[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

Sonata · Oct 22, 2021

Poké:

2220 ♦ Pokemon: 5

CHAPTER 12.4 - WAKE UP
ft. Pia McGuire

Rosa picked at the stems of the flowers she'd brought with her as she waited for the elevator door to chime open, denoting her arrival on the floor. The girl looked up at the men and women beside her dressed in brilliant white coats and blue scrubs.

It wasn't her first time in the hospital on Pia's behalf since the girl had started working so much - but it never got any easier to come here. The air had a certain taste to it that just… made her uneasy. Not to mention how awkward it was in the first place that she was delivering gifts to someone else's mom who wasn't even… awake to receive them. Though, it had become part of her daily routine and she actually looked forward to it at some times. The walk to the hospital early in the morning, and the walk back home after once she'd hit up the market stalls along the way was even more enjoyable.

'Ding.'

The girl looked up, nodding as she ensured she was on the correct floor and then stepped out onto the brightly lit and glossy tile floor. It was still relatively early in the morning, but despite that the floor was just as bustling as ever. The sound of a hundred footsteps echoed, interrupted only periodically by the scuffing screech of someone turning too quickly on the polished floor.

The girl walked down the hall, counting the doors as she walked by them - not chancing to look into any one of the rooms as she passed by. There were some people on this floor that were still awake - some were in conditions well enough that they could look up at her as she passed, but for most of the rooms she would go by… The girl shook her head, trying to get the picture of death's invasion out of her mind as she began to unconsciously match the rhythm of her steps to that of the heart monitors.

"There we are," she whispered, finally having made her way to her destination. The girl turned, knocking first before sliding the door open to Pia's mom's room. "Pardon the intrusion," she whispered, pulling back the curtain slightly to ensure the woman was for one, still asleep and two… still there. The girl let out a small sigh as she saw the same woman laying in the same bed, with the same tube going down her throat.

Rosa walked over towards the room's only window, opening it slightly as she replaced the flowers she'd brought yesterday with the fresh ones that she'd bought today. The glass vase they were in was rather plain, but it was all that she'd managed to find through asking the neighbors. This… wasn't something she'd been asked to do, not by Pia at the very least. But, she thought it might be nice - for both mother, and daughter.

The girl smiled gently as she poured a small amount of water into the vase, filling back up to the same level it had been the last few weeks. "What a pretty day…"

"Hhhh…"

Rosa continued to look out the window, turning her gaze towards the children playing down in the courtyard below. Some of them were obviously patients of the hospital themselves - evident by the robes that they were wearing, the same that had been given to Pia's mom when she was first brought here - but others were very obviously from outside the building, whether they were friends of the child themselves or belonged to the parents of patients of the hospital as well...

"Hhhhhh!"

Rosa furrowed her brow, confused by the muffled and quiet noise. The girl turned her head in its direction, seeing that the person who had been laying still in the bed for the past month was now… shifting. The girl felt her heartbeat begin to quicken as she watched Pia's mom wake for the first time since she'd entered the coma.

"Hhhhh…."

"Ms. what's your last name, don't worry!" Rosa hurried over to the side of the bed, searching for the call button as quickly as she could. "I'll get someone in here right away to help you."

After a few seconds of fumbling around the tangled cord which had been left to droop behind the frame of the bed - an oversight, but not one that the girl blamed the staff for seeing the condition this woman had been in up until just seconds ago - and frantically began to mash the red emergency button on it. She had the thought to verbally call for help, but was worried that yelling at this point would only serve to startle the woman further in her daze.

"Stupid fuckin' kids," a female verse grumbled as she entered the room, clearly expecting to see some of those same children which had been playing down in the courtyard now playing with the call button of a comatose patient. "You're not… a child?" The nurse looked confusedly at Rosa, and then turned her attention towards the patient that was now attempting to pull herself up in bed. "Oh… oh!"

The nurse motioned for Rosa to move away from the bed as she hurriedly made her way over to where she'd just been and began to call something over her radio. Rosa backed away, taking a few steps back towards the flowers she'd put out for the woman. The girl looked out the window, and then off into the distance as the smile on her face began to grow wider. "I've got to tell Pia… what a beautiful day, indeed."

"Stupid kids." Pia grumbled while she stood outside, cleaning up the graffiti on the walls outside of the restaurant she worked at. With her sleeves rolled up and her apron all dirty from the cleaning, you wouldn't think she won first place in the Hammerlocke contest just a few days ago. Ever since she got fired from her café job, she has been doing the cleaning for the restaurant during the day and spended her remaining time doing odd jobs. Just because she won a contest didn't mean her life immediately improved. Although Pia would have loved if that were the case… However, one good thing came out of it.

"Pia McGuire won first place at the Hammerlocke contest?! What a twist!" The radio beside Pia sounded. "All media outlets are praising her performance to the heavens. A fitting description for the stage that she had well envisioned." A second voice joined the in-between show while Pia was waiting for the music to start again. "Have you seen how she looked? No doubt Ruben Sancho is regretting his decisions now as we speak. She even stole my heart."

The praises kept on going and brought a smirk to Pia's face. Of course this has not solved everything. There were still media outlets that talked badly of her but the overall opinion had slightly improved.

"I needn't forget to thank Simon later for persuading me to join after all."

"Pia? Pia!" Rosa called out, out of breath and flushed as she rushed up to the girl, having finally found her after making a fool of herself by rushing into the building in the same manner first. "Pia, we've got to go! The hospital! It's- now."

"Now?" Pia repeated quietly. It didn't strike her at first but when she let the words sink in her eyes widened and her face turned pale. She dropped the cloth she had been cleaning with on the floor together with the bucket of water she had been holding up. They scattered over the ground and the bucket emptied over the just cleaned carpet that had yet to be brought inside. "She's… awake?" Pia repeated. She could scarcely believe it.

"We need to go. NOW!" Pia hastily took off her apron, threw it to the floor and grabbed Rosa's hand to start running again.

Rosa looked at the apron, and the hand in her own and the thought ran through her mind for only a second before she was dragged back in the direction she'd come. 'I wonder if they'll let her keep working here if we ru-.'

It wasn't a terribly long distance to go, but having only just run that distance once without going through her morning stretching routine had definitely taken her a bit by surprise. She hadn't expected to be sprinting around this early in the morning - especially not while trying not to run over the heels of someone else. Pia didn't seem like the most athletic type, but perhaps it was the fact that she was going to be able to see her mom for the first time in… she wasn't sure how long, to be honest - but it seemed to have given the girl a fair bit more energy than Rosa felt she would have normally had.

But, the worst part of the journey, regardless of whether she was by herself or with Pia - was most definitely the elevator ride up. She watched Pia repeatedly jab at the button for their floor, paying no attention to the looks that the two were being given by the doctors and nurses that had accompanied them up. The girl had wondered if maybe they should have taken the stairs instead, regardless of whether or not it was practical to run up six flights of stairs at once after having just sprinted halfway across town like their life depended on it.

Pia ran towards the room her mother had occupied for the past month and stood in front of it. Now that she was here, she hesitated. Her hand trembled in front of the doorknob while she herself kept staring at it. It took a moment before she shook her head and opened the door, the sight causing her to tear up.

A thin sickly woman with long brown curly hair was glancing outside of the window but looked her way. The bones in her face were clearly visible and her wrists were basically twigs. The month in comatose certainly hadn't done her well but even despite that, she gave the two girls and the nurses behind them the most radiating smile.

"Hi, sweetie. Is that a friend of yours?"

Rosa watched as the hours ticked by and the clearly exhausted mother was bombarded by her daughter with all the things she'd missed in the short time she'd been under. The girl smiled every so often as the woman glanced over at her, not wanting to show just how uncomfortable she actually was in the situation. Sure, she'd visited the room a couple dozen times by now but… she didn't belong here. Sure, she'd been introduced fairly early on and had given a proper greeting to the woman she'd been delivering flowers to but… Pia didn't need her anymore.

The girl slowly began to wring her hands, working up the courage to just come out and say she was going to go ahead on home for the time being. Now that Pia's mom was awake, she didn't suppose that either of them really had a reason to stick around the city any longer. Sure, Pia might take some time to stay behind and make sure her mother didn't slip away again, but… in due time, she'd move on. And that just left her, Rosa, with nowhere to belong once more. The girl's mind started to wander to all the things that had crossed her mind in the past weeks - and ultimately, she knew. She had to move on.

She had thought about those few words in a few different ways as she drowned out the talking of the family in front of her, trying to distance herself from the situation - after all, it wasn't like she had anything to offer outside of letting her mom in on all the shitty things she'd done to her daughter before they started living together. But… she had to move on. Whether it was just moving on from competing in contests, moving on from this city and the home she'd been trying to create for herself and Pia, or moving on from the protective hand of Simon - there were still things she had to do… and sitting here wasn't going to accomplish any of them.

"Hey, I…" Rosa started quietly, trying to slip in behind Pia's voice as the girl let out a small laugh. The girl retreated, feeling the weight of the situation weighing on her again. 'I shouldn't bother them. I'll just let them be and slip out quietly.' The girl looked up as she put her hands on the side of the hard plastic chair that had been brought in for her, stockpiling the energy necessary to just leave without causing a scene. And once again, Pia's mom's attention had turned towards the girl.

"Your name is Rosa, correct?" The exhausted mother gave Rosa a kind smile. "I heard you changed my flowers everyday and replaced them with fresh ones. You're truly kind." While she gave the girl a small chuckle while keeping a fist in front of her mouth, it was clear where Pia's elegance came from. She was in a hospital bed and, quite frankly, looked like a wreck but she'd still hand out her smiles like candy on a halloween night. "Come closer, there is no reason for you to-"

"Knock, knock." An effeminate voice echoed into the room from the hall just outside as the door slid open and interrupted the mother. "I understand how exciting it may be for you both to finally see Mrs. McGuire feeling better again, but she has only just woken up and still needs time to rest so that she may properly reacclimate to her current situation." The nurse quickly made her way over to the machine at the other side of the woman's bed, jotting something down into a notebook as she glanced up at the numbers. "Her oxygen levels are still low, so we'll need to give her a mask to help compensate which will make it hard for her to properly carry on a conversation. Forgive me if you feel it's overstepping, but the doctor feels it's in the patient's best interests to not overextend herself so early on into her recuperation." the woman looked over towards Pia who was already grabbing her stuff and Rosa.

"Yeah, I was just thinking we should leave you for the time being." Pia spoke quietly.

Rosa looked over at Pia, and then at the girl's mother whose face seemed to slowly grow a dejected expression. Mrs. McGuire herself knew she needed more rest but it was evident she was happy to see her daughter again.

"You are blessed with daughters like them. They've been at your bed every day." The nurse commented while preparing the oxygen mask she was about to apply. "I'm sure they'll be back." She reassured the tired mother who gave her a smile in return and did not attempt to deny the fact Rosa wasn't actually her daughter. Neither did Pia as walked towards the door and gestured for Rosa to leave as well.

"Please visit me again. You too, Rosa." Mrs. McGuire waved at the two girls.

Rosa nodded and gave a small bow as she gathered up the old flowers she'd pulled from the vase earlier in the day. They'd been without water for some time, but she'd been bringing the old bouquets back to the house with her in this manner previously to dry out and use as decorations for later. She remembered that for some types, preserving them was as simple as pressing them between the pages of a book, but for others… she wanted to make use of the oven while she still had the chance.

The two girls walked - much more calmly this time - back the way that they'd came across the floor. Rosa glanced over at Pia a few times, trying to judge how the girl was feeling while staring at her back. "I'm happy for you. You don't have to stress out about your mom anymore."

"The stress is only just starting." Pia sighed. "I haven't told her about Ruben and she doesn't know her previous profession was made public. She will also need a place near the hospital so that she can go back for checkups once she's released." The girl brushed through her hair as she walked. "Besides, I still need to find out who was the one that went to the media with that story…" Pia seemed to ponder over something and while there was an initial silence, the girl paused and turned to Rosa.

"I'm grateful to you for the past few weeks. I mean that." She looked at Rosa with a determined look in her eyes and a shimmer that could very well have been the creation of a tear. "Our house in Wedgehurst... Consider that your home as well from now on." Pia spoke but looked away from her almost immediately after that. " I'm sure that's what she would have said just now…" the blonde trainer whispered to herself.

Rosa nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Maybe once your mom becomes well enough and we've found ourselves with some extra time on our journeys… we can meet up back home and have a celebration. Until then…" the girl looked at the display at the top of the elevator, seeing that they were now nearly halfway back to the ground floor. "I need to deal with a few things… on my own. I need to see how much I've grown since the last time we fought," the girl whispered her final phrase, her thoughts turning towards Simon as her hands clenched into fists. "But I'll always be…" the girl started, remembering she didn't have any way to stay in touch with the girl. "If we happen to run into each other along the way until then, know that I'll always be there to help out if you need it."

Pia gave Rosa a smile as she felt like this was a goodbye.

But only for now.

Rosa's Party

Memories

CHAPTER 1 - WEDGEHURST & ROUTE 2
GOODBYES, AND HELLO TO A NEW JOURNEY
TROUBLE'S ON THE TRACKS
NAMES AND NIGHTMARES!

CHAPTER 2 - THE SOUTHERN WILD AREA
ENTER THE WILD AREA!
NEW BIKING BIKERS!
THE MYSTERIOUS SHINY POKEMON!
RANGER DANGER! PT.1
RANGER DANGER! PT.2
RANGER DANGER! FINALE!
RED-EYES BLACK-HAT!

CHAPTER 3 - MOTOSTOKE
INN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A POUND
INN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A POUND PT.2
SHADY SHOPPING
THE OPENING CEREMONY
THE OPENING CEREMONY PT.2
THE OPENING CEREMONY PT.3
INN WITH THE FAMILY
ALL BETS ON BLACK
LATE NIGHT LULLABIES
SNACK ATTACK!

CHAPTER 4 - ROUTE 3
VS SIMON
VS SIMON PT.2
MYSTERY OF MEW
MYSTERY OF MEW PT.2
WINTER FESTIVAL
A TWO HEADED REFLECTION

CHAPTER 5 - GALAR MINE AND ROUTE 4
DAYDREAM OF MINE
DEVELOPMENT AND MISSED CONNECTIONS
BUGGIN' THE COSMOS

CHAPTER 6 - TURFFIELD
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE PT.2
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE PT.3
IS IT TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE?
TURRFIELD CONTEST PERFORMANCE
PLANNING AND CHALLENGE
VS MILO
GIRL'S NIGHT OUT
FEAR THE BEGINNING

CHAPTER 7 - ROUTE 5
WORK FOR A PROMISE
WORK FOR A PROMISE PT.2
BUDDING YOUTH
BUDDING YOUTH PT.2
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.2

CHAPTER 8 - HULBURY
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.3
VS NESS
VS NESSA PT.2
THE HYPOCRITES' WALTZ
THE HYPOCRITES' WALTZ PT.2
DUPLICITY
DUPLICITY PT.2
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.4

CHAPTER 9 - GALAR MINES NO.2
CIRCLING THE ANSWER
NINE
NINE PT.2
XAN WAS HERE

CHAPTER 10 - MOTOSTOKE
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN
TURN THE PAGE
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE
EACH VERSE TENFOLD
EACH VERSE TENFOLD PT.2
THE LONG WAY AROUND
PRAY RETURN

CHAPTER 11 - WILD AREA
GOING BACK
MUNCHLAX RETRIEVAL
MUNCHLAX RETRIEVAL PT.2
ENDING UNPLANNED
A QUIET STORM
A QUIET STORM PT.2
TIME TO GET CRACKIN
SETTLING IN
CUTTING OUT
TEMPERED
MAKE A WISH
THIS STILL COUNTS AS 11:11 SO WISH AGAIN

CHAPTER 12 - HAMMERLOCKE
CONTEST POST
DANCE OUR CARES AWAY

Rosa's Journal

Simon Dansen

My childhood friend. Absolute idiot. Can't ever get a read on him anymore. Buttface. Always there when I need him. Always there when I least expect him. JERK. Showed me up in battle and evolved his Pokemon before me.

He came to "rescue" me after I coerced Ruben into protecting me in the underground casino. I told him off... and then didn't apologize until much later. He came to wish me a late merry christmas after Ruben gave me his spare room. He reminded me of our promise from before our journey started, and gave me my christmas gift which was a traditional Johtoan kimono and fan - all to prepare me for the upcoming contests. He also told me I should call his mom and dad since they're so worried about us both now that we're gone, but... I'll figure it out later.

Jasper

An ex-classmate. He took my bait and threw me for a loop when we were fighting a group of Munchlax together. Not as bad a guy as I thought. Because of him, I have to re-evaluate my notes on everyone else just in case. I'm interested in trying a different approach with him when next we meet.

Helped out a wrongfully arrested girl. Really smart. Observant. Kind, but doesn't like to show it. Isn't a terrible cook.

Charles the Biker

An eccentric, but strong man. Indulges in bad puns. Love for bikes. We left on good terms.

Nat the Ranger

A doting older brother to several sisters. A strong trainer who follows their duty. Only spent a day with them. Not sure if I want to meet again or not since I stole a broken styler from his scene of investigation. We left on good terms, I think? Unless he notices that something's missing.

Budew Girl

Never got her name. Apparently she's a challenger like the rest of my classmates. Comes from a family of Budew fanatics. They breed Budew in their hometown and journey around with all three forms of it. She seems endearing. It might be interesting to meet her again in the future. As long as she's not being accused of theft, that is.

Achille Béringer

Rich kid. Pays his debts. Is keen on rich kid things. Doesn't seem much different from how he was in school, but still need to reevaluate.

Melody Argent

Cute and kind. She keeps to herself kind of like I do. Loves music. Feels similar to Simon. Still need to reevaluate because of interactions with Jasper. Kind of maybe, possibly, a small amount of a badass. Finger guns - super corny. Don't harp on the idea of being in contests. If that culty stuff doesn't get figured out by the time we come back to Motostoke, I'll have to remember to find her around town. She's much more attuned to pop culture than I am.

AAAAAHHH! We did so much in Turffield, and even more just after! I still can't believe that she wont that contest and made it look so... so easy! She's just, like, wow. I still don't know what to do with all of my thoughts, but after that delivery we did together especially I just. Wowee. Jeez.

The Family // Damien(?)

Not the family himself, I don't think. I still haven't got his name or what role he really plays in all this. He's a shady motherfucker - pardon my Kalos. I still don't know how much of the stuff I've gone through in Motostoke has been orchestrated by him, but for the moment I'm not planning to try anything. I still don't know enough about him to make any real guesses. The longer that I stay around this town, the further behind the veil that I see. I'm scared even to go to sleep at night so long as I'm here. They have eyes... everywhere.

Buggy Simon

Some kind of freak of nature. I guess he understands Pokemon in some way that I can't; like, he understands what they're actually trying to say when they speak? Kind of cool, but also weird. Him and Simon used to hang out every once in a while at school. He knows about my "secret styler".

Valerie

An absolute ray of sunshine and happiness. She's also a streamer, and earns enough money from it to show it off. Not put off by literal ghosts. Has some kind of dream of meeting Mew.

Aeliana Kekoa

Alolan dance girl. She's supposed to teach me sometime. Pretty much just how I remembered her in school. I didn't get to spend much time with her when we all hung out. Didn't seem too bothered by the ghosts.

Pia McGuire

Pia... definitely is afraid of literal ghosts. I had a few choice words for her, but... after we saw Jirachi, it just felt like the time had passed, so I gave up. She's seen me without my mask, so next time we meet up is probably going to be awkward.

Haleigh Windsor

A friend of Melody's. I intentionally ran into her after failing to catch up with Melody, due to the addition of Haleigh. We had a short battle, and then made a promise for drinks with Melody after I urged her to drag the girl along with her to the contest in Turffield. She seems quite naive, so I may be able to get some more use out of her as long as I stay true to her persona. She's battle hungry, the same as Simon, but her Pokemon are still a little lacking - that coming from someone who still has no idea what she's doing here herself. She might end up being a good sparring partner in the future since she knows a little of what I've got and we're on relatively equal footing.

Mother Priscilla

The leader of the Turffield Sisterhood. I thought at first she was just an escort, but once we got to their hideout, I slowly started to realize what she really was. She's an incredibly dangerous woman who has no trouble pulling a gun on important people or those that she may need. There's still too much I don't know about what's going on to get a good grasp on what her and Damien's goals are, but given what I've already seen I really could do without finding out.

Ruben Sancho

Truth be told, I hadn't cared for Ruben when we went to school together. I thought he was your average rich celebrity who was forced into something he didn't really want to be a part of. After getting involved with the family and finding myself in that gambling hall, and then finding Ruben there as well, I felt that my suspicions were true. I had no second thoughts about what I was going to drag him in to. But as time went on, I found myself feeling more and more regretful with each time that he said Pia's name. And then because of me, news about him and Pia got out before either of them were likely ready to go public. And after all that, Simon attacked him out of the blue... but even after all that, he still offered me a free room at the local hotel. I already apologized to him about Simon, and about lying to get him to go with me. But, I should apologize again. He's not as bad of a guy as I thought he was.

Outfits

Spoiler: Here be a number of large images

Inventory

Spoiler:

gimmepie · Oct 22, 2021

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Spark, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Taunt, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE
Overheated

Aside from odd, reluctant, trips to the beaches of Alola or tourist cities in Kalos and Unova, Catherine had spent the first 16 years of her life in the chilly Wyndon climate. The next two she'd spent in Wedgehurst for the school which wasn't that much warmer really. No amount of research could have prepared her for the hellscape she was now experiencing.

Route 6 was a desert. Scorching sands made for slow progress on foot and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to protect Catherine from the overbearing heat. Then at night, the intense heights of the temperature would abruptly be replaced with bone chilling cold and she'd huddle with her team in her tent for warmth. She had known that would happen but, even still, it was a shock to her system.

Catherine was on her third day of desert travel now. It wouldn't be too much longer before trudging through the ocean of sand was replaced by the even greater challenge of climbing across dry, rocky crags. The challenge of moving through such a brutal environment would not dissuade her from training though.

A rain cloud hung overhead, helping manage the oppressive heat just a little. Catherine stood in the middle of the out-of-place downpour, managing three different training exercises. To her left, Indra was struggling to try and match his Bubblebeam's power output to Stampede's Hydro Pump. The rain was of no use in bridging the gap seeing as both benefited from it. In a little while, they would switch to a game of tag and Stampede would try to tag Indra whose Swift Swim would make him much faster.

To her right, Lancer and Vessel doing strength and endurance training. Vessel would try to hold Protect against an onslaught from the Toxicroak for as long as possible, then try to increase the power of their Fury Cutter in retaliation. Lancer would try to break the Protect ever sooner and then attempt to dodge the Fury Cutters without retaliating.

The third training exercise was a solo endeavour for Holo, and that was where most of Catherine's focus was at that moment. Eventually, she wanted to have the Electrike join the group sparring again, but she had to regain her confidence first. Every time she faced down another Pokemon, she started to quake with fear. Catherine wouldn't force her to battle at all if she didn't want to, but Holo was determined to. So, for the time being, Catherine was working on her basics with her. She hoped that seeing a general increase in her aim, dodging and power would benefit her greatly.

Catherine had spent that morning amassing a small collection of rocks. Sometimes she would throw them at Holo and have the Electrike dodge, other times she would toss them away and have her attempt to shoot the small projectiles out the air. Then, Holo would attempt to release ever more impressive Thunderbolts for a while before cycling back to dodging practice.

Catherine and Holo were on the third part of that cycle now. Holo was repeatedly discharging torrents of electricity into the empty desert. The attack was lacking a little in consistency. It was never weak, but sometimes Holo seemed to be able to push out particularly impressive bolts compared to the others. Those moments seemed to fuel the Electrike's motivation further. Teaching her the powerful TR had been intended to increase her confidence anyway, the fact she could sometimes produce such an impressive blast was icing on the cake.

"Keep it up, Holo!" Catherine encouraged, "This is another really good one, let's see how long you can sustain it."

If she was being honest with herself, Catherine was exhausted. While she wasn't physically doing any training herself, keeping up the energy she was for Holo and the rest of the team's morale was starting to take a toll. Keeping track of three different training regimens wasn't easy either. Not to mention, the lack of sleep early mornings (to avoid the worst of the heat) and late nights in the deathly cold (to research) was causing.

Regular use of Rain Dance during training was at least mitigating some of the heat, but the rainy areas didn't really move from where they were created, so they were doing little to help with the travel in the long run. Besides, Catherine made a point of alternating her team around while walking so they, at least, could enjoy a reprieve from the heat and only half of them could make it rain anyway.

Now, watching Holo struggling to keep up her Thunderbolt, she was becoming aware that she was having trouble keeping focus. Her head was swimming and she felt queasy. She was barely even aware of the training going on to either side of her now until she forcibly redirected her attention in either direction.

After three days of this routine, with several more ahead, it was becoming evident to Catherine that she was going to have to shorten training sessions. Perhaps do multiple smaller sets through the day instead of dedicating hours in the mornings. She had hoped that doing training in the mornings would help them beat the worst of the heat, but the desert climate very quickly shifted from tolerable, to uncomfortable, to borderline immolation.

Catherine's vision blurred a little and she squinted against the combined light of electricity and the sun refracting through the rain. Something felt off, but she couldn't quite pick it out with her head all scrambled. Not until the slight movement of the sand ahead became much more pronounced.

"Holo watch out!"

The warning came too late as the sand exploded upwards, the enormous purple frame of an insectoid Pokemon with a concertina body and massive, sharp pincers rising out of the dirt. There was no time to stop Holo's attack. The Thunderbolt struck the Drapion with a thunderous sound, knocking it back.

Holo cancelled the attack immediately, but the ferocious bug was already looking her way. Holo froze in place, shaking from head to toe. A strangled yelp came from her throat, but she couldn't even bark out some sort of apology. This was too similar to the Scolipede.

