Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"Look out!" Zoe cried. Esmeralda grimaced as the second wave of Bubbles hit her. Ignoring her dripping fur, she retaliated with a burst of Ember aimed at the tiny turtle, poised to jump to safety if another Bubble attack came her way. The Fennekin had already defeated Kammy once today, and she was confident that she could do it again.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Sitting down next to Zach, Olivia ate in tandem with him. "Yep, the garden is always a nice place to relax in." she said in between bites of food. After a while, her chewing slowed down as she frowned slightly. "Say, Zach.... Do you remember what was wrong last night?" she asked, still concerned about that.

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Interactions from the Seatons given approval already.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach frowned, as Olivia reminded him of that.

"Hm... No, I don't. I have no clue what happened there..." Zach said, feeling that something had to have happened, but had no clue what, as he took another bite of the food, as Aspen thought about the possible reasons for a bit.

"Could it be related to recent events?" Aspen suggested, having made the connection between the scream early that morning, the thing Zach had told them on their way to save Dahlia, and what Olivia had just said. Zach, however, looked at Aspen oddly.

"Huh? What recent events?" Zach asked, as so much had happened over the past week or so that it was just crazy. Aspen returned Zach's look, as if Zach had four heads.

"You know... Before Dahlia was kidnapped." Aspen said, annoyed that Zach didn't catch his drift. Zach shrugged in response, as he took another bite of food.

"Sorry, not following you." Zach said, though he had a suspicion that he didn't want to say or talk about, as Aspen just sighed exasperatedly, and held his head in his hands.

"Oh, I don't know..." Aspen said, as he looked up in disbelief that Zach didn't understand.

"Unova, maybe?!"

 

Zach's fork dropped to his plate quickly, as all three looked at him in shock. Zach said nothing in response, as he seemed to stare past Aspen. Everyone looked, but there was nothing there, and they looked back to Zach, Olivia noticing that his eyes seemed blanker than they had moments before.

"Huh?" Olivia asked, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Zach, are you alright...?" Zach didn't respond to the question at first, however, his mouth then began to slowly move.

"... Signal locked..." Zach began to mumble, as the air felt almost tingly.

"All signs nominal, power increasing... Teleportation sequence initiated..." Zach continued, almost mechanically, as Olivia turned, very concerned now, a worried look on her face.

"Zach?!" A subtle green glow surrounded the group, the bench they were sitting at, the nearby tree, and the Nincada that had wandered over in confusion, as Zach mumbled one final word...

"Activation." A grand crack sounded through the area, as the entirety of the area that had the glow vanished suddenly, the tree being the most unfortunate victim since it took the roots as well.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: "Ah shoot," the bard said as his violin playing grew erratic for a moment.

 

It was either get hit by the Aura Sphere, or try and dodge and get attacked by the Stealth Rocks, so at that point Richard cut his losses there and had Nyx cast Wish to lessen the damage overall.

 

Unfortunately for Kammy, the Fennekin was not Baccio's highest priority. The Rock-Type, with Claus' permission, decided to try and show the Squirtle what a Stone Edge felt like, charging in close with his boosted speed.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Sadly for Claus, Kamé was not going to be beaten that easily, and, in fact, played right into Colette's hands. Showing off her more athletic side, Kamé jumped up into the air as both attacks drew close, getting hit by the third option of the Stealth Rock, as she instead grabbed a hold of the pointy rock to allow the Stone Edge and Ember to begin to collide, hoping the Stone Edge actually hit Esmeralda and helped out there.

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo: In contrast the friendly wave that Sonja gave, Kyle merely threw a lazy, two-fingered salute in Ryan's direction. Shifting into a yawn, he glanced at Sonja and Ray. "Well, if that's where you two are headed . . ." He began to move in the same direction Ryan had gone. "I'll see you later."

 

"You don't want to come with us?" Sonja asked.

 

"No thanks," Kyle said, looking over his shoulder. "Between Vert, Sleight, and the Darkrai . . . Yeah, I'd say it's been a long day. Frankly, a shower, nap, and food are sounding pretty great right about now." He waved before turning back around. "Feel free to let me know if you guys decide to do anything else. Until then, later."

 

"Will do," Sonja called. Once he had moved out of earshot, she sighed. "Gotta say, he has a point . . ." Lifting her head up, the Liberty Agent looked at Ray, her expression brightening. "Regardless, helping out a friend is more important, so I can wait. Come on." She gestured. "The front desk is just over here."

 

So it was, given that they had entered the main lobby. A wide, rounded rectangular desk occupied the middle of the room, currently manned by four attendants each at one of eight different stations. Aside from their selves, Ray, and Sonja, only a dozen or so Team Liberty members, as well as a Separatist and Team Magma emissary, currently occupied the room, all of them split into their own individual groups and many of them in the midst of polite discussion.

 

Approaching the nearest secretary--a young, auburn-haired man--Sonja placed the fingers of one hand on the counter top. With the other, she produced her I.D. "Hi," she said. "Sonja Baron, field agent. I was hoping to temporarily check my friend here into a room, if that's possible."

 

After checking her identification, he nodded. "Of course," he said. Then, to Ray, "May I see your I.D., sir?"

 

IC - Kyle Eston - The Alamo: At the door of his room, Kyle paused, leaning against the door and yawning. He had not been joking when he had told Ray and Sonja that it had been a very long day; in all honesty, he could not remember the last time he had actually been as tired as he was now--eyes itching with the desire for sleep, virtually swaying on the spot as that same desire all but consumed him where he stood. Taking a moment to rub his eyes, he retrieved his key card from his bag, swiping it through the electronic keypad. The lock clicked, granting him access to the room.

 

Shutting the door gently behind him, Kyle threw his bag onto his bed, and then stretched where he stood. He unzipped his coat, placing it on his desk, and unclipped the seven Poké Balls from his belt. A moment later, seven lights flashed, materializing into his team. "Rest up, guys," he said to the assembled Pokémon. "You did good today." He moved around Sanshou and Kovian as they ran to take a spot on his bed, prompting a small smile to form on his lips. "Hopefully a few shadows are as bad as it gets for a while longer . . ."

 

Kyle, Suicune said. The Liberty Agent stopped at the bathroom door, placing a hand on the door frame and turning to face the Legendary Beast. We need to talk about that--and not just the Ancient. Between it, that Kane creature, and even the Shadow Admin of Kanto's distress . . . I cannot help but feel as if something terrible is on the horizon.

 

"I guess," he said, shrugging. "No one else seems very worried about it right now, though. I'm sure it can wait a couple of hours."

 

I really don't think that's the best idea, Suicune insisted. At the very least we should talk to your leaders--let them know what we've seen so that they can do something. She lowered her gaze. I do not know what is happening, but whatever it is, we must take measures to stop it now, before--

 

"I know, Sui," he interrupted. "Trust me--I know. It's just . . . I don't know what to make of any of it right now, all right? I really don't." He rubbed his eyes again. "Whatever's going on, we need to discuss it when I'm at my sharpest, and I'm not right now." He looked back at her. "So . . . Can you hold out until tonight or tomorrow?"

 

Suicune fell silent for a brief moment. Very well, she said, a hint of resignation in her voice. We'll talk about it when you've rested.

 

"Thank you," Kyle said, stepping into the bathroom. "In the meantime, you should get some sleep, too." She nodded, and he watched her take a spot at the foot of the bed before closing the door. Once it was shut, he sighed. "Suicune . . . I've got a bad feeling about everything, too . . ." Pushing the thought aside, he turned on the shower, and some time after found himself asleep under the covers of his bed, wholly refreshed yet still plagued in a fitful rest.

