[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

Jay · Nov 13, 2020

Raphael Allard
> Lake Axewell Approach
> Mood: Nervous
> EYE OF THE STORM - PART 3

..

....

Even with Raphael giving it his all, the peddleboat struggled to push through the nigh-frozen surface of the lake water. Parts of it had already begun to turn solid and the whole experience wasn't making for a very good time.

He had let both of his pokémon out of their pokéballs for two reasons. The first was to let them swim around and enjoy the chilled water, after all neither had had the benefit of a good swim since Raph and Arriety's adventure at the lake. On that note, the second was to finally deal with his new pokémon, Carmen.

He had expected the Magikarp to regard him with disdain after his attempt at catching her, that or for her to straight up attack him, or swim away as fast as her fins could carry her. This had not been her reaction however. Upon being released from her pokéball, Carmen had watched Raph with a measured interest. Her gaze had examined him, up and down, as if she were judging him more closely based on their new relationship. Raph had always heard the rumors, that Magikarp were weak and stupid creatures, but Carmen had dashed all such thoughts in so few moments as he had interacted with her since their meeting. Realizing she was far from home and accepting, perhaps, that she had lost to this human, Carmen had dived beneath the lakes cold surface. Raph had almost thought she leaving him, but as he pedaled, he noticed her orange body shimmering beneath the water nearby. Thus was as they were now.

Vito rolled pleasantly alongside the boat at a much closer level. Raph had been correct to assume that the little round fellow would like it here. The frosty water, cold enough to chill but still unfrozen, was like a dream come true for the blissful Spheal. Raph could only assume it reminded his pokémon of home, where had Arrietty said his species was discovered? The Seafoam Islands in Hoenn? The trainer thought on them as he pedaled away through the murky, icy depths. Was it like this there? Cold water as far as the eye could see? Was Vito himself from that place? Were his ancestors? Was it bred into his species to enjoy-

THUNK

The head of the pedal boat struck land and shook Raph from his thoughts. The light gravel beach was dotted with large shards of stone, the grass was a duller shade of green than the mainland and few trees managed to stand the test of this place... most of the ones that had tried were snapped like twigs, their trunks littering the ground like discarded branches. Pokémon of great power had battled and battered against them no doubt. As Raph climbs from his small vessel, the sight of the island splinters his resolve with hesitation. Now that he was here, standing on Axew's Eye, he started to wonder if any of this had been a good idea.

Vito rolled slowly out of the water and onto the beach beside his trainer, he shook himself quickly by boinging up and down before tapping the shoe of his human partner with a tiny flipper. As Raph looked down Vito smiled up with a big grin and both eyes closed, showing trust and belief in their abilities as a pair. Despite first impressions, this pokémon was a blessing. "Right..." Raph says, almost more to himself than his pokémon. "We can do this. We have to do this." Turning back to the waters edge he holds a pokéball tightly in his hand and calls out to the lake beyond. "Carmen! Carmen return!"

An echo that receives no response but for a light gust of wind and falling snow. Had the Magikarp decided to jump the metaphorical ship after all?

There wasn't much time to think on it, at any rate.

"DREEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!"

Raph had to cover his ears as suddenly echoing over the entirety of the island, was an ear shattering cry. It rang with enough power that if it weren't for the wind and snow, it might have carried across the entirety of the Southern Wild Area. It cut the narrative in half and suddenly Raph's confidence drained. It sounded... like a cry of pain alright, but, for a cry of pain to be coming from a voice that powerful? What the hell had caused it? The thought terrified Raph and he immediately felt it was best to leave.

Vito, oblivious as he was, didn't have his trainers trepidation. With a plan in mind and a furrowed, confident brow, he trundles along towards the source of the sound, bouncing through the snow and rushing further inland. "V-Vito! Wait!" Raphael cries out. Looking back to the water for Carmen, but seeing no sign, he is forced to bound after his partner pokémon.

He was right, this had been a bad idea.

Sprinting with panic in his heart brought Raph back unpleasant memories that he quickly tossed aside, pushing them out of his mind to continue focusing on the sprint. The cold caused his muscles to tense and the strain from running like this to increase, he stumbled slightly through the snow banks as Vito was barely still in sight. The cold and the stress caused a familiar pain to surge into his chest and as he started to slow down involuntarily he let out a weaker cry. "V...Vito..!"

The desperation in the trainers voice caused the over-excited pokémon to stop. Vito's expression contorted to worry and he immediately turned to roll in the other direction. He bounded and leaped back to Raphael's side as the young man stood hunched over in the snow, his hand clutching at the front of his shirt as he panted heavily. Immediate regret washed over Vito and he propped himself up, doing his best to attempt to pat his little flippers against Raph's shins as a sign of comfort and solidarity.

"I-It's fine..." It wasn't fine, he gasped a little louder, but as he did so, the intense beating behind his ribs did begin to recede. "I'm... I'm fine now, Vito, you can't just-"

"DREEEEEIIIIIIIIIII.... Dreeeiii..."

Raph felt his body freeze up in fear, the screeching was much closer now. He quickly grabbed Vito and dashed to hide behind a fallen tree, sinking to the ground with a hand over his partner's snout as his back pressed to the semi-frozen wood. Even though he was sure it was closer, the cry had seemed weaker than before, less oozing with power and intimidation. How was that possible? His heart started to race again, but he took control of his breathing, slowly trying to calm himself as the silence now fought to make him uneasy. If he needed it, the medicine was in his bag, he just had to grab it. He didn't need it yet, he didn't need it, but it was there.

A few more agonizing moments passed, Vito buried his face into Raph's chest to try and save him from the pain there, somehow, and the pair sat with bated breath in silence. Silence eventually broken, by the sound of a large creature collapsing hard into the snow, over their hiding spot and a little bit beyond. It couldn't have been, could it?

Raph takes a few deep breaths, gathering his wits, before slowly and silently he rises up to peak over the log he was crouched behind. His heart nearly burst out of his chest at the sight of what he saw.

A large pokémon lay collapsed in the snow, from head to tail tip, it was about the same size as Raph, 6 foot in length. A black shroud of scales covered its upper body and formed six damaged wings, unable to carry it off the ground. Thus it lay injured on the floor, its stubby legs unable to drag it forward... and its arms?

Raph's eyes widened, its arms were... two more heads, each desperately snapping to an area beyond the main body, before falling limp into the snow.

The entirety of the scale covered creatures blue and purple body was crackling lightly, surrounded by an aura of pulsing blue and red lightning. Raph recognized this at least, from the textbooks and battles he saw on TV as a child, the remnants of an extremely powerful dragon type attack. This pokémon was a powerful (probably) dragon type pokémon, on the brink of unconsciousness, potentially paralyzed... it was perfect, it was literally everything he had hoped for. He couldn't believe it, his plan had worked and he hadn't even had to battle.

Slowly and carefully, he rises to his feet, still carrying Vito under one arm, he meanders his way forward, stepping closer to the imposing creature. When he manages to draw within a few feet without it stirring, he reaches into his bag and produces his pokédex, lowering the volume, so that only text will appear. The small devices screen flares to life and it scans the injured pokémon before it.

"Hydreigon, the Brutal Pokémon

This brutal Pokémon travels the skies on its six wings. Anything that moves seems like a foe to it, triggering its attack. The heads on their arms do not have brains. They use all three heads to consume and destroy everything. The three heads take turns sinking their teeth into the opponent. Their attacks won't slow until their target goes down."

"...what a monster." Raph thinks, yet his mind quickly starts to fill with glee. This pokémon was violent by nature and hungered for battle. All he'd have to do is walk into the first three gyms and let this thing out of its pokéball, that's all it would take, then victory. To think that a pokémon as powerful as this was basically presented to him on a silver platter. Vito looks with confusion at his trainer as he's placed carefully and quietly on the ground, the expression on Raph's face had shifted entirely from tired worry to an almost manic excitement. He reaches into his bag and produces an empty pokéball as a wide, twisted grin starts to spread over his face.

"I'll be sure to let you go, don't you worry, once the championship is mine and the money in my pocket, then you can live however you-" He pauses to gasp as the semi-unconscious pokémon begins to move. Raph stumbles back, still clutching the empty pokéball tightly. One of the head- arm- things on the Hydreigon shifts forward, reaching swiftly outwards with a snap. The panic Raph feels is enough to nearly set off a heart attack then and there, but he realizes soon enough that the snapping jaw isn't lunging for him... but for a spot just a bit further than the brutal pokémon's collapsed body can reach.

Raph's gaze turns to follow the motion... until he sees it. Sitting by a small, unfrozen pond near the center of the island, is a single bush untouched by the carnage of the battles held there. Small blue berries grow upon its branches. Another thing that Raphael recognizes from class. Oran berries. His eyes slowly turn back to the Hydreigon, now collapsed completely in the snow, then to Vito... who still looks up at him with quiet confusion.

Then finally to the pokéball in his hand. The old man from the mainland's words ring in his mind and he furrows his brow.

"...no." He finally sputters, reluctantly but definitively, his head hung low as he pushes the empty pokéball back into his bag. "No... this isn't right." His thoughts turned to the trainers he'd watch on TV when he was a kid. The days when Champion's like Steven Stone and Cynthia were at their prime and the intense battles they'd had with partners they'd raised throughout their journeys were spectacles for the world to see. Even if, he thought, for him things were different, even if, for him... this journey could have genuinely been a matter of life and death. Even if he lived, doing things like this, even if he won, with a pokémon obtained in this way... he wondered, would it really be worth it?

"... Vito... be ready to attack okay? This could go badly..." Raph said, nearly swallowing the words in fear as he approached the bush. Vito looked ready to cry out but thought better of it considering the pokémon that slept so close to them. The young trainer plucks five berries from the bush and slowly approaches the wounded dragon, he doesn't dare draw close enough for the creature to strike him, but instead places them down on the ground and rolls them through the snow, until he's sure they're close enough for one of Hydreigon's heads to reach out and claim them. "There..." Raph sighs, before standing up and slowly arcing around the pokémon to stand beside Vito once more. "The smell should rouse it before too long, we should go before that happens."

"Target located."

Raph was shocked to hear another human voice ring across the snow. He saw two men step out of the snowfall towards the clearing where Raph and Vito stood... and where the still delirious and barely conscious Hydreigon lay. Both were dressed head to toe in black suits, hardly the outfit for this weather, nor for the wild area in general. Something told him they weren't regular trainers. Rather than acknowledge him, both men stepped further into the clearing and pulled out silver devices, scanning the injured dragon much like one would with a pokédex, they didn't speak a word to Raph the entire time. When one did eventually speak, it was to his accomplice.

"This is the one we saw engage the Haxorus, a pokémon of this power is a perfect specimen for the boys back home." He's stockier than the other man, tan skin, bald head and a thick neck that he cracks with an off-putting 'k-thunk' when he finishes speaking. The other man, slender and pale with a head of blonde hair, pushes a pair of black sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "Yes, this is perfect, it's in a perfect state for captivity, but we can't be too careful. Let's bring out the insurance." In unison the two suited men toss a pair of pokéballs that Raph doesn't recognize into the air. They have a spiral like design of carbon fiber over a grey metal shell, with a release button on top as opposed to at the side.

Bursting out from the pokéballs are a pair of Thievul, a species Raph recognizes from its nativity to the areas surrounding Wedgehurst. Both pokémon have cold and obedient eyes, making no noise and standing guard by their masters as they work. Though at this point, Raphael is tired of being ignored.

"...Oi, suits." He says, trying to mask his previous nervousness with his usual tired and lazy demeanor. "I got here first didn't I? What do you think you're doing?"

The larger of the two men perks up and looks towards Raph, finally one of them acknowledges him at all. "Listen 'ere, citizen." He begins, cracking his neck a second time. "This 'ere is official Galarian business. I'd recommend you sod off before you get yourself in trouble." He smirks as the words leave his mouth, but the smile quickly fades as Raph shows he isn't finished.

"You didn't do much to get a chance at that 'mon you know? I should know, I'm pretty well-versed in taking the easy way forward. Not to mention, unless you guys got some ID or something, I don't think I'm taking your claims as fact, geezer."

"Geezer?!" The tanned mans calm cracks a little at that comment and he turns to face Raph fully, but the slender man places a hand up to stop any further bickering from his companion. He too turns to face Raph and frowns, his expression one of disappointment rather than irritation, his pointed nose turned up in irritation. "You must be one of those new school trainers, how quaint. I'll let you know so you don't make such mistakes in future... do not make yourself a nuisance to us. We work for powerful people and you're not worth the effort of our employer."

He certainly didn't lack for confidence, neither of them did. Damn, this whole situation had shifted into one of Raph's least favorites, one requiring lots of effort, but with very little still to gain. He sighs a little and steps back, shrugging with a tired expression as if to show that he plans to back off. A signal that causes the slender man to sneer.

"Dom, make the capture." He commands with a pompous scoff, to which the other man grins and reaches into his pocket. He produces another one of those black and twisted pokéballs. It was exactly that, that Raph was waiting to see, the ominous grey casing, oddly placed button, dark design, the whole thing stank of something off. He sighs as the stout fellow, Dom, pulls back to throw.

Raph supposed he didn't have much of a choice.

"Vito! Water Gun!"

The two men looked stunned as Vito quickly rolled forward, shooting a blast of water through the air that struck the dark pokéball clean, the force of the blast sending it cascading against a frozen tree where it shattered to pieces. "You... YOU!!!" The once composed slender man grips his hair before wildly pointing at Raph, who now moved to stand between the two black suited trainers and the injured Hydreigon. "You little bastard..! Do you have any idea how expensive those things are?!" He shrieks, nearly jumping in place with frustration. Dom also starts gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in irritation. "Malcom c'mon! Enough foolin' around! This kid's gettin' in the way roight?! The boss said if that happened we could deal with 'em as we saw fit!"

Recovering from his overwhelming fury, the blonde and slender Malcom stands up straight and brushes down his suit with a deep and mournful sigh. "Listen here you delinquent. We had hoped you would leave of your own choice, but you've interfered now in the matters of your betters. You had better be satisfied with your choice, because this is where your journey comes to an end!"

Raph takes a defensive stance, barely even listening to these clowns, focusing only on Vito and watching for any more fucked up pokéballs his opponents might try to throw. This was not how he had expected the situation to turn out, but Raph had decided... he wanted to be a trainer, a real trainer. That's what he had always wanted, even as a little kid. Fuck his illness, fuck the money! Maybe he could be sneaky but no way was he gonna stoop to the level of guys like these. He was outnumbered two to one, by evolved pokémon besides, the odds weren't in his favor, but he was certain that the morals were.

"Power is something you earn... not something you take! You hear me you pompous shits?!" Raph echoes the words of the old man from the shore, his temper building up slightly and slipping into his manner of speaking. He'd find a way to win, he'd protect this injured pokémon... and he'd win the gym challenge on his own terms!

"You DARE to...?! Thievul! ATTACK!"

To be concluded in EYE OF THE STORM - PART 4...

Stinging Bea · Nov 14, 2020

Aeliana Kekoa

Watchtower Ruins

Chapter 2-3 | A Friend In Need

Aeliana's Current Party:

Heart racing, Aeliana charged through the wild area. She clutched the wild Clefairy's poké ball against her chest tightly, thoughts and questions rushing through her mind as she tried to navigate the Watchtower Ruins under the dark night sky, all while covered by a thick blanket of fog. She had long since recalled Fiesta back into his ball. The Lotad's stubby legs had proved to be giving him a difficult time in keeping up with the trainer. Tampa had refused to return to her poké ball, however. The gator Pokémon seemed to be just as worried about the Clefairy as her trainer was and seemed to be just as worried about leaving Aeliana on her own in the dead of the night.

"I don't understand who or what would do such a thing to this poor Clefairy," the pink-haired trainer thought. Her eyes widened as a slab of mortar came into view. She barely managed to slide past it by angling her hips to the left a bit as she moved. "Professor Sonia never said that wild Pokémon would go this far unless they were hunting for food… I don't exactly recall Clefairy being high up on the menu for some of the more feral Pokémon either."

Aeliana glanced down at the ball in her hand. Another thought drifted into her mind. The way that Clefairy had looked… It brought up bitter memories that the girl would have rather left long forgotten. She really didn't want to think it was possible, but… it was always possible that someone had carried the battle that far. A chill ran up her back, her stomach churning over the thought. Unfortunately for Aeliana, her mind became so distracted that she quickly managed to forget to pay attention to where she was going. Before she knew it, Aeliana felt the toe of her sneaker crash up into another rock jutting up from the tall grass surrounding the ruins. A curse slipped past the pink-haired girl's lips as she stumbled forward before her face suddenly met up with the dirt below her. The poké ball in her hand suddenly flung up into the air before hitting the ground with a solid thud. Tampa stopped dead in her tracks, concern on her face as she waddled over towards Aeliana.

"I'm… I'm okay…" the trainer mumbled, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position. She winced, gathering her composure. She looked about, eyes narrowing in the darkness as she tried to find the poké ball that she had lost hold of in the collision. "...Shit. Tampa, the ball! We lost Clefairy's ball! Help me find it!"

Aeliana scrambled to her knees, her hands pushing and rustling through the blades of grass around her. Tampa waddled off ahead of the girl. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly shifted through the grass before an excited gurgle escaped her mouth. Aeliana's ears perked up at the sound as she glanced up in the Totodile's direction.

"Tampa, did you find it?" the pinkette questioned.

Tampa nodded in the darkness. She quickly waddled forward, her hands reaching out to scoop up the ball as she approached it. Just as the blue claws of the Totodile's hands began to wrap around it however, the ball suddenly began to expand in size and began to shake. Eyes wide with surprise, Tampa tried to tight her grip on the ball. It rocked and wobbled in her hands before rolling out of her grip and back onto the ground. In a fit of desperation, the gator Pokémon jumped forward, wrapping both her hands and feet around it in an attempt to keep the ball still. It didn't take long for the wobbling poké ball to force her to lose her balance, though. Before Aeliana or Tampa could fully process what was going on, the sound of the poké ball snapping open echoed out into the night sky. This was followed by a blinding flash of white light shooting out of the now open spherical capsule, which in turn took on the familiar shape of a Clefairy.

A dazed look graced the pink Pokémon's features as she looked around her surroundings. That look of confusion was replaced with a look of dread in a heartbeat when she happened to catch sight of both Tampa and Aeliana. Tears welling up in her eyes, the Clefairy turned and began to quickly fumble away from the duo.

Aeliana, who had been otherwise silent up to that point, seemed to snap back to reality. "H-Hey! Clefairy, come back!"

The pink-haired girl threw caution to the wind. She scrambled back up to her feet and began to chase after the running Clefairy all while Tampa followed close behind. The fairy-type Pokémon seemed to be quite quick on her feet. Thankfully, whatever momentum she seemed to have in the moment was quickly fading most likely on account of her injuries. The trainer gasped as she noticed the Clefairy trip over her own feet, picking up her pace as best as she could before making a dive for the Clefairy. Aeliana managed to just barely get her hands around the injured Pokémon, lifting her up just before she would have gotten a face full of mud.

A wave of panic rushed through the pink Pokémon. Clefairy began to wriggle and flail about, Aeliana having to do everything in her power to keep her grip on the hurt creature. Tampa stared at the scene in utter silence. She had never seen a Pokémon act so wild or terrified.

"Hey, hey… C-Calm down… Take it easy!" Aeliana stammered out.

She slowly brought the Clefairy close to her chest, her lips quivering as she could hear the small Pokémon begin to sob and wail. The pinkette hesitated for a moment, before slowly bringing her right hand up to gently soothe the top of the Clefairy's hair before gently humming a soft tune. It was something she remembered from long ago, a habit her cousin had developed for her whenever Aeliana found herself in a similar situation. As she hummed, Aeliana glanced down at the Clefairy in her arms. The creature's wild flailing gradually came to a stop, her sobbing growing softer as she started to calm in the trainer's arms. She watched as the pink Pokémon slowly looked up at her, as if her eyes were questioning if she could in fact trust the trainer and her Totodile. Aeliana merely smiled softly in response, offering the Clefairy a gentle nod as she kept humming the soothing melody. The trainer could feel Clefairy suddenly grip her arms tightly as she began to ball into the trainer's chest, her body shaking in relief that she finally seemed to be safe. She wasn't really how long they sat there, but Aeliana didn't care. Her only priority was calming the Clefairy down. After some time had passed, Aeliana looked down at the Pokémon quizatively.

"Are you alright now…?" the trainer questioned. She wasn't sure if the Clefairy could actually understand what she was saying, but Aeliana figured she could give it a shot regardless. She really didn't want to dredge up a bad memory, but she figured the Clefairy deserved to know why had been in the poké ball she managed to bust out of just a little while ago. "Tampa and I… we found you laying in a bush way back there. You were hurt by something, we don't know what, but… I thought it might be best to get you some medical attention quickly. I know it was probably against the rules, but… I sort of just forced-caught you so you could get treatment at one of the ranger encampments."

As expected, Aeliana's explanation was greeted by a vacant and confused expression. She bit her bottom lip, mulling it over in her head. The trainer figured that maybe a slower, yet more direct inquiry would work better.

"We want to help you… Are you okay?" Aeliana questioned, making sure to stress the words she wanted to get across to the Clefairy.

A moment of silence between the trainer and the pink Pokémon, before suddenly her eyes went wide. A look of realization graced the Clefairy's features as she began to squirm and wriggle again in Aeliana's grasp. Unlike before however, it seemed to be more controlled. It was as if she was trying to get something across to the trainer. Aeliana glanced down at her Totodile. Tampa gave a quick nod in response, which prompted the pinkette to set the fairy-type Pokémon down. The Clefairy quickly moved towards Tampa, her arms flailing as she began to make conversation with the gator Pokémon. Tampa gurgled back in response, tilting her head curiously as the Clefairy responded. Aeliana watched in silence as the Clefairy pointed towards herself, before pointing straight back in the direction of the Watchtower Ruins that the trio had come from. Tampa seemed to gasp in surprise before she waddled her way quickly towards Aeliana. The trainer watched as the Clefairy started to make her way towards the ruins, stopping to watch as Tampa pointed towards her before waddling off to join her.

"I guess they want me to follow…?" Aeliana questioned aloud. She really felt like she was out of the loop on whatever was going on. She wished that some professor or other scientist would come up with a way to understand what Pokémon were actually saying. Regardless, the young woman decided that the best way to find out was to follow. "Alright then, let's go."

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Dragon · Nov 14, 2020

Valerie's Quest for 100 Friends
Poké:

1000 ♦ Friends: 3

vs. Torchic (A JP featuring Jasper and Arietty)
As the chugging noises of the train grew louder and louder with it slowly gaining speed, a girl hurried through the cabin in search of a place to sit. The holdup in Wedgehurst had caused an earlier departure to be skipped, and now this one was much more crowded than usual. Arrietty held her Torchic to her chest to keep him from being trampled, and sidled through the aisle, quietly repeating apologies when she bumped into someone's luggage again.

Thankfully, the next carriage had a little more breathing room. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when a young family moved spots to get a better view, and she could plop down on one of the seats they left. Wren, too, was glad to be free from her grip, and hopped from her lap to the seat next to her, curiously looking around to other passengers and Pokémon. Arrietty placed her elbow in the windowsill and cupped her cheek in her hand, glad to take a breather from the commotion all around.

Unfortunately, it didn't last very long. Only a precious minute or two after she sat down, the cabin grew more agitated. Grunts, complaints, muttered curses and a couple of rustling's of fabric heralded the appearance of Jasper. He made a bit of room for himself to hopefully scan around and find some space only for someone he'd shoved to be less willing to overlook it than the rest, and shove back. He lost his balance amongst the crowd and stumbled straight into the seat across from the girl, making her jump more than a little.

"Hey, watch out, assho-" Jasper froze upon realization that he wasn't alone. After a moment he rolled his eyes at himself and lazily rested his left elbow on the table, and his chin in that hand. "Area's already occupied, then. Sorry."

Arrietty looked at him in confusion for another second, but then hastily shook her head. "It's no problem, there's plenty of space," she responded, clumsily averting her eyes and placing her hands in her lap instead. Despite apologizing, he seemed to have no intention of leaving, so she politely avoided further contact.

"Thanks, trying to find room here seems like a nightmare right now." He wasn't any more eager to spark a conversation than she was. He did, however pull out a pokeball and tap it on the windowsill. The little beam it released took shape and solidified into a Larvitar in his lap, which smiled up at him before stepping over his leg to look out the window. "I know it's your first train ride but chill, we aren't even moving yet." It turned its eyes to his face and blinked several times, to which he sighed. "I know she never let you go before, but don't move too much, kay? You weigh more than I do."

Across from him, Arrietty perked up slightly upon noticing the boy called out what looked like a starter Pokémon. Wait, that meant— how embarrassing, she'd looked away from his face so quickly she hadn't even realised he was one of her classmates? She hesitantly ventured another glance, and sure enough, the bright blue locks sticking out from under his hoodie were unmistakable. Jasper, she reminded herself.

"How's… your new partner treating you? Are you getting along?" Arrietty started, unsure whether it'd be more or less awkward to strike up conversation now. Her own starter climbed onto her lap in turn, eagerly looking outside, but occasionally throwing out a curious glance at the Larvitar on the other side of the table as well. His first rival! He had to scout out the competition to be sure.

"He's strong and knows how to listen - at least now he does." Jasper said, voice softening just a touch. "I'm lucky to have him. I've already gotten into some pretty big trouble that I don't think I could have handled without him, twice. Gotta let him out to enjoy stuff like this while I can. Soon as he evolves he won't be able to go all that many places with me anymore. Larvitar evolve slow though, he'll be okay."

