 

Belle glanced back towards the other two combatants. They were acting autonomously now. Hemlock was weaving in and out, avoiding the worst of the damage the Druddigon was dealing. Whenever she saw a good enough opening, she hit with one of her dragon-type attacks. Mostly, she would lash with her tail; if she had the opportunity, she would use a Dragon Rush, slamming into her opponent and causing it to flinch.

 

The fight was going well until Buckthorn slipped. The wet grass tripped him up, and the Hitmonchan was on him in a flash. ice formed around its fist and the Goomy cried out as he went flying backwards from the force.

 

As Belle was checking to see if she needed to withdraw him, a shockwave ripped through the air. Hemlock screamed defiance as the Dragon Pulse hit her full force.

 

The battle was starting to go south. Belle would have to stop playing around.

[JiMing]

IC: Lachina/Mercury

 

Lachina smiled at Drew, and nodded. "Alright. I should be going now." she said, kissing his forehead. "Stay strong. I'll come back soon as I can." 
 

The Ranger exited Kiri's house, turning to Mercury. "Alright, we're supposed to be at the Pokemon Center. Aolani'll take us there. She's not going to murder you, I swear." Lachina told Mercury, and glared at the Altaria. She complied, and with Lachina putting on her flight goggles, they were off. Soon enough they were at the Pokemon Center, and below them, Lachina could recognize a certain Top Ranger.....

 

Mercury nodded to KIri. "We'll let you know how it goes." He then turned to follow Lachina out of the house.

 

He was hesitant, but went on the back of the Altaria after recalling Anubis. As they took off, he looked down. A burst of laughter escaped his throat as he saw the city from on-high. "You fly like this a lot?" He would need to get a flying-type. This was amazing.

 

Lachina smiled a knowing smile at Mercury's wide-eyed reaction of awe to flying high. Just like my first time flying.... she thought.

 

As they landed, Keith turned to watch them. He was in his mid-thirties, his auburn hair was mussed from the efforts of the day.. He removed his sunglasses, brown eyes crinkling with a smile towards Lachina. "Ranger Lachina Adaon, report." He squared his wide shoulders, powerful arms crossing over his broad chest.

 

Mercury slid off Aolani's back, standing aside to let Lachina talk.

 

After landing however, she got off Aolani's back, nodding at her superior. "Yes, Mr. Summerfield." she replied, and put a finger to her chin. "The situation hasn't changed much from the last report. Mercury's willing to aid us. However, one new detail has arisen... It turns out he possesses the ability to read aura, and manipulate his own." the Ranger added, looking to Mercury. "Could you please show Mr. Summerfield your list, Mercury?"

 

Keith raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's certainly a rare gift. Thank you for letting us know about it, mister... Mercury, is it?" He flashed a reassuring smile.

 

The silver-haired trainer nodded softly, pulling the paper once more from his pocket and passing it to the Top Ranger. Keith unfolded it, eyes scanning over it quickly. "When did you get this list?" he asked softly. Mercury shrugged.

 

"Like I told La- Miss Adaon, I woke up a month and a half ago with it in my pocket. I would assume that I got it before the avalanche in Snowpoint City." He shrugged again. "I'm not sure why I have the list, but I know what I want to do with it right now. The next attack is Two island in two weeks. I want to do whatever we can to stop it."

 

"I can't help but notice that you don't have the causes of the attack actually on here, but rather written in the margins." Keith raised an eyebrow. "So, whoever or whatever gave you this didn't bother to tell you how to actually stop anything."

 

"No, sir," Mercury said. He shook his head softly. "I can only assume that if we knew the exact details, it would change the course of it happening. We might stop it before it happens, and then somewhere else gets destroyed instead."

 

Keith nodded. "Lachina, what do you think of all this? Does it sound on the up-and-up?"

 

Lachina put a finger to her chin, and looked at Mercury. "....So far, I don't feel as though he's lying." she replied at last, turning to Keith. "But there's no way we can know for sure, right at this moment... And yet, we can't ignore the possibilities this could open up if it's true..."

The Ranger frowned, and looked to Mercury. "You do seem like you know what you're doing." she observed, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you remember -nothing-?"