IC - Gavin Braner/Skye - Celadon Department Store: Gavin's search had, for the most part, proven fruitless. Though he had swept virtually the entirety of the fourth floor, he had found no traces of any other Team Zephyr members. Almost all of the stores had been trashed to some degree, sure, but none of them bore any signs of recent activity--presumably all of their damage had accrued during the initial takeover.

The thought caused him to stop in his tracks, mind lingering on those words: The initial takeover. Though they weighed heavily with their association with Team Rocket, and virtually begged for a dive into memories of what those first years of Team Rocket's reign had been like, Gavin instead found himself wondering how, exactly, a group of eight misfits had managed to take an entire building hostage--to the point where government agents had had to be called in to deal with them. He shook his head, lamenting the uselessness of the Celadon Police Force, when something caught his eye: A light emanating from a store across the way--a comic shop, from the looks of it.

Huh . . . Gavin stared at the place for several moments, and then began walking again. Chances were that someone else was there, even if that someone was not specifically a Zephyr agent.

He slowed down as he approached, taking care to move as quietly as possible. Grabbing a Poké Ball from his belt, he pressed his back against the wall to the left of the door, peering around the corner and into the shop. Gavin suppressed a smile as he saw one of his targets: A short, pony-tailed girl, busily riffling through boxes of comics. Every so often she would stop, and after letting out a sharp cackle or squeal of delight, would carefully remove one of the comic books--plastic sleeve and all--and put it into an open briefcase on a table next to her.

After watching this for several moments, the level of threat quickly falling with every passing second, Gavin's hand dropped back to his side. With almost apathetic movements, he stepped away from the wall and into the store. The girl did not seem to notice him, until he let out a loud cough. She stopped her digging, looking up at him in surprise. Then, to his surprise, she smiled, waving him over.

"Aha! Hello, there my friend!" she called. "Gavin, right? Good to see you again!" The girl turned her attention back to the comics. "Can you believe the collection they've got here? So tech, man! I've already found three limited editions--I can't believe they were hidden out in the open like that!"

"Uh . . . Right," Gavin said, approaching with a palpable air of confusion. How could this criminal be so darn friendly? "So you decided to . . . steal them. Shocking."

"What?" the girl exclaimed, clutching another comic to her chest. "I'd never! Look!" She pulled her wallet out of her pocket, producing several hundred-dollar bills. "See? I was going to pay for them. Thievery is not condoned by Crobatman, after all! Or Spinarak-Man. Or Hawlucha-Eye. Or Green Lanturn. Or the Human Torchic!"

 

Gavin stared at her in disbelief. "How do you have so much money on you, exactly?"

 

"My parents are rich," she explained. "They're both aero-engineers. Great pay--great allowance, too! 'specially for this kinda hobby--they're very supportive!"

 

"I see," Gavin said. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to be angry or annoyed or even irritable at this girl. He rubbed his chin. "Alright, look . . . uh . . .?"

 

"Skye," she said, holding out a hand. Gavin slowly shook it. "And you're Gavin, I remember that! Nice to meet you!"

 

"Right. Skye," he said. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me--you and your friends have done a lot of damage to this place, and a lot of people have been inconvenienced because of it."

 

"Aw, but I'm not done yet!" Skye cried. Gaivn shrugged in a weak attempt at indifference. "Hm . . ." She snapped her fingers. "How about this--let's have a battle! You win, I'll come clean, no problem. I win, I get ten more minutes in here and then I'll come with you. Deal?"

 

"That . . ." Gaivn paused. "Huh. That's actually pretty reasonable . . . Yeah, sure, why not?"

 

"Sweet!" Skye clapped her hands together. "Outside, then!" After ensuring her briefcase was secure, she navigated her way around the tables and boxes, leading the way out into the hall. Gavin stared after her for a moment, following soon after.

IC - Ethan Worth/Windy - Celadon Department Store: The numerous electrical devices crackled around Windy, a side-effect of her Rotom's presence. Radios echoed with static interference, television sets lighting up with the buzz of electrical white noise, gaming systems turning on and shutting off of their own accord. Altogether, the disturbances created a particularly eerie atmosphere around her, not at all helped by the lack of proper lighting in the store.

Still, she had to admit that it worked wonders in masking her footsteps. Though Rotom's presence acted as a clear signal for any that might have happened upon the place, the Electric-Flying-Type moved far enough away that it proved to be virtually a nonissue--it patrolled the front of the store while its trainer looked for a way out through the back. Unfortunately, that did little to help her comrades, whom she could only hope--foolish as they were--had found their own ways of escaping the department store.

Well, everyone except for Skylon, anyway. Everyone else had a Flying-Type, as per their theme, but he had simply had to be 'unique.' For that, Windy could not have cared less whether he escaped.

"Skyler, too," she muttered, involuntarily rolling her eyes at the mention of his name. "Stupid Skyler . . . This is all his fault."

"Gee, I don't know about that," a familiar voice called from one of the entrances. Windy stopped mid-stride, straightening up and turning to look behind her, a deadly scowl etched across her face. She squinted as the Rocket Agent flipped a light switch, allowing the flickering lights to illuminate the store. When her sight had adjusted again, she was greeted by the sight of the lead Rocket--whatever his name had been. "I mean, it was a joint deal, yeah? That kind of makes it your fault, too."

"Oh, great," she said, clapping her hands together. "Just the man I wanted to see again--good ol' Ethan, here to bring me to justice!" Windy dropped her hands to her side, sticking her tongue out at him. "As if. What do you want?"

"Oh, you know," Ethan said, stepping into the store. He immediately stepped back as Windy's Rotom unleashed an angry spark at him. "Chit-chat. I just thought it might be courteous to offer you a chance to surrender before we inevitably fall into the throes of battle."

"Pfft; surrender?" Windy shook her head. "As if. Only weaklings surrender, and trust me: I am no weakling."

Ethan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's the impression I got," he said, watching as the enemy Rotom floated back next to its trainer. "Ah well. Worth a shot, right?" He chuckled. "Ha--Worth. That's funny." Windy stared at him. "It's my last name."

". . . You have such a great sense of humor, you know that?"

"Hey, keep the shots confined to the battle, all right?" he said, pulling a pair of Poké Balls from his belt. "I'm just trying to keep things friendly here, after all."

"Friendly. As if," Windy said. She raised an eyebrow. "You want a double battle? I'm afraid you're at a major disadvantage here, Worth." She tossed a Poké Ball into the air, releasing another Rotom onto the field. "This entire store is Rotom's domain--you're not going to be able to beat something that can possess literally anything around you."

Ethan smiled. "Is that so?" he said. "Well . . . Challenge accepted."

IC - Jackson Sang/Sleight/??? - Chapel: A blip of light announced Sang's arrival at Chapel. Along with Tracer and their Alakazam transport, he appeared in the interim between the elevator and Sleight's actual office, where all guests waited to be called in to speak to the Shadow Admin of Kanto. Presently, those three were the only ones there, and that number quickly dropped to two as the Alakazam teleported elsewhere, returning to its duty. That did not concern Sang. What did catch his attention was what he could hear from where he stood: Two loud voices, those of Sleight and a woman, sounding from behind the closed door to Sleight's office. Muffled as they were, he could not hear exactly what was being said; however, one thing was clear: Sleight was arguing with someone.

