Pokemon: Tournament of Life [T] (IC)

[gimmepie]

Gau pondered Willow for a moment unsure on her emotions... fear? anger? excitement? He didn't know and was concerned about how to respond... but this was his purpose in life now wasn't it?
"It looks like something is going on involving life keepers, something about pokemon who aren't supposed to be there showing up all over the city and strange people moving about". Gau continued to explain as best he could but at this point in time he was too busy trying to work out how exactly his new friend, and seemingly travel companion, was reacting to this news. He was really unsure how he felt, really he was unsure how he felt. He looked at the metallic watch-like object on his wrist and sighed. Gau was not afraid to die, he'd never really been anything in his life so losing it wasn't something that scared him, but he couldn't help but feel saddened that he would possibly be dead in the next few days after he had finally made friends and gotten a pokemon, needless to say it was going to be very interesting how events unfolded. Gau proceeded to get Teddiura back from the nurse and waiting at the door for his friends. He wasn't used to taking action like this, and was unsure of how to proceed, but he knew he had to.

[Game_sloth]

As the pokeball rolled towards the girls foot, the guy with her went into the pokemon center. He said her name amongst other things before entering, though.

Willow... I finally have a name.

Willow proceeded to pick up the pokeball containing his troublesome magby.

"Forgive but you seem to have lost this," She said with a giggle as she extended her hand towards him trying to get him to take the pokeball.

Should I let her put it down or take it?

He sat there motionless for a couple minutes and as he started to lift his head and extend his hand towards hers the boy returned. Ike quickly returned to his fake slumber so he could listen to what he was about to say.

"Willow, Julian, we need to go to Jubilife and fast." the boy said in an anxious way.

Julian... another name. I wonder which one that is... and I wonder why the sudden push to Jubilife..

Ike listened as Willow replied to him. It was obvious she wasn't ready to go. He felt the ground stir as she put the pokeball down beside him before walking inoto the pokemon center. As the door clicked shut, he felt around for his pokeball, quickly securing it and subtly returning it to his belt loop.

That was a close one. Relief shot through Ike and he shifted in comfort.

As she returned she said the guys name, Gau, and told him to explain the situation.

Gau.. that must be the guy. So there is a Gau, Willow, and Julian. Just missing one name. Now to listen to what is going on.. Then I follow them. I will eventually have to come clean.. How will I do so is the question.

[Quicksand.]

Chapter 1.2

^{| ♀ | Lv. 5 | Lick, Pound.}

Benjamin had been resting on Sandgems beach for almost an hour, but it felt like seconds to him. He sat as still as ever, as if he were carved from stone. Occasionally, the small, pink Pokemon resting in his lap would rustle about, trying to find a comfortable position to relax in on her trainers stony exterior. Unfortunately for her, it was to no avail. The Pokemon looked up at Benjamins face and let out a small growl, letting her discomfort be known to him. Hopping out of his lap, Smoochum squinted her eyes, pulled her right arm back, and struck her trainer with a vicious Pound attack. “Smooch smooch!”

“Ouch!”

Although the duo hadn’t known each other, it was quite obvious they had their differences. Smoochum was high-strung and quite the sassy Pokemon, while Benjamin was the complete opposite. She longed for attention while he longed to be alone. Her teal eyes angrily glared into her trainer, demanding all of his devotion. Stretching his limbs, the boy yawned and reached for Smoochums Pokeball. Detesting to be recalled, she yowled and beat at her trainers leg. Benjamin rubbed his temples and held out her Pokeball. Mumbling, he recalled his Pokemon and cursed under his breath.

In no hurry, Benjamin decided to take the long way back to town. A small road through the forest that lined the beach was begging for his attention and he couldn’t resist. His head hung low, refusing to look away from his feet. That is, until a young boy could be heard yelling a few yards behind him. “Hey doofus!” he shouted. Turning around, Benjamin wondered who would be shouting at him. “I’m over here!” The young boy flailed his arms around in the air, trying to catch Benjamins attention. He wore yellow floaties around his arms, some scuba googles wrapped around his forehead, and a dark blue speedo.

“Um, do I know you?” questioned Benjamin.

