Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander, Sylph, and Ellen

 

Xander chuckled. "Alright then, I guess I'll stop dodging work." He smiled. "We'll see ya later, Aspen." So saying, he walked to his own cabin. We'll have to visit with him some more, he told Sylph and Ellen. He's good people.

 

The two pokémon nodded in agreement. As they entered the room, Sylph let the door close. Alright, she said. Time to get to work. Starting from what we learned yesterday, we'll build up to more difficult things like finer manipulation and heavier objects.

 

Xander almost groaned, but smothered it with another yawn. He had asked for this, after all. He let Ellen hop onto the bed as he closed his eyes and began to unlock the gates of his mind. It was going to be another long day.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan grooved through the hallways of the boat, making air guitar motions. Ever since he spoke with Shannon and Ryan, he felt like expressing himself like this, and he didn't know why. He saw Xander exit out of a room, saying something about "dodging work", and saying later to Aspen. The Plasma Agent moved and grooved towards Aspen's room. When he got close, he knocked on the door hard, aiming to get the boy's attention.

"Hey, I was feeling a tad bored, and thought I should get to know you a little better." Evan explained, grinning big. "Mind if I come in for a chat?"

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

As Xander left, Aspen focus was quickly drawn to the doorway when Evan knocked and made his request. "Oh, uh, knock yourself out." he said, a bit caught off guard at the request but willing to go with it. He chuckled slightly and waited while sitting at the edge of his bed, looking around. "I could use someone to talk to more about things, yeah..."

 

As he spoke, the sleeping Eevee on the bed groaned, slowly waking up. Her first course of action was to first look around at her surroundings, noticing that Ellen was not there, and there was a new human by the doorway. Saya proceeded to jump off the bed and curl up in a nearby corner, as if she wanted to look as small and inconspicuous as possible. Aspen noticed that and bit his lip, sighing once more. "Maybe could get some help with said things too, yeah..."

Edited December 14, 2015 by Ajna the Muffin Daughter

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra/Aspen Seaton

Evan noted the Eevee's reaction to his arrival, as well as Aspen's reaction to it. "What's up?" Evan asked as he walked in, smiling as he did so. "What do you need help with? I dunno if I can help, but I'll try."

"Oh, uh, a few things, actually." Aspen said, rubbing the back of his head. "Th-that's Saya, by the way... She's from Sootopolis. Ellen and I had to run into a burning building and jump out a window to save her... It was pretty intense." he explained, shrugging.

"Saya seems pretty afraid of humans and timid in general... I dunno if that's really your forte, Evan, but yeah, that's what's going on." the youngest Seaton said, sighing. "I mean, you seem good with people, I dunno how well she can take, uh, bombastic attitudes though."

"Afraid of humans, you say?" Evan said, raising an eyebrow. "I agree that isn't my forte. Though, I guess I could be wrong.......if my Gliscor is proof of that..."

"Your Gliscor?" Aspen asked, blinking a bit. "What about 'em? I mean, I'm not very familiar with your team admittedly..." he said, chuckling awkwardly slightly. "You got me interested, though."

Evan drew forth his Gliscor's Poke Ball and released the Fangscorp pokemon. The Gliscor cried out happily at being sent out, noting where he was. "Vlad here........is a special case of pokemon, Aspen." the Plasma agent said, nodding his head. "See, most pokemon are bred out in the wild. Vlad here, was, to my knowledge....not exactly bred with love and kindness in mind."

"Huh? That sounds dark..." Aspen muttered, eyes widening. "What the heck could have happened, then? Vlad looks pretty cheery now..."

Saya lifted her head when Vlad got released, staring at the Gliscor for a bit. She closer her eyes again and curled up once more, wondering if this was another attempt to help her.

"Vlad.......basically was bred to fight." Evan explained. "He was part of some breeding project of a group I used to work for. I assume he never got to meet the pokemon who he'd call his parents. So, naturally, he used to be much more subdued than he is now. He got better, especially when he became a Gliscor."

The Gliscor fluttered and swayed in the air, noting the Eevee that was trying to look unnoticeable. He didn't understand why Saya was trying to hide. Maybe it was nerves. The Fangscorp fluttered closer to Saya, and softly cried out at the Eevee.

Aspen's expression darkened, as he put his hand to his chin. "Oh man... I shouldn't be surprised that there are people who do that, but... Ugh. That's just awful." the trainer muttered, sighing. "It's good he found a good trainer and a good person. I mean... I don't know if I'm a good enough person to pull the same thing, if Celadon was any indication..."

Saya squeaked in surprised, nearly leaping out of her skin. She backed up into the corner nervously, and looked up at Vlad with uncertain eyes. The Eevee apologized, and flattened her ears against her head, looking down sadly again.

"What matters, is that Vlad is with me, and that he trusts me." Evan said, smiling. "Anyone can have their pokemon trust them. It's a matter of how to connect with them. Vlad opened his heart to me, because we both love to show off. Maybe that's what you need with your Eevee: something you have in common."

Vlad clacked his pincers rhythmically as he observed Saya's behavior. The Fangscorp took the apology and gently reached his pincer out to greet Saya.

"Find something in common...?" Aspen said, blinking. The young boy looked down, comtemplating something. "Hmm, how would you reccomend going about that? I mean... Saya doesn't exactly want to be near me. I mean, I don't think she's entirely unjustified for that, but you know..." he muttered, going quiet and trailing off at the end.

Saya looked up nervously, taking a bit to realize the gesture from Vlad. The small Eevee lifted a paw and tried to reach the Fangscorp's pincer, hoping this Pokemon was something like how Ellen had treated her last night. She barked a nervous greeting, thinking that was what was expected.

"Maybe think of something that she may like, and roll with it." Evan explained. "You should also try giving her space. Sometimes, that's what a pokemon needs. It needs a little time and space to get used to someone. I'm confident Saya will eventually come to you, at her own pace."

Vlad made a slight clack with his extended pincer and greeted the Eevee with another soft cry. The Gliscor could see that this Eevee was possibly nerved up by him and his master being in the room. But he had to try and calm her down.

Aspen scratched his head, and nodded. "Makes sense... Just wait for her and all. I hope that'll work yeah, would also give me time to become a better person too..." he muttered, sighing. "Though, how'd you first manage to befriend Vlad, and how long did it take? I'll take as much advice as I can get, and all."

Saya looked up quietly, still not very certain what to do. She lowered her paw, and flattened her ears more, getting more nervous as she didn't know what to do next. The Eevee whimpered another apology for that, and just hung her head low.

"I'm betting he saw how flashy my movements were, and soon got curious about them." Evan said, a slight grin on his face as he looked at Vlad. "It took him til evolution to really open up. I can't exactly remember how long that it took besides that. And what do you mean by become a better person?"

The Gliscor didn't seem offended by Saya's actions, despite her apology. Vlad started to hear the beat that sometimes echoed in his head. The Fangscorp couldn't help but dance and clack his pincers rhythmically, his movements flowing and wondrous.

"Huh? What did I mean...? Well, uh, hmm, how to explain..." Aspen said, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you've heard people mentioning Celadon and all. Yeah, I actually wasn't present for most of the battle, since... I got whisked away." he muttered, looking downwards. "Something took me away... Something that called itself Pride. I... I'm pretty sure I almost got consumed by darkness then... Both literally and figuratively." the youngest Seaton explained further, a melancholy in his eyes. "I... I don't blame you if that makes you think I'm not worth helping. I had to have done some awful things to get chosen for my Sin. Even though I conquered Pride, I... I don't think the struggle to become a better person is over yet."

Saya whimpered a bit more, awaiting more scolding. However, nothing happened at all. She looked up, and saw Vlad dancing through the air with a strange rhythm. The Eevee didn't expect that, and tilted her head confusedly with her ears picking up. She couldn't help but watch curiously, not having seen such movement before...

Evan playfully slugged Aspen, still grinning. "You're trying though, aren't you?." He said. "You're correct. Good people don't become that way overnight. So what if you almost got consumed? Did you see the error of your ways? No real reason to worry about things, if you know what not to do, right?"

The pincer clacking continued as Vlad danced and swayed in the air. The purple-hued pokemon could try to snuff out the beat that was echoing in his head, but what fun would that be? He enjoyed the sound of this beat, as it never started until he and his master got along. One could say it was Vlad's connection to Evan.

Aspen jolted back up when he felt his shoulder get punched, instinctively gripping it. "Y-you know, there are other ways to get my attention besides punching me, right?" he replied, rubbing his shoulder even as he had a grin in his face. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, though... You're right that I'll keep trying. For everyone's sake, I'll become a better person." the youngest Seaton declared, smiling. "Hey, you seem to be good at bringing up people's spirits. You must be a good therapist." he said, chuckling.

Saya squeaked, asking what Vlad was doing. She tilted her head not sure what was happening still... But she seemed less nervous when asking, was that progress or was she just distracted...?

"A heroic therapist, you could say." Evan replied cheerfully. "It's part and parcel with that. Gotta know how to fire up people, as you never know if they will be heroes themselves!"

Vlad replied to Saya's query, basically explaining that there was a beat in his head, that he just had to dance to it. The Fangscorp continued his dancing, his face the picture of bliss.

"Heh, me as a hero? That'd be a sight to see. But right now, I'm just trying to be the best person I can be." Aspen replied, grinning. "Thanks for your vote of confidence, though. I'll be heading into the future with a brighter vision, now..."

Saya blinked, even more confused. She squeaked again, asking how he had the beat in his head, not sure how that was possible. The small Eevee watched Vlad dance more, still wondering how such rhythmic movements came from seemingly nothing.

"That's good, that's good." Evan said cheerfully as he looked at Vlad. "I'll be heading off now, but it seems Vlad is having a little fun right now, so I'll leave him with you for a little bit, eh?"

Vlad replied that the beat may be related to his master, and how it could be their connection being expressed as such. The Gliscor paid no mind to Evan's words. He'd be back or Vlad would find him. It was a foregone conclusion.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll be seeing you soon, then, Evan." Aspen said, nodding. "Thanks for your help. I'll do my best to keep improving and help everyone around me... But you've got other people to help, dontcha? Go on and keep doing what you do, then, sure."

Saya blinked at that explanation, not saying anything else after. However, she attempted to tap her paw to the rhythm, not doing a very good job at it... But she kept trying persistently to match the beat, unable to find her own.

"Aye, I shall do so." Evan spoke, smiling again as he rose up. "You take care of yourself, Aspen, all right?"

With those words, Evan walked out the door, leaving Aspen, Vlad and Saya alone. Vlad continued to dance, but started to move his tail like a metronome, to help Saya follow the beat of his connection with Evan.

Saya focused intently on Vlad's tail, timing her hops from side to side with the beat. She was so intent to follow the rhythm that the Eevee didn't notice when Aspen looked over, beaming to see her in a state other than afraid or nervous. While Saya continued to hop around, flicking her tail, Aspen turned to Vlad, looking at him appreciatively for inspiring this much energy from Saya.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander and Sylph

 

The two sat on the floor of the cabin facing each each other, close enough that their knees touched. Xander held Sylph's hand in both of his. Their eyes were closed as they concentrated on tapping into Xander's inner eye. The meditation was familiar, though it had been a few weeks since the last time they had done it this way. Xander inhaled deeply and felt his ribs protest. He exhaled slowly, fighting a coughing fit.

 

He had to get stronger. Everyone needed to be at their very best. If someone was injured or killed because Xander hadn't done everything he could... No, it was unthinkable. No-one had to die, not if they could help it. He took another breath, focusing on that inner aspect, the part of his mind he had ignored until Sylph had touched it. That first time had been... unpleasant

 

Pain. Such pain she had felt, as if her arm had been consumed by fire--

 

Xander let the feeling wash through him, but he did not scream. It was not real; his arm was in tact, still alive. Sylph had felt no pain from hers in years. The Gardevoir now beckoned to that part of him once more with his help. It was different than the telepathy. Instead of reaching for the thoughts of people and pokémon, he reached for the concrete objects of reality.

 

It was simultaneously simpler and infinitely more difficult. To take something intangible, unseeable, and reach for things grounded in the real world... It took quite a bit of mental twisting. At last, though, the 'strings' formed, invisible, tied between Xander and the objects in the room. Experimentally, he plucked one. The breath exploded from his lungs as he felt the resonance between himself and the object-- the door to the cabin.

 

As the door shook, coughs tore their way from Xander's chest. He released Sylph's hand, bringing his own up instinctively as he continued to hack and wheeze. With every cough, the door shook all the harder, trying to fight off of its hinges.

 

Sylph teleported to one side of the room as her master flailed. Embracing him now would be dangerous for both of them. Xander, she said, Alex! Calm yourself. Let the string go, relieve the pressure! I am here; you will be all right.

 

He didn't feel  all right. If he let the string go, he would surely unravel. It would be the end of him, the end of--

 

No! Sylph had not led him astray yet. He severed the strings from himself. Sylph grabbed Ellen and teleported just in time as a blast ripped through the room. The bed, the picture on the wall, the bedside table and lamp, all cracked or shattered. The door he had been tugging on originally... The door exploded outwards, splinters flying into the hall.

 

Xander collapsed to his knees, gasping for air which slowly returned to him. As he gained control of his breathing, Sylph reappeared beside him. She leaned down, gently resting her hand on his back. Ellen squeaked her concern.

 

Xander shook his head. "I--" He coughed again, loud and long. "I'm fine... I'll be fine..." He glanced around. "Guess I'm not getting the deposit back, huh?"

Edited December 16, 2015 by Flowey the Flower

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan was boogieing around the halls of the S.S. Coral, when he heard some commotion going on in one of the nearby cabins. Evan saw that said cabin, had splinters of it's remains all over the hall. Evan entered the hall, to find Xander on his knees. "What the heck happened here?" Evan asked, laughing a bit. "Sounds like quite the war went on here!"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander and Sylph

 

Xander had just caught his breath when Evan appeared in the doorway. The teen chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "No worries. Just a, ah... minor psychic mishap." He cleared his throat. "I'll be paying for this." He tried not to wince at the thought of spending more money.

 

Sylph nodded He got a bit eager, and did not follow the proper steps. She helped Xander to his feet, shaking her head. It's something we'll work on. She smiled at Evan. Hello, by the way. We have not had much opportunity to speak.

 

Xander sighed, rolling his shoulders. "How's it going, Evan? Need something, or just investigating the noise?"

[Parugi]

IC:

 

A white blur of light above him was all that he could make out as his eyes eased open. At first, the sight blinded him, and he fought to keep his eyes open and his vision focused. Gradually, the pain and sensitivity eased, and he saw the glowing lights embedded in the ceiling above him. He blinked, easing his eyes closed again and listening to the noise around him. Murmurs drifted into the room through the door. Someone breathed slowly, either sleeping or drifting just on the verge of falling under. A rhythmic beeping sounded from his left.

 

He felt the clamp-like pressure on his finger. The softness of the pillows under his head distracted him somewhat from the discomfort of the needle in his arm and the lingering pain in his chest and stomach and head. He became aware of the bandage covering his forehead.

 

This is a hospital . . . He raised his hands to his face, pressing them against his eyes. I'm in the hospital again . . .

 

Kyle opened his eyes.

 

He grimaced as he attempted to sit up, immediately regretting it as pain surged through his lungs. The movement quickly sent him into a harsh coughing fit, the sensation of fire returning to his lungs.

 

A hand on his chest stopped him, gently easing him back down against the pillows. "Easy there, pal. Breathe nice and slow, alright?"

 

Kyle did so. Every breath burned, like he was inhaling fresh smoke. Even so, the slow breathing helped, at least a little bit. When he lost count of his breaths and threatened to fall into another coughing fit, the woman eased the nearby oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. Surprisingly, the fumes emitted by the mask were rather sweet--certainly not just oxygen. He reached up, holding it in place and focusing on it as the pain began to subside. 

 

"You alright?"

 

He nodded, closing his eyes. "Yeah . . . Thanks, Victoire."

 

"It's nothing." She sat at the edge of the bed. "Still feeling the burn from Shift's drugs, huh? I guess that's to be expected--the stuff's potent, especially in as many doses as you got. To be honest, we weren't expecting you to wake up for a while."

 

"How long was I out?"

 

"Four days," Victoire said. "We brought you here to get treatment as soon as we got everyone accounted for. Just in the nick of time, too, apparently--there's no telling what might've happened if we had waited any longer."

 

"Second miracle of my life, I guess." Kyle decided not to think about that any further. "Where are we?"

 

"Morningside Hospital, in Anistar City," Victoire said. "It's the next town over from Dendemille. Shift's compound isn't too far away, either--it's just on the outskirts of the city. Made it pretty easy for the police to round up the henchmen who were all left behind."

 

"But not Shift or . . . what was it--Puzzle?"

 

"Unfortunately."

 

It didn't take long for Victoire to explain why, starting with what had happened after she had gotten her handcuffs off. She explained what occurred between herself and Shift, as well as Esen and Cero's break-in and the former's subsequent encounter with Puzzle and another, more powerful figure wearing a robe--on top of what had happened when they found Esen afterwards.

 

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence. Kyle had leaned his head back again, staring at the ceiling. He could feel Victoire watching him, her concern virtually burning into his chest and joining with the mixture of humiliation and fear brewing within it. He moved a hand, resting it on the marks on his neck where Esen had attempted to strangle him.

 

"Are you mad?"

 

Kyle remained silent for several moments. "Yeah. I am."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"Not at you." Victoire looked at him. "There's no reason any of this should've happened. The fact that it did . . ." Kyle moved his hand to his forehead. "Should I be more angry at myself for letting it happen, or at Shift for making it . . .?"

 

"It's not your fault." Victoire adjusted her fringe. "It was just a bad set of circumstances . . ." She drew her knee up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her leg. "If anything, you should be blaming me for starting it, to be completely honest."

