[PKMN OPEN] The Pokémon Trainer Academy (T) [Best Veteran 4Q '11]

Was he being choked? The black edging his eyes said yes. Then theguy let go, attacking again and releasing a Grovyle. It looked down on them too. Skye said nothing. "Guh-gonna have tuh-to beh-hetter thah-Han that," he commented, both about the sttlutter and the hits. "Cah-Can't feh-heel pain." he glanced at Arcino and threw the Pokeball, knocking Grovyle in the forehead as Volca came out with a blazing Flamethrower.

Skye sighed angrily. He took a few deep breaths. Now was not the time. Vengeance did nothing. Beating him would be fun. "Cah-han't Eh-even geh-het yuh-your voices tuh-ho agree. Suh-sad." He clapped his hands twice, causing Volca to flip back. The Larvesta huffed.

(don't think it matters. volca's nuts. XD)

Zara

"Oh goody! Someone that doesn't feel pain! I'll have to fix that!" Zara cackled wildy with delight, as Arcino dodged the wild flamethrower. He stood impassively, looking at the foe with a double type advantage over him.

"Zara... Please... Stop," Quin said weakly, his voice fading a little bit. Zara cackled happily. Maybe he would disappear forever! That would be great! Then he could have his fun in peace with no one to bother him!

"Gro..." Arcino said quietly.

"Shut it Quin! Arcino, use Aerial Ace!" Zara said. Arcino complied, charging at the Larvesta with his leafy blades glowing a bright bluish white color. He leapt up and swung the blades at Volca with unerring accuracy. Unless the bug had some way to protect himself, there was no way this would miss! Zara grinned happily, glad he was able to provke this brat into a fight he couldn't win!

Brian

Bri watched in stunned silence as Skye began battling Quin, or whoever he was right now. He was still crying so hard he didn't even notice Duster run and jump into his arms. He shrieked and dropped her, where she looked confused at him. Her appearence had finally broken the trance he had fell into, but he was still very scared. He hugged her close to him and kept crying. She got a miffed look, and then whinced as the hug started to crush her.

"Bri... Crushing... Need air..." she panted. Bri loosened his grip and she looked at him, all her anger gone when she saw his face.

"Duster... I'm so scared! Wah!" Bri sobbed. He was hysterical. Duster frowned. She looked around the scene. This one unknown boy was battling Skye, who looked and smelled angrier than Duster had ever seen him. Bri was sitting on the ground with his crutches laying out of his reach. Some other boy was... Doing something. She stopped looking around when Bri hugged her tight again, getting his tears all over her face and chest. And she had just finished cleaning herself too... Well, Bri needed her. This was actually one of the times she wished Thyme was around. Thyme was way better at comforting their trainer than she was.

"Hey, no hard feelings, kay?" Arcino said to Volca before lauching an attack at him. Duster ignored them. She patted Bri with one paw.

"There there... Um... It's going to be ok," Duster said nervously.

Thyme

Thyme frowned when Mark said Snype had busted her out. True, she hadn't been able to open the window or get down. But this had been all her idea! She deserved some credit! This was exactly what she had been getting at! She wanted to prove that she didn't need to be looked after so much! That was why she was going to spend the entire day away from her trainer and caretakers! Still, she allowed Snype to slip his arm around her as Mark was talking to him.

"Hey! I'm right here you know. The least you could do is talk to me instead of around me! Just because I'm not your Snivy doesn't mean I'm not to be seen!" Thyme said irritably. She smacked Mark on the back of his head lightly with her vines to emphasize that point. Still, it was better than hanging out at the pokemon center all day. She frowned and followed along.

"Sorry bout hitting your trainer. I don't like being ignored," Thyme said quietly. She slipped her arm around Snype the way he still had his around her as she walked.

Mark

"Owch!" Mark said as Thyme hit his head lightly with her vines. He turned his head toward Snivy. "Geez... Sorry. Didn't mean to completely ignore you there Thyme. Don't worry me and Snivy will take good care of you. Field trips don't come every day and I don't blame ya for wanting to come along. Even if it means sneaking out for a little while." Mark said.

Eventually Mark got to his dorm room. Snype walked into the room with Snivy as well. Not exactly a nice looking dorm compared to the Entei or Suicune rooms but he could live in it at least. He scurried through his drawers for a set of clothes he could wear for the trip. Chances are if they were going to be out on the ocean, it would be cold for awhile. He had his dorm jacket so that would work well for him. He would probably have to wear the jacket anyways on the trip just to make things easier to organize. It wasn't a very good looking jacket though... yellow was way too flashy for his tastes. So he picked out a blue spring jacket just in case.

He didn't see the need to change his clothes since he seemed properly dressed for a boat trip. He noticed the letter he got from his dad earlier on a nightstand. He sighed and threw the letter into a small trash bin. He wasn't interested on what "he" had to say. Mark headed into the bathroom to change into a more clean set of clothes. That Tauros did a real number on him. The cut on his arm was still showing too... but it seemed to be getting better...

Snype

"Not a problem! Feel free to do it again whenever ya want!" Snype said happily as they walked into the dorm. "Well here we are! The wonderful piece of crap we call home. Kehehe..." Snype joked. He watched as Mark scurried through various articles of clothing to pack up. Mark then moved onto his fridge so he could bring a few drinks along for the ride. He noticed that Thyme put her arm around Snype as well in the same fashion he was.

While Mark was in the bathroom changing and possibly checking out how bad the cut on his arm was, Snype sat down and waited patiently with Thyme. "Hehe. Hey Thyme, what exactly convinced you and Bri to come here to the trainer academy anyways?" Snype asked.