Catherine swore to herself, reaching for Holo's ball so she could return the Electrike to safety. But the sudden movement made her head spin, and her shaking fingers fumbled with the device. The ball dropped into the sand at Catherine's feet and her eyes instinctively followed it. The spinning got worse. This was very bad.

She knelt down for the ball, even as the Drapion started rushing forward towards the frozen Holo. She would never get the Electrike back into her ball in time.

The Drapion's claws glowed a toxic purple as it loomed up over Holo… and a momentous blast of water rocketed it backwards again, sending it tumbling onto the wet sand.

Stampede surged forward, bounding on the end of his tail, and placed himself between Holo and the Drapion. He snorted angrily, glaring daggers at the beast who had dared target Holo over an accident.

Catherine tried to give a command, but her voice cracked and she got little more than a croak out. When had her throat gotten that hoarse?

The Drapion rose up and made to move forwards again, but before it got more than a step Stampede attacked again. The Seadra was relentless, striking with a Hydro Pump that knocked the much larger Pokemon clean off its feet again.

With a scream of rage, the Drapion leapt up again, dashing forwards with renewed anger and vigor. Stampede didn't so much as flinch, blasting it with a third Hydro Pump. Only this time, the attack was immediately followed up by a Bubblebeam from Indra and a Revenge punch into its side from Lancer.

Even though each of them was far smaller than the Dark type, the Drapion's rage quickly abated as it decided that it was staring down a fight it wasn't going to win. Stampede hopped forwards once and the Drapion turned and scampered away. Catherine watched it go, neither Stampede not Lancer moving from their defensive position while Indra turned to check on Holo.

Even in her miserable state, it was a heartwarming display of camaraderie. Catherine made to stand up and join them, but the violent vortex consuming the inside of her head had other ideas. She'd barely made it out of her crouch when another aggressive bout of dizziness hit and she flopped back down into a seated position on the sand.

Vaguely, Catherine was aware of a prodding in her side. She turned her head slowly, seeing Vessel looking up at her blankly, head tilted. Catherine smiled at the Parasect.

"I think it might be time for a break."

Foxrally · Oct 26, 2021

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Aeliana Kekoa

Tampa

Fiesta

Mahina

Clara

Jet

Elia

Scuttle

Tiger

Kaeo

Kana

Spoiler: Inventory

Route 6 - Desert

Stepping out onto Route 6 had made Aeliana realize one thing. It was hot. It was very, very hot. The sun was high overhead, beating down on the Alolan's back as she trudged along the dusty, desert trail led away from Hammerlocke and towards the cliffside town of Stow-on-Side. Even having experienced the wild and unpredictable weather patterns of the Wild Area twice, the blue-haired Alolan had found herself taken aback by how quickly the weather patterns and environments of Galar seemed to shift.

"Maybe I should have taken Jacques up on that ride after all," Aeliana muttered as she absent-mindedly kicked a pebble acrossing the barren mountain path.

The agency had been kind enough to offer the trainer a ride to Stow-on-Side when they found out she was departing from Hammerlocke. Aeliana had to admit, it was a bit of a tempting offer, especially when they had described the trek she was about to be making towards said town. But Aeliana had decided against it, reminding them that she was still a challenger after all and that journeys such as this one are a challenge in and of themselves.

She glanced down at her side, Mahina doing everything in her power to keep up with the trainer. A look of concern graced the bluenette's face."Are you sure you don't wanna ride in your ball? I know you're not fond of it, but…" The Clefairy looked up at the trainer, her cheeks puffing out as she shook her head in response to Aeliana's suggestion. The Alolan sighed before offering the pink Pokémon a weak smile. "Have it your way, then…" she paused as she felt a small rustle in her back, the egg within her backpack shaking more and more everyday. It most likely wouldn't be long now before the egg would hatch and the very thought of that was enough to fill Aeliana with excitement over the prospect of what could be inside.

After the egg paused in its rustling, Aeliana shifted her focus back to the road ahead. "Tapu Koko, what I wouldn't kill for some shade or a pond or… anything…"

As if the deity itself were listening to the trainer, lavender eyes suddenly widened as she turned the next bend. Coming into sight was not only a healthy tree full of lush vegetation, but a small brook as well! Aeliana couldn't believe her luck, and she found herself pinching her own cheek in an attempt to see if she was dreaming all this up or not. By some act of Arceus, the scene around her never shifted in the slightest bit. The sight of it all was enough for Aeliana to find a new spring in her step as she threw all forms of hesitation into the trash and made a hasty walk towards the shallow pool.

"Well then- long time no see, Aeliana!" a familiar voice suddenly called out, from seemingly out of nowhere. Aeliana stopped, slowly looking around for where the voice was coming from. She was the only one out and about in the area… Well, except for one in particular. Aeliana cast her gaze downward towards her Clefairy. Mahina had a confused look on her face, her small nose scrunched up as she searched for the source of the outburst herself.

As she looked around some more, she suddenly heard something land on the ground behind her - turning around again, she was now face to face with Simon. The bug catcher was holding onto a thick line of web, connected to the cliff above them and wrapped around his arm like a harness. Perched on his hat and shoulders were his bug-type Pokemon, and the trainer grinned as he took off a makeshift string-shot mask. "What a coincidence it is, finding you here! Sorry if I confused you."

"Oh! Alola, Simon!" the bluenette greeted with a nervous grin. In a way, she was relieved it was the bug trainer, but at the same time, she was a bit concerned that he'd noticed her immediate reaction. He hadn't possibly seen her start to think that her Clefairy had suddenly learned to talk… had he?

"It's been a while! What's up?" Aeliana inquired, quickly carrying the conversation away from that point.

"It has! Glad to see you're feeling better since the mines." Simon said. "I was just taking a rest from the heat up there." He pointed towards the cliff above, which was slanted towards them, and where he'd built a strange sort of lookout with spider webs and string shots. "There's some water here too, but I wouldn't recommend drinking it- almost got bitten by a Relicanth earlier."

Aeliana whistled as she looked at Simon's handy work. She had to admit that she was impressed. "You're getting really handy with your bug gang, huh? Pretty soon you're gonna be skipping the store and making your own clothes, ya know?"

"Where do you think I've been getting my socks from? Vivillon's got a pretty good fashion sense." Simon laughed. "But yeah, me and the team have been training a lot since we last met."

A glint suddenly appeared in the boy's eye. "And I'm itching to show it off! I'm challenging you to a battle, Kekoa!" he pointed at Aeliana dramatically.

Aeliana stared at the boy in front of her, finding it impossible for her to fight off the grin that had formed on her lips from Simon's animated display. She felt a rustling coming from within her bag, the egg starting to shake a bit more as if reacting to the sound of Simon's voice.

"Alright, I think I've got time for a battle!" Aeliana determined. "Let's get to it!"

The two trainers dropped their stuff off in the shade and moved - as Simon had insisted - back into the harsh sunlight to begin their battle. The bug catcher explained the rules, "We'll do a simple 1v1, whichever Pokemon stays up the longest wins. And the loser has to go to refill both our water bottles and avoid that snapping Relicanth." he added with a smirk.

Aeliana gazed up in the direction of where Simon had described said water source to be. If anything, this just gave her motivation to make sure she pulled out ahead in the end. The climb and the Relicarth were both very unappealing today.

"You're on then, bug-boy!" Aeliana exclaimed with glee. She took hold of one of her poké balls, deciding to go with Kaeo for this battle. "Let's go, K-"

Before the blue-haired trainer could finish calling out her Cubone, the sound of another poké ball opening caught her attention. Jet had sprung himself free from his own ball. The Hitmontop quickly placed himself between his trainer and Simon, a smirk on his mouth as he taunted the bug specialist to send out a Pokémon.

Simon raised his eyebrows and Vivillon let out a squeak as the two recognized the Pokemon from Aeliana's contest show. "Hitmontop, huh? Good pick, but let me tell you- you won't be dancing around this battle!" he called out, reaching into his leg pocket, "Burmy, you're up!"

As he fished his hand out, the gray shape of the bagworm Pokemon emerged, latching onto his arm and using it as a swing to launch himself forward, before landing in front of Jet with a squeak. The bug had shed his usual fuzzy coat and looked rather bare on the sand- but it didn't seem to deter him, as he stood on his hind legs and mimicked the Hitmontop's pose back at it.

"Since you sent out your Pokemon first, it's only fair I let you attack first as well. Show me your best, Aeliana!" Simon crossed his arms expectantly.

Jet stared down at the tiny bug Pokémon, his arms crossed over his chest. This was going to be his opponent? The Hitmontop was fairly certain that he could accidentally squash him if he wasn't careful… and unfortunately, careful usually meant boring.

"Alright, Jet! Focus Energy!" Aeliana called out. The Hitmontop took a deep breath and began to focus his mind. It looked as if she wanted to end this quickly… at least, that's how Jet saw it.

"Building up power? Fair enough- too bad it won't be of use! Burmy, Hidden Power!" Simon commanded. Burmy's eyes flashed blue and several orbs of water appeared around him, circling for a moment before firing off one by one at Jet.

"Jet, go for a Rolling Kick!" Aeliana called out.

Jet dashed towards the Burmy, wincing as the watery orbs splattered into him along the way. He managed to shake them off for the most part before sending a spinning kick aimed straight at the small bug.

"Protect, then use our secret strategy!" Simon called out. Before Jet's kick could connect, a white barrier appeared in front of Burmy, and the Hitmontop's foot clanged against it like an invisible wall, sending him backwards as he kept spinning. Then, before the Pokemon even landed on the ground, Burmy flung his head appendage forward and latched onto Jet's leg, the spinning motion causing it to wrap around Jet's entire body.

Jet stared down in annoyance at the bug. He grunted and groaned, managing to pry one hand free before he reached down and tried to pry the Burmy off and away from him.

With the Hitmontop fully lassoed in, Simon called out, "Now, spin him!" Burmy squeaked and pulled his head back, and began to forcefully spin the hitmontop the other way around as the long appendage unwrapped itself, sending Jet back towards Aeliana like a spinning toy. "And Hidden Power while it's confused!" Simon finished off the maneuver, as Burmy fired off a few more water orbs at his opponent.

Jet smirked as he dodged water orbs in his direction mid-spin. It was an expression that seemed to be mirrored by Aeliana as well. It was going to take more than spinning in the wrong direction to throw him off the target and send this battle into Simon's favor.

"Jet, Rapid Spin!" Aeliana called out. Without missing a beat, the Hitmontop hopped back down onto his head and began to twist and turn, his body starting to resemble a cyclone as he whirled and weaved towards Simon's Burmy. The spinning Hitmontop zipped his way towards the small bug, before suddenly stopping just short of smaller Pokémon. "Now, Triple Axel!"

Before the Protect barrier could go up, Burmy was slammed by the first ice-powered kick, staggering him, then the second, which kicked him into the air, and then finally the third, which sent the bug flying backwards towards Simon. The bug catcher clenched his fist, "Burmy! You okay?"

Burmy squeaked in response, coughing out some sand but still getting back on his feet. Simon nodded, realizing that spinning a Hitmontop likely wasn't the best idea. "Let's pin him down with Electroweb, then!" he called out, as his Pokemon fired off an electrified net at Jet's legs.

"Another Rapid Spin, Jet! Then follow it up with a Tackle!" Aeliana called out.

The scrappy Pokémon once more began to spin about on his head like a top. He nimbly weaved about the electrified web, picking up speed as he twirled his way towards Simon's Burmy. As he neared his target, the Hitmontop suddenly pushed himself up with his hands, before launching himself at the smaller bug with a loud battle cry.

Burmy took the brunt of the attack again, tumbling backwards and rolling on the ground. "You got this! Don't give up!" Simon called out as the bug rose to his feet again, much worse for wear than his opponent. "Hidden Power!"

Burmy squeaked and summoned three more orbs of water, though they seemed much more unstable than before. With a grunt of effort, he fired them at Jet again.

Jet rolled his eyes at the sight. Was this the next big challenge he had to face? He thought that someone who specializes in bugs would have something stronger like maybe a Heracross or a Pinsir. The Hitmontop didn't even wait for his trainer to give out another command. He quickly closed the gap, effortlessly weaving between the orbs of water, as he dashed up towards the Burmy and sent another spinning, Rolling Kick in the direction of his face.

A white shimmering barrier automatically appeared in front of Burmy as the bug prepared to Protect from the attack, before Simon called out to him. "Remember, Burmy - a hundred percent!" the trainer said, looking the bug in the eye. "No holding back!"

Burmy looked at Simon for a split-second then back at his opponent, watching Jet's incoming attack… and dropped the protect barrier. Squeaking in determination, he met the fighting-type's kick with a tackle of his own, throwing his body against it - before being flung back by the force of the attack anyway, landing on the ground with a crash.

"Jet, we've got him on the ropes! Let's finish it!" Aeliana commanded. "One more Triple Axel!"

Jet let out an affirmative grunt. His eyes narrowed as began to dash towards the recovering Burmy, before leaping and landing on his head-spike. A quick triple spin was performed, all the while one of his legs seemed to take on a frosty, chilling coat of ice. With the foot prepared, he charged forward and took aim at Simon's Burmy. A menacing smirk came to the fighting Pokémon's mouth. And as he brought his leg down on the bug…

A white light encompassed Burmy's body, then suddenly burst away like a cocoon, blinding the Hitmontop for a second. As he reopened his eyes… he noticed the kick had hit nothing.

"YEAH, MY MAN!" Simon and Vivillon cheered as the fluttering shape of a Mothim flew out of the dust cloud, having barely avoided the attack.

Burmy evolved!

Mothim ♂️
Tinted Lens
Protect - Electroweb - Hidden Power - Confusion - Gust - Quiver Dance

Mothim let out a buzzing cry as he flapped his wings, blasting the dust cloud Jet had kicked up with a powerful Gust, pushing the fighting-type back and blowing the sand away. He glared at the Hitmontop tauntingly, motioning for him to bring it on.

Jet grunted, regaining his balance as he looked towards the newly evolved Mothim. Aeliana felt a smile come to her lips. Looks like she didn't have to worry about holding back now! "Jet, Triple Axel!"

Simon scrambled for his Pokedex and fished it out of his pocket to check Mothim's status- his Pokemon had learned not one, but three new moves! Reading off the list, he called out, "Quick, use Quiver Dance!"

Mothim buzzed as a shimmering light enveloped his body and he dodged the Ice Kick expertly, leaving a white afterimage of himself behind as he danced around Jet Erratically. "Now Gust again!" Mothim appeared behind Jet in a flash and flapped his wings again, buffeting the fighting-type with wind and sand.

Jet staggered forward before hopping onto his head and starting to spin around rapidly. The Hitmontop was determined that he was not going to be outsped or overpowered by this bug. He quickly whirled around behind the Mothim before hopping up with intent to deliver a sharp, Rolling Kick.

The attack collided with the bug's main body and pushed him back slightly- though with the greater resistance from his new type, he quickly corrected course and dove back towards the Hitmontop, and his eyes began to glow. Moments later Jet's body was encased in a similar blue glow, and his spinning stopped against his will.

Simon cheered and threw his arm out, "Alright, Mothim! Let's show him some payback with Confusion!"

The winged bug squeaked as he lifted Jet's body up in the air with the psychic power, before throwing him backwards- spinning like a ragdoll again, mimicking his maneuver from earlier.

Jet let out a wail as he went sailing towards a nearby rock formation. The Hitmontop slammed into it at max velocity, kicking up a dense fog of dust and debris. Aeliana winced at the sight. The blue-haired trainer wasted no time in quickly rushing towards her Pokémon's side.

"Jet..? Jet, are you okay?" the Alolan asked. She watched as the Hitmontop grunted, his face down in the dirt with scuffs and and a few bruises on his body. He slowly brought himself to his knees, breath quick as he tried to regain his composure. Aeliana offered Jet a weak smile, gently patting him on the shoulder before returning her attention to Simon and his Mothim. "Good battle, but I think we should call it here."

Simon's eyes grew wide for a moment. "W-we won…? WE WON?!" he echoed in disbelief, before throwing his fist in the air triumphantly. "YES!" his bugs cheered in unison as he charged at Mothim to give him a running, jumping hug. "You did amazing out there, I knew you'd never give up!" he exclaimed, "That's the guy I was looking for!"

Mothim let out a muffled wheeze and Simon realized he was hugging the bug a little too tight. Letting go of the bug and laughing, he looked at Aeliana and her Pokemon with a grin, "You two have us one hell of a battle! Your Hitmontop's super tough, so I gotta thank you for helping Burmy evolve."

Aeliana offered Simon a nod. "It wasn't the plan, but I'm glad for you both! You two really know how to pull things off at the last minute! You definitely earned that win!"

Jet's eyes stayed focused on the ground as Simon and Aeliana continued to chat about the battle. His hands started shaking. He'd... lost…? There's no way he'd lost! It was in the bag! He was supposed to be stronger now! How was still losing every battle?!

A sharp, angry yell echoed out from around the two trainers. Without warning, Jet launched himself at Simon's Mothim. A foot was brought down on the bug's head, effectively separating the Pokémon from Simon. Before anyone could react, the chilling blow of Jet's Triple Axel was then launched at Mothim. The blindsided bug was launched back into the same rock Jet had been thrown into, kicking up dust and shards of stone as it crashed into it.

"MOTHIM!" Simon called out, eyes wide in shock, before running after his Pokemon to check on him.

Vivillon and Snom hopped off and stood in front of Jet, hissing out a threat. Jet stared down at the two Pokémon, absolute hatred filling in his eyes as if demanding that they both stand down. That icy aura began to form around his leg again as the Hitmontop threatened to use his Triple Axel on them both. However, just as he took a step forward, he felt Aeliana's hands wrap around his arms in an attempt to pull him back.

"Jet, stop! That's enough!" the blue-haired trainer called out.

The dust around the rock cleared and Simon was holding his Pokemon in his arms, clutching him with far more concern on his face than Jet's attack would have warranted. The bug wasn't hurt too badly; fainted, but safe. He shot Aeliana a glare. "What the fuck, mate?"

"I… I dunno!" Aeliana stammered out. Her lavender eyes were wide with concern for Simon and his Mothim as Jet still protested in her grasp, trying to pry himself free of the girl all the while. "I… He h-hasn't done this since…I didn't know he would act like this!"

"Well learn to control your fucking Pokemon! He could've seriously hurt him, are you fucking mad?!" Simon spat back. He seemed unnaturally angry at her, and even the rest of Simon's team were on edge.

"I'm s-sorry… I've been training the-"

"Yeah, my arse!" he yelled, "And what if he'd ended up-" Simon cut himself off suddenly. He exhaled and a pained expression grew on his face, replacing the anger as he forced himself to calm down.

"Yeah, anyway, whatever. I was going to tell you something, but I'm just gonna leave. Thanks for the battle, bye."

The boy motioned for his Pokemon to follow him as he pulled out a Pokeball and recalled Mothim. Snom and Vivillon cast one final glare at Jet before the latter picked up her teammate and flew off towards Simon, and the bug catcher made an abrupt exit back down the route.

Aeliana felt an eerie chill course through her.

Joint post of Stinging Bea and Foxrally

Dragon · Oct 26, 2021

MewTube

"Pikaaaaaa! Welcome back, all who are watching and all who are in attendance today, to THE hottest event in Hammerlocke... Struggle Rivals! This is PikaKira, coming at 'chu'!"

The stadium was packed, filled with an energetic, loud audience. They consisted of battle fanatics, people looking for general Pokemon related entertainment, or fans of the many streamers who had attended tonight. The battle arena was a very large battle arena that rivaled the stage of Hammerlocke's contest: it had monitors all over the place, so that audience members from the back row could see the action in the arena unfold. There's a large ramp that connects the stage area, to the heart and center of the arena; which was an elevated battlefield surrounded by coloured rope, making it resemble a large wrestling arena.

It was almost time for another one of Strugglecon's main events: Struggle Rivals. That meant it was time for Valerie to go head to head against Michael Jameson. Right now, Valerie was preparing herself to go on stage, within the nearby dressing areas. The moment finally alone to herself, brought her some quiet to think about things. She had many things on her mind... Firstly, she was wondering about her battle strategy going in. Should she do what she normally does, or go on with a new approach?

Then, there was LunaBeam. She was sure to be there, because she was going to be one of the battle commentators for the event - but Valerie couldn't help but still think about LunaBeam's true colours. Aside from her betrayal, she wondered, what would the rest of her fans think of her if they found out? That scene she listened to a few hours ago relived in her head. It was surreal - so much so, that she almost couldn't believe it. The trust she had with her was shattered, and doubt swelled within her, like a rising hot air balloon. She loved her friends, but now... she had her doubts. She hadn't thought of that before, actually. Was it okay, doubting your friends as much as you loved or trust in them? She looked back at that conversation with Haleigh again. She believed in her words, but part of her wondered if she had any hidden motives, wanting to perk her up. She looked at her time with Simon, and while she couldn't say it back then, she really wondered what Simon had truly thought of her.

Valerie then sighed, finishing glossing her lips with a brazen crimson red lipstick. She then glanced over to her Pokeballs, and held up one, lightly tossing it upwards over and over with her hand. She was now thinking about her Pokemon. What does her own Pokemon think of her, not just as a trainer, but... as someone who's travelling with them. Was she just a master for them? Or... a friend? She actually dropped her Pokeball as she was juggling with it. When it dropped to the ground, out popped out Flame, who calmly sat on the floor, now exchanging looks with Valerie. The two were silent for fleeting moments. Valerie was cautiously glancing at the ground - it was kind of... awkward for her. But, when she glanced once more away from Flame, Flame jumped on top of the dresser table, and grabbed Valerie's Demon Queen horn accessory with his teeth. He then promptly placed it on top of Valerie's head.

Valerie turned back to Flame, adjusting the horns that Flame had quirkily placed on her head; she blinked a couple of times in a slight daze, as Flame calmly looked back at her, with an eventual nod. Eventually, Valerie met Flame's gaze back with a smile. "Hah, what the heck am I so worried about?" she said. She rose from her chair, still fixated on Flame. "When we first met, I said you gotta believe in yourself, right? And... I gotta believe in myself too, right?" when Flame gave her a nod, that finally did it for Valerie. She finally fixed her horns just right.

"Tommy! Text mode please!" The Rotom that was still inside her phone floated upwards, and carefully landed on Valerie's hand. Before it was time to go, it was time for a much needed text.

@Valentine: it's battle time, babe
@Valentine: time for your girl to pounce, rowr
@DanceQueen13: this will b 2 ez 4 u!
@DanceQueen13: make this jerk srry he messed with u!
@DanceQueen13: i wish i could watch but wrk called me in TT__TT
@Valentine: no worries! Go kill it at work, and I'll be killin' it here! <33
@Valentine: btw, we tooootes should get a room together when we get to Stow-on-Side~
@Valentine: needs much needed GF time <33
@DanceQueen13: omg yes plz! <3
@DanceQueen13: jst b warned im a cuddler~
@Valentine: I defs need some cuddles after this, aaaaa
@Valentine anywhooo, off I go! Love you Aeli-bae
@Valentine: xoxoxo
@Valentine: ☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu
@DancingQueen13: luv u 2! <33333

She let Rotom go to float around, and glanced back at Flame. "Time for the Demon Queen to take over Strugglecon!"

***

The monitors were currently fixated upon PikaKira, one of the commentators of the battle. "Don't blink folks, because the action is about to be turned up to 11!" she announced. She was now in the announcer's table. "I'm joined here with my commentator partner, LunaBeam! LunaBeam, it's good having you; how do you think things will play out?"

LunaBeam was looking as delightful as she ought to be. "It's good to be here as well, and such an honour," she responded. "And um, as for the match itself, I'm for sure looking forward to this one - my good friend Valentine, battling against the famed MichealJameson! I'm very supportive with Valerie, she's been improving herself everyday, and I look forward on seeing how she fares."

"Who do you think will come out on top?" PikaKira asks.

"Well, I do think Valentine has a chance, as she gained three badges in Galar," LunaBeam started. "But it's said that Micheal has pokemon that has been trained by world class breeders from all around the world. Valentine has the experience, but to be honest, I'm not sure if her Pokemon will stack up against Micheals."

"Well, that remains to be seen," PikaKira said with a grin. "As the match is coming up right around the corner!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The monitors were now focused on the center of the stage. "The following contest is full on match! The winner who knocks out the opposing player's Pokemon first, will be the WINNERRRR!"

The music blared, and the booing erupted. Soon, from the opposite end of the stage, out came the man himself: Micheal Jameson, accompyied by his bother, Tate, and a few more personnel; perhaps it was his fans, or the breeders had hired, but either way - they were equally not liked. As he walked down the ramp, Michael Then came the pyro effects - blasting upwards, creating loud sounds alike to fireworks, brightening the arena with a flash of cool colours.

"Some call him the pimple on the ass of life…" PikaKira announced. LunaBeam turned to her.

"Erm, do they really?"

"Yeah, I guess they're allowed to be more creative here."

"Oh…"
"You got this champ," When they finally arrived at the center of the area - at the battle ring - Tate cheered his brother on, followed with a quick hi-five. Micheal climbed his way up and through the ropes, and got on a small pedastool that raised him upwards a bit so he could easily oversee the whole battle arena. Finally, he attached himself with a headset that served as something he can speak through the speakers that were stationed all around the area.

"What's goooood HAMMERLOCKE!" Of course, just because he can, doesn't mean most people were thrilled to hear from him.

You SUCK, Michael!
Don't you dare come back to Johto, you dead body filming bastard!

"Feeling the love as always!" Michael retorted. "Now.. I know you guys like, wanna see me beat Valentine's ass today, but, to be honest, I dunno if she even wants to show up." Michael was looking back at the time he might of… reminded Valerie of her past struggles. In his mind, now that 'might of did', he's now thinking that Valerie might be too confused or embarrassed to show her face in public.

