Pokemon: Region of Orre (M) [IC]

Zephyr "Rider" Blitz

I was on the verge of breaking down with laughter. I don't know why, but the alcohol seemed to be affecting me more than it normally does. Must've been something in that damn special... "Well, Seth, mah boy, we've gone at it how many years now?" I decided to give a momentary pause for dramatic-ish effect. "That was rhetorical. A long time. We've been going at it a long time." I looked over the other two. "We're about even on skill level. Unless we're talking about other things." I couldn't contain a wink and a raised eyebrow. They were dying to be released. "And there's always more room to be had on MY bike as well." I gave a wink yet again. "But in all honesty, it's not that hard to find it. It's a big, rusty, pile of **** to the northwest. To find the arena, you go towards the big, ghetto dome with a **** load of panels missing." I felt like instructions were pretty good. I gave dead-on descriptions and what-not. "Anything else to add, Seth?"

With the ex-cop, Yuki, gone presumably already on his way back to his home in Pyrite. Seth smirked at Loryn, as she gave a sheepish smile back. "So that's a yes to the ride, then." He more stated his reply, rather than asking. He listened to Zephyr ask the rhetorical question as how long they've been battling at the colosseums, and pondered it shortly. It was indeed along time. Seth laughed at Zephyr's spot on description of the arena itself, and turned to him with a nod of agreement. "Yeah, once your in town, it's easy enough to spot...even from the outskirts." Seth announced. "But considering that Pyrite itself is quite a distance..." He trailed off stomping his right boot hard on the sandy ground. The pads on both sides hummed and glowed an electric blue before extending unrealisticly out in front and back. Ever expanding mechanics and wires seemed to sprout out of nowhere taking the shape of his hover bike, which really was made to have room for just one, but given Seth's smaller figure, another could manage to sqeeze onto the back. "You may still want a ride. Don't want to fall too far behind, by taking your Pokemon." He continued looking to Loryn then to her Arcanine, figuring he was probably her usual method of travel then back to her once more waiting for her reply. 'Damn it Rider,' Seth cursed mentally at his offer to give a ride, as well. Being he seen how Maya traveled on her Togekiss realizing that she'd most likly take that route to get to Pyrite, and knowing that Zephyr's bike was larger, and could easily fit another onto it.

"A ride.. ? Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather not. Besides, I know my way to 'Pyrite' Town, as well." Maya, albeit grateful of Seth's proposal, refused. Truth be told, she had no intention of burdening him of her own conflicts. And of course, she had another method of travel, anyway; that being, Togekiss.

"Ah. Speaking of which.. I've got to go. I'll see you all at the tournament. And, I wish you all good luck!"

She joked, "Especially you, Seth."

With that, Maya bade her farewell, leaped onto her Togekiss and departed from them. The long- awaited Tournament was almost within her grasp, and of course, naturally, she was quite eager.

Zephyr continued to boast about his and Seth's battles before offering a ride too. Loryn crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you think riding a motorcycle intoxicated is somewhat of a bad idea? Thanks but no thanks on that offer." She glanced at Seth, who stated that she must need a ride then. I honestly don't want to get a ride with either of you street rats! she bit back the retort that was screamed in her head. It was true that she didn't know where she was going from this point.

"If I won't be a burden, I guess..." Loryn looked uneasily at the contraption that bursted from Seth's boot. Could it really hold the both of them? They were both pretty skinny, but still... Whatever. she thought with a sigh, and returned Vaporeon and Arcanine to their pokeballs.

Seth nodded to Maya, who joked about the competition before taking off. It wasn't hard to read Loryn's expression, especially since she even added a sigh while returning her Pokemon. "Oh, c'mon now, it won't be so bad...plus we'll be there before you know it. Trust me." He spoke the last part of his sentence darkly, knowing that his hover-bike was modified to be amoung the fastest in the region. Glancing to Zephyr with a wide smile, "Aww, tough luck man. Haha, looks like your riding solo." He joked, he knew that Zephyr was well enough to travel, even when intoxicated. Truthfully the two had done many joy rides in the past while under the influence. He pulled out a Pokeball from the machine on his chest and returned Charmeleon to it. It's been awhile since the Pokemon had been confined, but Seth was sure he didn't mind. He looked to Loryn once more, "Ya won't be a burden, in the slightest." He commented moving his body forward a bit in attempt to make space for her to sit.