Arrietty's eyes widened momentarily, not because of what he said, but because he said it so calmly. She thought for sure he'd snap at her, tell her to buzz off and leave him be. Her surprise was such that she nearly forgot to answer.

"Oh er, that's great! And yeah, it's nice to have them out like this while we can..." she started, looking over both critters with a slight smile. Despite her curiosity regarding the 'trouble' he mentioned, she thought better of prying - she didn't want to end up on the wrong foot now.

"Woohoo! Aces, Flame-bro! We-be on our way to the Wild Area!" there was then a pretty cheerful-sounding voice that was coupled with the sounds of delightfully sounding footsteps - out came Valerie with her Cyndaquil on her shoulder, both seemingly in a playful mood. Then she saw those two. "Whoooa, it's Jassy and Arri! What's up, queens?"

Jasper fidgeted and even tried to stand up, but succeeded only in wiggling in his seat. Faust was too heavy and he didn't want to knock the little guy over anyways, so he sighed and waved limply at Valerie. "Hey. Been a while. Arrietty was just telling me about her friend here. Very orange and...plumey."

"No kidding?" Valerie turned to the young Torchic, but stood in thought. "Ahh, that's a ... Wait, wait, don't tell me! The… Water-type, Torkoal! Or was it the Fairy-type, Torterra…"

"......"That sentence managed to thoroughly shock Jasper far enough out of his attempts to fade into the background that he just stared at her. Even Faust stopped looking out the window to mirror his trainer.

Arrietty smiled awkwardly, unsure whether Val was joking around or not. The Pokémon in question was less amused however. Wren squinted, before loudly starting to tweet and 'chic' in protest of Val getting his kind wrong. In response, Arrietty quickly picked him up and put him back into her lap, trying to get him to quiet down and making space to sit beside her. "He's a Torchic," she uttered, holding him tightly until eventually he settled.

"Oooh, right, right, doyyy!" Valerie responded, lightly tapping her forehead with one of her knuckles, briefly sticking out her tongue just a little bit. "That was like, my fifth guess, haha! Oh, check this out: my buddy here is a Cyndaquil! I call em' Flame. He's my partner, right bro?" An energetic cry and nod was the simple reply from the young Cyndaquil. He certainly wasn't shy, like his master.

"Nice to meet you, Flame," Arrietty followed up sheepishly. "Oh and, this is Wren." The Torchic in her lap met Cyndaquil's eyes, but pouted, still frustrated with his trainer.

"Aw, what a cutie! You have a really amazing partner there, sis!" Valerie commented, with her Cyndaquil nodded. "Hellooooo Wren, wanna be friends?"

Wren eyed her curiously, a little more amenable after the compliment she gave him. He looked up to his trainer as if to check she heard it too, and chirped cheerfully in response to Val. "You're welcome to sit down here too, Val, if you want?" Arrietty added, only realising after she said it that the other person at the table mightn't agree.

Jasper had gone back to staring out the window on his side while the two conversed, and didn't visibly react to Arietty's invitation. Faust, however, stood up on his lap and turned to Valerie and waved, more eager to socialize after his encounter with Tampa.

"Oh gee, thanks, sis!" Valerie promptly sat down beside Arrietty, with her Cyndaquil moving towards her lap. "Maaaan, wild area hype! Gonna be a crap-ton of new friends! I'll make 100 friends in no time!"

Arrietty tensed up a little at that, looking out the window to the changing scenery. As the train moved away from the familiar surroundings of Wedgehurst, she couldn't say she was filled with 'hype' as much - if anything, dread was accumulating in her stomach. "Yeah, it's exciting," she responded, as confidently as she could muster. She didn't feel ready to venture out in the least, but she couldn't let her peers figure that out already.

"Aha! I knoooow right?!" Valerie gleamfully giggled. "Gran-gran used to tell me there's all sorts of totally cool-looking Pokémon out there, and a stelllllar amount of trainers there too. Oh! Oh-oh-oh—Btw, you guys have somethin' you wanna like, do on this journey? I wanna make 100 friends, of course! Like, I made a friend already, his name is Johnny! He's buddies with a rad top-percentage Zigzagoon, and wants to be the champion with him! I mean like, I wanna be a champ too, but I'm just like, soooo hyped for seeing what's out there, y'know?"

"Want?..." Jasper muttered, chin resting on his hand. Faust looked up at him, ready for him to snap or get agitated or something but all he did was sigh and quietly speak. "Wish it were that simple...Make life a lot easier." The cryptic words made Arrietty's gaze turn back to see the expression that came with them.

"What do you mean?" she hesitantly inquired.

He chewed on the words before he let them out, really not sure at all what he wanted to say. "Wanna get stronger. Be successful, in some way? True, but so vague. Still haven't really figured out anything more...concrete."

"Haha, I hear ya, Jas-bro," Valerie inquired. "Totally rooting for ya'. Oh and hey! If you're in the hood sometime, we should battle - your awes-mazing partner versus mine! Trust me, it'll be sweet! Right Flame?" Flame eagerly nodded. "Speaking of which, that's called a uh… Larvitar! Larvitar, right?"

"That actually is right." Jasper admitted. "Rock and Ground type, not a very fair fight for your friend there right now. But maybe next time'll be different." Creases formed in Jasper's forehead as he held back a scowl at the thought of battle one of the students after his scuffle with Aeliana. "Don't count on me being ready and rarin' to go, though."

"No prob, my man! Take your time!" Valerie said, turning to Arrietty. "If you want, you and Wren can join in too! A Wedgehurst battle-royale-for-supreme-champion-of-Galar! It'll be fun with you too, girl!"

"Huh? Oh, er, sure!" She nodded gently, before looking down at Wren. The Torchic chirped in affirmation, but remained calmly seated in his trainer's lap, sensing her tension.

"Awww yeah, 'nother awesome idea coming on!" Valerie then lit up. "So, I really like you both… let's be buddies!"

Arrietty looked back at her a little incredulously. She hadn't heard someone ask to be friends since, well, kindergarten probably. What was she supposed to say? Val always seemed to be friendly with everyone in school. It came so naturally to her, and she always seemed to have good intentions, but Arrietty couldn't help but wonder. Surely she and Jasper weren't the kind of people someone like Val would actually hang out with. So was this just being polite? Did she not want to leave them out?

A small sigh of resignation escaped her, and her expression softened. "That'd be nice," she eventually responded, deliberately leaving it somewhat open-ended. "What do you think, Jasper?"

"You do whatever works for you." He said offhandedly. "I'm not in this to make friends. If I was, I'd have done it at school. I just want to be left alone."

"Bawwww, that's a bummer Jas-berry, but it's totally cool!" Valerie said, continuing to beam. "But totally stoked if we can be, Arri! Fact, let's huddle together… you and Wren just sit still for a sec…"

Valerie once again got out her Xtransiever, putting herself, Flame, and her two new friends in the shot.

"Ready? Annnnd… Frieeeeeeeend HYPE!"

A new picture formed on Valerie's Xtransciver. Arrietty had managed to smile, but was still visibly caught off guard being pulled in for the photo. Wren on her lap looked fierce, almost ready to attack the device Val was holding up. A seemingly reserved, yet cute girl with her Torchic, two friends who Valerie is sure to make many memories with.

Level up!

Friends 3 -> 5

P1 Valerie's Party

P2 Arietty's Party

P3 Jasper's Party

Journal

STAGE 1 - WEDGEHURST & ROUTE 2
vs. Zigzagoon pt.1
vs. Cyndaquil
vs. Zigzagoon pt.2

Friend's List

Flame (Valerie's Cyndaquil)
Before Valerie started on her journey, Flame was constantly brought down and disrespected by being an incredibly weak pokemon. It trains harder than most of the other pokemon, however. After Valerie helped it to train, it was finally able to ignite the flames on its back. Now, Flame's dream is to be the strongest pokemon in all of Galar.

Youngster Johnny
Johnny's father brought him a Zigzagoon as a friend, when he didn't have any. Ever since his dad saved him and Ziggy from an accident, Johnny's dream is to become a champion of Galar with his self proclaimed top-percentage Zigzagoon. After a hard-fought battle against Valerie, the two became friends.

Pokemon:

Ziggy (Johnny's Zigzagoon)

OOC Post

Trainer ID

Valerie (Val) Amity

Her main goal for her journey is seek at least 100 friends - humans, or pokemon. So, she seeks to meet and obtain as much pokemon as she can for friends. She also seeks a successful endeavor within her Gym Battle challenge in Galar, in the hopes of one day, becoming champion, like many other trainers who have the same dream.

Items

Pokeball x5

Greatball x1

Badges

---

Galarian Pokédex V. 8

#155: Cyndaquil
#263: Zigzagoon

Jay · Nov 14, 2020

Raphael Allard
> Lake Axewell Approach
> Mood: Nervous
> EYE OF THE STORM - PART 4

..

....

"Use Night Slash!"

Malcom's voice screeched across the snowy landscape and his Thievul rushed forward, lunging towards Vito with claws enshrouded in darkness. Vito swiftly rolled to one side and began to pick up speed, barely dodging as the claws sunk into the floor without effect. Raph's eyes were scanning the environment, it was only a matter of time before one of these guys landed a hit, no matter how fast or evasive Vito was. The snow and hail from the weather was to their advantage at least, while it would wear the two Thievul down over time, it would do nothing but encourage Vito to fight harder. The fallen trees littered around the clearing could be useful he thought, with how they were angled... that was it, that was his out!

"Vito! Use Rollout and aim for the trees!"

A look of confusion was sent by the two opposing trainers as they watched the Spheal roll faster and faster through the snow. He bashed off of a nearby tree trunk, then another, then another... wait a second, he was bouncing circles around them! As they watched they quickly caught onto Raph's idea, the trees had fallen and were lined up in such a way around this clearing that Vito could use the battlefield as a giant pinball table. After the fourth bounce, Rollout had reached peak Velocity and with a swift turn, Vito bounced up and collided into one of the Thievul's at high speed. "You little bastard!" Dom cried out, his tan face nearly turning crimson red as he tugged at his tie in anger. The stout villain's Thievul was sent sprawling across the icy floor... but it swiftly rose back to its feet, causing Raph to pause.

These pokémon were evolved... and not type weak to rollout, nor old and decrepit like that Houndoom had been. He couldn't rely on Rollout alone to win him this fight. He needed more time to think, but the timer he had was ticking down and there wasn't much time left before Vito was struck. Damn it... what was he supposed to do?!

Lacking a command to the contrary, Vito kept rolling passed the first Thievul and onto the second, but the two goons were better prepared. Malcom commanded his Thievul to leap into the air before it got hit, which it did obediently and without hesitation. Vito scrambled through the snow awkwardly as he sails passed the point the opponent once was, struggling through the snow and losing most of his stored momentum. "Now Thievul... hit 'em hard!" Dom called out in response to the fumble and his Thievul rushed in striking Vito and sending him sprawling through the snow with a pained cry.

"Vito!" Raph nearly dashed forward but his eyes still focused on the two enemy trainers... they were still holding those weird pokéballs and Raph knew the second he moved that they'd toss those things at Hydreigon without a care. He was backed into a corner with nowhere to go, what the hell was he supposed to do?! Vito was in danger and he couldn't do anything. He had to think and act quick, or else they'd keep hitting him but where were they supposed to go? The two on one nature of the battle made it impossible to properly escape unscathed. A bead of sweat starts to run down his brow and he grits his teeth. He was out of time!

KA-SPLOOSH!

From the nearby pond a massive splashing noise was found as the water burst outwards and an object hurtled out at an immense speed. The shape shot upwards with a massive splash and hovered slightly in front of the sun, catching the attention and gaze of everyone present. As Raph looked upwards his eyes widened with shock and awe. "N... No way..."

Plummeting downwards, the shape hurtled towards the ground and spun around. As it descended through the snow, the orange body of Carmen surged towards the Thievul that had struck Vito. "KARP!" With a resounding crack, the Magikarp's scarred tail whipped around as part of the tackle attack and smashed hard against the fox pokémon's jaw. With a howl of pain the Thievul was catapulted, crashing through the mounds of snow and colliding with a nearby log. A critical hit. Digging its paws in, it slowly and almost mechanically pulled itself back to its feet.

Carmen landed in the snow and bounced quickly up and down in place, using Splash to continuously hop left and right and keep her body moving. Her eyes were piercing, like a hot knife through the snow and they focused intently on the other Thievul, Raph could have described her gaze as damn near murderous. He could never have predicted such an intimidating glare from a Magikarp of all pokémon. The gaze softened momentarily as Carmen's eyes turned to fall on Raph, she gave him a knowing look and hopped slightly to stand beside him in front of the wounded Hydreigon. The small pond on the island... it must have connected to the lake via an underground channel, Carmen had followed him all this way, had she been watching him this whole time? Was she testing him?

It didn't matter now, this was exactly what Raph had needed. With both of his pokémon at his side, the odds were evened.

"A fucking fish?! What's next?! Is a god damn zubat going to sweep in and save the day?!" Malcom's composure was gone as he regained Raph's attention. His pristine blonde hair was ragged and worn as the suited trainer grabbed and pulled at it in stress. Raph sneered. "What's wrong geezer? Where'd that confidence go?" He shrugs with a tired sigh and shakes his head. "This 'fucking fish' is one of the feistiest pokémon I've ever met. I should know, I've experienced it first-hand..." Carmen seemed pleased with that and hopped a little higher with an excited cry.

"Let me show you what I mean! Vito use water gun, Carmen make sure nothing gets in the way!"

Immediately Vito rolls up, a little wounded but still ready to fight. He gives a confident smile to Carmen before opening his snout and charging a bout of high pressure water. As expected, Malcom quickly commands the less injured Thievul to charge. "Night Slash! Stop that little annoyance at once!" The fox pokémon rushes forward, that same empty and obedient look in its eyes, but Carmen isn't having it. With a swift aggression, Carmen launches her body forward with splash, the full brunt of her side crashing into the charging Thievul's head, the momentum bounces Carmen into the air and she comes down with a spin, her tail like a hammer overhead swings and buries the aggressive dark type into the snow with a crunch.

Vito on the other hand launches off his attack uninterrupted. The high pressure water gun pierces the air and strikes Dom's injured Thievul at full power. The barely standing opponent can't take the hit... and one of the two enemies before Raph's party is sent sprawling unconscious in the snow. "Oh you worthless li'l shi'!" Dom cries out, returning the pokémon to the dark pokéball and turning to face his partner in crime. "This isn't good Malcom, we ain't got no choice!" To which Malcom bristles and stands up straight once more. As his own injured Thievul attempts to stand up of its own accord, it finds itself returned to its pokéball before it can make another move.

Still wary, Raph calls his pokémon back to his side and watches his two enemies carefully. "Finally giving up?" He asks, his voice is serious but a tugging feeling in his chest tells him this is far from over.

"You had plenty of opportunity to relent, miscreant." Malcom states with a haughty smirk, reaching into his jacket he produces another pokéball, same as his others. "You could have run away and pursuing you wouldn't have been worth the time, but now you've forced our hand... I'd like you to meet the latest gift our employer has bestowed upon us." With a sadistic grin, Malcom tosses the ball skywards and as the black tinted light from within bursts outwards, Raph freezes up in fear.

Standing now in the clearing was a massive and ominous pokémon. Blue scales dominated its body, while its head was a blood red. Yellow, piercing eyes were dulled, cold and unfeeling just as the thievul's had been. It was taller than Raph by a few inches and its massive claws twitched as it looked towards the trainer and his party. Malcom sneered even more seeing Raph's reaction. "Meet Druddigon."

The dragon type roared in defiance as its name was said and it shifted back and forth in place, a violent intent was in its eyes. The situation had gone from bad to dire, despite everything, there was no chance in hell Raph could defeat this pokémon as he was. Not Vito, nor Carmen could last a single round against this thing... and they had to know that too. Yet still, both water types stood defiantly in front of Raph, their expressions a mixture of unease and determination. Raph felt a knot of guilt in his gut, knowing he could do nothing to help them if a battle began. What was he supposed to do now? Did he apologize...? It felt far too late for that. Return his pokémon and try to run away? It was unlikely he could escape this thing especially on an island like this. He was trapped here, but at least maybe, he could sequester away his pokémon in the snow? Hide their pokéballs from sight... or release them into the water before it was too late?

Arceus, thoughts like that were really in his head right now. The likelihood of him getting away from this alive were... really that low.

"Enough gawking." Malcom scoffs, Dom with a dark sneer moving to stand beside him. "Druddigon, destroy them." Raph's train of thought stopped, that was it, that command was all it took. The dragon pokémon surged and began to charge forward... there wasn't even enough time to get away. "...I'm sorry.." He forced out to his pokémon, before closing his eyes as the end approached.

But... it never came.

Instead moments before the impact, a fierce wind ripped past Raph and nearly knocked him off his feet from behind. He heard cries of terror from the two suited men and on instinct his eyes snapped open... to see Hydreigon standing before him.

Two of its head tipped arms had grabbed the charging Druddigons raised arm and left wing. Both of them with fangs piercing into the other dragons body, easily breaking through its scales and drawing blood. The arm gripping the wing looked fit to rip it clean off, while the one locked onto the arm held it in place like a vice grip. The six wings on the dark dragons back looked healthier than before and effortlessly held Hydreigon off the ground, their power alone was enough to force the charging Druddigon to a stop. As Raph looked on in awe, he noticed that around the mouth gripping the wings lips... there was a small smear of blue berry juice.

"HYYYY... DREEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" With a sickening snap, Hydreigon rips the Druddigon's wing clean off causing the otherwise obedient pokémon to scream out in pain. Even though it was saving him, Raph was taken aback, the title of 'brutal' seemed like an understatement, this pokémon was downright vicious.

"H-how... it was... it was injured..." Malcom mumbled, all the colour now drained from his and Dom's faces as they watched in abject terror as their so called trump card was quite literally torn apart by the islands wild powerhouse. The right arm spat out the severed wing and both it and the main head opened their maws wide. The main head gathered a brilliant white energy, while the right hand began to glow with an intense red and blue lightning. Such incredible power, this pokémon was charging two moves at once.

Using the arm still clamped on, Hydreigon threw Druddigon upwards into the air, the right head aimed after it like a cannon and a fierce dragon pulse was unleashed. The round waves of draconic energy pierced and severely damaged the Druddigon as it was carried further skyward by the attack, but Hydreigon was not finished. With immense speed, its wings carried it skyward like lightning, it flashed up and flew above the Druddigon... and as the battered blue and red dragon reached the apex of its toss, Hydreigon was waiting.

And with a Hyper Beam fired from its main mouth, Druddigon was sent violently piercing into the stone floor below, the rock errupting around it and nearly skewering the pokémons trainers in the process.

As the dust and smoke cleared, Malcom and Dom stared at Druddigon. It wasn't merely unconscious, the poor thing was on the verge of death, barely breathing and showing signs of life. Unable to scream with the amount of abject terror, Malcom quickly returned Druddigon to its ball as Dom was already sprinting away. Hydreigon landed back in the clearing and its purple, empty eyes shot a glare of pure malice at the black suited human that remained. With a meek squeak and a quick stumble, Malcom sprinted off in the opposite question... the last thing anyone remaining heard was a weak threat to Raph and a weaker plead to Hydreigon that the wild dragon devour the young trainer from Wedgehurst instead of him.

As the battle finally wound down, Raph instinctively returned the two of his pokémon before they could complain... protecting them from further harm in the event that things went horribly wrong. Hydreigon slowly turned to face the human who now stood in its clearing. Its violent eyes scanned Raph up and down and a small vein twitched in its arm. It moved towards him slowly, raising one of its arms threateningly, which immediately made Raph feel the need to turn tail and run... but just a moment later it stopped. Raph followed its gaze and saw that the brutal pokémon was focused on his hand... and when Raph looked down to the hand in question he realized why. Blue berry juice, still clinging to his fingers.

With just that Hydreigon understood, Raph had saved him, just as he had saved Raph.

With a grunt, the pokémon turns from the human... and starts to raise up into the air, preparing to fly far and away from that island. It wouldn't have reason to return until it too had gotten stronger. Raph watched it slowly rise higher, the chance he had given up was getting more and more distant... and yet.

"Hydreigon!" He called out, his voice piercing across the snow. The dragon turned its main head slowly, looking with surprise and curiosity at the bold, weak creature now addressing it. "One day... I'll be stronger than this. I'll be strong enough to do whatever it takes, no matter what anyone says." He looks down at his berry discolored hand and clenches it into a fist, which he raises skyward towards Hydreigon with a confident, unfaltering gaze behind it. "When that day comes Hydreigon..! I'll find you... and I'll defeat you! Then I'll catch you fair and square, understand?!"

Hydreigon looked... mostly uninterested, but still, there was the tiniest spark in its eyes. The promise of a future fight, one worthy of its power? If this human could truly make such a promise and keep it then...

In solidarity, Hydreigon stretches its arm out, the one with stains of berry juice around the lips, mimicking the gesture Raph had made to it. As if to say that it would be waiting for the fateful day where they would meet again. Then without a single word or cry more between the two, Hydreigon took to the skies, soaring away until Raph could see him no longer.

Satisfied, Raph gave a small nod and held that same fist back to his chest, over his wounded heart.

It was time to get back on track.

MurkMire · Nov 14, 2020

Name: Clovis Solanine
Age: 20
Gender: ♂
Location: Wild Area; Lake Miloch
Current Party:

Chapter 2-1: Chazz It Up
and
Chapter 2-2: Additional Value

Clovis, after having waited for what felt like the longest ?? minutes of his young life, the train had arrived. But, because he was still stewing in his defeat against Melody. So, he was careful to slink his way onto the train without being noticed. To his knowledge, Clovis was able to enjoy a relaxing, quiet train ride with his partner. Both of them, having slept on the train peacefully.

When the train had reached it's destination, Clovis stepped out with a slight wooziness. "Hhhhaaaggghh... Cortex, did you sleep well?" A small coo could be heard, as the Blipbug stretched it's small body. "Well, Cortex, we need to find a new Pokemon to add to our ranks. After that Hoothoot debacle, we are sorely lacking in the team." Clovis, puffing his chest and taking a slight exhale, he strode off across the Wild Area... before any of the other trainers noticed him.

Silence. Clovis, with his head hung, just walked past any tall grass. He walked past any water sides, or any points of interest. Instead, Clovis just walked on, putting as much distance between him and the station as possible. "I need some time to think. Clearly, I need to reevaluate myself," he muttered, as he trod off. Cortex, instead of observing everything around him, just looked a bit saddened by what his trainer said to himself. But, instead of actually observing the Pokemon that littered the Wild Area, Clovis simply... walked on. "Rrrr?" Cortex tried to hang in front of his face, but... Cortex was met with sullen eyes that was glued to the ground. "We're just giving ourselves space from the ruffians... I'm fine, Cortex."

Sitting back onto his shoulder, Cortex just looked over at his concerned trainer. He could sense his doubt, but decided not to bother anymore. After the loss from earlier, Cortex also felt the sting that lingered in Clovis, all the same.

So, the two continued on. Across the Wild Area, Clovis was moreso in his own head than the reality of the world around him. The Giant's Seat seemed like a nice enough location, so Clovis continued to walk along Lake Miloch....

....

...

..

"WHY IS IT SO COLD?!"

Clovis, having realized he was walking right into a blizzard, was finally brought back to reality. The majority of Lake Miloch was experiencing cold weather. "Urgh, damnit!" Clovis hurriedly set his pack on the ground, pulling out a purple peacoat, green gloves and a black scarf. "Hah... thank you, grandfather. Admittedly, I do get stuck in my own head sometimes... Cortex, are you okay?" The Blipbug, before Clovis even realized it, wrapped a bit of the scarf around himself. All that could be seen was a bit of his round head, poking out of the scarf. "Well, we'll make it to the Giant's Seat soon enough."

But, before Clovis managed too much far forward, Clovis could hear an irritated, coarse voice. "Lousy scrubs... it's all their fault!" Thanks to the blizzard lightening up, Clovis could not only handle the less freezing climate, but could now see a young man tossing a handful of snow to the wayside.

"Lousy academy... lousy brothers... LOUSY J-"

But before the angry young man could finish, he noticed Clovis. "Hey, you. How much of that did you hear?" Stifling a chuckle, Clovis reclaimed himself and replied, "I heard a shout, so... I thought I'd... see the commotion." "Yeah, well, since you're here, you can help me out since you have nothing better to do," the young man barked back.

Scrunching an eyebrow, Clovis was offput by him. Spiky, forward styled hair, gray eyes, and a blue, long-tailed jacket. He wore black slacks, shoes, and was also adorned with a patterned blue scarf and black mittens. "I'm a very busy individual, I was on my way to the Giant's Seat before I came your way. What's in it for me?"

"Oh, you want compensation? Fine. Help me find my rolex, and I'll pay you handsomely, like me. Chazz Princeson. First," he mutters, pulling out a Big Pearl, somehow from his coat pocket. Upon seeing it, Clovis' eyes lit up. "Yeah, that's right. My allowance, I'll offer you. And a bonus, if you find the rolex before me. Now, start looking over there!"

"Sigh... I suppose I haven't a choice. Cortex, you can stay on my shoulder, this won't take long." As Clovis and Chazz searched through the snow, Cortex just eyeballed his surroundings through his scarf sanctuary. After a short time, he noticed... a yellow lump in the snow. Bags of what looked like Pokemon snacks, and various articles were strewn about on a stone. Supplies, a small black box, hair gel, a rather large comb, and more. A Pikachu could be seen, having what looks like a food coma. Happily laying there, on a small picnic blanket, drool rolling down it's face.