 

Kyle looked at her. "Even if I could blame you," he said. "I'm not going to. You saved my life, Victoire." He gave a weak smile. "So, thank you for that." Victoire smiled. Kyle rubbed his head. "So . . . where's all my stuff?"

 

"Cero's taking care of that. He's been taking it easy, too, just to give his own injuries a rest. But he's well enough to keep an eye on your Pokémon, so . . . that's what he's doing."

 

"That's good to hear. . ." Kyle said. He suddenly gave Victoire a very concerned look. "How are you holding up?"

 

Victoire rolled her eyes with a smirk, but nevertheless proceeded to adjust her scarf. The very tops of the bandages that covered her stitches were visible underneath. She replaced her scarf a moment later. "I'm good." Her smile vanished, replaced with a frown. "Hey, about that . . . About Esen . . ."

 

"Is she okay?"

 

"She's fine," Victoire said. "At least, physically. Emotionally and mentally . . . That's a bit of a different story." She cupped her hands, looking at the floor. "I don't know how much you remember from before you took that last hit from Shift, but . . . You and I were talking about her, and how she had been acting a bit strangely before everything with the Signs . . ." Victoire looked at the door, and then back at Kyle. She lowered her voice. "She'll probably want to tell you when she's comfortable with it, but I feel like you ought to know . . . There's a reason she was acting that way. And we were right about what that reason was."

 

Kyle furrowed his brow, not liking where this was going.

 

"Ace did something to her. What it was, I can't say for sure; but it's the reason she disappeared all those years ago, and it's the reason she's so . . . effective at what she does. Not only that, but whatever it was was bad enough for Esen to block it from her memory." Victoire's expression had turned deadly serious. "What she did to us--to you--that was Shift's compound bringing those memories back. And I don't know how much control she's going to be able to retain over those memories unless--"

 

A knock at the door caused Kyle to jump, which in turn prompted Victoire to turn in its direction. A doctor stood there, clipboard in hand and a friendly, though troubled smile on his face. 

 

"Afternoon," he said, nodding to Victoire. He approached, holding out a hand for Kyle to shake. "I'm Doctor Taggart. Glad to see you're finally awake." He held his clipboard close to his chest, addressing both now. "Sorry for interrupting--a nurse noticed that you were awake and informed me, so I figured I ought to check in. Hopefully, you don't mind?"

 

"No, not at all," Victoire said. She looked at Kyle, her expression indicating that she would continue later. "We were just catching up."

 

"Yeah," Kyle said, still taken aback by what Victoire had told him. "Just, you know . . . making sure everything's being taken care of."

 

"I'm glad to hear it," the doctor said. "Well, if you're feeling well enough, I do have a couple of things that I feel I ought to go over with you--preferably sooner rather than later, given what they're about. Is that okay with you?"

 

Kyle glanced uncertainly at Victoire, and then nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."

 

Victoire offered a small smile. She patted Kyle's shoulder before standing up, heading toward the door. "I'll be waiting outside."

 

 

 

 

Although she stood against the wall by the door, Victoire couldn't make out anything that was being said inside the room. This did not particularly surprise her, even given her impaired hearing, although it did offer a bit of trouble when she spotted Esen approaching from down the hall, wearing an urgent expression. Victoire waved, moving to meet her.

 

"What's going on?" Esen asked. Her arms were crossed, and she gripped her biceps tightly, as if unwilling to trust freedom to her hands. She looked over Victoire's shoulder. "Why's the door closed? Is he still alive?"

 

Victoire held her hands out. "He's fine," she said. "As a matter of fact, he finally woke up." Esen breathed in relief. "Does that make you feel better?"

 

"A bit . . ." Esen rested a hand to her face. "I mean . . . it should make me feel a lot better, right? But . . ." She loosed a frustrated sigh. "I don't know, Victoire . . . I'm not used to feeling like this--like everything around me is falling apart, and with what happened . . ." Esen stepped back, beginning to pace the hall. "I feel like I'm everywhere and nowhere at once, you know? Like I'm here, and I need to be here, but I don't want to be here, and my brain is just . . . screaming at me to get out of here . . ."

 

"Esen . . ." Victoire said gently, stepping forward and reaching a hand out. "" She placed her hands on Esen's shoulders, "Please, calm down."

 

"I'm trying, okay?" Esen said. "I just can't. I . . ." She gestured, defeated, toward the door to Kyle's room. "I'm glad he's alive. I'm glad you and Cero are alive. But you don't know, do you? I came so close to . . ."

 

"Esen."

 

Esen wrung her hands together, trying to stop them from shaking. "Normal people don't attack their friends, do they? And I did, so does that mean . . . I don't know what it means, Victoire, and I've been trying to figure it out, but I just--"

 

She stopped talking, surprised as Victoire suddenly leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips. After a few seconds, Victoire pulled away, moving her hands to Esen's face. They stared straight into each others eyes, both completely silent.

 

It was Esen who broke the silence.

 

"Why did you . . .?"

 

"Because you're too caught up in your head," Victoire said. "You're letting one mistake get the best of you, letting one misstep define you, and it's not for the best." Her expression softened as she ran her thumb against Esen's cheek. "Trust me--I may not be able to relate to this whole 'almost killed a friend' thing, but I can relate to that." She smiled, dropping her hands back to Esen's shoulders. "I love you. I really do. I want you to be okay. But this? This isn't the way to do it, hon."

 

For a moment, Esen could only stare back at Victoire. Suddenly, however, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her friend, taking comfort in the embrace as Victoire returned it. She buried her face into Victoire's shoulder, prompting her to gently pat the back of Esen's head.

 

Before long, Victoire pushed Esen away. She looked back toward the door, just in time to see the doctor step out of the room, his expression somber. Victoire turned back to Esen, gesturing with her head. "Go ahead and see him," she said. "I have some things to take care of, so I'll be back in a bit. In the meantime . . . I think you both could use a conversation right about now. But, please, promise me that whatever you do from here on out, you'll go easier on yourself. Okay?" Esen nodded. Victoire smiled, using her sleeve to wipe Esen's face before patting her shoulder and stepping out of her way.

 

When Esen had passed and disappeared into the room, Victoire began to walk, pulling out her Poké Gear and dialing a number. She held it up, smiling at the camera. "Hey, Fallon. I need a couple of favors . . ."

 

 

 

 

Kyle was sitting up when she entered the room, staring, troubled, at something in his hand. Esen paused at the doorway, suddenly overcome with the urge to run away and hide. Steeling herself, however, she knocked on the door frame, prompting Kyle to snap out of his trance. They stared at each other for several moments, neither quite knowing what to say.

 

At last, Esen managed to break the silence. "Hey . . ."

 

"Hey."

 

"Mind if I come in?"

 

"Sure, go ahead."

 

Esen tried her best to look bigger than she felt as she stepped inside, quickly taking a seat on the chair next to Kyle's bed. She couldn't help but look at the dark bruises on his neck, knowing all too well what had caused them. Suppressing a shudder, she dragged her eyes away from the sight, directing them instead to the object that Kyle was holding. It appeared to be a Poké Ball.

 

She cleared her throat, nodding to it. "Problem with one of your Pokémon?"

 

Kyle momentarily furrowed his brow, not breaking his gaze. "Not exactly." He paused, and then held it out for Esen to take. She picked it up, peering through the transparent seal. A pink bird-like Pokémon rested inside, suspended in stasis within the orb. "The doctor gave it to me. I think he called it a Spritzee. Said that my lungs . . . aren't in the best condition right now, and that it could keep on producing an inhalant to help in the meantime."

 

Esen glanced at him, before handing the Poké Ball back. "That was nice of him . . ."

 

"Yeah . . ." Kyle fell silent again as he cradled it in his hands. "Esen . . . Do you remember that woman in the alley that we met, the night we got to Kalos? The one with the Gothitelle?" His expression saddened as he remembered what he had seen when the Psychic-Type had connected with him--the vision of a bloodied beach, him lying upon it with a hole in his chest. It didn't feel like such a distant memory anymore. "I was thinking about that . . . About what we've just gone through . . . And it made me realize . . ." He made a small gesture with the Poké Ball. "This is the second Pokémon I've been gifted after an injury like this. Both times, I've only survived because of luck . . ." Kyle looked at Esen. "How many times do you think a single person can dodge death before it finally catches up to them . . .? Am I living on borrowed time . . .?"

 

She thought about this for several moments, though did not find a suitable answer. Though she remembered the incident, she had never intended to share what she saw that night--not a vision of death, but rather fragments of what the Signs' toxin had shown her. It had been the first crack in the illusion that she--she?--had created about her past, protecting herself from her own trauma. Thinking about all of that now . . .

 

All she could do was shake her head, offering him a defeated look. Kyle averted his gaze again with a sigh.

 

The two fell silent.

 

"I'm . . ." Esen said at length, forcing herself to look again at Kyle's neck. "I'm really sorry about what happened."

 

Kyle rubbed the back of his head. "None of it is your fault."

 

"Please . . . don't lie to make me feel better . . ." Esen said. "I tried to kill you. I have to take responsibility for that . . ."

 

Kyle closed his eyes. "Esen . . ." He turned away from her, placing the Poké Ball on his bedside table before turning again to look at her. He winced with the movement, placing a hand on his chest. "You didn't do that on purpose. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person alive who can relate to what was happening to you when you did that--I know the kinds of things that that . . . stuff can do to a person . . ." He looked at the floor, grimacing as a feeling of nausea overtook his senses. "What it can make you see and feel . . ." He shook his head, pushing the memories aside, and met Esen's gaze. "Please, don't beat yourself up over it."

 

All Esen could do was nod, lowering her head and clasping her hands together in an attempt to stop them from shaking. She rocked slightly in her seat, fighting to control the surge of emotion that she was feeling. Kyle watched her for a moment, before tentatively reaching a hand out toward her shoulder. As he neared, he hesitated, deciding to draw it back and give Esen some space. He folded his hands on his lap, leaning back against the pillows behind him.

 

"You saw something terrible, too, didn't you?" she asked at last, looking back up at him. Her eyes were red, glistening with the beginnings of tears that she had somehow--just barely--managed to subdue. "I can't imagine what four doses of that toxin must've shown you . . ." She wiped her face with the sleeve of her jacket. "I only got one, and it . . ." She closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. "Kyle, how much do you know about Shadow Admin Ace?"

 

Kyle felt his chest tighten. He gave her a surprised look. "Not a lot . . ."

 

"Probably for the better . . ." Esen said. "I know you're with Liberty, but the Shadow Admins . . . They aren't bad people. None of them . . .  except for Ace." She gripped her hands tighter together. "Not long after the war with Team Liberty started, Ace turned to extreme measures to get an edge in the war. She restarted the Shadow Pokémon Project, intentionally destroying the innocence of a number of unwilling test subjects in order to create loyal super soldiers . . ." Esen paused. "Before that, though . . . she didn't experiment with Pokémon." She looked squarely at Kyle, her eyes clouded with pain. Kyle turned his head toward her, sickened by what he was hearing yet doing his best to truly listen to every word. "She started with her own daughter. When her father found out what Ace was planning to do, he tried to establish a separate, secret life in Sinnoh. But it didn't work. Ace found them. She killed him and took her away. And for years . . ."

 

It was clear that her composure was beginning to slip away. Esen covered her mouth, hands visibly shaking now. "I . . . I can't remember a moment from that time when I wasn't being stuck with a dozen needles . . . when I wasn't being forced to . . . to . . ." No more words came.

 

Kyle stared at the ceiling for a long time, listening to Esen's shuddering breaths beside him. "Would you . . . be upset if I said I already knew that you were Ace's daughter?" He glanced at Esen from the corner of his eye, catching just the barest glimpse of the surprise on her face. "Silvermind is very dead-set on bringing you into Team Liberty . . . She tried to get me to convince you to join up with us . . ." Guilt and shame were beginning to burn his eyes with the threat of tears, forcing him to rub a hand against them to stop himself from breaking down. "You don't deserve that . . . Not after all of that . . ."

 

Esen nodded again, rubbing her own eyes. "Thanks for telling me . . ." she said, her voice quiet. "Guess I'm going to have to have a . . . a little talk with her when we get back . . ."

 

Kyle managed a weak chuckle. "She could use it . . ."

 

Silence again.

 

"You're not the only one who remembered something because of the toxin, by the way . . ." Esen looked up, watching Kyle wring his hands together, eyes closed. A sense of deep concentration appeared on his face, as if he were trying as hard as possible to recall every detail of what he was about to recount. Finally, he opened his eyes, turning to her. "I need to check something when I get back, but I think . . . I think a big piece of my life up to this point might have been a lie . . ." He looked downcast at the thought. "One thing I know for sure . . . I know who my mother was . . . but Richard Eston isn't my father . . ." A small smile parted his lips. "Nothing as bad as what you've gone through, but . . . definitely something I've been wrestling with . . ."

 

Esen smiled in understanding. "Everyone has their struggles."

 

"You bet they do." The voice came from the doorway. Victoire had returned with a tray of food, which she set in Kyle's lap. She offered only the briefest of smiles to Esen--an acknowledgement of their conversation in the hall--before turning to leave again, ignoring the blush that subsequently appeared on Esen's face. "Thought you could use something to eat while you rest up," she said. "Take your time with it, though--you don't want your stomach to explode." She stopped at the door. "Also, I've taken care of the arrangements to get back to Kanto. We'll be leaving in three days, so try to get as much rest as you can before then, alright?" Victoire blew a kiss in Kyle and Esen's direction and gave a small wave before vanishing around the corner.

 

"She," Kyle said, after a brief pause. "is great."

 

"In a way . . ." Esen said. "Although, I think you might also have a small case of hero worship . . ." She stood up, turning to leave at last. "I guess I ought to let you rest . . ." She paused, and then stooped down to give him a peck on the cheek, prompting his face to turn a shade of pink. "Thanks for talking with me. I'll stop by again tomorrow."

 

"Y-Yeah," Kyle replied as she walked away. "Anytime, Esen . . ."

Edited December 19, 2015 by Parugi

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra/Xander Cruize

"I was just dancing around and was wondering what happened, no more, no less." Evan replied, looking around at the room, bowing to Sylph. "We really haven't had much time to really speak, given all the excitement."

Xander chuckled. "Well, no worries. Nothing like the incident yesterday." Sylph nodded. There has been an awful lot of excitement. We should all get to know each other somehow.

Ellen barked a greeting, smelling her new friend on this other trainer. She stepped forward, tail flicking. Xander chuckled. "I guess I should introduce you to my entire team. Ellen seems eager to say hi."

"Ellen, eh?" Evan remarked at the name as he waved at the Eevee. "I like the nickname a lot! But, is that really how you want to introduce yourself to a fellow trainer? It lacks.....something."

Xander smiled. "I thought it was a fitting name..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, what? How else would we introduce ourselves?"

Sylph tilted her head, a small grin on her face. I see. She giggled. Spell it out for Xander, and we'll gladly accept.

"I challenge you, Xander Cruize, to a battle." Evan said, grinning himself. "A wise trainer from my land of Sinnoh once thought of battles as a way of greeting one another. I'd like to think he is correct."

Xander grinned, rising to his feet. "I think I'd be up for that, yeah. It's been a while since we've had the chance." He rolled his shoulders. "Name the time, place, and rules."

"Now, on the deck of the boat, and one on one." Evan remarked, as he drew out Lazengann's poke ball. "We should let the others know. I'm pretty sure they'd love to watch this. Especially since they haven't seen what you are made of yet."

Xander grinned. "Fair enough. Sylph and I will let the others know."

Sylph smiled. I'll do so right now. So saying, she reached out for everyone on the S.S. Coral, informing them of the event about to take place. Evan has challenged us to a battle. We would all be very pleased if you would come and watch up on the top deck. It promises to be an exciting fight.

Xander chuckled. "I'll be using Sylph. Ellen and Vixen aren't experienced enough to last a minute against any of your team."

"I'll face you with Lazengann, my Excadrill." Evan said as he made for the door. "We'll fight when everyone is topside. They all have to see this one."

With those words, Evan exited the cabin, boogieing as he made for the top deck.

Xander grinned lightly, glancing at Sylph. Think you're ready? It's been a while.

The Gardevoir nodded. It won't be an easy fight, but we do have one small advantage. She smirked. He can't predict your commands.

Xander laughed. He hadn't need to give Sylph commands since they'd challenged the Elite Four back in Kalos. You think you'll need them?

Sylph nodded. It would probably be for the best.

Xander nodded and started the walk upstairs, ignoring the shaking of his legs. He had felt nervous for each gym battle and during the Elite Four. It was only natural, when going up against a strong trainer like Evan Tierra.

[JiMing]

OOC: No better way to wash out the taste of salt than with some jam. (why Splatfest whyyyyyyyyyyy)

IC: Olivia/Chloe

 

After Anna left for her room, Olivia toured the house along with Chloe to find the guest room. After very minimal walking, the couple walked in to find a rather cozy room, just barely able to comfortably fit two people. The eldest Seaton slung her backpack off her shoulders and went to get the room ready for their stay, sighing a bit. "Well this room's definitely better than the one on the boat, I can say that for sure." she said, chuckling a little, even though she seemed to be staring off into a corner when speaking...

 

Chloe giggled, as she nodded, hopping onto the bed for the moment to test its comfiness. "Yeah... That bed was like, I swear it was 5 years old or something." She glanced over at Olivia in the process, however, as she noticed that she seemed to be distracted by something again.

 

"Ugh, I know, and the room on the boat was so cramped... People think it's fun to be sleeping next to each other, but when you're literally smushed together..." Olivia replied, shaking her head. "Yeah, it's just no fun for anyone."

 

The red-haired trainer took out the contents of her backpack and organized the things she could, not really mentioning anything else afterwards. She didn't even make eye contact with Chloe then, her mouth subtly curved downwards in a contemplative frown... Olivia didn't really want any attention on her in that moment, but her efforts were mostly backfiring, all things considered.