"Wonder who that could be?" Tracer whispered, assuming a palette-swapped mimicry of Sang's appearance. "And what they're fighting about . . . Sounds important."

Sang shrugged. "Who knows?" he said. "But, you're right--Sleight never yells, so whoever this is must be pretty close to the center of the loop. That, or someone royally screwed up." He closed his eyes and pressed his ear against the door. "My guess is it's related to the kid. Still, let's see if we can't actually hear what's going on . . ."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Suddenly reappearing after Zach took them on a teleportation trip, the family staggered and looked around. "Wh..... What happened?" Aspen muttered, looking around. "Where are we?"
"I-I'm not sure....." Dahlia responded, equally nervous, with Olivia silently looking back at Zach.

"You two are being stupid." Aria interjected. "Don't be stupid. Think."

"Aria?!" Aspen said indignantly.

"Look," she sighed. "It all started the moment you flapped your mouth open and said 'Unova'. It triggered a sort of reaction in Zach, likely programmed in by an outside force unless his hobby is talking in robo-speak. What kind of reaction? Well, we are in an unfamiliar location, things glowed green for a moment, I'd say teleportation is the likely candidate." Aria finished, crossing her arms. "Honestly, that wasn't difficult to figure out at all, you just need to try instead of looking around slack-jawed." the Lucario finished while Aspen stood there flabbergasted.

"Zach?" Olivia said. ".....You alright there?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

"Sure, here you go..." Ray said, with a slight hint of nervousness, as he pulled out his ID and handed i to the receptionist quickly.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach groaned, as he slowly raised his head up from the picnic table, gripping his head.

"Ow, my head...." Zach complained, as he shivered slightly, and then paused, and looked up, noticing a definite slight temperature change, and then paused, as he looked around and noticed they were in some sort of ruins or something.

"Where are we...?"

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"Esmeralda, quick! Wish!" Zoe shrieked as the Stone Edge barreled through the Ember attack, dispersing the flames around it. The Fennekin closed her eyes, getting the Wish out moments before the rock hit her in the face, sending her tumbling backward and landing in the grass with a thud. "Oh no!" Zoe cried. Esmeralda could only lay there, stunned, waiting for the Wish to take effect.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Hmm, who to target? Richard thought now that Nyx had a moment to herself.

 

Baccio did not like being used the way he had been, and prepared a Rock Blast to attack Kamé with.

 

Richard decided while Kamé was the biggest target overall, the Roggenrola was the biggest target at that moment.

 

"Growl," the Bard said softly over the music of the violin.

 

As the Roggenrola managed to fire four blasts at the Squirtle, he felt that each one was for some reason weaker than normal.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette winced, as the first rock knocked Kammy off the Stealth Rock, causing two bits of damage, but sending the rest of the blasts off target, as Kammy twisted, and fired off a Water Gun at the already-slightly winded Esmeralda, Colette giving an apologetic smile to Zoe, as Kammy turned to face the Roggenrola again, finding this a rock which was also a hard place.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan stumbled slightly, as he shook his head, and frowned at the city before them. So much had happened in the past little while, and there were still signs of the recent huge battles that had taken place. The construction crews were hard at work, and most things that weren't damaged badly were still open; and luckily, that included the Department Store.

"Alright then, let's go." Ryan said, retrieving his new Natu, as he entered the department store, not having been inside it in years. As he stepped inside, Ryan gasped, a look of shock on his face at the renovations that had been made to the store in the past few years... No longer was it plain looking and greyscale; now it had a totally new design, and many new sections to it. Ryan noticed a spot for pokedolls, and some for many different types of Pokeballs, and wondered what else the place might have now.

 

"Stones, get your rare stones here! Sweet deal going on right now, one stone free with every visit!" A nearby peddler yelled out, which unnerved Ryan as he continued through the store.

Why is that guy going to such trouble for mere stones?? Ryan thought with a sigh, as he shook his head, noticing a section for evolution stones that he would have to check out later. Right now, however, he was getting odd stares because of his unintended dunking earlier, which meant that he needed to get to the clothing department sooner than later. Ryan quickened his pace, stepping into the section as he noticed an odd person stepping out of it.

"... Runs in the family, huh?" Ryan heard, and as he turned to see what that was all about, the odd person had vanished.

Runs in the family?? What does? Ryan wondered with a frown, as he shrugged it off, and continued on his way to the men's clothing section.

 

"Hmm... That doesn't look good." Anna said with a shake of her head, as Ryan's eyebrow twitched.

"That's been the tenth outfit so far..." Ryan muttered, as the Natu hopped to her other foot.

"Heeeey, don't blame me that you have bad taste in outfits." Anna retorted, as the Natu likely would have shrugged if she had shoulders.

"This will be the last one, and that's that..." Ryan mumbled, as he quickly changed into another outfit, which caused Anna to be intrigued.

"Now that's not bad." Anna said, as Ryan was dressed in a long large-shouldered jacket, a black and dark blue tanktop, a pair of fingerless gloves, dark blue jeans, black combat boots, and a blue tie-up headband. Ryan had a confident smile on his face, as he nodded.

"I can definitely see myself in this sort of outfit." Ryan chuckled, as he picked up the old clothes, and went to pay for the new ones.

 

On his way out of the store, Ryan paused and looked over at the stone guy from before.

"I'm going to regret this, likely..." Ryan sighed, as he walked over to the guy, and tried to buy a Leaf Stone for his Pansage; however, the seller kept trying to talk Ryan's ear off while the black haired trainer just wanted to end the conversation.

"You don't understand, this is a very important stone!" The guy said, eying the Tyranitar that was contained in the pokeball on Ryan's belt.

"I don't care whether it's the God Stone, I just want the Leaf Stone." Ryan said, getting exasperated with the stone guy.

Why won't this guy listen to me and just take the stone...? The guy 'said', and Ryan shook his head.

"Because it simply looks like a normal round polished stone." Ryan said, and the guy's eyes widened, as he just shoved the two stones into Ryan's hands without even accepting payment for the Leaf Stone, and began to pack up his shop, leaving Ryan confused, as he walked out of the store.

 

"... Hello? Is this Caitlin? He appears to be awakening..."

[Parugi]

OOC: ... I hope that's not a Mega Stone I see. :3

 

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo: The receptionist took a few silent moments to look over the card, before handing it back. "All right, Mr. Hakuda," he said, typing the name into his computer. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a card key, handing it to Ray. "Room 214, down that way." He pointed over his shoulder toward a hallway.

 

"Thanks a ton, sir," Sonja said. With a look to Ray, she began to walk toward the hall. "See? That wasn't hard. That room's more in the direction of Kyle's, though, so I'm going to have to abandon you before you get there so I can get back to mine--it's in a completely different direction. Sorry about that."

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

"Esmeralda, watch out!" Zoe cried.

 

The Fennekin wearily picked her head up, her body beginning to softly glow as her Wish started to heal her. The healing had barely begun, however, when Kammy's Water Gun struck her with the force of a bullet. Esmeralda tumbled through the grass, coming to rest at the base of a nearby tree.

 

Zoe gasped as she quickly came to the realization that the tree was outside the unofficial border of the battlefield. This had the unfortunate effect of triggering one of the Stealth Rocks. Cold and uncaring, the sharp rock twisted around to face the Fennekin, then hurled itself at her.