“No… but I saw you on the beach earlier.” His hands were rested on his hips, until he rose one and pointed it directly at the teen. “And I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!”

Shifting his eyes side to side, Benjamins muscles tensed at the boys demand. “What!? I… um… I don’t own a Pokemon! I don’t even know your name!”

The youngster squinted his eyes and raised his voice. “You’re lying! I saw you with that girly pink thing on the beach earlier!”

Caught red handed…

“It looked smaller than my Pokemon, so that means I’m gonna beat you for sure!” His voice trailed off in the beginning, but regained confidence as he continued. Reaching for his Pokeball, he tossed it on the ground with extreme vigor and excitement. “Come on out, Growlithe!”

[DeLaMuerte]

1-5 Trainers... the bane of other Trainers?

So it was that kind of nap. The long kind.

Raiso rubbed his already sleepy eyes, then stretched and yawned. It was... 2 hours ago when he slept.
Raiso gathered his bearings, returned his Pokemon to their PokeBalls. He should be walking to Jubilife now, shouldn’t he? He yawned.
“Oh well,” he sighed, “I guess I better get going.” It was looking most peaceful, until purple was showing beyond him, where Jubilife should be. Wait. Purple...?
“Sludge. Grimer sludge.” Being raised in Veilstone, where these creatures pretty much were created in the sewers, made it even more obvious. “This... isn’t the Jubilife I saw when I hiked here... in fact, there wasn't any Grimers nearby, now that I think of it.” He clenched his fists. “This is strange... and dangerous. I should go warn Fait... and the others who were at Rowan’s lab, so... I... have to... go!”
Raiso began to run, ignoring the hunger in his stomach that was just pleading to come out. The hiking stick he was going to use stuffed in his bookbag, he began a full out sprint to Sandgem.

_______________

“STOP!”
“Wha-what?!” Raiso stopped at turn around. Crap. Not this... no... not now.
Standing in front of him was a youngster. His orange cap backwards, his arm with a PokeBall outstretched, he glared at the person in front of him. “You will battle with me!”
“Kid, I can’t. I have something very important to-”
“NonoNO! You can’t! We’ve locked eyes! It’s taught in the Pokemon Trainer School!”
“Which is why I’m running! I have to-”
“You can’t run from a Trainer Battle!” The kid was almost whiny in his response.
“Dang. I’ll end this quickly, then. C’mon out, Rocky!” The little green Pokemon materialized and bared his teeth.
“Let’s go, new Pokemon! C’mon, Chickachor!” A Chimchar came out. “Or is it Chimmychor?” The trainer scratched his head, and his Pokemon was ready to scratch not only the Pokemon in front of it, but also the trainer behind it.
“A Chimchar.” Raiso’s frown became a wicked grin. “Rocky! Use Sandstorm!” The Larvitar whipped up a good one, mixed with rocks and debris that made the weather worse. “Now! While he can’t see! Bite!”
“Larva!” The Pokemon’s teeth clenched the Chimchar’s shoulder, making it all that much more lethal.
“Chim! Chim! Chim!”
“No, no no! Use Scratch, Chimchar!” As much as the Chimchar would love to obey properly (or not) he only had one hand to scratch with. And even then, it missed because of the constant Sandstorm.
“Leer, and then Bite, Rocky!” The sandstorm began to die down as Rocky gave the Chimchar an intimidating look, lowering the Chimchar’s defenses as it suppressed a laugh. This gained an ‘oh hell no’ response from Rocky, biting the Chimchar again.
“Heheh. Your Sandstorm has whittled out. Now! Use Scratch!” Rocky was scratched viciously as the Chimchar proceeded to dig its claws into the skin as Rocky just watched. Wait a second... just watched?
“Larva... larva!” The Chimchar’s nails broke at the cry, the Larvitar’s rocky skin being too much for them to handle. The Chimchar gasped. “LARVA!” And as soon as it did, it received another bite from Rocky, knocking it out.
“Had enough?” Raiso said grumpily.
“No! I still have one more Pokemon!”
“What?”
“Go... Magika!”
“That’s an interesting name... for a...”
“That’s right! I’m getting a killer Magikarp on ya’! You ready?”
Raiso mentally face-palmed. “Yeah. Sure." Rocky needed some rest, so... "Let’s do this, Raya!”
“Shinn shinn!” The blue Pokemon jumped happily.
“Alright! I’m ready!” Raiso yelled, returning his Larvitar. He looked towards Jubilife... or at least where it was supposed to be. I have to finish this soon! No matter what!
“Magika! Use Splash!” Obviously, this kid had no idea what he was doing, and the Magikarp just flopped about.
“Alright! Raya, use Tackle! And make a bit of static by rubbing your fur together!” Of course, the second move was the basis of the move Charge, but the Shinx couldn’t use that yet. It could do this, though.
“Shiiiinnnn!” Raya shook her fur carefully, and little blue particles began to appear in the air. “Shinx!” The Pokemon hit the Magikarp, dead on.