"Rrrrr, rrrr!" "Huh?" Clovis perked up, seeing the Pikachu that Cortex was calling attention to. "Don't mind the rat. IT'S the reason why my rolex is in the snow...." Chazz continued to bitterly dig and shovel, grumbling something about "some old man," "take care of this Pikachu," "this journey will change your life." Clovis didn't really bother to make any sense of it, but continued to shovel with his hands.

Clovis and Chazz, both annoyed at their predicament, started to yell, "WHERE IS THAT RO-"

chink

Both of them froze, the sound of metal chime echoed in the snowfall.

"Rrrr!"

Clovis caught a small, fine object in his hand. In the dim sunlight, the device glittered. "Hah! The rolex! C'mon, hand it over!" Clovis stood, and shook his head, before handing it over to Chazz. "Since I'm so generous, here's your payment, AND your bonus." Out of his coat, Chazz pulls out not only the Big Pearl from before, but... a sort of wreath? "This is what's called a 'Galarica Wreath,' but I have no use for it. I'm sure you'll figure something out. Now, try to forget this ever happened."

After strapping the rolex to his wrist, Chazz hastily grabbed his belongings and stuffed them in his bag. Last of which, being the Pikachu still happily sleeping wrapped up in the blanket. "Stinkin' rat...." Chazz promptly walks away, with a happy Pikachu in tow.

"Well... that happened," Clovis muttered, holding the two items in hand. "We can sell the pearl for a lot of money, but the wreath... it looks familiar. I'll have to research it later. Clovis shrugs off the encounter with Chazz Princeson, continuing his walk towards the Giant's Seat.

...
..
.