 

"Esmeralda!" Zoe screamed, fumbling for her Pokéball. She managed to recall the fainted fox a split second before the stone buried itself in the base of the tree with a sharp crack. Zoe dropped to her knees with a sigh. She made the best pouting face she could muster at her sister, but it didn't last for long. She couldn't help but cheer Kammy and Collie on as the battle continued.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette looked over in shock as the attack had knocked Esmeralda farther back than she expected, but then sighed in relief as Zoe recalled her Fennekin in time.

Now to focus on the Roggenrola for sure...

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

When everyone had finished eating and packing up the campsite, the group set off through the cave known as Oreburgh Gate. There was a strange lack of Pokemon throughout, so the only distractions came from Pikachu's and the other Pokemon's attempts at stealing Jake's hat, of which most attempts failed. Finally, the group emerged from the dark cave, and gazed upon Oreburgh City.

 

"Yes! We finally made it!" Jake exclaimed as they exited the cave. Pikachu had gotten tired earlier on, so he was resting in his Pokeball.

[Ehksidian]

IC:

The sun was blinding. Blindingly bright. Blindingly brilliant. Grossly incandescent.

Arius emerged from the cave, covering his eyes, holding two pokeballs in one hand- he had gotten Eyes and Hexcalibur back in after they had set out from the campsite. Slowly, slowly, Arius lowered his hand from his eyes, to look at their destination.

"Whoa."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

When Zach started speaking normally once more, Olivia breathed a quick sigh of relief, before going to think of Zach's question. "....I think Aspen said Unova, before, we uh...."

"At least ONE of you is trying to think." Aria sighed, throwing her hands up, exasperated. "Of course we're in Unova, where else would we be? A dazzling four story mall?" she scoffed, looking around. "I'm not doing any more of the thinking, evidently you all need to practice your thought capabilities."

Aspen sighed while his Pokemon gathered around him, all walking forward. Seeing something, Aspen paused and his eyes widened. "Uh, guys? I think you might wanna see this...."
"Huh?" Dahlia said confusedly, running over to Aspen. "You mean..... Oh." she stammered, looking at memorial of sorts.
Olivia looked over as well, pausing. Suddenly she released Amethyst. "Please take this table back to the house, please." she said flatly, sweating, seeming unable to take her eyes off the memorial.

"Of course..." the Gardevoir muttered, sensing Olivia was filled with conflicting emotions. "....I'd assume you'd like the tree back too?"
"Mm-hm yep...." Olivia responded, still gazing at the memorial....

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Stepping out as well, Ruth covered her eyes and blinked hard for a moment, but shrugged it off soon. "Oreburgh, huh? Have to say, looks nice even for being a dusty mining city." she said, scanning the area. "Is there anything you guys wanted to do, maybe buy something before heading to the Gym? I'm fine myself. Even if you do have anything you wanna do, I'm kinda impatient, so...." she chuckled

Following her was Caliburn, the ever loyal Aegislash. Locke and Fuerte had been recalled for attempting to make mischief, which the ghostly sword and shield appreciated. He couldn't say much about the other two's Pokemon right now, but his two other partners always seemed to do everything in their power to annoy him. Caliburn rolled his eye. At least they were at the next destination, where a challenge awaited all three....

Edited June 20, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Ehksidian]

IC: (Arius Jacobson)

"I...still need to buy some camping supplies and food. Where's the nearest Pokemart?"

Edited June 20, 2014 by Ehks

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"I'll help too." Blade said, releasing himself quickly to help Am teleport the stuff back, before Zach had a chance to react.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked, uneasy about what was on the monument, as he noticed everyone was... acting odd, after having seen whatever the monument said. Zach had a bad feeling about it, especially since Olivia looked shaken up over whatever she had seen, and Zach uneasily took a step forward, and then slowly looked at what the monument had to say. A chill fell over Zach, as he just stood there, feeling as if he was the only one there. He visibly paled, as he read the words, and then re-read them. Zach's eyes started to water, blurring the number present, but not helping in making it go away. Zach swayed slightly, feeling utterly light-headed, as he fell to his knees.

"... No... No, no, no, no..." Zach whispered, as he realized exactly where they were now; why there was an almost pokeball-like pattern on the ground around them. Why everything was in ruins. Why he now felt as if he just wanted to faint.

"Why... why here...? Why... Is this a joke...? Is this real!?" Zach asked, looking distraught, as he lost the fight against the urge to just cry, as the weight of the words finally sank in; even as Zach placed his hands on the ground to try and somehow support himself, slowly losing the will to keep himself up in any way.

 

"South-east Unova memorial. Confirmed death toll: 1,015,453. May the weight of all this never happen again."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

As Zach broke down and went onto the ground, Olivia bent down to pat his shoulder reassuringly, but did not say a word, still focusing on the memorial as well. Amethyst sighed once more, sensing an influx of emotions from everyone present. Shock, sadness, disbelief, the whole spectrum was there. Silently, she teleported back to the Seaton's home, taking back the picnic table.

"....Dahlia?" Aspen began slightly fearfully, barely audible as well. "...I think we should go home too. Without Zach."
"H-Huh?!" Dahlia exclaimed, though she tried to to it in a quiet tone. "How could you want to leave Zach behind?" she said, indignant at Aspen's current attitude towards Zach.
"He's dangerous." Aspen said coldly, looking at the numbers. "Over a million deaths, Dahlia. A million. Anyone with that sorta power....." Aspen shook his head. "And we don't even know why we were brought here. It's not safe around him."
Dahlia stared incredulously at Aspen, before speaking again. "B-But.... Zach's our friend! He's a good person, what happened here wasn't his fault, wasn't it?" she challenged. "If something is wrong, we have to stand by him."
"It's not safe!" Aspen snapped, breathing hard afterwards. "....Don't remember, you've been gone for over six months. Alistair isn't near Zach's level, and still I wasn't able to stop him....." he breathed, voice shaking. "....I don't want to lose you again, so please... We have to get out of here, now."

Dahlia was silent for a moment, looking down. "Aspen.... I-I appreciate how concerned you are for me, but this... This is too much. What happened here those months ago wasn't Zach's fault. He is our friend, and I will not leave him behind." she declared.

"Those numbers." Aspen began, pointing a shaking finger at the memorial. "Those were people. And what's left of them? A number...." Aspen growled and hanging his head down. "Those people, they were brothers, sisters, friends..... There were people who cared about them..... I-I just cant let you get added onto some total....." he muttered, tearing up.

Wrapping her arms around her crying brother, Dahlia closed her eyes. "....Aspen, you're entirely right. Those people who died had loved ones, dreams, hopes.... And they were taken all too soon.... But don't forget," she began "Zach didn't handpick any of them to die, and if you look over, he's feeling.... I don't know how to describe how much sadness he's feeling...." she muttered, squeezing Aspen again. "He knows the weight of what happened, probably even better than we ever could. So how can we blame him? And even if anything happens again...." she paused for a moment. "I promise I'll stay with you."
Aspen looked over at Zach and instead of a world-destroying force of nature, he instead saw a broken, shivering teenager. Afterwards, he closed his eyes and returned the hug, hoping that promise would be kept.

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Glancing around and stepping forward, Ruth reached into her backpack and drew out a map. "Uhh well, we're over here, and the Poke Mart is there...." she muttered, looking over at him. "You know, you probably could have, I dunno, bought all the stuff you needed before traveling?" she said with a chuckle. "Would've made your life easier, that's for sure."