That was until, more music started to hit.

The arena's ramp glowed a sinister crimson red, decorated with… eyeballs. The light effects were all for show, clearly, but it left a lasting impression with the audience: it looked so cool, yet so ghoulish and creepy. That's when Valerie came out. She was wearing her iconic Demon Queen outfit, accompanied by some of her Demon Kingdom followers.

"And there she is! The Daaangerous Demoness herself, the Queen of all Queens… Valerie Amity!" With the announcement from PikaKira, the crowd erupted into cheers - most notably from Valerie's fanclub, The Little Monsters.

"You can do it, Valerie!" Belle, the president of the fanclub was even watching her from the audience. "All Hail the Demon Queen!"

Finally reached the arena, Valerie lifted herself up, and rolled right inside. She surveyed the crowd, but then her eyes reached the announcer's table. There she was. LunaBeam. She gazed her focus towards her - Luna saw this, and gave Valerie a friendly enough wave back. It was like Luna went back to being the sweet and friendly person Valerie knew before, but Valerie of course knew the truth. Letting things go for now, Valerie went to her side of the arena, and on top of the rising pedastool where she can forsee the arena. Micheal sneered at her.

"Eyyyy, V-Rain! Thought you weren't gonna show!" he smirked. "Guess you're not that predictable after all!"

"The DQ is here to FIGHT," Valerie proclaimed. "You're not getting outta this beatdown!"

"Well, look at you all energetic!" Micheal started. "I guess you have come a long way since… y'know. Trying to off yourself back then and all." The crowd started muttering with each other. The secret was out, now that Micheal has casually said it.

Wait, what did he say?
Demon Queen tried to kill herself before?
She did? I never would of guessed…

"W-Well, that's a strange turn of events," PikaKira added, turning to LunaBeam. "Did you know about this, Luna?"

Valerie gave a sharp look at LunaBeam. Luna clasped both of her hands together, giving a moment for herself before giving out a response. "Ahem. I don't know if… this is appropriate talking about," she forced out with her breath. "But, yes. It is. It was around the time I first met with Valentine too… let's just say, things back then weren't easy for her, and so, you know, I helped her out for a spell."

Maintaining and improving her own image. Looks like LunaBeam was a master at that. It was tough for Valerie to intervene here; all eyes, including from her own fanclub, were directed at her with mixed reactions. Plus in a way… LunaBeam was telling the truth. Even though that was in the past, in the social world, things like that can stick on to someone forever. Michael shrugged. "I mean, we don't have to do this battle if you don't want to, V-Ray!" he suggested. "If you're feeling uncomfortable and weirded out, we understand! Just pleaaaaaase try and escape those bad thoughts - people love you after all!"

The air was indeed pretty uncomfortable for Valerie. Everyone from the Little Monsters fanclub turned and glanced to each other. Even Belle didn't know what to think of this whole thing... confusion and disarray fell among the audience, until Valerie raised up her arm, and pointed towards the sky. The monitors and cameras were focused upon her, as everyone fell silent. Then after quick inhale and exhale…

"The Demon Queen… WLL NEVER DIE!"

She blurted that out, from the top of her lungs. The audience glanced at each other once more… but before long, the silence was broken up, by the members of the Demon Kingdom, clapping and applauding for Valerie. Eventually, everyone else followed suit. Meanwhile, for a brief moment, LunaBeam became unsettled. Clearly, yet secretly, she wasn't amused by the crowd's reaction. Valerie then pointed directly towards Micheal. "Send out your Pokemon!"

Chuckling, Micheal got out one of his pokeballs and clenched it. "Welp, I gave you a chance, so now, I'll just own this battle!"

"It… It looks like the battle is about to begin!" KiraPika announced, as the crowd cheered on. Micheal threw his pokeball, and sent out his first pokemon that landed upon the arena. A Girafarig. "Michael's first pokemon… is a Girafarig! A Psychic and Normal type pokemon! Will its psychic-type attacks be too much for Valerie?!"

"DQ needs your help, Peko!" Her Morpeko was hiding within Valerie's robe; she leaped from her hiding spot, and landed on the area to face her foe. Her cheeks started to conduct and spark out electricity, as Girafarig roared and stood on her hind legs, waving her front hooves wildly before she stood on all fours again.

"Valerie's pokemon is a Morpeko!" PikaKira observed. Smart choice using a Dark-type pokemon against a Psychic type, don't you think, LunaBeam?!"

"Oh!" LunaBeam snapped out of her brow. "Ah, yes. Looks like Valerie has… a keen grasp on pokemon typing."

Morpeko vs. Girafarig! Let the battle BEGIN!

6 - 6

"Kay, Peko! Show em' a Thundershock!" Valerie's command had Morpeko unleash her Electric attack that spread across the field. Girafarig was agile to dodge the first few strikes, only to be hit and shocked from her blind spot. Quick to keep up the pressure, Valerie then ordered Peko to do a Quick Attack, that knocked Girafarig away before she could recover from that last attack.

"It looks like Valerie's in control of this match-up!" announced PikaKira. "Morpeko may be small, but it's fast and sharp attacks can keep any opponent on their toes!"

"Now hit em' with a Thunder Wave!" to keep up her advantage, Valerie now planned on using one of her signature moves: a move that causes paralysis. At least, that was the plan.

"Hide behind the referee!"

"Wha--"

Valerie couldn't believe what she heard, and what she witnessed. Michael ordered Girafarig to stand behind the referee that was on the sidelines of the match, making every call. Now, if Valerie were to attack, she was sure to hit the ref as well.

"Stop, Peko!" She decided. Peko eased up on her electrical storing, and backed off. Valerie glared at Micheal. "You lousy-- That's a dirty trick, you!"

Micheal shrugged. "Ain't against the rules, now is it?" That set the crowd off, showering him with even louder boos and curses than they did before. "Hol'up on that thought now, people! Use Light Screen!" Girafarig came up from behind the referee to encase herself in a brilliant golden box of light. After this, Micheal promptly returned Girafarig back in her pokeball.

"Farfetch'd!" Micheal then sent out his replacement Pokemon: a Farfetch'd that was only native to Galar. He swung his leek around, before relaxing it upon his shoulder.

"That Farfetch'd looks ready to go!" PikaKira commented. "As a Fighting-type to boot, it's a smarter choice against Morpeko!"

Peko glanced back at Valerie, having her with an annoyed, yet determined expression, it was all too clear what she was thinking. "I know you don't wanna lose, especially to dirty tactics like that," Valerie said to her. "Kay, use Thundershock!" Adapting to the change, Peko unleased her Thundershock once more, only to be partly blocked by that same light barrier that Micheal's Girafarg put up a brief moment ago.

"That's AWESOME! Er-- what is that now?"

"Light Screen is a move that reduces the moves from special attacks by half," LunaBeam explained. "And it lingers for a while, even after the pokemon that used it is switched out."

"Brutal Swing!" Yelled Micheal, having Farfetch'd use his leek to unleash a flurry of swipes towards Peko. Peko jumped and leaped each swipe at first, until it was decked by the last attack from Farfetch'd, after Farfetch'd predicted her movements. Another command from Micheal had his Farfetch'd attack with a clean Karate Chop, striking Peko down while she was on the ground. Peko was blown away a few feet, and when she finally hit the ground, she laid there, unable to keep moving.

Morpeko is unable to battle!

5 - 6

"You did great, Peko, rest, mmkay?" Valerie promptly returned Peko back inside her Pokeball. The cheering from her fans remained strong; they encouraged her to don't give in, because the battle was only getting started.

"Heeey, but that Morpeko did aight," Michael seemingly complimented. "What, just caught it a while ago?"

"We met at the Wild Area," Valerie replied. "And we promised to share loads of berries together with our pals!"

"Pfft, some pals," Michael scoffed. "Real talk, how do you even know that your pals even like you? Like, you're famous. They can use you for clout, y'know?"

Valerie didn't answer, but instead, released her next pokemon - a process in which she threw her pokeball up in the air, and when the ball opened up, the energy materialized into a pokemon that stood on top of one of the arena's corner turnbuckles. That pokemon, was her Timburr, Captain. He was donning his heroic cape and mask, reveling himself as a true superhero.

"Let's clean their clock, Captain!" Valerie said - signaling for Captain to leap from where he stood, to make a dazzling, and dramatic entrance in the arena, cape fluttering coolly with the non-existent breeze and all.

"Well, you can answer later. Lemme beat this mon' first," Michael stated confidently. "Use Brutal Swing!" Farfetch'd prepared to swing his leek again, and had done so, only to be intercepted by the log that Captain was carrying. Captain retaliated, using his log to pound at Farfetch'd, only to be blocked in turn. The two eventually had like a pseudo-weapon or sword fight, matching blow for blow, with the power that they can muster up.

Captain one time swung his log sideways to catch Farfetch'd off guard, forcing him back a bit.

Farfetch retaliated by swinging his leek sideways, to catch Captain at a vulnerable position for him to barely dodge, smacking him across his body.

But in turn, Captain used his log to lift himself up right, and then using said log, he whiped his body back around to fling himself up towards Farfetch'd, using his Low Kick right on the dastard's stomach.

After a moment of exchanging blows, Farfetch'd and Captain were left battered and exhaused. They both were struggling to even catch their breath - they only had it in them for one last attack. Captain briefly turned towards Valerie. He was tired, but he had a couragous grin on his face. Valerie smiled back at him. "Yeah, you wanna beat the bad guy, right? Cuz heroes never lose!" she said to him. Captain gave Valerie a friendly thumbs up. Though… I'm a Demon Queen, should I be really be saying that?

"Finish him off, Farfetch'd!" The Farfetch'd used his remaining strength, carrying his leek, to charge right towards Captain. Captain in turn, carrying his log, charged right back at Farfetch'd. When the two met up, they both greeted each other with one last vicious Karate Chop, hitting at each other on the face, simultaneously.

The crowd looked on in tension; the two Pokemon remained on their feet… until one keeled over. Farfetch'd. Captain remained on his feet, and gave a heroic wail that echoed throughout the stadium. The stadium was filled with cheers for Captain--

---Until he dropped, and fainted too.

It's a Double Knockout!

4 - 5

"Ohh, I thought for sure, Valerie and her Pokemon had that one!" PikaKira announced energetically. "But, you never know what will happen in a battle, folks!" LunaBeam meanwhile remained silent, with a tense, serious look on her face.

"You did great, Capn'!" Valerie commented, recalling Captain back into his Pokeball. She then gave his pokeball a loving gaze. BTW, thanks for saving me and Flame against those psycho red-eye Pokemon, just before we hit Turrfield. You're always a hero in my book.

Micheal recalled his own Pokemon back into his ball. "Eh, I guess Farfetch'd be kinda trash before it evolves, eh?" he said.

Valerie shook her head in disgust. "You could be a little nicer to em', y'know?" she suggested. "He fought his hardest for you n' all!"

Micheal shrugged. "Cause that's what they're supposed to do, right? Pokemon follow their trainers' orders?" he pointed out. "Haven't you ever battled before? Because that's um… that's a pretty common occurrence."

"No duh, but Pokemon also become our friends, you buttface!" Valerie barked. "Someone one told me, the Pokemon and Trainer are both connected, because we both trust in each other's power--" but just as she said those words, something sparked within her mind.

Trust… you know, I never really thought much about it before, but yeah… I DO trust my Pokemon friends. I didn't even have to think about it. Yeah, that's because I… trust in Val to trust in em'. Right?

"Nuff' talk, let's do this!" For the next bout, Micheal released back his Girafarig, who proudly stood on the arena.

Valerie got out her next pokeball, and threw it on the field. For her next Pokemon, she sent out her Nidoran, Drill. Drill made a battle cry, as he glanced back at Valerie. "I know Poison-types don't do too well against those tricky Psychic-types," Valerie said to him. "But, you're a tough lil'guy! I know you can do it! Poison, poison, poison em' till the MIltank come home, buddy!" Drill nodded, making another loud bark, signaling his preparation to engage his opponent.

"Smack em' with a Poison Sting!"

"Psybeam!"

Drill and Girafarig both unleashed their respective attacks at once, making them collide with each other, causing a blast that generated a smoke cloud. Using the smoke, Drill ran up, to strike Girafarig with a Horn Attack, but Girafarig was nimble enough to slip away at the last second. But now that Drill was close up, he was able to quickly pelt Girafarig with another spray of Poison Sting, dealing significant damage.

"Alright, now use Toxic!" Drill then spat out venomous liquid from his mouth, poisoning Girafarig as she was still recovering from the previous skirmish. Now while Girafarid was weak from the steadily increasing damage from being badly poisoned, Drill saw his chance to rush in to strike Girafarig with a strong Horn Attack, to try and clinch this battle.

"Psychic!" But Michael was prepared for a counter-strike, ordering Girafarig to blast Drill with a powerful wave of psycho-kinetic force. She forced the drill away from her, sending him flying all the way back to the arena's ropes.

"Now, use another Psybeam!"

"Drill, you gotta get outta there!"

But Valerie's instruction was too late, as she saw Drill being helplessly blasted by a blast from the Girafarig's Psybeam, causing him to collaspe on the ground after impact. He tried getting back up, but slumped back down, unable to move again.

Nidoran is unable to battle!

3 - 5

"It looks like Valerie is down to just half of her Pokemon left!" PikaKira then announced. "Michael's pokemon is for sure looking strong!"

Just as I thought, she never stood a chance, LunaBeam discreetly thought to herself, until she started speaking again. "I really don't like saying this, but it will be quite hard for Valerie to break Michael's momentum. He has some very strong pokemon - ones that Valerie is not quite accustomed to battling as of yet, at least for her team."

"Who's next?!" Michael boasted. "Bring them all on, and I'll just knock them down, haha!"

"Valentine…" Belle and the rest of the Demon Kingdom crew looked on with worry. The advantage was certainly lost for Valerie, or rather, perhaps she had never gotten it to begin with. Still they continued their support for her as Valerie recalled Drill back into his pokeball.

"You battled really hard, thanks for that!" Valerie thanked him. "Oh and um, I never really saaaid this but, sorry for disturbing you while you were sunbathing back there in the Wild Area… I always kinda regretted it. But I hope we can still battle together!"

It was then Michael noticed, his Light Screen barrier wore off. Not that he cared, he just wanted it temporarily. "Well come on!" Michael yelled. "Who's next? EZest game of my life!"

"You know Michael…" Valerie started. "If I was about to lose, I wouldn't be laughin' right now. Y'dig, bra?"

"Oh?"

Valerie got out another one of her pokemon, in their pokeballs. "Don't underestimate my buddies! Because, I believe in them!" A quick chuckle from Micheal later, Valerie released her next Pokemon. This pokemon came out with a mighty roar that shook most people in the audience to their core. Valerie's Tauros, Truck.

"Whoooooa, it's a Tauros!!" PikaKira glamour. "Compared to other regions, Tauros from Galar are known to be a LOT more aggressive and dangerous! And this one looks ESPECIALLY strong!"

"Aha! What's with his eye?" Michael scoffed, pointed to Truck's scarred left eye. "Did it fall or something?"

Truck didn't take that too kindly, letting out another roar, using his hooves to pound on the ground with all his might. He was angry, and he needed to start breaking things.

"We'll be right back to Struggle Rivals, after these messages!"

"Pikaaaa! PikaKira here, welcome back to Struggle Rivals! If you're just tuning in with us, we're right smack in the middle of the full on Pokemon battle with the Savage Lord, Micheal Jameson, against the Queen of Demons, Valerie Amity! Valerie has 3 pokemon left, while Micheal has 5. But now that Valerie sent out her Tauros, will this match turn on its head?!"

Without a call from Valerie, Truck just decided to rush in. Valerie couldn't even direct him to fall back a bit before Truck started wailing on Micheal's weakened Girafarig with a barrage of Horn Attacks. "Ease up a bit, Truck!" Valerie warned, but Valerie's commands were more like 'mere suggestions' to Truck, as he continued his assault with a powerful Tackle that sailed Girafarig right against the battle arena's ropes.

"Psybeam!" Micheal ordered, trying to push back Truck with a strong blast of energy from Girafarig. The beam made a direct hit - upon Truck's head. But that just made him angrier. Time for payback. He reared his horns, glowing an ominous black aura. With a blink of an eye, he charged and rammed himself right against Girafarig, sailing her upwards, making her crash down, laying her out to mark her defeat.

Girafarig is unable to battle!

3 - 4

"Such power!!" PikaKira yelled. "Micheal's Girafarig couldn't stand up against Tauros's raw strength!" She then turned towards LunaBeam, who looked pretty miffed by the outcome. "Any thoughts?"

"Well, uh," Luna was trying to search for some "genuine" response. "He's not bad, I'd say he's probably one of Valerie's stronger Pokemon for sure. Now that Valerie is down to her last pokemon, I think we're starting to see the home runners of her team."

Micheal recalled his Girafarig back into her Pokeball. "Maybe one of the guys screwed up on raising her defenses. Meh," he tossed away - rather carelessly - his Girafarig's pokeball, right to his sidelined crew to retrieve it. He then got out a replacement, from his person. "Beartic!" His next pokemon was a lot more menacing and seemingly tougher than his last two: a beartic who roared as fiercely as he looked.

"Micheal's Pokemon is looking stronger and stronger too," PikaKira commented. "Let's hope Valerie doesn't fall under the pressure!"

"Icicle Crash!" Michael yelled. Beartic summoned large icicles from the air, all seemingly aimed towards Truck. Truck galloped his hooves, ready to take it on.

"Alrighty... " Valerie observed. "Let's move outta the way and--" Truck was already gone. Instead of moving out of harm's way, he invited it -- he forcibly charged right through the barrage of icicles, letting the pain only fuel his anger. Then with all his might, focused his willpower towards his head and attacked Beartic with a move that looked much stronger than a tackle -- Zen Headbutt. Beartic quickly tried to fend Truck off with a flurry of strikes from his claws, trying to slash Truck over and over again.

But it was also within that moment, Truck used his horns, and his strength to lift Beatric up in the air. Then using his power, he tossed Beatric out so high that he sailed right out the arena stadium, sending him crashing headfirst with the Jameson crew. Fortunately (or unfortunately) Tate moved out of the way, but most of those guys were now crushed beneath the fainted Beartic's body.

Beartic is unable to battle!

3 - 3

"With Beartic out of the picture, it's now a tied game!" PikaKira commentated, unbeknowing to her, Luna was less than thrilled.

Valerie was happy Truck won, but she scratched her head. I mean you couuuuld of dodged a little…

"Aight, aight, I see you popping off," Micheal said while he nodded. He was ignoring the nearby groaning moans of discomfort from his crew and his fallen Beartic. "Vigoroth!" His next pokemon was an enegetic, speedy, yet strong pokemon, a Vigoroth who wasted no time showboating his muscles. Truck snorted. A feeble creature, he must of thought, but one who's face he would gladly bash in next. And he was already racing to do so, without Valerie's command.

"Awh, Truck…" Valerie watched as Truck galloped towards Vigoroth, intending to ram him - but Vigoroth proved his speed by effortlessly leaping out of the way. That didn't deter Truck from continuing his onsalught, but no matter how close Truck seemed to get, he still couldn't even reach Vigoroth and his speed.

"Claw at it with Slash!" Micheal yelled - now everytime Vigoroth was dodging Truck's attacks, he retaliated with switch slashes using his fierce claws.

"Truuuuuck! You gotta dodge some of that!" But Truck wouldn't listen. He roared with pure frustration and anger now, galloping all over the arena, and stomping on the ground to vent his frustrations. With one more anger-filled attack, he unleashed another Zen Headbutt, to ram the Vigoroth with all his power.

"Counter!"

Vigoroth prepared a stance. Using such a stance enabled him to move away from Truck's attack, then at the last moment, punch him right at his belly on his underside. The blow was so percise and powerful that it knocked Truck out of his attack, and knocked the conciousness right out of him as he fell to the ground with a resounding 'thud'.

Tauros is unable to battle!

2 - 3

"Oh and an amazing upset from Micheal's Vigoroth! I suppose what really did Tauros in was the sheer combination of Vigoroth's power and reflexes!" PikaKira was carefully scrambling through her notes upon her announcement. "We're at 2-3, folks! But still, anything can happen!"

Valerie recalled back Truck in his pokeball. She didn't really know what to say… she don't use Truck all that often in battles, and while she knew Truck had a bit of a temper, Truck didn't listen to her commands at all. Now she knew - Truck was a strong, yet difficult Pokemon. Still… "Thanks for battling with me out there," she said softly. I hope we can settle things out soon…

Two Pokemon left. Now Valerie was up against a Vigoroth. She can probably use flame to match his speed and power, but… she figured, she has a pokemon that can do the job just as well. "Let's go, Ayra!" She released Ayra, her Meowth, from her pokeball next. Upon landing in the arena, Ayra had her sights directly at Vigoroth. She growled and hissed, preparing herself for an assault. She had a fierce temper, but one that was more controlled than Truck's, it seemed.

"Alright Ayra! Use Scratch!" First ordered Valerie. Ayra was a bit faster than Truck, so she was better abled to catch up with Vigoroth's speed. Vigoroth managed to slip out of the way… at first, until Ayra managed to tag him on his arm with her claws.

"Use another Scratch, Ayra!"

"Vigoroth! Fury Swipes!"

Now the two Pokemon were locked in a ferious, quick battle of out-clawing each other. Ayra's swipes were strong and percise, while Vigoroth's fury swiping were continous and speedy. Soon the skirmish seemed over before it was started, as Vigoroth managed to knock Ayra away with his last attack. Ayra struggled to get back up, but Vigoroth won't let her, as he continued swiping and slashing away at her relentlessly, giving her no time for pause and rest.

"Don't give up, Ayra!" Valerie cheered on, but almost proved fruitless, as Ayra was steadily being overpowered.

"EZ match, EZ life," Micheal boasted. "Vigo is like, the king of a jungle, you know what I'm saying?"

Valerie gritted her teeth, watching Ayra being smacked away again. She managed to rise back up, her eyes now leering down Vigoroth's charging claws, now ready to once again slash at her face.

But this time, using her wild, cornered instincts, chomped down on Vigoroth's arms. Vigoroth cried in pain as Ayra bit down, and her sharp claws digging upon Vigoroth's skin. Then, with her nimbleness, Ayra readied her claws, raking a sharp claw right across Vigoroth's stomach.

"Nice one!" Valerie complimented. Ayra gotten back to her position, not taking her eyes off her enemy. "Alrighty… time for the DQ's faaavourite attack! In a battle of love and war, we'll own em' all! Tiiiime… for Attract!" Ayra winked, creating bundles of pink, lovely hearts that surrounded her, ones where she released all at once towards Vigoroth. The Vigoroth, trying to recover from the painhe took moments ago, now was completely surrounded by the hearts, and before he could act to dodge, he became completely engulfed by them. He was now in love with Ayra.

"Man… this dumb move?" Micheal hissed, but Valerie was loving it. Vigoroth was now barely able to move, his gaze now completely focused on Ayra.

"Now, use your Fury Swipes!' ordered Valerie. Now Ayra delivered relentless amounts of attacks, using her claws right onto Vigoroth. Her attacks were quick - so quick that her assault seemed like it was over before it even started. Eventually, Ayra stopped her attacks, and simply walked away from Vigoroth in disgust. As she left Vigoroth, he toppled over and fell onto his back, his face frozen with a loving smile - still seemingly under the effects of Ayra's attraction, while having claw marks covered all over his body.

Vigoroth is unable to battle!

2 - 2

The arena was now filled with the loud cheers and hollers from the audience. Despite what they may think of either competitors, they were at least, enjoying the battle. "Wooooo! What a match this turned out to be!!" Even PikaKira was on the edge of her seat. "We're at 2-2, once again a tied game! It looks like even with Micheal's specially trained pokemon, Valerie's giving it her all! Saaay, maybe she can actually win--"

"The battle's not over yet!" LunaBeam snapped, but reeled back. "I-I mean, yes, it's possible, but as you say… anything can happen, right?"

"Dammit, Vigo too? Psh," Micheal returned Vigoroth to his pokeball. "Aight V-Ray, you had a good run, but now you can't win! See why here!" Micheal threw his next pokemon from a pokeball. This time, he sent out a pokemon that was infamous for performing a certain fire stunt in Unova with him for. His Houndoom. He greeted the arena's inhabitants with a loud, prideful howl. Houndoom was perhaps his most iconic, yet infamous pokemon - almost everyone knew of it, even Valerie.

"Houndoom next, huh?" Valerie observed. "But, Ayra can take him! Been wanting to knock that guy off its pedastool anyway!" Ayra, while on all four legs, leered and growled at Micheal's Houndoom. His Houndoom stared back at her, but his expression was more as if he was casually looking down at her. Or if he was just dealing with a stubborn brat of a Pokemon.

"Let's start out with a quick Bite, Ayra!" Ayra rush to bite down on Houndoom, trying to gain an early lead. She missed him however, and Houndoom retaliated by biting on to her back. He lifted Ayra like toy - even through all of Ayra's struggling.

"Fire Fang!" A call from Micheal ordered a Fire Fang move, a move where Houndoom's fangs made a firey-red glow, chomping down on Ayra with a firey blast. He then flung Ayra away, leaving her burnt and bruised, while she slumped on the ground. Micheal cockily chuckled. "So, where's your trust now?"

"Never left, bra!" Valerie stated, turning to Ayra. A little worse than wear, but Ayra found her footing, but struggling to even gaze upon the Houndoom. This cornered feeling… it was a feeling that was nothing new to her. While she was with her clan, she had to become strong, to hunt and help provide for them. Battling strong and dangerous wild pokemon was a daily routine for her - one slip up, and she and her clan would of perished a long time ago.

