Melody wasn't one to find a lot of interest in rocks, though every resident of Turfield she had locked eyes with since arriving in the city (town?) had mentioned in one way or another that the stonehenge was something she needed to see. Deciding to take a look so that she could, at the very least, tell them she had seen it, the punk teen opens the door from the Pokemart to head for the hillside. When she opens the door; however, she comes face to-- chest with a familiar face.
"Woah, excuse me, Mi-- Melody!"
"Hey, Hop." Melody steps back and gives a subtle nod of greeting. Hop came around from time to time during their time at the academy-- and Melody avoided him as best she could. His boundless energy and optimism were incredibly draining to her. "Did y' stop by t' see the gym challenges?"
"Nope! Well, that's not my main reason. I'm gonna check 'em out though!"
Melody can already feel her patience beginning to drain. "Then?"
"Oh, people started reporting some weird stuff going on around the ruins, so I thought I'd check it out and make sure it's nothing suspicious. Have you checked the ruins out yet?"
"No." Melody responds almost automatically-- only to mentally kick herself when she realizes what's coming next.
"Why don't you come along? I can't wait to see what one of Sonia's top students can do out in the field."
I should have lied. Melody mentally scolds herself. Although…
something weird might be more of those aura Pokemon, so it could be worth her time to check out. She can probably convince Hop that he owes her a free lunch for playing assistant too. "Alright. Lead the way."
~~
(Meanwhile, over here)
After arriving in the pleasant Turffield some time ago, Clovis was sitting at a bench with Cortex, who was quietly sitting to his right. The young man was catching up on some much needed reading. Or, tried to catch up. Archimedes was also present, perched on the back of the bench, but was more interested in just taking in the fresh air, and observing his surroundings.
Silently, the three enjoyed the silence, after dealing with the excitement of trouncing Ruben and the battle with Oleana. Well. As silent as it could be.
"Thaaat's right, folks! I, Luxore, the magician, present a very rare Pokemn to you! This here Gothita is unlike ANNNYother Gothita in the world!"
A street performance was going on just across the way from where Clovis hadsat himself. The performer appeared to be a magician, with the typical black top hat adorned with white trim, tuxedo and regular outfit to match. With him, was indeed a Gothita, hamming it up to the crowd with a wave.
"And just to prove it to you, she will perform feats of prestidigitation never seen before! Behold!" As soon as he pulled off his top hat, Clovis… ducked his head down.
For Arceus' sake, this is such old hat! Pardoning the pun, who would-
"Ooohhh," the small crowd hushed in great interest.
... Damnit.
Presenting the hat to the crowd, it appeared empty. But, once he placed the hat on the ground, Gothita walked up to it… and she did an overly flashy twirl, then patted the top of the top hat.
"Goooothiiiii-TA!"
An extra flashy pat, little sparkles flying off. *Wiggle, Wiggle*
"Ooohhh, lookee there," someone in the crowd mumbed aloud. "Such a cute little cutie pie," a female voice squealed. The Gothita, already bowing, as the top hat floated into the air. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, don't blink!" For seconds, the hat floated in the air, before… tentacles? Tentacles seemed to squirm out of the hat, before climbing out, now an Inkay appeared, now wearing the top hat. Clovis, seeing this, went through his memory lab.
Inkay and Gothita… both Psychic-types. Typical. He had to have the Inkay's Pokeball sealed inside the hat. And the Gothita.... Clovis' eyes rolled over to the Fixation Pokemon that was eating up the attention. A real princess.
Well, it's a Gothita. As the crowd continued to cheer, Clovis eyed the Inkay and the magician. However, the Inkay noticed Clovis. He gave him a small wink, before attending to the "stage."
Hop and Melody arrive on the scene as the Gothita levitates the sparkling hat. "Check that out." Hop says with an amused smile as he gestures to the performance.
Melody's head slightly dips to the side as she observes the scene at hand. "Have these people never seen a psychic Pokemon levitate something before?" Do they live under rocks? This is pretty standard fare for psychic Pokemon. As she speaks, she feels Nightshot latch tightly onto her shoulder and let out a soft hissing sound. The punk teen quirks an eyebrow before glancing around the area. The only person that solicits this kind of reaction from the Doom Noodle is…
"Hey, is that Clovis?" Hop asks before raising his hand up in an excited wave. "Hey, Clovis!"
Perking his ears up, he heard a familiar voice. Looking over… he saw… Hop.