Loryn gritted her teeth at Seth's tone, trusting him even less. Well, not that she had really trusted him in the first place, but still. He was just freaking her out now, though it was probably on purpose. "O-okay," she said hesitantly, moving to the free space behind Seth. Stop being so scared. You know he'll only use that against you. she scolded herself inwardly, narrowing her eyes in the slightest. Leaning foward, she dug her fingers into Seth's shoulders. "If you even try anything stupid, I'm not afraid to hurt you," she hissed into his ear, any earlier hesitation gone. If he makes this hell for me, I'll do the same for him.

Seth couldn't help but laugh a little to himself as Loryn whispered her threat into his ear. "Stupid how?" He questioned jokingly before looking over to Zephyr. "Suppose I'll see ya in town, try not to take too long." Feeling Loryn's nails dig into his bare right shoulder, as his left was protected by the Snag Machine, it didn't bother him much. "Good to see your holding on..." He didn't wait another moment after that to rotate his bike 180 degrees to be facing west. Seconds after the quick rotation he punched it, and the bike screamed it's electrical tone taking off into the desert.

Once they exited the town Seth lowered his goggles over his eyes and pressed a switch on the left side of them, that opened a map, and even displayed a blip to show where they currently were. Gradually turning South he sped up even faster, it wouldn't be long until they would reach the outskirts of Pyrite. Seth guessed a strong fifteen maybe twenty minutes at their current rate.

"Stupid as in-" Loryn's retort was cut off as Seth shot off through the desert on the metal "hover board". She bit back a scream as they departed, and it came out as a gasp that was quickly lost in the air rushing around them. Her arms shook as she struggled to hang on; her nails were digging into his right shoulder, but she was skipping from his left shoulder, which was protected by some peculiar device. She quickly resorted to grabbing him around the waist, after a moment's arguement with herself inside her head.

Shoving away her embarrassment, Loryn focused on the dull sandy scene around them. She really had no idea where they were, and, though she'd never admit it, she was grateful that Seth had offered her a ride, or else she'd be wandering this seemingly endless wasteland for who knew how long.

Upon feeling Loryn's hands move from his shoulders down to around his waist, Seth's smile widened. Now that she had a better grip, there was no need to hold back the true potential of his bike. He then flipped a swich near the handle bars the back hover pad lifted and spat out an electric flame that gave the bike an even greater burst of speed. It was almost unreal the blinding pace the bike made. Luckily Seth's body provided a wind breaker for Loryn as it was feirce.

Looking up to his left he saw Maya on her Togekiss, it wasn't too big a surpise to him that they were able to catch up, then even pass her. However after a couple minutes the blip signaling that they were only a couple miles outside of Pyrite now. Seth took the opportunity to flip the switch a second time, bringing the bike down to a reasonable pace. He putted along weaving into a rocky path. It wasn't much of a view, but he slowed the pace so Loryn could take it in, and even hear him, without the interference of the wind. "Almost there, pretty good timing, eh?" He asked.

This time Loryn did shriek as Seth pushed his bike even faster, and tightened her grip around his waist. For a fleeting second she thought she would break him because she was squeezing so hard. The wind whipped past at an unbelievable rate; she only felt a nipping breeze, but she couldn't imagine how it must've felt for Seth. When he turned to look up, she followed his gaze and saw Maya riding her Togekiss. They whizzed past her, however, so she didn't have the chance to wave. Besides, even if she took one hand off of Seth, she'd probably go flying to her sandy death.

Soon, Seth slowed down and began weaving along a rocky path. He ask her something over his shoulder, and surprisingly, she could understand it. "Yeah, that was pretty quick," she laughed, then noticed her shaking arms were still tight around Seth's waist. "Er-" she loosened them and looked around, changing the subject quickly. "-So this is Pyrite Town? Kind of a dump..." She smirked at the dirty rocks littering the ground.