Houndoom stared her down. While Ayra fought for her life many times before - she would never admit it herself but, those times… she felt afraid. Afraid of the unknown, and afraid of what dangers the next day would bring. Her fears were eventually realized when the humans took everything from her - her previous family, and her home…

"C'mon, sis! I know you can beat em'!" The call from Valerie had Ayra turn towards her. "'Member when we first met? Saw it in your eyes, Ay-Ay. That noble aura of standing up to whomever it took for you to rise to the top? I always kinda liked that about you! And, idk what happened before, but, I'm here for ya' now, Ay. All the way!"

Ayra groaned. What a noisy human. Even from day one, she talked about this and that. Humans in general can be so noisy. And this sport they call pokemon battles - are just a competiton where pokemon follow orders for the entertainment of humans. This world revolves around it. What a joke. Time and time again, humans think nothing for themselves.

However…

Though this sport, there are also times when the scent of humans change. From hostility, to respect, for example. And this noisy girl, is attempting to make friends with both humans and pokemon alike, no matter who they are, in a possible effort to help the world be peaceful.

But…

To protect your territory, you must have power. Yes, that was the rule, of both Ayra's old habitat, and this world she's in now.

"Eh?" Valerie then noticed a change within Ayra. Her whole body started to glow, and her limbs becoming longer. Everyone in the audience fell silent, watching this development.

As for Ayra… she wondered. About this thing Valerie called "Trust". Trust… this human trusted her. So… it's fine, right? If maybe, just maybe, Ayra follows that rule? And believes in that trust? And maybe… maybe taking that chance, she'll stand strong.

And in that moment, she'll once again have…
A family.

Before Valerie's and everyone else's eyes, Ayra started to evolve. And when it was over, she finally had a new form, and new power. "Valerie's Meowth has jsut evolved into PERSIAN!!" PikaKira's announcement drove everyone in the audience in a cheerful frenzy. Ayra, now a Persian, roared and growled, basking in her newly founded power. She had finally did it. She had evolved, and now felt truly 'strong'.

"Ayra you look sooooo cool!" Valerie complimented. "A Persian, huh? Super rad!! Oh! Lemme check if you learned new moves from the Dex..."

Micheal's Houndoom stared her down, now as he growled himself. Ayra then did the same. The battle between the two was now truly just beginning. "Pfft, I ain't too concerned! We still got this round," Micheal stated. "Let's see how you do once we actually take this match just a bit seriously! Dark Pulse, Houndoom!"

"Whoooooa! This looks totes cool!" Meanwhile Valerie was finished looking up Ayra's moves from her Pokedex, and to her delight, it looked like she learned a new one, upon evolving. "Right then Ayra! Power Gem!"

Ayra and Houndoom fired their respective attacks from their mouths - a dark-type energy blast from Houndoom, while Ayra fired a red beam of light that glittered and sparkled like a gemstone itself. The two attacks collided, resulting in a large explosion, causing smoke.

"Scratch!"

"Sucker Punch!"

The beasts continued their battle. Through the smoke, the audience members saw a clast of Ayra's claws tearing on Houndoom's body, while Houndoom trying to fend her off by fiercely punching and smacking Ayra's body using his paws, and tail. In the middle of the skirmish, Micheal told his Houndoom to use another Fire Fang - and Houndoom managed to bit down hard upon Ayra's right wrist. But little does he know, Ayra's newfounded reflexes made her plan for the Houndoom to take her left arm… in exchange for his head. She used her hind leg to stop down on Houndoom's head to the ground, using the full weight of her body.

"You're not that weak, are you? C'mon!" Micheal's voice invigorated Houndoom, giving him enough strength to stand back up on his feet. He once again met with Ayra's gaze, and the two exhanged howls, roars and growls - common, yet intense battle cries for pokemon of their nature. Both pokemon were fairly large quadrupeds, and of the carnivorous beast type. Their fangs and claws developed in order to allow them to hunt for their prey. Pitted against each other, their natural fighting instincts intensifies.

Their looks were one of the same, and one that signalled that they knew what would happen next: the final clash was coming. With one last roar and howl, the two charged towards each other. With one last skirmish between claws and fangs, the two were left in a brutal test of power and strength.

"Don't give in, Ayra!" Valerie's cheering could be heard, even as the battle raged on. Emotions were high, and the air tense. But after a while, the two stopped. Wondering what was going to happen next, the area fell silent… and eventually, both Ayra and Houndoom dropped to the ground, both no longer moving.

Both pokemon are unable to battle!

1 - 1

"No way...!" Luna grumbled, a bit louder than she would of planned to.

"I know, right?!" The crowd started to cheer, through PikaKira's anouncing. "The battle of the beasts is now over!! With that, the score is now tied one a piece!!The battle is now coming down TO THE ONE!"

Luna glanced back at PikaKira, before turning back to the battle at hand. She stared angrily at Valerie, then focused to Micheal. You're not supposed to lose to that freak! Come on, man!

Valerie retuned Ayra back inside her Pokeball. "Thanks, Ayra, that was really amazing!" she belted out. Indeed, she was really lucky, to have found her within that adoption center that day. She truly has an amazing friend. Now, she was down to her last pokemon. If there was one friend who is able to pull off a winning move, she knew - it'd be the the first partner she had.

"It's all up to you, Flame-bro!" she released Flame from his own Pokeball. Upon arrival, he let out his iconic battle cry, igniting the flames on his back. Valerie's fanclub applauded for Flame especially, as he was perhaps, Valerie's most famous pokemon, ever since his victory over Kabu and his Centiskorch. "Bring it on, Micheal! Flame and I can take whatever you dish out next!"

"Heh, okay, if you're sure," he recalled Houndoom back inside his pokeball. Strange… Micheal seemed a bit TOO relaxed, having his Houndoom defeated. He brought out another pokeball - but this pokeball was a different type than normal. He held an Ultra Ball. "You know what, I knew you'd choose Flame to be last. That's why I had this guy ready for em'. Like I keep telling ya! EZ game, EZ life."

"Hah, you're bluffing! You got nothin'," Valerie scoffed. "Now come on!"

"Aight, you asked for it, V-Ray. Here we GO!" He threw his Ultra Ball in the air, and waited until it was opened. When it did, he had released,a Pokemon that none were really expecting him to have.

"Wh-what the---" Valerie was even taken a back, seeing this Pokemon.

"Hey! That Pokemon!" PikaKira was also amazed, now stifiling through her notes. That Pokemon that Micheal sent out - it looked like Flame, but it was beefier, taller, and looked more ferocious. "Erm, folks, just looking through what I have here… while Valerie's last Pokemon is of course, the light of hope Flame, MIcheal's pokemon… looks like a Quilava, but…"

Ah, I see. So this was what he was going for… a final battle where he knew he could win against Flame, LunaBeam thought to herself, now her mood seeming to be more relaxed. Flame could only watch in tension while staring down his foe. The Pokemon in question stood on two legs, and let out a sinister battle roar, with its back erupting more powerful fire than Flame had.

LunaBeam watched, with now a twisted grin. After all, this is the evolved form of a Quilava. Typhlosion.

#Strugglecon #Valerie #Micheal
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Demon Queen Valerie vs. Savage Emperor Michael!

Dragon · Oct 26, 2021

MewTube

"Thanks for tuning back in with us. If you're just joining in -- and I finally found my information here -- Valerie and Micheal now have one pokemon each left. Valerie has Flame, a Quilava, while Micheal has Typhlosion… the evolved form of Quilava. LunaBeam, what are your thoughts?"

"Honestly, do you even need my thoughts? It's common sense," Luna's tone was more aggressive than before. "A Quilava versus a Typhlosion. What do you think will happen? Valerie fought well for what she could of done, but now it's all over. She has no chance at all."

"The situation does look dark for Valerie… but even so, I wouldn't say her chances are zero at all," PikaKira pointed out. "After all, as said before, you'd never know what will happen in a battle."

"Don't be rediculous," LunaBeam barked. "Her luck's finally ran out, and it's about time too. Micheal played her like a cheap old fiddle. His Pokemon selection made sure he would clinch this battle, no matter what Valerie could of done."

Meanwhile, Valerie crossed her arms, having a good look at Micheal's Typhlosion. "Soooo, that's what you're gonna be when you grow up more, Flame?" she pondered. "Gotta say, it looks really cool! Really diggin' those flames and all! Hah, just wait Flame, you're gonna be super super strong and waaay cooler than you are now! Ah, not that you don't look cool now, bro!"

"Kay, so, we're gonna win now," Micheal eagerly stated. "I mean, it was fun V-Ray, don't take your loss too hard, and pleaaaaase don't off yourself over it. There'd be more battles you'll win! With… other people, but yeah!"

Valerie shrugged. "Gee, you're soooo caring," she meeked. "Really Micheal, if you were in a show, you'd be the next Dr. Petilil."

"Just lookin' out for one of us, V-Ray!" replied Micheal. "But, glad that you're taking the eventual loss good so far!"

"What are you talking about?" Valerie said, puzzled. "I mean, we're still gonna win."

"Huh?!" LunaBeam couldn't help but shout out what she was thinking. "Valentine, are you naive, or just idiotic?!"

"Uh… LunaBeam?" Though in the heat of the moment, she forgets that PikaKira is still right beside her.

Valerie turned to LunaBeam. "Duuuh, it's cuz DQ Val believes in Flame, and in the rest of her buddies!"

"...There you go again..." LunaBeam angrily grumbled. "Trust this, trust THAT… Over and over! Why? Why are you so trusting?! Why do you continue to be so god-forsaken naive? Haven't you figured it out by now!? People can ABUSE that level of trust, you know. Even your so-called friends! So tell me, why??"

Valerie calmly shook her head. "Lunie, you got it wrong, y'know."

"What?!"

"I… I do have doubts. At least I realize that I do, even now," Valerie started. "And... it sucks. Doubting people, even my friends. What if they think I'm this or that… stuff like that. But still, my inner Val says, to trust in them still. It's sorta weird, why would my inner Val tell me to doubt people, and to trust people at the same time? But then, I think I kinda get it? It's because I--and people in general doubt people, because they wanna find ways to trust in em', you know?"

Valerie looked upwards, scanning the audience. "I get it now. Trust without doubt… is kinda a lie, you know? But, if we stop trusting people, then, I don't really think that's a way to move ourselves forward with our life. It will only cause more pain, and makes things more difficult to deal with. I now have doubts, sure, but I still wanna trust in others. It's like a battle that rages inside each of us - if we really wanna fully start trusting people, we gotta battle against the doubt inside of ourselves. And to do that, we gotta have confidence within ourselves. That what I realized, and remembered, watching all my pokefriends duke it out, and from the time I've spent with em'. Soooo, right now, Demon Queen Val trusts in Flame, because she trusts in herself. That's all there is to it!"

"Nonsense," LunaBeam retracted back into her own seat. We'll see how much that trust really is once Micheal crushes her.

"Nuff talk!" Micheal shouted. "Let's get to it! Typhlosion! Flamethrower!"

"Here we go, Flame-bro! Use Quick Attack!"

The battle started off, with Flame running at high speed to escape Typholsion's continuious streams of fire. Once he closed the distance, Typholsion wasn't in a good position to release another Flamethrower, which Flame took advantage by smacking it on the belly.

"Use Ember!"

"Block it!" Flame's spit fire attacks proved fruitless, as Typhlosion managed to fend it off easily, using only his paws.

"No problem! Use Thunderpunch!" Typholsion's next attack involved him sparking his fist with bolts of concentrated electricity, and reach dowards to strike Flame. Fortuantely for Flame, he was speedy enough to slip away, before Typhlosion slammed his fist on the ground, creating a small hole where he punched through.

"Typhlosion may have power, but Flame has speed!" PikaKira points out. "We'll have to see how well Flame can match up, but it looks like he's holding his own!"

"Not for long! Double-Edge!" Now using both of his hands, Typhlosion aimed for Flame, intending to pound him straight on the ground. Flame managed to dodge, but could only dodge as Typholsion continued its onslaught. With quick thinking from Flame, he used Swift attack to make Typhlosion stagger a bit, and back off.

"Quick, Flame! Flame Wheel! Keep up the edge!" Flame promtply switched into a Flame Wheel attack, aiming to strike a hard hit while Tyhlosion staggered. But unfortunately.. Typhlosion recovered more quickly than anticipated, and even managed to catch Flame, during his attack. He knocked Flame out of his swirling ball of fire, and held him up with one hand.

"No way!" Valerie hollered. Flame struggled desperately to escape, but couldn't manage to escape Typhlosion's grasp.

"Thunderpunch!" Using his free hand, Typhlosion delivered an extrodinary Thunderpunch, right on Flame's stomach, then throwing him across the stage, as he landed on the ground like he was a rag doll.

"And what a Thunderpunch from Typhlosion! With power and a hit like that, this might spell the end for Flame, and this entire match!" The crowd cheered for Flame after PikaKira's announcing - they every much wanted him to win, even against the odds. LunaBeam meanwhile was beside herself; it was annoying, having to witness the obvious outcome, but still, some satisfaction was in her - now Valerie is going to be seen for the fool she really was.

"Get up, Flame! Come on, come on, you can do it!" Valerie called out for Flame, but he was unresponsive, slumped on the ground. "It's… it's not like ya' to just give up like that! You've gotten us both outta jams time and time again, and no matter how bad things were looking, you always try to pull out a winning move and you know it!"

"It's over, Valerie!" LunaBeam protested. "Ref, the match is over! Come on, now!"

Valerie ignored her. "Come on Flame, dig deep! You've gotta!"

The referee looked at Flame, then finally made a decision. "Flame is unable to battle," he said. "Which means the winner i--"

But he was interrupted… by the sounds of Flame's grunting. Before everyone's eyes, Flame slowly, yet steadily, found his way back upon his feet. When he finally managed to stand up tall, he let out a roar, telling everyone that he's far from finished yet. "Aweeeesom-bellosom! You did it!" Valerie cheered happily.

Luna slammed her fists on the announcer's table. "Are you ****ing serious?!"

"Oh man…!" Micheal winced. "Are you telling me that didn't do the trick?"

"It's like I told ya' before," Valerie reminded. "DQ Valerie believes in her buddies, including Flame! It's the secret to our Demon Kingdom's power! Now, it's time to TAKE OVER Strugglecon, and end the Savage King's reign! Whaddya' say, Flame-bro?!" As a response, the fire on Flame's back erupted, so much so that it encased him. The flames took the shape of a sinister looking beast that was much larger than Flame's whole body.

That's the thing that Lord-Flame did last time against Demon Queen's battle against Kabu!
Wow! Lord Flame's true power!!
Finally!

"It's Blaaaaaaze!" PikaKira shouted. "Reaching the limits of his strength has brought forth Flame's incredible, true power! Will this be enough to defeat Typholsion?!"

Valerie turned to PikaKira, with a Puzzled look. "So uh… what's 'Blaze'?"

"Huh?!"

"Ah, nvm! Let's do it Flame, use your Qui--" But it was at that moment, Valerie's Pokedex started to vibrate. She opened it, only to discover a very cool thing indeed. "Saaaaay! Looks like you learned a new move! Okie, let's try it! Get ready forrrr… FLAME CHARGE!" Flame with his power, ignited himself with a deeper, crimson red Flame. Then with blinding speed, he rushed over to Typhlosion, and tackled him with a few couple of hits. Typholsion tried sending him off with a series of thunderpunches, but thanks to Flame's attack, he increased in speed, allowing him to dodge every single one of Typholsions attacks. At the end of it all, Flame maneuvered behind Typhlosion to get in a powerful hit on his back, causing Typhlosion to topple.

"Oh my! It looks like Flame has Typholsion to his knees!!" PikaKira blurted out. Typholsion meanwhile was looking for his breath back, until ignited his flame on his back once again, now feeling pressured. He erupted the fire on his back, to even more velocity, revving himself up for battle.

With his anger, Typhlosion unleased flurry of Double-edges that impacted the stadium, with Flame fending him off with strong Flame Wheel's, backed up with the power of Blaze, to keep him at bay. The attacks collided, sending off strong heat waves throughout the arena, and can even be felt to the audience with each blow.

"Dunno how you got this strong, but we're not losing, you hear?!" Micheal warned. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Oh, don't worry, cause we're gonna show ya TRUE heat!" Valerie declared. "Flame! Ember!"

Typholsion released a powerful burst of flames from his mouth towards Flame, while Flame, harnessing the power of his blaze-cloak, used the raging fire to ramp up his spit fire attack. He held his flames up into the air, while the flames from his cloak increased in size. Eventually, it turned into a giant, crimson ball of pure fire - he then kicked the ball of fire right towards Typhlosion. The two fire attacks collided, resulting in a massive swirl of flames that mixed together at the center of the battlefield. The flames wouldn't die down, and the pokemon remained restless.

"Now Flame! Flame Charge!!"

"Thunderpunch! GO!"

With one more act, the two fire pokemon leaped across the flames. Flame once again wrapped himself up with a crimson veil of fire, while Typhlosion readied his fist for an electrically charged punch. When they both collided, it resulted in a massive explosion that spewed the flames upwards, making harmless chunkles of red sparkling droplets rain down on the field. After the explosion and the smoke cleared, Flame and Typholsion stared each other down, both out of breath. For a brief moment, it looked like Flame was about to lose his footing.

"Yes! It's over!" Though Micheal's statement was too soon. Flame managed to remain standing. On the other hand… Typhlosion's eyes rolled upwards to his head, and fell right on his back, to the ground, resulting in a resounding thud. Micheal couldn't believe what he saw. Typholsion… lost…?

Typhlosion is unable to battle! Flame wins!

1 - 0

The winner of this battle goes to Valerie Amity!

"IT'S OVERRR! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT'S FINALLY OVERRRRR!" Even PikaKira's exciting shouts can't compare to the loud cheering from the audience. "The winner of this segment of Strugglecon's Twitch Rivals.. Is VALERIE! DEMON QUEEN VALERIEEEEE!"

Micheal dropped to his knees, his hands on his hips. He couldn't even believe it. He didn't even have the words to snark his way out from this discomfort he was feeling. Tate rushed up to the arena's edge and called on him, but he signalled him to stay back, and leave him alone for a bit. For the first time since he came here… he was speechless.

Valerie on the other hand… "C'mere, hahaha!" She ran to give Flame a warm hug and pat on the head. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, bro!" Flame battled a hard, tough fight. And won. All of Valerie's pokemon friends did. And she couldn't be happier.

All Hail the Demon Queen!
MUCH better than Jamesons anyday!
Demon Queen!
Demon Queen!
Demon Queen!
Demon Queen!

Flame gestured to Valerie, now was the time to address the chanting peers. Valerie nodded, and then waved towards the crowd. "Strugglecon is ours, my Little Monsters!" she shouted heartily. "Thank you, my minions, for showing your support! Soon, Galar will belong to the Demon Kingdom! So all those who wish to challenge the DQ, come at me if you DARE!"

"Now that was a battle for the ages! I am very honoured to be announcing this battle here with you, LunaB-- huh?" LunaBeam was gone from her announcer spot. As soon as Valerie won, it looked like she had slipped away, towards the back entrance. When Valerie's eyes drifted to the announcer table, she noticed Luna was gone too.

Luna… she thought to herself. It wasn't as though she expected a complete happy ending. Valerie's friendship with LunaBeam ended. It still stung, losing someone she knew for years. But… as Flame licked the side of her palm, she was reminded of something. Even if she lost one, she still had many friends that truly cared for her. As long as she kept trusting in others, working hard to battle the doubt inside of her along the way, she thought, maybe she'll be okay.

Still, there was something to be said about Luna. One that Valerie wouldn't budge from.

Maybe it was all a lie. But still… that lie did kinda save my life. So, even if it doesn't mean anything to you, thanks Luna, for saving me that day. Val's gonna keep living on.

"Welp, I guess LunaBeam had to run for other matters, ahaha…" PikaKira sweated. "BUT, thank you all for coming to watch this battle here tonight, whether it was here in Strugglecon, or at home with your laptops! We hope to see you next time, within a thrilling Battle Rivals spectacle! And thank you all for coming to Strugglecon! We hope to see you next time!"

---

#Strugglecon #Valerie #Micheal
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Demon Queen Valerie vs. Savage Emperor Michael!

Sapphire Rose · Oct 26, 2021

Pia McGuire ft. Valerie Amity
Poké:

5550 ♦ Pokémon: 4

Faires and Demons

Pia walked on the strugglecon floors with clothes she wouldn't want to be found dead in. Wearing an oversized hoodie, sweat pants and sunglasses she was nearly unrecognizable. Especially with her long wavy hair tucked away underneath a pet and no trademark Milla at her side, she was truly incognito.

Or… so she thought.

"Hey! Watch where ya goin'!" Pia heard as a male on the somewhat larger side bumped into her with so much force that her pet and sunglasses dropped to the floor faster than Ruben's reputation, revealing basically everything she had tried to hide since the contest.

"Is that Pia McGuire?!"

"OMG WHERE?!"

"Over there!"

Pia felt chills run over her spine. She was surrounded by every local journalist in the area within seconds. She shielded her eyes from the flashes of the camera's and tried to push the microphones that were almost being shoved up her nose as best as she could while she tried to escape but failed miserably while she was pushed more into a corner with every joining journalist.

"Pia what made you decide to join the contest after being in hiding for so long?"

"Oh, uhm… well…" Pia stammered.

"Pia what do you think about the newfound relationship between Mr. Sancho and international R&B sensation, Misha Marsha?"

"I-I... "

"Mrs. McGuire, why do you think about the allegations that are circling around about you?"

"W-Which ones would you be speaking off…?" Pia tried to cut in.

"Ruben Sancho confirmed that you had no intimate relationship with him. Is this true? What is the kind of relationship you did have with him?"

"Wait, what…?" Pia looked confused.

"Were you aware that Sancho was two-timing with a celebrity of much higher conduct?"

"Did Sancho pay you?"

"What do you think of your mother's profession?"

"Is it true you were conceived on the back streets of Hammerlocke?"

As the questions kept piling up with no space for Pia to confidently reply, the amount of media training she had had was evident. It was little to none. She was shaking uncontrollably on her feet, the pressure that was suddenly put on her so high that she couldn't get a word out and stood there frozen on her spot.

"Sorry guys! This sesh is over!"

The media coverage was continuing -- but then interrupted by someone grabbing Pia's hand, dragging her away. The figure who had done so, slightly lowered her own style of pink sunglasses, greeting Pia with a wink and a smile. "Aaaaand we are out!" The two started to sprint away. A few of the journalists attempted to follow them, but the ongoing crowd made them difficult to pursue.

Pretty soon, the duo had made their way back -- for Pia's case, she was in a smaller section of the building, one with less people. "Whew, media peeps, what are ya' gonna do? Luckily for us, we bolted outta there like a Sableye runnin' from a lovestruck Mawile!" the one who saved Pia -- Valerie -- took off her glasses and leaned up against the table nearby, looking up at Pia. It looks like she had brought her to her booth, where she does signatures for people who want them. "Long time no chat, girl, LOOOOVE the new look... but, ngl queen, kindaaaa surprised you're even here, what with the media's been saying bout' you and all."

"Haha. yeahhh……" Pia smiled awkwardly at her hero of the hour. "Nice save there, Val. I didn't know how I was going to get myself out of there." Pia let the stress fall from her shoulders and sat down on a chair herself. She stretched her arms and once she was situated, she let out a long deep sigh. "The worst part is, they are mostly right. There is just so much more to the story than they want to see and you have to be so careful with what you say because they want to interpret it wrongly. It's… suffocating." Pia brushed through her hair with her fingers. "It's… good to see you, Val." the girl glanced up with a gentle smile.

"Nice to see ya' too!" Valerie said with a soft smile back. "And no worries, I get cha. When I saw the whole thing on Chatter and people were chatting about it, I was like, Mareep? *Stay in your lane!* Cuz there's obvs more to this story, like you said! Never doubted you!"

Pia blinked a few times at the words of Val. She never doubted her, huh? Well… 'She better start to' was what came to mind but… Pia had attempted to use her in the past. Was all of this really alright?

"Did you watch the contest the other day?" Pia blurted out despite her previous thoughts, avoiding the topic overall while it still lingered in the back of her mind.

"Of course! I watched all of you guys!" Valerie replied excitingly. "Like, Mel-Mel, suuuuper amazing as always, but then, BANG! She transformed! I was like—you know when people face roll their keyboard because they're like, shocked or something? I was like asdfghjkl;!"

There's no bigger stan than Valerie. "Then there's Aeliana, which btw, not to toot my own horn, but I am a daaaaamn lucky woman; Jet got some SERIOUS moves! And then there's Chlo, just saying, Catherine better watch out cuz' there's a demon with the weather in town! Froslass looked suuuper gorgeous and Luxio? Ultra cool! Then! Then, omggggggg Rosa with the TWIST and the Bellossom outfit? Mega cute! Ahhh and, speaking of twists, can we talk about The Tea Rose?? Like, that was super amazing and mysterious! Really hope we can see her again!"

Valerie continued her fangirling rampage. "OMG, can I like, become your number one stan for a sec, because girl, I shoulda called the police because you killed it! Like, few things— Ruby man, I love you, but you F'd up! You and your Pokémon looked gorgeous, Pia-chu! Ahhh, I think my heart is still swimming! It was like…idk, like you evolved or something!"

Pia listened to the excited Valerie talking about all the contest performances of their classmates. There was something soothing about knowing that no matter if they were alone or not, they'd always have Val cheering them on. However, for Pia it was also a bit uncomfortable knowing that Valerie held her in such high regard while she came to her at first with a wicked scheme in mind.

"I'm glad you liked it so much." Pia smiled again, though twiddled with her fingers. While she stared at her feet, she tried to catch every bit of courage she could muster up to be able to tell the streamer girl what had been on her mind. That which had bothered her. She had never gotten the chance to actually make use of the girl but she was glad now because that might make this conversation easier. "Val, I don't really deserve your kindness…" She started but fell silent again shortly after. "I… last time we met and I said I'd be your friend… I did that with impure intentions." she finally brought up. "And… I apologize for that." She finally looked up. "And… I'd like to be your friend for real. If… you'd still have me."