Oh, no… not again. During his time at the academy, Clovis was normally "volunteered," to help Hop with this or that, and how Hop
constantly tried to befriend or get Clovis to talk about himself. Most of all… to smile. Clovis sighed, and closed his book, tucking it into his bag. Right next to his reading device. "Alright, Cortex… you'll need to return for now. Archimedes, you can stay out of your ball if you wish." Cortex shortly nodded to both Clovis and Archimedes, the Wild Pigeon meeting the nod before Cortex returned. "Craww, craw?" Archimedes, hopping on Clovis' shoulder, cawed questioningly at the individual greeting his trainer.
Seemingly unable to read the less-than-enthused expression on Clovis' face, Hop jogs over towards the other male. "Are you busy? Melody and I are heading up to the ruins for some investigating. You should come too! Investigating is right up your alley, right?"
Melody looks away uncomfortably from the interaction, struggling not to bury her face into her hand and groan. Mixing Hop and Clovis seems like mixing oil and gasoline. Mixing her and Clovis is like adding… fire to more fire. All three of them together? There's no telling what kind of explosion they'll unleash on one another. Then again… Melody has to admit that she always enjoyed seeing how Clovis maneuvered out of this kind of social situation. When she was watching from the sidelines rather than being forced to interact with him herself, the punk teen found herself frequently amused by The Brain.
She takes a single step forward before the Gothita from before appears in front of her face, levitating atop the top hat while balancing on one foot. "Taaaa?" She asks, green eyes glistening.
Wait-- green eyes? Don't Gothita have blue eyes? Is this one wearing contacts? She does seem to be wearing lipstick and face powder. Do they make contacts for Pokemon? Melody reaches into her pocket to dig for some spare change. "Just because you're cute." She says before placing the money on the rim of the hat.
"Gothita!" The Pokemon says with a big (and clearly fake) smile as she leaps into the air, spinning in a circle as the hat below her spins and glimmers in the light. As the Psychic type floats away, Melody is left wondering how she's making that sparkle effect. Is there something on the hat reflecting light? She keeps the psychic type in the corner of her eye as she steps over to stand beside Hop.
Oh, damnit… SHE'S here too… damnit, this is the worst time to run into BOTH of them at the same time. Clovis, now on the verge of a serious illness, manages to look up at Hop. "I… sure. I'll help. I was going to go to the ruins before my Gym Battle anyway," he said with a sigh, as he stood up.
This will be a good opportunity to take a look at the ruins, and at the same time, try to get more information. Still, he felt sick in his stomach, the anxiety of having to interact with the one person who defeated him. "In that case, let's go."
All Melody does is nod. That's probably the best way to avoid inviting one of Clovis' snide comments that she will be hard-pressed not to take as an invitation to punch him in the face. She's still somewhat certain assaulting a fellow challenger will get her disqualified from the challenge-- though a few minutes with Clovis and they might make an exception. She should still try to be nice though, yeah? In the spirit of competition? Who knows, in the two months since she's seen Clovis, maybe he's chilled out.
"Awesome! This'll be great. Getting to see two of Sonia's top students in action. C'mon, this way!" Hop encourages with a motioning wave before taking off at a steady jog, leaving the duo in the dust and Melody shoving her hands into her pockets.
"Onward, I guess?" She asks.
"... Fine. If Hop is looking into this, then it must be important. Besides, he clearly needs the help. Just don't get in my way," Clovis hissed. The feeling of nausea and embarrassment caused Clovis' voice to add a hint of venom to his tone. But, immediately turning away to avoid eye contact, he began to follow Hop. Archimedes, again, merely observed. He didn't want to act out of line with Clovis' intention, but wasn't quite sure of them in the first place. So, the Wild Pigeon simply acknowledged the young girl, and looked on.
Melody clenches her fist before rolling her eyes. She can't assault him… but would it really be so bad if she just…
accidentally bumped into him and he fell over the side of the hill? The punk teen's shoulders slouch as she hurriedly walks to catch up to Hop, deciding against asking what's up with the giant pigeon. Clovis had a HootHoot, didn't he? He didn't seem like the kind to stock up on two of the same type of Pokemon. "What are we investigating, exactly?"
"You know the Stonehenge that's up here? Some people have reported that more rocks are being added to it. Normally that sort of thing's not a big deal, but people get pretty intense about their national landmarks." Hop explains.
Fantastic. Melody thinks to herself.