 

Mercury shook his head, sighing. "No, ma'am. Before Fallarbor, just bits and pieces of my childhood. If I seem like I know what I'm doing, I'm just chalking it up to my mind being sharp from how I grew up." He locked eyes with Keith. "We have two weeks to act. I want to be there when they find out what's happening. I know you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me either. I nearly attacked a kid over a piece of paper, I'm claiming to not have memories, and I know what places are going to be attacked and when."

 

He sighed. "The fact of the matter, mister Summerfield, is that if you try to restrain me or stop me from going, I'll be forced to fight against you and make my own way to Two Island. Instead of focusing all our efforts on defense, we'll be fighting each other. I don't want that."

 

Keith frowned softly as the younger man talked about fighting and fleeing. "Well, you're right about that. We don't want you to fight against us." His solemn face broke into a grin and he winked at Lachina. "I think I'll just have to keep you under the observation of my best rangers while they investigate the situation. You met Aolani, so you know that my people have good, strong pokémon on their side." He rolled his neck. "Lachina, can you think of anyone who might be interested in accompanying Mercury to the Kanto region?"

Lachina put a finger to her chin, but ultimately sighed. "Not ringing a bell, I don't think really much of my friends made it to Sootopolis.. And anyone who did is probably occupied with clearing rubble and rescuing citizens." the Ranger replied, frowning. "I haven't been in contact with anyone else since I landed... Sorry, Mr. Summerfield. Perhaps we could contact an Operator, see if they can reach a Ranger who's open..."

 

Keith laughed for the first time that day. It felt good to be able to laugh right now. "Well, in that case, I'll just have to assign somebody. So, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to escort this young man to Two Island before the date on that piece of paper. I'll get you supplies for the trip. You leave tomorrow morning, first thing."

 

Mercury breathed a sigh of relief. He had expected the top ranger to put him through the grinder before even considering the mission, but the man seemed to understand the urgency of the situation. Keith continued speaking.

 

"For now, go get some rest at the Pokémon Center. I'll send someone by with provisions shortly."

 

Lachina chuckled slightly at how inept she appeared. "Alright. Thank you, sir." the Ranger said, and nodded. "Shouldn't be hard to get to Two Island if it's two weeks. It'll just be a matter of what to do when we're there...."

She turned to Mercury, putting a finger to her chin. "You still tired? Well we're going to be waiting outside the Pokemon Center, so if you need to snooze, you might have to find a wall to lean against."

 

Mercury stretched, rolling his neck softly. "I'll be fine for the trip. I might spar with Anubis a little bit while we wait." So saying, he pulled the ball off of his belt. "Oh, and by the way..." He hesitated, not entirely sure how to finish the sentence. "Thanks. For giving me this chance, I mean. I'm not sure I would trust me if I were you, given the circumstances."

 

Lachina looked back, seeming a bit surprised. "...Well uh, that's nothing." she mumbled, losing her professional edge in that moment. "I mean, there was the chance your info could prevent hurt and suffering. Why wouldn't I try to humor you?" the Ranger replied. 

She looked around at the ruined buildings, homes with memories and families destroyed, and sighed. "I always wanted to help. I thought it'd just be small stuff. Now, I have a chance to really make a difference." Lachina said, turning to Mercury. "And as long as you're willing to help too... Yeah. I'll trust you." 

 

Mercury smiled lightly, nodding. "Here's hoping. Get some rest, ranger. I'll just be over here." He gestured to an area by the water, well within view of the Center. "I'm going to see if I can still take my Lucario in a fight."He waved, heading down to the spot and releasing the aura pokémon from his ball.

 

Lachina smirked. "As much as I'd like to though, still can't sleep on the job. That'd just be plain unprofessional." she replied, though walked over to Mercury's suggested spot, and sat down. She kept an eye on the silver-haired trainer however, as it seemed he wanted to battle said Lucario one-on-one....

 

As they squared off, Mercury smiled softly to himself. For the first time in memory, he felt like things would work out. They would make it to Two Island in time to prevent disaster, and it seemed they had a companion who they could trust to have their back. True, she was also keeping a watchful eye on them, but that was no major problem.

 

As Anubis made his first move, Mercury allowed his smile to grow wider, a true expression replacing his usual blank or scowling features. Everything would be alright.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Belle

Belle "Nightshade" LaDonna had only actually lost a handful of battles in the thirteen years she'd been training. Those had all been towards the beginning of her career. She was not about to lose to some random chump out here.