The confession stunned Valerie for a bit. After a while, she sighed and stood up on her feet. "Ummm, tbh, Pia? You're not the first person to do that. And, ngl, you'll probably won't be the last," Valerie stated quietly. "I am a bit too trusting, and it's sorta my fault for blindly trusting you before. After all, it can come back to bite me where it hurts, and all…" a moment of silence veiled between the two. Valerie was still staggering after what had happened with her ex-friend LunaBeam, and in some ways, she still wishes it wasn't true.

Still, she managed a sincere smile towards Pia. "...It kinda sucks to hear that from you, ngl. Buuuut…" Her soft smile turned into her regular friendly grin. "But… you know what? I think I'd rather forgive you than just keep wailin' on it, you know? Sooo… Imma do just that."

Pia smiled back at the girl. She had expected Val to give a response like that but having finally come out with the truth felt like a Snorlax fell down from her shoulders. Now they could start over. Sort of. It was the thought that mattered. Pia brushed through her hair. There was something else she had to ask, something she just thought of that could help in a part of Pia's plan. That would mean using Val for real this time though… but this time she'd ask. As a friend.

"There's something else." Pia started, looking a bit more seriously. "You had this battle against the Jamesons, right?"

"And won, ofc!" Valerie added.

"Serves them right. The pricks." Pia huffed with crossed arms. "The thing is, the media currently only associate me with the football scandal. It's all I am to them. You just saw for yourself how hung up they are over it. They seem to have forgotten that I'm a challenger in the gym challenge first and foremost." Pia stood up and held out one of her pokéballs. "So I'd like to remind them of that." She threw the still sitting girl a grin.

"Valerie Amity, I would like to formally challenge you to a battle."

"Weeeeh?!" Even for Val... that was sudden. She rested the palm of her hand against her cheek in thought. Normally Valerie would jump at this chance, but… "I dunno Pia, even if you battle Val, it's not all that easy changing minds, you know? Especially online--"

"But I'll have to try at least something and this is my best bet." Pia shot back. "I can't keep staying hidden forever…"

"Hold up! I wasn't done yet!" Valerie interrupted. "If you have a regular ol' battle with Val, it's gonna be tough. BUUUUUT…" Valerie then got something that was quickly passed through her Morpeko from her bag. A dark robe that she promptly put on. "If you battle Demon Queen Valerie? The mortals shall bow down, fuahaha!" Still donning her costume, her demeanor changed. "Fairy Queen! A normal battle does not please the DQ! Soooo, instead, let's have a Double Battle! Double the evil, double the fun! So: Step 1, challenge the Demon Queen! Step 2, wow 'em' in a battle they hadn't seen before! Step 3? Ummm… Question mark, question mark, question mark! Step 4, Profit!"

Pia was stunned at the sudden change in demeanor that Valerie showcased in front of her. She had heard that Valerie tends to show a bit of a different persona when with her friends but this was truly something else. Still… Pia could vibe with it. She smirked.

"Then I, Fairy Queen Pia shall challenge Demon Queen Valerie to a battle and reclaim my rightful throne!" Pia crossed her arms and held a hand in front of her face a bit more theatrically, her emerald eyes shining through as her own demeanor changed as well. Acting. One of Pia's specialties. This would be fun.

***

The people in Strugglecon were busy and lively as always, going about their business. Even going through the battling areas, you'd never know what the hottest thing to witness would come around. This time was no exception.

"Hey, isn't that…"
Yeah! That outfit! It's Valerie!"

The crowd caught a glimpse of the newly discovered two battlers about to have a contest: Valerie, and Pia. The crowd swarmed in drones to witness the show, while Valerie and Pia were on opposite ends of the battling stage, committed to their plan. "Welcome, my Little Monsters, welcome!" Valerie addressed the crowd. "The Demon Queen once again has arriveeeeed! Claws up, my minions, for this is a show just for all of you!"

"Brilliant! It's Demon Queen Valerie! She's going to be battling!"
"Against who, though?"
"Wait… that's… Pia?"
"Wasn't she in the news lately?"
"Yeah, about that scandal…"

"Looks like they're all getting restless and a bit anxious," Valerie pointed out. "I hope you're not too surprised, Fairy Queen. When I invaded your realm, you cowered before my might, and made the DQ rule it flawlessly… Now here they are, branding you. Now we're face to face again. Come to take back your realm, are we?"

"It's true." Pia started, sighing and shaking her head. She had replaced her hoodie and overall outfit for shorts and a light pink blouse with ruffles at the ends of the sleeves and lower part of the blouse. "I abandoned that which I should have protected and fled with my tail between my legs." Pia dramatically held the back of her hand against her forehead. "But no longer! I shall reclaim the throne that I was so blatantly robbed off!" She pointed out, "And I shall protect and rule it better." She cast away her face from Valerie. Her acting was actually quite good for someone who had to get into this role at the spur of the moment but she was enjoying it greatly.

"Alrighty then, let's see what you got!" As an award for Pia's determination, it was time for Valerie to get serious. She got two Pokeballs from her person. Valerie threw her two Pokeballs in the air. One of the Pokeballs released a friend who had long ears: Queen, her Buneary. Another released a friend who had two wings who fluttered all about: Nora, her Noibat. "Hear me, Little Monsters! This is Queen and Nora, my two friends and allies! Now, show me, Fairy Queen! Show me how much you've evolved!" As her two Pokemon let loose their battle cries, the crowd cheered thunderously for Valerie and her Pokemon.

"It's Nora and Queen! We hadn't seen them in battle before!"
"Hah, if it's the DQ's friends, they're sure to be strong!"
"Give her hell, DQ!"

"Gladly." Pia smirked and threw up two Poké balls of her own. From them emerged her Cottonee and Eevee, Soma and Cintra. "I'll warn you Demon Queen. We've gotten a lot stronger now and we are here to show you justice!" Pia once again pointed forward. Cintra looked a bit confused at what was happening but just rolled with it and showed a confident growl. Soma just really didn't care for all the bells and whistles, he was here for the battle.

"Smashing! Let's not wait any further, and let us battle!" The crowd's cheering intensified as Valerie started things off. Pia is a very tactical opponent… but let's start things off the normal way. "Queen, use Pound on Cintra, and Nora, use Gust on Soma! Go get em'!" Queen readied her ears—it was a trait for Buneary, using their strong ears for melee attacks to their opponents. Nora meanwhile flapped his wings with all his might, conjuring up a small wind storm from them. They were about to engage with their two foes.

"Cintra, use Sand-attack to throw off the Buneary! Soma, dodge and use Cotton Guard!" Pia commanded her Eevee and Cottonee with a smirk. As soon as Queen neared closer to Cintra, the fox-Pokémon dug into the stage to kick up the dust in Buneary's face, causing her to miss the hit. "Follow-up with Quick-Attack!" Pia followed up, allowing Cintra to quickly get a powerful hit in thanks to the adaptability ability before taking her distance again. Soma on the other hand dodged the incoming pound timely and wrapped his body in created cotton to protect himself for future damage.

"Hey hey, not too bad!" Valerie complemented. Nora was hit, and flew a few feet a little, but quickly recovered. "Nora! Double Team! Queen, Quick Attack! Don't let that Eevee beat you!" Nora created a display of multiple after-images from itself, combined with Queen, who used her speed to jump and run - between hiding herself with the help of Nora's copies, and closing in for a fast paced attack.

"Use baby-doll eyes, Cintra! Soma, fly up and use Fairy wind to get rid of the copies!" Pia gave them the counter defense that was done as instructed. Cintra used Baby-doll eyes to make her cute eyes sparkle. This caused the attacker to become less vicious and the damage would hurt less. She allowed herself to yet hit as dodging was meaningless. She knew that if Pia had wanted that, she'd gotten different instructions. She had faith in the strategy of her trainer. Soma flew up and used his Fairy Wind on all the copies of the Noibat, causing the to swiftly disappear until the real one was the only one left.

"Soma, use Stun Spore on the Buneary!" Pia called out quickly right after so that the Cottonee could let out Yellow sparkles from his tint leaf wings. He sprinkled them over the Buneary. "Cintra, use tail whip to distract the Noibat!"

"Going for a status move, are we?" Valerie observed, as the yellowish powder approached. "Well then, DQ gloves off then! Time for Thunder Wave, Queen!" Queen released static blue electricity from herself, and held it in the air. By the time the Stun Spore cloud was close, she released it all at once, allowing it to collide with the powder. Using her control over the electrical waves, she swirled both moves around and around. The powder sparkled and glittered using all that energy.

"Send it up!" Valerie finally ordered, having her Buneary release the mixture of both moves upwards. The moves created a small explosion, releasing light-green and very beautiful particles that rained down harmlessly both on the field, and to the audience. The audience stood in awe and then promptly cheered with this sudden, pretty display. "Teehee, not as glam as a real contest star, buuuut I think I've got some moves myself!"

Meanwhile, Nora did his best, trying to hover and maneuver from the constant brushing of the Eevee's tail. "No worries, Nora, if she wanna be cute, we've got something that she's gonna looooove~!"

The audience cheering intensified.

Here it cooomes!
Demon Queen's favourite move!
Eee, it's so pretty! I love it too!

They know what's coming next. Valerie blew a kiss. "On fields of love n' war, the DQ's gonna rule em' all! ♡♡Attract!♡♡" Nora cutely winked, releasing small hearts that circled around the air. Then, like blossoms in a storm, he released one heart after another, towards the Eevee.

"Those are indeed pretty moves but we're not done yet. Soma, use Fairy wind to blow the Hearts back to them!" Pia called out. It was a very Val way of attacking so it wasn't out of the ordinary for the perspective "enchantress". "More specifically, towards the Buneary and let's add a little spice to it. Poison powder." She added with a clever smirk and tapped her chin. Soma, like the knight he was, flew in front of Cintra to protect her from the incoming heart and used his pink sparkly wind to blow them back. Combined with his purple sparkles, they made a spectacle to behold. What became of the three combined attacks was a pink, purple confetti chaos with big red balloons while they flew back to Valerie's Pokémon and specifically hit the bunny Pokémon. Pia gave the audience a theatrical bow.

"Eva!" Cintra thanked the heroic Soma who stood in front of her, the more tsundere of the two only giving a nod in return.

That wasn't too bad…
Pia sure knows her stuff.
That was so pretty! Did you see her contest performance too?!
Yeah! No wonder she won!

"Queenie!" Valerie cried out. Her Buneary was hurt, but… she was in bliss, the moment she ran up to Nora, and gave him a quick hug and a cuddle. Nora, being confused, turned to Valerie with a puzzled, uncomfortable expression. Though Valerie cheerily shrugged. "Guess she really likes you, huh?" That wasn't the response Nora wanted to hear. He slipped away from Queen's grasp, and fluttered back in the air. Valerie turned back to the battle arena.

"We gotta step up our game a bit, it looks like…" she observed. "Listen up, you two! Time for one of the DQ's spells? You game?" Nora nodded, but Queen continued to have a loving gaze at Nora. "Then Nora, use Air Cutter! Queen! Er… do what you're doing and watch Nora!" Nora launched razor-like wind blades that he controlled overhead. Queen, seeing this - seeing how expertly he controlled them, was in awe. "Now use Gust!" With a follow-up call from Valerie, Nora then uses his Gust attack to increase the velocity of the wind-blades, sending them with increased force and power towards the Eevee and Cottenee. "This is one of DQ's powers.. Her Ultimate Wind technique!!"

That a flying move would eventually come their way is something Pia expected, that it would be two combined moves was something she should have seen coming considering this was Val. Soma, however, wasn't any good against those flying attacks.

"Cintra!" Pia called out. The Eevee nodded, understood what her trainer meant and jumped up to take Soma out of the air and covered him from the impact. Once the storm subsided, a badly damaged Eevee remained. Soma laid there in shock while his friend got up and only gave him a half-hearted smile to tell him she was "alright".

"Soma! Cintra! Are you alright?" Their worried trainer called out to them. That was the call he needed to be dragged back to the reality that unfolded in front of his eyes. Cintra gave Pia a determined nod but Soma stood in shame and didn't respond.

"That was a nice display of your skillset, Demon Queen." Pia's gaze shot back to her opponent. "But I promised I'd take back my kingdom. At all costs." Pia gave Valerie a determined look and balded her fistsists. "But look what you've done to my people! I can't allow this. I must not allow this!" Pia got a bit more into her acting, setting a convincing performance.

"Fufufufu~! And what do you plan to do about it?" Valerie eagerly asked, her persona shining through. "I thought you were going to show your people how much you and your friends have evolved! Or will you just fall under the Demon Queen again?" Nora and Queen were side by side, awaiting battle orders with fierce eyes. "If not, come on then! Defeat me, and prove you really are fit for your throne! Show me…!" Her voice deepened, and softened, before she stopped.

"We'll show you!" Pia held her hand against her heart. "Cintra, use a quick attack! Soma, stay behind Cintra and use Razor Leaf at the right moment!" Pia commanded her Eevee and Cottonee once more but while Cintra followed her instructions exactly, Soma didn't follow the Fox Pokémon at all.

"Soma?" Pia called out, watching her Cottonee not move an inch on the field. "Soma!" Pia called out once more to grab his attention but it fell upon deaf ears. Soma stood still and did nothing. But while to Pia and everyone else it seemed like he had given up, he was actually thinking. What could he do to get stronger at this very moment? What could he do to make sure that neither Cintra or anyone else would have to get hurt protecting him again? He needed to show them. He needed to make it clear to all of them…

That he, Soma the Cottonee, wasn't just a showpiece for the contests.

He turned around towards Pia who looked even more confused than she already was. Not just that, he was currently disobeying her orders. With all that had happened to her lately, there was something else that the Cottonee felt like he needed to protect other than his fellow Pokémon friends. It was his trainer's dignity.

He rushed towards Pia, surprising the audience as they all fell into a gasp.

What's going on?
Looks like she doesn't know how to handle her Pokémon properly
This win for Demon Queen Val is in the pocket!
Show her DQ!

Soma bumped into Pia, more specifically into her bag which flew through the sky with all the stones and trinkets that his trainer had collected over the past few months. There was something in there that he needed. It was calling his name. When it flew through the air together with the other stones, he knew that it was what he needed. Like a primal instinct told him that he needed this to become stronger. To become a true protector. A stone that was formed like a sun, a sunstone.

"Hey, what gives?" Valerie muttered, looking on.

He caught the sunstone in his cottonlike body and the moment he was exposed to it, Soma's entire body emitted a blinding light.

An evolution?!
Yoooo! Did he just grab that stone by himself?!
That's fricking nuts!

"Soma…?" Pia stood with her eyes widened. Cintra had ceased her attack and stared at her partner in battle as well. Once the blinding light faded, Soma was no longer a Cottonee.

Soma evolved into Whimsicott!

"Whimsi! Whimsicott!" he screeched and prepared a brand new attack. One that Pia had seen Milo's Eldegoss do back in Turffield. Soma drew upon the power of the nearby plants and flowers that were used to decorate and gathered the green energy particles into one big ball that he shot towards the loving Buneary. While the opponent was still distracted, Cintra shook her head and also got her quick attack on the Noibat.

Both Queen and Nora both got hit hard by the simultaneous attacks, both crashing on the stage. "Whooooa, that's SO awes-- I-I mean, so THIS is the Fairy Queen's new power?!" Valerie almost broke character, but she couldn't help but gaze in awe, and in delight. That Pokemon looked sooo cute! It kinda looked like Milo's Eldegoss! Still, she turned back to her two Pokemon, who were both stumbling on the floor. "Are you both okay?" When they both eventually rose back up, it was an answer that was far better than something verbally communicated.

"Nice! You two are the best friends a Demon Queen can ask for! Now then, time to unleash… one of the tippy top of our powers! Queenie, use Thunder Wave! Nora, use Wing Attack!" The two Pokemon nodded to each other. Queen managed to hop on Nora's back, much to her delight that she finally held her lover again, and while she was on top of him, unleashed her electric attack. Fighting through the shock, Nora opened his wings, as they then glowed. Queen stopped her electric attack, as the wings were now coated with a yellowish-green hue that glowed, sparkled, and spreaded out across the field. Nora lifted himself off the ground with his Electrically-charged wings, and flew himself towards the opponents. Queen tucked in her ears, readying to unleash continuous strikes with them when she was about to come in contact.

"Let's see how your new power fairs against… the DQ's DARK LANCE OF AWESOMENESS!" Yes, that's actually the name.

"Oh no you won't!" Pia called out. "Show them my lovely fairies! Show them our newly acquired power! Cintra, use sand attack! Soma, end this with Fairy wind and Razor leaf! Give them a combination that they'll remember!" With Pia's next commands, Cintra shot dust upward with her paws as she did before, clouding the view of the Noibat. Soma used his newly acquired tiny arms to shoot sharp leaves upward. He coated them with his fairy wind to create pink sparkly leaves and shot them towards the pair in front of them while their vision was obscured.

The Noibat/Buneary pair was struck with multiple leaves, all under the guise of the Fairy Wind cloud. Nora used his wings to try to block the attacks, causing the attacks to clash. The combination of leaves, electricity, and sparkling effects from the fairy wind and from the wings from Nora gathered and gathered until eventually, before each of the audience members' eyes, the attacks exploded. All remained was sparkles of beautiful pink, blue, and gold powder to shower the entire stadium, and the audience. It was like time stood still — everyone was in awe from the beautiful display. Through the glittering effects, everyone's eyes shifted towards Queen and Nora, as they hung in the air for fleeting moments… until they both dropped down to the ground, both no longer able to stand.

Valerie was stunned. Such a gorgeous display was in her mind… until the waves of defeat washed in her, and her fans' minds.

Did… the Demon Queen lose?
No way…

Everyone in the audience had their own reaction. The air was tense, only to be lifted from sudden clapping from Valerie. "Hehehe!" her chuckle and slow clapping was heard through the area. She slowly approached Pia with a warm smile. "Looks like the Demon Queen loses. Just as I thought, you're as strong as I figured you were!"

She then carefully and calmly grabbed one of Pia's hands, and took out something from her pocket. Valerie handed something to Pia — a TR, and clasped her hand with both of her own. Valerie then gave Pia a playful wink. "Welcome back to your throne, Fairy Queen!"

Then, the audience members began to clap. The clapping turned into a rousing applause.

You were awesome, Pia!
All hail the Fairy Queen!!
Did you see how strong her Pokémon became like a strong knight?! So awesome!

Valerie glanced at the cheering crowd, then back to Pia. "Looks like it worked after all!" she happily said, letting go of her persona. "Woo, playing as a bad guy was tiring work! But it looks like it paid off! That was an awesome fight, girl!"

Pia let out a deep sigh in relief and held the TR Ice beam in her hands while her two Pokémon partners swiftly returned to her from the battlefield. With how proud she was of the both of them, iIt felt weird to give the TR back now. Besides, it was quite the valuable item… She'd take it.

"Thanks, Val." Pia gave the other girl a smile, dropping her own act as well while she gave the streamer a playful salute. "And I meant what I said earlier. Let's be friends for real this time."

Valerie nodded, giving the girl a warm hug. "I think I can fully trust in you now."

Pia's Party

Memories

STAGE 1: Wedgehurst -> Wild Area -> Motostoke

Wedgehurst
I choose you part 1
I choose you part 2
I choose you Final

Wild Area
Train to Wild Area ft. Raphael & Aeliana
Two birds with one stone
Two birds with one stone part 2 + Bird Brain
Wild Area with Arrietty

Motostoke
Double Trouble part 1
Double Trouble part 2

STAGE 2: Route 3 -> Galar Mine 1 -> Route 4 -> Turffield

Route 3
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 1
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 2
A Festive Fight to the Finish
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 1
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 2
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 3
A Two headed reflection

Galar Mine 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 2
Galar Mine #1 | Part 3

Route 4
Route 4
Coach McGuire
A failed attempt.

Turffield
Bad Company.
It gets worse.
Shopping shenanigans
A challenger approaches!
Gym battle: Turffield
Here and Now
Performance Post: Dreaming Fairy
New Friendships

Route 5
Homecoming | Part 1
Homecoming | Part 2
An eggcelent situation.

Hulburry
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 1
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 2
Hulburry Part 1
Hulburry Part 2
Hulburry Part 2
The Hypocrites' Waltz
The Hypocrites' Waltz Part 2
Duplicity
Duplicity part 2
Pretty Little Liars

Motostoke
To all beautiful things come an end...
Pray Return

Wedgehurst/Wild Area
Ending unplanned

Hammerlocke
A trip down memory lane
Sugar, Spice, school girls aren't nice.
Settling in
Cutting out
Make a wish
Common ground
Performance post: Sea of clouds
Chances and Chasers
Wake Up

Pia's journal

Arrietty Maverick
Pia and Arrietty met in the Wild Area although the two have shared classes before. It struck Pia as odd that the girl seemed to have no ambitions or goals at all. Although disappointed upon finding out this girl had no fire burning that would light her path, Pia made it her mission to help this girl get a goal and become a bit more social. Arrietty is the closest Pia can consider a "friend".

As according to their promise, Pia helped Arrietty get ready for her very first contest in Turffield. However, the girl ran off from stage when she was up. Pia has been feeling guilty for "forcing her into contesting" ever since.

Ruben Sancho
Pia met Ruben during Motostoke while on a double date with him, Arrietty and Ainsley. The date went disastrous with both Arrietty and Ainsley running off but Ruben and Pia were able to grow just a tiny bit closer during their search for Arrietty. They have been texting since and are on good terms with each other. They both seem to be interested in just a little bit more...

Ruben and Pia are officially dating since the end of the year festival on Route 3 following their "official second date" that went well. Pia knows about Ruben's ankle and that it's still hurting. They're in close contact with each other through calling and texting. They went on another date on Route 4 where Ruben had a gig for a coaching session with kids with the promise to spend time together after that. Both confirmed their feelings for the other by sharing a kiss. Pia likes him a lot.

Their relationship became public knowledge when a picture of Ruben staring down Pia's shirt was shared on social media and all gossip magazines. Ruben has been hiding it from Pia but as they went shopping, Pia got vocally attacked by a group of girls calling her out for being a whore and having no dignity. Ruben stood up for her and made their relationship public knowledge, no longer wanting to submit Pia to such harassment. Ruben publicly announced he likes Pia a lot and that they have been dating as opposed to what he has been saying before. Pia still doesn't know about the picture that's going around.

Despite the situation that had happened in the mall, Ruben insisted towards Raphael that they're just "friends" while Raphael announced to know more about their relationship due to being uncomfortable with the fact of calling Pia his "girlfriend". He has been slowly getting into the idea of being in a relationship with her throughout Turffield. The two of them visited his home in Wedgehurst during the events of Route 5 where Pia ended up meeting his sister Daija and his little brothers. He told Daija to stop calling her the "G" word but he ended up admitting to her he indeed considered Pia his girlfriend. During all of this Pia has been thinking about their time together and has grown quite fond of Ruben, more than she probably realizes herself as she has to constantly remind herself that she shouldn't be feeling the things that she is feeling. She believes that it will all come to an end but has recently started clinging on to a little spark of hope...

The two of them exchanged Applin's during their Valentine's day date where they also decided to release them, promising each other that they would stay together.

They've proven to be currently in love with both of them starting to show effort in their relationship. However, Pia's big secret that she's trying to keep hidden from Ruben is becoming a ticking time bomb...

In Hulburry things have started to get rocky for the two when Pia found out Ruben lied about not being in Hulburry when he broke into the gym Pia was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. He brought along Ainsley, two new friends Pia didn't know and Simon. The lie upsetted Pia greatly as lying is something she absolutely hated and the reason for it was so that Ruben could hang out with his friends. She hasn't messaged him since Nessa booted him out of the gym.

Pia and Ruben unfortunately broke up during the events of Motostoke when it was revealed that Pia's mother used to be a prostitute and pictures were made of Ruben with another woman.

Raphael Allard
Pia met Raphael during her train ride to the wild Area together with Aeliana. Thinking that he had a lot of potential in becoming a chamption which would benefit her, Pia approached him thinking they could become friends. Their interactions didn't go as smoothly as Pia had hoped. After their argument at the end of her battle with Aeliana, the girl ran off thinking she had blown her chances. Raphael doesn't harbour any ill intend towards the girl and only hoped to give her some advice.

They have resolved their issues in Galar mine 1 and worked together to battle Oleana in which they were victorious. Raphael brought the issues with Pia's overprotectiveness of Milla back up on Route 4 when Pia was refusing Milla from battling. Raphael spoke some sense into her, prompting her to finally trust Milla. Raphael understands Pia better now and Pia has a better opinion of Raphael now too.

They met again during the events of the Turffield contest and spend some time talking to each other while Pia tried to get Ruben to apologize to Arrietty. Raphael said something similar to what he said on Route 4 and confused Pia in her actions. He seems to know more than he lets on.

Aeliana Kekoa
Pia met Aeliana during the train ride to the wild Area together with Raphael. Although her interactions with Aeliana went a little bit more smoothly than with Raphael, Pia still ran off at the end of their battle in an attempt to distract her since Pia owed her money for losing. Although Pia has declared Aeliana her rival, they haven't spoken since and Pia attempts to keep it that way.

Pia met Aeliana again on Route 3 when she was on her way to the end of the year market. Together with Rosa and Valerie they went into an haunted mansion. Although they didn't converse much, Aeliana made some comments that Pia saw as snarky that were meant well by Aeliana. This indicates that Pia still thinks that Aeliana is out to get her.

Their friendship was given a second chance in Hulburry during a photoshoot with Nessa that Aeliana had invited Pia for. Pia saw this as a really good chance to start her own "career" rather on relying on Ruben and his fame. They shared a moment together and seem to be on good terms again.