This is exactly how I wanted to spend my day… staring at rocks and seeing if something shows up with even more rocks.
"...." Quietly, Clovis walked on. He tried to avoid contact with Melody as possible. After such a humiliating defeat, Clovis felt even more sick than before. Humiliation, embarrassment, and angst riddled his mind. "Crr-aww," Archimedes tenderly called, as he nuzzled against his trainer to comfort him. "Huh? Oh, Archimedes," he trembled, stroking the Wild Pigeon's mane of plumage, as a . "Thank you, such a good bird you are," he lovingly praised, as he groomed Archimedes.
Melody quirks an eyebrow. Should she say something to break the uncomfortable silence between them? Clovis probably won't like it, but Clovis doesn't seem to like anything, so does it really matter what she does? Probably not, and it will make her feel a hell of a lot less awkward to not walk in silence. "Do you like bird pokemon?" She finally asks, her tone a bit more dismissive than she intended for it to be.
"...." Clovis slowed, and turned slightly to Melody. Not making eye contact, but clearly acknowledging her. "Well. I like MY bird Pokemon. Unlike that petulant Hoothoot I let go. No, Archimedes is a fine Pokemon," Clovis cooed, giving the Wild Pigeon extra attention. "The only reason I had lost to you the first time was that Hoothoot was a lost cause."
"Oh, really? That's the only reason." Melody rolls her eyes. "Then, enlighten me, oh wise one, why did you lose round two? Don't tell me that Hoothoot had you so dejected that you couldn't focus. You're more competent than that."
"The reason why is… I pushed poor Cortex when he wasn't ready," he cringed, before walking on to catch up with Hop.
"Are you--" Aaand he's gone. Melody can feel the hair on her neck standing on end. Is he serious?! What a lame ass excuse!
I wasn't ready ? That's what children who can't catch a ball in a game of catch say. Okay, fine, they'll battle again. With his new precious bird and--
"Py?" A soft voice accompanies a light poke to Melody's cheek, bringing her back out of her head. The punk teen blinks and glances towards the small dragon, who gives a questioning head-tilt and a small wiggle in response.
"Yeah, I'm good." Melody says with a small shrug.
Up ahead, Hop flashes a large grin as Clovis catches up. "It's just up ahead." The aide says with an eager point towards the top of the hill. The stones can be seen from here-- as well as something moving around them.
Steadying his eyesight, Clovis observed the Stonjouner. It would appear that the Stonjourner seem agitated in their movement. They are placing more stones here and there across the hill, some just seem purely anxious and erratic in their movement. Seeing this, explains, "Hop, there's something making the Stonjourner distressed."
"You think? About what?" Hop asks. It makes sense; there's no documented cases of the stone-Pokemon ever doing something like this to the historic monument before. There must be a reason for them to do it now, and it's likely got something to do with them trying to draw attention to their distress. What is it that's distressing them, though? Nothing about the environment has been altered recently, and there's been no reports of anything disrupting their way of existence. In his own observations, he has seen no differences.
Melody joins the pair and narrows her eyes at the erratic movements of the rock-type Pokemon. "Do you think we can follow them to the source of the problem?" No, probably not. If it was that simple, someone would have done it.
"I, uh… not sure what we can do. Perhaps Cortex can persuade them to calm down, and explain the situation," Clovis questioned, as he held up the Pokeball his partner was contained in.
"Great idea! Cortex can ask the Stonjourner what's wrong and communicate it to you, and you can tell us what he said." Hop says, causing Melody to raise an eyebrow. The Stonjourner are going to tell Cortex, who's going to tell Clovis, who's going to tell them. It sounds like a game of telephone where something is bound to be lost in translation. Then again… psychic Pokemon never caught her interest and she, admittedly, doesn't know a lot about how they work.
In response, she gives a small shrug. "It's worth a shot."
"Alright then. Cortex, I need your help." Cortex, now appearing before the group, looked up at Clovis in question. "Can you ask the Stonjourner what they're upset about, partner?"
"...." Cortex merely blinked, and shuffled it's heavy body, looking on at the Stonjourner on the hill. The blue lights flashing off of his shell began to glow with a steady beat.
Hop watches with an easy-going smile while Melody watches with a perplexed expression. A minute after Cortex is released, her eyes flit between the psychic-bug and his trainer. "What's the verdict?"
A bit more time passed, before Cortex began to shuffle around once more, now looking up at Clovis, Melody and Hop. Then, his eyes rested squarely at Clovis. Silent, once more. "...."