Clovis paused. "Wait a minute... was that individual carrying a deck box? I wonder if he plays card games?"

~~~At the Giant's Seat~~~

From the snowy blizzard, Clovis now found himself in the rain. At the Giant's Seat, Clovis took cover under a rock formation. "Why... why did I come here? What did this accomplish?!" Clovis pulled at his hair, beofre he began his deep breathing exercises, composing himself once more.

"It's fine... I wanted to come here to collect myself. Of course. Obviously. That's WHY I came here, after... well." Clovis muttered, turning to his partner, Cortex. However, he was sleeping to the sounds of the rainfall as he cozied himself in Clovis' scarf.

"Right." Clovis sat in silence. He, too, took in the sounds of rainfall, the pitter patter that graced the earth around him, and plopped into the lake. His eyes fell to the little black book, as he opened the page to the pencil-written entry about that Hoothoot. Slowly... he erased everything. "It's fine. It was weak. I don't have time for being weak."

The pages were a bit ridden with lead smears, but everything was erased. Immediately, Clovis put the book away, not wanting to look at it. Now, his eyes looked up to the sky, watching the occasional strike of lighting, anicipating each wave of thunder. Without pulling away his eyes, he pulled out a one of several manga. The title of the manga was Cardcaptor Buneary. Clovis held it close to his chest, as he looked on at the stormy, dark skies.

"-derrr"

"Huh?" A somewhat high-pitched sound could be heard from the lake shore. A Shellder, sitting there on the sand, stared at Clovis. Uncomfortably.

"Uh... hi." Clovis scooted himself back a bit. The Shellder hopped forward, matching Clovis. "C-Cortex... wake up," Clovis quietly pleaded.

"Shell-derrr."

It scooted itself forward again, halfway through the grass. About six feet away from Clovis. Not liking the creepy Shellder's unyielding stare, Clovis began to gently shake Cortex awake. "rr-Rrr?" A tired coo could be heard, Cortex rubbing it's eyes with his tiny nubs. "C-Cortex, use-"

"SHELL-DERRR!"

What sounded like a battle cry, the Shellder somehow spun around, and jettisoned itself towards Clovis and Cortex. However, both of them dodged the Tackle attack, strong enough to chip away the rock behind them. "Cortex, use Struggle Bug!" "RRrrrrrr!" Immediately, Shellder was struck repeatedly with green streaks of energy. It flew, and again, hit the rock wall again. "Derrrrrr!" Chunks of ice suddenly formed, hitting Cortex in the head. "Cortex, Recover!" Quickly, Cortex managed to heal over the damage taken.

"Struggle Bug!" And again, Shellder was flung against the wall like a hackey sack, hit by the Bug-type attack. Shellder's tongue hung limply, it's eyes shut from being knocked out. "Alright, well. No better time like the present. Pokeball!" Clovis swung, and threw the ball straight and true.

click, fwoosh

wiggle....
wiggle...
wiggle..

ding!

Slowly, Clovis approached the occupied Pokeball. He picked it up, and observed it curiously. "Huh. Didn't quite plan on that, but... I must've subcosnciously realized this Shellder would be a perfect fit. I mean... I AM a genius, after all! Hahahahaha!" Clovis laughed to himself, his confidence restored, he is now on his way to continue his journey.

Shak · Nov 14, 2020

Ruben Sancho

18 | Male | Footballer

Chapter 2- 2 | The Boys from Albyrn Crescent

Wedgehurst Town

"Sir, I meant no offence. Where you come from is none of my concern, I only need to know where you're entering the wild area from."

"Oh…" With flushed cheeks, an embarrassed Ruben stepped out of his confrontational stance and gave room to the acne ridden train station worker. He scanned the room in search of an escape, but instead what he found were more bones to pick with how the teen chose to conduct his 'random search'. "So, why didn't that guy have to explain where he was from?" He asked, pointing to a man lugging a suitcase along the Wild Area path.

"He had a ticket, which says his departure station and destination. You've got a free travel VIP pass."

"Oh…well I'm from Wedgeh-Motostoke. I'm from Motostoke. Sorry, it was a long return journey," Ruben said with a sigh. Any levity he wanted to retain in the situation was lost with yet another humiliation. His gaze fell upon the expanse of space that was the Wild Area. It was filled with bright eyed trainers who wandered off the path the moment they got the chance. It was filled with powerful pokemon that flew, swam, and ambled around as casually as a retail worker might in a town centre. It was filled with…pokemon rangers? Ruben assumed that was in case one of the pokemon was aggravated while too close to the path. "Why are you checking anyway?"

"Some dangerous people have been spotted in the area, so security is up. I wasn't making any assumptions based on your appearance…" The teen explained, arms out in defense of himself.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for accusing you," Ruben grumbled begrudgingly at the reminder of the incident that was barely a minute's past.

"Hold on mate, aren't you Ruben Sancho?" The teen asked as he stared more closely at Ruben's face.

"…what do you want me to sign?"

---

"Yo, it's SK the Artist, Motostoke's best. **** Lil' Boober, he's a punk. If it's important, chat to me, if not shut the **** up and wait for the beep."

"Oh, umm…yo, I know it's been a while but it's Rs bro. Hit me up when you get this. I'm in Motostoke next week, I'm trynna link up," Ruben explained with a gulp. He clutched the phone to his face, risking subtle glances at the high and mighty Wyndon girl that sat across from him. The two had released their partners since their argument and had been embracing the company of their respective pokemon in an attempt to prove they'd forgotten the person sitting across from them was even there. Ruben had noticed the little Poliwag looking over at Lesca curiously, while he had been doing the same to Catherine. Neither of the girls, human or pokemon, had any interest in giving their counterpart any attention. Once Lesca settled into her throne, she barely blessed Ruben with her attention, let alone the Poliwag. In turn, the trainer turned to his phone to find some comfort during his journey.

"Arse? I don't know no arse bro, try again," The hoarse voice crackled through the phone.

"Nooo, Rs bro, like the letter but plural." Ruben forced a laugh, checking whether or not Catherine was bearing witness to the embarrassing misunderstanding. "We used to roll, back in the days," the hopeful Wedgehurst resident continued to explain. The silence that followed was agonising. "It's Ruben Sancho!" He blurted out, surely cutting a frustrated figure to anyone who could see him in that moment. He could almost hear the rolling of Catherine's eyes.

"Ohhh, Swears? That's mad bro, congrats on your-am I a dickhead? What would Ruben Sancho be doing on my phone?"

"Nah, for real bro. You don't remember pink boots Rs? Used to destroy everyone in the cage on Albyrn Crescent. With the flap torn off the bottom," Ruben pleaded. Another silence encroached on Ruben's comfort. He waited with bated breaths.

"Swears? Oi Dapz, guess who's just belled man…I said guess fam…Aha, dickhead. **** Lil' Boober, guy's a melt. Nah bro, remember pink boots Rs? Imagine, he's Ruben Sancho. I swear to you I ain't lying, he's on my line now." As SK and Dapz shouted and hollered in disbelief, Ruben sat stonefaced on the other end of the phone. Of course that would hook them. Ruben Sancho was a kid that couldn't even afford a pair of football boots, yet here people were calling him spoiled today. He could hear the music playing in the background change as both men readied themselves to rap along. "I told the girl 'no bras in the Bando'. If that ***** give me lip, or her man talk ****, the stick bust shots like Ruben Sancho!" Ruben's expression faltered as he heard the song lyrics with his own name in. SK and Dapz raved and hollered again, this time hyping each other up. Even Ruben had to smile. "Say no more, I got a listening party for the new album, I want you there." SK explained, his voice projecting clearly through the phone mic again. "I'll drop you the location in a bit. Safe. Ruben Sancho, a Motostoke boy y'know. It's a shutdown." Without so much as another word, SK the Artist hung up, leaving Ruben on an empty line but with a grin on his face.

---

The sun peaked out from behind the structure of Motostoke's Gym Stadium. While Ruben prattled on about the amazing things they'd do once they got to Motostoke, Lesca nestled herself in a beautiful patch of flowers. All sorts of petals danced in the wind around her, only tethered by the stems that kept them close to the dirty soil beneath her feet. The little Bounsweet smiled as she finally found a spot just out of Ruben's earshot. He was so obsessed with that city of his, he hadn't realised the pokemon had fled in pursuit of peace.

Just as the tiny grass type felt herself finally closing her eyes, she was scooped up off the ground. She opened them again, expecting to see Ruben complaining about her not caring about his petty town, but instead...it was just sky. Beneath her was the true sight of horror. A fat ugly gray head, grotesque bulging red and yellow stomach, dirty contaminated brown ears, that stupid ugly gormless face; Lesca could feel her skin crawling.

Almost as quickly as the hulking creature arrived, it disappeared in a beam of red light. Lesca watched as the beam was sucked into a pokeball. It's thrower? Ruben Sancho. Her trainer. She looked between Ruben, then the pokeball, her expression the image of utter dread. She pedalled to the pokeball, as it wobbled once, as fast as her little legs could take her. With all her might, the fruit pokemon tried to snap the ball open as it wobbled a second time. Thankfully, the ball burst open and the hideous beast of a pokemon emerged again.

"Diggersby, The Digger Pokemon," Ruben's pokedex explained. "With power equal to an excavator, it can dig through dense bedrock. It's a huge help during tunnel construction." The description re-energised Ruben, the trainer drawing for a fresh ball with a renewed sense of vigour.

"What you sayin Lesca? We trynna bring the big boy back home?" Without a care for his pokemon's opinion, the trainer hustled toward the unsightly pokemon. "Argh!" Ruben cried out as he collapsed to the ground. Lesca held her ground beneath his cast boot, scowling at him as he turned to discover it was her that obstructed his path. "Lesca, if you injured me again…" He said with a threatening finger aimed at her. Not that it mattered. She got what she wanted. As Ruben turned around, he too saw that the Diggersby was gone. It scurried into the brush of trees that bordered the wild area's more newbie friendly pastures.

"Great. That and a huff were enough to tell Lesca Ruben wasn't pleased with her decision. Though, he knew she wouldn't care much…at least, he thought she wouldn't. The little pokemon stumbled up and snuggled under his outstretched arm. "I hope this isn't you being jealous. Don't think the club will take too kind to me only catching one pokemon on a soul-searching journey." He scoffed at his own words. Even if Lesca could understand in that much detail, he doubted she'd care. She just sat there with her eyes closed after all. "My ankle hurts, you know?" Still nothing. "I told the girl 'no bras in the Bando'. If that ***** gimme lip, or her man talk ****, the stick bust shots like Ruben Sancho." Ruben mumbled in the same tune that SK and Dapz had earlier. He looked down to Lesca again. Finally, she looked. It was little more than an irritated scowl, but it was a look. "What? It's catchy."

As he rolled his head and looked up again, he was this time met with a pair of brown tipped ears. Then another pair, and another pair and another…Ruben jumped up and turned to see a whole squadrant of Diggersby drooling over Lesca like a bunch of hungry dogs.

Ruben jumped to his feet in a flash and swung his cast laden leg for the head of the lead Diggersby. The hefty pokemon seized its opportunity and hopped out of its way, sending its herd in to attack. Without missing a beat, Ruben sprung of the floor and booted one of the Diggersby square in the face, both him and the pokemon crumbling and falling into a heap in pain.

"Hey!" A voice cracked through the tension of the moment. The collective of Diggersby reacted immediately, scurrying into the wilderness without a second thought. "We don't attack pokemon here!" The man called, coming into view atop a flaming dog pokemon.

Ruben, who was still clutching his ankle in pain, looked up at the man. He was a pokemon ranger. That much was clear from the iconic uniform and trademark red jacket. "Are you okay?" The Ranger asked. "Where are you coming from?"

Ruben stopped rolling. He stopped to look at the ranger for a moment, or rather, let the ranger get a better look at him. No response. Ruben barely stopped himself from smiling as the ranger offered him a hand in getting to his feet.

"I'm Ruben Sancho…from Motostoke."

gimmepie · Nov 14, 2020

Catherine Carlisle
18 | Female | From Wyndon

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Refresh

When it Rains...

Crack.

The deafening thunder followed another bright flash of lightning in the sky over Catherine. Her hair and clothes were thoroughly drenched, both plastered to her skin and she frequently felt shivers running up her spine and arms. Most irritatingly, the heavy rain had made seeing out her glasses impossible, so she'd placed them back in the case in her bag and was now seeing everything somewhat blurred.

Ordinarily, Catherine was fond of rain and stormy weather. Something about it helped her relax and find peace. These were not ordinary times though, because ordinary times involved her being indoors and comfortably warm and not out in the middle of nowhere being abused by mother nature.

Her mood had been even more sour than usual after the annoying train ride into the Wild Area across from Ruben and now, even days later, it persisted. In fact, Catherine's annoyance with the world had only increased tenfold and she found herself frequently cursing her parents in her mind. It was, after all, entirely their fault that she was stuck in such an unpleasant situation.

Conversely, Indra was in the best mood Catherine had seen him in. The little Poliwag was evidently much more comfortable out in the heavy rain that she was - not that this came as much as a surprise to her. She'd named him after a character with powers based on the rain and storms for a reason.

She wouldn't rush to admit it, but she couldn't deny to herself that his company did make things easier. There was something uplifting about watching her cute companion blissfully frollicking about in the rain; leaping about, pirouetting like he was attempting to recreate Singing in the Rain and gleefully jumping into every puddle they came across. It took the edge off her bitter disposition just a little.

Crack.

The fact did remain though, she was currently sopping wet, cold and - because she had made a conscious effort not to be stuck going the same way as Ruben - had ended up in the Giant's Seat instead of heading straight down the middle of the Wild Area like she'd planned.

Lightning flashed again, illuminating the crags and grasslands that made up the segment of the Wild Area she'd found herself in. Strangely though, a second flash of a different colour had followed closely behind in the distance. This didn't seem like lightning though, if anything it seemed almost like the illumination caused by flames… except the colour was wrong.

"Poli?" Indra chimed, cheerily hopping up to her from where he'd been ahead of her. He rotated his body in the direction of the flash.

Catherine supposed that he may have been asking about it, or voicing a desire to head in that direction. She really had no idea how some people could interpret their Pokemon's gestures and sounds so easily.

"I don't know what that is," Catherine said, "Might've been a Pokemon doing something. Either way, we've got to keep going that way because I'm not going to turn back and add even more time to this wonderful adventure."

"Poli." Curiously, Indra didn't run off ahead this time. While still enjoying the rain, he kept much closer to Catherine's heels. She wasn't totally sure how to interpret that.

With a job to do though, they pressed on, moving deeper into the Wild Area ahead of them. Although it was only early afternoon, the thick stormcloud ahead had the landscape so dark it felt like it was much later. Still, the darkness was routinely illuminated by a flash of lightning or by the now more frequent bursts of colour they were headed towards.

It was nearly an hour later when Indra and Catherine found the source of the strange flashes. Catherine stopped in place, mouth dropping open, Indra continuing forward a few more steps before he too stopped.

In front of her a tiny Horsea, inexplicably far away from any water source, was unleashing torrent after torrent of violet-coloured, flamelike Dragon Breaths at its far larger opponent: a blue-skinned, red-winged Dragon Pokemon that was emanating a low rumbling growl.

"Poli!" Indra exclaimed with alarm.

"Is that thing out of its mind?!" Catherine asked, shocked. "It's going to get itself killed."

The Horsea was already looking worse for wear and despite Dragon Pokemon being weak against moves of their own typing, the Salamence was shrugging off the repeated Dragon Breaths without concern, not even bothering to take to the air and dodge.

Every now and then, the larger Dragon type would swat the Horsea aside, not even bothering to use a proper move against the weaker Pokemon. It was clearly just playing with its inferior foe for its own amusement. Yet the Horsea wouldn't stay down, stubbornly refusing to concede or flee.

"Poli?" Indra asked. For once, Catherine felt like she got the vibe of what the Water type was saying.

"If we get involved, we're just going to get ourselves killed too," Catherine replied, "Besides, it's not like it would be jumping in for us."

Catherine turned to walk away from the battle that was unfolding, but found herself stopping in place again as an irritatingly familiar voice echoed in her head.

"So what makes you so much better than us? You're levitating above the rest of us because what?"

For a second, she considered turning back around, but then the decision was made for her regardless.

"Seeeeeeaaaaaaaaaa!"

The sound got rapidly louder. Catherine whirled around just in time to see the Horsea as it collided with her and knocked her onto the muddy grass. Then she saw the Salamence stalking towards them.

"Poli!" Indra squeaked with alarm.

"Oh shit."

Spoiler: Inventory

Sonata · Nov 16, 2020

tw: victim shaming in the spoiler. its only two sentences.

Rosa Valdés // 17

CHAPTER 2.4 - Ranger Danger PT.1

Spoiler:

Rosa shot up from her resting place. She gasped for breath as she clenched her chest, her eyes frantically darting around the still and empty night. After a few moments had passed, she moved her hand to rub against her cheek and closed her eyes. A tear streamed down from the corner of her eye and traced around the tips of her fingers as she held her hand in place. She brought her other hand up to hold on to her wrist and took a few quick, shallow, and shaky breaths which threatened to break her down if they were made to be any larger. Her whole body was shaking as she pulled her hand away and stared at it. She measured the length of her fingers with her other hand, twisting and rolling her digits between her fingertips as she intently felt them.

"I have grown." She paused for a few seconds, momentarily drifting off to some faraway place as she stared beyond her hand. "Now, they're like hers... " she muttered as she laid back down to rest.

Her Pokemon had been let loose to cuddle up next to her, and despite her sudden outburst, neither had awoken. It had been a long day for all three of them. She gazed up at the stars, watching for a few moments as the first rays of light began to change the sky a beautiful and soft pinkish color.

"The light of the morn' threatens away the stars of the night." she mused, speaking poetic to no-one in particular. "One by one, their lights are dimmed. Each are forced to disappear, losing their brilliance as they take to the shadow of the day." She took a deep breath and then sighed. "If I were a star, perhaps everything else in my life would make a little more sense." Rosa wrapped her arms around Wyatt and pulled the Pokemon into her chest, drawing herself into a fetal position as she drifted off back to sleep.

------

The sun was high above her now, and its warm rays had begun to slowly give way to the chill of a wintry phenomenon. The light which was bouncing off of the field of white ahead of her was blinding, but she had come prepared.

"I knew the Wild Area was prone to these types of wildly contrasting climates, but I never expected it to be so widespread. We'd learned about environmental Pokemon abilities in class, but this goes well and beyond even that."

Rosa slowed the bike to a halt and attempted to reposition herself upon the seat. She was small enough that she could almost rest her heels on the seat cushion, but the slickness of her heels caused whatever grip she'd acquired to slip away. Boots would have been a good option if she was going to be trekking through the snow on foot, but now that she had a bike she was somewhat regretting her decision. The only other footwear she had were those... but she didn't intend to don them until the opening ceremony. Besides, they wouldn't better her current situation any more than the boots.

"Deli, deli,deli."

The young girl sighed as a man walked briskly past her. She hadn't a moment to take in his features before recognition struck her. Her father's laugh echoed momentarily in her head as she gazed upon the insignia on the back of the man's jacket. She gripped her chest, falling off of her bike and into the sparsely scattered snow which had been blown into the conflicting climate.

The Ranger spun around, noticing the young girl who had fallen off her bike. His face quickly changed from one that seemed to be lost in thought, to one of thorough panic. "Oh my, I'm so sorry! Did I bump into you! I'm so sorry! I was just off in my own little world." The Ranger quickly placed his hands onto Rosa's shoulders, attempting to lift her up before his hands were batted away.

"Aaah!" She screamed, her eyes filled with tears. "Please! No more! Get away!" Her exclamations shifted to whimpers as she shrunk in on herself, gripping at her shoulders as she struggled to control her emotions.

The Ranger took a half-step back, momentarily caught off guard before taking a knee. The man brought himself to eye level with the young girl and dug around in his pocket before extending his hand once more. "Here, use this."

Rosa's head shakily rose to meet the man's eyes. Her own then slowly trailed along his outstretched arm before resting on a small handkerchief. She shakily extended her hand, gently taking the flowery cloth and dabbing at her eyes with it. The Ranger smiled, dropping his hand and pulling his other leg back to match the first in a kneel before sitting on his heels. The man followed this by solemnly bowed his head.

"My apologies."

"Deli, deli?"

His voice was clear of any gravel or hoarseness. It was not broad or haughty, but soft and polite. He only spoke those two words to her. And even as Rosa took several minutes to regain her own composure, the man never once moved.

Rosa smiled weakly. "It's alright. All is forgiven."

"Deli."

The Ranger breathed a sigh of relief and then raised his head, locking eyes with the young girl. "Great. If Momma ever found out that I'd made a girl scream, much less cry, I'd be stuck in one'a her lessons for hours."

"So, you're a Ranger?" Rosa asked, motioning towards the emblem on the man's jacket.

The Ranger nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'm Nat Crosswall, a member of the four-forty-fifth."

"Deli... deli?"

Rosa nodded. "I… recognized the insignia on your jacket. It brought back some memories for me."

"Ah, so you're personally familiar with the Rangers? That's great!"

Rosa winced. "Yeah, my dad was…"

Nat rose quickly to his feet. "If you're familiar with us, then that clears this all up a little bit better."

Rosa tilted her head slightly, watching as the man quickly threw away the disciplined politeness the second she mentioned a familiarity with his organization. "What do you mean that clears this up?"

"Well, obviously it means that you know I'm not a bad person. We Rangers are good people who keep the balance out here in the Wild Areas and all across the world. So you sh-"

"Sorry, but just because you do good things that doesn't make you a good person," Rosa interjected bluntly. The thought had crossed her mind for a moment to put on the front of an injured and innocent little girl, but she just couldn't in the face of Nat's arrogance.

"Deli."

"What do you mean by that?" This time, Nat's head had cocked slightly, watching as Rosa rose to her feet and picked up her bicycle.

"I mean what I said," she retorted, patting her hair to make sure the bun hadn't fallen apart. "Just because you travel the world and do good things, that doesn't mean you're inherently a good person. It just means you're altruistic in your employment. The person you are at home and the person you are in the field can be quite dichotomous."

The young man scratched at his head. "I dunno. I think that keeping something like that up for too long would just be tiring." Nat started to pace slowly through the snow, breaking the silence of the encounter with a number of 'hmms' as Rosa's blank glare unknowingly bore into his character, trying as best it could to break him down to his core components. "Tell you what," he said softly as he slowed to a halt. "How 'bout you come off with me?"

Rosa's concentration was broken. "What?" She replied, flabbergasted.

"Deli deli deli?"

"Yeah! That's what we'll do. You can come off with me on this mission, and I'll try and ease some of your concerns, yea?"

Rosa shook her head and backed away slowly. "Look, I barely even know you to begin with. I have my doubts about you Rangers so-"

The man rushed up and grabbed Rosa by the hand. "Yeah! Exactly my point! Me telling you things isn't going to change how you feel, but if I show you what I'm all about that should ease your tensions, right?"

"Deli!!"

"But… my bike…"

"Ahh, we won't be long. Just come back for it, yeah? Besides, I've been on this mission for a while and haven't found anything yet. I doubt I'll get any clues in this snow either, so we're just gonna go through the motions, aight?"

"What's the point of taking me with you if you're not even going to be serious about your mission?"

"What's the worry?" Nat looked back at her, having dragged her out into the thickening snow. His face was alight with joy. His teeth were perfectly straight and as white as could be, complimenting the dark tan he'd earned from weeks of working in the sun. He was tall, taller than Rosa at least, but the margin wasn't so large that he had to actively look down on her.

Rosa searched for a reason to deny the man, but everything she could come up with was too personal to reveal to a stranger. The girl sighed, feeling her pocket with her free hand. If worst came to worst, she could at least defend herself now. "Fine. But only for a little bit."

"Alright!" Nat did a short little excited hop, pulling Rosa forward as he rose off the ground. "Let's go search for clues! Maybe you'll be my lucky charm, eh?"

"Deli ."

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

gimmepie · Nov 16, 2020

Catherine Carlisle
18 | Female | From Wyndon

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Refresh

It Roars

Catherine shoved the Horsea off of her to the side and scrambled back, pulling herself into a crouch. She wasn't sure if it was better to run or stay still and submissive at that point. The Salamence continued stalking towards them, taking its time as if it knew they couldn't get away if they tried.

"Poli!" Aided by the rain, Indra was between the hulking Dragon and his trainer before Catherine even really registered her partner moving towards her. He was shouting at the Dragon frantically, but the Salamence seemingly didn't care. "Poli!"

"What are you doing?!" Catherine yelled at the Poliwag, "Making it mad is not going to help."

"Poli."

"Sea!"

"What?!'

Catherine looked to the side just in time to the battered Horsea leap up and blast the Salamence with another Dragon Breath. The torrent continued but it barely slowed the Salamence down as it shook it off.

The Salamence growled. Now it was moving towards them much faster.

"You're going to get us all killed!"

The Salamence lunged forward in the direction of the three of them. Catherine yelled to scatter as she dived to the side, hitting the wet earth uncomfortably hard and she heard the loud slamming sound of the ground behind her being struck.

The Salamence stopped for a moment, looking between her, the Goomy and Indra as it tried to decide which target to go for. It quickly rounded back on the Horsea, the smaller Pokemon still refusing to back down even as death itself started marching towards it.

As it stalked towards its victim, the Salamence pulled it head back and then opened its mouth wide, bathing the area in front of it in a torrent of blazing fire. The Horsea retaliated, spitting a jet of water into the flame. Steam rose from the colliding attacks, but despite the rain and type advantage, the Water Gun was getting overpowered.

"Poli!" A surge of bubbles collided with the Flamethrower from Indra's direction, the added Water attack being enough to disperse the flames in a violent billowing of steam that partially concealed all from view.

"We're running out of opportunities to make a break for it here!" Catherine yelled at her Pokemon, climbing to her feet.

The steam cleared quickly to reveal that Catherine was entirely right. That stunt had earned Indra the Salamence's ire and now it had turned its attention to him. Despite his earlier bravado, Idra seemed frozen with fear now.

"Move!" Catherine ordered.

Indra snapped back to attention and shot off out of the way, his Swift Swim boosted Speed allowing him to just barely avoid a Headbut as the Salamence dove for him.

The Horsea interjected again, blasting the big Dragon with another torrent of purple, flame-like energy as Indra stopped beside it. The Salamence roared with annoyance as it turned and dashed towards them again.

Both of the smaller Pokemon leapt to the side as with a spray of mud and debris, the Salamence slammed down between them. The Horsea attacked again with a Water Gun, but simply bounced off of the Salamence.

In return, the Salamence tried to Crunch down on the squishy Horsea with its fearsome fangs.

"Hit the Horsea!" Catherine yelled, more by instinct than anything. Blissfully though, Indra didn't hesitate.

Indra threw himself to the side to get the angle he needed and blasted the Horsea with a Bubblebeam, the attack knocking it out of the way. The Salamence's jaw slammed shut on bubbles instead.

Another Dragon Breath hit the side of the Salamence's head and again it simply shook it off, type-effectiveness meaning nothing to such a wide gap in power. It attacked the Horsea with a Headbutt, this time making contact and knocking it flying into the mud besides Catherine.

She watched as the Horsea shakily pulled itself back up. It was obvious that it was running on determination alone at this point, but to her incredulity it refused to give up. It was clear that the Horsea intended to fight to death, and now it seemed Indra was determined to aid it.

Her Poliwag slammed its tail into the Salamence repeatedly before being smashed into the ground, leaving a muddy crater beneath him.

It was clear that the fight was unwinnable, but also clear that the Horsea wouldn't leave voluntarily, which meant Indra probably wouldn't either. So if she wanted to get out of there, Catherine had one choice.

"Sorry, but this is the only way we get out of here alive," Catherine said, Pokeball in hand. "Get back over here, Indra!"

Indra made a mad dash in her direction, Salamence hot on his tails. The Horsea started forward again, barely able to keep moving but determined to get back in the fight. Catherine tossed the ball.

The Salamence lunged, hitting the ground where the Horsea used to be as it was drawn into the empty Pokeball, knocking it rolling in her direction even as it shook.

Indra, now at her side, looked at her with surprise and confusion.

"Not the time for questions," Catherine said, the Salamence roaring with immense fury even as she said it.

The Dragon started running in their direction, extending its wings out in preparation for taking to the air. It was done playing games now.

"Hypnosis!" Catherine shouted, already backing away.

Indra, with a terrified look on his face, stood his ground. His eyes glowed a dim, sleepy blue as did the spiral on his belly, the marking almost seeming to move. The Salamence lifted off… then crashed immediately into the mud with a half-snort, half-snore. A brief reflection of the blue glow could be seen in its eyes before its lids shut.

"Poli!" Indra cheered.

"Celebrate later. Run now." Catherine took off at a sprint, gasping for air as she legged it through the rain with Indra quickly catching up and keeping pace beside her. "So glad my parents decided to force me into this!"

Horsea (Male, Swift Swim) - Water Gun, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath

Spoiler: Inventory

PastelPhoenix · Nov 16, 2020

Achille Béringer || 18 || ♂️
Location: Wild Area (Giant's Seat)
Current Status: About to die?

Joiuse - Shadow Sneak, Fury Cutter, Autotomize, Metal Sound, Block, Aerial Ace

Proudhon - Tackle, Splash, Thrash

Light barely reached inside the cave and Achille's eyes strained to make out the shifting shapes inside. The footsteps in the dark grew louder and louder and his heartbeat raced higher with each step. He wanted to reach out and grab Joiuse for defence, but she would be able to fight better on her own. Proudhon would make a good bat, but the fish would probably spend more time fighting Achille than acting as a useful weapon.

So he waited. Backed against the tarp wall while the footsteps echoed closer. While a murky figure in the blackness slowly grew in shape and became more humanoid. Achille lifted his finger, ready to give a command as soon as it stepped into the light.

Thud. Three footsteps away. Thud. Just two now. THUD. One more…

"AERIAL AAAA- NO. He's human!" Achille shouted as the figure stepped into the light. Rather than the bloodthirsty Machamp he was expecting, he found a perfectly respectable gentleman wearing mud-caked workers boots.

Tall, thin, graying, bespectacled and with a finely trimmed moustache, the man reminded Achille of a professor more than a laborer in a cave. The man was wearing a pair of khaki coveralls and a pit helmet in addition to his boots, which made him second guess that assumption. The fact he could see what appeared to be a nice sweater vest and tie under the coveralls brought a third twist to this confusion.

"Well, I do suppose it is quite stormy out there." The man said, after a moment of shock at seeing a stranger inside his dig site. "Hello, I am Barnabus Johnson. This is my worksite. May I have the pleasure of your name?"

Holy shit, this guy is polite. The tension in his body released, but his heart continued to pound. "Apologies for the intrusion," he slipped into his formal tone unconsciously, "Achille Béringer. This was the only shelter I could see." He motioned for his pokemon to relax, as Joiuse still eyed the stranger with suspicion.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Béringer. I apologize for the apparent scare, feel free to stay here while this awful storm passes." Johnson said in a gentle tone of voice.