Ainsley
Ainsley was Pia's date partner during the double date in Motostoke and is Ruben's best friend. Ainsley pretended to be rich and paid for the date with Ruben's money. Pia saw through the charade and called him out on it after Ainsley suggested they'd book a hotel together and make love. He ran off afterwards, angry that the feelings of lust he harboured towards Pia were not returned. Pia doesn't think highly of Ainsley and told Ruben that he needs "better friends".

Pia and Ainsley met again in the Hulburry gym after he and Ruben broke in so that they could ask Nessa's hand in marriage. He called Pia a "gold digging sket" because of her relationship with Ruben and the pettiness he holds towards her for the date that didn't end in the hotel room. They both dislike each other greatly.

Melody Argent
Although Pia and Melody attended the same Trainer school and were in the same class, they never once teamed up for an assignment. Both didn't have a very good impression of the other and avoided them like the plague. It's not until the Festival Fun-time Flurry that they have tried teaming up to win a competition as both of them were interested in the prize. They chased down a cheater together and have a better opinion of each other since their teamwork. They figured out that they're a pretty good team actually. Both of them thinks "the other is not so bad after all".

Valerie Amity
Pia met Valerie on route 3 where they went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Rosa. They didn't get to converse much but it was enough for them to establish some sort of familiarity. Valerie calls Pia "Lady P" as a nickname. Pia thinks of Valerie as someone with too much energy but not a bad person overall, maybe a little too naïve.

Pia was able to form a friendshop with Valerie in Turffield where she finally managed to catch the girl alone. Pia decided that Valerie's stream and followers could help her towards her goal of becoming rich, one she is trying to head towards to against ever since the events with Catherine. She feels guilty about this though.

Rosa Valdés
Pia met Rosa on Route 3 and went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Valerie. They were stuck inside a room together where Rosa found golden nuggets and shared one with Pia. Rosa's small moments of kindness seemed insincere in Pia's eyes, someone who is well versed with duality. When Rosa left the end of the year market after they had gotten out of the haunted mansion, Pia followed her and saw her crying. Pia comforted the crying Rosa but as soon as Rosa had gotten herself together again, Pia fell the need to call her out on her duality, telling her that how she was acting now was quite different from before. Rosa denied at first but as soon as Pia had driven her into a corner, she stopped trying. After Jirachi appeared for a brief second, Rosa walked off. They're neither on bad or good terms but both have things they probably need to speak off.

Simon Pearburgh
Pia met Simon in Galar Mine 1. Pia thought nothing more of him than a bug nerd. They partnered up to battle against Oleana and his clever strategies impressed Pia, prompting her to compliment him after their shared life/death situation on Route 4.

Pia considers Simon to be a positive influence and appreciates him cheering her on during the contest in Turffield where he appeared to be the loudest in the room.

Pia met Simon again in Hulburry after he broke into the gym that she was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. She was disappointed in his behaviour but guessed this was probably Ruben and Ainsley's idea as he just stumbled up behind them.

Catherine Carlisle
Yeah.... Pia really doesn't like Catherine but she enjoys getting under her skin.

Kit
Pia met Kit in the Wild Area. Kit had been trying to catch a Pokémon for days but had yet to catch one. He begged the girl to help him in exchange for money and a strange rock that he found. Pia taught him how to catch a Pokémon but after hearing that Kit is in search for his father, she decided to only take the strange rock as her reward and left the pouch with Poké behind for the boy to keep. Kit seems to have developed a crush for her because of that.

Daija Sancho
Daija is Ruben's little sister by 2 years. Pia met Daija during her trip to Wedgehurst with Ruben on Route 5. Daija was wary of the girl at first as she is well aware of her brother's "type". She has given Pia her nod of approval when she found the two being silly in the living room after she had left the house for a little bit to cool off. She thinks Pia is a positive influence in Ruben's life.

Jovian and Livia McMiller and Daniel
Pia met the McMiller couple and their foster son on Route 5 when she took a nap outside in the cold covered in her own Pokémon. Livia McMiller invited her at her home with happened to be the Nursery on Route 5. Pia investigated the Chimecho mystery of how she had suddenly laid two eggs. She appeared to be fostering them as trainer's had left those eggs behind. Chimecho have her a mint-green coloured egg with darker green swirls as a thank you for getting her wishes across to the McMiller couple.

Trainer ID

Pia McGuire:

Pia was born in the town of Hammerlocke in the Galar region and is part of the first graduating class of the Wedgehurt trainer's academy. Despite having lived in poverty, her mother has been able to pay for her tuition in alternative ways. She's quick witted and rather clever but is sometimes a bit "too" honest. Pia dreams of becoming an actress and does almost anything to get more money. When it comes down to it, what she really wants is to no longer live in poverty and live a bit more happily.

Inventory:

4x Pokéball
Galarian Pokédex
Xtransceiver
Broken Flashlight
King's Rock
Sun Stone (used)
Thunderstone
Mint green Pokémon egg with darker green swirls
TR Ice Beam

Outfits:

Daily Outfit:

Spoiler:

Contest outfit:

Spoiler:

Ribbons:

Turffield Ribbon 2nd place:

Hammerlocke Ribbon 1st Place:

Badges:

Turffield Grass badge

Hulburry Water badge

Motostoke Fire badge

Sapphire Rose · Oct 26, 2021

Pia McGuire
Poké:

5550 ♦ Pokémon: 4

Beware of the Villainess

Pia had not slept a wink since the revelation of last night. Not only was her mother doing unspeakable acts… She's also ditching her birthday because of it. Not to begin about how much worse the bullying would get if everyone found out…

She kept thinking about what had happened and had searched up what was supposed to take place in the Hammerlocke conference hall. It was a reveal party organised by the company owned by Franklin Montgommery, Veronika's father. Pia sighed and got up. With the last ounce of energy she had, she made her way downstairs. She found her mother at the table, preparing breakfast for one person. Probably meaning that she'd leave soon…

"Happy birthday, sweetie!" Her mother greeted her as if nothing had happened during that night. Pia sat down at the table and gave her a weak smile, her eyes red from the lack of sleep. Her mother fidgeted, stood there and seemingly was waiting for a right moment to tell her daughter the bad news she had been preparing. She hesitated but ultimately decided there was no right moment to tell such things.

"Pia…" She started to grab her daughter's attention, not realizing that this attention was something she already had. And not the good kind, Pia already knew what was coming. "I'm so sorry… I unexpectedly got called in for work tonight. That… means I won't be here to celebrate your birthday today." Pia's mother revealed with a sad smile across her face. Pia didn't look up once but flinched at the words themselves. Despite everything, it still was painful to hear. "We'll celebrate it tomorrow, with a huge birthday cake to top them all and with a really nice present."

Again… no reaction from Pia.

"... I-I'm going to have to pick something up now. It will be late tonight so you don't have to stay awake for me. There's dinner in the fridge that you can warm up." Her mother walked over to her and gave her bend-over head a kiss before packing her purse and heading out. Pia was left there with her breakfast, that she hadn't touched even a bit. It was a waste of food that they weren't able to proquire as easily before but she also really couldn't get anything through her throat.

How long had her mother been doing this kind of thing? How had she never noticed before? Pia only just now realised that she never actually knew what kind of job her mother did before. Things started clicking despite her not wanting them to click. She knew her mother had constantly gone from job to job… Had this actually to do with customers? … and what about her father? They never talked about him. Pia knew near nothing about him…

Was it because her father had just been another client?

Something then snapped inside of Pia. She sat quietly at the table, not moving an inch. The anger started boiling up again, the anger that had not left her ever since yesterday. Her mother was a prostitute. For all Pia knew this could have been her occupation all her life with Pia noticing and now… Veronika's father, of all people… was the one paying her mother for her "services" right now.

How utterly humiliating.

Both him and his daughter were despicable. Mentally deranged from the bone and living showing off their wealth only so they could order those who had less around. The girl who sullied Pia's dignity and pride for her own enjoyment and the man currently sullying the dignity and pride of her own mother.

She would ruin them. Both of them. She would take every inch of honor they had, put it in a bonfire and let it burn up in ashes. Nothing of it would be left once Pia was done with them. Their status, their pride, dignity and honor. Pia was going to trample on it all. It… was time to take matters into her own hands.

Pia went back upstairs, dressed herself in her school uniform and left the house herself to go to school despite what she had said about taking the day off. Her eyes were cold and her fists were clenched. Still, there was a fire raging in her heart.

She was ready to take revenge.

"You wanted a reveal party? You'll get a reveal party..."

"Oh that top looks SO good on you, Veronika! I bet Aaron is gonna look twice now before he runs past you again."

Veronika's friends were sucking up to her at her locker while the girl was changing. They were about to have P.E class and were changing into their sweat suits but Pia was planning something else. She held a small broken mirror in front of her and turned it just well enough that she could see Veronika in the reflection.

"Aaron will regret it if he doesn't choose me as his partner for the end of the year party." Veronika put her long crimson hair into a ponytail, reapplied her lip gloss and took off her bracelet to put it inside the locker to close it. Little did she know that Pia was checking what code she was entering on her locker through the little mirror she was holding. Pia smirked and closed her own locker once she had seen what she wanted.

"Ouch!"

Pia screamed and dropped to the cold gym floor during the jogging they had to do to warm up.

"Are you alright, McGuire?" The teacher ran over and tried to help her back up. "That was a nasty fall."

"What an attention whore…" Veronika spouted among the group as all eyes were now on the girl laying on the floor and being helped back on her feet by the teacher. Pia was doing her best not the smirk knowing what she was going to do to the girl.

"I-I'm fine…" Pia huffed, trying to look as distressed as she could. The teacher gave her a sympathizing look.

"Get some water and take a breather in the locker rooms. We'll see you again when you feel a bit better." The teacher dismissed her with a kind smile. Pia nodded and limped towards the locker rooms, hearing more whispers behind her as she did but ignoring all of them.

Once inside the locker rooms again, the girl walked normally again and walked straight towards Veronika's locker to open it with the code that she saw her lock it with.

And bingo. The locker was open.

Pia's eyes went straight to the golden bracelet that was decorated with various gemstones that average people wouldn't be able to afford, let alone touch. An evil grin appeared on her lips as she grabbed it. It was kind of heavy for a bracelet. It was definitely bought just to show off her status as a person. How infuriating.

Now that Pia had the bracelet, she still needed to find a way to bring Mrs. Montgommery to the location as well.

Bzzzzz

Like a blessing from the heavens, Pia's rage-filled eyes fell upon Veronika's buzzing phone and the lit up screen that showed she had received a text message from a contact that showed up as "mom". The message wouldn't open unless she put in a pincode… Pia tapped against her chin to think, then tapped in the same code that was used on the locker.

It unlocked.

"Of course Veronika is the kind of person that puts the same password on everything…" Pia huffed with the same evil grin that had since earlier. "Guess I'll be taking that as well." Pia grabbed the newest addition to her plan and started typing a reply to Mrs. Montgommery in the name of Veronika.

"Hey mom, I'm going shopping with friends. Can you pick me up at the Hammerlocke Conference center at 8 o'clock?"

Pleased with herself, she closed the solution to an earlier problem and grabbed her own stuff to head back home. She knew that she'd be the first one that would be accused as soon as Veronika noticed her stuff was gone and therefore couldn't stick around. Too bad really, she would have loved to see the panicking face of that wench.

As it was getting closer to the estimated time, Pia sat hidden near the Hammerlocke Conference building where everything would go down. She was only now starting to get more nervous. It was a big risk she was taking here but she had made her plan almost waterproof. If it was going to fail, then at least she tried. The results would still be the same.

Her train of thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a beautiful woman wearing a sparkling blue fancy dress and long wavy brown hair with beautiful hair ornaments to compliment the rest of her figure. She was stunning. Pia knew her as her own mother. If the situation wasn't what it was she would even be a little proud of what she was seeing but every image she had of her mother was ruined by what she had discovered last night. Every memory she had of her mother of the last 14 years was overshadowed by that disgusting truth.

Not long after, an excessive limousine arrived, delivering Franklin Montgommery to the location. The fact he didn't even feel the need to pick her mother up the same way made it clear how lowly he thought of her. When he laid his disgusting hand on her mother's bottom even more so. She was his property. An object. Something he could just buy. He wasn't wrong but still…

The two of them entered the building together as was to be expected. Pia searched her surroundings to check if Veronika's mother had arrived yet but when the coast seemed clear she crossed the street and got in front of the building. A few bypassers that passed to attend the festivities as well gave her some curious looks but all Pia did was smile at them. Not long later, another car arrived. A big and expensive one. It was black and the windows were blackened but Pia could still recognize the figure that was hastily searching around. She walked over and knocked on the window that slid down shortly after.

"Hi, I'm a friend of Veronika's." Pia gave her a beaming smile. Pia could see her eyes glancing at her from up to down even from behind the sunglasses that the woman was wearing. "She isn't feeling well, she's waiting for you inside." Pia added.

"I'll need to talk to her about what sort of people she befriends…" Mrs. Montgommery scoffed. She stepped out of the car and with a beeping noise she locked it despite the car being parked at a highly inconvenient spot for other visitors. God damn rich people…

Pia followed the women inside who immediately served as her entrance ticket as this was an adult event. The halls were decorated with a lot of extravagant items. Golden vases and candles left and right and a red fleur de lis decorated carpet. Pia had never seen anything quite like it but soon enough they entered an even bigger area. A huge ballroom in which the festivities took place. Waiters and waitresses walked around with a plate holding either luxury snacks or glasses with champagne. While the young girl had sparkled in her eyes from the sight, Mrs. Montgommery looked less impressed and only searched around for her daughter. Though it took her by surprise when she saw the huge banner with the logo of her husband's company. She hadn't gotten the memo that this party was being held by him but when she figured this out she started searching around even more hastily.

Pia had already seen her mother and Mr. Montgommery and while she realized who's brain Veronika inherited when the mother was still searching for him like a Zubat lost in a cave, Pia decided to help her a bit.

"Oh no~ Is that Veronika's dad? What is he doing here~?" Pia hinted at her with a voice so fake and sarcastic that she was surprised Mrs. Montgommery took her seriously at all and hadn't figured out yet Veronika wasn't even here.

Like a predator searching for its prey, the woman locked her eyes on a man that looked an awful lot like her husband even with his back turned towards them. Upon stepping closer with the clicking heels, both her and Pia noticed they were standing in a group. And yes, his hand was still on her mother's bottom. Earning him another look of disgust from Pia.

"Honestly, my wife here is so beautiful. She makes eyes turn even from across the street! I'm lucky to be allowed to call myself her husband." Mr. Montgommery spoke and gave the bottom a little tap that could be heard loud and clear for the people standing close...

"Excuse me?!" Mrs. Montgommery snarled from behind the group, causing the unfaithful man and Pia's mother to turn around as well. Mrs. Montgommery was startled at the sight as he saw the familiar figure of his actual wife. He was sweating more than a Piplup on a summer day. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of this unscathed. Though his friends behind him seemed to be amused by the sight.

"I-I can explain." He tried but Mrs. Montgommery's glare was enough to shut him up again.

Pia came closer as well and it was only then that her mother was met with an unexpected sight. Her face turned as white as a sheet. She was here. At a party. Not working. And not on her daughter's birthday. She already felt guilty but the amount she now felt made her stomach turn.

"H-Honey, what are you doing here…?" Was the first thing she managed to get out of her mouth.

"YOU UNFAITHFUL SWINE!!" Pia heard Mrs. Montgommery's scream in her eardrums. Everyone in the room had turned around to see the drama that was unfolding in front of their eyes. The music had stopped as well as even the musicians were interested. "IMPOSTUROUS! YOUUUUU PRICK! I'M DIVORCING YOU! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME LIKE THIS!" She kept on screaming, Mr. Montgommery being the target of her slapping and harsh words.

"Let's go." Pia grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her away from the situation. She knew that if they stayed there any longer, her mother would become the next victim to Mrs. Montgommery's screaming.

"Pia, it's not what it looks like..." her mother tried to save herself the embarrassment in front of her daughter and thought to do so by explaining the situation. Little did she know that her beloved little girl already knew everything.

"No? Then you mean to say you weren't whoring yourself out?" Pia spouted. She turned around to face her mother with tears welling up in her emerald eyes. "You missed your daughter's birthday to earn some extra cash? Mom what do you think this looks like to me! That was the father of a classmate! Do you have any idea how this could impact my life?!"

Any attempt that the young mother wanted to make in explaining the situation left her completely as she stayed quiet. She was hurt but… Pia wasn't wrong.

"Let's just go home… I want to forget this ever happened…" Pia tried her best to calm down but every word she said hissed between her teeth. Just before she was ready to drag her mother away from this messy situation once more, she remembered she was supposed to leave a "gift".

"Hey! Mr. Montgommery!" Pia held her hands next to her mouth in order to be heard better. Once she caught the attention of the pitiful man, she grabbed something from her pocket. It was the golden bracelet decorated with expensive gems he had given to his daughter and the one Pia had stolen from Veronika's locker. She held it up in clear view for the man… And then dropped it to the floor.

She heard screaming and yelling behind her when she dragged her mother and herself away from the situation.

"I have an announcement to make, kids."

Pia sat in class and scribbled in her notebook when the teacher spoke to her and her fellow students. She didn't look up at all and rather kept on what she was doing.

"Unfortunately, Veronika won't be joining us anymore for class. It's a little sudden, but she'll be transferring to another school." The woman spoke, clearing her throat after she was done. The announcement caused several whispers in the class.

And all alone by the window, the knowing Pia smirked.

Pia's Party

Memories

STAGE 1: Wedgehurst -> Wild Area -> Motostoke

Wedgehurst
I choose you part 1
I choose you part 2
I choose you Final

Wild Area
Train to Wild Area ft. Raphael & Aeliana
Two birds with one stone
Two birds with one stone part 2 + Bird Brain
Wild Area with Arrietty

Motostoke
Double Trouble part 1
Double Trouble part 2

STAGE 2: Route 3 -> Galar Mine 1 -> Route 4 -> Turffield

Route 3
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 1
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 2
A Festive Fight to the Finish
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 1
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 2
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 3
A Two headed reflection

Galar Mine 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 2
Galar Mine #1 | Part 3

Route 4
Route 4
Coach McGuire
A failed attempt.

Turffield
Bad Company.
It gets worse.
Shopping shenanigans
A challenger approaches!
Gym battle: Turffield
Here and Now
Performance Post: Dreaming Fairy
New Friendships

Route 5
Homecoming | Part 1
Homecoming | Part 2
An eggcelent situation.

Hulburry
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 1
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 2
Hulburry Part 1
Hulburry Part 2
Hulburry Part 2
The Hypocrites' Waltz
The Hypocrites' Waltz Part 2
Duplicity
Duplicity part 2
Pretty Little Liars

Motostoke
To all beautiful things come an end...
Pray Return

Wedgehurst/Wild Area
Ending unplanned

Hammerlocke
A trip down memory lane
Sugar, Spice, school girls aren't nice.
Settling in
Cutting out
Make a wish
Common ground
Performance post: Sea of clouds
Chances and Chasers
Wake Up
Faires and Demons

Pia's journal

Arrietty Maverick
Pia and Arrietty met in the Wild Area although the two have shared classes before. It struck Pia as odd that the girl seemed to have no ambitions or goals at all. Although disappointed upon finding out this girl had no fire burning that would light her path, Pia made it her mission to help this girl get a goal and become a bit more social. Arrietty is the closest Pia can consider a "friend".

As according to their promise, Pia helped Arrietty get ready for her very first contest in Turffield. However, the girl ran off from stage when she was up. Pia has been feeling guilty for "forcing her into contesting" ever since.

Ruben Sancho
Pia met Ruben during Motostoke while on a double date with him, Arrietty and Ainsley. The date went disastrous with both Arrietty and Ainsley running off but Ruben and Pia were able to grow just a tiny bit closer during their search for Arrietty. They have been texting since and are on good terms with each other. They both seem to be interested in just a little bit more...

Ruben and Pia are officially dating since the end of the year festival on Route 3 following their "official second date" that went well. Pia knows about Ruben's ankle and that it's still hurting. They're in close contact with each other through calling and texting. They went on another date on Route 4 where Ruben had a gig for a coaching session with kids with the promise to spend time together after that. Both confirmed their feelings for the other by sharing a kiss. Pia likes him a lot.

Their relationship became public knowledge when a picture of Ruben staring down Pia's shirt was shared on social media and all gossip magazines. Ruben has been hiding it from Pia but as they went shopping, Pia got vocally attacked by a group of girls calling her out for being a whore and having no dignity. Ruben stood up for her and made their relationship public knowledge, no longer wanting to submit Pia to such harassment. Ruben publicly announced he likes Pia a lot and that they have been dating as opposed to what he has been saying before. Pia still doesn't know about the picture that's going around.

Despite the situation that had happened in the mall, Ruben insisted towards Raphael that they're just "friends" while Raphael announced to know more about their relationship due to being uncomfortable with the fact of calling Pia his "girlfriend". He has been slowly getting into the idea of being in a relationship with her throughout Turffield. The two of them visited his home in Wedgehurst during the events of Route 5 where Pia ended up meeting his sister Daija and his little brothers. He told Daija to stop calling her the "G" word but he ended up admitting to her he indeed considered Pia his girlfriend. During all of this Pia has been thinking about their time together and has grown quite fond of Ruben, more than she probably realizes herself as she has to constantly remind herself that she shouldn't be feeling the things that she is feeling. She believes that it will all come to an end but has recently started clinging on to a little spark of hope...

The two of them exchanged Applin's during their Valentine's day date where they also decided to release them, promising each other that they would stay together.

They've proven to be currently in love with both of them starting to show effort in their relationship. However, Pia's big secret that she's trying to keep hidden from Ruben is becoming a ticking time bomb...

In Hulburry things have started to get rocky for the two when Pia found out Ruben lied about not being in Hulburry when he broke into the gym Pia was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. He brought along Ainsley, two new friends Pia didn't know and Simon. The lie upsetted Pia greatly as lying is something she absolutely hated and the reason for it was so that Ruben could hang out with his friends. She hasn't messaged him since Nessa booted him out of the gym.

Pia and Ruben unfortunately broke up during the events of Motostoke when it was revealed that Pia's mother used to be a prostitute and pictures were made of Ruben with another woman.

Raphael Allard
Pia met Raphael during her train ride to the wild Area together with Aeliana. Thinking that he had a lot of potential in becoming a chamption which would benefit her, Pia approached him thinking they could become friends. Their interactions didn't go as smoothly as Pia had hoped. After their argument at the end of her battle with Aeliana, the girl ran off thinking she had blown her chances. Raphael doesn't harbour any ill intend towards the girl and only hoped to give her some advice.

They have resolved their issues in Galar mine 1 and worked together to battle Oleana in which they were victorious. Raphael brought the issues with Pia's overprotectiveness of Milla back up on Route 4 when Pia was refusing Milla from battling. Raphael spoke some sense into her, prompting her to finally trust Milla. Raphael understands Pia better now and Pia has a better opinion of Raphael now too.

They met again during the events of the Turffield contest and spend some time talking to each other while Pia tried to get Ruben to apologize to Arrietty. Raphael said something similar to what he said on Route 4 and confused Pia in her actions. He seems to know more than he lets on.

Aeliana Kekoa
Pia met Aeliana during the train ride to the wild Area together with Raphael. Although her interactions with Aeliana went a little bit more smoothly than with Raphael, Pia still ran off at the end of their battle in an attempt to distract her since Pia owed her money for losing. Although Pia has declared Aeliana her rival, they haven't spoken since and Pia attempts to keep it that way.

Pia met Aeliana again on Route 3 when she was on her way to the end of the year market. Together with Rosa and Valerie they went into an haunted mansion. Although they didn't converse much, Aeliana made some comments that Pia saw as snarky that were meant well by Aeliana. This indicates that Pia still thinks that Aeliana is out to get her.

Their friendship was given a second chance in Hulburry during a photoshoot with Nessa that Aeliana had invited Pia for. Pia saw this as a really good chance to start her own "career" rather on relying on Ruben and his fame. They shared a moment together and seem to be on good terms again.

Ainsley
Ainsley was Pia's date partner during the double date in Motostoke and is Ruben's best friend. Ainsley pretended to be rich and paid for the date with Ruben's money. Pia saw through the charade and called him out on it after Ainsley suggested they'd book a hotel together and make love. He ran off afterwards, angry that the feelings of lust he harboured towards Pia were not returned. Pia doesn't think highly of Ainsley and told Ruben that he needs "better friends".

Pia and Ainsley met again in the Hulburry gym after he and Ruben broke in so that they could ask Nessa's hand in marriage. He called Pia a "gold digging sket" because of her relationship with Ruben and the pettiness he holds towards her for the date that didn't end in the hotel room. They both dislike each other greatly.

Melody Argent
Although Pia and Melody attended the same Trainer school and were in the same class, they never once teamed up for an assignment. Both didn't have a very good impression of the other and avoided them like the plague. It's not until the Festival Fun-time Flurry that they have tried teaming up to win a competition as both of them were interested in the prize. They chased down a cheater together and have a better opinion of each other since their teamwork. They figured out that they're a pretty good team actually. Both of them thinks "the other is not so bad after all".

Valerie Amity
Pia met Valerie on route 3 where they went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Rosa. They didn't get to converse much but it was enough for them to establish some sort of familiarity. Valerie calls Pia "Lady P" as a nickname. Pia thinks of Valerie as someone with too much energy but not a bad person overall, maybe a little too naïve.

Pia was able to form a friendshop with Valerie in Turffield where she finally managed to catch the girl alone. Pia decided that Valerie's stream and followers could help her towards her goal of becoming rich, one she is trying to head towards to against ever since the events with Catherine. She feels guilty about this though.