In that moment, Clovis' mind was filled with sorts of images. Stonjourner, sleeping at night… but, some sort of intruder… with a floating Pokemon, and a very small Pokemon alongside them. They… look familiar. Several more images appear… the figure has a large bag. Using the Pokemon on hand, they clear out the ruin of the Stonjourner. Then… the figure steps back out. A key feature that Clovis noticed was a large… hat.
"That magician, near the center. He's the one responsible. We just don't know why he's doing it, but he seems to have hidden something in the ruin."
"Hold on," Hop says as he reaches for his Roto-phone. He holds the phone out and quickly begins to tap, Melody looking over his shoulder as he pulls up a news article. "Lots of things have been reported missing over the last few days."
"Around the time the magician showed up?" Melody asks.
"It doesn't say that, but I'd bet good money on it." Hop says as he pockets his phone.
"You'd think the police could put two and two together." Melody grumbles.
"Don't worry, we'll make quick work of this now that-" Hop's words are cut off by a soft, pained sound. He turns back around to see another Stonjourner, much smaller than the others, hobbling towards the stone structure. His smile fades to a sympathetic frown as he reaches for his own bag. "You two head back to town. I'm going to take care of that little guy, and then I'll catch up."
"Understood. Let's go, Melody. He may still be entertaining," Clovis called as he ran in the same direction they came from.
"-- Coming." Melody blinks before breaking into a run and quickly catching up to her fellow trainer. She fully expected Clovis to make some remark about being able to handle this on his own. Huh. Maybe he really has chilled out since their last meet up. This might actually prove to be fun after all.
Leaving Hop to tend to the Stonjourner, Clovis and Melody ran back to where they found Clovis originally, but the same magician was found. Seeing him take tips from a slightly larger crowd than before, but was clearly wrapping up as soon as he saw both trainers.
Melody slows to an easy-stroll and takes a few steps closer to Clovis. "How do you wanna do this?" She asks softly as they close in on the area where they left the magician. Her instinct is to tackle the guy and demand he confess to taking the stolen goods. That… probably won't go over well in front of a crowd. Something more tactful would be their best bet, and let's face it: Clovis has far more tact than she does-- at least she thinks he does. He comes across as a guy who has tact.
Clovis simply strolled up to the crowd, and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know anything about… anyone who has entered the ruins? Unlawfully?" He questioned the performer, getting a nervous leer out. Meanwhile, Gothita was hogging up attention from a couple of the other watchers, and Inkay just watched with a curious eye. "Ahem… what is a young man doing, making such flimsy accu-?" "Cortex, I need you once more," Clovis called, cutting off the snobbish performer. The crowd was mixed with annoyance and confusion. "Cortex, if you'd be so kind to share with us what you showed me earlier?"
"...." The blue lights that ran off of the shell began to glow brighter, and pulse more strongly, as Cortex began to flash the same images through the crowd, and through the performer. "W-What is this?! This is fairly illegal, I'm sure," The performer scowled, but was met with a fairly upset crowd. "Hey, my girlfriend told me some jewelry o' hers was missin'!" "My brother told me he lost some money after meeting a character like you!" "I lost my Official Pokemon League Hat!"
The crowd, growing more and more agitated, the magician scooped up Gothita and Inkay in his arms, and immediately dashed off, running towards the stadium on the right.
"UGH, I hate running… damnit, let's go! Cortex, return! Archimedes, see if you can slow him down!" Clovis called, as the Wild Pigeon flew off of his shoulder while recalling his partner. "Melody, he may be trying to lose us by running around the stadium towards the ruins! Try to catch him off guard on the other side," he instructed hastily, before running off without hearing so much as a reply.
The entire time Clovis interacted with the magician, Melody didn't even bother to hide the small smirk that formed on her face. Clovis had the guy dead to rights, and there really was no talking himself out of anything when the psychic-bug had what was basically video evidence of him stashing the goods in the ruins. Huh. While Melody never gave Psychic types a lot of thought before this, she's very much beginning to appreciate the
easy button that Cortex has teleported into their investigation twice now.
"On it!" Melody calls out with a far more excited-- dare say even friendly tone as she darts off in the opposite direction. If she can make it down this side street quickly enough, she can cut the guy off before he gets to the ruins. A fire of enthusiasm sparks to her eyes as a determined smile forms on her face. Nightshot's little grip on her shoulder tightens as the small dragon looks ahead apprehensively. When Melody gets like this, things tend to escalate very quickly for them.