Zephyr "Rider" Blitz

I had to laugh as I watched the new girl hop onto Seth's bike. She was going to have a 'wonderful' time. I've ridden with Seth multiple times, and almost every single one ended with smoke and flames. "You kids have fun out there!" I ran over to my bike and hopped on. I didn't move quite yet. I had to watch the show! Seth took off, moving at alarming rates. Wait for it....wait for it...NOW! My prediction was dead-on, seeing as Seth hit the turbo at the exact moment I said now. It was quite predictable. "My turn." I hopped onto my bike and started it up. I felt the purr of the engine. "Ohhhh, I misss you baby." I gave my precious bike a pat and revved the engine, to be met by the roar of a Gyarados. That's right. My bike has the Gyarados V-10 engine. State of the art! Laughing, I launched myself into the night, moving at hurtling rates, not quite Seth speed, but pretty damn close. "YEEEHAA!" It was mere moments before I arrived. I noticed Seth and the girl, whose name I was yet to collect, and parked my bike right next to him. "Sorry if I took so long. Those damned mileages. The alcohol was beginning to wear off. Riding bikes normally did that to me.

I stare down at my shoes, glancing back at the hard oak table in front of me that nests several empty bottles. I am lying on top of the table, my hand loosely gripping a tall thin bottle with an unreadable label. I tilt my head around top see the blur of a clock on the wall which says 6pm and slowly push myself up in shock. I find that I'm sitting on a chair, and in front of me is my computer. I'm in my basement. The large table that stretches in front of me provides a point of reference for me to picture in my head were I am and the layout of the area from memory. How else could I orientate myself in this blurred vision?
After several attempts at standing up, I finally orientate myself vertically, and my vision slowly comes back to me. My equipment seems to be as normal, but 2 bottles of alcohol lay empty on the bench, excluding the one I am still carrying in my hand. After a while I seem to be able to navigate, although the headache that follows is one quite unbearable, that I'm going to have to take the night off from work. I look at the clock again for reference. Six Pe-Em. I repeat that to myself a couple of times before understanding the relevance of the time. I need to sign up for the tournament. I stumble up the stairs to find all my pokémon sleeping peacefully, and an open fridge, which I quickly divert my current direction to kick closed, causing a slight stir in my pokémon's sleep. I then direct myself to the door and grab my wallet, just in case. I ten fling open the door and shut it carefully behind me, pushing my keys trough the letter box in case of an emergency and my pokémon need to evacuate. I just reached the fence where my front garden ends when I see behind me I have been followed by Gallade. I nod at the pokémon and it nods back, teleporting behind me so it doesn't have to go through the fence, if I had the power I would probably use it for those simple things as well. We end up walking side by side through the streets, seeing a few more people than there usually is, not too many though, although once I reach the area where the registration office has been set up - with help from wandering citizens - I realize that the place is packed with people of all different kinds. Nearly all of them are just viewers spectating who's entering and placing their bets with family on who they think might win, but if I was going to watch, I would watch the actual match, not the registration. This gives me the impression that perhaps tonight more people will end up coming to stay and watch the tournament tomorrow. I hear the laughter all around me and the joy coming from children that it seems to make my headache worse, and my anxiety is starting to show. I'm like a silent statue, only moving one step when there's space available. Soon I'm at the front desk.

"Hello, are you here to register?" she says in a voice unrecognizable in this area. I reply with a nod and hand down a card showing the pokémon I own and my day job and such. She studies for a moment with great interest before returning it to me.

"You're birth date isn't included." Drat.

"It was a printing error, I was born 22 years ago." I say that as if I've forgotten the actually year... Well I have, I'd prefer if she didn't know that though. She sighs and then calls her supervisor who just shakes his hand and says 'the more the merrier.' They must be having trouble finding participants or something. I pocket my card and the women hands me a leaflet giving me all the information and where to go when and whatnot. I never thought these things could be so confusing. I also put that in my pocket before she calls for 'next' which is my cue to scram. I walk away, grasping my head and start to walk home. I don't bother checking the details that are on the leaflet, instead I just charge into my home and jump onto the sofa. I am quickly accompanied by Gallade who sits in a formal position at the other end of the sofa, and can see I'm in some form of agony and teleports me a drink of orange juice along with some cold ice. I thank him and take small sips before I find that I'm once again dropping off to sleep.