Rosa Valdés
Pia met Rosa on Route 3 and went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Valerie. They were stuck inside a room together where Rosa found golden nuggets and shared one with Pia. Rosa's small moments of kindness seemed insincere in Pia's eyes, someone who is well versed with duality. When Rosa left the end of the year market after they had gotten out of the haunted mansion, Pia followed her and saw her crying. Pia comforted the crying Rosa but as soon as Rosa had gotten herself together again, Pia fell the need to call her out on her duality, telling her that how she was acting now was quite different from before. Rosa denied at first but as soon as Pia had driven her into a corner, she stopped trying. After Jirachi appeared for a brief second, Rosa walked off. They're neither on bad or good terms but both have things they probably need to speak off.

Simon Pearburgh
Pia met Simon in Galar Mine 1. Pia thought nothing more of him than a bug nerd. They partnered up to battle against Oleana and his clever strategies impressed Pia, prompting her to compliment him after their shared life/death situation on Route 4.

Pia considers Simon to be a positive influence and appreciates him cheering her on during the contest in Turffield where he appeared to be the loudest in the room.

Pia met Simon again in Hulburry after he broke into the gym that she was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. She was disappointed in his behaviour but guessed this was probably Ruben and Ainsley's idea as he just stumbled up behind them.

Catherine Carlisle
Yeah.... Pia really doesn't like Catherine but she enjoys getting under her skin.

Kit
Pia met Kit in the Wild Area. Kit had been trying to catch a Pokémon for days but had yet to catch one. He begged the girl to help him in exchange for money and a strange rock that he found. Pia taught him how to catch a Pokémon but after hearing that Kit is in search for his father, she decided to only take the strange rock as her reward and left the pouch with Poké behind for the boy to keep. Kit seems to have developed a crush for her because of that.

Daija Sancho
Daija is Ruben's little sister by 2 years. Pia met Daija during her trip to Wedgehurst with Ruben on Route 5. Daija was wary of the girl at first as she is well aware of her brother's "type". She has given Pia her nod of approval when she found the two being silly in the living room after she had left the house for a little bit to cool off. She thinks Pia is a positive influence in Ruben's life.

Jovian and Livia McMiller and Daniel
Pia met the McMiller couple and their foster son on Route 5 when she took a nap outside in the cold covered in her own Pokémon. Livia McMiller invited her at her home with happened to be the Nursery on Route 5. Pia investigated the Chimecho mystery of how she had suddenly laid two eggs. She appeared to be fostering them as trainer's had left those eggs behind. Chimecho have her a mint-green coloured egg with darker green swirls as a thank you for getting her wishes across to the McMiller couple.

Trainer ID

Pia McGuire:

Pia was born in the town of Hammerlocke in the Galar region and is part of the first graduating class of the Wedgehurt trainer's academy. Despite having lived in poverty, her mother has been able to pay for her tuition in alternative ways. She's quick witted and rather clever but is sometimes a bit "too" honest. Pia dreams of becoming an actress and does almost anything to get more money. When it comes down to it, what she really wants is to no longer live in poverty and live a bit more happily.

Inventory:

4x Pokéball
Galarian Pokédex
Xtransceiver
Broken Flashlight
King's Rock
Sun Stone (used)
Thunderstone
Mint green Pokémon egg with darker green swirls
TR Ice Beam

Outfits:

Daily Outfit:

Spoiler:

Contest outfit:

Spoiler:

Ribbons:

Turffield Ribbon 2nd place:

Hammerlocke Ribbon 1st Place:

Badges:

Turffield Grass badge

Hulburry Water badge

Motostoke Fire badge

Sapphire Rose · Oct 26, 2021

Pia McGuire
Poké:

5550 ♦ Pokémon: 4

Unspoken and unexplained.

Pia stared outside of the hospital window as she recalled the memories of old. She watched how young children played with a football on the field outside. Some of them wore hospital attires and some of them just regular ones but the fact that the ones with hospital attires were completely bald was… a sad sight to see. Her mind momentarily shifted to Ruben and the memories they had together. To the coaching gig he had to do during their date and the kids he was training back then. Hospitals always had grim atmosphere's about them and this was no different. She heard her mother talk to her about random topics in the background of her mind but only gave slight hums and nods to show she was listening. The only thing she had actually responded to was that her mother wished for her to continue her journey.

It was strange, really. Strange how they never talked about the situation that happened that day again. There were actually a lot of problems and misunderstandings that were never explained and Pia couldn't recall the last time they had sat down and just talked about miscellaneous stuff. It was just mother and daughter. Her silence hadn't gone unnoticed, however, and soon her mother would give her a worried confused look. Was something wrong, perhaps?

"Hey mom… Why did you do it?" She suddenly asked as she shifted her gaze from outside the window to the brown haired woman.

"Do what?" Her mother gave her a questioning and surprised look.

"Why did you go into prostitution?"

There was a moment of silence for the bomb that Pia had dropped out of nowhere with which she immediately changed the overall mood in the room. Rosa wasn't here so this time was as good as any for her but her mother had not expected such a question so out of nowhere. She was still in the dark about what had been going on for the most part.

"Sorry I didn't expect that." Her mother chuckled. "It's… different from regular prostition." she glanced at her knees that were underneath the blanket while twiddling with her fingers. "I was an escort. While a prostitute is not picky about the customers they take and allow about anyone as long as they pay, escorts are often substitutes for a partner and only have a small group of regular customers. Not all of them have… intercourse necessarily." She explained, not looking at Pia even once as she did which made Pia realise how insensitive it was for her to just bring this up with prior notice. "I had two that… p-paid for those services. The other two paid me just to be arm candy during excessive parties."

Pia listened attentively to the words of her mother and the differences between the two parties. How short sighted it might be, for most people it just meant the same thing. You're selling your body and that is a shameful thing to do. Pia… used to think the same thing but she had a lot of time alone with her own thoughts over the past few weeks. Rather than accusing her, she wanted to try to understand this time. Though seeing how uncomfortable her mother was with the story...

"Ah… So I only have like… 2 possible fathers." Pia sighed in relief and shrugged at the words. She thought to throw something more light hearted in there but all her mother did was look at her in surprise and widened eyes. There was a moment of silence that even Pia thought was uncomfortable and made her squirm. "What? Please don't tell me it's that sleazy prick of a Montgommery." Pia made the remark with a sheepish grin but when her mother still stayed quiet and even blinked a few times she grew more worried. "MOM?!" She called out. "I can't be Veronika's half-sister!" Pia shot up.

"Ha… Hahahah!!" Soon enough, Mrs. McGuire would burst into laughter. Pia looked at her surprised but also in relief because no way her mother would laugh if that were to be the case. She kept on laughing for a bit to the point she needed to catch her breath and regained her composure.

"I've only done the escorting job for two years. I didn't lie about all the other part-time jobs I had before that." She picked away a tear from her eyes. It wasn't like this was funny but the way her daughter was worried who her father might be… it caught her. "When you were around 12 years old, you got really sick. Now it might be true that you've always been a sickly child, back then it was different. The medication you needed was more expensive than I could afford and we were in danger of being evicted while it was a cold and snowy winter. We had a hard time making ends meet. Just when I got fired from my job again, Mr. Montgommery happened to be there and offered me a job in the escort service." She calmly explained what she had never gotten to tell her daughter. "I refused him quite harshly back then at first but… problems arose." Pia's mother went back into twiddling with her fingers. Pia noticed her change in behaviour and didn't feel the need to press on further on that particular part of the topic.

"So… It's none of those two then." Pia sighed once more, surprised her mother once again and initiated another silence.

"Have you been curious about him?" Her mother asked.

"I can't say I haven't. He hasn't been here all my life so I kind of resent him for leaving you alone with me. I had you so it didn't bother me too much." Pia shrugged but the glance she gave the kids outside the window was telling her mother a lot about her curiosity.

"Would you like to know?" She asked, giving Pia the option to refuse if she wished so. Pia hesitated for a moment but nodded shortly after. "Well then." her mother tapped the sheets on her bed and while Pia had shifted her gaze back to her mother once more, she herself was now the one staring outside.

"It's a long story but I used to work at a lab before I had you."

"That explains the research books we stored in the attic." Pia immediately intersected. Her mother sighed before continuing.

"I suppose you could say we were friends. He wasn't usually around people but I think he didn't mind being around me. The silence between us was... comfortable. We could talk for hours about Pokémon and research too." Her mother smiled. Clearly these were fond memories that she was recalling. "Something… happened. It was mostly a mistake on our part. I think we were both confused. We pretended like nothing had happened after that for a while but…"

"But what? So he found out you were pregnant after that and decided to ditch you? What a prick." Pia crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.

"No no it's nothing like that." Her mother shook her head. She seemed to hesitate to speak again and Pia toned down her attitude in response.

"You don't need to force yourself to say it if it's hard." She said worriedly.

"No, it's alright. You deserve to know." Her mother took another deep sigh. "It's quite the opposite really. He's a dutiful man. He's someone who likes travelling around and continuing his research in different places. I didn't want to tie him down but I also didn't want to get rid of my unborn child. So… I left. I went somewhere where he couldn't find me. He would never know." She explained. Though the silence between the two that came after once more was suffocating to her. In Pia's case, she was growing more angry despite the reasons her mother could have had for the decisions she made.

"So you choose to not let him know."

"I… did."

"Mom, do you have any idea how selfish that is? I understand but… this is a lot to take in." Pia rubbed her temples. She had never heard or seen her mother do something selfish, this was a first. While she was doing her best to make sense of her thoughts on this, she suddenly realised something. The reason they never talked about it before. "Did you never tell me because you were afraid I was going to hate you for it?"

"... Yes. I know that was selfish of me… and I'm sorry." Her mother clenched the sheets she had pulled up in her hands. She was nervous for her reactions, that much was clear. Pia relieved herself from the anger she felt and calmed down. This was not a moment to go judging her mother when they were finally on speaking terms again.

"Mom, I could never hate you. I am angry because that's a series of stupid choices but... You're my mother." She stood up and sat down next to her on her bed to grab her hand and hold it between her own to comfort her. Last time she didn't listen to what her mother had to say and that resulted in them never communicating properly anymore at all. They could not repeat that same situation. Everyone makes mistakes. She had too. Plenty even. To how she treated her mother once she found out about her occupation to the words she screamed at Ruben when they broke up. It was odd she only came to understand this when she had gotten older… Not every situation was the same but she didn't feel she had the right to be angry. Not right now at least.

"Am I… Do I look like him?" Pia broke the silence.

"You resemble him." Her mother nodded, doing her best to hold back the tears that had steadily started to form in her blue eyes.

"Huh. Would you look at that…" Pia pondered her mother's answer. She hated how that small bit of information she had now gotten actually did make her feel better… She had a father. And it was not one of those random clients. It was someone her mother actually had a connection with. What form of connection was left in the middle.

"knock, knock." A nurse opened the door to Mrs. McGuire's room. "Visiting hours are over. The patient needs to rest so I would kindly request for you to finish your conversation. You may visit her again tomorrow." She immediately walked over to the heart monitor next to Mrs. McGuire and readied her medication. Pia nodded and obediently grabbed her stuff.

"We'll talk more tomorrow." Pia gave her mother a kiss on the side of her head and headed off towards the door without another word. Her mother glanced at her as she did and suddenly reminded herself that there was still something else she wanted to tell her.

"Wai-" Her mother reached for her but Pia waved with a smile and closed the door behind her. The necklace she once gifted Pia when she was younger and she always had worn ever since… That was a present she had received from her father. Back then it felt only right that she became the new owner of it. Mrs. McGuire defeatingly pulled her hand back and held it against her chest. She could only hear the rummaging of the nurse beside her and the footsteps of Pia getting further away. "Next time." She whispered to herself.

"Hm?" The nurse looked up.

"Nothing." Mrs. McGuire shook her head. "Nancy, would you be so kind and bring me pen and paper? I'd like to write a letter."

Pia's Party

Memories

STAGE 1: Wedgehurst -> Wild Area -> Motostoke

Wedgehurst
I choose you part 1
I choose you part 2
I choose you Final

Wild Area
Train to Wild Area ft. Raphael & Aeliana
Two birds with one stone
Two birds with one stone part 2 + Bird Brain
Wild Area with Arrietty

Motostoke
Double Trouble part 1
Double Trouble part 2

STAGE 2: Route 3 -> Galar Mine 1 -> Route 4 -> Turffield

Route 3
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 1
It's the most wine-derful time of the year | Part 2
A Festive Fight to the Finish
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 1
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 2
The Mystery of Mew! | Part 3
A Two headed reflection

Galar Mine 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 1
Galar Mine #1 | Part 2
Galar Mine #1 | Part 3

Route 4
Route 4
Coach McGuire
A failed attempt.

Turffield
Bad Company.
It gets worse.
Shopping shenanigans
A challenger approaches!
Gym battle: Turffield
Here and Now
Performance Post: Dreaming Fairy
New Friendships

Route 5
Homecoming | Part 1
Homecoming | Part 2
An eggcelent situation.

Hulburry
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 1
Gym battle: On treacherous waters Part 2
Hulburry Part 1
Hulburry Part 2
Hulburry Part 2
The Hypocrites' Waltz
The Hypocrites' Waltz Part 2
Duplicity
Duplicity part 2
Pretty Little Liars

Motostoke
To all beautiful things come an end...
Pray Return

Wedgehurst/Wild Area
Ending unplanned

Hammerlocke
A trip down memory lane
Sugar, Spice, school girls aren't nice.
Settling in
Cutting out
Make a wish
Common ground
Performance post: Sea of clouds
Chances and Chasers
Wake Up
Faires and Demons
Beware of the Villainess

Pia's journal

Arrietty Maverick
Pia and Arrietty met in the Wild Area although the two have shared classes before. It struck Pia as odd that the girl seemed to have no ambitions or goals at all. Although disappointed upon finding out this girl had no fire burning that would light her path, Pia made it her mission to help this girl get a goal and become a bit more social. Arrietty is the closest Pia can consider a "friend".

As according to their promise, Pia helped Arrietty get ready for her very first contest in Turffield. However, the girl ran off from stage when she was up. Pia has been feeling guilty for "forcing her into contesting" ever since.

Ruben Sancho
Pia met Ruben during Motostoke while on a double date with him, Arrietty and Ainsley. The date went disastrous with both Arrietty and Ainsley running off but Ruben and Pia were able to grow just a tiny bit closer during their search for Arrietty. They have been texting since and are on good terms with each other. They both seem to be interested in just a little bit more...

Ruben and Pia are officially dating since the end of the year festival on Route 3 following their "official second date" that went well. Pia knows about Ruben's ankle and that it's still hurting. They're in close contact with each other through calling and texting. They went on another date on Route 4 where Ruben had a gig for a coaching session with kids with the promise to spend time together after that. Both confirmed their feelings for the other by sharing a kiss. Pia likes him a lot.

Their relationship became public knowledge when a picture of Ruben staring down Pia's shirt was shared on social media and all gossip magazines. Ruben has been hiding it from Pia but as they went shopping, Pia got vocally attacked by a group of girls calling her out for being a whore and having no dignity. Ruben stood up for her and made their relationship public knowledge, no longer wanting to submit Pia to such harassment. Ruben publicly announced he likes Pia a lot and that they have been dating as opposed to what he has been saying before. Pia still doesn't know about the picture that's going around.

Despite the situation that had happened in the mall, Ruben insisted towards Raphael that they're just "friends" while Raphael announced to know more about their relationship due to being uncomfortable with the fact of calling Pia his "girlfriend". He has been slowly getting into the idea of being in a relationship with her throughout Turffield. The two of them visited his home in Wedgehurst during the events of Route 5 where Pia ended up meeting his sister Daija and his little brothers. He told Daija to stop calling her the "G" word but he ended up admitting to her he indeed considered Pia his girlfriend. During all of this Pia has been thinking about their time together and has grown quite fond of Ruben, more than she probably realizes herself as she has to constantly remind herself that she shouldn't be feeling the things that she is feeling. She believes that it will all come to an end but has recently started clinging on to a little spark of hope...

The two of them exchanged Applin's during their Valentine's day date where they also decided to release them, promising each other that they would stay together.

They've proven to be currently in love with both of them starting to show effort in their relationship. However, Pia's big secret that she's trying to keep hidden from Ruben is becoming a ticking time bomb...

In Hulburry things have started to get rocky for the two when Pia found out Ruben lied about not being in Hulburry when he broke into the gym Pia was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. He brought along Ainsley, two new friends Pia didn't know and Simon. The lie upsetted Pia greatly as lying is something she absolutely hated and the reason for it was so that Ruben could hang out with his friends. She hasn't messaged him since Nessa booted him out of the gym.

Pia and Ruben unfortunately broke up during the events of Motostoke when it was revealed that Pia's mother used to be a prostitute and pictures were made of Ruben with another woman.

Raphael Allard
Pia met Raphael during her train ride to the wild Area together with Aeliana. Thinking that he had a lot of potential in becoming a chamption which would benefit her, Pia approached him thinking they could become friends. Their interactions didn't go as smoothly as Pia had hoped. After their argument at the end of her battle with Aeliana, the girl ran off thinking she had blown her chances. Raphael doesn't harbour any ill intend towards the girl and only hoped to give her some advice.

They have resolved their issues in Galar mine 1 and worked together to battle Oleana in which they were victorious. Raphael brought the issues with Pia's overprotectiveness of Milla back up on Route 4 when Pia was refusing Milla from battling. Raphael spoke some sense into her, prompting her to finally trust Milla. Raphael understands Pia better now and Pia has a better opinion of Raphael now too.

They met again during the events of the Turffield contest and spend some time talking to each other while Pia tried to get Ruben to apologize to Arrietty. Raphael said something similar to what he said on Route 4 and confused Pia in her actions. He seems to know more than he lets on.

Aeliana Kekoa
Pia met Aeliana during the train ride to the wild Area together with Raphael. Although her interactions with Aeliana went a little bit more smoothly than with Raphael, Pia still ran off at the end of their battle in an attempt to distract her since Pia owed her money for losing. Although Pia has declared Aeliana her rival, they haven't spoken since and Pia attempts to keep it that way.

Pia met Aeliana again on Route 3 when she was on her way to the end of the year market. Together with Rosa and Valerie they went into an haunted mansion. Although they didn't converse much, Aeliana made some comments that Pia saw as snarky that were meant well by Aeliana. This indicates that Pia still thinks that Aeliana is out to get her.

Their friendship was given a second chance in Hulburry during a photoshoot with Nessa that Aeliana had invited Pia for. Pia saw this as a really good chance to start her own "career" rather on relying on Ruben and his fame. They shared a moment together and seem to be on good terms again.

Ainsley
Ainsley was Pia's date partner during the double date in Motostoke and is Ruben's best friend. Ainsley pretended to be rich and paid for the date with Ruben's money. Pia saw through the charade and called him out on it after Ainsley suggested they'd book a hotel together and make love. He ran off afterwards, angry that the feelings of lust he harboured towards Pia were not returned. Pia doesn't think highly of Ainsley and told Ruben that he needs "better friends".

Pia and Ainsley met again in the Hulburry gym after he and Ruben broke in so that they could ask Nessa's hand in marriage. He called Pia a "gold digging sket" because of her relationship with Ruben and the pettiness he holds towards her for the date that didn't end in the hotel room. They both dislike each other greatly.

Melody Argent
Although Pia and Melody attended the same Trainer school and were in the same class, they never once teamed up for an assignment. Both didn't have a very good impression of the other and avoided them like the plague. It's not until the Festival Fun-time Flurry that they have tried teaming up to win a competition as both of them were interested in the prize. They chased down a cheater together and have a better opinion of each other since their teamwork. They figured out that they're a pretty good team actually. Both of them thinks "the other is not so bad after all".

Valerie Amity
Pia met Valerie on route 3 where they went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Rosa. They didn't get to converse much but it was enough for them to establish some sort of familiarity. Valerie calls Pia "Lady P" as a nickname. Pia thinks of Valerie as someone with too much energy but not a bad person overall, maybe a little too naïve.

Pia was able to form a friendshop with Valerie in Turffield where she finally managed to catch the girl alone. Pia decided that Valerie's stream and followers could help her towards her goal of becoming rich, one she is trying to head towards to against ever since the events with Catherine. She feels guilty about this though.

Rosa Valdés
Pia met Rosa on Route 3 and went inside a haunted mansion together with Aeliana and Valerie. They were stuck inside a room together where Rosa found golden nuggets and shared one with Pia. Rosa's small moments of kindness seemed insincere in Pia's eyes, someone who is well versed with duality. When Rosa left the end of the year market after they had gotten out of the haunted mansion, Pia followed her and saw her crying. Pia comforted the crying Rosa but as soon as Rosa had gotten herself together again, Pia fell the need to call her out on her duality, telling her that how she was acting now was quite different from before. Rosa denied at first but as soon as Pia had driven her into a corner, she stopped trying. After Jirachi appeared for a brief second, Rosa walked off. They're neither on bad or good terms but both have things they probably need to speak off.

Simon Pearburgh
Pia met Simon in Galar Mine 1. Pia thought nothing more of him than a bug nerd. They partnered up to battle against Oleana and his clever strategies impressed Pia, prompting her to compliment him after their shared life/death situation on Route 4.

Pia considers Simon to be a positive influence and appreciates him cheering her on during the contest in Turffield where he appeared to be the loudest in the room.

Pia met Simon again in Hulburry after he broke into the gym that she was having a photoshoot at with Aeliana and Nessa. She was disappointed in his behaviour but guessed this was probably Ruben and Ainsley's idea as he just stumbled up behind them.

Catherine Carlisle
Yeah.... Pia really doesn't like Catherine but she enjoys getting under her skin.

Kit
Pia met Kit in the Wild Area. Kit had been trying to catch a Pokémon for days but had yet to catch one. He begged the girl to help him in exchange for money and a strange rock that he found. Pia taught him how to catch a Pokémon but after hearing that Kit is in search for his father, she decided to only take the strange rock as her reward and left the pouch with Poké behind for the boy to keep. Kit seems to have developed a crush for her because of that.

Daija Sancho
Daija is Ruben's little sister by 2 years. Pia met Daija during her trip to Wedgehurst with Ruben on Route 5. Daija was wary of the girl at first as she is well aware of her brother's "type". She has given Pia her nod of approval when she found the two being silly in the living room after she had left the house for a little bit to cool off. She thinks Pia is a positive influence in Ruben's life.

Jovian and Livia McMiller and Daniel
Pia met the McMiller couple and their foster son on Route 5 when she took a nap outside in the cold covered in her own Pokémon. Livia McMiller invited her at her home with happened to be the Nursery on Route 5. Pia investigated the Chimecho mystery of how she had suddenly laid two eggs. She appeared to be fostering them as trainer's had left those eggs behind. Chimecho have her a mint-green coloured egg with darker green swirls as a thank you for getting her wishes across to the McMiller couple.

Trainer ID

Pia McGuire:

Pia was born in the town of Hammerlocke in the Galar region and is part of the first graduating class of the Wedgehurt trainer's academy. Despite having lived in poverty, her mother has been able to pay for her tuition in alternative ways. She's quick witted and rather clever but is sometimes a bit "too" honest. Pia dreams of becoming an actress and does almost anything to get more money. When it comes down to it, what she really wants is to no longer live in poverty and live a bit more happily.

Inventory:

4x Pokéball
Galarian Pokédex
Xtransceiver
Broken Flashlight
King's Rock
Sun Stone (used)
Thunderstone
Mint green Pokémon egg with darker green swirls
TR Ice Beam

Outfits:

Daily Outfit:

Spoiler:

Contest outfit:

Spoiler:

Ribbons:

Turffield Ribbon 2nd place:

Hammerlocke Ribbon 1st Place:

Badges:

Turffield Grass badge

Hulburry Water badge

Motostoke Fire badge

Fen-Fen · Oct 27, 2021

Haleigh Windsor and Pia McGuire

Spoiler: Memories

Miss Communication

Though Haleigh was eager to continue her way on Route 6 towards Stow-on-Side, the incessant heat of the desert had struck the Circhester native with a vengeance throughout the past week. It was probably the most physically grueling part of her journey yet on account of her lack of exposure to the extreme heat between the mild summers of Circhester, Spikemuth and Wedgehurst. It had gotten so hot that Haleigh had been convinced the heat was starting to make her a bit loopy, for she could have sworn she had seen Pia of all people following her out of the corner of her eye.

Luckily for her and her team, Haleigh had found a cafe to make an extended pitstop in. It offered weary travellers shade, cold drinks and even a small oasis for Pokemon to cool off in. Even if it was going to cost money, Haleigh was more than happy to give herself and her Pokemon a chance to rest and stay cool in the unforgiving heat.

Her Pokemon were just on the edge of her vision, playing with each other at a nearby clearing with various stone formations to weave in and around (though she opted not to have Orion or Captain out due to ice types not faring well in the heat). Haleigh, meanwhile, sat at an outdoor table sipping on a cold lemonade while she used her phone to catch up on miscellaneous news that she had missed out on while being preoccupied with other things.

The blonde mumbled to herself, "Let's see, new Eevee Princess movie - ooh, Circhester 2-1 over Ballonlea, love to see it, Pia McGuire-"

Haleigh did a double take at the headline: 'Is Pia McGuire's mother a prostitute?'

She stammered out loud, "P-Pia?! What on earth…"

Haleigh clicked on the article and read through the first part of the article, describing in grossly salacious detail with language sensationalizing the oh-so-shocking revelation that indeed, Pia's mum apparently used to work as an escort on the streets of Hammerlocke. The article went on to even suggest that by dating her now ex-boyfriend that she was perhaps pursuing a career in her mother's footsteps-

Wait, ex-boyfriend?

Haleigh typed in Ruben's name into the search engine, coming across a more matter of fact article entitled 'Pia McGuire and Ruben Sancho split amidst allegations of infidelity.'

"Oh Arceus…" Haleigh felt a pang of sympathy immediately go out towards Pia. The poor girl, having to deal not only with what appeared to be a messy breakup, but to have some additional dirt out in the open for all of Galar to sickeningly gobble up for their entertainment.