Edited June 21, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Ehksidian]

IC:

Arius shrugged. "I have the money to buy the stuff, at least."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach somehow managed to not just fall the rest of the way to the ground, and instead, curled up slightly, Olivia's hand allowing him to not be quite as tense; right up until Aspen started talking about how dangerous he was.

... I am, aren't I...? That was my fault... If I hadn't been so weak, then Kyurem wouldn't have gotten a hold of my mind, and... Zach started to think, as footsteps rang out through the area.

"My, my; is this really how the great 'Hero of Will' spends his time? In a ball on the floor? It's no wonder things turned out how they did." A voice cut through Zach's thoughts, and Zach turned his head and looked up through blurred eyes, as he saw a middle aged man and woman standing behind them. The woman had a pink dress, and the man looked almost like a butler, Zach noticed as he dried his eyes.

"Who are you...?" Zach asked shakily, as he tried to stand up slowly, stumbling as he fell back to the ground, catching his fall with his right hand, wincing as he did so.

"Huh... I would have expected someone to have informed him of me..." The woman quietly said, as the man sighed with a dramatic motion, as he placed his hand on his face.

"I guess it would to be expected, after everything else they never mentioned." The man said, and then smiled confidently at Zach.

"My name is Darach, and this is my companion, Caitlin. I believe that you were sent on a wild goose chase because of her."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Once the butler spoke up, Olivia looked over curiously. "Wait... You've met Zach before, huh?" she pondered, before frowning. "Darach, Caitilin? I think I might've heard of you before....."
"Darach is head of the Battle Castle, Caitilin one of the Unova Elite Four." Aspen spoke up, adjusting his glasses. "I've read about you to before. Also helps I live in Olivine."
"Elite Four and Battle Castle, huh?" Dahlia spoke, straightening her back and nodding. "It's a pleasure to meet you two, I'm Dahlia, these are my siblings, Aspen and Olivia." she said, nodding to both of them when saying their names. "Uh, how did you find us here?" she asked confusedly.

"Oh no no no," a female voice rang out, Aria walking over slowly and shaking her head. "You there, what in blazes are you doing?" the Lucario sighed at Caitilin. "Doing a great job of trumpeting your abilities there with that hair of yours, might as well have stuck a note saying 'I'm a Psychic!' on your forehead. Taking all the fun out of deduction, thanks a lot." she sighed in an annoyed tone to the Elite Four Member. "As for you.... A butler, how quaint. Or so it seems." Aria said with a smirk. "No, you look the part, and carry your back straight, but I see the ends of your lips are perpetually stuck in a smirk, the way you adjust your glasses during your speech and the glint in your eyes, you have much more confidence than any ordinary butler ought to." she said with a grin. "The real whammy is that you called Caitilin your 'companion', rather than say, mistress or lady or whatever REAL butlers say. Of course, I wouldn't expect any less from the leader of a facility called the Battle Castle." the Lucario finished with a grin

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"Okay, you had the money." Ruth started. "Then why didn't you spend some of that money and actually started off prepared for your journey?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

"Hey, no worries." Ray said with a chuckle.

"At least I have this to help me out." Ray said, holding up the key with the number on it, and then paused for a moment, as he frowned in a confused sort of way.

"Say... Did Ryan seem a little... off, to you today?" Ray asked, recalling the different things that had happened.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[Ehksidian]

IC:

"...I have no idea myself, honestly. I probably thought it wouldn't be that far to go." Arius sighed. "Better late then never, at least."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Darach smiled at that in response.

"How astute you all are. Including that one interesting observation from your Lucario..." Darach said with a slightly smug grin, as he adjusted his glasses as well. Caitlin nodded in response, a hint of a smile on her face for a moment.

"You are all correct about who we are." Caitlin said, a glint on her finger giving a second hint.

"However, we have not personally met Zach." Caitlin corrected, frowning slightly.

"Maybe if I had, then things wouldn't have ended as they did..." Caitlin said, as Zach struggled to try to get to his feet again.

"Why? Wasn't that your prophecy...?" Zach asked, obviously a bit bitter, as Darach chuckled coldly.

"Gee, for a hero of Will, you sure give up easily." Darach stated, which prompted Zach to look away for a moment.

"How about this; if you battle us, we'll explain just what happened." Darach said, and Zach frowned, but sighed.

"I can't battle with only three Pokemon that can fight..." Zach admitted, not sure what to do.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Olivia looked over once Zach made his comment, looking back at Caitilin and Darach. "I could fill in another spot, even the odds." she suggested.

"Good luck." Aria laughed. "The most you're likely to accomplish is giving those two a chance to stroke their inflated egos."

Ignoring the Lucario's words, Olivia watched as Amethyst teleported back with everyone's bags. "Thanks, hey Am, we're gonna be fighting these two it seems. Think you're up for it?"
"Those two, hm?" the Gardevoir said, examining their future opponents. "A psychic and a butler.... If it weren't beneath me, I'd make a joke of them walking into a bar." she said with a smirk. "Oh, and I wont complain if there's a battle to be fought." Amethyst finished, eyes flashing purple for just a moment.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach looked over at Olivia in surprise, but then smiled, as he nodded. Zach attempted to use Olivia's shoulder for support, still not feeling entirely stable on his feet, as he was still a bit queasy from the sheer impact of what had happened, but he was able to fight still.

"Alright then." Zach said with a small smile, as he focused on Darach and Caitlin, and nodded to Blade to appear for their side, to complement Amethyst.

"Well, well. This is quite the turn around from our last fight, huh?" Blade mused to Am with a slight smile, and then frowned, as another Gallade appeared on the field, under the control of Darach.

"Really?" Blade mumbled, but sighed, as the Gallade realized that this might not be as bad as he figured, especially as Caitlin sent out a Metagross.

"Alright. Let's start." Caitlin said, as the Metagross shot forward before either could react, and slammed into Blade with the speed of a bullet, and forced Blade to dig into the ground to not fly across the ruins. Meanwhile, Darach's Gallade ran forward, trying to use a Leaf Blade on Amethyst for the first blow.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Olivia once more let Zach lean on her for support, as Aspen and Dahlia looked on. "You know what to do, Am!" she called out, leaving the Gardevoir to her own devices.

 

Upon hearing that, Amethyst folded her arms and closed her eyes as Darach's Gallade rushed at her with Leaf Blade. Before the blow could connect, she had already teleported to the side, sending a Will-O-Wisp at Gallade, then at Metagross. "Go on, make the mistake of underestimating me." the Gardevoir challenged.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Darach raised an eyebrow at the move as the Gallade was hit, but slowly nodded.

"Commendable." Darach said, as the opposing Gallade moved quickly, and then seemed to have duplicated itself, as both dashed toward Am quickly, both sets of arms glowing with dark energy, as one paused, and then sliced out behind itself right before it actually got to Am.

 

Meanwhile, the Metagross was unfazed by the Will-o-Wisp's burn effect, and simply launched off a Shadow Ball at Blade, catching Zach's Gallade off guard again; however, this time, the other Gallade dashed forward, teleporting behind the Metagross before launching off a multitude of punches at it. The Metagross took the punches, and a lot of damage, however, it whirled around with a hammer around, and sent Blade flying; the Gallade bouncing off the ground, and then laying there for a moment, winded from the attack.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

"Come on Am, keep it up!" the trainer encouraged Amethyst, impressed so far at her actions.