"For me and Mark, we mostly wanted to become better battlers. He's trained me to battle independently without the need of commands. And I say I've been doing a pretty good job so far dontcha think?" Snype said, nudging his cheek against hers for a brief moment.

Skye struggled not to laugh. It was difficult. His opponent had a smug look, like this one attack would decide it. One Flying move, STAB free and from a lower level no less, wad never enough to stop Volca. These unerring moves also lost a lot of power in exchange for a successful hit. Besides, why dodge when you could counter? Or even...

Volca seemed to shrug at Arcino. "Dude... This fight's lame..." he waited at Arcino drew closer and fired String Shot at his legs. This would hamper other attacks and weaken this one. Then, he moved three of his horns upward, releasing three Flamethrowers directly at Arcino. The other two remained still. One of these would somehow hit. Volca ignored the pain of Flying type moves. It hurt but... So what? He wanted a better fight!

Meanwhile, Skye had given up and laughed at Zara. "duh-ho you huh-have luh-lightning?" he asked with a cheery laugh. "Guh-hood luh-luck." he paused a moment and frowned. He seemed confused. Then he paled. "Stuh-hop!" he shouted. But he wasn't shouting at Zara. He was staring at his Zorua, who had suddenly appeared behind Zara and fired a powered-up Dark Pulse.

(looks like Rama was angrier than Skye.)

Selene
A flash of white and an abrupt movement caught Selene's eye, and with an audible groan the girl knew exactly what was happening before she even looked up...just to confirm her suspicions, however, her eyes flicked over to the approaching figure of Mackenzie Quigg with all the enthusiasm of a Charmander being dunked in a 6th deep pool of water. Of all the rotten...

"hello," she responded simply as the girl finally reached her, making contact with those creepy violet eyes ever so briefly before turning her attentions around her for any potential saviours. Ultimately she didn't want to be rude to the girl now matter how intense her dislike of her, for a number of reasons. First and foremost it just wasn't in her nature to make enemies, and Selene didn't like bad feeling between people and herself, even if she didn't hold them in the highest of esteem as it was already. However, she knew all too well that, should she choose to, Mackenzie could strain the already strange relationship between herself and Valorie even further, and she didn't want her friend to face these problems. Selene had the capacity to bite back and dust herself off easily should Mackenzie attempt her previous games with her, but she feared that Valorie may not be able to bounce back so unscathed.

This being said, after what Selene had just been thinking and worrying about since leaving the Icy Plains atop Blu, the last person she wanted to be in conversation with-stroke-analysed by was Mackenzie. To this end, her eyes scanned the crowd of students around them, ever expanding as it drew closer to the 10am deadline, searching for any escape for herself. As her eyes met the oddly sneering face of a blue-jacketed Suicune dorm student, she realised that she could be getting herself into a spot of bother here but deciding it was worth it to be free of that violet stare, she seized the chance with all the enthusiasm of a landed Goldeen diving into water.

"problem mate?" she asked loudly, silently praying her thanks to Arceus above when the student swivelled to face her fully, sneer still intact.

"you could say that, friend," the deliberately obnoxious voice returned as the girl stepped closer to Selene, arms folded and jacket riding up slightly to reveal pokeballs on her belt, almost like a badly-written Western movie where the cowboy reveals his concealed gun before he opens fire. "we've become aware of you, Selene Evans. You're...close with Valorie Ryder. Am I correct?"

Bristling, Selene raised an eyebrow. How did they know her name..? "what of it?" she questioned shortly, concerned suddenly by the turn this conversation was taking.

"Suicine dorm students aren't meant to be party to lowering their standards and associating with their inferiors. As a dorm, we do not like this. In fact," she raised her wrist and checked her Xtransciever with a smug smirk, "a few of my fellows will be teaching Ms Ryder that lesson right about now. While I have you here," she pulled a pokeball into her hand and enlarged it, face taking on an almost curious expression as she tilted her head to survey Selene, "i'll make sure you fully understand the severity of the situation. Prepare to be educated."

And with that she released her Garchomp, whose head instantly turned to Selene, wasting no time in actively trying to attack her with a Dragon Rush attack. Acting on instinct, Selene released Ri, who spent a fraction of a second surveying the Garchomp before meeting it's Dragon Rush head on with a Force Palm that sent it flying backwards. By this point, the students had formed a circle around Selene and the Suicune dorm girl, watching the battle raptly with mixed expressions of awe, excitement and surprise. Selene looked round for any teachers, seeing that none were around to interrupt the battle just as Garchomp dug underground. Sel frowned at the girl - how had she done that? She seemed fully in control - not like Valorie with Charmeleon - but she hadn't uttered a single command. Ri, fully using his ability to read auras, seemed to know where Garchomp was underground and was nimbly dashing around to confuse the Dragon, but it was too little, the Garchomp was too fast and as it burst from underneath Ri, smashing into him Selene knew he had fainted before his limp body hit the ground. ReturnIng him, there was no time for soppy congratulations as she released Ryan to incredulous laughter.

"your little lightning mouse won't do much to my Garchomp!" sneered the girl before Garchomp zeroed in on Ryan and rushed at him with claws outstretched, in a Dragon Claw. But whilst Garchomp was fast, so was Ryan, thus Selene instructed him to use his Quick Attack, swiftly dodging the Garchomp before wheeling round and flying through the air in an Iron Tail, that struck the back of the Garchomp's head and sent it sprawling face first into the ground. "good, now Double Team Ryan!" yelled Selene, only to watch horrified as from the floor the Garchomp struck Ryan with his Dragon Tail before he could muster any clones. Ryan cried out as he was sent sprawling through the air, but Selene could tell that Garchomp was tired after fighting Ri too. "Once more Ryan! Come on, you can do this!" she urged, smiling slightly as Ryan pushed himself to his feet and ran at Garchomp, who had pulled itself to it's feet, and couldnt react in time as Ryans Iron Tail struck the side of it's head, sending it fainted to the ground.