TO describe what happened in the rest of the battle is nearly pointless. After a spam wave of Tackles and Splashes, Raiso won. He began his dash back to Sandgem, deciding that he would stop at the Pokemon Center. In his rush, he saw Fait eating lunch. “Move it! Go to Jubilife, quick!” He yelled, “I’m going to warn the others that Rowan chose!” Raiso was panting, and he was tired, but he eventually made it to Sandgem.

He encountered a group of people outside the Pokemon Center. I’ve seen most of them before, at... Rowan’s lab! “Guys!” He yelled, seemingly interrupting something, but knowing that what he was talking about was probably more important. You’re all part... *huff* of Rowan’s chosen... right? Get to... *pant* get to... *huff* get to Jubilife. It’s covered in Grimer sludge, I saw the slime, purple and shining brightly, from afar...” He fell on the ground. “So... tired....*huff*” He struggled to get up. “And hungry... *pant* I’ll go in the Pokemon... Center, and heal my Pokemon... *huff* and help myself to an apple. I’ll be back out in one sec...” Raiso flashed his signature grin, and walked in. “Oh and by the way...,” he said, “the name’s Raiso. Raiso... Ionis.” He entered, healed his Pokemon extremely quickly, and came out, eating not an apple, but a sandwich. “Nurse Joy sure is nice. Anyway, are you guys good to go? I’ll explain the situation in full as we walk... if you're coming. If not, I can try to handle it myself. And sorry for interrupting whatever seemed to be going on.” He looked at 'Julian.' That’s not a guy... he thought, thinking back to the experience he had gained in Veilstone. He showed no outwardly signs of that experience, quietly eating in anticipation of a response.

[Lokiepie]

Willow was just about to reply to Gau, after eyeing Julian in her peripheral vision waiting to see if the boy had anything to add. When, however, the boy remained silent, Willow bit the bullet.

Yet when she parted her lips to speak, she was interrupted by someone else, literally running into her life. The boy seemed to be about her age if not a little older, give or take a couple of years and he was panting. Like he had been moving fast for a while.

Without even an introduction, the boy explained his sudden appearance, referring to her group of friends as the rest of Rowan’s chosen ones. Which, when thinking about it, was kinda true.

As he explained about the pruple grimmer sludge which he had seen, she felt her heart sink lower, each syibal just adding to the dread which was now building up inside her. Well this day was just getting better and better, wasn’t it?

“Oh and by the way...the name’s Raiso. Raiso... Ionis.” The boy finished as he walked past them, entering the Pokémon centre with a grin.

“Willow Greenheart.” Willow said simply, her voice almost completely gone after the information overload she had received from both Gau and the new guy, Raiso. Shooting a concerned look towards her company, she tried to think about what to do. Until at last, she made up her mind.
“we need to leave now then.” She said, with a confirmative nod. “no point in wasting time on getting supplies. I think I have enough to last us.” At that she turned on the spot again and walked back to the counter were after a few moments of spirited conversation with Nurse Joy, Willow returned. Jinxsey nestled in her arms one more, with a familiar wolfish grin settled on his small face.

[Game_sloth]

Ike sat there stiller than ever as a new voice came into the scene. It was a guys voice, he sounded shook up, and took multiple pauses consisting of pants. He must have just ran a mile, full sprint. Ike concentrated on the guys words so he would not miss anything. He spoke of the grimer sludge and how everyone needed to get there fast, concluding his urgent message with his name.