 

Chloe nodded, a bit absentmindedly, as she wondered what was up. "Everything okay?" She asked, as she kept watching Olivia. She had a feeling that what the other redhead had said on the boat had something to do with this.

 

Olivia blinked, and looked towards Chloe. "Oh, uh, nothing really bad, I was just considering maybe... I-I dunno, really, but maybe a walk outside..." she explained, biting her lip in that moment. "By myself...? You stay in this cozy room and relax, I-I'll be back before you know it, I promise." the red-haired trainer promised, going over to kiss her friend on the cheek. "After I head out, if you really need anything, you can call me by Pokegear, what with having my number again and all." the eldest Seaton teased as she referenced how Chloe had lost her number for a while. "But yeah, I think this would be good for me, so... See you soon."

 

Chloe giggled awkwardly about the number, but paused with a frown, as she noticed Olivia leaving the room. It was nice in the room... But here was Olivia, the one who hated the cold the most in probably the whole world, wanting to take a walk in it. She pushed herself off the bed, and frowned more, as she went to walk out of the room; she wasn't sure how well this would work, but also wasn't wanting to leave Olivia in the state she seemed to be in. Chloe had barely noticed that Bree had gotten out of her Pokeball again, and was seeming to be heading in the direction of Anna's room. She paused as she reached the hallway, though, indecisive on whether or not she should just leave Olivia alone or not. However, as she closed her eyes for a moment, she figured it was better for her to at least attempt to help cheer her friend up, if there really was something wrong.

 

Olivia didn't notice anything that happened behind her, and just opened the door. She walked out, shivering at the cold wind rushing by, thrusting her hands into her coat pockets for warmth. The eldest Seaton didn't really have a destination in mind at all. All she knew is that she just wanted to walk, and walk, and walk... Various thoughts buzzed around in her head, creating a cacophony of worries and wondering... The trainer was so lost in the noise of her thoughts that she didn't seem to notice anything around her as she walked...

 

Chloe walked out the door, still pulling on her coat, as she glanced around quickly. The girl frowned, as she saw Olivia wandering almost out of sight, and ran after her rapidly. She wasn't sure why she was so scared, but something just felt out of place to her. As she caught up, she slowed down again, and paused a bit uncertainly. "... Liv...?" Chloe looked at her friend with a slightly worried look on her face, as she wondered just what was going on with her.

 

Chloe's voice behind her startled Olivia, who whirled around in surprise. "What the...??! What in the world... You?" she questioned, frowning. "B-but I said to wait for me back in the room, didn't I?? What are you doing here, after I specifically asked for you to wait for me when I got back...?" she said, frowning. Already her plan for a long, solitary stroll had been foiled... "P-please go back, you don't have to be out here in the cold at all... I'll be back before you know it."

 

Chloe rubbed her arm, as she closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry. I just, I'm worried about you. We both know your thoughts on the cold, but you want to take a walk in it...?" She frowned more, as she clutched her coat closed as a cold breeze blew past them. "I know you asked for me to wait, but how can I wait, when I'm worried about you? I know I should have just stayed back, I know you want time alone, but..." She went quiet, as she just tried to get a feeling of what was even going on here.

 

Olivia's eyes went dark for a moment, and she shook her head. "...I-I understand what you're saying. You're so worried about me, aren't you?" she said, sighing. "But I'll tell you now, it's nothing you should concern yourself about. Especially not after I've seen you so down lately, moreso than I could ever be." the red-haired trainer said, putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "These are my concerns. They barely matter at all, and I'm the one who has to think things over. You shouldn't make yourself a factor, so please... Just go back and wait for me to get back..." 

 

Chloe looked back, still uncertain of what to do. However, as she thought it over more and more, she realized that there was only one thing she could do, and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to leave you here by yourself, when your face is saying something different than what you are yourself. They might be your concerns; but they definitely do matter, and you don't have to think over anything alone." She had a slightly apologetic look on her face, but was determined to help out. "You helped me out of being down; I can at least try to help you in return. We work things out together, right? That includes your stuff. I can tell something's bothering you, and it's more than what you're saying..." She sighed, seeming worried still, and frowned further. "Come on, just... let me in; open up. We could always like, share stories or something..." She smiled weakly.

 

Olivia looked around nervously, having a hard time making eye contact with Chloe in that moment. "M-my stories, they... They're nothing important, I swear... I just... I don't know." she muttered in a defeated tone. "After hearing everything you've gone through, I... I can't share anything I feel bad about in good faith, just... They're nothing. You had to deal with so much horrible things, and I... I..." 

 

The red-haired trainer turned around, her breath becoming shaky. "...I-I'm so... S-so... Selfish... No matter how much I try to help you, how to support you, I... I keep going back to the past thoughts, and... Why?? Nothing I've gone through really even is that bad, but I still feel so awful, and I... Please, please leave me alone..." she pleaded, getting more and more nerved up by the second.

 

Chloe frowned slightly, and then walked up to give Olivia a reassuring hug. "That's a start..." She said softly, but still looked at her. "You're not selfish for wanting to help yourself... it's not just a one-way street of support, after all. I can help you; I'm here for you... but you have to open up to me to do that. I know it's tough. I know just how tough it is to just drop your guard, but please... if there's something bothering you, don't just keep it locked inside." She could feel Olivia's pain, even if she didn't know why. "You can't just give and give and give, without taking a moment to deal with your own pain; and dealing with things alone just tends to let things get locked up... I should know that one well." She smiled a bit ruefully, but still tried to help. "Please...?"

 

Olivia closed her eyes, seeming defeated in that moment. "I... You're always so nice to me, you know...? But... You've already been helping me. Far too much, actually." she muttered, sniffing. "You're asking me to drop my guard but if I did that... Do you know why after you left, I was obsessed with becoming stronger, no matter what, even if I hurt others, or myself...?" the red-haired trainer asked, pain in her voice. "Without you around, I felt so small and helpless... I didn't know how to talk to people, and I didn't know how to control my temper. I... I felt so weak, and scared. I lean on you to feel secure for myself. I told you before, I'm selfish, and this is why... I-I need you to feel happy and secure. Even when you've dealt with so much... I... I'm so sorry..."

 

"Well, why not just ask for help, then?" Chloe smiled softly, not seeming to mind. "Everyone has their moments of weakness. It's okay to be scared, and feel weak. Doesn't mean you really are weak... You survived long enough to meet up with me again, right?" She hugged Olivia reassuringly, a hint of a frown on her face, but not one meant to give shame. "You may have taken the wrong path maybe, but that's not a bad thing. Everyone makes mistakes... even I have." She smiled again, and hugged more, trying to show it was alright. "What things are you insecure about?" She seemed curious, but continued to smile, to try and reassure her that it was perfectly okay to talk about it.

 

"Umm, well... I've made more than a few mistakes, to be perfectly honest..." Olivia said, still seeming rather melancholy. "I mean, I'd actually consider joining Rocket one of them... Even if the ceasefire makes it okay to be with you, the decisions I made while I was at Rocket... They make me wish I hadn't joined the thing in the first place." she muttered, closing her eyes. "You see... I was, well... Pretty infamous back at the base. I was rude and angry all the time, and snapped with barely any provocation. Nobody liked me back then, and it just... As you could probably guess, I didn't have any friends either, huh?" the red-haired trainer pointed out, chuckling slightly, her face quickly turning back into a sad frown. "I first thought I had to act like that to be strong and gain respect, and when it didn't work out... I just kept trying, because I didn't know what else to do. So now all of the other agents pretty much hate my guts and stay away from me now. I stayed anyways because I didn't know where else I could go. But now that I have you again, I... I don't feel like I ever want to go back there... Especially not with you. No one would like me anyways, and I'd give you a bad rap with them too, not just Liberty."

 

Chloe seemed a little sad to hear that, but smiled, and hugged her some more. "We could always try that, maybe, even still..." She nodded, though. "I get that, though; it's tough when you have a bad start. So, I guess opening up to people is one thing, as well?" She teasingly poked her friend, but didn't seem upset at what she had said.

 

Olivia chuckled back a bit, and nodded. "Umm, yeah, I guess... Though I'd also have to learn how to actually talk to people as well too. That's probably what caused a lot of my bad rap, because I just don't really know how to interact with them at all...? You're the only person I really feel like I've befriended and can talk to comfortably, really." she admitted, biting her lip. "It sounds so bad of me to ask for social help from someone who's had such a rough life like you did though... I still can't ask these things of you in good faith, j-just... I'm not sure, I know you say you want to help, but don't you have to help yourself first...?"

 

Chloe smiled in response to that. "What else do I have to help myself with right now, though? You need time for yourself, too. I don't have anything that actually needs anything else right now; I mean, I found you, everyone helped me realize I don't need to worry so much about what happened in Unova, the rest of transition stuff are things that'll take time anyway, and can't be started until later... I'd say I'm good enough right now to help you out especially." She giggled with a smile. "And maybe next time, if you don't seem so down in the dumps, I'll actually let you take a walk to think." She teasingly poked Olivia again, but thought for a moment.

 

"Well, I have to say that I'm probably not huge help with social things, but, you know what, I think I have an idea..." Chloe smiled even more, as she thought back to what Evan had told her to cheer her up after everything had gone sideways with Ryan. "What if, like, tomorrow night or something, we like, call the others and get to know them? They're good people, and I'm sure they'll like you after getting to know you a bit..."

 

"Wait, what?" Olivia replied, not expecting that sort of offer. "Umm... Th-that might work I think? But, uh... They don't really care about who I am though, right?" she asked, seeming wary. "I-I mean, if you call them, they'd want to talk to you and all, right? They're your friends and all, for all they care, I-I'm just someone who follows you around and just so happens to be dating you..." the red-haired trainer said, still being a bit awkward. "They're probably nice if you say there are, it's just, uh, I don't think they'd really care to speak to some random girl who they don't even know the name of?" 

 

"Well, we could at least, try, right? I mean, we could always go visit more, probably, dunno when, but..." Chloe scratched her head, but tried to smile reassuringly. "If you want to be even more certain, then I could let you talk to them yourself, and encourage from the background... I wouldn't mind letting you have the first discussion."

 

Olivia smiled a bit, nodding. "I-if you'd think that would work... I'd try to talk good, but uh, probably really can't mention anything about Rocket to your Liberty agent buds and all..." she muttered, looking over apologetically. Choosing the sides they did would probably complicate a lot of things.

 

"Well then, uhh... We got two options right now. One is we head back to Anna's place and stuff." the trainer said, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "That, or we keep walking around Snowpoint. Either way we'll probably be talking, so... What do you wanna do?"

 

Chloe chuckled, as she smiled slightly. "I don't think it matters to the group from Lilycove; especially with Ryan there..." She thought for a moment about the second question, though. "I don't mind walking around more; though, what do you want? I mean, it is cold, after all, which is why I was worried to begin with." She giggled a bit, and looked over to see what she thought.

 

Olivia shuddered a bit, and looked around. "Yeah, umm... I vote going back now. We probably shouldn't have left Anna so suddenly, anyways..." she admitted with a sheepish grin. "Thanks for always helping me though... I love you for it." she told her friend, hugging back appreciatively. "Now let's go somewhere warm."

 

Chloe nodded, and began to walk back with Olivia. "Say, um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what was with yesterday, anyway?" She seemed a little curious about that. "I mean, I get it a bit, but... I'm still kinda curious. I mean..." She blushed slightly, as she tried to figure out how to phrase what she meant, about when Olivia had followed her and Evan for a bit.

 

"Huh?" Olivia asked, not getting what was meant. "I don't understand what you... Oh." she said, blushing slightly as well. "I, well... Umm, I-I'm probably a bit... Defensive of you, and all." the red-haired trainer explained. "I'm still afraid of losing you for another four years, so umm... I-I guess knowing where you'll be is just more important to me now. Yeah..."

 

Chloe sighed, but giggled a bit, and leaned in close. "Do you trust me?" She asked with a smile on her face.

 

"Is this a trick question?" Olivia asked, raising an eyrbrow. "I mean, if you're actually asking a regular question, then yes, I trust you. It's everything else around us that has me worried about if things go wrong." she answered, rubbing the back of her head.

 

Chloe giggled, and kissed Olivia on the cheek. "Then try not to worry about that. I'm not planning on going anywhere. Well; at least for longer than like a day." She giggled again, and smiled. "I know I disappeared randomly last time..." She held up the arm that held her Pokegear. "But this time, I actually have this with me 24/7, and your number programmed in."

 

"Well, you should probably memorize my number too, right?" she pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Last time, your Pokegear got busted, didn't it? So having a number on this new one doesn't account for a snafu like that happening again..." Olivia said, chuckling a bit. "Maybe think those things through too, y'know?" she said, kissing Chloe back.

 

Chloe smiled sheepishly, but giggled, and returned the kiss. "That's true... Say, what happened while I was gone, anyway?" She was very bad at trying to change the subject.

 

"Uhh... Nothing interesting, really. I mean, I wasn't very liked, and stuff, so I was a massive jerk to everyone." Olivia answered sheepishly. "And... Wait. Oh man... Ohhhh..." she said, rubbing the back of her head. "Now that I've seen him again, I may have... Uhh, told Ray to go jump in the sewer that one time a few years ago. I-I didn't really recognize him then, so uh... Oops?"

 

Chloe chuckled at that, and smiled in amusement. "Probably was deserved." She said with a teasing smile, and thought for a moment. "He didn't seem to hold it against you, either, so... But nothing exciting or anything?" She seemed happy to hear anything anyway.

 

"Uhh... Nothing as exciting as Unova or recently, but... Hmm..." Olivia thought, putting a finger to her chin. "Oh yeah! There was one time at the cafeteria where I saw some really suspicious looking guy mutter and look at his Pokegear a lot. So I got up to follow him from a distance, and turns out he was Liberty trying to get intel on Rocket!" she explained, grinning. "So I called him out and told him to take a hike, and challenged him to a battle, which got the attention of everyone around me, and in the end I got the credit for preventing a data leak! That was so cool, lemme tell you, it was just insane and-wait... I didn't mean it like that I swear!!"

 

Chloe giggled, but smiled. "That really did sound cool, though! I mean, even if the guy was part of my faction, I don't mind. It sounds like it was really fun." She smiled even more, at how excited Olivia seemed to be about that. "Any other cool battles that went well too?" She seemed curious and excited about that.

 

"Uhh, lemme think..." Olivia replied, her cheeks still red from the last story. "Uhhh. Maybe that one guy who was just the biggest prick ever to me?" she said, shrugging. "He always challenged me to battles. Me and Amethyst won most of them over him and his Hitmontop, but we hated each other's guts... Though I actually never learned his name." she noted, shivering a bit more from the cold.

 

Chloe giggled, but smiled. "Well, hey, that's a good thing." She thought for a moment, and blushed as she took her coat off, hiding her own shivering, as she held out the coat to Olivia, trying to help with another layer for the little way they had before they got back to the house. "I could help you train more, if you want..." She giggled again, and looked over. "Feeling a little better?"

 

Olivia was surprised by both offers, but smiled. "Yeah, I'd like to train, thanks for the offer." she said, taking the coat as well. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for." the red-haired trainer said, kissing and hugging Chloe as they walked towards Anna's house...

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

The young boy was minding his own business, keeping at a distance while watching up on Saya and Vlad. The sound of shattering glass and snapping wood made him jump up and look around in a panic, not sure what was happening. Saya was much the same, and squeaked out in fear, leaping onto and clinging on Vlad's tail. The youngest Seaton saw her state and tried his best to reassure the scared little Pokemon, until Sylph's message reached his ears. 

"Wait, so it's either Xander or Evan's fault or something??" Aspen said in confusion, scratching the back of his head. He went to walk out of his room, looking over at Vlad. "Could you, um, help Saya calm down? I have to go see what's up." he asked the Gliscor, wincing a bit at the whimpering Eevee's state. He rushed through the boat, to the top deck. "So. What happened and why are you two fighting all of a sudden?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia Seaton hummed as she put the finishing touches on breakfast, satisfied with her handiwork. Just as she began to clean up the kitchen, however, shattering glass and wood somewhere on the ship caused her to turn around in confusion. "What the?? Uhh, something's wrong then?" she muttered confusedly, rubbing the back of her head. "Is there a disaster going on?" she asked the Absol next to her. He shook his head, looking just as confused. "Hmm. That's odd then..." 

Sylph's message resonated throughout the boat not long after, not really clearing up Dahlia's confusion. The middle Seaton walked up the deck, smiling even though she really didn't know what was going on at all. "Oh, good to see everyone's safe still at least, and whatnot..." the gardener said, rubbing the back of her head. "I know everyone wants to battle and all, but I actually just finished breakfast, so, well... Maybe everyone should eat first? Or eat while the fight's happening?" Dahlia suggested, blushing a bit. "I-I'm not sure what would work better, so, well, I guess people can decide what they want."

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander and Sylph

 

The Kalos trainer smiled as the Seatons came up top. "Hey, no worries. I just messed up downstairs, and Evan came to investigate. We realized that we haven't really gotten to know each other, and he apparently likes to battle people when he first meets them." He chuckled, shrugging.

 

Sylph smiled. Please, Dahlia, feel free to finish what you are doing. The others would probably enjoy breakfast and a show. We'll eat afterwards. Xander nodded, grinning. "No-one should miss this."

 

He smiled, stretching softly. Sylph rolled her shoulders, grinning softly. So, Xander, let's talk strategy...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray/Jenny/Ryan==-

 

As the day was heading onward, Ray and Jenny heard the psychic call. Ryan seemed to be missing in action for a little while, even after they regrouped on the deck. However, before the fight actually began, the black haired Rocket wandered over to where it was taking place, a wide smile seeming to be stuck on his face. "... What's with you? Did-" Ray began to say, before Ryan stopped his grin for the briefest of moments to give him a 'stop talking now' look, before smiling again, not seeming to totally focus on anything. Yep. Something happened. The spiky orange-head thought, before turning his attention to the fight.