However… Clovis was not quite the runner the charlatan was. Slowly, he was gaining distance from Clovis. "Archimedes, try to slow him down with a Quick Attack!" "Crrrrrr" Archimedes, flying low to the ground, began a beeline towards the man's legs. "Bwah! Gothita, use Psyshock!"
"... Hmmph! Goooo-THITA!" She wasn't entirely enthused with the thought of getting dirty, but he was still the breadwinner. Hopping on his shoulder, the Fixation fired a multicolored beam of light. "Archimedes, use your Quick Attack to dodge! Then, follow up with an Air Cutter from above!" Quickly averting the Psychic attack, Archimedes flew back into position, and fired off gusts of wind, whipping up blades that flew around Luxore, making him slow down to avoid any attacks.
The escape artist gains several feet while the Gothita and Unfeazant do battle; however, once he gains enough distance to believe he's in the clear, Melody bolts from the short-cut side street, now accompanied by a monochromatic Zigzagoon whose fur is standing on end. "Get a Pin Missile ready, Lyric." Melody says with a smirk as she raises her fists in front of her chest. "One more step and that fancy suit of yours is getting filled full of holes." And if he somehow manages to evade Lyric and gets any closer, she can punch him. That's also a thing that can work.
"Augh… little brats," Luxore growled, as Clovis caught up to him from behind. He was caught between the two young trainers. "You know, children… a good magician is never without an escape trick!" He yelled before he pulled out a small, black ball, and threw it to the ground, causing a smokescreen to appear. "You won't be so lucky next time we meet, brats!" He yelled, as his voice became distant.
"Melody, the ruins! He's trying to distract us! We'll catch him trying to collect his loot! Archimedes, return!" Clovis called, returning the Wild Pigeon before running off towards the ruins.
"How did I not see that coming?!" Melody scolds herself as she reaches for Lyric's Pokeball. "Thanks for the backup, li'l dude." The punk teen tucks the Pokeball away before breaking into a frantic sprint. This fancy-suited-fake-****er isn't getting away from them that easily.
So, Melody and Clovis traced the steps seen by Cortex through the ruin, shortly after Luxore entered first. Eventually, after going through the halls, they could hear other frantic footsteps. Until, finally, they came upon him with a stash of stolen goods, hastily stuffing them into a burlap sack. "Y-You damn brats! How did you manage to follow me here?!" As the last of his words echoed through the ruin, a number of Stonjourner appeared and blocked the doorway, preventing an escape. "Damnit… Inkay, Gothita, you're useless!" He turned, and yelled at his stage Pokemon, his voice echoing harder off the walls. But… Gothita simply huffed, and turned away. Inkay, meanwhile, lazily floated in the air and mocked the magician with a raspberry.
"URGH, FINE! You little brats will deal with my ACTUAL Pokemon! Drowzee, I choose you!" Turning his back on his stage hands, Luxore took a single Pokeball, and a Drowzee appeared before Clovis and Melody. "Drrroow-zee!" The Hypnosis Pokemon's lips curled into a mischievous smile, and readied himself. "Yes, this Drowzee of mine helps me 'convince' loyal fans to make donations to me. So what? Like you punks will stop me!"
"A single Drowzee? On you? Such a waste of a good Pokemon," Clovis sighed, before unclipping a Pokeball from his belt. "You caused me an incredible inconvenience. You're a pathetic example of a trainer, and an adult human being. Now, Cortex, I choose you!"
Cortex appeared once more, bright blue eyes observing the Drowzee before him.
A Drowzee? Melody is really starting to dislike this particular family of Pokemon. "Are you as offended as I am?" Melody asks Clovis while reaching for a Pokeball, though she stops when she feels a light tap to her shoulder from Nightshot. The Punk teen nods in understanding before turning back to face their rather obnoxious opponent. "Let's rock, Nightshot!"
"Dree-py!" The small ghost cries out as he flies over to join Cortex.
"Drowzee, Poison Gas those brats, and their Pokemon too!" "Drrroooowww…." A heavy inhale could be heard, Drowzee just about to cloud the room with poison.
"Nightshot, Quick Attack!"
"PY PY!" Nightshot calls angrily as he zips across the ruins, slamming forcefully into the psychic type before he can summon his poison gas.
"Now use Hex!"