Raiso.. another trainer on the same mission. You know what.. change of plans.

Ike slowly stood up from his sitting position, slinking up the wall as if it was picking him up.

"I'll go with you, Raiso. Ike is the name." Ike said as he stared at the guys feet, wanting to avoid any eye contact that may come towards him being he had been pretending to be asleep with the others. "I'm not an experienced trainer, though. Not at all."

Ike braced himself for rejection, his left hand bracing his pokeball that held the snide pokemon he was honestly a bit scared of and his right hand rubbing the back of his head. Who would want such a weak trainer to help them with such a significant job?

[Rune Alchemist]

Julyanne "Julian" Eigis

Julyanne sighed as she kept an eye on her sister, listening to the discussions Willow and the others were having.

She doesn't know what to say, really. Nothing interesting piques her interest. When they suggested that they leave and go to the disturbance, that's when she draws the line.

"Hold on. You do not honestly think that going there is a good idea, do you? Do not forget that we must return to the Professor soon, and the walk to the next town should take quite a while. It's quite foolish to think that we can even do anything, even if said cause of trouble is the group we are looking for.

Look at us, we are starting trainers with Pokemon ill-fit to fight Pokemon that has defeated countless much more experienced trainers than us. I agree we should help, but going there right now as is will be suicide."

[DeLaMuerte]

1-8: In a Nutshell? Raiso Blows Up.

“Okay. You’re taking the reasonable approach. That’s understandable. But there are flaws in your logic.”

Raiso’s mood had quickly shifted. It was no longer the happy, cheery mood it had been before; no, at this moment his old anger for the underground and criminality came back, practically like a dust storm creeping upon a old Western town. Memories flooded in, and Raiso was left with a serious frown and a glare harsher than ever. Of course, he didn't ignore Willow, or Ike; but he attended to more important things first- the objection.

“First of all, I don’t know about you, but I have no returning to any professor to do; however that is your business and not mine. I have had all the time in the world to do what needed to get done, already have it done...” he simmered down. “Sorry. I’ve been remembering something...” Raiso looked away. “Don’t worry about it. But seriously. Fine, if you have to return to the professor, that you may do so. Second, what’s up with this supposed long walk? Is there anything wrong with exercise? It takes a bit over an hour to traverse; not that long in my opinion. Then again, I do a lot of hiking often.”

Raiso stopped, clenching his fists. “And I’m sorry if I seem naive to you, as I have to many, but what happened to teamwork? You’re not alone, I’m not alone, not one of us 15 is. Unless you want to be. And this stuff about us being weak; what do you think we should do? Sit around as some criminal takes more lives and overruns Jubilife?” Raiso looked up and glared, and even though he was still in control of himself, he was still angry. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to stand for it. Maybe you’re too young to understand. Maybe you don’t know the underground as well as I do... in fact, you probably don’t. Or perhaps it’s the fact you haven’t seen the situation like I do. Which, by the way, is loads of Grimers. And fine, like I addressed before, we’re all weak. We may not all be starting trainers like you claimed, but yeah, we are. And I’ll admit that, even though I’ve already participated in both a trainer battle and caught a Pokemon.”

Raiso rubbed his right eye, and putting his hand back down onto his side, he said, “So what do you suggest we do? Anyone really, what do you suggest? Do we go back to Rowan, which’ll probably help with advice and a TM? Which would be cool, so I’m okay with that. Do we train knowing that there’s something astray? At that rate, any major training and the situation slowly gets worse... maybe when we’re done training, they’ve gotten stronger and are almost invading Sandgem! Or do we just mope here about how we can’t supposedly accomplish anything, or at least much?”

Raiso laid back and inhaled, then rapidly exhaled. “Don’t take too long. Depending on what happens, I may have to choose a new course of action. And sorry if I seemed rude in any way.” He finished his sandwich and waited for a response.

[Rune Alchemist]

Julyanne "Julian" Eigis

"I'm not being reasonable. I'm being realistic." That is the first thing Julyanne said as she let the boy finish, her voice even. "What I don't get is that why you are being rash about this. Stop and think. We are here to stop the organization, and we won't do that by biting on a schmuck bait."