 

OOC: Jam? JAM?! JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!

 

-==IC: Bree/Anna/Chloe/Olivia==-
 
Bree ruffled her feathers, looking around her new environment in awe. The young Torchic didn't even noticed the state her trainers were in, and just ran around Anna's house, chirping curiously all the while. It didn't take long for her to find the door to Chloe's cousin's room, tilting her head since she could tell someone else was in there. Bree used her forehead to push the door frame forward, and curiously peeked her head out from behind it, looking around to see what else was new.
 
Anna looked up from her phone in surprise, as she glanced over at the door. "Oh, hello there..." The girl seemed surprised at the Torchic, wondering what the tiny bird was doing there.
 
Bree blinked and turned to where the voice came from, and then beamed in delight. The small fire chick squealed joyfully, and ran up beside Anna's bed, looking up with wide eyes. She chirped excitedly, and smiled up at the dark-haired girl, delighted that this place had someone new to meet.
 
Anna smiled slightly, and reached down to lift up the baby Pokemon. "So... I'm guessing you're with the other two?" She asked with a slight giggle, as she seemed curious. "Did they let you roam around, or did you get out on them?"
 
Bree chirped happily when Anna lifted her up, beaming all the while She chirped happily at the mention of the other two, who she considered her parents now. However, she didn't understand the second question, and tilted her head a bit, not sure what was being asked. The baby Torchic however, squealed again happily, ruffling her feathers and wings and in Anna's arms, asking her for cuddles.
 
Anna giggled, as the black haired girl obliged, and hugged the Torchic close. "You're a cutie, for sure. I haven't seen a Torchic in a while." She said, as she patted the tiny bird's head.
 
Bree giggled and smiled some more, leaning against Anna contently. She really enjoyed cuddling, and this girl was very gentle and nice. The tiny Torchic ruffled her feathers some more while chirping happily. While she was hugged, however, Bree's body heat was providing Anna with a comforting warmth, not unlike that of a hot water bottle. The baby Pokemon didn't realize this, but was more than willing to lean against the dark-haired girl anyways.
 
Anna giggled, as she felt the heat from the Torchic. "You're a very gentle cutie, too. Chloe and Olivia should be pretty proud..." She was feeling a bit warm because of the extra heat, but didn't seem to mind too much, since it was pretty much perpetually winter in Snowpoint for the most part.
 
Bree beamed some more at Anna's compliments, very happy overall. The baby Torchic smiled at the girl some more, squirming in delight. She stopped quickly, settling for looking around at her room with innocent curiosity, marveling at mundane objects, ranging from slippers to chairs.
 

Anna watched at the Torchic looked around, amazed at the little bird's curiosity. She wondered how old the Torchic even was, as she smiled. "Wanna look around?" The girl asked, as she set down the Torchic for a moment.
 

The baby Torchic scampered around once set on the ground, dashing across the room with seemingly boundless energy. She ran under the chairs and desks, looking into corners, observing every random object on the ground with curiosity. Bree was enraptured by seemingly everything in the room, and left no stone unturned in her exploration.
 
Meanwhile, Olivia and Chloe reached Anna's door, after a brisk trek through the snow. She grabbed the doorknob to see if it was open and they could go back inside to the indoors warmth of Anna's home.
 

Chloe shivered as she entered back into the house, and then paused, as she remembered something. "Hmm... Wait, I feel like something's missing." She tried to think of what she was thinking was different, but had no idea what it actually was.



 
Olivia shrugged, and gave Chloe back her coat when walking inside. "We're back!" she said, to see if Anna was there. "You holding up okay in that room there, Anna? Sorry for leaving. Just wanted a quick walk and all." the eldest Seaton explained, waiting for a reply.
 
"Yep! I've been kept company!" Chloe frowned in confusion, as she glanced over at Olivia, and mouthed that they hadn't been gone that long. "This little Torchic is so cute!" As Anna's voice carried down the hall, Chloe paused once again, and turned to Olivia in surprise, a look of recognition back on her face, as she went to go to Anna's room to try and double check.
 
"Torchic...?" Olivia muttered, as a realization dawned on her. "...Chloe, did you check our Pokeballs? I mean, Bree does like to get outside of hers, and... Well, keeping Anna company seems like something she'd do?" she said, rubbing the back of her head, going over to walk to Anna's room to see what was up.
 
Chloe blinked, as she walked into the room, and saw a Torchic running around. "Little troublemaker..." She giggled, not seeming to mind, as she looked over at Anna. "I'm glad she was good for you; I mean, considering she wasn't supposed to be here and all..." She sheepishly smiled at that.
 
Olivia looked at the tiny fire chick scampering along the floor, and smirked a bit. "Of course, you little rascal." she said amusedly. "Bree's definitely the curious type, and likes meeting new people from what I can tell... Must be cause she's a baby. At least she kept you warm for a bit, then." the red-haired trainer said, shrugging a bit more.
 
Bree turned around at the familiar voices, and ran back up to Chloe and Olivia. She leaped up into the former's arms, chirping excitedly about the nice lady she had just met, and how cool the room was. Olivia chuckled more a the tiny bird's antics, and looked at Anna. "Well, see you later, then."
 

"She was very good at keeping me warm; I'm glad I could keep an eye on her too... Maybe you should watch your Pokeball a little more." Anna smiled sweetly, not meaning to upset them, but more poke fun at the situation, as she waved at the others, as they walked out of the room.
 
"That was definitely a bit awkward; but at least she was okay..." Chloe said with a sheepish smile, as she looked over at the Torchic in Olivia's arms. "Can't really blame her for being curious, I just wish she'd pick a better time sometimes..." She giggled awkwardly, but patted the Torchic on the head.
 
Olivia giggled, and hugged Bree close in response. "You hear that, rascal? Wait till we're actually here  before trying to run around everywhere." she said amusedly, walking back to the guest room. She shut the door behind her and Chloe, and set Bree down to run around some more. "She's too darn cute to stay mad at, huh?" the red-haired trainer noted, giggling some more.
 
"Definitely... at least there wasn't really a ton for her to get in trouble with, since it seems like she made a bee-line for Anna..." Chloe giggled again, and shivered a bit. The cold had caught up to her again, and while she was fine with having given Olivia her coat, she now wondered if she would have been warmer otherwise, and giggled again.
 
Olivia noticed how cold Chloe was, frowning. "Hmm... Why don't you hug Bree, then?" she suggested. "You look pretty cold...  Probably from being romantic and giving me your coat." she teased, poking her friend. Chloe did feel very cold however, and Olivia was a bit worried about that...
 
Chloe giggled while shivering, and thought for a moment. "How about a compromise; I hug Bree for a bit, then you later?" She seemed a bit amused about that idea, and thought for a moment. "Why not ask Anna if there's anything you could do in the meantime? I mean, I dunno what you'd wanna do right now, but if there is anything..." She smiled sheepishly with a slight yawn, shivering a bit more afterward.

 
Olivia thought for a bit, and shrugged. "Uhh, to be honest, I'm not really sure what I could be doing? Besides resting, since you seem as tired as I am." she pointed out teasingly. The trainer stretched, yawning as well, sitting down on the bed. "I guess lowering my guard really drained me, huh...? Hope it doesn't become a trend or anything like that."
 
Chloe giggled, but smiled. "It can be a trend. But just try to remember, I'm here for you, always. If you ever want to talk about anything, or vent your worries, you can do that."
 
Olivia nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I get that, and I appreciate that... But I can't shake everything off right now, and all that." she pointed out, putting an arm to her shoulder. "Still feeling weird being upset over the things I am and all, and I don't think I can really get over that quickly?" she said, looking down. "Geez, I'd go hug Bree, but you have to get warm and all first."
 
Chloe thought for a moment, and smiled, as she pulled her friend more onto the bed, and tried to have it so that both of them were hugging Bree. "It's alright; take your time... But I'm positive it's not weird. Everyone has their own problems they have to handle, and putting them off just leads to trouble. But if you put your mind to it, I'm sure you can try!" She smiled happily at Olivia, as she believed that Olivia could overcome her troubles; including her insecurity about having so many worries in the first place.
 
Olivia blinked a bit at that setup, but shrugged and went to hug Bree anyways. Seeing as the fire chick really didn't seem to mind, the red-haired trainer smiled and pressed herself against the Torchic's warmth, relaxing for a bit. "Heh, how is it that some people can believe in others so hard, but just can't do the same for themselves?" she said. "Maybe so it's so that they can find each other and support one another, and believe... Or maybe that's just how the world is weird like that sometimes. Who knows?" the eldest Seaton pointed out, smiling a bit at Chloe. "Either way, thanks..."
 
"You're welcome." Chloe smiled back, and giggled. "I'm sure in time you'll believe in yourself just as much. Heck, look at me!" She teasingly poked Olivia, but still didn't seem upset. "Tomorrow, wanna train? I think we probably should try to train up your Nincada a bit, after all..."
 
"Oh, Willow? Her?" Olivia asked, blinking a bit. "Oh right, huh. Yeah, she could be a bit tougher if she's really going to be a part of my team, really.... Though, not the only one who could use to be a bit more powerful." she said, sighing. "Dang... It's been a few years for me, but I'm still really weak compared to you, aren't I...? To think that my goal as a kid was to surpass you... That goal really does look far away, now."
 
Chloe giggled. "You're not that weak, really. I mean, a lot of my 'strength' has either been artificial, or forced upon me." She sighed, though, as she looked at Olivia. "If you worry so much about things like that, though, you'll miss the good parts of life."
 
"Well, think about the environment we're in now." Olivia pointed out, frowning. "Always a battle going on nowadays... And your'e always the one who's most effective at taking care of them when you're able. I mean, Amethyst did look pretty cool back in Sootpolis, but otherwise, your Pokemon really took care of the problems the best." she said, sighing. "Makes it hard to keep up with, you know? I don't want to be carried by your team, I want to actually hold my own when the going gets rough."
 
Chloe tilted her head in confusion. "I wouldn't say that... I mean, my Pokemon didn't do that much in general in Sootopolis; didn't Shade, Am, and Aria do the most?"
 
"Did they? Hmmm..." Olivia thought, and rubbed the back of her head. "But what about Celadon? I don't think any of my Pokemon did anything significant then, right? It was pretty much all you then..."
 
"Well, to be fair, we both kinda were about equal there, and a bit split between two fights..." Chloe smiled sheepishly at that, but giggled. "I'm willing to help you get stronger... I just don't think it's such a big thing to worry about, when I can help you with it like that."
 
"I guess yeah... Just, fighting looks like it'll be pretty necessary from now on." Olivia said, and looked down. "It's not an ideal thing to be worrying about, but I don't want to be dead weight in a deadly situation. I just... I hope things are alright for a while longer." she muttered, seeming uneasy.
 
"You're not dead weight. I promise, I'll help you out, but don't be so hard on yourself, k?" Chloe gave Olivia a reassuring peck on her cheek, and smiled. "No matter what happens, let's face it with a smile, alright? We'll start tomorrow; train up Willow and Dune; Willow looked to be getting the hang of fighting quick, though, so I think that's a good sign."
 
"Yeah, that sounds about right, good idea. Though, uh, just to mention, apparently Evan renamed Dune, he's Jhen, I think it was now?" Olivia said, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, that. Maybe Toxin and Shade could also use some help... Especially Shade. I don't know what it is but he still seems to be falling flat on his face a bunch, even though he sort of evolved offscreen and all." the red-haired trainer pointed out, chuckling a bit awkwardly.
 
Chloe giggled. "Well, Jhen definitely sounds like a good name; Blade got renamed to Alvis, too." She smiled, and thought for a moment. "That sounds good to me; the only one I'm uncertain of, is what to do with Bree... She can't really fight, and I don't think we want her to fight." She giggled a bit, and thought for a moment. "What if, like, I lent you a Pokemon or so, for that purpose?"
 
"Alvis? Is that from a movie or video game?" Olivia asked a bit awkwardly, but then listened to what else Chloe had to say. "Oh right, for sure, we're not gonna make Bree fight... She's just too much of a sweetie for that right now." she agreed, rubbing the Torchic on the head affectionately while saying that. "Lending a Pokemon though? What did you have in mind?"
 
"Hmm..." Chloe scratched her head slightly, as she tried to think. "Well, any of my team, really. You could take Katie..." She smiled teasingly, as she knew very well what Olivia thought of the mischievous Zoroark.
 
"And have her rip off my style again? Probably not..." Olivia said, frowning a bit as she remembered the prankster Zoroark. "Though, uh, I'm not really all too familiar with your team in general? I mean, all I can really say I know is Cyndy... I guess we'll have to see which one likes me?" she asked, shrugging. "I dunno, it'd sort of feel like cheating to me to get that power without any effort of my own, but since I don't want to train Bree..."
 
"I think it'd be fine for you to borrow a Pokemon for a little while, what with how I'm proabbly gonna push you hard on the others." She smiled teasingly, but thought for a moment. "What if you borrowed my Pikachu, Heather, though? Not too much power, she kinda gets a bit... underused by me, by accident, and I'm sure she'd love you." Chloe giggled, as she thought they might make a good fit.
 
"Heather...? Pikachu...? Hmm. I didn't think Bree was gonna start a trend of me only getting cute Pokemon from now on." Olivia said with a grin, chuckling. "Hmm, I could see that working, though. Of course, she'd actually have to like me, and I'd have to get to know her later, so we'll have to see about that. Hmm, I wonder how easy it is to get a Thunder Stone around here..." she thought, putting a finger to her chin. "That is, unless she's one of the oddballs who doesn't like to evolve."
 
Chloe giggled. "Well, I haven't really ever gotten a chance to ask." She said sheepishly, as that hadn't ever actually occurred to her. "It'd be pretty cool if you could, she might even like you more than me..." The girl teasingly poked Olivia, but smiled, not really seeing any downside here.
 
"Maybe she will. Who knows? I dunno when we could even meet though, you said something like tomorrow?" Olivia asked, rubbing the back of her head. "I mean, the plan was to get some rest in first at least, right? I'd want to do that first yeah, but afterwards I really don't have any plans for anything else, so yeah."
 
Chloe giggled, and nodded sleepily. "Resting sounds good. Let's make tomorrow be the best it can be, and without worries, alright?"
 
Olivia yawned, and set down Bree to run around some more, and stretched. "Sounds great to me... See you on the flipside." she said, kissing Chloe softly, laying back on the bed afterwards, closing her eyes. The red-haired trainer tossed her arms around her friend, while her breathing slowly became softer.

[MELON LORD]

OOC: DOUBLE JAM TIME!

 

Jam 1: Mercury/Mercury?/Payton/Derek/David

 

"There are only five of you here," He glared at Payton, his aura flowing around his hands. "Are you hiding someone from me? Have someone waiting in reserve?!" He really should have killed her by now. She could be a distraction at a crucial moment.

 

No! I can't let Lachina down like that! Well, then, he could knock her out. He scoffed. How weak, leaving enemies alive. This certainly wasn't like the old days.

 

Payton shugged, as she looked up at Mercury with a semi-annoyed look. "I dunno where he is. He was on wait duty." She gave a slightly smug look at that. "He was supposed to check in a little bit ago, but-"

 

"HELLO, DARLINGS."

 

"Oh, look, there he is." Payton sighed, as her smugness fell. "Good ol' loudmouth Derek."

 

"Hey, you're not really seeming to be in a position to... complain." Derek strode forward, a hint of glamour in his step. "Besides; I'm here now. I can handle this."

 

 "You're too late to handle anything," Mercury sneered. "The fight's over. If you'd been one of mine, you would be--" He seemed to choke for a second, stammered, and finished with. "jobless." He brought a hand to his head, wincing.

 

Whatever had possessed him, Mercury had taken control again. He had been ready to do terribly things to a helpless man. He felt sick at the thought of it. "You guys were investigating the power outage. When did it start?"

 

Payton and Derek paused, as they noticed what happened, and gave each other a look of confusion for a moment, but then Payton looked back to Mercury, and frowned slightly, as she explained how the power had been acting funny for about three or four days prior to then. Before that, she'd seen a couple shady people, and thought it was connected; but had only just gotten her friends together to investigate that day. "The odd thing is that the power's only out here. Whatever's happening, is only somewhat affecting the city, and really shouldn't be causing a problem... But I'm not sure why it'd be like this..."

 

Mercury nodded a bit, making his way cautiously past Derek to kneel by Anubis. "Well, I'll be happy to help investigate, at least for a few more hours." Two island was in danger. Just one more week before it was destroyed.

 

"My friend, the girl who was here, might be willing to help, too. Before that, though, let's get David to the hospital, and our pokémon to the Pokémon Center." Anubis would need the healing, being Mercury's only landbound pokémon.

 

No, that wasn't quite right. Anubis was the only one that he could safely use.

 

Payton was very confused at the sudden shift in attitude but nodded. "Right." She walked over to her fallen friend, and lifted him up under the shoulder, Derek taking the other side, as the rest of the group slowly began to stir. Payton explained the situation to them, and tensions slowly seemed to dissipate; after that, they headed out of the gym, and toward the hospital, even as Payton tried to make sense of what was happening.

 

Mercury returned Anubis and Oggie before following the group out of the gym. He kept his eyes down, unable to meet anyone's gaze after what he had done to their friend.

 

Why had he gone to that extreme? Did he have a temper? No, he hadn't really felt angry during all that. Quite the opposite, in fact. He had garnered some sort of sadistic glee in hurting David. Was he a sadist, then? Except, he wouldn't be feeling so sick right now if he were.

 

His memories were stirring, still, bits and pieces of the past flashing through his mind. He had hurt people before, he knew. He had even killed some. But, was that really him? No. He remembered the first person he had killed. That man had been a monster, and Mercury had  still felt grief afterwards.