Meanwhile, Amethyst stood her ground against the duplicate Gallades, bracing herself. Before the Night Slash could connect however, the Gardevoir's eyes flashed purple as she launched off a Psychic blast.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: (Jamie... finally)

 

The Water Pulse was intercepted by the Marowak, who while certainly not appreciating the attack, took it far better than the Camerupt would. The Rhyperior responded to the Clauncher’s attack by launching five full Rock Blasts towards the group. Tristan moved in front of the Clauncher and shielded the group from the attacks.

 

Alright, Jamie had to admit, this one is going to be a tougher battle than I thought… A lot tougher…

 

As the Donphan and the Sandslash moved to strike Tristan, Jamie looked around to see where they could hole up to regroup.

 

“Into the kitchen!” Jamie shouted while pointing, and wasted no time ushering them all into the kitchen.

 

With the Metagross guarding the entrance, the two and their team entered the room. The Clauncher and Slowpoke took the Metagross’ place, who had been hurt by the Ground-Types’ repeated bashing and was getting healed by Audinaga. Even with the… eccentricities of both Pokemon, their blasts of Water Pulse through the only entrance proved to deter them enough for the moment, (though no telling when they would decide to make a new entrance). They had a brief moment of respite during which the Rocket Agents took an equally brief look around the room. In the middle of the room was something that caught both of their eyes. It was a table, but on the table was a large rectangular prism covered by a white blanket. From the blanket, they could hear what sounded like Pokémon cries, though muffled.

 

“What’s under there?” Lucia asked somewhat surprised.

 

Jamie took the blanket off to reveal a tank full of water. Inside the tank, there were five Pokemon, three Shellders, and two Clamperls. They looked as if they calling out loudly and upon seeing Jamie and Lucia, began shaking about rapidly as if in distress.

 

“…Was this restaurant… going to serve Pokémon?!” Jamie yelled, in her surprise.

 

The Metagross went closer to the tank and began listening to their calls.

 

They’re begging for you to save them...wait, one of them seems to be demanding in a very harsh tone for you to save him, or he will cook you into the dish that the foolish mortals tried to cook him into.

 

“…What?”

 

…I don’t know

 

“…moving on…” Jamie said flatly. But as she thought for a moment, a smile came to her lips, “I have an idea… Lucia can you bring those carts over here? Tristan will you tell them something for me?”

 

Outside at the moment, Skylon was feeling particularly good, and a little smug as he pet his favorite Steelix.

 

“Is that all you got, enjoy hiding in there!” Skylon yelled (though it was actually kind of hard to tell with food coming out his mouth), now fully confident that he had the upper-hand. All he had to do was wait for the agents to come out, or enough time for his compatriots to get away.

 

With those words still echoing, Tristan burst out of the room, pulling two large serving carts into the room, with the tank placed firmly on them.

 

“Welcome to the Chateau Defeat-e! Our special today is pain. But first, have some complementary water!” she said with a smile, playing the part of the waitress, before sending a signal to the Pokemon now waiting in the tank.

 

Four of the five water type Pokemon currently in the tank unleashed a volley of three Water Pulses and one Icicle Spear, with only one of the Shellders for some reason did not let loose a Water type attack (that one’s shell, is it cracked, Jamie thought?), which struck the Camerupt directly on the face, doing major damage to the Fire-Ground type. The Camerupt nearly made a recovery however, when Tristan lanched a Zen Headbutt straight to its face. And with that it collapsed on the ground. The Marowak rushed in with Bone Rush intent on avenging his fallen comrade. The Metagross guarded with his forelegs against the onslaught, which the Marowak was certain it was doing major damage with, but to its surprise the Metagross looked perfectly fine afterwards and countered with Meteor Mash, launching the Ground Type back, silently thanking the two healers who had been striking him with Heal Pulses during the Bone Rush assault.

 

Skylon was shocked, Jamie was pleased, as she looked towards the tank, doing a quick role call she saw something odd.

 

“Wait, we are missing one,” she said noting that Clara was where she expected one more Shellder.

Near the entrance to the kitchen, the Slowpoke was slowly walking out back to the battlefield, when a Shellder latched on to its head.

 

Hahahaha, I shall take this one to be mine! Tristan heard from the Shellder as he turned his attention for a moment.

 

Upon clamping on to the Slowpoke’s head the combination, the Shellder seemed to begin laughing (maniacally maybe?) before suddenly the two Pokemon began to glow in conjunction with each other. The Slowpoke began to stand up the transformation was complete. Where once the Slowpoke was, a Slowking now stood.

 

Power, such power! the crown of the new Slowking began to shout as it began to lift up various objects around the room with Psychic. At least it did until the Slowking bashed the crown against the wall of the restaurant.

 

Will you please shut up for a single moment? I’ve done nothing but hear you shout above everyone else since we entered that room.

 

Tristan was extremely surprised to hear Grummore speak out loud with telepathy. Or smash the crown into the wall so suddenly. So much so, that he too distracted to see the Steelix move into action, grabbing the Metagross with his tail, and pulling it outside to deal with it personally.

 

Grummore, began moving his hands around, getting used to now being a bipedal creature. The one thing he noticed more than the new purposes of his forelimbs was how fast he felt. Not his physical speed of course, but his own mental processes. Before it felt as if he could never quite be in the moment. Now the actions before him felt like they were moving in slow motion.

 

The Slowking decided he could now tell Jamie his true feelings on being captured, buuut there was something more pressing to deal with first. The Slowpoke quieted the din of former Shellder on his head, as he calculated all the positions of the combatants in the area. He then launched a Water Pulse, striking the Donphan that was about the strike the tank while Jamie was awestruck.

 

“Jamie, focus!” Lucia yelled as the Rhyperior launched four Rock Blasts at them, only for them to be deflected by a Psychic from Grummore.

 

Meanwhile, the shell of the Shellder who did not act became cracked even more.

 

Snapping back into the present, Jamie shook her head. They needed to finish this battle quickly in order to make sure all of the agents would be caught.

 

“Do you guys know Whirlpool?” she asked of the Clamperls and the Shellders and received a nod from a Clamperl.

 

“Then use it now, bring them all together!” she said receiving nods from all four.

 

From the take came a flood of water that filled the floor of the restaurant, causing a current which pulled at the four opposing Pokemon. Even Grummore from his position felt as if he was going to be pulled, so he took a step to his right, onto a chair and then onto the counter of the bar.

 

Skylon and all four (save the Rhyperior) of his still standing Pokemon scrambled to get out of the water and onto something sturdy, but felt a Psychic pull them back into the water, save for the increasingly distraught Skylon who was ignored and the Rhyperior who was too heavy for the Whirlpool to pull as long as he could fight it.

 

With a sound of one final loud crack, the Shellder who had till now not acted, suddenly launched into the rising water levels from where Jamie and Lucia (the latter had recalled her Pokémon save Clara and climbed onto a four foot counter with Jamie) and with astounding speed suddenly slashed the Rhyperior's feet with Razor Shell sending the last present member of Skylon’s team onto its back into the water, being pulled along by the quickening current.

 

All four of them were carried to the center of the room, being trapped by the force of the several Whirlpools being combined into strong whirlpool that rendered them momentarily helpless.

 

“Alright, unleash everything you’ve got!” she yelled to all the Pokémon in the room.

 

Between the volleys of water type attacks coming from the tank, the pulses of water from the Slowking, and the one Shellder that now seemingly gliding across the water, slashing at the quartet, and the tremendous pressure they were feeling from the Whirlpool, the consciousness of each of the Ground-Types began slipping away, before one the Rhyperior tried to launch one last Rock Blast, when Grummore blasted him with one final Psychic blast.