Growling, the girl returned Garchomp and smirked, sending out...Golem. Oh man. "we can do this Ry, use your Double Team!" she said faux-confidently, but even as Ryans doubles surrounded Golem, he launched into a ferocious Rollout that shook the very earth, mowing down each clone in the circle before smashing into Ryan, who flew backwards into the crowd of students limp and noiseless - he had fainted. Holding out his PokeBall, though she couldn't see him, she saw the dash of red light meaning he had been returned safely. Motioning with her head, Selene sent out Blu, her Altaria flying to the middle of the battlefield and eyeing up his opponent with a steady beating of the wings. With a sinking feeling, Selene remembered that she hadn't healed her Altaria up after her final battle on the Icy Plains...he was pretty tired, but still had plenty of strength to take on this Golem.

"Blu, Ice Beam!" instructed Selene, watching as the Ice Beam clipped the Golem's foot even as it leapt into its Rollout. It didn't seem to do much damage however, as the Golem flew into the air towards Blu in its Rollout, Blu swiftly dodging by flipping in the air. Selene smiled, Blu's flying ability could compensate for his tiredness, Golem's Ground attacks couldn't touch him and Golem wasn't fast enough to hit with Rollout. But even as Selene began to order Blu to use his Barrier, her heart sank as Golem aimed a precise Rock Throw from behind Blu. "UP BLU, DODGE!" shouted Selene urgently, watching as Blu swerved and ducked as the Golem threw the rocks relentlessly, clipped by some of the smaller ones, growing progressively weaker. As a larger rock hit his head, Selene watched as his eyes closed and he began to plummet towards the ground, returning him before he could hit the earth. Deciding to play this girl at her own game, she decided to use her own type advantages and sent out Sharpay, the Seadra eyeing the Golem sharply.

"Okay Sharpay, use your Water Gun, but combine it with your octazooka!" she shouted, watching as the combined jet of black ink and rushing azure water flew towards the Golem, who tackled it straight on with its Rollout attack. Just as Selene had hoped, it was her turn to smirk as the Golem's rolling progressively slowed as it became saturated in the thick black ink, until it had stopped directly. "Okay, now just Water Gun!" shouted Selene, ignoring the girl opposite her as she scoffed.

"What?! You'll just wash off all that ink! Then you'll be sor-" she trailed off as the Water Gun hit the Golem, creating a clear side where the water pummeled the Golem, progressively weakening it until it seemed to lose all its sturdiness and was thrown backwards, sending students flying to either side before the Suicune girl expressionlessly returned her fainted Golem in mid-air before the Pokemon could seriously maim anybody. She turned to Selene with all previous expressions of smug superiority vanished, and there seemed to be a pervading sense of a turning tide among all those witnessing the battle. Stopping herself from growing over confident, Selene reminded herself that it took 2 of her Pokemon to knock out each of this girl's, and so the odds were still stacked against her.

Wordlessly, she released a Victreebel, and a very vicious Razor Leaf suddenly flew towards Sharpay. "Aurora Beam!" Selene yelled briskly, watching as the rainbow beam intercepted the leaves and took away their momentum, making them float uselessly to the ground. However, Victreebel's Vine Whip had snuck around the Aurora Beam and smashed into Sharpay, sending her spinning through the air. Catching herself, Sharpay countered with Selene's instructions, a huge Twister brewing and flying through towards Victreebel who was not fast enough to get out of the way, being swallowed by the Twister and flying around in the vicious winds. Using its Vine Whip, however, it wrapped the green lines around a nearby pole and pulled itself out of the Twister, using its last bit of energy to hit Sharpay with the Razor Leaf she had previously defended herself against, succumbing to fainting.

Returning Sharpay, Selene's face set. Only Gordon and Cat now. Victreebel was weak...deciding on a spur of the moment, Selene sent out Gordon. "Incinerate!" she instructed firmly, knowing full well that this one attack would do the job. Victreebel had been too weakened by Sharpay to fight back, and was engulfed by the fire attack, fainting instantly. Switching Victreebel with a Haunter, Selene inwardly cursed. If Gordon fell to the Haunter, then Cat wouldn't have any effective attacks against the Ghost-type Pokemon...well, Selene decided with a steely resolve, she would have to ensure that Gordon didn't fall in this battle. She would teach this Suicune snob to mess with her and her friends.

"Gordon, Flamethrower!" shouted Selene, watching as the harsh jet of flame flew towards the Haunter who just...vanished into thin air! What?! How could it do that! Appearing behind Gordon, her fire monkey was hit with a sticky Shadow Ball attack, sending him face-forward onto the floor. Relentless, Selene understood why the girl was so smug in sending out Haunter, as it's Hypnosis washed over Gordon, putting him fast to sleep. In sleep his face was adorable...but not in battle, this is not a sight that Selene wanted to see. Searching in her bag, Selene couldn't find an Awakening in time and had to watch with a fallen face as Haunter's Dream Eater caused Gordon's face to contort in pain and small yelps be wrought from his throat, with Haunter becoming stronger and stronger with each passing moment that he fed off Gordon's dreams. In little time, Gordon's face turned painless and Selene realised, crestfallen, that he had fainted. Returning him, Selene was distraught...what to do now? Send out Cat knowing full well he would lose? But she couldn't surrender...

No. She wouldn't surrender. "You may have me," she said quietly, returning Gordon and clutching the Pokeball of Cat blankly, feeling somewhat numb, "but I will never let you do this to me or my friends without fighting you, tooth and nail, with my own fists if need be." She stared straight at the girl with hate in her face as she released Cat, trying to ignore the laugh that sounded from her.