 

He shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling. This was something he had to figure out. Who was the person that had so easily broken a man's finger, who had threatened to maim him? Was that Mercury? Or was that someone else, calling himself Mercury?

 

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for this. As they entered the hospital, Mercury saw Lachina talking with some girl with purple and pink hair.

 

 

Jam 2: Lachina Adaon/Belle LaDonna

 

"What, Zac?" Lachina said in reply to Belle's question. "Oh. To be honest, I'm not very certain. I think maybe a goon sort of... Got him with something from behind? I couldn't tell very well." she explained, shrugging. "Definitely a leg fracture, so probably some sort of bludgeoning impact. I don't know what." 

 

The Ranger turned to Belle, and raised an eyebrow. "What about you, though? Nightshade's not what people are normally named... Unless it's a codename for something." she pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "What's your story?"

 

Belle raised an eyebrow at the kid's analysis of the injury. "You some sort of doctor or cop?" she asked. Now she was nervous. Cops were never good news for her. "Nah, name's not actually Nightshade. Just a nickname I prefer."

 

She grinned. "Real name is Belle LaDonna. Get it? Like the poison. I'm a collector of rare and powerful pokémon." She patted the Metang's side, grinning. "Got ol' Cyanide here from a jerk who doesn't know how to treat his team."

 

"Alrighty Belle... Suspicious question, but I can't say I hold any legal jurisdiction here. Not yet, at least." Lachina replied, crossing her arms. "Though, I will say I've had more training than most ordinary people around here, and all that. Though, that's pretty irellevant right now." she declared, looking at Zac. "What we need is to get Zac and see about that leg. If the also strangely named Metang needs a refresher on where to go, I can provide that." the Ranger said, holding up her left arm and pointing to her Capture Styler.

 

Belle nodded softly. "Right, right." She looked around. She didn't know Vermilion too well, but it wasn't exactly a huge city. She had passed the hospital at some point. "I think I know where it is. C'mon, this way." She started jogging, one hand on Zac's chest to keep him stable on Cyanide's head.

 

She wondered for the millionth time why they didn't just combine Pokémon Centers and hospitals. If you were in a bad accident with your pokémon, it would be a lifesaver-- literally. For now, though, she just had to go with it.  They navigated the streets of Vermilion, dodging past clusters of people, Hemlock occasionally flying through a group to make room.

 

"I guess I don't really have a choice but to follow your lead." Lachina said, shrugging and just running after Belle. Aolani flew overhead, to which the Ranger was grateful for. Something about Belle and how she described herself felt... Off to Lachina, but right now she didn't have time to be picky with her help. Though in the case something went up, at least she could count on her cloudbird partner to help out.

 

"You're running faster than I expected." Lachina noticed, raising an eyebrow. "Do you just work out a lot? Or is it formal strength training you've had to do?"

 

 

Belle noticed the Altaria overhead and sighed longingly. She'd always wanted one of her own to ride around on. She had seen it coming out of the gym, so it must have been Lachina's or Zac's. She chuckled softly. "I did a lot of running growing up." She didn't care to elaborate; no need to give away all her secrets.

 

Hemlock came from around a corner, twisting and coiling in impatience. "Here we go," she said. "Let's get him checked in. Do you need to go back to the gym after this?" Would Belle help? She didn't really know the answer to that question. On the one hand, this kid put her on edge. On the other, there might be a reward for helping.

 

Her P★DA beeped on her hip, and she reached down to mute it. That was probably an update about Roderick Krane, but it could wait. Right now, there was potential money to be made.

 

"I've got an ally back at that Gym, so I'd like to get through this as quickly as I can." she answered. "Not that I'm worried for his safety. He can probably handle himself just fine... Which is exactly what I'm worried about." Lachina said darkly, before running inside the hospital to get Zac medical attention. She ran up to the front desk, quickly explaining what had been going on in a professional, concise manner, gesturing to her friend on Cyanide's back, hoping that was enough to convince them that things were serious.

 

As the nurses and doctors rushed to get Zac onto a stretcher and into a bed, they redirected Lachina to the waiting room to fill out some paperwork. Belle raised an eyebrow. "You're.... worried about your friend handling himself?" That didn't make a lot of sense. "If we need to hurry, just jot down your phone number so they can contact you, and let's go."

 

Lachina thought for a moment, and shook her head. "No. He probably doesn't want any interruptions right now. Who knows what could happen to us if we tried going back in..." she muttered, frowning, as she scribbled furiously on the clipboard. "I wouldn't risk it for now, especially since I have to be here to help Zac out."

 

The Ranger turned to face Belle afterwards, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I saw you eyeing Aolani back there. Do you happen to like Altaria or something?" she asked warily. "She's my current Partner Pokemon, for your information. Met her at my graduation where she started wrecking everything in sight. Now we're pretty good friends, all things considered." 

 

Belle grinned a bit. "I've wanted an Altaria for a while, yeah. They just look so fluffy!" She chuckled. "Plus, y'know, being a powerful pokémon. That's my specialty: powerful, rare, or unique pokémon." She sat in one of the chairs, grinning.

 

"Don't worry, I don't plan to steal her. I don't have a Snag Machine or anything." Yet, she added silently. "'sides, if you don't capture them and befriend them early, they'll never listen to you after they've been with someone else."

 

"Specialty... Hmm. Interesting thing to be specializing in." Lachina noted, looking back at Belle warily. "Well, I hope that your method of 'collection' is safe and doesn't harm any endangered species or environments, then." Lachina said, shrugging. "You probably know this by now, but it's a very fine balance. Take out too many elements and nature's structure just collapses around it"

 

The Ranger handed back the paperwork, and closed her eyes, leaning back on her chair. "But eh. It's not like I can change anyone's mind on anything. Maybe there's an Altaria out there who would love to be a part of your collection. Then everyone would be happy."

 

Belle nodded, smiling "I hope so. I was just up in Kalos to capture a Goomy, actually." She smiled. "It is a very delicate balance. I'm from Orre, so I know the dangers of over-capturing."

 

She looked up as the main doors opened, and raised an eyebrow. "Holy-- Uh, I really hope that isn't your friend."

 

"Orre, huh? Desert landscapes are always tough to live in. I have a lot of respect for everyone living in Haruba Village." Lachina said, casually mentioning her region of origin. 

 

Before she could continue however, Lachina turned her head. Six people she recognized from the Gym. One of them was clearly in bad shape, unconscious and with what looked to be a mangled finger. And then there was the person in the front of that group... The one with silver hair and eyes. 

 

"...Mercury." Lachina said sternly. She locked eyes with him, tensing up ever so slightly... "What did you do? What did you do back there?!"

 

 

IC: Mercury

 

He flinched as Lachina addressed him. He could see the disappointment apparent in her eyes, the fear in her posture. As Payton and Derek took their friend to the nurse, he took a cautious step towards Lachina. "I... I don't..." His vision was suddenly blurred as tears came to his eyes.

 

"I don't know," he said finally. "Lachina, I don't know what happened to me in there..."

Edited December 20, 2015 by Flowey the Flower

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan reached the upper deck, grinning the whole time as he walked with confidence. The waves rocked the boat gently as the Plasma Agent waved to Ray, Ryan and Jenny. There was no telling what Xander was capable of, especially with Sylph. With the others, he had experienced new ways of fighting. This would be no different for Evan.

"I guess I'll figure it out while I battle with him." Evan mused to himself. "After all, I've fought with many people with varying styles. I expect this will be an awesome fight." The Hero of Space then sat down, as he awaited his opponent, grinning with anticipation......

Edited December 20, 2015 by Hades

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan frowned suddenly, as he glanced around. "... Guys, does it feel like the boat's stopped to you?" He asked with a quizzical look. As Jenny and Ray nodded in agreement, Ryan glanced over, as a total newcomer walked onto the scene.

 

"You'd be right, hot stuff. I stopped the boat, so I could come watch this fight." The guy flashed a smile at Ryan, who seemed caught off guard, and frowned suspiciously at the guy, who didn't seem to be bothered by the glance at all. "The name's Jack; not to be confused by that guy Johnny Depp plays. Didn't expect the fight to have such a cool looking guy to be a part of it, though..." The guy, who appeared to be captain of the ship, chuckled as he looked at Evan. Ryan wasn't sure what to make of the guy at all, however, and moved over to where Ray and Jenny were standing. It almost felt like there was something the guy was hiding, by his flippant attitude... But Ryan had to admit to himself that he might just be overly on guard, much like the other Ryan was earlier.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

"You're not so bad yourself, good looking." Evan replied, smiling at the captain of the ship. "If I weren't spoken for, I would have loved to hang around with you." The Plasma Agent bowed to the captain, adding a touch of flair, and a wink at Jenny as he did so.

"So where is my challenger?" Evan said as he finished the bow. "We should really get this started! I wanna strut my stuff for the newcomers!"

[JiMing]

OOC: The year is 20XX. Everyone writes jams at Shakespeare levels of perfection. Because of this, the next poster in the topic depends solely on keyboard priority. The RPS metagame has evolved to ridiculous levels due to it being the only remaining factor to decide who posts.

 

IC: Amethyst/Alvis

It didn't take long for Amethyst to lead Alvis outside the town of Snowpoint, and into the woods. She walked forward at a slowing pace, looking down at her feet. "...The snow. I know this snow. Everything here... I..." she began, before shaking her head, and just walking forward more, her pace getting much quicker. She didn't make it a secret that these woods unnerved her, but didn't say a word to the Gallade behind her...

 

Alvis watched, wary of how she would react, but thought for a moment. "Think this is far enough for our training?"Alvis asked quickly, as he didn't want to bring them too far into the woods, just in case Amethyst's worries were for a good reason.

 

Amethyst stopped in her tracks just as the two of them reached an open clearing. "...I think so..." she said, holding her head down again. "...This looks like somewhere Mom would hold me and walk past, really... She always hugged me so tight. Just a wide open area like this, with me clinging to her neck, and..." the Gardevoir reminisced, stopping herself there. At that moment, she didn't seem in the best state of mind for training, and she just kept on speaking... "But that's just a memory now. She's probably long gone from here. Couldn't picture her staying behind in a place like this..."

 

Alvis frowned slightly, as he mentally sighed to himself. He had been hoping to keep her mind off everything, but it had backfired. "You don't know that, though... She might have stayed; hidden away somewhere, maybe."

 

"Maybe she did..." Amethyst replied, crossing her arms. "I wonder what she'd say if she saw me like this... Afraid of the snow and trees. How pathetic on my part..." the Gardevoir said, trembling. "Here I was thinking I would be training, but now... Now I can't stop shaking..."

 

"I don't think that's of any fault of your own." Alvis glanced around. Was it just her worry that made him uneasy? "If you don't feel up to it, we could always head back. No use rushing things, especially here."

 

"I'll be fine, I'm just... I..." she began, sitting down on a nearby fallen tree trunk. "...I'm just cold. Give me a moment and I'll... I'll be ready to battle, promise." Amethyst insisted, looking down once again.

 

Alvis nodded, as he glanced around. Something felt wrong; as if there was unnecessary tension in the air. Or... perhaps it was necessary? "Maybe we should... head back. Find some place in town that will work better." The Gallade was uncertain why he was so uneasy; but wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Especially after what he knew about the Gardevoir's past...

 

Amethyst shakily got up from the log, and nodded. "G-good idea, that would... That would be better for me." she said, walking up next to Alvis. She walked alongside him for a bit, looking around her and frowning. "Do you... Feel that? Something very wrong is going to happen soon, I can tell..." she muttered warily, her eyes darting around the snowy forest...

 

"Yeah... Come on, let's get out of here, quickly." Alvis attempted to pick up the pace, but yelped out, as he tripped over a branch; too focused on trying to scan for anyone present. "I'm okay..." The Gallade responded, but paused, as he realized that would have given someone the chance... "Be on guard!"

 

Amethyst nearly jumped up, and turned around, her hands glowing with psychic energy. "I'm watching out for you, so don't you think of jumping in!" she growled, even as she was very afraid in that moment. The Gardevoir gasped, her pupil shrinking, when she began to hear a voice that was all too familiar in her head...

 

"And just what make you think you of all things has the right to order ME around?" a gruff, low voice called out. "I never thought I'd have to see you in MY territory again. I had lost a lot of valuable target practice, you know? But that's fine now, since you brought a friend... My dear daughter."

 

Amethyst turned around just in time to see a blurred figure rush at the two of them, slashing out with a Night Slash. The Gardevoir yelped in pain, sent flying from the attack, just barely able to land on her knee. "You... I..."

 

"It's so very nice to see you again, Mirjana..." the Gallade said, his eyes filled with malice. "You dare walk into these woods after all these years? How utterly stupid. That's to be expected from the most pathetic excuse for a Ralts I had ever seen, however." he continued, looking down. "Oh, and what is this? Another Gallade? Something tells me I won't be able to recruit him to my clan. What a shame... I'll just have to eliminate him."

 

"NO YOU DON'T!!!" the Gardevoir cried, grabbing her father in a psychic hold, and tossing him into the broken tree trunk. She then teleported next to Alvis' side, and helped him up, her breathing turning ragged when she went to face her father again.

 

"...Barely a scratch. Hmmph. I guess I'll have to teach you both a lesson, then." Amethyst's father said darkly. "You are such a pathetic fool, Mirjana. Do you know what happens when you anger the great Bernhard? Why don't you all FIND OUT!!!" he cried out, rushing forward at the two of them...

 

Alvis winced as he stood to his feet, but frowned, as he attempted to come up with a plan. He could try to teleport; but it would probably just backfire on them, and get their trainers in trouble too. He could try to attack, but his most effective move would just leave Amethyst open in the process. With gritted teeth, Alvis attempted to slash out with a Psycho Cut, to try and keep the other Gallade at bay.

 

Bernhard grunted as his own Psycho Cut clanged against Alvis', which gave Amethyst the perfect opportunity to fall back and charge a Shadow Ball. "Who ARE you?? And why do you continue to defend my pathetic whelp of a daughter? What makes a Gardevoir worthy of defending, much less one as pathetic as Mirjana?!"

 

Amethyst growled and fired off the Shadow Ball, which her father quickly defended against. "You honestly thought that would scratch me? You disappoint me more and more by the second!" he scoffed, holding his arms out. "If you really think you can beat me, then why not strike me down, right here, right now??!"

 

Alvis grit his teeth, but nodded to Amethyst. He could tell her Shadow Ball was still not complete, and knew he had to buy her some time, as he seemed to fade out of existence for a moment. He reappeared behind Bernhard, and attempted to aim his resulting Shadow Sneak slash in a way that would deal massive damage - he couldn't allow this menace to keep going.

 

Bernhard closed his eyes when Alvis disappeared, waiting for the counterattack. Suddenly, he whirled around with a Night Slash to parry the Shadow Sneak. The Gallade grunted, as he couldn't prevent the strike from hitting, but he still prevented himself from being knocked out of the fight right then. "Predictable." he muttered, teleporting away. Bernhard reappeared a distance away, using Swords Dance, not only to boost his strength, but also to taunt and mock the two Pokemon he was battling, a wicked grin on his face.

 

Amethyst charged another Shadow Ball, balling up her fist at the attitude her father was taking. She teleported directly in front of her father, throwing the sphere of dark energy right in his face, a maneuver Bernhard was admittedly not expecting. She watched as he was sent skidding back, looking up with amusement. 

 

"So you fancy yourself a close range combatant I see." he replied. "That's cute. But you should know more than anyone how that's a bad idea." the Gallade said, a psychotic smirk appearing as he rushed forward with a Close Combat. Amethyst threw up a barrier to block the storm of hits, but she was clearly struggling to hold him back...

 

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa!" Energy appeared around Alvis' fists, as he quickly attempted to punch back to meet the Close Combat with one of his own. Even still, he felt himself starting to lose strength and be pushed back as well. Trying to open a private connection to Amethyst, Alvis struggled with keeping up the attack while using his telepathy."Am, Will-O-Wisp..."

 

Amethyst nodded quickly, and fell back while Bernhard had to shift his focus to Alvis. He was so focused on attempting to bat away the opposing Gallade that he did not seek out the private connection that had been opened. "You see now? You put so much effort into protecting my worthless daughter, and what does she do? Retreat like the coward she is!" he said, grinning widely. "Why don't you just give up now, boy? It'll save you a lot of pain should you accept my mercy!"

 

"Shut UP!!" Amethyst cried, conjuring a ghostly flame, and hurling it towards her father. He was struck, and quickly found himself with lowering attack power, to the point he was finally unable to match Alvis's blows, and was sent flat on his back, the Gallade in absolute shock. "If anyone's the coward, it's you. Proving your strength by terrorizing those obviously weaker than you, especially your own children... That's as low as you can get!"

 

"You dare talk back to me??" Bernhard replied angrily, getting up from the snow. "You really want to suffer? Fine! You brought this upon yourself..." he said, disappearing and reappearing behind Amethyst, lashing out with a Shadow Sneak of his own...

 

Alvis panted at the brief respite that was given, and acted quickly as the other Gallade vanished. He teleported behind amethyst, and yelled out, as he took the attack with his own body. He dropped to a knee, but quickly generated Magical Leaves in his hands, and aimed to throw them at the evil father before he could really react.

 

Amethyst gasped when Alvis took the attack for her, and was about to check if he was still alright. However, they didn't really have the time for that, so she did the next best thing, and grab her father while he was distracted, and force the Magical Leaves to strike him. "Get OUT OF HERE!!!" she cried, dragging Bernhard along the ground into a tree, which promptly shattered into chunks of wood. The Gardevoir tossed another Shadow Ball at the site of the collision. "Don't you dare try to come back from that!"