She pushed her sister to the lobby, out of the argument that might grow into something more. "Haven't you thought that they might split us up into easy pickings? Get the weakest link first to dwindle down our numbers? We have Pokemon, they are criminals. The only thing holding them back from shooting us at first sight are these Life Meters, and they're not exactly a life-line considering what will happen if the number drops down to zero."

"You expect us to win? We can, we might, but not now. Have you seen what the organization can do? How can you be sure we can all survive once we meet them? There is a police force for a reason. We must focus on helping ourselves first before we can help others, otherwise you're just cannon fodder to them."

[gimmepie]

Gau listened to the events unfolding with a quizzical expression stuck on his face. Firstly they had run into this weird stranger who was pretending to be homeless, then he had heard about the events in Jubilife, then another random trainer had come sprinting up and rather fortunately given more details on what to expect and now Julian was about to start an all out argument with the new guy... and seemingly Gau himself. He didn't like speaking out in these situations but he didn't want to scare the kid with Julian since she was probably already terrified. But he was very intrigued by something he had heard from the strange, rather feminine, boys mouth. Authority. Gau was now certain that Julian was not who he said he was and resolved to find out more. He looked at the newcomer who also seemed to have picked up on something
Interesting thought Gau, he'd have a lot to write about later but he had a bigger priority right now, defusing this situation before they were all left without allies and helping to work out a plan. He sighed inwardly he hated being in positions like this where he had to give a clear stance towards the situation.

"Firstly, if the police could stop the Life-Keepers they would have by now, they have been around for a while now and we haven't even seen a decrease in their activity, in fact we have seen an increase. As for these" he showed the watch-like object strapped to his wrist "we know they aren't life lines but we also know that this is what we signed up for. Not to say that you don't have valid concerns it is just that there is nothing we can do about them except catch a few new pokemon and/or strengthen the ones we already have. One way or another we are going to run into these guys and really it would be better for us if we had the element of surprise over them not the other way around. To sum it up, I'll be going anyway and I'd like to have you guys for back-up" the last line was directed at Julian and Willow more than the others.

Now he just had to watch as events unfolded and hope for the best.

[Rune Alchemist]

Julyanne "Julian" Eigis

Julyanne adjusted her cap, clearing her throat to speak. Who knew talking like a boy is so tiring? "So, you want to save the city then? Are you prepared to pay for the cost? It's not only our life that we are risking here."

She turned back to look at the door where her sister quickly hid behind when she noticed that Julyanne saw her eavesdropping. "If we fail, the organization will not only grow stronger, none will longer stand against them when we are gone. Let's say we succeed, we beat them back. The organization will know our faces, will be more prepared, and the next time we face them we'll be in their hands. No matter what happens, going there will be a win-win situation for them."

Julyanne took a breath, glancing down at a Chansey handing her Cleffa's Pokeball. Thanking the nurse, she resumed her speech.

"These people are smart, when they see a threat, they will retaliate. We must be a step above them and prepare fighting as a group. We aren't vigilantes, we are an officially recognized group assigned to keep the criminals at bay, but that is only possible if we don't die." She accidentally raised her voice at the last word, silencing and attracting the attention of the passers-by.

What she said actually weighed heavily in her chest, these things are taught to her back at home, to look at the big picture. Minimalizing causalities in the end for abandoning a city. Ends doesn't justify the means, but it is the most logical solution.

She tried to regain her composure, but failing as it seems to even be obvious to her little sister, who was tugging at her pant leg.

"Look, think of this as Poker." Julyanne knelt and and carried her sister. "We fold now, we get a better chance some other time. Call all our chips, we can lose everything. When we win..."

She stood, staring at the boys with a frosty glare that made several nobles back down. "They will know our hand."

[gimmepie]

Gau was hoping he wouldn't be drawn into a conversation so decided instead to remain silent, he knew he would go regardless, that's what his life was now and he was prepared to die for his purpose. He glanced at Willow and the newer arrivals trying to read their expressions but they were unusually blank. He was going to have to say something

"Surely you realise that some of us are going to die, it is something that we can't avoid. I'm prepared to die for this cause and anyone else undertaking it should be too. I'm going regardless but this early in our journey our best hope is to ambush whichever life-keeper as a team." Gau paused for a minute before adding "I barely know you guys but I'll die for you if it is necessary."