"Is that it? Okay then, I'll make this quick for you," she smirked as Haunter sent out a Shadow Ball, Cat teleporting out of the way before it could hit. Selene couldn't help a small smile - oh yes. Two could play at the whole vanishing game. Re-appearing, Cat set up a Barrier as Haunter sent another Shadow Ball straight at her before countering with a Psybeam, Selene knew that it was pointless even as she commanded it but what else could she...oh hold on...Selene watched as Haunter shrieked, hands clutching at its own head as it was engulfed in the Psybeam. What?! She thought that Ghost-type Pokemon were...oh wow! Practically facepalming herself, Selene realised one crucial thing she had overlooked - Haunter was a Ghost- and Poison dual type Pokemon! And Psychic type attacks were very effective against Poison types! With renewed hope like a lit sparkler, Selene observed that the Haunter was still a danger as the Shadow Ball, weakened by the Barrier, hit Cat and made her flinch. In the break of the Psybeam, Haunter's eyes snapped open and it vanished slowly, appearing behind Cat who had sensed it's presence, firing a Psybeam even as Haunter launched its own Night Shade. Selene's eyes clenched closed as the two attacks collided with a blinding purple light...when the light subsided, Selene's heart sank as Haunter was laying on the floor with its eyes still open...whilst Cat had been knocked out.

Returning her Kadabra, Selene stared straight at the smug girl as she returned the Haunter wordlessly.

"Thought so." she said simply before stalking past Selene towards the Pokemon Centre. Humiliated, even though logically she knew she put up a good fight, Selene clenched her fists and glanced at Mackenzie with burning cheeks before staring back at the ground, her fury interrupted by a voice she knew all too well.

"You fought well, don't be too harsh on yourself."

The students all gasped collectively and began to disperse, revealing the masculine figure of Brock in their midst, arms folded with his impassive stare watching Selene, who was too shell shocked to look furiously at the ground anymore, gaping openly at Brock with her mouth wide open. He unfolded his arms and walked over to Selene, reaching his hand out. For a wild moment she thought he was asking for her hand, and was about to reach out for him before realising he wanted her Pokeballs. Clamping her mouth closed, Selene unclipped her belt and handed it to him with furiously flushed cheeks - she had always loved Brock, his battle style...him...everything about him really...and for him to be here, asking for her Pokeballs...

He pulled out a handheld computer and held it to each Pokeball in turn. There was a flash and a beep over each ball, his expressionless face seemingly concentrated. After he had repeated this process with each Pokeball, Brock handed the belt back to Selene with an almost curious stare, so intense that Selene struggled for words, unable to tear her eyes from him.

"I...uh..thank you..."

"You don't know what you're thanking me for," said Brock simply, raising an eyebrow. "But you would be right to - this is a handheld version of the healing machines in Pokemon Centres that I have developed myself. It is completely safe and it works. Your Pokemon are well trained, especially for an Entei student going up against a Suicune student..." he trailed off, watching Selene with his head slightly tilted. "Yes. I think I will battle you personally one day. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he nodded to Selene and Mackenzie before turning and walking towards the end of the Port, where a large horn blared suddenly, indicating that it was 5 minutes to 10 and acting as a final warning to any students who hadn't arrived at the Port yet.

Selene watched Brock's retreating back, her mouth wide open and face harrassed-looking...wow...however, a flash of bright light emerging from one of her PokeBalls drew snapped her attention back to the situation at hand, and Selene watched, astounded, as Sharpay emerged from her PokeBall of her own accord. Before she could ponder this, however, Sharpay was emitting that familiar light blue glow, growing ever brighter until it was all encompassing and had students shielding their own eyes...until where a Seadra once was, a Kingdra now stood...the Pokeon looked at her owner and the owner looked at her Pokemon briefly before the Kingdra crowed loudly and returned herself to her Pokeball, leaving Selene completely speechless. So much for the sweet, cuddly Horsea she had originally captured...

"WILL ALL STUDENTS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE PORT IMMEDIATELY" came a voice over the tannoy system, blaring throughout the Academy and jolting Selene out of her reverie. She looked over at Mackenzie and shook her head, looking down at the ground and scuffing her boot against the ground.

"Don't start," she warned the girl, before she could even begin to bother her.

Zaraneth

Zara reacted. He spun out of the way of the Dark Pulse, laughing as it barely grazed his shoulder. He then bent down and picked up the Zorua that had fired it at him and hurled him into the ocean.

"Better luck next time runt! Try that again and I'll tie a brick to your neck and see how well you swim then!" Zara cried with delight. He put his hand over the spot where his shoulder had been hit with that Dark Pulse. Ouch, that hurt. It was always a new experience for him when he got hurt. He felt giddy, and very angry. That had hurt. But, he was alright. He'd just have to hurt that Zorua more. But not right now. Now, he was in a battle. He glanced at Arcino. The clever Grovyle had cut the string binding him and fell flat to the ground, where the three flamethrowers passed over his head, cooking him a little bit but leaving him unharmed. Arcino them flipped backwards and looked at Volca.

"Honestly, did you really think such a foolish patern could stop me? You have a lot to learn," Arcino said, though Zara only heard 'Gro.' He knew his best bet was to keep up the Aerial Aces, even though they weren't exactly as powerful as some of his other attacks. Still, Arcino could tough it out against this foe. Even though he was a lower level and had a double type disadvantage. One little flurry like that wasn't going to take him down. But, odds were high he would lose. Even so, Zara had no intention of giving up without a fight.

"Aerial Ace again!" Zara shouted. Arcino charged in and flipped to the left, slashing Volca with his never-miss move, and then flipping back out of the way.