He excused himself before squeezing past Achille to enter the small tarp "room" proper. He made his way over to the small pile of digging tools, kneeling down and grabbing a hold of a drab green camping backpack that Achille had overlooked earlier. He rummaged through the contents of the rucksack, finally finding and pulling out a spare set of small batteries. He replaced the batteries on the small LED headlamp attached to the pit helmet, and the previously unpowered device lit up.

"Now tell me Mr. Béringer," the gentleman began, replacing the pack of batteries into their place in the bag, "I see your two companions and have to ask if you may be a Pokemon trainer." He pulled a second pit helmet from the large camping back and set it aside before cinching the bag closed again.

"Yeah, I am." Achille answered. Why was I being so formal, I'm not at home. "I guess that would be pretty obvious though."

"Well then, I have a proposition for you. Why don't I pay you to act as my guard through this cave today."

The offer flabbergasted Achille, who expected the old man to want a battle with the way he started that request. "I suppose I am not opposed to the offer." He responded. Why the hell not, earn some easy money. "But you have a digging crew already down there, non?"

"A crew?" The man sounded confused. "No, no, they won't be here for at least another day with this storm. They'll bring their own guard pokemon and we'll map out this new cave then. I'm here doing the prepwork for the actual investigation by myself for the time being." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wait, you're here alone alone? No pokemon at all?"

"Of course, why would I seek to hire the expertise of a trainer otherwise?" With everything back in place and his supplies restocked, Johnson stood up and offered the pit helmet to Achille. "Help me find two fossils in this cave and one of them will be yours. My project is a bit scrapped for cash, so I hope this payment will be satisfactory. I'll even use my expertise to revive it into a living, breathing Pokemon if you visit my lab in Turffield."

Nom de dieu, this man is going to get himself killed in there. Still, Achille was tempted by the man's offer. Fossil pokemon were pretty hard to come by, even with the advances in restoration technology. "That works for me. Any idea where these fossils are?" He said as he donned the offered helmet and turned on the head lamp.

"Not quite, but I do see a place that looks promising." Johnson passed a shovel to Achille while he himself grabbed a pickaxe. "I'll only trouble you to follow me for a few hours. No need to take up all your time humoring me."

Johnson walked over to the cave entrance and motioned for Achille to follow. Hoisting the shovel over his shoulder and tucking Proudhon under his arm, Achille followed into the darkness.

------------------------------

"So, why exactly are these fossils so important that you could not wait for your crew?" Achille finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Johnson had led Achille through the cavern with a practiced ease while the rich kid struggled with the uneven sloping floor and poor lighting. The two had mostly done without small talk, aside from Johnson occasionally pointing out something in the cave he found interesting. Achille didn't quite get everything the man said, but he did explain everything in a way that let him get the gist of it with a sort of professor like authority.

"Well, the biggest issue currently is that a large cave is bound to attract Pokemon from outside," Johnson explained, stopping to check over a marking on the cave wall. "Once they are inside I worry they could severely impede our ability to adequately explore the entirety of the cave. The fossils could very well be damaged by certain types of pokemon and pokemon fighting over new territory in this cave. Rock and ground types in particular can be a nuisance."

Seemingly happy with the information he could gleam out of the cave marking, Johnson made a few notes in a leather-clad journal. Notes complete, he continued down the cave path. "Now, what I hope to find in here is proof that the Galarian fossil record is woefully incomplete. I can tell from your accent that you hail from Kalos."

"Oui." Achille replied, eager to keep the conversation going. The darkness and silence of the cave were starting to do a number on his nerves. He could swear there was a slight motion to the air inside the cave, but it felt like it was coming from further inside the cave and not the entrance. Occasionally he swore he could hear a small squeak in the darkness, but it very well could be also coming from his still damp shoes against the stone.

Achille did find some comfort in how Johnson seemed to not react as if these were out of the ordinary though. "Well, I'm sure you know that Galar and Kalos were once close enough for Pokemon to freely travel between the two," the man continued on, now focusing on a scattering of pebbles across the floor. "Despite this, we have found no evidence of some pokemon we would normally expect to see from such an exchange. For example, Tyrantrum would have found prehistoric Galar a perfectly suitable home and very few species already here would have been able to force the Pokemon out. I suspect this area in particular is a likely candidate to provide some evidence of these Pokemon existing in Galar.

"Oh, and don't be alarmed. I think we have a guest." Johnson concluded as something shot up the back of Achille's jacket.

"MERDE MERDE MERDE MERDE WHAT THE FUCK CRAWLED UP MY BACK!" Achille shouted at a volume he didn't know he was capable of making. His shovel clattered to the ground loudly as tossed it aside in favor of trying to grab the fuzzy, squirming creature in his shirt. He somehow didn't toss Proudhon with the shovel, although the Magikarp bit onto his jacket just in case. Joiuse darted around behind him, trying to find a way to assist her trainer without also flat out hitting him too. Achille was powerless to do anything but let fly a string of vulgarities and panic noises as the creature moved across his back and towards his side.

"Relax Mr. Béringer," Johnson said in an unhelpfully calm tone while the creature made its way to Achille's chest. "If I am not mistaken our little friend is a Noibat. A rather harmless dragon-type."

Right on queue the Pokemon poked its head out of Achille's shirt. Looking down, Achille confirmed it was the same small purple bat he'd seen several times back in Galar. He had forgotten about the headlamp, and the Noibat shielded its eyes from the bright light with its wings. Realizing his mistake, Achille snapped his head forward again. "Sorry."

"Besides, the real problem is probably the Noivern following it." Johnson added, and Achille felt his stomach drop.

"What do you mean there's a Noivern in here?" Achille angrily hissed. Those things were, as he understood, really fucking dangerous. "That's a pretty big enculé to just hiding here isn't it?"

"Indeed it is a rather large predator." Johnson spoke in a tone completely unbefitting a man potentially being stalked in the darkness by a nearly 5-foot-tall predatory bat. "The fact it can climb and glide around a cave environment near silently while also being capable of producing sounds loud enough to disorient its prey is rather remarkable."

"Yes, yes, very cool. Why is it here then? Why is it chasing a Noibat?"

Johnson looked over at the tiny bat, and then towards an area of the cave with more of the scuff marks on the walls he identified earlier. He began to pace while giving his explanation. "Well, Noibat and Noivern are typically fine living in close proximity to each other while food is plentiful. In times when available prey is low, like in isolated caves such as this, the group will begin to force out members to maintain their own feeding grounds. The Noivern in the area will fight each other first. If it's down to the last Noivern and there still isn't enough food, then the Noibats will be forced out. The only major exception is that a mother will leave before forcing out her own young from their nest."

Johnson came to a stop and looked towards the floor once more, illuminating the scattered pebbles. "Considering that appears to have been a nest, I'd wager that the little one's sibling has just evolved and is looking to secure a hunting ground of their own. Keep everyone here in your sight."

Achille kept his head turned towards the older man and Joiuse. The sword Pokemon had taken a defensive stance near Johnson and her eye shifted around, watching the darkness warily. Achille reached for his Pokedex with shaky hands. If he was stuck here with it, he wanted to know what it was capable of. He grabbed the device with a tight grip, afraid he'd never be able to find it in this cave again.

The Noibat retreated back inside his shirt and trembled in fear against his chest. The thought of the thing chasing it being its own sibling pissed Achille off something fierce, and he felt his grip on Proudhon and the Pokedex tighten the more he thought about it.

Then something bolted out of the darkness. He was thrown onto his back by a hard hit on his stomach. The wind left his lungs, and something heavy pinned him to the ground. Without his glasses the source of the hot, humid air hitting his face was blurry. Wheezing and unable to catch his breath with the beast atop him, Achille didn't even have the strength to shove it away. His saving grace was that the creature was more interested in sniffing for its sibling than finishing it's captive.

Another blur shot out of the darkness; an orange one this time. The blur slammed into the Noivern's face, knocking off of the pinned teen. The beast let out a startled hiss, and retreated into the darkness again. Now lying on top of Achille was Proudhon, who had successfully launched a tackle from the dry land.

Achille let out a quiet merci for the assistance between wheezes, and he heard the sound of Johnson coming to assist. The researcher helped the trainer to his feet, and Achille began to feel like he could breathe again. "How do… We win again… that?" He said between deep breaths.

"It looks like it's too young to use Boomburst, so we don't have to worry about that. We'll still want to keep it close to us so it can't just harass us from the darkness. It's also not fighting to kill, it's fighting to intimidate. A few more exchanges where it loses should convince it that we're too much trouble right now."

"Get close and be a pain in it's ass," Achille said in summary, pocketing his Pokedex again. "I think we can do that." He confirmed that Proudhon was still in fighting shape, and Joiuse kept her guard over the now together group. "Proudhon, ami," he asked in a low tone, "may I ask you to act as the bait? Joiuse, preemptively use autotomize and get ready for my command."

Illuminating a spot on the floor a few feet out, Achille lightly tossed the fish into the makeshift spotlight. The Magikarp gave a few ineffective Splashes to draw in the lurking Noivern's attention. While Proudhon made himself an appealing target, Joiuse removed her sheath and tossed it aside. She was now significantly faster and lighter, ready to intercept the Noivern.

There was a small thud from the wall to their left as the bat Pokemon launched it's attack. Time seemed to crawl as they waited to see if the Noivern took the bait, or decided to go after the Noibat again. After what felt like several minutes, but couldn't have been longer than a few seconds, purple blur appeared in the Proudhon spotlight.

"Block it and keep it from leaving the spotlight!" He commanded Joiuse. The Honedge shot off after the Noivern, ending up behind its foe right as the surprise Bite attack connected with Proudhon. The 'karp winced from the bite, but refrained from yelling out in pain. The Noivern crouched in the middle of the spotlight with the Magikarp in its mouth. It was unable to take off with the water pokemon though, as Joiuse moved in an incredibly fast circle around the beast, cut off from an exit route.

Confused and looking around for a way out, the Noivern did not notice the sly look in the eye of it's captive Magikarp. With a sudden thrash, Proudhon broke free and began to wildly Flail around the spotlight. The Noivern suddenly became the captive one as powerful and desperate blows from the Magikarp came from every which angle and the Honedge continued it's shark-like circling. The onslaught continued for several seconds before the bat released a shockwave of pinkish-purple energy from its mouth. Proudhon collided with the Dragon Pulse and was launched into the darkness, loudly impacting against something.

"Shit!" Achille expected it to get desperate and lash out, but that still looked like it could have really injured Proudhon. "I think it got the point, Joiuse. Send it packing now!"

Joiuse continued her circle long enough to come back in front of the spotlight before launching a Shadow Sneak. Spikes of shadow erupted from below the Noivern. It wasn't enough to finish the creature, but after the Flail assault the wild Pokemon appeared to have learned its lesson. The Noivern scrambled into the darkness and, from what it sounded like, away from them entirely.

"I think that pest is long gone. Good show Mr. Béringer." Johnson congratulated. Achille was more focused on locating Proudhon to respond, however. He swept over the floor around where it sounded like he fell, but wasn't able to see much beyond an even more dilapidated pebble nest.

"Proudhon?" Achille asked nervously. He better be playing a joke on me.

The pile of pebbles began to move at mention of the Magikarp. Achille rushed over to the nest and called the professor over as well. The fish wasn't buried too deep, but the force of the Dragon Pulse did effectively bury him out of sight. "You okay ami?"

"Karp." Proudhon responded in a "it's no big deal" manner. Achille breathed a sigh of relief and recalled the Pokemon. He pocketed the Pokeball to let the Magikarp rest while they left the cave.

"Well, I guess this mission is a bust then." Achille said with a sigh. He was looking forward to the payment, but he wasn't comfortable continuing on with the Noivern potentially coming back.

"I wouldn't be in such a hurry to write this off." Johnson continued to dig through the pebbles, uncovering a pair of rocks that looked like large jawbones. "It looks like this nest wasn't just a Noibat nest. I'd wager these are the Tyrunts we have been looking for. Grab that shovel and help me extract these before we're interrupted again."

------------------------------

Achille was never as happy to see a horrific rainstorm as he was just now. Rain still pelted the tarp as they emerged from the cave, but he'd rather get a little wet over getting tackled by a Noivern any day. He took off his pit helmet and handed it back to Johnson while running his fingers through his now disheveled hair.

Johnson grabbed his rucksack again, placing both helmets inside and removing a piece of tough-looking white cloth. He carefully wrapped one of the extracted fossils and handed it to Achille before doing the same to his share of the reward and tucking it away. "Good pay for a good day's work, Mr. Béringer."

Achille went to put the fossil away in his bag before he remembered the Noibat still tucked away in his shirt. The poor Pokemon had fallen asleep not long after the fight where it hid. He carefully removed the sleeping Pokemon without disturbing it too much. He slowly set the bat on the ground below and placed the fossil into his bag.

"And what do we plan to do with her?" Johnson said behind him. Achille looked back in confusion. "The Noibat. Now that I can get a good look she appears to be female."

"I'm not sure," Achille admitted. He did feel bad for the Pokemon, but he hadn't really entered this cave looking for a new teammate. Besides, he knew nothing about the Noibat aside from it had some sibling troubles, much less if it wanted to join him. "Shouldn't we return her to the cave? We did scare the Noivern off, so isn't it hers?"

Johnson frowned and looked over the sleeping bat. "Sadly no. I'd imagine her brother would show back up to reclaim the spot soon. If not him, then some other larger Pokemon." The white haired researcher looked out of the entrance flap of the tarp, checking the storm, Achille assumed. "Besides, your entire attitude seemed to change once I mentioned the connection between the two Pokemon. I imagine it might be beneficial to the little one to have someone willing to get angry on her behalf like that." The man sighed and closed the flap.

He felt a small amount of the anger he felt in that moment return. He looked over the sleeping Noibat and felt sorry for the creature all over again. "Alright, I guess I'll take her then." He decided. "Now, you said to meet you at Turffield to actually revive this fossil?"

"Yes, I'll return there once I get things started with the digging crew here. I should be there long enough that we cross paths again.

"Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Béringer. If you spot any of my colleagues and they offer to revive that fossil before you meet with me again, please don't accept their offer. Arceus knows that woman would try to use it to graft Tyrantum claws onto a Kabutops's scythes, or something else incredibly stupid."

New Pokemon:

Alizé
Female // Infiltrator
Absorb // Tackle // Gust // Supersonic // Double Team // Wing Attack

Inventory:

Spoiler:

OrangeBlossom · Nov 16, 2020

Dozing off on a long train ride, it's pretty normal. A long dream about his time back home, carrying buckets of food to feed the Pokémon. The sun on his face, coming back to the slimey 'mon he's come to love. Cleaning his home... It was a boring dream, all in all, replaying old memories. He wakes with a wide yawn, a smack of full lips before he looks blearily out the window. Still on the move, he rolls his shoulders as he sits up and kicks his own bag that he left on the floor. That's right, he'd done minor shopping before getting on the train early. It didn't leave immediately and he'd gone to sleep. A lazy-bones way of leaving Wedgehurst but the years there had been more tiring than the labor in Alola. Lots of brainwork, lots of learning more about Pokémon.

He's hoping, maybe, despite school being over that the friends he made there will still talk to him. He loved, absolutely loved taking their pictures with their Pokemon. Holiday cards with little photos of Goomy. Who knows, maybe they tossed them. It's not that he was easy to get to know, anyway, he never looked up from his notes. It is hard to look at people, it still is hard to even look at Goomy sometimes... He rubs his eyes while staring out the window. Alright, he's mostly hoping that Melody or Haleigh will still talk to him. Thick as thieves, those two. Melody and him did a fair amount of projects together. He often stared because of her clothes. Black, skulls. He couldn't help himself one day:

"Aren't you hot in that?"
"Um... No."
"You sure? Lotsa darks on you..."
"You've never been to Spikemuth, have you? We don't believe in the light."
"No, ma'am... Wedgehurst is the farthest I've come. What's wrong with the light?
"Oh, so you wouldn't know that everyone from Spikemuth is a vampire."

Smiling fondly, he gets up and peels Goomy from the back of the seat to rest her on his shoulder. Maybe he should explore the train a bit, there's got to be an a few minutes before they hit the Wild Area. He slings his bag into his seat and heads down the aisle. No reason to worry about his stuff, people from Wedgehurst weren't criminials or anything. Besides, nobody needs his underwear and supplies but himself.

Sonata · Nov 17, 2020

Rosa Valdés // 17

CHAPTER 2.5 - Ranger Danger PT.2

"Deli. Deli. Deli."

The two of them trudged along through the snow. The air was crisp, the breeze was gentle, and flakes of snow floated slowly down like dandelion puffs on a summer evening. The Ice types had already slowly begun to make the new terrain their homes, scattering away out into the open as the types who disliked the cold continued to burrow or flee. The Ranger had long since let go of the girl's hand, having ensured that she was there to stay on his mission.

It had been nearly an hour since either had spoken a word. They'd travelled the majority of the time speaking in a mixture of sighs, hmms, and frantic hand motions. Nat had been obviously growing increasingly uncomfortable with the silence following his hands-on approach. Rosa's sadistic side had just started to poke out with a wry smile as she watched the young man grow more and more anxious with the situation.

"So, Rosa, you're a trainer right?" He'd finally built up the courage to break up the silence.

"Deli?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Sorry if it's out of the blue, but how old are you?"

Rosa shook her head. "Your Momma's lessons must not have been good for much if you're asking me that."

"Deli deli."

Nat's entire body visibly tensed up before he awkwardly laughed it off. "Y-yeah, you're right about that. It's hard for me to keep it up sometimes…"

Rosa sighed. "I'm seventeen."

Nat relaxed his shoulders. "I see. I've got a few sisters back home that're the same age as you. And also a couple of sisters that are older. And a brother... "

"Momma likes to keep busy, huh?"

"Deli!?"

Nat scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess she does. You actually remind me somewhat of my youngest sister. I feel bad saying it, but I guess I kind of let go a little too much in the moment and treated you similarly to how I would her. I saw her in you, and when you said that I wasn't a good person… it just got to me a little bit more'n I'd've liked to admit."

Rosa bowed her head, contemplating how to deal with the Ranger. Sure, he didn't seem like a bad guy at the moment. He'd made a mistake or two, but at least one of them wasn't something he knew could be avoided. She rifled through the various fronts in her mind, wondering how she should act to draw out Nat's true, inner persona.

'Oh Nat, that's adorable!'
'What's that?'
'You think of me as your little sister? No wonder it got to you so badly when I mocked you.'

"Deli."

Nope. That definitely didn't play well into what she'd already shown him.

'Your sisters must be pretty cute if you see them in me.'
'Y-yeah- I mean-'
'So do you always act so manly around them, or did you just perform for me because I'm not blood related?'

"Deli."

What? What does that even mean? Nip that path in the bud.

'That's understandable.'
'I'm glad you understand.'
'Then I'll just head back to my bike now.'

"Deli deli."

That would be the best and easiest solution. Just be straight and break off this little journey.

"Th-" Rosa started, wanting to cement her mental pathing before they got into it any further.

"Get down." Nat took a few quick, shuffling steps backwards and put his hand out, motioning for Rosa to get behind a nearby tree.

"Deli!"

"What is it?" Rosa questioned as she attempted to look around the shuffling Ranger.

Nat shook his head. "Nothing good, I can tell you that."

Rosa finally managed to peek around the man's body catching a glimpse of a swarm of ghostly Pokemon. "What are those?"

"Most of them are Shuppet. But there seems to be something in the middle of them that they're harassing. Given the nature of Shuppet, it can't be anything good."

Rosa pulled out her Pokedex and performed a quick scan of the Pokemon. 'Shuppet. The Puppet Pokemon. This Pokémon roams about deep in the night seeking such negative emotions as grudges and envy. It retreats to its nest when the sun begins to rise.'[i/]

"Given that they're out and about during the day, their target must be particularly potent. And given that they haven't immediately fed off of the energies and scattered off, the one holding the grudge must be particularly powerful as well."

Rosa slowed waved the Pokedex around, seeing if she could catch the reading of anything else in that area. 'Pumpkaboo. The Pumpkin Pokemon. It is said to carry wandering spirits to the place where they belong so they can move on. Spirits that wander this world are placed into Pumpkaboo's body. They're then moved on to the afterlife.'

"Someone must have died around here recently. Pumpkaboo aren't native to this part of the Wild Areas. I may have been right in bringing you along after all."

"Deli. Deli... Deli?"

Nat's sudden shift in demeanor had thrown Rosa somewhat. Judging by the number of Pokemon and their entries in the Pokedex, she could tell that this wasn't a safe place to be in. But still… "Do you mean that this could have something to do with your current mission?"

Nat shook his head. "I'm not sure. If it was just that one Pokemon or the other were in this area I'd brush it off as nothing, but for it to be both and to also be so numerous… There's definitely something going on here. Whether it has anything to do with my mission or not, it's still within the scope of a Ranger's duty to look into something like this."

Rosa watched as Nat reached into both pockets of his jacket and pulled out a Pokeball and another device that she'd recognized from years earlier.

"A styler…"

"Deli deli..."

Nat nodded his head. "My Pokemon aren't weak, but I don't like to carry around too many of them at once. That's what Stylers are good for. Look, you see over there?" The Ranger pointed around the other side of the tree. "A swarm of feeding Snorunt. If I can utilize my Styler on them, I can easily level the playing field in terms of numbers."

"Some of the strongest Rangers don't even need Pokemon to complete their duties." Rosa muttered to herself, recalling what her father had boasted to her many times before.

Nat nodded and chuckled uneasily. "Yeah, that's what they all like to say. But truth be told, you should always have at least one on you. If you're getting rushed by a Pokemon and you can't get your styler to work, you're gonna be shit outta luck if you ain't got a backup. That's why I carry this little guy around." The Ranger tapped on the center of the pokeball in his hand, causing it to grow in size. "He's been in the family since my Pa was a Ranger. Now, he's my partner. Ain't nobody gonna be stronger than him long as he's got some decent backup."

Rosa stared at the pokeball as Nat twisted his entire torso and pulled his arm back. The Ranger intended to remain hidden behind the tree, and managed to do so all while launching the pokeball out just behind the gathering of Shuppet. The Ghost Pokemon slowly turned as the contained Pokemon burst free in a brilliant light. A large, fluffy dog burst came out and immediately attacked the nearest Shuppet with a debilitating Crunch.

'Stoutland. The Big-Hearted Pokemon. Intelligent, good-natured, and valiant, it's a trustworthy partner on rescue teams. It rescues people stranded by blizzards in the mountains. Its shaggy fur shields it from the cold.'

Rosa nodded. The Pokemon was quite impressive. She felt around in her pockets for her own pokeballs, wondering if she'd be able to help out any in the battle. She'd been fairly ineffective in previous encounters barring her co-operative assault with Jasper at the train station. Both her and her Pokemon were seriously lacking in the experience department, so any little bit would help.

Nat threw his arm out in front of the girl, stopping her the second she took a step forward. "It's too dangerous right now. I brought you here against your will, it's only right that I'm the one to protect you." The Ranger looked down at the girl and smiled. "Besides, what's a big brother for?"

"Delliii!"

Rosa's eyes suddenly went from showing a slight admiration for the Ranger to total confusion. Nat seemed to quickly pick up on it, only just realizing what he'd said, he let out a harsh cough and stepped out from behind the tree, readying his Styler.

"Uh, anyways. I'm sure you know how Stylers operate, right?" He quickly questioned, hoping to take her mind off of what he'd said before.

"Deli?"

"Yeah, more or less. I've used one a couple of times before, but never had the opportunity to launch the disk."

Nat nodded his head. "Yeah, each styler is linked to the Ranger its assigned to. You can swing it around all you want, but you'll never get an effect without having one calibrated to your person. That being said, it's not just a wild and frantic swinging that helps to capture Pokemon. Anything you can do to better convey your emotions to the intended target, the more potent your styler will become. Some rangers dance, others sing, and some still rely solely on the basics to get the job done. For me, I prefer to dance, although I've more or less got two left feet." The Ranger chuckled awkwardly as he launched the capture disc.

"What about your-" Rosa started as she peered back around the tree at the gathering of Shuppet. Nat's Stoutland had taken to the defensive on its own accord. The Pokemon was covering the Pumpkaboo with its own body, shielding it from the other Ghost Pokemons' attacks while dishing out Crunches of its own. Every few exchanges, a Shuppet would fall too the ground and slowly peel off from the group. The Stoutland was making a dent, but without backup…

Rosa felt around in her pocket again, holding on to Ezra's pokeball. Her Munchlax was still pretty freshly captured, but it knew a Dark-type move that would be effective against the Ghosts. She'd at least be able to steal away some of the aggro from the Stoutland. Just as she started to pull the ball from her pocket, she noticed Nat pulling up his pants.

"Let's get'r goin' then." The Ranger pulled on his waistband, tightening the belt around his stomach so that the pants were tighter around his legs. Nat started out slow, a tap of the left toe, a kick of the left heel and a stomp. A tap of the right toe, a kick of the right heel and a stomp. He stepped out wide with his left foot and turned it out before slamming his hands to the ground and sliding his right foot back to his left as he rose up straight.

"What kind of dance…" Rosa looked on in sheer and utter confusion. She'd never seen any dance like this one before, and it certainly wasn't making a good impression on her.

"De... Deli... Deli del."

"Let's pick 'er on up then!" Nat got into the rhythm a little quicker this time. A tap of the right toe, a kick of the right heel and a stomp. A tap of the left toe, a kick of the right heel and a stomp. A wide step with his right foot, turning it out as he slapped the ground again and brought his feet back together. "Hoh yeah! Gotta get their attention! Fire them bad boys on up!"

The "dance" continued, repeating the same moves two more times over before the Ranger changed up the routine. As Nat stepped out, he spun quickly on his outturned toe before stomping down with the free leg and slapping the ground.

"Now we're gettin' somewhere!" He called out.

"Deli...."

Rosa looked over at the Snorunt who had stopped eating the berries they had collected. The Pokemon had joined her in her confusion, staring at the Ranger as he performed for them. The capture disc made wide circles around the herd, glowing bright with each successive sweep. The girl's attention turned quickly back to the Ranger, remembering the main function of the styler which helped to indicate the difference between a success and failure.

A number. A single number illuminated the dark face of the styler. Nine. Eight. Seven. With each repetition of the dance routine, the number fell by another number. Six. Five. Four. Rosa glanced quickly at the Stoutland, gripping the pokeball in her pocket tighter as she saw the damage of the relentless assault slowly beginning to take its toll on the protective Pokemon. Three. Two. One.

Nat slammed his hands against the ground for the final time. His whole body moved as he breathed heavily, having danced for three straight minutes with a steadily increasing speed. Sweat dripped from the Ranger's forehead as he slowly brought himself back up. He looked down at his styler and then tilted his head up to the sky, putting his hands on his hips. "Finally." He sighed heavily. "That felt like it took forever."

Rosa watched as the herd of Snorunt obediently dropped their berries and made their way over to Nat. "Was that your… dance?"

Nat pursed his lips and blew out hard, forcibly pushing everything from his lungs before taking a deep breath in through his nostrils, causing them to flare up. The Ranger looked over at the girl and smiled as he licked his chapped lips. "Yep. What'd you think? Not too shabby for a country boy that ain't ever had lessons."

Rosa shook her head. "No, of course. Not at all." Truth be told, she wasn't really sure that what he'd performed could be called a dance at all. But given her history with the subject… she shrugged. How he got his job done was his business. It wasn't her place to kill his self-esteem. "It definitely evoked a strong emotion."

Nat smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm glad it did. These Snorunt are going to be a game changer for us. Now, let's get this battle underway."

"Deli!"

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

- ₽20
- Notebook and Pen
- 4 Pokéballs
- Galarian Pokédex V. 8
- Rosa's ATC
- Old Rod
- Simon's Knit Wooloo Sweater
- Rotom Brand Electric Bike

gimmepie · Nov 19, 2020

Catherine Carlisle
18 | Female | From Wyndon

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Refresh

Horsea (Male, Swift Swim) - Water Gun, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath

The Boss

Catherine sat next to Indra, the pair of them resting inside a small cavern that had been burrowed out of a largish boulder by a Pokemon at some point. It wasn't particularly comfortable and she had to stoop if she wanted to stand up, but she lacked the energy to set up her tent at that point and the sun was starting to hang low in the sky.

A few times, she had spotted a Salamence - the same one she presumed - patrolling the skies through the rain. It seemed though that they were safe in their little cave; it was yet to notice them.

"Poli?" Indra asked in what Catherine was beginning to interpret as a questioning tone.

"I don't really know what to do now," she replied, "I think we may as well get as comfortable as we can. I don't have the energy left to try and set up a tent in the middle of a storm and I'd rather not be in the open until we're far enough from that Salamence anyway. Although, I guess you'd be perfectly comfortable in the rain."

Indra replied, but Catherine couldn't understand the tone at all. She chose to leave that one be and trainer and Pokemon settled into a somewhat comfortable silence, simply listening to the blowing of the wind, the sound of rain hitting grass and stone and the rumbling of thunder.

After a while, Catherine took out the Pokeball that now contained a Horsea - her Horsea she supposed. She had never really intended to capture the troublesome Pokemon. It had been the only option she had though.

"What am I meant to do with you?"

"Poli?" That questioning tone again.

"I hadn't really planned to make it a part of the team. Here we are though. I suppose a proper greeting is in order."

Catherine released her new team member, squinting against the light from the ball as it was painfully bright in the dark enclosed space of the cave.

The Horsea materialised, looking around its surroundings with surprise, not entirely sure how it got there.

"Poli! Poli!" Idra chimed happily, bounding across the tiny cave to enthusiastically greet his new companion. As he did so, a look of comprehension dawned on the Horsea's face as it looked between the cheerful Poliwag and Catherine.

"Sea!"

A look of fierce determination took over the Horsea's expression as it turned on the spot and, despite its injuries, started to hop towards the cave's exit.

"Poli!" Indra shouted, sounding alarmed.

That was all Catherine needed to realise that the idiotic little Horsea was one hundred percent intending to head out and look for the Salamence again. Acting on instinct more than anything, she lunged after the Water type, catching its tail mid hop and pulling back.

The Horsea cried out indignantly as it face-planted onto the ground, thrashing about feebly as Catherine reeled it back in, Indra breathing a sigh of relief as she did so.