 

From behind the trees, a figure discreetly fired a wave of healing energy towards Alvis. "Thank you for everything you are doing." a voice called out to seemingly only Alvis. "Please... Stay determined. I know you can defeat that monster. I know you can protect my daughter."

 

Bernhard got up from his point of impact, panting hard. "You're all really getting on my nerves, you know that? But don't think you've won yet... I... I'll crush you! I'll crush you under my heel!" he declared, even thought it appeared his strength was faltering. He teleported in front of the two Pokemon, and cried out, lashing out with a Night Slash. Amethyst blocked the attack with another psychic barrier, throwing it forward to push back her father. "Nngh... Persistent... You've all lasted longer than I thought you would. But don't think you can beat me! I am Bernhard! I crush all my enemies without fail!"

 

Alvis glanced over in the direction he thought he saw the wave coming from, as he heard the last part. He smiled ever so slightly, and nodded. "Am, let me help next." He got an idea, as he stood up again, and began to cycle the leaves around himself for a moment. He lashed out with Psycho Cut, using the ranged portion to try and land hits on the rogue Gallade. "I think I can prevent his attack from doing any damage, and also allow you to attack... You can do this, Am, start charging now."

 

Amethyst looked at Alvis in surprise. "Oh wow, oh wow..." she said, a bit surprised. The Gardevoir nodded after, and charged two Shadow Balls in each of her hands. "I got it. Let's finish this finally, and send this monster packing!" Amethyst said, powering up the dark spheres on both her hands.

 

"What is this?? Bernhard cried, doing his best to defend against Alvis' onslaught. "WHAT IS THIS??! This can't be possible, how am I faltering??!" the Gallade said, clearly in complete shock. "WHATEVER, WHATEVER, WHATEVER! I'LL JUST HAVE TO TRY EVEN HARDER, THEN!" he screamed, attempting to rush towards Alvis and strike both him and Amethyst with another Close Combat...

 

Alvis grit his teeth, as he cycled the leaves around himself quickly. He pushed out, as they 'solidified' into a barrier that blocked out all damage. The Gallade seemed amazed, but then snapped back to reality quickly. "Now!" Alvis yelled out, as he continued to hold the barrier around the two of them until she was actually ready, even as the punches hammered off the surface of the barrier. How long he could keep this up, however, was a different question

 

Amethyst nodded. "This battle is OVER!" she cried, firing off both charged Shadow Balls at Bernhard, Alvis dropping the barrier at that moment. Bernhard's eyes widened when the attacks drew close, and finally struck, sending the rogue Gallade flying. 

 

"This... How did you..." he muttered in disbelief, slowly getting up. As he did so however, Amethyst's eyes glowed purple while she lifted countless chunks of wood and pebbles, all launching them at her father. With one final gasp, Bernhard fell back, completely unconscious. 

 

Afterwards, the Gardevoir panted for quite some time, turning her head to face Alvis. "We... We did it..." she said, still seeming a bit shocked at that. Amethyst closed her eyes and started to chuckle in relief, throwing her arms around the Gallade. "Thank you... Thank you so much..."

 

Alvis sighed in relief, and returned the gesture, as he smiled. "You did great... Though, I think we might have someone else to thank for this, too..."

 

Amethyst blinked, moving back a bit. "Huh? Someone else? she asked, a bit confused at what was meant. "It's just the two of us, right?"

 

"Not necessarily..." the voice called out, causing Amethyst to look behind her in surprise, seeming to be in disbelief. "Hello, my child." the Gardevoir walking out from the trees said, smiling at Amethyst. "You've grown so much, Mirjana... Look at how strong you've become! At first I thought I had to help you two, but seeing how well you did, there was no need." she said, walking up to her daughter. 

 

"Mom...?" Amethyst said, blinking a bit. "...Th-thank you, Mom, I... What you said really means a lot to me..." she replied, chuckling a bit. "Though, uh, I've kinda been going by Amethyst for a while now... I guess Amy for short, too?"

 

Amethyst's mother seemed a bit surprised by that, but nodded. "Amethyst... That's a pretty name. You must have a very kind trainer. I'm so proud of you..." she said, hugging her daughter. "Oh, but who is this?" the Gardevoir asked, turning to Alvis. "Greetings! My name is Rakel. You wouldn't happen to be my daughter's mate now, would you?" Rakel asked, with utmost sincerity. "Wow! You must really care for her, don't you?"

 

Alvis seemed surprised at what had happened, and nodded, though mostly meant the last question. "She is very strong and kind, yes." Alvis smiled at the reunion, glad it could happen.

 

Rakel smiled at Alvis' response. "I wouldn't expect any less from Mirjana, really... Err, Amethyst." she said, smiling."I can tell you'll take very good care of my daughter! Someone as kindhearted as you is exactly the kind of ideal partner to choose when considering these things."

 

Amethyst's eyes widened, and she became noticeably more flustered. "Uh, Mom, it's... Not like, you know... Nevermind." she muttered, sighing. "Alvis is the best thing to have happened to me in a while, yeah... He's nice too, always helping me train whenever I feel like it, and all. He's... He's a good person to be around." the Gardevoir said, leaning her weight on the Gallade slightly. 

 

"That is wonderful... I wish you two luck for your future. Maybe next time you visit Snowpoint, you could show me your offspring!" she suggested, chuckling at that idea. "Hopefully now that you've beaten Bernhard, things will be safer from now on. He never took his losses very well, so maybe he'll just retreat somewhere else.... Though there's still that sect of his." Rakel muttered, sighing. "What a horrid environment to grow up in... Maybe now they'll stop blindly following him once word of his defeat spreads around."

 

"Hopefully so..." Alvis frowned, as he glanced over at the defeated Gallade. "Let's just hope they don't either try to help him, or choose a new 'leader' instead."

 

"One can only hope, really... I'll definitely ensure that word of his defeat is spread around." Rakel said, sighing."But regardless, I'm glad to see my child is in good hands. I'm sorry for having to leave you all by your lonesome, Amethyst... I hope you can forgive me for that."

 

"I've forgiven you a long time ago, Mom." Amethyst replied, smiling. "I was so worried what had happened to you... I thought you might have died. But clearly you didn't, huh?" she said, giggling a bit. "It's nice talking to you again. You were always the brightest aspect of my life while growing up..."

 

"Really now? I'm happy to hear that!" the older Gardevoir said, smiling. "But you've found your new shining star, right? That's great! As much as I would love to stay with you, it seems our lives are on different paths, now..." she muttered, a bit melancholy. "I can't stress this enough... I'm so proud of you, my daughter. Even though I'm not always around, I will always wish the best for you and your future endeavors. Please, Alvis... Watch over her for me. Take care of her, as I won't be able to."

 

Alvis nodded, but thought for a moment. "What if you returned to meet our trainers?" The Gallade asked curiously, figuring that Rakel might like that.

 

"Oh, that would be fantastic!" Rakel replied. "I would love to see the human who has befriended my daughter... And thank them for all they have done."

 

Amethyst smiled at Alvis' idea, and nodded. "Well, they're obviously staying in Snowpoint right now... Maybe we can head over now and see them?" she suggested. "I'm sure both of them would be happy to see you too, Mom."

 

Alvis nodded with a smile, as he agreed about that. "Plus, we should probably get far away, in case that... thing wakes up."

 

"No kidding." Amethyst said, sighing. "Come on, Mom, I'll lead the way back to the place they're staying at. I just know they'll love you." she declared, turning around to walk back. 

 

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Rakel exclaimed, looking over at Alvis. "Well, we'd best follow her. I'm sure your trainers are worried sick about your whereabouts!"

 

Alvis wasn't entirely certain on the last part, but smiled back, and followed Amethyst with a smile. "I think she's really happy to see you..." Alvis said to Rakel, as he looked over at the younger Gardevoir, seeming to notice a much happier spring to her step.

 

IC: Aspen/Dahlia

 

"Wait, huh, Jack?" Aspen said, whirling around to face who was talking. He saw a young man somewhere in his 20s, who was evidently flirting with both Ryan Hikari and Evan. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, not really sure what was happening at that moment, especially as Evan appeared to be flirting back...? "...I guess hi?" the trainer replied, still looking at Jack in confusion. When he heard Dahlia began to speak, the youngest Seaton faced her, feeling strangely worried for her...

"You're the captain of our boat then?" she asked, keeping a polite tone even though she was admittedly confused about what had just happened. "Hello! My name's Dahlia Seaton. I wasn't expecting you to go outside of your station. I prepared breakfast for the others, so if you want some, I can get some food for you too." the middle Seaton offered, smiling slightly. "Of course, if you don't need it, that's fine too, but there's my offer if you wanna take it. Yeah."

Edited December 21, 2015 by Ajna the Muffin Daughter

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jack/Ryan/everyone else relevant==-

 

Jack returned the smile, but nodded. "Not a worry; perhaps we could still even hang out after, anyway." The captain said with a chuckle, as he turned to look at Dahlia, as she spoke. "Breakfast? I'd love some. And with such a lovely person cooking, I'm sure it'll be great." He gave her a smile as well, and looked over at Ryan again.

"... I'm taken." He said, and then promptly wished he hadn't spoken at all. While Jack nodded in understanding, Ray gave him that look again. Ryan half wanted to shrink back into the shadows as he wondered if there was a way to stick his foot in his mouth... Wait, it was just a way to politefully decline, anyway... They wouldn't buy that. Not for a second.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia/Aspen

 

Dahlia blinked a bit at the smile Jack had given her. "Oh, uh...Thank you?" she said in replied in a somewhat awkward tone, even as she kept her polite demeanor. She could tell the Captain was flirting with her like everyone else, and wasn't very certain how to handle that at all in that moment. "Uhh, yeah, the kitchen below deck has food so we could all head down and get some food if that's what people wanna do..."

"You ARE the captain, aren't you? Don't talk to my sister that way." Aspen asked, looking directly at Jack. His expression made it pretty clear he was very annoyed, and didn't want him to even look at Dahlia again. Afterwards, Ryan stammered a reason to decline Jack's advances, causing the youngest Seaton to whirl towards him with a confused expression. "Who even are you, what? ...Wait, are you talking about that Shannon girl?" the trainer asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's... Interesting to say now of all times. Congrats?" he said, inwardly wondering what it was with people falling in love now.

 

"Oh, you two talk over the Pokegear, right? That's wonderful, Ryan." Dahlia said in reply, giving him a celebratory crushing hug. "You could use a positive influence like her on your life, too. Congrats on making things official with Shannon! I think you're going to be a lot happier from now on."

[MELON LORD]

Music Selctions Xander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp2NO7hQxDI / Evan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjb2asrjv-o

 

IC: Xander Cruize vs. Evan Tierra

 

Xander smirked. "I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. Captain Jack, glad you could join us!" Sylph teleported to stand in front of Xander, a small smile on her lips. Hero of Space, promise you won't cry when you lose!

 

Xander laughed, putting his hands on his hips, his legs shoulder-width apart. "Don't think we'll hold back just because you're a friend!"

 

Evan drew forth Lazengann's poke ball with a flourish, grinning as he did so. "And you'd best make good on that, because I certainly won't!" The Hero of Space remarked. "Come on, Lazengann, show them your might!"

 

Lazengann struck a pose in midair as he was sent out. The Drill Pokémon looked at his opponent with a fire in his eyes. It was his time to shine, and he wasn't going to waste it. "First move is yours, Xander!" Evan spoke. "Try to make it count!"

 

Xander grinned. He and Sylph had discussed their steps going forward. Lazengann was resistant to most of Sylph's arsenal, but Excadrill were notorious for their poor defenses. They were fragile creatures, and that was what Sylph would capitalize on.

 

Sylph teleported again, blinking into existence behind Lazengann and releasing a Dazzling Gleam. This wasn't meant to deal much damage; rather, they were testing the Excadrill's reaction time. If he dodged the attack, then plan A was out, and they would have to fallback to plan B.

 

Lazengann was struck by the Dazzling Gleam, but as it was released, the Drill pokemon sliced at Sylph with his claws. "Now use Drill Run to pin her down!" Evan commanded, smiling at Sylph's maneuver. Lazengann nodded and rushed at Sylph, folding into a drill as he did so.

 

Sylph staggered back as her opponent slashed with his claws. She had taken a hit, so she was falling back to the next strategy for the time being. As Lazengann spun at her, she teleported back to stand in front of Xander. She cast her arm out, releasing a wave of Psychic power at the Drill Pokémon.

 

Xander grinned. "You alright?"

 

Sylph scoffed. 'Tis but a scratch!

 

Lazengann was struck from behind, but as the Excadrill was sent backwards, he used his claws to ensure a smooth landing. "Use Drill Run again!" Evan stated, grinning. "You have to be able to hit her sometime!"

 

Lazengann nodded again, as he began another Drill Run. As soon as the Excadrill drew close, he suddenly unfolded and slashed out at Sylph. "That wasn't on my order, Lazengann, but I love your creativity!" Evan replied at this new development from his Excadrill.

 

As Sylph prepared to sidestep the Drill Run, her opponent pulled an unexpected move. Claws raked across her chest. Mostly, they glanced off of the spike that rested there, but she gained a couple more scratches.

 

Crying out, she brought her hand up and released another Psychic attack. She couldn't stay in close combat, but she would be fine for right now.

 

"Keep up the pressure, Lazengann!" Evan replied. "Show that Gardevoir why you are called the Spiral Face! Horn Drill!" Lazengann's heart flared at such encouragement, as the spiral markings on his head drill started to glow a faint amber. He had to keep it up, especially considering how strong his master was. How he impressed the Excadrill so much, that he willingly joined his ragtag group. He may have not been sent out as often...

 

As Lazengann rushed towards Sylph, he was struck by the Psychic attack. Grimacing at the damage he took, the Excadrill continued his mighty run towards Sylph, his marking glowing more prominently.

 

Sylph saw the Horn Drill incoming and knew she had to dodge. If she were struck by that attack, it would be over. Spinning to her right, she cried out as the drill grazed her side. Agony flared from her hip down her leg, causing her to collapse to one knee.

 

She winced, attempting to rise. Her leg was numb from the impact of that attack. Lazengann, though, was still coming about from his own attack. Sylph flicked her fingers. Leaves seemed to appear in the air, flying at speed towards the Excadrill.

 

Slowly, carefully, she rose to her feet, testing her weight on the injured leg. It would hold, for now. She would just have to end this fight before it gave out again; she would not get a second lucky break.

 

"Lazengann, Drill Run yet again!" Evan said, as he thrust his hand forward. "Bore through them all!" Lazengann rushed forward preparing another Drill Run, when he was struck by the leaves. The Excadrill growled as the leaves hit him, his spiral marking glowing more vibrantly. The Drill pokemon rushed towards Sylph, a fire in his eyes unlike any other time...

 

Sylph braced herself as Lazengann approached again. Drill Run was a frighteningly effective move, but Sylph had just the solution for it. As the Excadrill closed in, Sylph teleported again, straight upwards. The bottom dropped out of her stomach as gravity took hold of her, pulling her back towards the deck of the ship -- and the Excadrill below.

 

As she fell, she created more leaves, launching them downwards with force. If she landed on Lazengann, so much the better. He would have trouble hitting her if she were on his back.

 

Lazengann was struck by Sylph's Magical Leaf, which left him a tad too stunned to stop her from landing on him. The Excadrill winced in pain as that occurred. He had to get her off his back, but how would he do that?

 

"Spin and spin some more, Lazengann!" Evan said as he performed a fist pump. "They can't immobilize you, as long as you keep the spin on!"

 

Lazengann grinned as he began to spin his body, folding it into a drill shape again, aiming to hit Sylph as she was on top of him.

 

Sylph held on as tightly as she could while Lazengann began to spin. Her hand grasped for purchase on the drill, but found none. She was thrown off, struck a glancing blow as she fell. She rolled to her feet, panting. It had been a long time since she'd had such an energetic battle.

 

It was time to step up her game. A ball of pink energy formed in her hand. With a shout, she threw it forward. The Moonblast wouldn't be as effective against the steel-type pokémon, but it would do more than Magical Leaf was doing.

 

Lazengann unfolded himself and saw the Moonblast aimed at him. All these attacks he'd been dishing out and taking had left him panting, but the Excadrill knew he could do so much better. His mind echoed with a roaring "Hit me with your best shot!", as he used his claws to block the attack, taking a small smount of damage, while the Moonblast exploded on contact.

 

Sylph wiped her brow as Lazengann blocked her attack. It was getting more difficult to concentrate, and her injured leg was no longer numb. Instead, pain now washed up her side. She would have to end this soon, or lose.

 

If she lost, Xander would be disappointed. He would smile, and say she tried her best, but she knew he would be upset at the defeat. He would--

 

Xander called out to her, sensing her thoughts. "Don't give in Sylph! No matter what happens, I still love you, understand?!"

 

Her eyes hardened. She moved her right leg back, putting her left side towards her opponent. She gave her best death glare, raising the left arm that ended just below the elbow. Come, foe! Let us end this dance now!

 

The Drill pokemon nodded and waited for his master's command, aiming to finish this off with one last attack. "Lazengann, you heard the Gardevoir...." Evan said smiling. "Show them a finishing attack worthy of Evan Tierra's pokemon! Horn Drill!"

 

Lazengann rushed towards Sylph, his spiral markings glowing far more intensely as he jumped above Sylph. Then, as he careened downward, the Excadrill spun into a drill, aiming for his finishing attack. Even if this didn't work, it would mean the battle's end, with no regrets for either side.

 

As Lazengann approached with that deadly attack, Sylph did something she shouldn't have. She channeled energy down her left arm. There was no fine control. There was no holding back. It was a blast of raw energy. As the Excadrill made contact, she released it. She staggered back, swaying on her feet for a moment. The backlash from the attack, coupled with Lazengann's Horn Drill attack...

 

She collapsed to the deck, unconscious.