Thyme

Thyme looked around the room she had entered. Hm... What a piece of crap! Is this really how they treat Raikou students? Really, it's bad enough that they give them those horrible yellow jackets, but to put them in these rooms? Well, at least they got their own rooms. Thyme was again glad that the knowledge she had gained while traveling with Logan had helped her get Bri into a higher dorm.

"What a piece of crap! And you really should find a way to get Mark more organized so he doesn't have to rush around like a loony all the time," Thyme said to Snype, though if she knew how to get human males of that age group organized she'd be one very rich little snivy. Tehn her mind turned back to the conversation.

"What? Oh, yeah. You do seem to have a mind of your own. That's always a good thing. As for why me and Brian came here, well. Err... You see, Brian is the youngest of seven kids. As such he was always overshadowed by his brothers. That's not the right word... Hm... To put it like this, one brother of his is terribly sick. Another one is really really smart. I mean, I'm a genius pokemon, and he's a genius human. You understand? And two of his brothers are real trouble makers. So, Brian was always kind of ignored because he never did anything to call attention to himself. Then I... I met him. I'll tell ya that story later. I was very surprised when he could understand exactly what I was saying. So, we decided to do something to get noticed. Well, I decided that he was too special to be ignored like that and convinced him I was right. It wasn't that hard. So, because I don't like to battle and he's kind of a chicken, we thought about how to go about things. That's why we entered that contest. And when we won, Brian's father saw that he was great with pokemon, and could understand what we say and pulled some strings to get us sent here, to learn what we never would have been able to at home. I will admit, he may have just been doing it to please Brian's mother. She's not to fond of me. I... I kind of terrified her when we first met and she's never forgiven me for that. and she knew I would not leave Brian and he wouldn't let me go. So, she sent us here. Out of sight out of mind. Heh, will she ever be in for a shock when Brian comes home with more pokemon! So, yeah, that's why we're here," Thyme said. She smiled up at Snype. She didn't tell him how she and Brian cheated on the entrance exam to get into Entai Dorm. Though, he'd probably figure it out. After all, he was a smart pokemon. He's seen how good Brian is, which is to say, not that good. Brian knows very little about pokemon, and is terrible at battling. So, the question that they would all have to try and figure out is how he got into Entai dorm. She smiled, ready to answer, and brag, if she was asked.

Volca wasn't phased so Skye didn't worry. He was watching the water, where Rama came up a few seconds after, spitting off salt water. "This is why I hate people like you," the Pokemon snarled ferociously. "Always acting you're so superior!" The fox quickly swam up to shore, shaking himself off. "Think because you see a couple things in your head, you're all-"

"Ruh-hama," SKye uttered softly. "Don't."

"Why," asked the Zorua, padding over to him. "That bastard deserves it. He deserves pain! Go on Volca! Kill them both already!" Rama was furious, not because of the water. He could care less about that. It was bcause he had ticked off SKye and bullied his friends. He hated when SKye got mad, it made him act like most humans: cruel and hateful. He hated it more when they acted like it was all fun and good to misztreat others. The Zorua gave Bri a look. "For Kyurem's sake brat enough! How is this helping? YOu're just proving that bastard right ya know!"

Skye shook his head. "Yuh-hou shuh-shouldn't reh-rely on wuh-one move," he stated to Zara as Volca grinned. Just as Arcino had slashed him, his Flame Body had activated. It had a bad habit of working whenever it felt like. Even if Arcino wasn't burned yet, he would be as long as he kept using Aerial Ace. "Vuh-holca," he mumbled. The Larvesta directed its lower horns to the ground and fired, bursting into the air and, well, flying with a Flamethrower. He soared over them before diving into a complex series of flaming Acrobatics, attacking Arcino from all directions.

Ciel

The dark boy raised an eyebrow as he watched the fight. Finally he had relaxed a little more. He was surprised to see a small larvae soaring in the air like that. Was that a contest move or just a random moment of creativity?

Either way, it was interesting. He idly wondered what kind of damage Fire and Flying combination would cause. He could see if that Pokemon attacked in any direction, he' likely get hit by the flying power (or burned, if the combination stopped) and if he dodged, he could still get hit by the Flamethrower that was being shot off every now and again.

He personally could see a few ways to get out of this. However, he wasn't sure that guy could see them or use them. Skye could see them, judging by the silent way he was watching now. Ciel closed his eyes and wondered if he should help Bri. No... that Zorua had probably destroyed any chances of that, with that growling of his.

(If it weren't for the fact that Volca was probably about as emotional as a brick wall, he probably would have said something. XD

Zara

Arcino fired an Energy Ball straight up at the Flamethrower that came down toward him, causing an explosion. Still, he had underestimated the power of that Flamethrower and it rained down on him, granted it was a little weaker than it would have been. Then he stood perfectly still. Volca had expected him to move out of the way as he had been doing the whole fight. And he had patterned his attack in such a way that not moving at all was the saefest course of action. It also allowed him to rest a moment while the little Larvesta wore himself out with those Acrobatics. What a moron. This should have been over by now! Arcino could honestly say that if he were facing a worthy opponent he'd have been knocked out by now. As Volca came down to land behind him, he spun around with Aerial Ace, slashing at Volca as hard as he possibly could. Seeing Zara throw that dumb Zorua into the ocean had given him the same idea, and he postioned the blow in such a way that Volca would (hopefully) go flying out into the water. That ought to do a lot. He really didn't care about getting burned. He was already burned from that Flamethrower. He knew he could not stand up to very many more of those. Still, he knew he could win this, so long as Volca didn't step his game up. He felt the pain from the burn, but ignored it.