After that he was done. He had nothing else to add, all he could do is watch the others and see how they felt. He was hoping Julian would not strain his voice arguing any further, he assumed that was the reason for the obvious strain. Gau really didn't want to say any more on the matter and stepped backwards from the group, leaning lightly on the closest wall. He wondered how his Teddiursa would feel about his decision.

[Lokiepie]

Willow stood in silence as she watched as each member stepped forward, even the homeless boy whom now introduced himself as Ike became involved.

Willow knew where everyone was coming from, even Julian whom seemed to stand alone in this argument. But the fact of the matter was that they were going to have to face this life keeper, no matter what.

“We’ll work as a team alright?” Willow said in a quiet but sure voice. “Discussing this is only wasting time and we were chosen to do this. We knew the risks before the professor even gave us the life meter and we still accepted. This is the price we pay. Yes, we are gambling with our lives here but we don’t have another option. We use our numbers against our opponent, we’ll wear them down. Sure it means sacrificing points but we’ll gain much more from doing so. As far as the other life keepers will be concerned, we’ll just be the fresh meat that got lucky with timing.”

At this, she fell quiet, staring down at Jinxsy whom sat in her arms. Julian was right. This was a foolish move. Waiting it out would be the wise choice, but time was something they didn’t have. Goodness knows how many people were suffering right now.

“Not to mention we have one more advantage.” She began again, looking up from her Pokémon with a still gaze that swept around the group. “We are new trainers. This isn’t a bad thing as some might think. We are still learning. We aren’t cocky, we are adaptive. No one knows what type of trainer we’ll really be in the end. Heck no one will know what we’ll be like a week from now. We can’t show all our own cards if we don’t even know what they are yet. They won’t know what to expect and that’s what we’ll use. Make them think we are one thing, then use the opposite. Keep them guessing.”

Whether this was a good idea or not, Willow had no idea. But when at last her mouth closed, she simply met the gaze of the group with a steady look. Her face unchanging, even though her grip on Jinxsey tightened slightly.

[Rune Alchemist]

Julyanne "Julian" Eigis

Julyanne turned away from the group, sighing irritably. She kept quiet for quite a while thinking, before addressing the other trainers.

"Fine, fine. You want to go and save them? Then go."

She let that statement hang in the air before turning back to them.

"But you won't be going out like that." The girl-disguised-as-a-guy eyed their outfits. "Let's go to the mart. I have a plan."

"Ever heard of the False Flag Operation?" Julyanne grinned mentally. There are times when she just has to let go and let fate decide her course. Still, she's not going to do that until there's one thing she controls that can turn the tide.

'And oh boy, am I going to have fun with this. That'll teach them to ignore my hints.' She thought as she headed to the PokeMart

[gimmepie]

Gau was grateful that he wasn't going to be forced to say much more, he much preferred watching others to taking action himself, not to say he wasn't prepared to take action when it was needed. He felt frustrated with Julian, he was going to have to keep an eye on him, and find some time to talk to the nut-job who sprinted all they way from Jubilife.

He listened as the other trainers gave their views, he was particularly curious as to why they had all more or less skated over his statement about some of them dying but he would have to wait and see. Perhaps not talking about it made them feel more comfortable.

The conversation died down a bit after Willow had pointed out the unique advantage only beginners such as themselves possessed, that was definitely going to come in handy in the early days of their journey. That was when Julian mentioned something
"Ever heard of the False Flag Operation?"
He didn't remember much about it but had read about it not too long ago. He was fairly sure it involved someone acting as a decoy, he didn't remember much else though it had been a boring book. He voiced his familiarity with it in a short sentence
"I don't know it well, but I have read about it before" he then returned to his previous position, watching the other trainers. They really needed to get moving.

[Rune Alchemist]

Julyanne "Julian" Eigis

Julyanne stopped to look at Gau when she heard what he said. One can almost see the "what." on her face as her half-lidded eyes, stared at him.