 

The battle was now down to the Steelix and the Metagross, as the other parties rushed outside of the restaurant were the final battle was now taking place.

 

The Steelix for the moment seemed to be having the upper-hand. Stealth Rocks were scattered around, to limit the Metagross’ ability to dodge. The Steelix was also doing moves that made use of its large body to force the Metagross to choose between being crushed by its massive size or being struck by the Stealth Rocks littered everywhere. The Metagross on the other hand only had been able to try and attack once, and surprisingly the Steelix had proved it could also dodge despite its large weight. So the Metagross had been forced to bide its time as the Steelix kept trying to crush it with Gyro Ball. However the Metagross remained calm at the moment, as it dodged another attempt to crush it, only to be pelted by more rocks, as he felt he only needed to dodge for a little longer. The Steelix finally made a mistake as the Gyro Ball slowed down, with the tail slowing down right next to Tristan, where the Metagross finally caught a hold of its tail. Moving as quickly as possible, before the Steelix could try and shake him off, Tristan climbed the tail of the Steelix and held on to its head.

 

Tristan began bashing on the head of the Steelix with Hammer Arm, while the Steelix struggled in vain to shake the Metagross off. Each time the Steelix swung its head, the Metagross held on with all of its might. When the Steelix tried bashing the Metagross into the walls and the ceiling, the Metagross adamantly refused to budge. Instead it just kept bashing on the Steelix’s head with his forelegs until the Steelix could not take anymore. And with a final roar, the Steelix collapsed.

 

Jamie took a deep breath and sighed in relief that it was now over. The Metagross turned to her and saluted, to which Jamie smiled. She knew he could do it. And then she took a moment to look at Grummore. He had certainly blown away all expectations she had about him during the course of the battle. She thought about how to repay him later.

 

Until of course she heard faint footsteps behind her of a certain defeated Zephyr agent now trying to escape. That lasted for about two seconds. Then Skylon was tackled to the ground by a couple of mad Shellder and Clamperl.

 

“How’d you get them to help us by the way?” Lucia asked coming over to her.

 

“I told them, Skylon was the one who was going to have them cooked.”

 

“…” Lucia was silent for a moment as she watched the two Shellder and Clamperl beat on the man. “Should we help him?”

 

“…I suppose we should, Tristan can you call them off?”

 

I’ll do my best… the Metagross said before separating the Zephyr agent from the angry Bivalve Pokemon before he received any serious injuries.

 

“I suppose we should heal him too. Grummore," she said as the Slowking walked closer to them, "could you use Heal Pulse and Disable on him?”

 

And with only the delay of reluctance and the shell on his head not wishing to help, the Slowking sent two waves to the Zephyr agent, healing him of any injuries sustained at the hands of the angry bivalve Pokemon, as well as stopping him in tracks. While the agent was glad from the relief of the first, he would appreciate being able to move his back.

 

Jamie was gonna have to get used to the Slowking doing things now.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Claus Von Minun the 4th

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach groggily watched, as the psychic blast hit the Gallade; taking it by surprised, as it was sent flying back by the Psychic burst. The burn and damage was slowly eating away at its health, but it didn't seem to fazed by it. In fact, the Gallade quickly got up, and then ran toward Am again, not sure what else to do other than that, as it attempted a Close Combat this time.

 

Meanwhile, Zach's Gallade was having its own problems, as its Close Combat had worked; but the Metagross hadn't really seemed to slow down because of it. Blade thought about trying the other moves in his repertoire, but knew the only ones that would help would be Swords Dance and Magical Leaf. Taking the opportunity, Blade quickly summoned a sword out of psychic energy, and then spun around, and tried to quickly counter the Bullet Punch with it. Succeeding barely, the Gallade quickly chained from that to Close Combat, as it struck the Metagross once again, both combatants nearly drained of energy.

 

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia sighed, as the battle was done with, and the two of them began to track the last two remaining Team Zephyr members. Lucia had to say that she was pretty impressed with Grummore's new evolution, though looked back at the tank full of the other four Pokemon.

Couldn't we have come back for them? Lucia wondered, unsure about that, as she continued to walk. As they traveled forward, Lucia stopped, as she saw a green jacket disappear around a corner. Frowning, Lucia motioned to Jamie, as the two of them gave chase. Lucia caught sight of the guy heading into the... LEGO store? The guy had a cocky smirk, but, Lucia wondered why he'd go in there of all places. Lucia seemed confused, but followed the guy in quickly, as Jamie ran closely behind.

"Well, well, if it isn't the jokesters." A voice called out, seemingly echoing through the stores, as there were towers and walls all set up around the windows.

Did this guy do this all on his own...? Lucia wondered, as she got on guard, as a young man with brown hair walked out, wearing the Zephyr green jacket with the same smirk he had on before.

"So, are you the guy we're missing?" Lucia asked, and then scowled at him.

"I don't like your smirk. It just seems like you're overconfident. I think I'm gonna wipe that off you." Lucia said, and the guy rolled his eyes.

"How can you aim to beat me on my home ground? And as you are, as well? I think I'm justified in my smirk." The guy said, and Lucia tilted her head to the side.

"So, what, you built all this? What are you, some crazy LEGO fan?" Lucia asked, and the guy growled, as his hand started to shake in anger, as he clenched his fists.

"Crazy?" The guy said, glaring at Lucia, trying to calm himself.

"These things are great." The mysterious Zephyr member said, as he motioned around the store.

"I've even heard of a fan site for one of the toylines... What was the name, again..." He mumbled, as Lucia thought for a moment.

"Neo Zone Power?" Lucia suggested with a mischievous smile, as the guy considered that for a moment, but then shook his head with a growl, as his radio buzzed.

"Bzzzp, what's the dealio, Skyle? Things are groovy over here, our hour is nearly at hand!" The voice said, and the Zephyr member just stood there for a moment, as he raised his radio to his head.

"Shut up, Skyler." He said with a sigh.

"... Okay..."

 

"So... Who are you, anyway, Mr. Overconfident?" Lucia interrupted, as the Zephyr member paused.

"Did you not hear the radio? My name, is Skyle. And I'm not exactly impressed with you." The guy, apparently named Skyle, said, as he shook his head.

"You think you're so good..." Skyle muttered, as he sent out two Pokemon, one of which created a psychic barrier around the open sides of the field, forcing Jamie back while Lucia looked over to her to make sure she was okay, and the other further modifying the field, utilizing trick room. Skyle raised his arm with a smirk, as he tapped a few virtual buttons on his wrist gauntlet, likely a modified Pokegear. Lucia looked back with a frown, as she noticed the Xatu and Tropius get sent out.

"I'll make this quick." Skyle said with a smirk, as he glared at her in contempt again. Lucia cautiously sent out her Clauncher and Gothita to combat the threat; however, something about these just seemed... odd.

"Well, if you're not gonna move." Skyle said with a slow smile creeping onto his face, as the Xatu and Tropius shot forward, an unpleased glint in Skyle's eyes, as the two crashed into their respective opponents; Gothita for Xatu, and Clauncher for Tropius. Lucia gasped in surprise, as those weren't attacks, and yet the two of her Pokemon were launched backwards into the psychic barrier; though they simply bounced off.