"And you shouldn't preach to the one that's beating you! Honestly, not only do you have a type advantage, but you have a double type advantage and a few more levels! How have you not knocked Arcino out yet? Is your Larvesta really as pethetic as your Zorua is? Honestly, I was expecting a challenge! Where's the fun in this? The only fun this is is watching that little brat cry over there!" Zara said smugly. He pointed at Bri, who had stopped crying for a moment, and then began again when the wet Zorua had barked at him. Really, they were all fools! Maybe after this he'd go pick on some of the Suicune students. Supposedly they were the best in the school. He felt Quin trying to take over in his mind, and merely laughed at him. Quin was another weakling! What could he do?

"Quin, they won't know the difference, andf you're weak. What do you think would happen if I let you out? They look mad enough to rip you limb from limb. Oh, there's a thought," Zara said crazily to himself.

Duster

Duster had finally gotten Bri to calm down a little. Finally. Then Rama started barking angrily at him. She got mad now. He was crying, again. She turned and glared at the fox. She leapt out of Bri's arms and marched over to Rama and flicked him on the nose.

"Oy! What'd you have to go and do that for?! I just got him to calm down! Thanks a lot Rama! I know you're pissed because you got tossed into the ocean like some kind of rag doll, but don't take it out on Bri!" Duster said angrily. She glared at Rama, awaiting his response.

Mark

Mark finished changing into another pair of clothes and walked out of the bathroom. To his surprise, he heard the intercom tell all of the students to get to the ship immediately. "Crap! Are we that late?!" Mark exclaimed. He grabbed his bag and looked back at both Snype and Thyme. He had to move and fast...

"hey you two, jump into my bag. There's alot of space and I should be able to run over to the ship on time. Just be prepared for a bumpy ride." Mark said, kneeling down so the two of them could jump in.

Snype

Snype listened closely to Thyme's story. "huh... quite an interesting family Bri has huh? As for Mark, he..." Before Snype could say both his and Mark's story, Mark walked out of the bathroom and began to get frantic when he heard the message on the intercom. Snype jumped into Mark's bag and scooted to the left to give Thyme some room.

"Not a whole lot of space but you should be able to fit here just fine. Comon in Thyme!" Snype said.

Rama growled. "Stop coddling him you brat!" he sneered at her. "I'm not a priss like you to care about my fur! It's because of your human Skye's angry in the first place! He shouldn't act brave if he's going to cry all the time when it doesn't work! He's making Skye even angrier with all that sniveling! Why should Skye protect him? A whiny little kid like that is just being a burden!"

Skye shrugged. "Whi-hy duh-hon't you ask Volca?" Skye only gave warnings, he didn't need to actually command his Larvesta. "Oh-hor are yuh-hou too stuh-stupid to reh-reh-realize whuh-hat's happening?" Volca flew again, moving to land feet from Arcino. He spun a String Shot all the while. It was stickier than normal. But that was the point. He wondered if Arcino would catch on. Probably wouldn't. He and his trainer were incredibly stupid. He knew Skye saw what was going on.

"Oh-ho, duh-hon't call my Pokemon wuh-weak." He looked around the battlefield, where sticky threads were placed from when Volca had performed his Acrobatics act. Most of the thread was invisible but some was visible. "A guh-hood bah-hattle drags on." Volca used Psychic then, partially to attempt to lift Arcino into the air and simply because he wanted to blast the poor creature's mind into oblivion.

"Dude, I don't think you get it..." Volca stated. "I wanted to see if you were as good as you bragged. But if that's your best... you're not worth the trouble." Skye almost called out to Volca but remained quiet as the Pokemon moved the Psychic attack to try and strangle the Grovyle. he knew he was the only one to see where one of Volca's horns was. It had a flame like a candle resting on the connected threads. The whole fighting area was about to burn.

Ciel went over to Bri, looking confused. "Bri..." He sighed. "Bri... stop it... this won't get better if you just sit there..." He had no clue what to do. Human things were not his forte.

Zaraneth

Arcino had seen all the strings and the fire. He knew that the whole place was about to light up, and that it would be the end of his lucky streak if he got caught in it. So, he did the only thing he could do while being held in the air unable to move. He fired an Energy ball at Volca. Or more precisely, his horn with the flame. That would cause it to explode if it hit. That would hurt Volca and cause the flame to go out. If he hit, of course. If not, then the only thing he could do was try to survive the fire. He already had a plan for that, just in case. But, if the Energy Ball struck true, that would prevent everything from going up in flames and he would be freed. It took concentration to keep up a Psychic like that. So, taking a hit, even a weak one would cause him to be dropped, and he was ready to rush in with Aerial Ace and keep fighting. Volca couldn't have too much power left, could he? Arcino certainly wasn't doing to well.

Zara had seen the threads being weaved, but it didn't really occur to him what they were for. He saw belatedly what was about to happen, but he kept his cool as Arcino dealt with it. Honestly, Arcino didn't really need commands. Zara was just kind of there. He sneered at Skye.

"Heh, your trap is pathetic. Your little bug will get toasted too! Hah, nice try. Think of something better next time," Zara sneered. Even if Arcino fainted, he didn't really care. He had other things to do.

Duster

"He wasn't really a burden yesterday, or have you forgotten! Ungrateful mutt! And remeber, I just got him to stop! Then you had to come along and start barking like a moron! It's not his fault this is happening! Try to be a little more considerate of other peoples feelings!" Duster said quietly. She flicked him on the nose again. She really wanted to slap him silly, but that would only make Bri more upset. She glared down at Rama. He may be bigger than her, but when she stood on her hind legs like she was doing now, she was taller than him. She was getting sick of his attitude. She also tried to remember when she had been worried about how her fur looked in front of any of Skye's pokemon. She had no idea how he knew about that, but she didn't really care. She was too upset.