She opened her mouth to speak, to say that the False Flag Operation is not a book. To say that the False Flag operation is a tactic used by strategists. To say that he and her are on completely different pages, no pun intended.

"Ah...-"

But her voice failed her. She couldn't bring herself to correct him. The physical pain is almost too much that she just turned away to continue on her way to the mart.

The heck with it. Let them think what they want. She's going to have her fun misconception or not.

[Lokiepie]

Willow glanced at Gau as he spoke to Julian, before her eyes narrowed at Julian’s retreating back. There was an air about that boy that just didn’t seem to fit. Shaking her head to remove such ideas from her head however, Willow forced a nervous grin upon her lips. Reaching up, she fingered a twig which still lay in the red tangles of her hair before tugging it out and dropping it to the floor. Nothing else to do and so far Julian seemed to be the only one whom had a plan.

“Wait up.” Willow said, glancing at the guys before starting after Julian. “Whatever you have planned, just make sure we can do it quickly.” At this she then waved to the guys. “You coming or not? Unless one of you guys have a better plan?”
Following this, she then turned her back to the group and began to trail Julian, this time not looking back to see if they were following or not. Even if they didn’t, Willow just felt a cold certainty that it wouldn’t be the last time they would see each other. After all they were all working to the same goal. At this thought however, the girl’s heart became heavier.

That’s if we all make it.
This though hung in her head like a dense choking mist as she strode after her company, her steps weighed down with the promise of a grim feature.

[Game_sloth]

It's like I am invisible.. Ike thought to himself in discomfort. I haven't even been acknowledged.

He tried to listen to the argument going on between the growing group, but couldn't concentrate over his anger and disappointment.

This is what I was afraid of.. I should've just stayed laying there. Heck, no one would notice if I slumped back down now.

Ike caught bits in pieces of the conversation.

Grimers.. death.. weak..

He snapped out of his daze as he noticed Willow start to trail off behind the odd boy with the high pitched voice.

What do I do now.. ugggh. Follow her or wait for Raiso. I think I'll wait for Raiso. Or maybe go with this Gau guy. He seems more calm and clear minded. I'll be safer with him.

Ike's eyes shot up toward Gau as he waited to see what he would do next.

[Crimson0191]

Nath got out of bed and rubbed his weary eyes. e had thought about this long and hard for a wile now and wanted to do something with his life. He was going to go to professor rowan's lab and obtain a pokemon to start his journey with. He didn't want to waste any time so e went ahead and ran out of the house saying, "I'll be back later mom!" before realizing he wasn't even ready...

It wasn't untill an hour that Nath got to Professor Rowan's lab, that's when his choices became clear.

"Well hello there you must Nath. Here for your first pokemon and to help save the world?"

"Huh what?"

"Ah no need to worry I'll sort it out for you"

Without hesitation the Professor snapped on a mysterious band stating the numbers '50' flashing in red digital numbers.

"I assume you allready know how this works, sorry to rush you but you must hurry to Jubilife, I hear theres a lot more going on down there than before! Oh yes your pokemon wich do you want!"

Nath's expression dropped. He had no idea why Professor Rowan was being so quick to react, and what was with this strange machine on his wrist. Had the Professor lost his marbles?

"What is the matter boy? Come now, pick your pokemon."

"Th-that wa-one please." He pointed at a pokeball marked with a purple or a darker red cover.

"Ah tyrouge is your choice! Here you go now hurry along you haven't got all day!"

"But what is this band thingy? What is it doing on my wrist? Why me?"

"Eh? That's a life meter. You signed up for this, remember?"

"Um no... actually... what does it do?"

"Oh dear." The professor looked slightly worried and very guilty. He had just put a 14 year old boy in the most danger he could ever be in. He had taken away his life. He didn't know how to react to this so he said his goodbyes, and lead Nath to the door. Could he really live wit all that guilt.

[gimmepie]

Gau sighed. As per usual is unusual manner of speaking had causes some confusion, he didn't mind really he just didn't appreciate being made to look a fool. He wasn't going to say a word though but followed behind Willow. At this point he had decided that despite her rapidly shifting emotions she was probably the only one of them with her head screwed on the right way.