"Listen." Catherine pinned the Horsea to the ground, putting as much of her weight into the injured Pokemon as she dared, holding it down as best she could. It took a painfully long time for the stubborn little Pokemon to finally give in and realise escape was not an option, by which point Catherine's arms and shoulders were aching.

"You're in no state to try and fight that thing again," she said, catching her breath and relaxing just a little, "You can't even overpower me right now and before coming here I wasn't exactly the sort to be doing a lot of physical activity. I'm going to let you up now, but if you go out there on a suicide mission again, I am not chasing after you to save your ass because, unlike you, I don't have a death wish."

"Sea," the Horsea huffed. But, when Catherine let it up, it didn't try to make a dash for the exit again. It just glowered at her. That was an expression she could understand.

"Right," Catherine said, "This is how this is going to work: I'm going to try and patch you up - I did pretty well in that class so it should be fine. After that, I'm going to make us something to eat because we have earned a hot meal after this ordeal and I'm getting tired of raw berries, snack foods and stale bread. After that, it's bedtime, and you're not going to complain about it or I'll stick you right back in that ball.

The Horsea didn't reply and continued to glower at her, but it didn't kick up a fuss either. Taking that to mean that argument was over, Catherine unzipped her bag and pulled out her first-aid kit. She treated the Horsea and Indra with a Potion, using it all up in the process, and was pleased to note that while it was trying to keep up appearances, the Horsea's posture definitely seemed to have softened a bit.

With that dealt with, Catherine left the two Water types babbling at each other - unsure how much they could actually understand of each other - and got a small campfire going at the mouth of the tiny cave. She then proceeded to pull a simple pot from her supplies and a handful of ingredients - Pecha berries she had picked a few days prior, a little tofu and a travel-bottle of sauce. "I hope you don't mind curry because it's literally the only thing anyone has ever taught me how to cook."
To Catherine's astonishment, both Water types ravenously devoured the meal and she found she quite enjoyed it herself. She had rarely actually cooked, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that she'd remembered enough of it to make a decent meal - in the middle of the Wild Area at that.

She used the rain to rinse off the dishes, turning back to see both Indra and her Horsea had fallen asleep, curled up with each other at the back of the cave. Even with her earlier grumpiness, she couldn't deny that this was a cute scene. She snapped a photo of the Water-typed pair and pulled out her sleeping bag so she could get comfortable. The sun had only just set a while ago, so she figured there was no harm in reading a few more Black Snover chapters before going to sleep herself. She'd earned it after that mess of a day anyway.

Spoiler: Inventory

Fen-Fen · Nov 19, 2020

Haleigh Windsor
17 | Female | From Circhester

Corey (Male, Blaze) - Flame Charge, Double Kick, Headbutt, Agility

Laying Low

It was pitch dark as night fell upon the Wild Area. From where Haleigh set up camp on the gentle rolling hills of the Rolling Fields area, a gentle breeze blew by periodically, chilling the autumn air. Compared to the hellish cold from earlier, however, it was downright pleasant with a cup of hot tea in her hands and a warm blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon. Still, it didn't stop her from shivering every time the breeze blew by - and not just from the coolness the wind carried.

She deeply sighed as she took another sip of the warm beverage, looking at the two Pokeballs that lay beside her. Of everyone's lives that she put in danger on her ill-fated expedition, Corey and Coraline's were the ones she felt the worst about. Some trainer she was.

Haleigh couldn't put it off forever though, so she decided now was as good a time as any to bring them out, now that everyone was more well rested and recovered. She tapped the buttons on each of their Pokeballs, letting them materialize out of their capsules and appear before her. Their trainer offered them a small, subdued smile and said, "Hey lads. How're you all holding up?" She offered her hand out to touch Corey's head.

In response, Corey recoiled away from the touch and cast his eyes downward, not wanting to meet Haleigh's gaze. Haleigh's smile melted away, her expression clearly hurt at the rejection. She couldn't really blame him though, not after what had happened back at the Watchtower Ruins. Coraline had turned to face away from her - and she had the sinking feeling sweets wouldn't make it all better this time.

"Not well then, huh? I can understand that." She faced away from her Pokemon, staring at the fire as if it could provide the answers.

"I really done and fucked us over, huh?" Another smile managed to creep up on her face, though it was a wan, humorless imitation of the smile that she was well known for. "Some trainer I am."

She sat in silence for a while, not saying anything to her Pokemon as the fire continued to crackle and burn, the scent of wood smoke and grass filling her nose. If she were in a better mood, she would have been able to be able to pleasantly relax to it all. Instead, the tension in the air seemed to mask any pleasantness and replaced it with a cloying sense of dread and claustrophobia.

"I just...I don't know, I just thought it'd be fun experiencing something that was 'off-limits' and 'dangerous'. I didn't think it'd be that bad, y'know?" Her Pokemon looked at her intently, wondering where she was going with this and seeming to latch more on to the tone of her words rather than the actual content of the words.

"But I don't need to tell you all it was really bad. We...I…" Her breath hitched, tears escaping her eyes. "I was r-really scared. For me, for you guys...I am so sorry that I put you all through that. I know I'm not perfect, that I messed up big time, that I'm an idiot…"

She took a deep breath, enveloping her head in her hands. "N-no, I can't-you can't see me like this, I have to be-to be…" The words died in her throat as the sobs washed over in waves, her body shaking with each one.

Corey, despite his initial hesitation for affection, changed his mind upon seeing his trainer's clear distress. He climbed up on her lap and leaned forward for a hug, to which Haleigh obliged without hesitation. Coraline - far from the cuddliest Pokemon on account of the touch from her branches being able to suck people's life force and her personality - could only observe with a saddened look on her face as Corey did most of the work in comforting Haleigh.

"I have to be strong...I have to be strong for us. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for putting you both in that sort of situation. I promise, here and now, that I'll be a better trainer for you." Her tears started to slow down as a small smile made its way back on her face. "I love you all, like family."

Like family. The words followed Haleigh as she drifted off to sleep, the scene phased away from her in a sleeping bag in a tent with the lingering scent of wood smoke and nighttime ambience of Pokemon in the Wild Area towards that of an indoors scene: her old bedroom from her parents' house. It was just as she remembered it from when she was thirteen, from the purple bed sheets, Piers poster, Morpeko plushie and the disorganized mess of papers, books and her laptop on her desk.

She was dressed up in a simple purple pajama set, her hair its natural dirty blonde color rather than dyed purple. She took the plushie on the bed and threw him onto the floor, pantomiming throwing a Pokeball at the same time.

"Alright Pekko, you know what to do! Use Bite!"

Haleigh clutched the plush Morpeko, making him rush forward and made exaggerated biting noises as it attacked the non-existent opponent.

The teen's roleplaying had been interrupted with a knocking on the door, a male voice telling her, "May I come in, honey? We...need to talk."

A frown immediately started replacing her wide grin as she replied, "Yeah yeah, what do you want?" She went over to unlock the door, letting him in. In contrast to Haleigh, he was dressed immaculately in a grey suit and slacks with black business shoes and a pair of blue-framed glasses. He took a seat on Haleigh's bed, motioning for her to join him.

She reluctantly obliged as she noticed his expression looked tense, his jaw clenched tight. "I got a call from one of your teachers. You're failing her class."

Haleigh looked away from him, scowling as she mumbled, "Yeah, I knew that."

"Then why didn't you tell us?" His voice, though level and never rising above a normal speaking tone, was filled with iciness.

Haleigh kicked her feet and looked down at them, glaring at them in lieu of her father.

"Answer me, Haleigh."

She looked back up to meet his gaze, her voice trembling with anger, "Because dad, I don't bloody care about the stupid prep school! I didn't even want to be there! You know more than anyone else that I wanted to be a trainer, not a bloody accountant or whatever the hell!"

Her father raised his voice, his own anger boiling up. "So setting you up for a steady path to success, that's not preferable to living out on the streets and gambling everything for the slim chance of being champion?"

Haleigh raised her voice to a yell. "Yes! Cause it's not what I want. I could be one of the best trainers in Galar if you'd just let me near a bloody Pokemon!"

Her father raked his hands through his hair, undoing some of its styling and letting some of it hang out in strands. "After all the effort I've gone through getting you in, putting up with your punk phase, putting up with these delusions of yours, this is how you repay me."

"You haven't been paying me shit, you just want a perfect reflection of you and mum," she spat.

His expression softened a bit. "No, I want what's best for you, sweetie. I know it's not easy, but you're better off this way."

"Go away." Haleigh turned away from her father. "You don't care about me."

As she said that, the scene started to fade out in her mind as she continued an uneasy slumber, having flashes of other scattered memories. Visiting Shalour on holiday with her parents, celebrating her 12th birthday with her family and friends, meeting Melody in Spikemuth, lectures with Professor Sonia and chatting with a fellow classmate. Eventually, the memories stopped and she experienced nothing but darkness for the remainder of her sleep.

As the sun rose over the late autumn morning, Haleigh was roused awake by its light and slight warmth it offered against the chill. She felt some dry tears on her face from the previous night. Her Pokemon still lay asleep, understandably trying to regain their strength . Seeing them lay there so peacefully put a smile on her face despite everything. It was so much more fulfilling than playing pretend with Pekko the Morpeko plushie.

She knelt down and gave Corey a full body hug and Coraline a pat on a part of her body not covered in thorny branches. She whispers to them, "Sleep in, loves. I'll make us some proper breakfast. I love you."

Haleigh leaves her Pokemon to sleep as she starts up another fire in the same pit she used yesterday, making sure to get her best curry making pan and tea kettle for breakfast.

Sephear · Nov 19, 2020

A Clash of Attitudes

[h2][/h2]

"Why the FUCK is the weather so screwy here?!" A voice shouted at the highest possible volume, but nobody heard. Nobody could hear it, not even if they'd been so much as ten feet away from the source. The blizzard raging around Lake Miloch was just too crazy, which really had Jasper questioning his decision not to just b-line straight through the middle of the Wild Area. Poor guy didn't really have much say in it, believe it or not.

Everything had been nice enough when he got off the train, so why did things end up like this? He brought proper clothes for every type of weather with him. He'd survive, but still, why? As soon as he got off the train from Wedgehurst he hustled away from the classmates he'd shared a table with and straight into the wilderness before he could get stuck with more human interaction. After only an hour of walking, Jasper heard thunder. A few minutes later, clouds rolled in from the north. Just when Jasper expected droplets to begin thumping his head, he instead felt something very softly settle in his bangs. Touching the spot and looking at his hand revealed a snowflake, seconds before it finished melting away on his fingertip.

The snow was so beautiful and even at first, it actually started to brighten his mood as he unpacked the crimson parka and fur-lined winter pants from his bag. Then the thunder sounded again. Then the snow started falling faster. Then a chunk of hail thumped on the young man's head. That was it. "Shit-eating Garbodor fuckers!" He cursed after slipping on a particularly icy patch and desperately brushing himself off as he stood back up.

This is when a reasonable, even-tempered person would turn around and get out while they can. After all, Jasper wasn't even a quarter of the way through the area bordering Lake Miloch yet. You know what else Jasper isn't? Reasonable. Even-tempered. The stubborn trainer trudged onward, only growing more and more determined to pass through the area, filled with spite for the weather itself and whatever force was intent on not leaving him in peace.

Crash! The violent sound grabbed Jasper's attention from his quest to "Tell the weather to go fuck itself." As he'd word it if anybody asked, not that he wanted anybody to. After another minute of walking, he saw shapes through the blizzard. Soon after, those shapes became pokémon. Namely, Bergmite and Darumaka. In a pretty heated battle, despite the conditions. Jasper couldn't deny his curiosity or resist the urge to watch the battle. Or at least he WAS curious until the ice-types sat there blasting Powder Snow at each other, apparently satisfied using the one attack until one of them tired out.

Finally, Jasper reached the limit of his patience and opted to go around the battle. It was the moment he started to pass by that they finally decided to change up tactics. Darumaka charged straight at Bergmite for a Tackle, only for the little icebaby to use Rapid Spin and smack the snowrangutan through the air...and straight into Jasper. For the second time that day, Jasper fell into the snow during a blizzard, only this time he had to fling a ball of snow and hype off of himself to stand back up. "Alright, THAT'S IT. You little frosty fucks wanna get in my way?! Let's see how annoying you can be while taking a long nap in the snow!"

Two pokéballs flew, two pokémon came out. Neither Faust nor Dispo showed any discomfort at the cold, but they shared Jasper's displeasure at the objects of his ire. "Tackle and Payback!" As he ordered, so did the pair do. The Larvitar and Munchlax ran straight for their opponents, who'd already gone back to fighting each other as if Jasper wasn't even there, which only annoyed him more. The Darumaka was closer, and was totally blindsided when Dispo shoulder-checked it to the floor. "Slam it and throw it!" Dispo lifted Darumaka up by the leg, slammed it face-down on the ground then flung it away as the Bergmite turned to address Faust with a Powder Snow. The Larvitar powered through the assault and when Bergmite tried its Rapid Spin defense again, the double power Payback simply rocketed the little fella off into the distance.

Jasper nodded at his now clear path with a grumpy "Hmph!" And continued on with his pokémon on either side in case of more interference.

Sometimes it really is a pain to be one of the elite. After all, if it weren't for his skill and his reputation for being able to so quickly and effortlessly get things done, he wouldn't have received the call for help from the rangers. Tch. Isn't this their job? Or do they merely run around and give trainers berries and babble about the glory of nature? Apparently it's the latter, as the instant some Pokemon begin to rampage, they turn tail and cry for help. At least they called the right person for the job.

Bede tightens his winter coat around him as he walks farther into the blizzard. It isn't long before he hears the faint battle cries of those barbaric ice types. Another minute of trudging through the bothersome hail and he can see the rampaging monsters coming into view. Once again he must ask himself: Why is this such a problem? It's Darumaka and Bergmite. They're tiny.

As if to answer his question, a mighty roar echoes across the lake. A large Darmanitan leaps over a snowbank and angrily pounds its chest. There's a fire in its eyes as it sets its gaze on… something. Something it then charges towards. Bede follows the ice-ape's path with his eyes and realizes--

Oh, great.

That something is a kid.

Bede reaches for one of his Great Balls without a second's hesitation. "Hatterene, use Psychic." He says with all the urgency of a tired Pokemart worker welcoming a trainer into the store.

Hatterene bursts from her Great ball and begins to glow with her eerie psychic power. With a forceful wave of her hand, the charging Darumaka is lifted into the air and heaved back a good fifty feet.

Hold on, that new sound wasn't more thunder, so what was it? Jasper's eyes widened when a much bigger, angrier version of the Darumaka he'd just schooled all but flew at him from deeper into the Blizzard. Dispo and Faust prepared to intercept as best they could, only for the beast to go flying back a safe distance from the trio. "That thing is way bigger, so that must be a Darumaka, huh?" He said to himself as he withdrew his pokédex, which quickly confirmed his suspicions. "Darmanitan: The Zen Charm Pokémon. On days when blizzards blow through, it comes down to where people live. It stashes food in the snowball on its head, taking it home for later. Though it has a gentle disposition, it's also very strong. It will quickly freeze the snowball on its head before going for a headbutt."

"Kinda scary. Might be a bit early in my journey to scrap with that thing." He raised an eyebrow at the pokédex, then another at the other figure he noticed. It must be what saved him. He and his pokémon ran towards it and quickly realized it was a Hatterene, a very proud looking one at that. He found himself impressed by it before he noticed its trainer a short distance behind it. Oh, it's him. Tch, just wonderful. "Hey!" Jasper called out. "Thanks for the save, I really didn't expect to run into a pokémon that strong out here." It was weird to be glad to see someone else, but he really didn't fancy being flattened by an angry Darmanitan. "Or the blizzard, for that matter. Some bullshit weather today. What's a gym leader doing out here?"

Is this kid checking his Pokedex? Really? Right now? At least he puts it away and starts moving like a mildly intelligent person before Bede feels compelled to have Hatterene throw him too. The fairy leader rests his hand on his hip as the new trainer and his little Pokemon suddenly realize standing around isn't the best thing to do and head towards him and Hatterene.

"Rangers can't do the one thing they're asked to be decent at." Bede says in order to explain why he's here. He runs a hand through his hair. "So they called for someone with actual skill."

Anything else he wanted to say would have to wait, as the angered cry of that Darmanitan roars out again. If he squints through the snow, he can just make out the blob. Sounds like it's going to come back for more. Tch. It should have taken the chance to escape graciously. Now he has to teach it a real lesson. "If you go straight this way," he points back the way he came, "you'll get the fastest path out of this frozen nightmare. G--" His voice is cancelled out by another roar, this one much closer and coming from Bede's left. He turns quickly to see an Avalugg stomping its way towards them, looking just as enraged and battle-hungry as that Darmanitan. Its roar causes the clouds to darken even more. The small ice particles flowing down from said clouds now much bigger and-- sharper. Bede watches as a rather sharp piece of hail leaves a hole in his jacket sleeve. Wonderful. Just. Lovely. He grits his teeth and makes a small 'tch' noise. "Well this is just great. "

"Ffff - I really can't get a break." Jasper complained, before turning to face the Avalugg. "Faust, Dispo!" The pair of pokémon ran in front of their trainer and he tossed the Leftovers out to be caught between them. Each took a big bite out of one side of the 'magic apple' before Faust threw it back over his shoulder, where Jasper caught it and stuffed it back in his bag. "I bet these assholes and their cronies are to blame for this freak blizzard to begin with! I passed two of the smaller ones on the way here, had to teach them a lesson. Why don't we do the same with these two?"

Bede looks between the Avalugg and the rapidly growing blob that will soon take shape into Darmanitan. It doesn't look like this kid's going to be able to make it out of here without one of, if not both of, their little armies trying to stop him. Fine. It doesn't look like he has much of a choice but to let the greenhorn come along for the ride. The gym leader's annoyed expression quickly fades and is replaced with a rather confident smirk. "If they want to get crushed that badly then what choice do I have?"

First things first, it's time to take advantage of the hail this Avalugg so graciously gifted them. Bede reaches for another one of his Great Balls. "Ninetales, Aurora Veil!" A burst of light quickly takes shape into the Fairy-fox, who extends her tails and calls forth a glistening shield around herself, Hatterene, and their new allies.

Bede locks eyes with the slow moving Avalugg, his head cocking just slightly to the side as he speaks up again. "Well? Show us this power you're so proud of."

"Yeah, bring it on! No way I'm going down to a walking iceberg and some frozen monkey!" Jasper taunted the wild pokémon as he backed up till he was just behind Bede, facing down the Darmanitan. Despite the danger, the glint in his eyes and the tinge of his voice were more wild than either of their opponents. Some sort of devilish thrill ran through him at the dangerous situation they found themselves in.

Darmanitan hollered, beating its chest and swishing its huge snowfro all about, scattering more flecks of frost for the blizzard. Across from it, Avalugg roared and stamped its feet at Bede, scraping the ground before charging straight for his Ninetails with a Double Edge.

Note to self: Teach this kid something about tact if he hangs around once this is all over. "Ninetales, jump over that barbarian and use MoonBlast." Bede says with a limited amount of enthusiasm. As Ninetales gracefully leaps over the charging Avalugg and prepares to launch her return assault, the Fairy Gym leader turns his less-than-enthused gaze to his dear Hatterene. "Let him do what he can, but don't let that ape near the kid." While his own battle would be much easier with Hatterene, he might as well use this as an opportunity to work with his newest partner, and he feels the need to keep Hatterene in reserve for when the kid realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew.

Hatterene looks into her trainer's eyes and gives a determined nod. She then turns on her hidden toes and places her hand in front of Jasper's chest, just in case.

The charging Avalugg skids to a stop upon watching Ninetales leap over it. It forces its heavy feet into the ground, causing snow to fly in every direction-- though it's momentum has not even fully halted before its met with a powerful, glowing blast to the back. The force sends the Pokemon once more projectiling forward, stopping only when it's shoved head-first into a snowbank. With an enraged grunt, it forces its head from the snowy hill and stomps its feet into the ground. Its eyes flare with even more rage as it turns to glare daggers at its opponent. Its attack made it too slow, so it will use a faster one. The icy beast tucks its head and leaps into the air, its legs folding over its stomach as it begins to spin out of control.

"Rapid spin, huh?" Bede quirks an eyebrow. An instant later a devilish smirk forms on his face. "Ninetales, use Freeze Dry on one side. We're going to throw it off balance."

Ninetales seems uncertain, but she does as she's told. She fires a very small blast of ice to strike the Avalugg. The beam hits its spinning mark and covers roughly a third of the tortoise's outer body with crystalized spikes. This does exactly as it's intended: Now severely heavier on one side, the Avalugg is thrown off balance and can no longer control its trajectory. Its body turns to one side and spirals to the ground. Upon hitting the snow-covered earth, the momentum it collected keeps it spinning, though now it looks more like an out of control tire rather than a spinning top.

"Make a wall of ice to stop it." Bede calls.

Ninetales, feeling much more confident, opens her mouth to release another icy blast. Ice collects on the ground and steadily grows upward. A ten foot tall ice tower is created only to meet its end when an out of control iceberg forcefully crashes into and shatters it. Large sheets of ice collapse and fall atop the now stopped (and very dizzy) Avalugg.

"Knock it onto its back with MoonBlast."

Before Avalugg can get a grip on its surroundings and roll from its side back onto its feet, it is met with another blast straight to its stomach. It is forced onto its flat back and begins wildly flailing its feet.

"You're not going anywhere." Bede scoffs. "We'll put you back once you've calmed down."

On Jasper's side, he pointed straight at the Darmanitan and barked to his pokémon. "Dispo, run interference! Faust, Ancient Power, full bore, no breaks!" Dispo ran forward joyously as if nothing were wrong, certainly oblivious to the cold and the hail coming down on him. Darmanitan beat its chest one more time and launched a merciless flurry of Powder Snow at the Munchlax, who clumsily danced out of the way when he could, stumbled through the onslaught when he couldn't. His natural durability and Thick Fat helped him weather the assault fantastically for the power gap he was stuck with.

Meanwhile, the ground began to rumble, and large chunks of stone and earth rose from the snow, one after the other and flew at the rampaging ape. The first strike simply made it angry. After that it began to punch stones out of the air, only to see Dispo closing the distance unimpeded and start gunning more Powder Snow his way. Faust began to glow a rainbow of colors as the Ancient Power coursed through him and yet more and more rocks rose up to pelt the Darmanitan, each larger than the last. A trio of stones broke against Darmanitan's head just in time to stagger it right before Dispo hit it with a Tackle, knocking it off balance.

With the snow slowing him down, however, Dispo's Tackle simply didn't hit hard enough and in seconds Darmanitan was rocking back on its other foot, reaching down and yanking the Munchlax up out of the frosty fluff. Dispo just smiled even as he was squeezed and licked the Darmanitan's hand, disgusting it enough to scrunch up its face and throw Dispo away with all its might. Another rock thunked its head, and it turned to glare at Faust, who was glowing brighter and brighter with each impact of Ancient Power.

Jasper pulled Dispo out of the air with his pokéball, then let him back out next to himself, handing him the Leftovers to snack on.After punching one last boulder out of the air, Darmanitan finally snapped and began hopping back and forth from foot to foot. It hooted and hollered, growing in pitch and intensity until all at once its limbs sank into its body. Only its hands were left sticking out of its shoulders and a jet of fire began shooting from the snowfro on top of its head like the carrot nose on a snowman lit aflame. The frostfire pain train bellowed out a steamy warcry and launched itself straight at Faust, blasting flames all around it as it went, leaving a trail of scorched earth in the snow the whole way.

"That's the ticket, always count on an ape to get stupid when it's angry!" Jasper said as if he'd already won. "Faust, Rock Throw, as much as you can!" The Larvitar nodded and began to form large stones in his hand, throwing them so fast and so hard it almost looked like a solid stream of rocks. Ancient Power had strengthened Faust several times by then, just as Jasper had hoped, between that and the fact that Darmanitan had just bumped its weakness to Rock-types from double to quadruple, even the fully evolved tribal leader had to be taking significant damage. Damage or not, though, Darmanitan didn't slow down.

In no time at all the Darmanitan grew close and Jasper enacted the last bit of his plan. "Aim low, then use its momentum against it!" Faust let out a tiny roar of his own and flung the biggest rocks he could form right into the bottom half of Darmanitan's body, tripping it up before it reached him just enough to check its charge with his own body. Faust slid back a couple of feet, then heaved upwards with all the empowered strength he could muster and sent Darmanitan flying up into the air...Right towards Bede's Hatterene.

"Mystical Fire!" Bede calls out.

"Rene rene!" Hatterene waves her vine-like arm in a circle and summons a spiral of blue fire. The fire hits its mark dead on and is forceful enough to send the poor Darmanitan flying back instead of forward. Up, up, up it goes, and then down, down, down it crashes back into the snow with a very forceful thud.

Bede watches the creature with narrowed eyes for several seconds, prepared to call out another order the second it moves.

It doesn't.

Seconds tick by in silence before it becomes apparent that their rampaging ape isn't getting up any time soon. With something between a chuckle and a scoff, Bede runs his fingers through his hair. "And that's that." He jeers, his coy smirk returning. He glances back towards his own opponent and sees that the Avalugg has given up its crashed flailing. Looks like it either gave up or wore itself out.

Satisfied, he turns back to cast his gaze towards Jasper. His expression hardens as he looks the boy up and down. "Hmph. For such a new trainer, you handled yourself borderline decently out there." Well… there's a compliment hidden in there somewhere. At least his tone seems a bit warmer than it did when he was talking to the rampaging Pokemon, and, if someone were to squint, they might see something akin to a smile reflecting in those judgemental eyes.

"Hatterene!" The witch calls happily as she offers her hand to Jasper for a job-well-done handshake.

"Yeah!" Jasper cheered with the intensity of fading adrenaline and grabbed Hatterene's hand for an excited, but respectful shake. "You were awesome out there! Couldn't have done it without you!" He barely even registered how friendly he was being through the embers of battle and the thrill of having made it through something so harrowing. Enough realization hit him for his cheeks to burn from something besides cold and he quickly coughed away his embarrassment. "Of course it helps to have a good trainer too. Thanks, Gym Leader Bede. I know this all would have been too much for a greenhorn to handle alone. I'm lucky I ran into you, even if I'd argue that running into two angry pokégang leaders is almost as unlucky as that."

Hatterene returns the handshake with a smile. Once she drops the young trainer's hand, she tilts her head and studies him curiously, letting out a thoughtful, quiet hum.

Hatterene's calm behavior is admittedly a bit odd to Bede. Normally she refuses to get too close to someone so loud and brash. Then again, facing down two stampeding Pokemon is maybe reason enough to scream-- When you're as inexperienced as he is, anyway.

The gym leader's smugness is knocked down by roughly a percent at the trainer's enthusiasm and his compliment. Huh. Well, he's smart enough to recognize he got very lucky. In his short time as a gym leader, Bede has never battled alongside a rookie trainer. Heck, he's reluctant to battle alongside anyone unless it's absolutely necessary for a goal he wants to pursue.

His smug smirk returns the instant the rookie trainer blushes. He'll excuse the outburst this time, after that intense of a fight and getting to observe Bede's level of skill, who can blame him for being a little enthusiastic? "You'd be surprised how often this sort of thing happens in the Wild Area," It's almost as if letting beginner trainers go into a giant field where hundreds of fully evolved Pokemon live is a bad idea. "But you handled yourself better than most. Not a lot of rookie trainers are smart enough to pull off what you did with the Ancient Powers."

"Rene rene." Hatterne bobs her head in an excited nod. She then moves her vine-like arm to Jasper's backside and points between his shoulders. "Hat Hatter?"

"She wants to know if you're going to take the gym challenge." Bede explains without hesitation.

The question caught Jasper off-guard. It only occurred to him in that moment that he hadn't made a decision on that very point before then. "Yes." He said, resolute after a moment of contemplation. "I don't know whether I'm interested in being a champion...or a gym leader, or any sort of celebrity…But I do know that being with Faust, facing down challenges together...Seeing him grow. It's the first time I can remember that I've felt like I was doing something other than spin my wheels...And I want to be stronger. I want to laugh in the face of things like those big lugs we just dealt with. I think taking on the Pokémon League is the best way to get there, and maybe find out what I really want."

Faust smiled and laid a hand on Jasper's leg, while Dispo grasped the other. They were both wobbly on their feet, totally exhausted, but they stood firm in supporting him. At least that's how it made him feel. He knelt down and rubbed the top of each pokémon's head before standing back up and nodding at Bede. "Yeah." He repeated, not caring if it sounded a little silly. "I'm going in for the long haul."

Bede nods in approval. "Good answer." Maybe a smidge on the over dramatic side of things, sure. It was good though. A desire to get better, a want to find purpose. Those are things he can respect (and relate to.)

"Re-re?" Hatterene asks as she turns to look at Bede. She folds her arm in front of her chest and sways from side to side. "Hat." She then points to Jasper.

"... You sure?" Bede questions.

"Reen!" She nods excitedly.

Bede cocks his head and looks at Jasper once more. After a second or two of silence, he too nods. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea." Bede slides his hands into his jacket pockets and focuses his full attention on Jasper. "I'll be at the induction ceremony. Come find me after. We've got something we want to give you. For being so almost-decent." No, he can't go one sentence without a backhanded compliment or a snide remark. That would imply he's losing his edge.

"Huh!" Jasper let out, starting to understand Bede's reputation, but also thinking it might be a bit harsh. "Alright, I'll take you up on that!" Only then did it occur to Jasper that things felt different. He was less cold and wet, for one. He looked up and saw the clouds were less dense - no wait - the fact that he could actually see the clouds was a big change! The snow was falling more softly, there was no more thunder. "The weather in this whole place is screwy. But I'm guessing the reason this blizzard was so sudden and so bad was that Ice-type turf-war. I helped solve a big environmental issue. How about that? Feels good, even if I wasn't the main reason it's over."

"Looks like it." Bede once again looks over his shoulder to the Avalugg that's still stuck on its back. Oh, right. "I think he learned his lesson, you can let him up, Hatterene."