Brian

Bri was slowly calming down again. He barely noticed as Ciel came over to him.

"I.. I know," he sniffled, "but I... What am I supposed to do? I... I can't fight. My pokemon aren't that strong. And I feel bad that Skye jumped into a battle because of me. I can't even get back to my feet without help," Bri said, still sniffling a lot. He looked as though he was going to break down into tears again at any time. And to make things worse, Duster and Rama were about to start fighting. They shouldn't be fighting each other!

"You two... Please cut it out. I... I don't want you guys to fight... I'm ok," Bri said. Duster glared at Rama for a few more seconds before returning to Bri's side.

Thyme

Thyme shrugged and climbed into the bag with Snype. The irony of her and Snype being alone in the dark was not lost on her and she chuckled to herself. She decided not to mention it to Snype, lest he take it the wrong way.

"So, we just sit here and wait? Heh, reminds me of when Brian and I moved to Hoenn," Thyme said, still chuckling.

Snype

Snype looked at Thyme in confusion. What was she so giggly about? He didn't bother asking. Snype was a rather giggly Pokemon himself after all... "Well it's a bit crowded in here but we oughta get to the ship in good time if Mark is quick enough. Oh and one more thing... hang on." Snype said. The bag began to shake a bit... Mark must have been holding onto the bag because otherwise the two of them would be flying all over the place, still it was hard for Snype to keep still without falling over a couple times.

Mark

Mark decided to carry his bag with one of his arms so it dosn't flail around too much. It was like a messanger bag almost, and if he was going to run, he had to make sure that the two pokemon in his care didn't get too dizzy along the way. Hanging onto the bag, he ran out the door and on his way toward the boat.

((I shall repeat the last part of my post - don't blame you guys if you didn't read that far!

"WILL ALL STUDENTS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE PORT IMMEDIATELY" came a voice over the tannoy system, blaring throughout the Academy

^_^))

"He got a concussion you idiot! Or did you convienently forget that he tore open his leg too?" Rama snapped irritably. "And why should I care about your human and not mine huh? I'm not his family or his friend. And if I was, I wouldn't be giving a crap about his feelings when he ticked that guy off." When Bri spoke he rolled his eyes. "Oh dear God how dramatically pathetic," he sneered. Ciel ignored them and helped the boy stand up again. He heard the announcement and began to help the boy head toward the boat. He picked up the crutches as he moved. Rama huffed and walked away next to Skye.

Skye snorted suddenly and glanced up. He fell for it. Man... Skye almost felt bad. It was already too late. Volca had been born by a volcano. What made this guy think he would be roasted? Imbecile. Volca dropped Arcino just as the flames roared to life, avoiding the Energy Ball and engulfing the ground Arcino was standing on in fire. He had seen the Aerial Ace coming and had an idea of how Arcino was going to survive. Volca wasn't going to give him the chance to do it. He soared into the air and used Take Down combined with Flamethrower, scorching the opponent as he slammed his body into him. Volca leapt off Arcino afterwards and walked away. Skye whistled sharply and Pala zoomed out to blow an Icy Wind at the fires, putting them out and revealing Arcino.

"Yuh-hou have a struh-strong Gruh-Grovyle," Skye commented as he pet Volca's head. "Ih-hit's a shuh-shame yuh-you're ah-an ih-hidiot." He returned Volca and placed Pala back in his bag. Rama snarled quietly from next to him. Skye stroked his head, calm now. "Geh-het stronger." He headed away, moving to walk back toward his friends. He needed to apologize to Bri for scaring him. "Cuh-home on. Thuh-huh- The boh-boat's leaving."

Zaraneth

Arcino was dropped and reacted instantly. He dashed around the flames that were coming to life in slow motion and blasted Volca with Aerial Ace. Then, he made a mistake. Instead of following up that attack with another one to knock out Volca, which he could have done easily, he lost his cool a little and dashed toward the water. The fire around him never even touched him. He was far too nimble. But he didn't see Volca get up until he got blasted in the back by a Flamethrower. He spun around, swinging his arms up with another Aerial Ace, but he moved too slow. Volca smacked into him hard with Take Down.

"Oof! Good fight there! I would like to talk, but I seem to be losing conciousness," Arcino said quietly as he fell to the ground. He fainted soon after, though thanks to the Cubchoo, he wasn't hurt by the flames that were dancing around him. Zara frowned and returned him.

"Stupid worthless little," he said as he dropped into the background. Quin was furious at Zara.

"Zara! Don't you dare talk about my pokemon like that! This is all your fault anyway!" Quin yelled, not realising he was in control again. He looked down at Arcino's pokeball, not caring what those others were thinking right now. Zara snickered at him and he swore angrily at Zara again.

"I... Er... I'm really sorry!" Quin said quietly. Before waiting for an answer he took off toward the other students.

Brian

Bri nodded thankfully to Ciel as he helped him to his feet. He was soon given back his crutches. He was still scared, but at least he wasn't crying anymore. Now, he felt a little emberrassed by his behavior. He walked over to Skye.

"Er... Sorry about that. And thanks. Duster! Stop making faces at Rama! He's already mad enough," Bri said quietly to the Minccino on his shoulder. She pouted a bit. Bri shook his head. Rama was right. He was just a burden on all his friends. He couldn't really do anything right could he? He was no good in a fight, as he had just proven. He didn't know enough first aid to be helpful as a healer. The only thing e had going for him was that he could understand all pokemon. That wasn't really that helpful to anyone else. He hung his head and began walking away toward the boat. Duster turned around to glare continuously at Rama. To her credit though, she didn't say anything. He felt horrible. He couldn't even stick up for himself, so why was he here? Maybe he should just call his parents and head home.