"Hey this is my home!" Seth retorted with humor in his voice, being that he was fully aware that what she spoke was the truth. "What did you expect? I told you this was Battle Central, plenty of battle scars...the crime rate doesn't help the community much either." He added slowing down even further but still riding down the main street of Pyrite. The dome of the Colosseum could be seen in the not too far distance at the end of said street. Seth felt Loryn loosen her grip on his waist, but she didn't entirely let go. Maintaining his smile, he looked over his shoulder. "So, want to just head to the Registration? Get it out of the way?" He asked calmly. "Speaking of which, do you happen to have the dough needed to register?" He asked with a hinting tone as he hovered his hand next to his brown pouch at his waist brushing his hand against hers as he moved it down.

"I don't know, I didn't expect it to be fantastic, but I expected more scenery than just some boring-old rocks," Loryn crinkled her nose jokingly. They slowed down and continued along the path, which seemed to be Pyrite's main street. Things were looking slightly more farmilliar now; she somewhat recognized the dome for the Colosseum that sat a little ways away from them. It's been awhile since I was here, she thought, looking around. But I thought it was in much better shape than...this. There she went, spacing out again. She came back to her senses when she saw Seth glance over his shoulder and begin speaking to her.

"Ah, yeah, we should head to Registration first. I might need help though, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing." Loryn smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Her eyebrows shot up as he questioned if she had enough money to get it. "Of course I do! Do I really look that poor?" she stuck out her bottom lip in a pouting gesture, but her tone was easygoing. Well, at least, I hope I have enough. As long as this tournament doesn't cost more than a thousand dollars, I should be good. She wasn't about to splurge on some battle that she probably wouldn't even win. She wasn't exactly sure why she was even here...

Loryn snapped back to reality once again as she felt something brush against her hand, and noticed that Seth's fingers were hovering next to a brown pouch on his waist. Did he just..? Her face burned, and turned a few shades redder.

"If it's sceanary you want, then head to Agate Village..It's prtty nice there." Seth stated, laughing slightly internally as her face started to glow. Hearing that she did indeed have money for the entry he put his hand back on the handle bar. She also mentioned that she may need help with the Registation Form. "Ah, it's pretty self-explanitory you just pre-" Seth cut himself off as a punk with a red mohawk stood infront of his bike. With a Kadabra at his side.

"Hey yo, Seth. Think cause you've got a girlfriend with ya, that you can just pass on by?" He asked smuggly accompanied by a verbal laugh of his Psychic companion. Seth sighed disappointedly. "Shut your trap, Roger. I don't have time to waste on your ass again." Seth spoke plainly. "Well excuse me, think your better than m-" The punk was cut off as Seth suddenly sent out Scyther. Delivering a rapid X-Scissor attack that cut deep into the unprepared Kadabra, the fight was over before it began.

As swiftly as Seth sent out his green scythe-bearing Bug Pokemon he returned him. "Better luck next time Rog'." Seth announced pulling past the grubby man who was kneeling over his severly wounded Pokemon spraying it with a Hyper Potion. Glancing over his shoulder once more, "Sorry 'bout that. That was the Battle Corner I told ya about. Just a bunch of pansies." He informed Loryn pulling up to the entrance to the Pyrite Colosseum. Moving forward a bit to let the girl off.

Loryn smirked at Seth, feeling her face cool down from the previous embarrassment. Suddenly, they jerked to a stop as a guy with a red mohawk appeared in front of his bike. A Kadabra stood next to him. Loryn looked at it curiously from over Seth's shoulder, then turned her attention to the man ask he began speaking. He was taunting Seth, muttering something about his girlfriend... What? Oh, hell no. she thought, taken aback by the comment. Her eyes narrowed at the guy, who Seth identified as Roger. Kick his ass...