 

"Hemlock, pull back, cover Buckthorn!" Instantly, the Dragonair was zipping away from her opponent, lashing him with a Dragon Tail in passing. As she neared the Hitmonchan, it spun to face her. It was forming ice around its fist, ready to strike.

 

"Buckthorn, now!" The small purple dragon launched forward, releasing a burst of hot air. The gust washed over the Hitmonchan, knocking it off balance and dissipating the ice around its fist. Bell lowered her horn, charging forward with a Dragon Rush attack.

 

As she hit, Buckthorn slammed into the fighting-type's legs. The opponent toppled over, landing hard on its back.

 

Belle's counterpart issued a command to his Druddigon. "Dudley, Dragon Pulse again!" As the opposing dragon opened its mouth, Belle issued her own orders.

 

"Buckthorn, protect! Hemlock, Twister!" The blast of energy shot towards them. Buckthorn pressed itself low to the ground. Hemlock looped around quickly, unleashing a tornado from the force of her movement. The enemy's Dragon Pulse hit the Twister. Belle knew that it wouldn't go through because of that Draco Meteor earlier. THe Druddigon wasn't at one-hundred percent power.

 

Sure enough, the two attacks cancelled out. Hemlcok was ready, rushing forward with her horn lowered once more. It sparked blue energy as she slammed into the Druddigon.

 

Caught off-guard, the opposing dragon staggered backwards. At the same time, the Hitmonchan was rising to its feet. Belle grinned.

 

"Buckthorn, Dragon Breath." The Goomy nodded, turning and unleashing another blast of air into the Hitmonchan's face. The fighting-type fell back, hitting its head on the ground.

 

One opponent down. The Druddigon wasn't looking too good, but both of Belle's pokémon had taken some severe damage as well. Still, she had the number advantage.

 

"Buckthorn, Body Slam. Hemlock, Dragon Tail." Buckthorn started to rush forward, shouting. Hemlock rose up, lashing out with her tail once more. She caught the Druddigon across the neck, whipping it around into Buckthorn's path.

 

The smaller dragon slammed into its opponent's gut, causing the Druddigon to fall backwards. Immediately, Hemlock whipped her tail forward, throwing the larger dragon into the ground, unconcious.

 

Belle grinned, calling her pokémon back to her. "Good job, you two." She looked to her opponent, smirking. The trainer nodded, returning his pokemon to their balls and fishing out a few bills.

 

Belle collected her money and walked away, cackling. Another easy win!

[Franco]

IC: Piedra's excitement was undiminished. It had simply transmuted from the anticipation of an angler with a bite to one who had hooked a shark.

 

A group for each mini-nose? Pokemon? The opposition was stepping up. Piedra had to play this carefully if it wanted to survive intact.

 

"Alacrity" was the watchword. It drew the two noses back in different directions, circling them toward the limit of its control. It waited a few seconds before flinging the final mini-nose into the mix, Discharging between both groups. Then it sent the others to sandwich the parties between the new and old, and moved itself farther back. The Pokemon-wielding search parties moved farther, coming a step closer to the noses, and then Piedra pulled another trick and moved everything back again.

 

It was holding them. It was unbearably "hot," threatening to erupt at any moment with the pent-up energy of both sides; each passing second was another step forward for the enemy, and a Probopass didn't have the speed to outrun its pursuers in a drawn-out race. But guided by magnetism, hidden by foliage, hindering and distracting its foes as much as it could without seeming an obvious trap, Piedra was holding them. It could hold a little longer.

 

Faintly, it wondered about its trainer.

 

...

 

Cero didn't remember what "cathartic" meant. Going by context alone, though, he guessed a good fit would be "suicidal."

 

He frowned. Not a good plan of attack. Yet the alternative was a back door, something that wasn't guaranteed to exist or be an easy find, something that would take time. They didn't have time. The Signs looked like they were leaving, and they'd probably want to take Kyle with them or get rid of him; meanwhile, Cero's team grew more endangered the longer it stuck its neck out to grab Kyle back. Did he want the mission to fail, or did he want to risk the life of someone he wanted to help? He couldn't phone a superior even if he wanted. He and Esen and Kyle and everybody here was too deep over his or her head. All he could do was fulfill the first priority. He could complete the mission.

 

"Take them," he stated reluctantly. At least Esen wanted this. At least it could only be a minute before Kyle was back on his feet.

 

At least...

 

"We'll catch up to you stat."

Edited August 3, 2015 by Stevens