"Reene~" Hatterene hums as she lifts her hand and gently glows. That same glow surrounds Avalugg as he is lifted from the ground and gently turned over. It seems he's still asleep-- probably for the best. It might just hold a grudge.

Bede rolls his shoulders before looking back to Jasper. "Don't get a swelled head," he states with that same trademark smirk-- though there's far less annoyance in his tone than most have come to expect, "but keep doing what you're doing. It might get you somewhere."

"Heh!" Jasper matched Bede's smirk this time. "I might just do that. It's a step in the right direction, at least." Faust and Dispo continued to share the Leftovers, looking better and better as they did. They were finally starting to look fresh and ready to move on when a hand was laid on each of their heads. "Good work, you two. How about next time we put you in a fair fight?"

"Larv!"

"Lax!"

Jasper held out a pokéball to each 'mon and softly said. "Return." Each tapped the button in front of them and disappeared into the sphere in a beam of red light. For the first time since starting his journey, Jasper felt a measure of contentment as he stood back up and turned to Bede. "I should get back to roaming, see what else I can get into on the way to Motostoke. I'll see you at the ceremony, gym leader. Then we'll see how much stronger I can get before it's time for us to square off. 'Till then." He turned away and finished with a casual wave over his shoulder and started off towards Motostoke, noticeably less slouched and brooding than before.

Sonata · Nov 20, 2020

Rosa Valdés // 17

CHAPTER 2.6 - Ranger Danger Finale

The showdown had begun. The Snorunt slowly rushed the Shuppet surrounding the Stoutland and the Pumpkaboo it was tasked with protecting. Nat stared down the mass of Pokemon that was beginning to form and took to his spot beyond the tree.

"Aren't you going to give them any orders?" Rosa whispered, unsure of what exactly the Ranger's plan was.

Nat shook his head. "The styler interprets my will. As long as it has control over the Snorunt, they'll know what to do. As for Stoutland, he's been battling longer than I've been alive. He knows what his job in this battle is. Just watch. Maybe you'll be able to learn something as a trainer?"

Rosa followed the Ranger's eyes. If the Stoutland really had been battling longer than either of them had been alive, it would be more experienced than either one of them. Surely if the Pokemon felt threatened it would make a signal. The girl dropped her own ball back into her pocket, contenting herself with simply watching and learning what she could.

The Snorunt quickly leapt between the shroud of Shuppet and the Stoutland, throwing up an icy barrier which protected them from several Will-o-Wisps and some shadowy claws which just barely reflected off of their Protection. The Stoutland picked up the Pumpkaboo by its stem and quickly created distance between them and the immediate danger.

"Pum?" the Pumpkaboo questioned as it flopped about in the wind, the Stoutland's slobbery drool coating its stem as it carried the pumpkin pokemon away.

"Stout." The Pokemon gently placed the Pumpkaboo on the ice-covered ground before standing at the ready between it and the Shuppet they'd left behind.

"See?" Nat whispered. "The Snorunt created an opportunity for Stoutland to make distance and he didn't have to wait for the go ahead to take it. His duty to protect the Pumpkaboo comes first before anything else. He's strong enough that he could easily take on the horde of Shuppet himself, but if the Pumpkaboo is injured in the process then it'll be all for naught."

Rosa's eyes regained a child-like sparkle that had long since been lost, if even only for a second. What she was witnessing first hand here, was just like some of the stories that her father used to tell her as a child. At the dinner table, right before bed, he'd tell her everything he'd accomplished each time he came home from a trip.

But those moments were just a cover, right? Despite all the good that her father proclaimed to have done, he was undoubtedly a bad man. Even if Nat was a good guy, heck, even if all the Rangers out there were good people, it didn't excuse her father.

"It's reckless," She muttered.

"What?" Nat whispered, having just barely caught the girl's voice on the wind. "What's reckless?"

Rosa looked up at the Ranger and then out at his Pokemon. She shook her head. "Nevermind. Maybe some other time."

Nat looked thoroughly confused, but quickly shook it off. "You're a weird kid, you know that?"

Rosa let out a sigh, trying her best to clear her mind of all thoughts of her father. Now was simply not the time to have a breakdown. She'd done a good enough job of skirting the issue up until now; to have to explain it all at this point after a total meltdown would just be completely embarrassing. She'd end up having to commit to never actively avoiding the Rangers at all costs, just in case Nat decided he wanted to gossip and someone ended up recognizing her.

The two refocused on the battle at hand. It was still too early to call it, but the Snorunt that Nat had contracted were putting in good work. There were six in total, facing off against the eleven Shuppet which were still actively trying to target the Pumpkaboo despite the losses to their numbers and the immediate danger which surrounded them.

The Snorunt acted in unison, utilizing a mixture of Powder Snow and Icy Wind to conjure up a pseudo-blizzard. Within the current terrain of freshly fallen snow, their attack was sure to hit. Their attacks kicked up large patches of ice and snow, creating a small tornado-like structure which bobbed and swayed towards the Shuppet.

One of the ghosts noticed a chill at its back and turned to look, finding itself face to face with a shifting tower of ice. The Pokemon let out a cry before it was deafened and consumed by the combined attack. The other Shuppet quickly dispersed; half of the Ghost Pokemon floated around the blizzard, while the rest continued on towards their previous objective.

As the Shuppet made their way around the storm, they were met with nearly a dozen more Snorunt that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Each Snorunt then doubled once more, shaking vigorously as their bodies split into identical versions of each other. The Shuppets' eyes darted around the mass of Pokemon, confused by their sudden explosion in numbers. One brave shuppet put itself at the front of the group.

"Shuuup," The Pokemon motioned towards the others as a long shadowy claw appeared from its body. The Pokemon cackled as it pierced itself with its claw before pointing at the mass of Snorunt.

From within the crowd of duplicates, a solitary Snorunt suddenly fell over. "Snooorunt." The Pokemon said weakly as a number of the duplicates disappeared.

"Shuppet. Shup." The Pokemon turned to look at its allies, nodding its head slightly.

The Shuppet made looks of concern before themselves for a few seconds before finally coming to an agreement. Each Pokemon revealed its shadowy claw and followed their leader's act in carrying out their Curse. One after the other the Snorunt began to fall weakened. Their duplicates disappeared, and now it was evident that at least for this group, the Shuppet had the upper hand.

The Snorunt slowly rose, feeling the weight of the Curse they were made to bear by the Shuppets' combined sacrifices. The icy Pokemon quickly threw up an icy shield, hoping to collect themselves for a moment longer. But it was no use. Their moves failed one after the other, forming a collection of half-made walls that the Shuppet eagerly floated over before firing off their Will-o-Wisps.

The balls of fire struck the Snorunt, causing small flames to crawl across their bodies and leaving trails of burns as they did so. The Shuppet cackled once more as they revealed their shadowy claws and weaved signs across the air. After a few seconds, a number of eyes appeared in the air where the ghosts had been waving. The eyes slowly peeled open before focusing on the Snorunt. The flames tracing across the icy Pokemon's bodies each instantly flared up, encompassing them completely for a matter of seconds as the eyes which were fixed upon them bulged and exploded into a shadowy, dark, mist.

"That was a Hex," Nat muttered as he began to chew on his thumb nail. "These Shuppet are crafty. They took full advantage of that move's ability."

"Hex? What's that supposed to do?"

Nat grunted as he reached into his belt. "It's an attack that normally isn't all that powerful. But when a Pokemon is afflicted with a status condition like a burn or paralysis, its power doubles."

Rosa shook her head. "That doesn't sound good."

"No, obviously not. They were hit with a string of bad luck. Curse, Will-o-Wisp, and Hex. Their failed Protect was just the nail in the coffin. Until that point they could have held out even a few seconds longer... " Nat finally found what he'd been looking for. The Ranger pulled a handful of herbs from the pouch on his belt and then looked over at Rosa. "Ready to make yourself useful?"

Rosa raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'll give you a few of these herbs. Feed them to the Snorunt and they'll wake up. They've done all they can for us at this point, so its best if they just get out of here. There's nothing else around we can use, so we'll just have to rely on Stoutland and one of your Pokemon. I'll run around and grab the Shuppets' attention. You'll play medic. Understand?"

Rosa nodded her head, followed quickly by Nat nodding back. The Ranger quickly passed over six of the herbs and then rushed out towards the ghost Pokemon which were hovering closer and closer to the knocked out Pokemon.

"Ey! You shitty blankets! Come'n get some of this fresh man soul! Still tethered to its body! Ripe for the picking! I won't even resist!"

The Shuppet glanced over at Nat and then back down at the Snorunt. All but one of the ghosts trailed off to chase after the Ranger, while the last of them chose to take the spoils of the battle for itself.

"I don't think so!" Rosa called out as she dropped her bag behind the tree and rushed out towards the passed out Snorunt. The trainer clicked the ball in her pocket and lobbed it towards the Shuppet.

"W-Whis!" Wyatt poured out of the ball in a flash of light. The Whismur quickly looked around at the fallen Pokemon surrounding it and then began to shiver. "W-Whiiii!"

"Don't get scared Wyatt! I know you're strong! It's just one little ghost! Show it what you're made of so we can get these Snorunt out of here!"

"Whis…" The Whismur continued to shake, but its head tilted up towards the Shuppet which was hovering slightly above it.

"Shuuup?" The Ghost looked down, confused at the little ball-like Pokemon shaking beneath it. The Shuppet grinned, pleased with the human girl's offering. "Shhhuuuuuuuppet."

The Shuppet conjured a small ball of fire which floated slowly towards Wyatt. The Pokemon locked gazes as the small flame slowly waved and drooped through the air before reaching the Whismur's face.

"Wyatt!" Rosa called out, not wanting it to get with combo that the Snorunt were subjected to before.

"Whiiiis!" The Whismur cried out, its voice echoing through the still wintry air. The floating flame crept back up towards the Shuppet, reflected by the force of air escaping the tiny wailing Pokemon.

"Sh-Shup?" The Shuppet backed slowly away, but it was too late. The Pokemon was caught in its own attack. The flames quickly trailed across its body, leaving an ethereal haze behind as it burned at the Shuppet's body.

"It should be weakened now," Rosa whispered. She nodded to herself with confidence. She knew the Shuppets' game plan now. It was time to finish it.

"Whiiis!" Wyatt cried out, causing the snow around it be blown away. The Whismur now stood in a crater of grass while having buried the Shuppet beneath an avalanche of snow which had been thrown up.

"Shup-pet." The Pokemon conceded defeat, slowly floating away after the flames coursing across its body had melted away enough of the ice and snow for it to move freely.

"We did it Wyatt!" Rosa fell to her knees and hugged her partner.

"Whis!" The Whismur replied enthusiastically. Being held in its master's embrace, the Pokemon momentarily ceased to shake, placing its ears over Rosa's shoulders as held on to her shirt with its nubby arms.

"Now, as for these herbs-"

"Snorunt." The final Snorunt of the group weakly made its way over. The Pokemon took a seat beside its fallen allies. "Snor." Its eyes moved from its friends, over to Wyatt, and then finally to Rosa. "S-snor…" The Pokemon whispered as it closed its eyes and fell over.

Rosa watched as the Pokemon fell unconscious. She couldn't exactly understand what it was saying, but she could tell it was deeply troubled by the current state of affairs. The trainer understood fully, and she'd said it before, only this time it had a different meaning; reckless. The Ranger had pulled these innocent Pokemon into a danger they had no reason to be in.

It didn't matter that he could heal them back up with some herbs or that at the time they were happy to help… come to think of it, couldn't the same be said for a conventionally captured Pokemon? Just because Wyatt was friendly with her and was willing to fight, did that mean he really had to? Was it cruel of her to have Wyatt fight her battles just because they happened to wind up together? She had already decided against catching Pokemon just for the sake of it, but was what trainers did just a more permanent version of the situation she was currently standing in? Surely she wasn't the first person to wonder whether it was right or wrong to capture Pokemon, regardless of their feelings.

"We all deserve to be free. Free to say no, free to make our own decisions. But there's always someone out there asserting dominance over us, telling us what we should and shouldn't do because its for our own good or because we should. Wyatt… I don't know if becoming a trainer was the right path for me to go down."

"Whis?" The Whismur grabbed Rosa's dress and looked up at her. "Whis!" The Pokemon nodded enthusiastically. "Whis, whis, whismur whis."

"Maybe… I don't even know why I came on this adventure to begin with. It was Simon's idea… all because I didn't want to leave the house… all because I didn't want to have to worry about how other people felt about me… I just-"

"Why's it matter what other people feel about you?" Nat slowly walked up from behind Rosa. The Ranger held the Pumpkaboo securely in his arms, followed closely behind by a fully healed Stoutland.

"Of course it matters… it always matters Nat." She suddenly worried that maybe she was letting him see to much of her. She'd let her guard down, but now that the words were coming, she couldn't hold them back. "I have to constantly worry about how people perceive me. Do you know what that's like? To constantly have to pretend to be someone you're not just because you're too scared to let someone see the real you?"

Nat raised an eyebrow. "I mean, sure. Doesn't everyone feel that way at some point or another? Heck, look at me. Momma raised me to be a gentleman proper and I sure as hell ain't retained nun'v'it. But put me in the same room as Momma? You best believe I'm doing my damndest to recall everything she taught me and put up that front. It gets a laugh outta my sis' seein' as how they know who I really am, but nun'v that matters." Nat kneeled down beside Rosa and placed the Pumpkaboo in front of her. "See, when I'm out here doin' my job, the only person I have to worry about judgin' me is my Pa. He's up there with Arceus now, but I know he's watchin' me, and I want to do him proud more'n anyone else. The only other thing that matters is the Pokemon. I haf'ta use 'em sometimes in this line of work, but I make sure they all get back safely to where they belong. Even those Shuppet. I done treated 'em and sent 'em packin', it's only right if we treat the Snorunt that helped us too. You get what you give, Rosa. If you pretend around everyone else, they'll play pretend right back."

"But... " Rosa's eyes welled up so she buried her face in the sweater. How embarrassing. She thought to herself. The girl took a few deep breaths, pulling the smell of Simon's cologne from the loosely knitted wool. Somehow, the scent brought back the memories that they'd shared over the years. It grounded her slightly, at least enough to get herself back under control. "Sorry about that. I hope you can forgive that little outburst." She smiled weakly.

Nat looked Rosa in the eyes and then put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, you might not be one of my sisters, but as long as my duty allows it I'll be there for you as if you were."

The trainer swallowed hard. He reminded her of Simon when he was younger, back before they'd moved to Galar. Rosa averted her eyes and her smile grew a little wider and a little more awkward. "Thank you."

Nat nodded. "Now, why don't you go ahead and feed those herbs to these poor Snorunt? I'm sure they're all ready to get back to feastin' on them berries."

- - - - -

The Snorunt had all been nursed back to health and the majority of them had fled. The last of the Snorunt which had joined the group watched as the rest of its friends waddled back to their berries and continued on with their day as if nothing had happened. The Pokemon let out an icy sigh as it sat on the ground and looked off into the distance.

Rosa knelt down next to the Pokemon. "What's up? Not going to go and eat your berries?"

The Snorunt looked up at her and then continued its thousand yard stare. "Snorunt."

Rosa looked confusedly at the Pokemon and then glanced up at Nat. The Ranger sighed and shrugged. 'It happens,' he mouthed. Rosa sighed and sat down next to the Pokemon. "Can't get over what happened, huh?"

The Snorunt continued to stare off into the setting sun. "Snorunt."

Rosa rubbed her hand against the peak of the Pokemon. "I understand how you feel. Its hard to forget sometimes." She paused, reflecting on everything that had happened so far in her life. "Life is full of things you'll never forget. Some of those things are good, others are bad, and some are like nightmares that we never wake from. All of these things will follow us for as long as we live."

"Snor."

Nat started walking away, not wanting to force Rosa to reveal any more of her secret to him than she already had. He glanced at the girl for a second and then made his way back to the tree where Rosa had dropped her bag.

Rosa nodded as she pulled the Pokemon up into her lap and began to rub at its peak with both hands. "But its those unforgettable things that make us who we are. The good things make up our character, and the bad things exist to make us stronger. And those nightmares… well, I'm still not sure about those myself. Maybe they're a bit of both? Something that makes up a part of our character but also exists as something for us to strive towards overcoming."

"Deli?"

"Hey! Get away from there you thief!"

"Delibird!"

The Snorunt sat in silence, its eyes slowly closing as the trainer trailed off into silence as well. The two took their time to mull over their words, their eyes growing heavier as they continued to wonder. Nat finally returned, noticing that their conversation had ended.

"Rosa, its time."

The girl looked up at him, holding the bag out towards her. "It's time? What do you mean?"

The Ranger nodded in the direction of the Pumpkaboo. The Pokemon's stomach was beginning to glow, and an insidious fog was creeping out from it as the sun disappeared over the horizon. "It's time to take this lost soul to where it belongs."

- - - - -

A shade had appeared from within the Pumpkaboo's stomach. The shadow of a man, wronged in life and vengeful in death. The spirit made vast, sweeping motions towards the surrounding area as the Pumpkaboo led the trainer and the Ranger. The Snorunt from earlier in the afternoon had chosen to crawl into Rosa's bag and fall asleep, forcing the girl to carry the added weight along with them.

"Noooo!" The spirit cried out with a ghastly wail, causing the Pumpkaboo to abruptly change direction.

"Where do you think it's taking us?" Rosa questioned.

Nat shook his head. "We've been walking for nearly an hour now, but it's hard to say. The Wild Area is massive, but Pumpkaboo isn't the fastest Pokemon ever. And given that it was harboring such a powerful vendetta, it couldn't have made it too far before coming under attack by those Shuppet."

"Raaaaah!" The spirit called out with a chilling scream.

The sound of the spirits' screech caused the two humans to wince and cover their ears. Their ears continued to ring well after the spirit had faded away. The Pumpkaboo sat on the ground and closed its eyes. The Pokemon let out a massive yawn and then drifted off to sleep after having completed its journey.

"What the hell?" Nat muttered as he uncovered his ears. "Guess it's somewhere around here then?"

Rosa slowly scanned the area. There didn't seem to be a body anywhere, but this was the Wild Area. The man may have passed on here, but his body could have been taken anywhere by wild Pokemon or even other humans.

"It must be under the snow somewhere," Nat muttered as he got on his knees and began to wipe away at the snow covered ground.

Rosa crouched down, placing her bag beside her as she ran her hands across the snow. The two spent several minutes searching before finally…

"What's this?" Rosa asked. She wiped away the snow from a large pool of ice that had formed on the ground.

"Looks like ice," Nat started. "Not exactly uncommon to find ice under snow, so its…" his voice trailed off as he came closer to the puddle. "Why's it colored like that?"

Rosa shook her head. "I don't know. It's… not a color I've ever seen before."

Nat shook his head. "No, I wouldn't think you would. At least, I'd hope you wouldn't have." The Ranger pulled a small lighter from his belt and held it against the ice for several minutes. Eventually, a small portion of the chunk had begun to thaw. The Ranger wiped his fingertips against the liquid and shook his head. "That's not good…"

"What's that?"

Nat rose slowly to his feet. "Well, it is what I thought it was. But, that being as it is isn't a good thing."

"Planning to just leave me in the dark?"

"It should be obvious," Nat slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers. "It's blood. Concentrated in one area from what it looks like. Since we didn't find any big patches anywhere else, I can safely assume this wasn't a Pokemon attack."

"Then it was…"

Nat shook his head. "Maybe it's best if you go ahead and move on. Whether this is what I was looking for or not, I can't leave it alone… wait… the earth here is off too…"

Rosa slowly leaned in, pulling the dangling locks of hair behind her ear as she got a better look at what the Ranger was inspecting. "It's uneven. So? What's that mean?"

"Yes, it's uneven, but if we follow the fissure line…" Nat continued to mumble to himself as he ran his hand along the overlapping crack, tracing it for several feet in each direction. "This feels deliberate."

"You mean someone made this crack here? But why would they do that?"

"Put simply, it'd have to be to hide something." The Ranger rooted around in his pocket for a second before finding what he was looking for. An ATC. Nat tapped the card against his styler. A display appeared from the device, which the Ranger scrolled through for a few seconds before tapping on something. "Got it." A few seconds passed and a pokeball appeared above the styler. "Now, let's open up this pit." Nat tossed the ball out in front of him, releasing the Pokemon he'd just summoned.

"Choooke." The Machoke came free in a burst of light, flexing and striking a pose as it appeared.

Nat nodded. "Machoke, use Fissure."

"Choke." The Pokemon nodded, noticing the crease in the earth. The Machoke placed its hands on the uneven ground and began to grunt. "Ch-Choke. Ma-Choke. Ma-Choke." The Pokemon slowly peeled the earth apart, revealing a small chasm.

The smell was instant. A swarm of Sizzlipede followed, scurrying out of the crevice. It was only for an instant, but they'd both seen it. The charred and broken corpse of what was left of a human. Nat shook his head. "Something foul is definitely going on here." He muttered as he took the rope off of his belt and handed it to the Machoke. "I'm going to check things out."

Rosa slowly moved to the edge of the crevice and looked down it. Nat was repelling into the darkness with only the light of his styler. The girl pulled out her Pokedex and opened it, shining what little light it provided down after him. It didn't do much to help the Ranger, but it had reflected off of something else that was within arm's reach.

"What's this?" She whispered as she reached down into the crevice. It was just a few inches beneath the ground, so it seemed as though it was intended to be buried with the corpse. The girl wrenched the device free from its space in the earth and then brushed off the dirt as she looked it over with her pokedex's light. "A busted styler… then that means-"

"Rosa!" Nat called from below. "Hey! You still there?"

Rosa leaned over the edge and looked down at the tiny, dim light at the bottom of the hole. "What's up?"

"I think it's best if you don't get involved in this any further. I know, kind of shitty of me, but the way things are going now it's looking like this might be too dangerous for you to get involved in!"

Rosa shrugged. "Yeah, okay. That's fine I guess."

"Sorry about dragging you all the way out here! But I was right! You were my good luck charm!"

Rosa sighed and looked at the Machoke which was holding the rope. The Pokemon looked at the styler in her hand and then stared back into the hole, paying her no mind whatsoever.

"Well alright then." Rosa muttered as she went to place the broken device in her bag. Surely she'd be able to get it fixed somewhere in one of the cities… not that it was any of her business to get involved in, but curiosity had gripped her, and she was its slave. "What the-"

As she opened the bag, she noticed a shimmering light coming from within it. The trainer reached into the bag, brushing past the still sleeping Snorunt and pulled out the lightly glowing stone. Rosa looked the rock over and then shrugged. A shiny rock, a styler, and an herb that could revive a Pokemon. And a story to tell to her classmates, of course. Maybe leaving her bike -

"My bike!" She'd finally remembered that she'd left the electric bike behind to go on this adventure with the Ranger. She sighed in frustration. "None of this was worth it. That's like… a half-day walk back to where we started this whole thing at." Rosa sighed and grunted, expressing her frustration towards the Ranger to no-one in particular. "Better get steppin' then..."

-Inventory-

Spoiler:

Jay · Nov 20, 2020

.

STAGE 2 EXTENSION

An official statement from Blackspear Industries:

Good Morning Galar!

We at Blackspear Industries would like to start by giving you a warm welcome and a how do you do today? As the primary energy provider for the Galar Region in these troubled times, we want to promote a healthy lifestyle and a positive attitude in the citizens we provide for. Allow us also to offer our sincerest congratulations to the graduating class of Wedgehurst Academy, despite its small size Wedgehurst is one of the most important locales for the Galar region when it comes to education and natural preservation, we're excited to see how the students fair in the upcoming League Circuit, especially against our own sponsored candidate!

Alas it isn't all good news, we're here to issue a warning for the safety of the Galar people, using our platform. We've received word from the Ranger Association that strange individuals dressed head to toe in black suits have been spotted in the wild area. These trainers are using odd black pokéballs and have been shown to respond to interference with their strange activities via force. For the safety of our new trainers and beyond, we encourage those who see these individuals, do not interfere with them. Doing so would put yourself at a great risk, instead we beseech you to contact our friends in the Ranger Association immediately. These brave men and women are trained to deal with criminals, please do not take the law into your own hands and put yourselves in harms way.

The youth is the future and remember our motto, the future is Blackspear.

Thank you and stay safe!

- The CEO of Blackspear Industries.

.

ADDITIONAL MISSIONS

[OPEN]Mission B1 ★:
Mysterious trainers wearing full black suits and carrying briefcases have been appearing across the Southern Wild Area! These individuals are up to no good, using mysterious black pokéballs that seem to capture wild pokémon without fail?! The pokémon they send out from these pokéballs have dull, empty eyes and behave obediently to commands, yet they seem weaker than their wild counterparts... When questioned, these people insist they work for an important higher power, but would rather die than give a name. There's only one thing for it! Get your pokémon ready and stand up to these shady character, protect the wildlife of the Wild Area!
Reward: One of the following;
- TR Aqua Jet
- TR Flare Burst
- TR Grass Knot
- TR Rock Tomb
- TR Disarming Voice

[OPEN]Mission B2 ★:
There's something wrong with the wild pokémon scattered about the Wild Area! Suddenly as you travel through the wild area, you encounter a Wild Pokémon with fierce red eyes and a black and red aura surrounding its body. These pokémon are powerful, dangerous, unnaturally violent and impossible to capture... and when you knock them out, they get back up in seconds! Square off against one of these hyper-aggressive menaces and upon knocking it unconscious, it might just flee upon standing back up... and in its place you'll find something it left behind.
Reward: Wishing Piece

gimmepie · Nov 20, 2020

Catherine Carlisle
18 | Female | From Wyndon

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Refresh

Horsea (Male, Swift Swim) - Water Gun, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath

Lightning Strikes Twice

"So anyway," Catherine said, "It turns out that his step-brother's mind has been uploaded into the robot Lillipup and that he was killed by the same Mismagius-using witch that turned the MC into a Gurdurr to begin with. Some of the story is a bit… dodgy but twists like that make it all worth it, you know?"

"Poli?" The now familiar tone of confusion and questioning was enough to tell Catherine that Indra did not, in fact, know. At least he was listening though, her new Horsea was not paying any attention to her recount of Dramatical Gurdurr - inspired by a sighting of an actual Gurdurr off in the distance - at all.

"You'll get it eventually," Catherine assured her partners, neither of them looking confident in that assessment.

It was only the day after the encounter with the raging Salamence at the subsequent argument in their cave hiding place, but the mood seemed to have improved greatly. Catherine had found herself feeling inexplicably more relaxed, her encounter with Ruben well-and-truly out of her mind and both her Pokemon seemed in fairly good spirits. She had been making a point of letting them spend time together outside their balls. It seemed like a good idea to have them get used to each other.

Even the weather seemed to have improved to match. The sky was still cloudy and grey, and it still rained frequently - it was even raining a little at that very moment. The worst of the storm seemed to have passed for the time being though, the wind speed had dropped to something much more manageable and the rain wasn't so heavy it almost hurt to be out in it any longer. Catherine hadn't seen lightning or heard thunder since the early hours of the morning.

That's why it was a surprise when a bright yellow bolt of electricity exploded into view on the horizon, wide and vast and alarmingly powerful. It was enough to make Catherine stop for a moment, in awe of what she had just witnessed.

"That was insane."

Indra chirped his agreement, but, as he often did, Catherine's as-of-yet unnamed Horsea said nothing. However, he too had stopped, his gaze fixated on the sight of the lightning. A moment later, another wide flash of electricity flashed… in almost the exact same place.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that this isn't because of the weather," Catherine said, "It might be a good idea for us to go around that."

"Sea!" Catherine's Horsea was suddenly off like a rocket, hopping like mad in the direction of the lightning as though hell-bent on getting demolished by another powerful foe.

"Wait!" Catherine called after her Pokemon, but it just kept going, "Fantastic."

Catherine sighed, taking a deep breath before running after the Horsea with Indra making numerous inquiring noises as he ran at her side. Apparently, her Horsea-related troubles had not ended with the Salamence. This became even more abundantly clear when she caught up to it, stopped at the edge of a small rocky drop.

Beneath them, the source of the lightning strikes was rapidly made apparent: a Manectric was standing in front of a nest, growling at a pair of identical twin trainers. The boys looked to be only a little younger than Catherine and were dressed annoyingly similar to not just each other but also to Melody, whom Catherine had gone to school with. Although, even Catherine could tell they were dressed in a designer mockery of Spikemuth fashion more than the actual thing.

In front of the trainers stood a pair of Pokemon: a Krabby and a Sandile. Behind their quarry, within the nest, was a single egg. It didn't take long to piece together what was happening, the twins were attempting to capture the Manectric and would likely leave the egg to rot. What was more, the Manectric was hardly moving and when it did, it was with a distinct limp. The Electric type was clearly injured.

"Sea!" The Horsea cried angrily, the sound drowned out by another blast of Electricity from the Manectric. The Sandile moved in front of the Krabby, absorbing the Electricity with no harm done.

The entire scene was enough to fill Catherine with disdain. This was exactly what she hated about people. Everyone was always so self-serving, the effect of their actions on others be damned. She understood her Horsea's anger. Still though, technically the trainers below were well within their rights to do what they were doing. There was no reason for Catherine to draw herself into what was happening, potentially getting zapped by an enraged Manectric in the process. She turned to walk away.

"Come on," she said, "Those are terrible people, but this isn't our business."

"Sea!"

Catherine looked back around, her Horsea was glaring at her now and once more she was reminded of that infuriating train ride. Could she really claim to be better than the trainers underneath if she just left the Manectric behind? It was a Pokemon, they weren't exactly known for skullduggery like people were… she really didn't know.

"Sea!"

The Horsea looked at her again, then leapt from the embankment.

"You're insufferable, you know that!" Catherine growled after the Water type, "Looks like we're going in, Indra."

She started clambering down the wet rocks.

Spoiler: Inventory

Foxrally · Nov 20, 2020

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

North Lake Miloch

"Oop. That's another Snom."

Simon brought his net down slowly to scoop up the snow under the tiny creature. It was the fourth one he'd run into in the past twenty minutes. They had all come crawling towards him, squeaking softly in the howl of the Blizzard - Simon was familiar with the species, and reckoned they must have been separated from their swarm. He was hoping they would reach it before he got through the area.