And that was exactly what Seth did. His Scyther took out Roger's Kadabra with a quick X-Scissor, and, with a snide remark, they were on the move again. Loryn just stared at Seth as he looked over his shoulder to talk to her again. "Guys like that...? A bunch of pansies...?" she gulped, more to herself, and hopped off his bike as they got to the enterance of the Pyrite Colosseum. Turning back to Seth, she remarked, "Oh, and thanks for the ride. I owe ya one."

Seth nodded, "Yep, just like him...Don't worry the Colosseum if far more entertaining." He added, reverting his hover bike back into his boot. Stretching his leg a bit he watched Loryn head towards the Arena's entrence. She did however turn back to thank him for the ride, and also add that she owed him one. His lightened smile turned devious again, "Still waiting on that show." He remarked pulling up past her to enter the building.

Inside there was a number of people and the line was rather long for registration. 'Hmm, good turn out.' Seth monologued. Once it was his turn he walked up to the desk, where a woman sat behind, Seth motioned for Loryn to come over and watch the reletivly easy process. Handing him a paper instinctively the woman smiled. "You never miss one do you, Seth?" she giggled. "Not going to be using your contraption this time are you? You know the cops around here don't care about your incident in Phenac, but be on your toes anyway."

Filling out his name and compeating Pokemon along with other miscelanious information about himself. "Nah, I think I'll play it legitamatly this time, and see it to the end. Got some 'friends' registering as well." Seth replied ignoring her statement about the athorities. Upon finishing the form he handed it back, along with the $500 entry fee, which he pulled from his pouch. "Starts tomorrow afternoon, at 3." He announced looking over to Loryn. "See nothin' to it." He spoke moving away from her and the desk to the far wall near the exit. His arms crossed over his chest. His gaze on Loryn as she was next to fill out the paperwork.

Loryn smirked and winked at him. "You just tell me when you want it," she laughed and followed him into the Colosseum. Once her eyes adjusted to the darker light, she looked around in awe. The interior was huge, and there was already a number of people waiting in line. Seth motioned for her to come over, and she quickly followed. The female receptionist seemed to know him, and joked about what happened at the last tournament. Loryn bit her lip but remained silent as she watched Seth fill out his paperwork.

Once he was finished, he informed her that the tournament started tomorrow at 3. "Yeah, thanks. For everything." Loryn nodded graciously, and picked up a pen to begin filling in the paperwork that the lady had handed her. Name? Birthday? Competing Pokemon? This is simple, I didn't need Seth's help... she thought inwardly as she scribbled the information down. Once it was completed, she handed it and the $500 to the receptionist with a quick smile.

She turned from the table to notice Seth still standing by the door. Curious, she walked over to him. "I thought you would've left when you were done. Didn't think I could fill out my paperwork like a big girl?" she raised her eyebrow at him, a shadow of a smile on her lips.

Maya thanked the registrar, "Oh. Alright. Thank you for your time." Truth be told, it was quite tedious and a tad vexing; the queries were quite candid, and yet, in quantity, they were wholly inundating; the lengthy catalogue of bluntly- put questions was suffice to make her nauseous. Maya sighed, overcome with relief; truth be told, she was quite pleased to have concluded the perplexing questionnaire.

'Whew. I didn't expect it to be that drawn out.. Oh well.'

In the meantime, Maya rested; truth be told, her venture to the domed Coliseum was quite tiring, and naturally, Maya was wholly exhausted. Certainly, Togekiss shared her sentiments.

"Oh, did you now? No, I had full confidence in your abilities to fill out a simple registration form." Seth paused, "I was more so concerned about your plans for your stay while here. Wouldn't truly recommend the Inn." He continued. Behind Loryn, Seth noticed Maya had made it here as well, and had already began filling out her paperwork. Seth left his conversation with Loryn linger there, waiting to see if she'd ask the obvious of what he had in mind, at the same time making himself even more visable to Maya, as she finished. The expression on her face showed one of obvious fetigue. "That is unless you'd be rooming with someone." Seth added motioning Loryn's attention to Maya. 'Hmm, I also wonder what's keeping Rider? Did he perhaps already register without telling me? Wouldn't really put it past him to do so.' Seth thought to himself.