The small ghost's body vibrates violently as he summons forth the ghostly black energy that sweeps over their psychic foe.
Rolling to the ground after the physical attack, Drowzee instead heaved with a "HURGH" before the Poison Gas was possible. Now, a crippling Ghost attack forced Drowzee to stay down.
"Cortex, finish up with Struggle Bug!" The light on Cortex's shell began to glow green, before streaks of green began surging to the air and striking Drowzee.
"W-Wha…" Luxore stood, mouth agape. Drowzee laid unconscious, a look of utter shock could be seen, before Luxore recalled it. He stood, silently. Both Clovis and Melody stood at the ready, as well as Nightshot. However, Cortex seemed to observe him, and the two Pokemon that didn't fight. Eventually, another voice echoed through the hall.
"The jig is up, Luxore!" Hop declares from the entrance of the cave, the Stonjurnour happily stepping aside so he and his Dubwool can step inside. "You're outnumbered and way outmatched." The aide flashes a proud grin to the trainer duo. "I figured you guys could handle that battle, so I hung back. Great job!"
"It wasn't exactly hard…" Melody says with a lazy shrug. "Guy's got no skill what-so-ever."
"No, he only used his Drowzee primarily to hypnotize people into relinquishing their possessions. However," Clovis paused, eying the two other Pokemon. Inkay, and Gothita. Both of which seemed to be dismissive about losing their meal ticket. Instead… well. Inkay merely floated around Luxore, taunting and mocking him. As for Gothita….
Gothita stepped lightly, save for Luxore's left foot as she passed by. "Thiii-TA!" She stomped on his foot, before stepping up to the three individuals, and gave an expectant look that said,
"Well? Which one of you is going to feed me now?"
"Gotta admit, I expected more." Melody says with a brief but exasperated sigh. Her annoyance; however, begins to melt away when she watches the huffy little Pokemon stomp on the magician's foot. "What's up, spunky?"
Hop meets the expectant gaze of the psychic Pokemon with a big grin. "I don't think she wants to go back to the wild."
"She's not his Pokemon?" Melody asks.
"Nope! Neither of them are. The only Pokemon registered to Luxore is that Drowzee."
Melody looks at the Gothita and then to the Inkay. Both Psychic types. Her eyes then fall onto Cortex before she turns to face Clovis. "I know someone who's pretty good with Psychic type Pokemon."
Clovis, at first… doesn't catch Melody's half compliment. Then, after what feels like a few very long seconds, Clovis turns and says, "What, you're talking about me? I mean, of course… obviously, but," stopping himself, he looked down at the Gothita. "Hmmmph!" She pouted, unsatisfied with the green-haired one.
Little… hmm. Inkay is a much more interesting find, and I'm not sure Gothita would be very… compatible with my team. Turning to see Inkay watch Clovis, seeming amused with his internal turmoil, he spun back and replied with, "Well, uhh… clearly, this Gothita would be in better hands if she went with you. What do you think?" He asked, hoping Melody would prefer to take the rude Psychic-type.
Hop gives another snicker at the little Pokemon's annoyed expression. She doesn't appear too keen to go with Clovis, and he doesn't seem too keen on taking her. That might not be a fantastic match; however… "Yeah! You two look like a good match."
"You think I've got good hands, huh?" Melody asks with a playful smirk and a raise of her eyebrow. She keeps her gaze on Clovis for a second or so before looking back down at the Gothita. A shock to no-one, she's sure, she does like the aesthetic of the gothic Pokemon, and this one in particular has a pretty fun attitude. A little dramatic, but she gives her props for not taking **** from anyone. "You wanna come with me--" there's a brief pause as a fitting name pops into her head, "Celeste?"
"... Hmm… Thita," she mused, before giving a shrug, and gave a tiny nod. This girl was a WAYYY better fit than the moss head, or the walking pinecone. Not to mention, she would be glad to get away from that foppish hack and the other two creepy Pokemon.
"Go-thita. Goth." She crossed her arms, ready to be caught.
Melody reaches into her satchel for a Pokeball. There's a brief second of hesitation as she moves the white and red balls aside to take out one of her Great Balls instead. They're a little fancier and she has a feeling this little princess will appreciate that. "Here." Melody says as she kneels down and gently taps the psychic type's head with the button of the ball. A single shake followed by a click.
"Nice." Hop says with a grin before both he and Melody turn their attention back to Clovis. "What about Inkay?"