 

Lazengann was blown back by the attack, feeling quite woozy after. Upon seeing his final attack had actually managed to knock Sylph out, the Drill pokemon started to strike a victory pose.......until he himself fell down, clearly needing to rest after exerting himself like that.

 

"Well, Xander, I'd say I won....if my Lazengann hadn't fainted." EVan said, grinning big. "I declare this match a tie! I learned a lot about you, kid, so I am satisfied!"

 

Xander grinned. "I'll accept that! Good match, Evan, Lazengann was definitely a force to be reckoned with!" The Kalos trainer grabbed Sylph's ball from his belt, returning her in a flash of red. He kissed the ball lightly, still smiling. "Good work, Sylph."

 

Evan walked over to Lazengann and grabbed the unconscious  Drill pokemon and gave him a big hug. "You did so well, little buddy!" Evan exclaimed happily as he spun around. "It's been a while since I've seen you that fired up! You've earned a little rest!" Evan then returned his friend to his poke ball and bowed to his and Xander's audience.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Flowey the Flower

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen/Dahlia

Aspen quickly went to go get something to eat, rushing back up to the dock of the boat just after the first few moves had been made. Aria quickly got him up to speed as to what was happening, with the youngest Seaton nodding. He also released Flare, Torrent, and Meadow so they could observe the fight as well. He was impressed by Sylph's fighting spirit in a matchup where she was at a disadvantage, and kept as close an eye on the fast-paced action as he could. He stayed like that, until the Gardevoir appeared to be losing the will to battle, followed with Xander's... Declaration?

"What the..." he muttered, blinking a bit. Aspen confirmed with himself that he did not mishear anything, and what he heard was what was said. The battle continued on for a little longer, with it ending in a mutual KO. The trainer clapped just after snarfing down another spoonful of food. He chewed, looking around to see how other people would be reacting to the battle. 

"Wonderful battle, you two!" Dahlia said, clapping and nodding. "Very talented, both of you. But you both haven't had breakfast, right? Come! There's food in the kitchen, like I said." the gardener told them with a giggle, smiling. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know? There'll definitely be plenty of excitement later probably, so chow down and get fed before that. Very impressive work, though! I look forward to seeing more of that later." 

 

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina immediately winced when she saw the tears welling up in Mercury's eyes. She immediately went over, and hugged him, patting his back. "Shh, whatever it was, explain it after you're calm. Sit down, okay? We'll get that guy in reception and then you can cry as much as you need." she said, leading the older boy to a chair, patting his back afterwards. 

The Ranger looked up to a woman in the group Mercury had traveled with, sighing. "I don't think any of us wanted this to happen. I'll handle this. Get your friend some medical attention." Lachina said firmly, her voice as professional as it could be. She looked over sadly at Mercury, sighing again. "Whatever happened back there... Well, just try to relax. There's not much that can be done to change it now. If you need someone to talk to... That's what I'm for, okay?"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: (Percival)
 
Percival decided that the human phrase 'déjà vu' did not accurately describe the sensation he had right then. Déjà vu was the feeling of having done something before. It was not the knowledge that one had done something before and they were experiencing it again. It was also not the sensation of knowing everything around is not there but only was there, and that he himself was at a Pokemon Center far away from where all his senses told him he was.

 

Still he pressed on through he compound (not that he had a choice as was not actually there and thus could not move his body through it) repeating all the same actions and mistakes he had the first time he was there.

 

He found his small body (was he really that small before evolving?) running into Pierce's office. He really didn't like feeling the same fear he did back then, especially since he had been reassured that nothing could go differently than it did the first time. He made it out unscathed that time and thus it stood to reason that he would again, but he was still as fearful as he was the first time.

 

He was finally there, waiting in one side of the room as President Pierce entered his office the same he had the first time. Percival suppressed his fear and started to observe what he could from his position. The room hadn't changed at all since the last time he was here. Most objects in the room held no meaning to Percival The main decoration that stuck out to Percival however, was a large painting. The painting was of a large building that whose purpose he didn't know. He didn't even know if it was a painting of a real building. But it kept his attention like nothing else in the room could.

 

It being directly across from him when he couldn't consciously change the position of his eyeballs probably had something to do with that.

 

On the frame at the bottom edge of the portrait was a inscription in a plate made from brass.

 

"Veritas ad Deum Ducit" is what the inscription read. Percival couldn't actually read it, but if he could, that's what he'd read.

 

He had no further time to look around the room, as felt himself being pulled from that place and time.

 

The Chandelure collapsed on the floor of the Pokemon Center in front of James and Celebi who, through the latter's efforts, had been seeing everything that Percival had seen.

 

Hey! How was the trip? I haven't tried that trick in ever.

 

Percival's flames flared. Never again.

 

Okay okay, no need to get testy, Celebi said sheepishly.

 

"Thank you Percival for bearing with it. What you saw might be the hint we need."

 

Oh really? All I saw as a painting, looked like some sorta castle or an abbey.

 

"No, that was no castle or abbey," James shook his head while wearing a knowing smile. "That was a school."

Edited December 23, 2015 by Totally Colette; Not Minun

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan watched the battle silently; impressed, but still off guard by everything. After the captain left for the kitchen, he looked over at Aspen and Dahlia. "That w-wasn't what I meant to say..." His face said otherwise. "I-I just needed a way to get out of things; I don't know how to react to flirting, and I'm not even actually looking for things..." He did seem a bit uncertain how to deal with things, and like his good mood had been deflated.

 

-==IC: Ray/Jenny==-

 

Ray sighed, as he glanced over at Ryan's current state. "There goes that." He mumbled, as he sighed, and got up to see what there was to eat.

 

Jenny, on the other hand, finished giggling at the entire stuff that had happened, and blinked as she saw what was going on with Ryan. Knowing what he didn't need was people bugging him, she got up and walked over to where Evan was instead, an amused look on her face.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize

 

The Kalos trainer gave a quick bow to the assembled group before heading downstairs to grab breakfast. Dahlia was right: he was starving. He would also have to see if there was a healing machine he could use onboard. He needed Sylph up and about as quickly as possible.

 

That battle had been intense. It had reminded him of his last official battle, against Wikstrom. Sylph had held her own, even managing to defeat all of the Steel user's pokémon, but she had fainted afterwards. Officially, Xander had won the match, but with no way to continue battling, he only took credit for two victories that day. Sylph had taken the loss pretty hard.

 

Xander sighed. There was no telling how she would feel on reawakening. Even after he told her the match was a draw, she might feel that she hadn't done her best. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He would just have to take her mind off of the fight.

 

IC: Mercury and Belle LaDonna

 

The silver-haired trainer nodded at Lachina's words and swiped at his eyes. After a few ragged breaths, he stood again. "I need to get Anubis to the Pokémon Center. Come with me?" He paused. "Except, one of us needs to be here when Blazer wakes up..." He sighed.

 

He really needed to get out of here, and maybe try and explain to Lachina in private what had happened. BUt, Zac might need them after the nurses were done checking on him.

 

Suddenly, the girl Lachina had been talking to waved her hand. "You two go on. I'll wait here for your friend to wake up. Oh! Gimme your Pokégear or Transciever or whatever number; I'll contact you when Zac comes around." 

 

Mercury raised an eyebrow, looking to Lachina. He had no idea who her new friend was, but if Lachina would trust her to stay, then Mercury would, too.

 

IC: Alma Mason

 

Alma held the phone to her ear, listening to what her master said. As he spoke, a grin split her features. Her master had just told her that one of his informants had contacted him. Apparently, ALma was not the only person looking for Roderick Krane.

 

As she hung up, she spoke to Shadow. "Roddy has not been a very good boy, it seems. Using a machine that can steal pokémon from people draws a lot of attention from people like our new friend.

 

"I wonder what she's like, this Nightshade."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra
 

Evan ended his bow and nodded at Dahlia's statement. "I'll take you up on that offer." Evan replied, smiling as he thought about the events that had transpired. "Can't battle on an empty stomach, ya know?" The Hero of space had one heck of a time with that battle. He admitted he didn't send out Lazengann as much as he should. He'd have to change that.

Evan noted the amused look on Jenny's face as she approached. A distant "Get me out of here!" echoed in his mind as she drew closer. "What's up, Jen-Jen?" Evan said, smiling. "I see things took a funny turn while I was battling.Perhaps you can enlighten me?"

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

The deck had suddenly become very crowded. Ryan watched as Evan and Xander prepared for a battle, and an odd man -- the captain, he realized -- approached and began to... interact with everybody in a very peculiar manner. Somehow the captain managed to miss the young Liberty agent hidden away in a chair in the corner. Which was probably a good thing, based on how Aspen reacted to him.

 

The battle itself was exciting, one of the better ones he'd seen in a while. But when it was over, Dahlia announced breakfast was ready. Ryan felt his stomach rumble, and he realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. Standing up with a yawn, he slipped the egg into his backpack, shouldered the bag, and headed down to the kitchen with Togie and Orihime trailing behind him.

 

IC: Paul

The battle took Paul back to his childhood. Back when he and his Pawniard had trained together, battling gyms and the like. It had been a long time since he'd had a battle for fun. By the time the battle had ended, a smile of nostalgia was on the blacksmith's face. "Excellent battle you two," he said. "And Dahlia, good work on breakfast. It smelled good when you were cooking it, and I'm sure it will taste even better!"

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia/Aspen

 

"Thanks so much, everyone!" Dahlia said in response to everyone heading to breakfast. "I do my best, after all. Though, I wonder if it's cold by now... That would be a problem." she said, putting a finger to her chin. "Well then! No time like the present to head down yet. Time for the two combatants and the audience to finally fill up on some grub!" 

 

Aspen turned to Ryan Hikari with a rasied eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? Hmm. You were so worried about Shannon back there, seemed devastated when she got hurt." he pointed out, crossing his arms. "Plus, you're saying that you lied, but your face says something different... At the very least, you care about her more than just a friend." the youngest Seaton said, turning around afterwards. "Well. Not my issue, anyways. That's for you to figure out." Aspen declared, heading down with the others below deck to go clean his plate.

 

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina looked at Belle for a good second, and shrugged. "Alright. I'll hold you to your word." she said, rattling off her number to the other girl. She turned back around to Mercury, and pat him on the back. "Let's get your friend patched up, then... Hopefully it won't take too long." the Ranger muttered, not really sure how quickly Pokemon Centers worked. Nevertheless, Lachina wrapped her arm around the silver-haired trainer's back, and went to lead him out of the hospital. 

[MELON LORD]

IC: Belle LaDonna

 

After punching Lachina's number into her P★DA, Belle watched the two walk out. As soon as they were gone, she pulled up the message Al had sent her. It took her a second to process what she read, and then she put the device away, shaking.

 

He's in Unova. There's a girl in Vermilion right now who's looking to kill him. Make friends. She's willing to meet on the docks.

 

A killer? Belle was immoral and even criminal, but she had never murdered anyone! And yet, this girl would probably be her best ticket to the Snag Machine. She also wouldn't want a third party interfering with Roderick.

 

Did that mean that she might kill Belle, if she didn't go along with this? No telling. The collectors leaned back in her seat, swallowing nervously. She would meet with this kid after Zac was up and out of the hospital.

 

Her P★DA beeped again, and she checked it quickly. Another message, from an unknown number.

 

What time shall I expect you, Nightshade?

 

She sent a quick reply, shaking her head. Things had just gone south.

 

 

IC: Mercury

 

The aura user walked quietly for a couple of minutes, letting his feet guide him blindly down the street. After several quiet minutes, he spoke, his voice shaking. "I was going to hurt him. I broke his finger, just to show that I wasn't bluffing." He swallowed the lump in his throat.

 

"I don't think I was myself. I sort of drew back into myself and watched myself do it. It wasn't really me." He shook his head. "I feel sick just thinking about it, but the person in the gym... He wanted to kill all those people, but he was happy with maiming a man!"

 

He ignored the quizzical looks of the people they passed. "Lachina, you understand that I would never want to hurt anyone, don' t you?" It was a stupid question. Lachina hardly knew him. A week, they'd spent with each other. She no more knew that he wasn't a murderer than she knew what his favorite movie was.

 

But he had no-one else to turn to, right now. His best friend was incapacitated; Lachina was the only person he could call a friend here. If she didn't trust him, he would break.

 

IC

 

She would have to be removed. If the enemy relied on her, needed her, then she would have to be destroyed. It was the only way to fall back into the old ways, when they worked together. It was the only way to continue their old work.

 

This girl, Lachina, was the only obstacle. Anubis would not stand against his master, even if it wasn't quite his master's mind. The only one who could stop them was this girl.

 

Inside, he grinned. They would have to buy a knife. The enemy had misplaced his.

 

IC: Al̷ámǫs͠ Ṕower ̵P͠l̵an͜t

͢
̧"You͠ th̛in̢k̀ ́you͏ ca͠n̡ cha͠llen͡g̵e̸ ̷me͢,͜ ̶fǫo͢l̶ ̛b̀óy?!" th̴e ̴c͜ul̷t̛is̀t҉ sh̸oute͝d́. "H҉oundoom͠, ̴d̛estr͏oy t̷h̴at tưr͡tlè w̡i̵th a ͡S͠o͡l͢àr Bea͞m!"͏
̢
҉T͏he̸ Dark ̨P̶o̴ké̛m̕on͜ ̕o̕p̴en̛éd̀ i͡t͘s̴ ͞m̶ou҉th,̡ ̵a̵ ͞b̵àll ̴of whitę e̕ne͏rgy̴ f҉ormin͘g͏ betwe̵ęn҉ it́s̨ ͟f͠ang̴s҉ ͘and s͞l͜owly ̧e͏x́pan̛di̢ng͏.̀ ͘T͢he͢ òt҉h̴er̶ c͝ul̷t̡is͡t͟s ̕w͠atçh̨ed͜ ̴i͠n͘ ͜s͟ilen̸c̢e,̨ ҉con͘t͟ent̵ ͞th͞at t̢h̡e̡i͏r ̕lead̀e̛r̢ ̛cou̸ld ̧d̨e̡al ̀w͜ith̢ t̀h̨ese ҉i̛n̡t͡r̕uders͝.̵

Edited December 26, 2015 by Flowey the Flower

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Paul

As Ryan entered the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked pastries met his nose. He saw a tray of carefully crafted berry kolaches, and a small stack of berry pancakes. Each pastry was arranged by the type of berry used: Pinap, Rawst, Oran, and even mixed berry. Off to the side, Dahlia's Buneary helped put icing on a plate of freshly baked cinnamon buns. In another corner, Dahlia herself was preparing freshly squeezed Sitrus berry juice.

 

"This is amazing," Ryan said with a wide grin. "If I didn't know better, I'd say I was walking into a bakery!"

 

Paul chuckled at the Liberty trainer's amazement. "It truly is astounding how closely intertwined baking and gardening are."

 

"No, but seriously." Ryan loaded up his plate with pastries; enough for him, Togie, and Orihime to share, and went to go get a drink from the gardener herself. "Dahlia, have you ever considered opening a restaurant? This food is top-notch."

[JiMing]

OOC: Other ICs to be edited in soon.

IC: Dahlia/Aspen Seaton

 

Dahlia turned around, smiling at Ryan as she gladly poured him a cup of Sitrus Juice. "Oh, you're too kind." she said modestly, giggling a bit from the praise. "I just learned things from Mom, now she's a cook... Though, I'm glad that you l like the food I prepared!" 

Aspen walked in and started washing his plate, grinning at Dahlia. "You're not giving yourself enough credit. Out of you, me, and Olivia, you're definitely the best cook." he said. "All this? For breakfast? You really went above and beyond what you really had to do. I mean, if it were me, I probably would have just prepared an omelette." the youngest Seaton told her, shrugging. "What got you cooking this much?" 

"Well, I mean, I just felt like celebrating a bit for yesterday's triumph." the middle Seaton explained, smiling. "Very impressive work on everyone's part, handling the appearance of that dark Evan so well. Plus, I know that things have been pretty hectic for everyone lately, so... Yeah! Celebrating with baking a bunch of different things." Dahlia said, giggling. "There's enough to go around for everyone! More than enough, actually!" she called out, attempting to get the attention of any stragglers on the boat. "Enjoy!" 

Coco finished icing the platter of cinnamon buns, and grabbed the platter. She turned around and smiled at Ryan and Paul, holding out the pastries towards them. The Buneary leaped onto the table, offering them the cinnamon buns, seeming very proud of her handiwork while doing so. 

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Paul

"Well, we could certainly use a celebration," Ryan said with a chuckle as he gratefully accepted a cinnamon bun from the bunny. "Looks like your Buneary's aspiring to be just as good a cook as you," he added, grinning at the Pokémon.

 

"You know, your Buneary certainly has a fine culinary hand," Paul said, observing his own cinnamon bun. "They're a little rough around the edges, but the icing looks like an artist's work."

 

"Well, I can't say they look too good to eat," Ryan said with a laugh. "But they certainly look delicious!"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan just gave Aspen a look as he walked away, and went off to hide in his room for a little bit, planning on getting breakfast later, when there wasn't a bunch of people there.
 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Oh, nothing much..." She smirked slightly. "Nice flirting." Jenny teased, amused about the nickname as well. "He's kinda right, though. Nice battling, too..." She giggled, wondering what he had meant exactly, though.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

"Thanks, Jen-Jen." Evan replied. " I may try hanging out with that guy later. I do hope one day Lazengann will be able to fight at full capacity against that Gardevoir."

Evan felt his stomach rumble at the thought of food. He hadn't really eaten since the diner back in Lilycove. He figured that he'd have to give Lazengann a treat as well, seeing as the little Excadrill had fought his hardest despite his opponent's power."Let's go grab a bite to eat, Jenny." Evan said as he took Jenny's hand and led the way. "I've gotten my blood pumped up. Now to sample Dahlia's cooking."