"Do you see yet?! The difference in our power?! I don't need attacks to deal with the likes of you." Skyle said, as Lucia took a step back in shock. Clara and Gotha slowly stood up, and then dashed forward. The Clauncher kept launching Water Pulses at the Xatu, and the Gothita kept using Confusion on the Tropius; however, the two opponents simply kept shrugging it off. The two flying types simply batted their wings and sent Lucia's Pokemon flying again, even as they seemed to be out for good.

 

"Well, I had hoped this would've been more of a challenge..." Skyle said with a sigh, as he shrugged.

"Finish them off, Xatu, Tropius." Skyle said, and then paused, as Lucia's Clauncher began to glow.

"Oh...?" Skyle asked, as he raised an eyebrow, as the two Pokemon then began to rise; even as Lucia's Clauncher evolved into a Clawitzer.

"DOuble Dark Pulse!" Lucia yelled out, as Skyle looked on, not amused, as the Xatu was hit by both... But still stayed up.

"Wh-what?" Lucia said in shock, as Skyle simply smiled again.

"I've spent years training alongside my Pokemon. Obviously, you haven't, which is why your Clawitzer only just evolved. You are outclassed in all meanings of the word." SKyle said, and grimaced.

"Tropius, Air Slash the Gothita, then Leaf Storm the Clawitzer." Skyle commanded, and the Tropius simply flapped its wings, sending out a quick blast of air at the Gothita, which fainted it on impact. The Tropius then flew around in a circle, kicking up a bunch of leaves around it, and then flapped at the it, sending a burst of wind out, which flew into the Clawitzer, dealing critical damage from the get-go, and instantly fainting the newly recovered Clawitzer.

"No!" Lucia called out, as she returned her two Pokemon, and was then about to send out her next Pokemon, as the Tropius flapped one wing at her; knocking her back into the wall.

 

"Did I ever explain why I joined with Windy...?" Skyle asked, as he walked toward the winded Rocket. Lucia slowly stood up in confusion, as Skyle shoved her back against the wall roughly, some of the bricks from higher up crashing down.

"I hate Rockets. They were personally involved in ruining my life; they shut my school down for no reason at all, they locked up my friends for no good reason, they tried to frame my parents for things they didn't do..." Skyle said, as he grabbed her by the throat and held her against the wall, a look of disdain on her face. Apparently no-one taught Lucia, however, not to taunt people while in that situation.

"Of all the... excuses I've heard... that's gotta be... the weakest yet..." Lucia said, barely managing a slight smile, before she winced in pain, as Skyle tightened his grip.

"DO you know how many pompous Rockets I've seen?! Do you know!?" Skyle yelled in her face, as Lucia barely kept herself from yelling out. Lucia slowly raised her legs, as her vision started to blur, and she kicked out quickly, with all the force she had left, dropping to the ground like a brick when Skyle was sent staggering backwards, letting go of Lucia in the process. Lucia quickly breathed in and out, her eyes wide, as she rubbed her throat where the crazed criminal had grabbed her. Lucia noticed the psychic barrier still up, and grabbed at the ground for the LEGO brick, and then threw it at the Xatu, who just looked at it in a wide and amazed way, right before it hit the Xatu in the top of its head. Being knocked off balance, the Xatu dropped the psychic barrier, which allowed Jamie in, who had seen everything that had happened. Skyle glared at the two Rockets, as he recalled his Xatu.

"This isn't over, by a long shot..." Skyle said, as he looked toward Lucia, and then smirked, an amused look on his face, before he ran off, Lucia still panting from the close call.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie, if she were the type, would have been growling and shouting. And she certainly was inside the barrier went up. Tristan tried finding weaknesses in the barrier, but found it considerably tough to do so. It would eventually break under enough force, especially overpowering Psychic force, but that would prove problematic. Fortunately (or rather unfortunately considering the circumstances) the barrier was down before Tristan could attempt to break it.

 

As soon as the barrier went down Jamie and Tristan rushed into the room. Tristan nearly ran ahead of where Lucia was, when he saw that Jamie had stopped next to her.

 

She was silent for a moment, thinking of what best to say before starting, "If you're ready for another shot," she said as Grummore walked in the room, psychically bringing the tank full of Pokémon along with them. "Then please let me support you this time," she said turning towards the Slowking, before placing her hands on her shoulders.

 

Sighing, the Slowking prepared a powerful Heal Pulse which rejuvenated the Clawitzer. When the Clawitzer revived, Jamie turned towards Lucia, this time extending a hand to help her fellow to her feet.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

"I-I think I'm ready..." Lucia said with a weak smile to Jamie, as she accepted her hand. However, as she was standing up, Jamie would feel a noticeable shake in the younger Rocket, as Lucia was trembling from the attack moments before. Lucia was lucky that her mother had made her take self-defence courses when she was younger, and that basic knowledge was necessary for joining Team Rocket. Even still, Lucia's free hand went to her throat, which she unconsciously rubbed.

Why was I singled out...? Did he think that the two of us would have been a threat...? Lucia wondered, still trembling a bit.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Jamie):

 

"Then let's go" she said as Lucia stood up. But as she did, she noted how much that Lucia was shaking.

 

She is really shaken up... Jamie thought as she pondered how best to comfort her.

 

"You can do it," Jamie mentioned softly before throwing her arm around her, pulling her in close, to hopefully comfort her.

But more than wanting to see that smirk wiped off his face, Jamie wanted Lucia to wipe that grin off his stupid face.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia was caught off guard by the sudden gesture, but she closed her eyes for a moment, and slowed her breathing down a bit, taking deeper breaths as she did so, even though it didn't do much fof her still-racing heart.

"Th-thanks, Jamie." Lucia said with a smile of her own, even though she was still confused about the whole situation. Lucia looked ahead to see where the guy had gone, but only saw a hallway leading which curved around.

"Are... You ready...?" Lucia asked, not exactly her typical confident self, but this time also asking because she didn't want Jamie to have that happen to her as well.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Jamie):

 

Jamie... really did not like to see Lucia like this. She liked the confidence that normally exuded from her companion. She had to say something, just anything before they fought this last Zephyr agent.

"That last one... he seemed impossible for me to defeat too you know. And while we had a lot of luck, we found a way to bring him down, did we not? He caught us off guard, in more ways in one. But I'm telling you, you will be ready. I'll help you see this through to the end, but you will prevail."

 

She paused for a moment before saying, "Say that back to me, I will prevail."

Edited June 21, 2014 by Claus Von Minun the 4th

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia paused, as she took in Jamie's words.

"Thanks... You're right. I will prevail... And I think I'm gonna clock that guy to get a little revenge..." Lucia said, a hint of her typical smile on her face, as she took one final deep breath, and then paused for a moment, as she put an arm around Jamie for a moment awkwardly.

"I mean it when I say thanks... I'm usually the one looking out for everyone, and only need to worry about myself occasionally, but, well, this got to me... But you reminded me why this rarely happens." Lucia said with a smug smile, as she stretched out a bit with a hint of a wince.

"... Okay, maybe that hurt a little more than I thought. Point is, you and the others tend to help out, which is kinda why I caught those two Pokemon to help lessen your load..."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC (Jamie):

Much better, Jamie thought smiling.

 

"And I'm glad for it. But you already do so much for me, and for all of us. Healing is an extremely important role that needs to be done. How many times has it helped us already? But now you have teeth as well. And that's something you'll just have to keep practicing with for them to feel right,"

"Starting with a certain clock we have to clean," she said her smile growing comically darker.