The bug catcher and his three partners had been traveling for nearly a week now, having made their way through the rolling fields, braving the torrential rain at Giant's Seat, and finally reaching the area around Lake Miloch, only to be met with a vicious Snowstorm. Simon was pleased with the training his Pokemon had gotten so far though, sparring against each other and practicing moves against (mostly) non-moving targets. The strict regimen he'd put them on didn't seem to bother Caterpie or Scatterbug, the latter being used to it at the academy. He'd learned a bit about his newest catch too; though his Burmy certainly didn't have much to write home about in terms of move variety, the cheeky Pokemon certainly made up for it in strength. While he enjoyed pulling pranks on Simon and Caterpie (namely splashing them with water while they weren't looking) he seemed to be getting along quite well with Scatterbug, who had undertaken the duty of supplying him with his coats using her collar fluff. While the fuzzy coat still didn't last permanently, it seemed to stick on for much longer than any leaves or sand Simon had tried to put on; and it was effective enough that Burmy had decided to stay out of his ball despite the cold. Simon had also focused on teaching the three to work with each other better- if he had learned one thing from his battle with Sachi, it was that the small bug-types' moves would not work well on their own until they evolved. It also seemed 'poffin girl' had gotten his two Pokemon hooked on those little round treats; and the withdrawal had been less than enjoyable to witness.

The little Snoms in his net were wiggling happily in the mesh, eating up the cinnamon buns he'd left inside. The blizzard around Lake Miloch howled around the trainer, the powerful winds pushing against him as he forged ahead. The landscape was near unrecognizable, with the ground being covered in almost knee-deep snow in some places and the only landmarks being the trees tall enough to be visible. Simon was worried he'd accidentally walk into the lake itself if he wasn't careful. He had hoped the blizzard would calm down before he got to it, to get some water-type training done in preparation for Nessa, but it looked like he'd have to push through this weather to get anything done. Both Scatterbug and Caterpie had swiftly tucked themselves into their own Pokeballs at the sight of the snow.

He took a moment to regain his bearings and look around. His coat was thankfully warm enough to withstand the frigid temperatures of the area; the same couldn't be said for most of his Pokemon. On his face was a pair of goggles and makeshift mask, fabricated using string from Caterpie - surprisingly insulating, as he'd learned. He looked down at the fuzzy Burmy tucked in his coat pocket, its little head appendage sticking out as it looked into the snowy distance, fascinated.

"I reckon you never thought you'd see places like this, yeah?" Simon chuckled. "The world's a lot prettier once you look past how cold it can be." He paused for a second to contemplate the accidental poetry of his words.

"Bur, bur!" the fuzzy Pokemon responded, leaning forward suddenly.

"Hm? What are you lookin' at, lad?" Simoned peered in the distance where Burmy was looking.

The winds subsided for a second, revealing the faint outline of a red flag. "Hey, that must be a ranger camp!" Simon exclaimed, picking up the pace. As he got closer, a large brown tent would become more visible, surrounded by a few snowmobiles and a tall flagpole. Simon spotted two individuals working in front of the tent, of them moving crates off a vehicle while the other spoke into a walkie-talkie. The latter took notice of Simon as he approached, giving him a friendly wave before finishing his conversation.

"...right, keep me updated then. Cheers, over." he said before turning off his device and facing the trainer. He was dressed in a red coat and hat, with black trousers and boots, the former two bearing the Pokemon ranger insignia. It was a sign Simon was familiar with, as some of his family worked in the organization. He also had a yellow bandanna tied to his arm, which likely signified some sort of leadership role, Simon remembered. The man pulled down his face mask, revealing a neatly trimmed beard and welcoming smile. "Hey there, son! Didn't expect to see a trainer up here in these conditions!" he shouted over the blizzard.

"What can I say, the weather's just peachy this time of year!" Simon shouted back, grinning.

The ranger laughed and pointed at the tent behind him. "Name's Pat! If you're looking for a pit stop, we've got some warm drinks and a Chansey in there for you and your Pokemon!" He motioned for Simon to follow before entering.

Simon followed and was relieved by the instant warmth he felt inside. A Magby seated besides a drinks cooler waved at him, the light above it shining brightly with the power of Sunny Day. Simon quickly took off his bag, goggles and net and ripped off the stuffy facemask. He looked around the large but cozy tent, filled with all kinds of equipment and more importantly, a table with food on it. "Thank you, sir!" he said, quickly making his way to the hot cocoa cooler. "Oh, I'm Simon, by the way."

The ranger smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, and prepared to head back out. "Make yourself comfortable for as long as you need- wait, are those your Snom, lad?" He suddenly paused as he noticed the little creatures crawl out of Simon's net.

The boy's eyes grew wide and he hurriedly swallowed his drink, wincing at the burning pain. He'd completely forgotten they were inside. "Ah, -ow- sorry! They're not, no. I was picking them up earlier on my way; they looked lost. I'll take them outside if you'd like."

Pat shook his head. "No, no! No need to apologize, you've actually helped us quite a bit!" He crouched down and allowed the critters to crawl onto his arm. "These little critters aren't native to this region, you see- so we've been trying to herd all the Snom before the weather turns. It's a good thing you found the ones we missed!"

"Ohh, okay." Simon nodded, signaling to a Chansey that he was okay after the Pokemon expression concern for his burnt tongue.

"Say, how'd you figure they were lost?" Pat asked, raising an eyebrow.

Simon shrugged. "I dunno, just a feeling, I suppose."

The bearded man tapped his chin for a second as if mulling over an idea. After a moment, he nodded to himself. "Actually, we might have a favour to ask from you, Simon- if you're free for a moment." he said.

Simon nodded enthusiastically before pouring another drink. "Yeah, of course!"

"We've been trying to round up the final bit of Snom in the northeastern sector, but the lads up there are telling me a Snom is giving them some trouble, one much stronger than usual, and it's slowing down the operation. I'm hoping someone as… attuned, as you seem to be, might be able to help calm it down, or at least understand what's making it so aggressive."

Simon nodded and finished his cocoa. He'd never heard of an aggressive Snom before- those things wouldn't even harm a cutiefly if their life depended on it. However, the thought of helping on a ranger operation excited him- the soon-to-be-champion helping on the front lines, what a story! He put his drink down and pointed at himself confidently. "You can count on me, sir! I'll put that snow-topped dumpling in its place!"

The man laughed. "Fantastic! Then talk to my colleague over there, and he'll snowmobile you over to that sector."

------

"Right, we're here." the driver of the snowmobile told Simon in an irritated tone. This ranger was not nearly as pleasant as Pat- not that it had bothered Simon, who had managed to talk his ear off with work-related questions the entire trip.

Simon grabbed his stuff and hopped off the vehicle. "Brilliant! Thanks for the-" Before he could finish, the snowmobile had taken off again. Simon shrugged and looked around to see if he could spot any more rangers. The blizzard was slightly calmer in this part of the wild area, and he could make out the silhouette of a person in the distance. He made his way over to them.

"Ah! Ya must be the trainer captain Pat talked about." a young woman welcomed him. Beside her was a swarm of a dozen or so Snoms, snacking on some pellets she'd left in the snow. "Reckon you know the pickle I'm in, then?"

"Yep! And your champ-to-be's on the case." Simon posed triumphantly.

The ranger eyed him down before shrugging slightly and pointing in the direction of a large boulder. After a moment, however, Simon realized it wasn't a boulder at all- it was a massive chunk of ice. How such a massive block of ice had been formed and moved all the way to Lake Miloch, he had no idea- but he noticed a small creature at the base of it. A little Snom stood in front of the structure, and even through the blizzard Simon could tell that it was glaring right at the two humans. "That lil' guy has been makin' my life hell all afternoon. I can't even get close to that ice to get to the other Snom, and I also don't wanna leave 'im behind." the ranger explained.

"Lemme give it a shot." Simon gave her a thumbs-up and began walking towards the ice chunk.

Almost immediately, the Snom let out a hiss, shaking its mandibles..

Simon raised his hands and continued forward more slowly. "Hey, mate, I'm not here to hurt you! Just here to chat!" he shouted over the blizzard.

In response, he was blasted with a snowball to the face. As he spat out bits of snow, he corrected himself, "Okay, I'm sorry, girl! You're not a male, gotcha." The size and power of the ice-type move had been much greater than what he thought a Snom could generate.

The Pokemon seemed to accept the apology, but continued to hiss at him as he got closer. Simon stopped once he got about a meter away. "There, I'm not getting any closer. I just wanna know what's bothering you so much about people getting close." he crouched down to try and meet the Snom closer to eye level.

The Pokemon looked at him for a moment, then squeaked.

"What, that huge thing?" Simon looked at the ice behind the Snom. "How would she even steal that? And it's just a block of ice- I'm sure they've got tons up in Circhester."

Just as the Snom was about to squeak back a response, Burmy's head emerged from Simon's coat. The bagworm Pokemon looked at the Snom curiously and tilted his head. Sensing an intruder, the Snom immediately reeled back and hissed, before blasting Simon with an even bigger, stronger powder snow attack. The boy was pushed back a small distance before landing in the soft snow.

"Right, well that idea's gone balls-up…" Simon muttered to himself as he got to his feet. "Guess we'll have to go to plan B! Burmy, hit it with hidden power!" he commanded, extending his arm.

Stretching its head appendage, Burmy latched onto Simon's arm and sprung out of his coat pocket, before conjuring three blue orbs and shooting them at Snom.

The ice-type stood its ground defiantly. Just as the hidden power attacks were about to collide with it, its body shone brightly- and the attacks bounced right off, now twice the size. Simon ducked as the orbs zoomed past him and burmy, crashing in the snow behind them.

"Well, shite." Realizing that battling it also wasn't the best idea, Simon stopped and recalled Burmy back into its ball. He thought about what Snom had communicated to him about the ice block- why was it so important to her? Then, a third plan popped up in his mind.

Without giving the Snom any time to react, Simon grabbed his net and sprinted towards the bug. The Pokemon's eyes grew angrier as it prepared another powder snow, but Simon had gotten close enough. He raised his net over it, ready to swing- and swiftly brought the metal handle down onto the ice. The impact was strong enough to chip off a small chunk, which fell to the ground.

The Snom let out a pained squeak as it lamented the assault of its precious ice block. It ignored attacking Simon and instead began digging through the Snow, looking for the broken piece. "Not so fast!" the trainer said, pulling out a Pokeball and tapping it onto her head. The Pokemon let out a long squeak as it was sucked into the sphere. It vibrated for a few seconds… before stabilizing with a click.

New Capture!

Snom ♀
Ice Scales
Powder Snow - Struggle Bug - Mirror Coat

Simon grinned and tossed the ball in the air. "That bug just needed to chill." he joked, expecting a response from his partner, before realizing none of his Pokemon were on him. The ranger girl approached him and noticed the Pokeball.

"Well, that's about what I expected from a trainer." she said. "At least he's out of my hair. Didja figure out what the problem was?"

"It was a she, actually. And it had something to do with this giant block of ice, she thought you were trying to steal it, or something."

"Huh. Wonder what made it care about bloody rock so much. Anyways, thanks a ton for the help. Captain told me you might find this useful as a reward." the ranger pulled out a blue pokeball, with black lines on the side- similar to a fishnet or spider web. "Should help ya in catching any more bug-types, though I don't think you'd need more than two on ya team."

"Alright, cheers!" Simon beamed as he took the gift.

"Well, I got me some more Snom to round up. You stay safe, alright?" the ranger waved goodbye and headed back to the group of Pokemon she'd herded.

After Simon bid her goodbye, he continued his path through Lake Miloch. The snowmobile trip had carried him quite a distance further than he expected, and he seemed at least a few hours ahead of schedule. After about an hour he stopped, took out the newly-filled Pokeball, and released the Pokemon inside. The bright light materialized into the feisty Snom.

The creature looked around for a second, finding her bearings, before noticing Simon and hissing at him and backing away. Its eyes burned with anger and sadness over its lost treasure.

"Whoa! At least let me explain before using that kinda language." Simon said, crouching down.

The Snom turned away and squeaked angrily once more.

"What, you mean this?" Simon suddenly fished out a small chunk of ice from his coat pocket.

"Snom!!" the little Pokemon squealed, hopping towards the trainer and attempting to jump up to his hand.

"Well, I just did you a favour, didn't I? Now you can go with your precious ice anywhere you want! But- you have to promise to work with us in return. Sound fair?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Pokemon considered his words for a second, before letting out an exasperated, squeaky sigh.

"Great! I'm sure we're gonna be great mates, you and I." Simon grinned and handed the bug the shard of ice. "Like two cubes in an ice tray!"

Stinging Bea · Nov 20, 2020

Aeliana Kekoa

Watchtower Ruins

Chapter 2-4 | Carnage

Aeliana's Current Party:

The dense fog made it difficult to tell exactly where she was being led. Under most circumstances, Aeliana would have preferred to hold off until daylight at the very least. That said, the sudden urgency that the Clefairy was showing as they ran back across the Watchtower Ruins was more than enough to convince her otherwise. This Clefairy seemed to trust her enough to show the pink-haired trainer whatever it was that was suddenly of such great interest. After everything she had probably been through, Aeliana figured the least she could do was humor the small Pokémon's request.

After what felt like hours of running, the trainer and the two Pokémon came to a clearing in the area that was decorated by a small overlook. Tampa and Aeliana watched as the Clefairy's eyes widened, a look of caution quickly taking over her facial features as she slowly made her way to the ledge. Her body began to twitch and quiver, a reaction that brought concern to the pink-haired trainer. Both she and the Totodile slowly made their way over towards the Clefairy.

"Clefairy…?" Aeliana called out. "Is everything okay?"

The Clefairy slowly turned to look back at the pinkette. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she pointed down below. The trainer squinted, as she followed the pointing of the pink Pokémon, attempting to make out whatever she could under the darkness of the night sky.

"We need to go in for a closer look," Aeliana suggested. "Come on, we'll move in closer. Just… be careful."

Aeliana looked around, quickly noticing a small, narrow, winding trail leading down to the ruins before. A look of relief washed over her face. If given the choice of taking an actual path or climbing down a rocky cliff, it was a no brainer for the trainer. She slowly began to make her way down the path, Tampa on her heels all the while. The Clefairy, who seemed to be in a trance all this time, snapped back to reality. She worriedly made her way towards the descending duo, grabbing hold of Aeliana's jeans in an attempt to get the Pokémon trainer's attention. The girl in question nearly stumbled forward in surprise, but she managed to collect herself quickly as she turned to face the Clefairy. Despite almost taking a fall down the incline, Aeliana gave the Clefairy a small smile. She knelt down by the Pokémon and gently began to pat her head once more.

"What's the matter? Are you scared?" she questioned. The Clefairy remained silent, her body still trembling despite the pink-haired girl's reassuring contact. "Don't worry. Tampa and I are both going to be with you the whole time. We'll keep you safe, okay?"

The Clefairy's eyes trailed down to the ground, but she nodded just the same. Aeliana wasn't exactly sure based on that reaction if she had managed to calm whatever fears she had at the time or not, but it was a start at the very least. She gently took the Clefairy into her arms and resumed her descent into the valley below.

As the trio neared the bottom, the sight that seemed to have Clefairy so concerned became clear. The valley, surrounded by various cliffs and stones jutting out from the tall grass, was illuminated by a single campfire lit in the center of the area. Something told the trainer that the three of them were not alone. Something told her that she needed to find a place to lay low while she surveyed the area that the Clefairy had led her. A tall, wall-like structure was spotted just a bit to the east. Gathering Tampa into her other arm, the trainer quietly made her way behind it. Once she felt that she and the Pokémon were fairly well hidden, Aeliana sat Tampa and the Clefairy down on the ground, and then poked her head out from around the wall.

Her mouth went agape. Her eyes wide with shock. The gentle glow from the campfire revealed a sight that made the trainer's skin crawl. Scattered about the area, were various Clefairy similar to the one she had found earlier. All of them were badly injured. Some of them were worse than others. A sinking quickly rose in the pit of her stomach as she was quick to take in that some of them had died as a result of their injuries.

"Who… What in the world could've done this…?" Aeliana whispered, dropping to her knees from the shock.

"Well, well… Looks like this was quite an easy haul to make after all."

A sudden voice grabbed the girl's attention. Looking up, she was quick to take in the sight of a well-dressed man standing close by the fire. He was dressed in a dark blue dress coat and slacks, a pair of black gloves covering his hands. He had long, blond hair which he kept pulled back into a rather neat ponytail that was tied back with a black ribbon. A pair of glasses framed his face, covering his emerald-green eyes. He was quite the charmer in terms of looks.

"These Moonstones are going to fetch quite the pretty penny on the market," the man said. "However, I feel we've been wasting enough time here. Bisharp, finish things up so we may get the final stones."

Aeliana's eyes shot up further ahead. Cowering against the rugged cliff of the valley were two Cleffa cowering behind a single Clefable. The Clefable was battered and bruised, with scars and slashes decorating his body. His breathing was ragged as his legs shook underneath him. His body was doing everything in its power to try and keep standing. He defiantly stared down at the Bisharp. The Clefairy that she had found earlier peeked around the corner at this point as well. Dread etched across her face as she watched the scene play out, once more gripping onto Aeliana's leg in the process for comfort.

"Hurry it up and get the last of those Moonstones, Bisharp! We're running out of moonlight here," the man repeated, his tone growing sharp as he spoke. "It's only a matter of time before the rangers come here. I'd rather not be waiting around when they finally show up."

The Bisharp looked over its shoulder as its trainer spoke. A curt nod was given in response, before it turned its focus back to the wild Clefable. The steel Pokémon reached back and prepared to slash at the Clefable with a Nightslash, however the Clefable suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the Bisharp's arm in an attempt to deflect the steel Pokémon's attack. The Bisharp looked surprised from the sudden deflection of its attack, a moment that the Clefable wasted no time in taking advantage of. Without hesitation, the Clefable suddenly reached back before slamming into the Bisharp's head with a powerful Mega Punch. The Bisharp grunted in response, but it seemed as if the Clefable's assault did little to damage it. Instead, it looked quite annoyed, as if the Clefable was merely wasting its time. A sharp cry of anger echoed out through the night air as the Bisharp's left arm suddenly shot forward… impaling the Clefable right in his chest.

Aeliana felt the color drain from her face at the sight. Her brain froze, unable to process or make sense of what she had just witnessed. What didn't seem to freeze up in abject horror however, was the Clefairy. A wail of sadness and grief slipped out of the pink Pokémon's mouth as she suddenly bolted out from behind the pink-haired trainer and made her way towards the body of the Clefable. Aeliana snapped out of whatever trance the horrific display had put her in, desperately trying to grab hold of the Clefairy before she bolted out from behind her. She wasn't quick enough to stop her, much to the girl's dismay.

The well-groomed man raised a curious eyebrow at the sight of the battered Clefairy, before a knowing smirk came to his lips. "Well, well… I wasn't expecting to see you again…" His eyes drifted down to the Moonstone tied around the pink Pokémon's neck. "Quite the surprise indeed…"

The Clefairy remained oblivious to the man's presence, however. Her mind was focused solely on one thing, that being the Clefable. Tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to shake the Clefable, as if he was merely just sleeping and the smaller Pokémon was trying to wake him up from a nap. As expected though, the Clefable wasn't sleeping. It wasn't going to wake up, despite the Clefairy's wishes.

Aeliana watched on in horror. Her eyes widening as she noticed the Bisharp glaring down at the Clefairy. The pale moonlight was shining off the Pokémon's steel blades, its left arms slowly rising up and taking aim at the Clefairy.

"No… No, no, no…" Aeliana muttered.

She closed her eyes. The lush grass and stone ruins fading from her sight, only to be replaced by the hard, dirty wood floor and faded painted walls of a home she left long ago. The Clefairy transforming into a small, tanned, black-haired youth. Bruised and battered, crying and begging for the pain to stop. The Bisharp grew leaner and taller, taking the shape of a haggard and drunken woman with a worn, and faded leather belt in her hand. The child was crying… Begging for the woman to stop as she held a Pokémon close, an Alolan Meowth. The Meowth, battered and bruised wasn't moving. Bloody and beaten, the child cried into its chest as she tried to stir it awake, but nothing seemed to work.

"Please… Please wake up, Felix…"

"Mommy told you not to bring that filthy creature in this house… Mommy is going to have to teach you another lesson, you little bitch!"

"STOP IT!"

The man jumped at the sudden scream coming from Aeliana. The pink-haired trainer burst out from around the wall she had been hiding behind and charged past the man without even acknowledging his presence. She dove down to scoop the Clefairy up into her arms, barely managing to dodge the oncoming attack from the man's Bisharp.

"What the hell is going on here…?" the man questioned. "Where did you come from?!"

The man soon got his answer as Tampa came charging out from behind the wall as well. Putting on a determined face, the Totodile placed herself between her trainer and the Bisharp. An angry growl escaping the gator Pokémon's mouth.

"I… I don't know what you want or why you're doing this… But… But just go! Take the stones and leave them alone!" Aeliana exclaimed.

The man sneered. "And leave a witness? I've got a business to run and clients waiting on these stones," the man replied coolly. "I can't leave some little brat who's been eavesdropping on us this entire time."

"Business…? Business?!" Aeliana snapped. The girl glared in the direction of the man. "You call this business?!"

"Every business has its price," the man stated bluntly. "Do you know how valuable these stones are? Sure, they're useful for evolution but with enough grinding and polish, they become fantastic jewelry worth upwards of thousands! I'm doing society a favor by collecting them from these vermin."

As if to add insult to injury, the man glanced over at one of the bodies of the wounded Clefairy. He grinned maliciously at the creature, before spitting in its direction. This simple action was enough to push Aeliana over the edge.

"Tampa… Bite, now!" the trainer suddenly called out.

The Totodile took off running towards the man, an angry expression that matched that of her trainer as she charged in his direction. The man remained perfectly calm however, reasoning quickly becoming clear as his Bisharp effortlessly intercepted the oncoming attack from Tampa and effortlessly batted her aside with a Sucker Punch. Aeliana watched in surprise as her Totodile went reeling from the attack, barely able to stand on her own feet from the force of the blow.

"Do you really mean to challenge me with that…?" the man questioned. "I've seen fiercer looking Magikarp."

"Don't listen to him, Tampa! Attack with Water Gun!"

The gator Pokémon reared her head back, jaws snapping open as a blast of water was fired in the direction of the Bisharp. The man sighed at the sight of the attack, rolling his eyes as if the confrontation was doing nothing more than boring him.

"BIsharp, defend with Protect! Then Iron Head!" he ordered.

The Bisharp brought its blade-like arms up, effortlessly blocking off the Totodile's Water Gun attack as if it was nothing more than a cold sprinkle from a garden hose. Tampa looked surprised from the ease that the Bisharp seemed to have to defend itself. However before she could react further, the Bisharp charged straight ahead. It let out a deep grunt as it slammed its head right into the Totodile's gut, sending her flying back and slamming into a nearby stone wall. Aeliana could only look on in horror as Tampa's body laid in a crumpled heap on the ground, pain evident in both her face and the moan that escaped the Pokémon's mouth.

"F-Fiesta, let's go!" Aeliana shouted, pulling out the Lotad's poké ball. The Pokémon in question looked around nervously in the dark, eyes bugging out as he quickly came to spot the Bisharp staring down at him with malice. "Fiesta, Astonish!"

"This is your trump card? Pathetic…" the man sneered. "BIsharp, Air Slash!"

Fiesta began to run towards the Bisharp as he was told, but the sight of the steel type quickly charging even faster towards him was enough to completely paralyze him with fear. His legs trembled. His body quivered in a mixture of nervousness and hesitation. Before Aeliana could react or even call for the Lotad to even try and dodge, the man's Bisharp swung violently in the air, sending a razor-sharp blade of air in the direction of the Lotad. A pain-filled wail echoed out through the air as the Lotad tumbled over, fainting right on the spot.

Aeliana, now completely defenseless, could only stare in a mixture of awe and horror.

"This is yet another waste of time… However, all work and no play does make Jack a dull boy…" the man muttered. He glanced over towards the downed Totodile, a sadistic smirk rising to his lips. "BIsharp… Let's begin with that Totodile. I do believe I would adore a new pair of boots."

"W-What…?" Aeliana questioned.

The Bisharp stalked its way over towards Aeliana's Totodile, its sharp blades gleaming in the moonlight with every step. The pink-haired trainer climbed up to her feet. Her eyes darted left and right as she looked around for something, anything she could use. Her eyes spotted a nearby rock, and she quickly scooped it up into her hands and began to run towards the Bisharp with the intention of smacking it into the creature's head. The Bisharp only looked annoyed however as he felt the rock slam into the back of his head. Without so much as even glancing back at the girl, Aeliana soon felt the cold, steely backhand of the Pokémon send her tumbling back onto the grass.

"I wouldn't recommend that again," the man stated bluntly, a sadistic chuckle following. "My Bisharp has quite the temper."

Aeliana watched helplessly as the Bisharp resumed its walk towards Tampa. Her body was shaking in a mixture of frustration from her helplessness and anger at herself for allowing her Pokémon to be put in such a situation. She was supposed to take care of them and now… She couldn't do anything. Aeliana closed her eyes at the sight of the Bisharp picking Tampa up by her tail, its left arm rising with blade facing the gator Pokémon. The thought of watching her precious Totodile's fate too much to bear.

"Dragon Claw!"

Aeliana's eyes snapped open in surprise at the sound of the voice echoing out through the night sky. She turned to look in the direction of the man's Bisharp, gasping in surprise as the bladed Pokémon was sent reeling back in pain from the sudden assault from a Krookodile.

"What… Where in the hell did that abomination come from?!" the man gasped.

"Abomination…? Funny, the only abomination I see is that pathetic piece of trash standing in front of me."

The man's mouth dropped open in shock as he spun around. Aeliana's eyes darted over in the same direction as well. Standing right in front of the male was a woman. Standing about Aeliana's height, her fair skin complexion glowed in the moonlight of the night sky. She had blonde hair, cut short to be around shoulder length with the bangs sweeping across her face. She was dressed in a long, dark red trench coat. A pair of black leather boots graced her feet with match shorts on her legs. Her expression was cold and lifeless, with her only visible eye being a steely, pale-blue. The other eye was masked behind an eye-patch.

"Who are… where did you come from?!" the man stammered out.

"I don't see a need to answer to a worthless piece of shit like you," the woman stated simply. She glanced up, her eye meeting the gaze of Aeliana for a moment before looking over at the Krookodile and Bisharp. The pink-haired trainer followed her gaze, eyes coming upon the Bisharp who had since dropped her Totodile and was now more or less being pinned against the wall by the Krookodile. A smirk graced the blonde woman's lips. "Sadie… You know what to do."

The Krookodile gave a single nod, a loud and feral roar escaping her mouth as she suddenly reached back and took a massive bite out of the shoulder of the man's Bisharp. A loud, steely wail escaped the bladed-Pokémon as it attempted to slam its bladed arm into the Krookodile's face. She effortlessly caught the counter attack, however. A look of sadistic glee stretched across her face as she lifted the Bisharp over her head, before slamming it down into the ground behind her. Bisharp staggered, attempting to pick itself off the ground, only to be met with the great weight of the Krookodile jumping onto its stomach. Aeliana watched in awe and sickness as the Krookodile suddenly unleashed a savage assault on the Bisharp, slamming her fists, tail and feet into the creature in a massive Outrage. The sound of chunking metal and snapping blades carried across the air, the Bisharp powerless to do anything as it was literally torn to pieces.

"You… You bitch… Do you have any idea what you just did?!" the man asked, his voice teeming with anger.

The blonde woman let out a dull snicker. "What's it matter to you? Everything seemed fine when you were the one on top."

The man staggered back, his hands reaching into his coat for a moment before pulling out a revolver. No hesitation as he smirked towards the blonde woman before pointing the gund down towards Aeliana.

"Call that… that thing back… Or this pink bitch is gonna get her brains splattered on these ruins," he threatened. The dull click of the man removing the safety snapped Aeliana out of her trance. "I won't tell you again!"

The woman remained stoic. "Just like him… Utterly and completely pathetic. I thought I was done dealing with pieces of shit like that back in Kalos."

As if on cue, the man suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. Aeliana fell back in shock. A Greninja was suddenly on top of the man, delivering a powerful Nightslash which not only forced him to release the gun, but sent his right hand falling to the ground. The sound of gushing, sputtering blood only out done by the man's pained screams as he fell to his knees.

"You think you're hot shit… That because you're stronger than something else that you can dominate and take whatever you want," the woman lectured. "It makes me want to vomit. You're shit. Utterly worthless and pathetic shit. Your kind never learns and then when you're finally forced to take your punishment you act like victim? Stop your pathetic screaming and face your sins."

The man looked up at the woman as she stalked closer, only for the sharp, stinging pain of a knife to suddenly be felt plunging deep into his chest. The man gargled and cough, blood sputtering out from his mouth as well as the woman's facial expression remained neutral. She twisted the blade further into his chest, before quickly pulling it out. The man's eyes rolled back into his head, before slowly falling limp and lifeless on the ground below.

A deafening silence stretched out across the area of the ruins. Aeliana stared at the man's corpse, mind racing with thoughts as she tried to process just what she had seen. "You… You killed him."

"Yes," the blonde replied.

"But… He was… That's…"

"Murder?"

A silent nod. The blonde woman rolled her eye. Aeliana scooted back, a sudden chill rushing down her back as the woman took a step forward.

"I suppose if you want to call it that, I can't really stop you. However, you would have been in that same position had we not intervened," the blonde woman muttered. "He killed more. The Clefable… several of the Clefairy. Almost you and your Pokémon. Judging from the looks of his damage, he's probably been out here for a while… All the while those useless bastards of the rangers probably oblivious to it all."

Aeliana stared in silence. The blonde leaned closer. "A new trainer, right? No need to answer, I can tell from the look on your face and the fact you clearly bit off more than you could chew. I thought the rookies in Kalos were prone to being dumbasses. Looks like it just spreads everywhere."

Aeliana opened her mouth to respond, but the blonde's eye suddenly opened wide. The sound of approaching footsteps mixed in with the barking of Herdier quickly reached both trainers' ears. Aeliana looked in the direction of the source, quickly spotting the sight of several of the rangers the woman had just lampooned approaching. She turned back to the direction of her would-be savior, only to find that blonde was just… gone. Her Greninja and Krookodile had vanished as well, almost as if they were never there to begin with.

"Holy shit…" one of the rangers muttered.

His eyes went wide as he surveyed the area of the valley. Bodies of Clefairy lying in various states of life and death made him feel numb. He covered his mouth with his hand as he spotted the corpse of the man and the remains of his Bisharp. Finally he gazed down, eyes coming to rest upon Aeliana. He remained silent for a moment, before nodding only once.

"You're under arrest."

TM Case:

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