Evan took Jenny to the galley, the smell of pastries hanging heavy in the air, much to Evans delight. He saw pastries of many flavors. His favorite flavor, Haban was not among them, but he'd make do with what was there. Evan released his Excadrill from his poke ball. The pastries' scent sprung the Excadrill back to consciousness. Evan recalled Lazengann's love of spicy foods, and handed the Drill Pokemon a Pinap Kolache.

"Here you go, Lazengann!" Evan said. "I think someone with your spirit deserves a reward! Eat up!"

Lazengann grabbed and sniffed the kolache, his eyes lighting up when he caught a tinge of spiciness from it. The Excadrill munched on the kolache happily, overjoyed his master actually remembered what he liked. As Lazengann ate, Evan gave Dahlia a thumbs up for the food and grabbed a cinnamon bun and munched on it himself.....

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia/Aspen

 

Coco smiled at the praise, and set the platter down on the table, bowing. The Buneary clearly took great pride in her handiwork, picking up the cinnamon buns almost immediately afterwards, earning her an affectionate pet on her curled up ear puff from Dahlia.

"Coco is a Buneary of many talents, yes." she said, giggling at Ryan and Paul's responses. "I'm very proud of her! She picked up baking nearly as quickly as I did, really... She made a very helpful extra hand when I was getting everything made." the gardener explained, nodding at Evan and Jenny when they strolled inside. "Help yourself! I made plenty for everyone. Care for a glass of Sitrus Berry juice?" Dahlia asked, standing in place. The middle Seaton took a deep breath, but quickly stifled the hint that she was winded from her work.

 

Aspen turned around, catching that. "Dahlia, are you sure you're not tired?" he asked concernedly. "You always work yourself so hard... Shouldn't you sit down? Maybe eat the food you made too?"

"I'll be fine, thanks for the concern." she replied, chuckling a bit. "There's still work to be done, and people to feed, you know? I'll take a break when I've finished washing the plates and all..."

IC: Lachina Adaon

Lachina's expression shifted ever so slightly as Mercury explained his tale. It sounded so farfetched... How could one just watch back and let their own body move independently? Something seemed off to her about the situation...

But it wouldn't do much good to doubt him, either. Right now, there was an injured Pokemon to care for. If the silver-haired man was truly lying, that would come to light soon enough. 

"Alright. I believe you." she said at last, turning around and walking forward again. "Now, isn't there a friend of yours who needs medical attention? That seems like something we have to attend to."

IC: Ruth Fishers 

Ruth was utterly terrified. She couldn't bear to watch the execution happen, and turned away before the impact... Yet she still heard it. The horrible cracking sound, the sound of an innocent person dying...

She was immediately shocked out of it by the cultist leader turning his attention to her. This wasn't what she had signed up for... It couldn't end here. They had to escape. "Caliburn, King's Shield!" she called out, eschewing her grandiose hand swings from her last battle. The Aegislash summoned a mystic barrier around himself, blocking the Solar Beam attack from striking the Squirtle. 

"Locke, cover our escape! Spikes!" the trainer cried, itching to make a run for it. Her Klefki obliged, scattering spikes around the area inbetween them and the cultists. "Now, everyone! Run!!!" 

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Paul

As Ryan went to go sit down at the table, he glanced over his shoulder at Dahlia. Now that Aspen had mentioned it, she did look incredibly fatigued. He hesitated, wondering if he should offer her a seat or something. But she had already insisted that she needed to continue working. With his luck, she'd probably lash out at him if he tried to get her to change her mind, and the last thing he needed was another girl angry at him.

 

As it turned out, Paul voiced Ryan's concerns anyway. "Nonsense," the blacksmith said, pulling out an empty chair at the table. "After all the work you put into it, you deserve to enjoy this meal with the rest of us. The others can serve themselves just fine, and we'll all help wash the dishes when we're done. I'm not sure how it worked with your family, but at my household, everyone pitched in to clean up after a meal. Besides," Paul offered a kind smile. "Why wouldn't you want to grace us with your presence?"

 

The words took Ryan by surprise, and he continued to stare at Dahlia for a moment while he processed what Mr. Burks had said. Then he nodded his agreement "Yeah... we've got room for Coco at the table too," he said, as Togie and Orihime waved an invitation for the Buneary to join them.

[JiMing]

IC: Dahlia/Aspen

 

"O-oh." Dahlia muttered in reply to the offers from Paul and Ryan, caught off guard a bit. "Th-thank you for your offer, but I'm fine right now, really I am... You don't have to worry about me." she insisted, smiling slightly. 

Aspen walked up to her, hugging his sister from behind. "Dahlia, you're exhausted and hungry... You don't have to do all the work." he said, smiling. "Come on, just sit down for once and eat breakfast with us, won't you? Then everyone will help with cleanup afterwards." 

"But, umm... Alright, if that's what people want." Dahlia said at last, putting down the pitcher of Sitrus juice on the countertop. "Thank you for your offer, you two. I-I get carried away like that sometimes, I guess." she replied, giggling a bit afterwards. The gardener took a big sigh of relief when she sat down at the table, giggling a bit afterwards, going to grab a Pecha Berry kolache. "Umm, I actually did need this. I guess I need to pay more attention to myself, oops."

Coco's ears perked up, hopping off the countertop towards the two Togekiss. The Buneary waved and introduced herself, looking up to meet their eyes. She asked them how the food was, seeming eager for an answer...

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize

 

Despite heading down for breakfast first, Xander was among the last to enter the galley. He had taken a detour to find a healing machine, and he now walked into the galley with Sylph following him. The Gardevoir's expression was neutral, but one could see the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to keep from scowling.

 

Xander inhaled deeply. "Smells delicious as always, Dahlia!" he said with a grin. He grabbed two plates, setting a few pancakes and a Rawst kolache. The other plate got one Oran kolach and one cinnamon bun. That one he handed to Sylph, who moved to sit at the table quietly. Xander sat beside her, smiling. "Hope everyone enjoyed that battle. It was definitely a good workout, eh, Sylph?"

 

The Embrace pokémon said nothing, opting instead to tear off a strip of the cinnamon bun and pop it into her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor, and small smile finally appeared on her face. This is very good. Thank you, Dahlia and Coco, for breakfast.

 

Xander chuckled a bit. Sylph sometimes brooded after fainting in battle, but sweets always improved her mood.

 

IC: Mercury

 

The silver-haired man nodded and continued walking. The Pokémon Center was easy to find, with its bright red roof and numerous signs pointing towards it. As he walked in, he unclipped all three of the pokéballs on his belt. While the nurse was inspecting each one and putting them on the machine, he explained the situation at the gym to Lachina.

 

"They were apparently investigating the power outage. I volunteered us to help, at least for a few hours."  He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "it was the least I could do after what I did . . ." He shook his head. "If you don't wanna help, that's fine, I'll understand. But I sort of owe it to them."

 

IC: Mercury

 

Owe it to them? That pathetic band should consider themselves lucky to be alive. If he had been fully in control there, it would have been a bloodbath, whether he was outnumbered or no. The boy had forgotten how to use most of his aura abilities, but he still remembered! There wouldn't have been enough left of the bodies to identify!

 

This girl, this Lachina was making them weak. She would have to go, just like the last person who the enemy had let get close.

 

 

 

I̡̧C҉͘:̨ A̵̡ļám͞os̕͟͠ ̨P͏͞ơ͞͞ẃ̷̸e͡ŕ̶ ͢P̀l͜͞͡ant҉̶

 

̛͏T҉̸҉h͜e͠͝҉ ̢ć̡̧u͢l͝t̴͜͠i̢s͢t̴ ͘͝s̕h̨̀͟o̡͢ut̷́͢ęd i̧͡n ̶a̶n͠g҉e̶͜r̛͘͜ ͞aş̶̀ ͘͠t͟h̛é̕ ̕͠So͞l͏́ar̢͢ B͞ę͢͜am͏͝ ̴̀w͟͜a̷͜s̀͘ ̕b҉̀͡l͞ò̸͠c̸͏͜k͝e̷͞d̡͞ ̵͘b̢͞y̴ ͏t̵͞hé̡ ̸̶̶ Á̀͟e͏̷̧gi̕s̢̨͠l̛a̴s̵h̡.̷͟͠ ́͡A͘ś͘ ͞t͏̛h̡̕ę̷̛ ̷c̸h͡҉͘il̷̢͞d̛r̵̨e͢͡ņ s̀t̵͘͝a̶͢͞r̶͡te͝d̶͏ ̷t̡̛͠o̕͟ ͘r̨̨u͏̸n,̴̢̛ ̧t҉h̸e̴ ̷̵o͏̸t͞h̶͢͠è́͟r̢ ͡m͏̵̧è͟͢m͟b͞er̴̨̢s͡͏ ͢òf͟ ̴h̵͟įs̵̶͘ o̸͜r̛͡d̕͜e̸r͟͝ f̸̢i̧ņ̧a̶̧͝l̢l̶y rè̡ļ͏̷e̡͘͞a̡͢s̵e̵d̡ ́͜t̢h̀͢ei͜r̶̢͡ ̵c͟o͘m̵̀pà̷͟n̢̨i̶͟o͏n͏s̨ ̀t͏҉o̴̢ j́͠o͡in҉ ţ͡ḩ́e̷̢̨ ̷fí͟g̀h͟t͏͟.҉

̀

͞Ḩ҉e̵ ̴̨g͜r̕͡i̷̸̡n͜n͘ę̧d̶͘ ̶҉̨às͡ ͜o҉n͢e̸ ǫ̸͝f̶́ ́͞h҉i͘s ҉̷́b̷͟r͠ơ̸t҉͜҉ḩ͜͞e̷͢r͘s͢͜ ͜r̷̀́el҉͠e͞as̶ȩ̴d͢ ̵a͜ ̶̡̕Ba͜l̨͘͟t̢̢́oy͘.͜ ̷̵͢T̨͡҉h̵̴o̡u͝g͘h̶̨ ̧t̨h͠e͏ s̶̵̸m̡al̵l̵͝ ̢͡p̡̡s̵̕͡y͠͡c̸̶h̢́i̷̸c̛-̵̨t̀͡y̴̕ṕ̶̸e͠ d͜i̷͟d̵͠ ͝ņǫ̨t̵̢ ͟p̕a͠c͝k͞ ̨͞͠m̀͢ù̀ch͠ ͟ǫf̀͜҉ ̷̧a̸҉͞ ṕ̵u̢n͠͡͏c͞h̶͝, ̨i͝t̛͜ ̴̕d͟͢ì̴d̸҉ ̧̀͝h͜͡a̶̶͝v͡e͏̡ ̀͟o͠͝ne̵̢ ̢͞m͢҉o̵͠v̕ę̛ ̶̕͟t̀͟͝h̶̨́a̢͠t̴̴͝ ͡ẁo̷͘u̵l҉̵d҉͟ ͠h̵e̡̛l͠p͜͡͡ ̛̛th̢͜e̵͢m͡͞ ́̀m̧͟a̶̶k͝e̢͢ ̸̷c̛h̛͟ąs͠҉̴e͞͠. ̛͏́T̢̨he҉̛͡ Ć̷̸l̨҉a̸̕͢y̢ ̡͝D͞o̷͝͡l̴͠l͏ ̢p̀͝ǫ̢k͢é̵m̶̡͜o̶͘͞n̵̨̛ ̢͞c͡a̛ḿ́͢e̷͞͞ ̷̴ou͏̶t̢̛͟ ̧҉͞o̸̸f́̕ ̡͏͞i͏ts̀ ̶̕b̕͟a̴͘l̵͟l̴ s̶p̡i̕͡n̵̡n͝i̴n͜g̀̕.̛҉ ́͡T̴͢h͏̶é͡ ̴̡̛s̷p͠͠i̷k̶e̛̕s̡̛ ̶͡t̛ḩ̕҉at̡͢ h̨͞ad ͟͞b̀͘e̵e͢n̛͘ ̕l̴͘҉a̡í̡́d̸҉ b̴͟e̷̴f͝͏͟o̢r̵é ̀t̨́hȩm̷ ͠͝w̧̕è̶͡re ̵s̢͜c̛͘a̴̧͠t̨͞t̡̨͞e͘͝r̕ed̷,̴̵ ͡l̛e҉a̵̸v͝i͟ǹg͟ ͘a̛͞ ͜͡p͠a͜ţ͠h̴̕ ̴҉̸to̷̷̶ ͏͞c҉h̨̢a̴͝s͏̶e̛͠ t̸͠h̨̛e̵͡ ̕͡i͞ń͞҉t̴̢r̷̵ù̸̴d҉̴̧eŗ̵ś̸.̵̀͞

̶

̕T̛͟h̛͟e̛ ͘c̶hiĺ̷̛d̷̵r̴̛͜eń͞ ́haḑ͘ ̕͞a̧͟ ̷he͞a̡҉̕d̷͝ s̸tar̛͟t̨͞,̸͢ b͢͢u͝ţ̵ ̀t̨̛h̛͟e͟͠r͡͡ȩ ͘͝w̶as͟͜ ̸͞n̛o̸w͜her̷͢e ̸t̵̡͘h͡͝e̛y̸ ̶͟c͜oul͠͠d̡͟ ̴̶̕gó͘.͠͞ ̵̨T҉̸͠h́e̴͝ ̡̛̕d̨͝o̷̢͝o̢͜r̵ş ͞͏t̨ơ ͡͏t͟͡h͏ę ́pl̀à̛ń̡t͢ ̀w͡͠e͢͢re̸͘ ̷o̷̢n̷͞ ̀a̕͞҉n̢͡ ̛e͟l̴̛e̢͝͞c̵͏͜t͝r̴͞o̸͞n̶͡ic͜͠ ҉̢l̵͜o͞҉͟c҉̛͠k͜.҉̶ W̴ì́t̸͡h̀ ͏̨͞n̵ò ̴e̢̡̕l̷͜ec̴̢t̷҉r͘ìci̵͘t̕y̨҉͏,͞ ̸̛͢ţ͠h͏҉er͜͡é ҉͝w͝às̢̧͟ ̛n̵͏̡o̢͠͞ w̡͏́à̴͜ý̶ ̵͞o̷̵ut̡.͞ ̀͡Th͢͟͢e̛y̷̛͞ ̷̵̶cơ̵ứl͏d҉̶ h̕͞i̴̢͡d̨͢é̴̷,́ ͜͜b̸ut̨ ̢̡͞i̴͏t͘̕͝ ͘͘wou̴͡l̵͢͝d̛͏̨ ҉҉o̕n̡l҉͏y b͘͢e̡ a ̕͡m̡a̡͢tter̵ o̵͠f̡͜ ͝t̕͢i̴m̷̶̨e b̢҉ef̴̡͠o͢͠͠r̛e̵̵͠ ͏t́h̷e͜y̡͏͢ w̨͜e͟͟r̶̡̕e f̶͘ó͏͞ùnd̷̶̕ ̛̕.̧͝ ̡͡.̛̀ ͘͠.̵͞

Edited December 28, 2015 by Flowey the Flower

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Paul

"No worries," Ryan assured Dahlia. "We just don't want you working yourself to exhaustion."

 

"Agreed," Paul said. "You said it yourself, this is supposed to be a celebration. Take some time to relax."

 

As Ryan ate, he thought back to last night's battle, and the Reverse powers that had manifested themselves within Dahlia. He turned toward the gardener and was about to ask her about that when Xander and Sylph sat down at the table, diverting his attention.

 

"That was a fantastic battle," the Liberty agent said with a grin. "I know Evan loves a good fight, but I don't think I've seen him that enthusiastic in a long time."

 

"Yes, that battle brought me back to my childhood," Paul said with a nostalgic smile. "It's been too long since I've seen such a sporting competition between young trainers. Village Bridge may be close to the Pokémon League, but it's a relatively isolated little town."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Village Bridge is very beautiful, though." The girl said with a smile as she giggled, thinking back to the false life she had lived in Opelucid. "I used to visit a lot, back before I remembered my past." She looked over at the man a little more curiously at that, as she wondered if she had seen him and not remembered, or if he might not have been around at the time.

 

-==IC: Ray/Jack==-

 

At about that moment, Ray walked down to the kitchen from one entrance... and Jack from the other. Ray paused, as he glanced across the room and saw the Captain there. Oh no, this won't end well at all. His point was reinforced, as he saw all the things lined up for breakfast, which he had to admit looked good, but perhaps too good considering all the flirting from before.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

Jake's Squirtle jumped on his shoulder, and with the rest of the group started to sprint away, until he remembered a small detail...

 

The ladder was still outside, and they had no way of getting it.

 

"Guys! We're trapped in here. We have to confront them with everything we have!" Without waiting for a response, Jake stopped at the end of the hallway, and turned on his heel. The narrow corridor would stop him from getting swarmed, or so he hoped. He released his other Pokemon, and they stood before him protectively, waiting for the cultists to emerge.

 

As Jake saw his Pokemon defending him, something clicked in his mind. He couldn't run, but he could fight. A righteous anger burned through him, sweeping away all fear or restraint. These monsters could not be allowed to continue their sacrifices. Jake would make sure of that.

 

Finally, pathways in his brain connected, and the full power of Aura coursed through Jake's body. His eyes flushed solid, glowing blue. A wind kicked up around him, scattering dust and small rocks as his power briefly manifested itself, before dying down to nothing more than a small breeze which ruffled his hair slightly. And suddenly, he could physically see the anger, the rage, the insanity burning from the room which they had just fled. He grimaced. This fight would not be easy.

 

"Pikachu, when they emerge use Thunderbolt. Charmeleon, use Flamethrower and Squirtle, use Water Gun. Machop, be ready with a Quick Guard if we need it."

 

The Pokemon readied their attacks, their determination manifesting itself in their Aura for Jake to see. He almost smiled. No matter what happened, they wouldn't go down easily.

 

OOC: If I didn't say this already, Parugi approved Jake's Aura powers.