Thyme

Thyme was very startled as Mark began running. Despite his best efforts, she was bounced around quite a bit. She clung to Snype, as if hanging on to him would keep her from getting bounced around too much. Well, she was startled. She couldn't help it!

Snype

Snype hung onto Thyme as well. They were still getting bounced around but at least they weren't bumping into each other. Though the rough trip did cause Snype and Thyme to fall over to the side and back. After quite a bit of bouncing, it all suddenly slowed down... he assumed that they made it too the boat. Snype looked down at Thyme, who was clinging onto him and smiled. "Quite a ride eh?" Snype joked.

Mark

Mark made it to the boat... just on time too. Alot of familiar faces were around... for whatever reason it was pretty hectic. He immediately noticed Bri, Sel, and Skye. He couldn't make out the other faces though. Probobly because he didn't know them all too well. He didn't want to ignore bri for the sake of hiding Thyme, though it was mostly Thyme's decision if she wanted to keep herself hidden or not.

"Hey bri!" Mark called out. Hopefully the pokemon inside of his bag would get the hint. "Sorry I took so long. I'm a disorganized slob. Just got here after they called out on the intercom. "

Skye nodded. He was calmer now, able to think slightly clearly. He spoke to both Bri and Quin as they boarded, going to stand next to Ciel. Rama ignored Duster as Skye scooped him up gently. "Ih-hit's all ruh-right." He glanced at Quin and added. "Peh-heople doh-hon't lih-like i-ideas fuh-forced on thuh-hem. Ih-hit's not alwuh-always right to duh-do that, eh-even wheh-hen it-it-it's right."

He hit Rama over the head as he said this, causing the fox to yelp and whine, glaring lightly at his human. Pala peeked out from where she was in the bag and looked at Bri. His face was all red and puffy! He was hurt! Or... was he sad? She didn't know, so she blew a few puffs of snow in his face anyway. "Bri? Sad? Apple?" She had found an apple in Skye's bag. She wanted it but maybe Bri was hungry and needed it more. She held out the apple. "Apple? Strong? Bri?"

Skye sighed at his Pokemon's antics, both amused and exasperated. "Yuh-hou hate this feh-feeling," he said, not asking. "Ih-hit sucks." He patted Bri's shoulder. "Suh-ho keh-heep truh-trying to geh-het struh-stronger. Eh-heven ih-hif it hah-happens now, ih-hit wuh-won't always happen. Duh-hon't gih-give up beh-heh-cause ih-it's hard. Yuh-hou're struh-honger thah-han you thuh-hink." With that said, he went to go sit on the deck, out of reach of everyone else. He moved his backpack to his lap, so Pala would not get squished. Pala squealed, still holding the apple. Rama leapt down to lay next to him, growling at those who got to close to Pala. No squishing the baby.

(OOC: One person talks to their pokemon like he's dirt, another one shoves them in his bag and jostles them around a lot, and yet a third hits them. Got to love that animal cruely. :P)

Brian

"Thanks Skye. No thank you little one. I'm not hungry," Bri said as he smiled at Pala. Quin looked very uncomfortable. Bri assumed he felt responsible for what had happened. He should. Bri didn't understand what the deal with him was, and he didn't want to find out. He tried to think of an excuse to get away from him, and thankfully was spared when he heard Mark calling his name. He walked over to Mark and away from Quin.

"Hey... Mark," Bri said a little distractedly. He knew he looked terrible. It would be pretty clear that something had happened. He didn't really want to talk about it. Duster closed her eyes and began sniffing.

"Hey, I smell thyme. The chefs must be cooking something," Duster commented. Bri looked at her and she shrugged.

"So... Where's Snype? I kind of wanted to ask him how Thyme is doing," Bri said as he began walking toward an unoccupied part of the deck. He heard a thump coming from Mark's bag and looked at it oddly. What was that?

Thyme

Thyme heard Brian and Duster outside speaking. She remained silent. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Duster said that the chefs were cooking something. It made her feel good that Brian was worried about her. But something was wrong. His voice was strained, quiet. Something had happened while she was not with him. She could feel it.

"Go find out what's wrong with Brian!" she hissed quietly at Snype. He was still grinning down at her and she smacked the book that she was trapped against. She didn't like being trapped under him with no where to go. She wanted the chance to get back on her feet and not wedged behind a book.

Quincy

Quin ambled on to the boat. He wanted desperately to get away from the three that Zara had attacked. He knew that things were strained with them, and he didn't want to be near them. To many questions that he would have to answer, like why he had done that. He really didn't want to. Zara cackled in his mind, enjoying the position he had placed Quin in.

"I'll keep that in mind," Quin said miserably to Skye before glancing at Ciel and taking off inside the boat. He walked down the corridor and and found an empty bedroom. He didn't know or care who's it was. He walked in and sat down on the bed. He really wanted to call out Zemda. She always knew how to cheer him up. But not here. Right now, he had to get through this boat ride without Zara getting control again. The look of fear Bri had was etched into his memory. As was the hatred on Skye's face. He hated himself for what he had done. Even though he hadn't done it. Zara had, but that wouldn't make any difference at all.

Mark

"Hmm.... geez Bri, what happened with you? You seem a bit down..." Mark asked. Something must have happened. Bri's usually alot more happier then this. "Oh Snype well hes... uh..."

Snype

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit Thyme." Snype whispered. He slipped his way out of the bag so Bri and Duster couldn't see Thyme in the bag. He gave off a large smile. Mark looked down at him acting suprised. "Snype?! So thats why my bag was so heavy." Mark said.

"Kehehe... Hiya Bri! Checked on Thyme. No worries she's doing just fine!" Snype said.