As the group walked out of the pokemon centre he couldn't help but feel empty. He was used to leaving his home but he had really settled in Sandgem and he couldn't help but feel that he was never going to see it again. He made a mental note to make sure Teddiursa was given to one of his fellow travellers if he didn't make it.

He needed to talk to Julian. He wanted to know where he was from and where he had gained knowledge of military strategies. He seemed to know too much to have simply read a little about them in a brief period of interest like Gau. Who are you? That was the one thought running through his mind as they halted to collect supplies.

[Crimson0191]

Nath, who still had no clue what this "iron band" did, decided he would just have to find out himself. He thought for a while. Although a few thoughts drifted in his head that were disturbing and some unusual memories still receded, he had had some clue of what they might be

A few days ago, on Pokemon watch live, he remembered he saw a strange woman with the same band on as him in Jubilife. He wasn't certain but he could go and ask her about the situation he was in. He had his plan, but also his ideas, and packed all is things together before leaving twinleaf once more, and said goodbye to his mum for the last time. His holiday home was now no more than a distant memory to him. His mum of course was very worried, but let him go, knowing it was the right thing to do.

It was about 20 minutes before Nath reached Sandgem town again, where tyrouge was waiting for him with Professor Rowan for the time he went home to say goodbye. After collecting tyrouge and going to the pokemon market for a few minutes to pick up supplies and a potion, he went face to face with route 202, the first challenge before his adventure began...

[Game_sloth]

Ike watched as Gau trailed behind Willow and Julian towards the pokemart.

So Gau is going with them... this is an important moment. I need to choose who to go with carefully. There's already tension in the group with that Julian guy. They could easily fall apart, leaving the weak like me to plummet to failure.. or death. Yet.. this Raiso guy doesn't seem like such a good idea either. A group of 2 is just asking to be picked off. Guess I'll follow Gau and the others. Will just hope for the best. Maybe things will get better.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ike called out to Gau as he started jogging towards the Pokemart almost tripping because of his quick start.

[Crimson0191]

Route 202, a place of beginnings. Nath took his first step together, with tyrouge at his side. A feeling of relief and satisfaction overcame Nath but also anxiety, the thought of having to shape is own destiny from now on. His foot landed over the border. He was finally going to do it.

The first thing he noticed was that the route was not as busy as he expected. Wind wasn't as strong as it was elsewhere, and tall grass was the only obstacle. It was going to be a breeze.

He reaced the first patch of tall grass, which was a few meters across. Not one pokemon. Before he could reach the next patch of grass, he noticed a pack of growlithe run into some trees, and a flock of starly fly off. It wasn't as stereotypical as said to be, with pokemon only appearing in tall grass, what a lie! Pokemon were everywhere!

Nath took a moment to take in the sites, before noticing that the pack of growlithe was trying to sneak up on him. Nath's peaceful moment did not last a second longer. Tyrouge quickly lept to action preparing to attack. The growlithe were talking betweemn themselves, and only one stepped forward.

The other growlithe didn't seem to want to fight. The growlithe that did prepared itself. It launched a quick ember attack at tyrouge knocking him back slightly. Tyrouge fought back with a tackle attack with stumbled growlithe knocking it to it's knees. Tyrouge then used a leer to intimidate growlithe, which then tackled Tyrouge back. Tyrouge dodged, then tackled growlithe from behind, knocking it out.

The growlithe got back up and smiled. It jumped into Nath's arms as if saying, 'thank you.' Nath looked at it and smiled back. Tyrouge lifted up a hand to shake and growlithe lifted his paw too. 'There's nothing like friendship,' Nath thought to himself, before getting up. Nathan had just won is first battle, and was THANKED for it. He felt amazing, so amazing, he just had the energy to dash to Jubilife. And that's exactly what he did with no clue that the growlithe was following him.

[Curious.]

Unfortunately due to my serious time constraints (blame it on my studies), I have no other option but to close this roleplay. I'm sorry if this comes as a severe inconvenience to any of you, and I thank you all for the dedication and effort you've put into your posts and your SU's. I'd be more than happy to see this idea be remade into a separate roleplay so long as I am credited somewhere. :3

Thanks again!