Clovis, clearing his throat of the sigh of relief, replied, "Yes, of course. Inka-YYYY," Clovis yeeped with surprise, spinning around to find big, black orbs staring back at him. Clovis, in his shock, fell to the ground on his bum. "Inn-kakaka!" The Inkay laughed and laughed, before floating over to Cortex, floating around him and observing. Cortex, watching Inkay back, before the latter got bored and floated back to Clovis.
"Well… a bit of an oddball you are. But, you'll fit in quite nicely, I think," Clovis spoke, as he raised himself and dusted off his pants. Inkay, again, floated just a bit before his face, trying to tell him something. "Hmm… what is it, Inkay? Oh, of course… I see you do want to come with me… in that case," he trailed, before pulling out a spare Pokeball. "Alright then… Id, welcome to the team!" For a split second, Clovis was unsure why he said Id, he was going to name him Occipita. But, Id is a fine name. Either way, before he realized, Id had already been touched by the Pokeball, and absorbed inside, shortly followed by a click.
"The Id to your ego? I like it." Melody says with a small smirk, trying to recover from the small laughing fit the Inkay had caused by lunging in front of Clovis' face. This is a good match, she approves.
"Looks like this turned out great for everyone." Hop says as he folds his arms behind his head. "Oh! And the police said they would give a thousand poke reward to whoever gave them a lead on the robberies. Why don't you two split it?" Hop thinks aloud while digging into his bag. Melody raises a questioning eyebrow when he takes out two CD cases. "You can have these two. They could really come in handy."
"Sweet." Melody says as she reaches out to take one of the TRs. Stealth Rock, huh? That might come in handy when they make the round trip back to Kabu.
"Sure. Not a problem at all," Clovis chimed in, before recalling Cortex and grabbing his own TR. "After which, I can finally challenge the first gym. But of course… what do we do with him?" Looking over, Clovis saw Luxore still standing there, silently, his Drowzee already recalled.
"Oh, right." Melody's eyes narrow as she stares at the magician. Well… this is awkward. Dude just stood here and watched them catch his Pokemon, didn't he? She can only assume he knows that anything he says can and will make this a ****-ton worse for him.
"I'll keep an eye on him until the police show up." Hop declares, that grin never fading. If he tries anything, Dubwool will put him in his place!"
"Great, I'm leaving then," Clovis slightly head bows at Hop before walking-
"OOF"
Into a wall of Stonjourner. Stumbling back… Clovis looked up, worried.
A-Are they angry at us for trespassing? As if to answer his thought, the Stonjourner picked up both Melody and Clovis… and began to… cheer? "Woah, woah, nonono!"
"Holy ****ing--!" Melody shouts as she's picked up by a giant, sentient rock; however, upon being set on the shoulder of the sturdy Pokemon and realizing what they're doing, her surprise melts into amusement and she lets out a… surprisingly genuine laugh followed by a small cheer.
"Looks like a thank you to me!" Hop says through his own laughter. "You okay, Clovis?"
"Nononononono, augh, I'm gonna be sick," Clovis squirmed in anxiety, his stomach churning not only from having to be around Melody again, but also being rocked by sentient rocks.
"Woooah there. Put him down, guys, please?" Melody asks. The rock Pokemon do as asked and set the moss-haired trainer back on the sturdy ground.
"Ya want some pepto?" The punk teen asks from her rock-perch. No, she's not getting down until she has to. She never gets to feel tall.
"N-no… I just need to go," Clovis stuttered, slowly making his way out of the ruin, clamoring against the walls as he made full use of his excuse to separate himself from Melody and Hop.
"That guy." Melody says as she props her elbow against her knee and rests her cheek against her palm. "Can't figure him out."
Hope he's okay.
"You make a great team, though!" Hop encourages.
"Thanks, I guess." Melody gives a small shrug. "You don't have to stay with me, ya know. I'm gonna party with these guys a little while longer."
Hop laughs softly. "Alright. Take care, Melody, Stonjorner." Hop gives a small wave before heading down the path after Clovis.
And so, with the combined efforts of an unlikely partnership, two wrongs were made right.
Melody caught a Gothita!
Nickname: Celeste(ia)
Ability: Competitive
- Psyshock
- Hypnosis
- Fake Tears
- Charm
- Confusion
- Thief
Clovis caught an Inkay!
Nickname: Id
Ability: Contrary
Psybeam
Pluck
Payback
Peck
Hypnosis
Wrap