Haleigh thought back to when she had seen them together along with Rosa at that Eevee themed bar in Hulbury. It was easy to miss in the moment - especially when she got drunk pretty early into the night and was riding the high off of her victory against Nessa, but there was definitely some tension between the two of them that night. Especially when-

It suddenly all clicked. The looks Pia had given her when both she and Ruben failed to match up with their lies and the fact that their relationship ultimately fell apart due to cheating; Pia must have thought the worst of her.

Oh shit. Shit shit shit.

Before Haleigh could even think of what to do with that information, some surprised yelps from her right startled her out of her thoughts and directed her attention to Dart, who had been buzzing around and getting a bit too close for the other patrons. She knew him well enough that the little bug was hardly going to harm them, but he was quite excitable in showing his affection.

She shouted after him, "Dart, give those people some space!"

He had apparently moved on to another patron, this one a young woman with long, golden blonde hair. Haleigh rushed over to the dragonfly Pokemon, directing him to fly over to Haleigh and give her attention instead of that other woman.

Haleigh nervously chuckled as Dart started nudging her own face for affection, "Eheh, sorry about that, Dart tends to-"

The words died in her mouth as soon as she registered who she had bumped into.

"Hello there, Haleigh." The young woman spoke in familiarity. "Don't worry about it, Milla tends to do the same." The blonde brushed a few locks out of her face while the Pikachu beside her gave a fulfilling smirk. It was the very person Haleigh had just been thinking of, despite her looking very different from what she remembered.

"Ah, Pia! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Haleigh had also changed in appearance since the last time the two had met, with her dyed purple hair mostly faded away to reveal her real hair color, her jacket and jeans replaced with a black tank top with a Marowak skull on it and denim shorts and most prominently, the flame tattoos she had gotten in Hammerlocke.

"Wish the weather was like the last time we met, it's so bloody hot out here it's a miracle I 'aven't turned into a fire type myself!" She chuckled, though there was a note of nervousness to her laughter.

"I… don't particularly mind the heat myself." Pia spoke, noticing Haleigh's body language being different than usual and raised an eyebrow. She said she didn't mind the heat but even she was wearing shorts, sandals with a small heel and a tank top. "How have you been?" Pia asked.

Haleigh replied, "I-I've been alright. I caught your performance at the contest while I was on a date with Achille, it was such an amazing performance! It's no wonder you won. Congrats, mate!"

Though her words were initially spoken with conviction, she trailed off at the end, now more obviously fidgety with her glance going off towards Dart rather than the other blonde trainer. She scratched her head, trying to find something to fill the increasingly awkward silence between the two of them.

"I see, so you and Achille are a thing." Pia gave her a playful smirk but quickly noticed the demeanor of Haleigh change once more. She seemed to grow more nervous but Pia had no clue why she would. "You've been acting strange. Are you sure you're alright?" the blonde asked with a raised eyebrow while the two of them still stood in the full flaming sun. "Maybe we should sit down somewhere. I don't mind the heat but standing here like this is undoubtedly bad for our skins."

Haleigh sighed. "Yeah, let's go ahead and sit down. There's... something I need to talk with you about."

Of course, it wasn't going to be easy to just bring something like that up - especially if it's a breakup as messy as it sounded - but Haleigh wouldn't feel right not getting it off her chest and clearing the air. Pia all the while had no clue what was going on and more question marks were raised rather than answered.

Haleigh gestured for Pia to follow her to a nearby two seat table out of the way of the other patrons of the cafe. Once Haleigh took her seat across from Pia, she looked back up to the other trainer, her expression serious.

"I...just found out what happened between you and Ruben. Some other stuff too, but that's not the important part."

Pia blinked a few times. Haleigh had been worried and nervous because of that? Like, sure, she didn't really like talking about it with people she wasn't all that close with but that was no reason to be shaking your legs.

"Ah yeah that happened. I guess you caught up with the news, huh?" Pia crossed her legs and gently put her hands on her knee. Not having any idea where Haleigh was going with this, she was growing more irritated while her mind was making up several scenarios. Back in Hulburry they were lying about how they met, she already found that odd. Was she here to tell her that there was indeed something going on between her and Ruben back then? While the other girl stayed silent, the usually collected Pia jumped to conclusions. "Look, I want to leave what happened behind me so I really don't care if something happened between you t-"

Haleigh interrupted her and shook her head. "No, that's why I want to talk about it now. I need to clear some things up."

She exhaled deeply, petting Dart's head to soothe herself. "I realize now that we must have made it seem like we were hiding a relationship by how fishy we were acting, but I really wasn't with him. Trust me, the last thing I'd ever want to do is inflict that on someone else. It...happened in my own family."

Pia crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against her own skin while a new silence made place for the old one. Milla tilted her head towards the pair. The Pikachu felt a weird kind of tension but it was different from the one she had previously experienced with Pia.

"It's not like I really thought that…" Pia sighed. "But why lie? I don't get why you'd lie over how you met. You can't blame me for getting suspicious when the stories didn't add up."

By this point, Dart had contented himself by resting on Haleigh's shoulder. Haleigh sighed again, continuing to pet the bug Pokemon on his head. "It's a really stupid reason looking back at it. Me and Ruben ended up seeing each other in some abandoned printing press on Route 3. It ended up being haunted by these Misdreavus and they got us in these really vivid and lifelike hallucinations that showed us some really personal stuff about us. It was because of that that we thought it best to just pretend it didn't happen and made a promise not to talk about it again."

Haleigh looked down, a pensive expression on her face as she seemed to mull over her next words. "There is one you should know about though. It was me and Ruben at his house in the dining room with his family. We both tried to talk with them but they could only see and hear me. They invited me to take a seat, Daija - his sister I think - was saying that I was a part of the family now and Ainsley said only Ruben could bring a girl and not show up. Then Ainsley said that Ruben was dead even while I was standing right next to him."

As she started recalling the events, Haleigh's eyes lit up as she started remembering one peculiar detail about the whole thing. It didn't make sense at the time, but given that Pia was from Hammerlocke...

"When I started freaking out a bit because I wanted to be sure I wasn't going crazy and Ruben hadn't gone and disappeared on me, I remember Ainsley saying that 'these Hammerlocke girls be moving kinda mad'. I sure as hell ain't from there, so it seemed weird for 'im to say. But you…"

Haleigh pointed at Pia. "You're from Hammerlocke.[/i]"

A silence reappeared between the two. Mostly because Pia didn't know what to say about this story about illusions and the like. However, the fact Haleigh mentioned a misdreavus… it could mean Ruben had followed the one that stole her necklace back on route 3 and ended up there. Somehow it made more sense than the story initially given to her. Besides, what would Haleigh gain from lying to her now with such a ridiculous story? She knew to call names that she otherwise could not unless she had been close with Ruben. If she had been close, Pia would have known. Unless shadier shit had been going on. The realization of how much she knew about Ruben's life but also didn't know at the same time derailed her train of thoughts. Air that came from the top of Pia's lungs left her lips.

"I see…" she said quietly. Milla crawled on top of her lap and laid down as she noticed the discomfort her trainer was feeling from this. Pia petted her and glanced up to Haleigh again. "I never held it against you if that's what you were thinking. I left Hulburry behind me. You said nothing happened between you two so there is no reason for you to apologize or for me to forgive you." she spoke.

A bit of a smile worked its way on Haleigh's face as she replied, "Thanks for allowing me to explain anyways. I'm not usually the best with this sort of stuff, but I'm trying my best not to let stuff like this get away from me and cause problems where there doesn't need to be any."

Another small bit of silence fell upon the two of them while Haleigh searched for something else to say. It seemed they had reached some sort of mutual understanding about the situation, but something was nagging at Haleigh to continue the conversation.

"Have you been holdin' up okay with all this going on? I can't imagine it's been easy."

"I'm fine. I've just been busy taking care of things." Pia shrugged as she spoke. With the whole situation with her mother still not resolved and the bills piling up, she had to find something that would pay a little better while still being able to go on her journey. The situation was quite stressful actually. "But more interestingly, do tell me about you and Achille." The girl put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands with a cheeky grin on her lips.

Haleigh's own grin widened and she relaxed more as the subject shifted to her boyfriend. "He is such an amazin' guy. Sweet, passionate, suave, handsome, a great battler. I didn't know him well from the academy, but we kept bumping into each other on the journey - usually while there was something exciting or dangerous goin' on! Then, he invited me out to this real nice dinner on Valentine's Day. He said he didn't realize what the day was."

Haleigh giggled as she continued, "By the end of that dinner we ended up bein' all flirty with each other 'cause of the wine we drank and we've been dating ever since."

"Awww~" Pia looked pleased. Watching a romance blossom between two people was one of the things she enjoyed in books so much. Although romances tend to go about differently in real life, Haleigh's story was something that could have been in a fantasy story setting. Yes… it also reminded her a tiny bit of Ruben. "How fortunate. Be sure to treat him well." She gave a sly smirk.

Haleigh chirped, "I will!"

Before Haleigh thought to start wrapping up this conversation, Haleigh remembered the sightings of Pia she had earlier on the route. Though it was entirely possible the desert was playing tricks on her, it wasn't that unusual that Pia had simply followed the same route as her going at roughly the same pace.

Haleigh asked, "By the way, were you followin' me or something earlier on Route 6, I kept seein' you right where I was but didn't quite catch you. Anytime I'd look where I saw you, you kept disappearing."

"No?" Pia responded, shaking her head with surprise. "I've only left Hammerlocke just a few days ago." She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. "Also, why would I do that?"

The other girl could only shrug in response. "Fair enough. I guess the desert was just playing tricks on me then."

It seemed by that point, all was well between the two of them and that there was no longer a need for them to sit and talk. Haleigh broke the pause in their conversation and said, "It really was nice to talk to you again, Pia. I really am wishing the best for you. I know you can kick some major arse out there, either on the stage or on the battlefield!"

"Heck yeah I will. I'll show 'em." Pia sat back in her chair and smirked.

Sonata · Oct 28, 2021

Poké:

2220 ♦ Pokemon: 5

CHAPTER 13 - HEADING OFF

Rosa stared at her things as they sat spread out across the bed. Even if she hadn't come to terms with the fact that she needed to move on, if she stuck around any longer she'd just end up being in the way. The girl didn't know what Pia's plans were, given that her mother had just woken up. But if it did come down to it that she decided to stay in the city while they ran some more tests, this room would no longer be hers.

Besides, she'd already said her goodbyes. Pia knew she was leaving, so it wouldn't have been a surprise if she came home one day and the girl just wasn't there anymore. But at the same time, it felt like… like a chapter of her life was closing. She'd enjoyed the time she'd spent here, even if it was just an excuse to run away on a whim. Getting to just do some of the things she really enjoyed and interact with her Pokemon without the worries of the adventure ahead had most definitely been a nice reprieve.

But... that wasn't what she was meant to do.

The girl looked down at her belongings, spacing out what little she had across the sheets until the throwaway phone she'd received from Tavi sat dead center. She'd kept it charged ever since that night, not sure when or if she'd ever have to use it… but she'd kept it ready nevertheless. It was that constant reminder… that that night in Motostoke had happened. The Life Orb in her bag was a reminder of the monster which in all likelihood was still chasing her down. And the styler that she'd finally had a few breakthroughs with… was the piece that would tie everything together - whether she knew it or not.

Rosa felt at the pendant around her neck, moving her mother's memento behind it as she rubbed the stone between her fingers. "Mel…" the girl whispered, letting out a quiet sigh as she began to rake everything back into her bag.

As she finished putting everything back in, Rosa glanced over at the case which held her badges as well as the ribbon she'd held onto until just recently. She hesitated as she reached out for it, still coming to terms with her own decisions regarding her future endeavors. She'd made up her mind after the first contest that she'd give it one more try and then consolidate her focus, and that decision had been made even easier by the things she'd experienced in the months leading up to that moment on the bathroom floor. But… the one thing she hadn't been considering, was how Dahlia would feel about her decision.

She'd met the fairy type back on her trip to Turffield and it had been quickly made apparent where the Pokemon's interests lay. Dahlia was determined to see every performance she could, and had been extremely helpful when it came to getting both Yzma and Zorro to stay on tempo with their routines in both cases. That all being as it was, it had been… difficult to bring the news up to her after she returned that night from the venue.

The girl slowly placed the case in her bag before looking at the five filled balls which sat waiting on her pillow. She knew from several experiences that Zorro and Dahlia were some amount closer than the rest of her team… so it very well could have been that one gossipped to the other about their experiences of that night. But, she couldn't be certain. She wasn't psychic, nor could she properly understand what her Pokemon were saying.

Rosa scoffed, shaking her head slightly as she began to pack the balls loosely into her pockets. "Looks like my future is full of Simons…" she muttered, her thoughts turning from the wall she was bound to come up against to the boy who'd helped her come to understand once before.

The girl slowly turned, looking at the two Pokemon which were sitting quietly in the corner of the room. The Jangmo-o and Pawniard had been staring at her intently the whole time she'd been re-packing her bag. 'That would put me at seven…' Rosa shook her head, sighing as she looked down at the items she'd just finished packing back up. 'Someone has to be left behind...'

"Jang!"

Rosa glanced back over at the Dragon-type sitting in the corner, its cry tearing her from that distant place her thoughts were beginning to take her. She looked at the two Pokemon which stared at her. Their eyes were glistening, and their bodies both trembled with excitement. She couldn't blame the two of them, seeing as how they were technically still wild and had been cooped up in this house for the past few weeks with nothing to look forward to aside from their daily play time with Pia's Pokemon.

"It wouldn't be right," the girl whispered, smiling softly as she dug around in her pocket for a specific pokeball. "If Simon can do it… I should be able to as well, right?" The girl whispered as she clicked the button on the ball, causing it to enlarge before pointing it at the bed. "Let's see what happens."

"Cu?"

Dahlia appeared as a pink speck on a sea of white linens. The Pokemon looked around, confused as to what was going on before looking up at the trainer that had just released her.

'Let's… see what happens.' The girl smiled, pulling her sweater a little bit so that the Pokemon could see all the extra fabric on her. "Technically, trainers are only supposed to be able to carry around six Pokemon. But, I do know there's a couple of people that have found a way around that before, so…" the girl's attention turned slowly towards the two Pokemon in the corner which were becoming visibly more and more excited as the seconds ticked by.

"Jang!"

"Pawn!"

Rosa smiled at the two Pokemon as they let out their cries, and then held up a single finger towards them. "Just one second." The girl looked back at Dahlia who was starting to rise through the air towards her. "I would… feel bad if someone got left behind, or stuck in a pokeball somewhere. So I think this is-" she started, before losing sight of the tiny bug as it slipped into the sleeve of her sweater.

"Cu! Cu! Cu!" Dahlia cried out as she started trying out every little fold she could find in the fabric.

"Well… I guess that's settled then. Now…" the girl looked back over at the other two Pokemon as she pulled out two more pokeballs. "Fuzen, Hachi - I guess you're stuck with me."

Rosa's Party

Memories

CHAPTER 1 - WEDGEHURST & ROUTE 2
GOODBYES, AND HELLO TO A NEW JOURNEY
TROUBLE'S ON THE TRACKS
NAMES AND NIGHTMARES!

CHAPTER 2 - THE SOUTHERN WILD AREA
ENTER THE WILD AREA!
NEW BIKING BIKERS!
THE MYSTERIOUS SHINY POKEMON!
RANGER DANGER! PT.1
RANGER DANGER! PT.2
RANGER DANGER! FINALE!
RED-EYES BLACK-HAT!

CHAPTER 3 - MOTOSTOKE
INN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A POUND
INN FOR A PENNY, INN FOR A POUND PT.2
SHADY SHOPPING
THE OPENING CEREMONY
THE OPENING CEREMONY PT.2
THE OPENING CEREMONY PT.3
INN WITH THE FAMILY
ALL BETS ON BLACK
LATE NIGHT LULLABIES
SNACK ATTACK!

CHAPTER 4 - ROUTE 3
VS SIMON
VS SIMON PT.2
MYSTERY OF MEW
MYSTERY OF MEW PT.2
WINTER FESTIVAL
A TWO HEADED REFLECTION

CHAPTER 5 - GALAR MINE AND ROUTE 4
DAYDREAM OF MINE
DEVELOPMENT AND MISSED CONNECTIONS
BUGGIN' THE COSMOS

CHAPTER 6 - TURFFIELD
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE PT.2
GAMBLE FOR A RUSE PT.3
IS IT TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE?
TURRFIELD CONTEST PERFORMANCE
PLANNING AND CHALLENGE
VS MILO
GIRL'S NIGHT OUT
FEAR THE BEGINNING

CHAPTER 7 - ROUTE 5
WORK FOR A PROMISE
WORK FOR A PROMISE PT.2
BUDDING YOUTH
BUDDING YOUTH PT.2
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.2

CHAPTER 8 - HULBURY
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.3
VS NESS
VS NESSA PT.2
THE HYPOCRITES' WALTZ
THE HYPOCRITES' WALTZ PT.2
DUPLICITY
DUPLICITY PT.2
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
FEAR THE BEGINNING PT.4

CHAPTER 9 - GALAR MINES NO.2
CIRCLING THE ANSWER
NINE
NINE PT.2
XAN WAS HERE

CHAPTER 10 - MOTOSTOKE
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN
TURN THE PAGE
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE
EACH VERSE TENFOLD
EACH VERSE TENFOLD PT.2
THE LONG WAY AROUND
PRAY RETURN

CHAPTER 11 - WILD AREA
GOING BACK
MUNCHLAX RETRIEVAL
MUNCHLAX RETRIEVAL PT.2
ENDING UNPLANNED
A QUIET STORM
A QUIET STORM PT.2
TIME TO GET CRACKIN
SETTLING IN
CUTTING OUT
TEMPERED
MAKE A WISH
THIS STILL COUNTS AS 11:11 SO WISH AGAIN

CHAPTER 12 - HAMMERLOCKE
CONTEST POST
DANCE OUR CARES AWAY

Rosa's Journal

Simon Dansen

My childhood friend. Absolute idiot. Can't ever get a read on him anymore. Buttface. Always there when I need him. Always there when I least expect him. JERK. Showed me up in battle and evolved his Pokemon before me.

He came to "rescue" me after I coerced Ruben into protecting me in the underground casino. I told him off... and then didn't apologize until much later. He came to wish me a late merry christmas after Ruben gave me his spare room. He reminded me of our promise from before our journey started, and gave me my christmas gift which was a traditional Johtoan kimono and fan - all to prepare me for the upcoming contests. He also told me I should call his mom and dad since they're so worried about us both now that we're gone, but... I'll figure it out later.

Jasper

An ex-classmate. He took my bait and threw me for a loop when we were fighting a group of Munchlax together. Not as bad a guy as I thought. Because of him, I have to re-evaluate my notes on everyone else just in case. I'm interested in trying a different approach with him when next we meet.

Helped out a wrongfully arrested girl. Really smart. Observant. Kind, but doesn't like to show it. Isn't a terrible cook.

Charles the Biker

An eccentric, but strong man. Indulges in bad puns. Love for bikes. We left on good terms.

Nat the Ranger

A doting older brother to several sisters. A strong trainer who follows their duty. Only spent a day with them. Not sure if I want to meet again or not since I stole a broken styler from his scene of investigation. We left on good terms, I think? Unless he notices that something's missing.

Budew Girl

Never got her name. Apparently she's a challenger like the rest of my classmates. Comes from a family of Budew fanatics. They breed Budew in their hometown and journey around with all three forms of it. She seems endearing. It might be interesting to meet her again in the future. As long as she's not being accused of theft, that is.

Achille Béringer

Rich kid. Pays his debts. Is keen on rich kid things. Doesn't seem much different from how he was in school, but still need to reevaluate.

Melody Argent

Cute and kind. She keeps to herself kind of like I do. Loves music. Feels similar to Simon. Still need to reevaluate because of interactions with Jasper. Kind of maybe, possibly, a small amount of a badass. Finger guns - super corny. Don't harp on the idea of being in contests. If that culty stuff doesn't get figured out by the time we come back to Motostoke, I'll have to remember to find her around town. She's much more attuned to pop culture than I am.

AAAAAHHH! We did so much in Turffield, and even more just after! I still can't believe that she wont that contest and made it look so... so easy! She's just, like, wow. I still don't know what to do with all of my thoughts, but after that delivery we did together especially I just. Wowee. Jeez.

The Family // Damien(?)

Not the family himself, I don't think. I still haven't got his name or what role he really plays in all this. He's a shady motherfucker - pardon my Kalos. I still don't know how much of the stuff I've gone through in Motostoke has been orchestrated by him, but for the moment I'm not planning to try anything. I still don't know enough about him to make any real guesses. The longer that I stay around this town, the further behind the veil that I see. I'm scared even to go to sleep at night so long as I'm here. They have eyes... everywhere.

Buggy Simon

Some kind of freak of nature. I guess he understands Pokemon in some way that I can't; like, he understands what they're actually trying to say when they speak? Kind of cool, but also weird. Him and Simon used to hang out every once in a while at school. He knows about my "secret styler".

Valerie

An absolute ray of sunshine and happiness. She's also a streamer, and earns enough money from it to show it off. Not put off by literal ghosts. Has some kind of dream of meeting Mew.

Aeliana Kekoa

Alolan dance girl. She's supposed to teach me sometime. Pretty much just how I remembered her in school. I didn't get to spend much time with her when we all hung out. Didn't seem too bothered by the ghosts.

Pia McGuire

Pia... definitely is afraid of literal ghosts. I had a few choice words for her, but... after we saw Jirachi, it just felt like the time had passed, so I gave up. She's seen me without my mask, so next time we meet up is probably going to be awkward.

Haleigh Windsor

A friend of Melody's. I intentionally ran into her after failing to catch up with Melody, due to the addition of Haleigh. We had a short battle, and then made a promise for drinks with Melody after I urged her to drag the girl along with her to the contest in Turffield. She seems quite naive, so I may be able to get some more use out of her as long as I stay true to her persona. She's battle hungry, the same as Simon, but her Pokemon are still a little lacking - that coming from someone who still has no idea what she's doing here herself. She might end up being a good sparring partner in the future since she knows a little of what I've got and we're on relatively equal footing.

Mother Priscilla

The leader of the Turffield Sisterhood. I thought at first she was just an escort, but once we got to their hideout, I slowly started to realize what she really was. She's an incredibly dangerous woman who has no trouble pulling a gun on important people or those that she may need. There's still too much I don't know about what's going on to get a good grasp on what her and Damien's goals are, but given what I've already seen I really could do without finding out.

Ruben Sancho

Truth be told, I hadn't cared for Ruben when we went to school together. I thought he was your average rich celebrity who was forced into something he didn't really want to be a part of. After getting involved with the family and finding myself in that gambling hall, and then finding Ruben there as well, I felt that my suspicions were true. I had no second thoughts about what I was going to drag him in to. But as time went on, I found myself feeling more and more regretful with each time that he said Pia's name. And then because of me, news about him and Pia got out before either of them were likely ready to go public. And after all that, Simon attacked him out of the blue... but even after all that, he still offered me a free room at the local hotel. I already apologized to him about Simon, and about lying to get him to go with me. But, I should apologize again. He's not as bad of a guy as I thought he was.

Outfits

Spoiler: Here be a number of large images

Inventory

Spoiler:

Dragon · Oct 28, 2021

Taking a wee break ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
Poké:

1000 ♡ Friends: 24

Hours had passed ever since Valerie had finally left Hammerlocke city, and the craziness of Strugglecon. Now she's in the sandy, quiet Route 6. It actually felt pretty nice, getting away from people for a while and just enjoying some peace and quiet for a change. Valerie had donned her sunglasses, combating the oncoming sand and strong rays of the sun from coming into her eyes.

"Yoohoo, Tommy? How about some tunage?" upon Valerie's request, her Rotom - still inside of her phone - leaped up from her bag. After a few flashes and beeps, the radio function from Valerie's smartphone crackled into life.

"Now we have George with Galar's monthly finance report. Gordon, what's the finance outlook for Galar given the recession sparked by the incident years ago?

"Well, it's not looking good at all. All experts are predicting things are set to spiral out of control in a spiralling motion. This is set to plummet matters into another downward spiral ..."

"Omigosh - not the boring finance stuff…" Valerie winced. The monotonic, awful voice Geroge seemed to have, gave Valerie a case of the Butterfrees of dread in her stomach.

"...millions and millions are set to lose their homes, businesses and EZ-bake ovens as a result, and as described, this is set to be the 'worst crisis Galar will have to deal with since the epidemic of Yanmas in 1850, although perhaps not as bad as the infamous Zorua Plague' in 1910'."

"Tommmyyyyyyy, change it please?" Valerie whined and begged, glaring at him while he was floating beside her.

"But, I implore the people of Galar to stay calm, as we wait to ride out this recession. Just stay positive, and everything will be leveled out soon."

"Thank you, George. That concludes the financial report. Now, for all of you who's watching, thanks for your patience as we now play some music--"

"Thank, Arcebus!" Valerie sighed with relief from this news.

"...Is what I want to say, but we're actually out of time. It is now time for our non-stop campaign of ads! We'll be back in a couple of hours for more finance reports!"

"No, no, nonoNO! Ads are even worse!" Valerie shouted in horror. "Tommy! Turn it off!"

"Please be sure to check out our shocking prices from the Electabuzz Team!" a man shouted from the radio.

"Turn that off now, Tommy!" Valerie growled. She tried getting a hold of Rotom, shouting demands.

"It will shock you like a Thunderbolt faster than you can say, ERGHBLRBLRBLRBLR! Which is our mascot Electabuzz's cry!" the voice bollywood, before more joined in.

"--Limited Edition Toys from the Bow Shika Woo-Woobat Shop! Now it's half price!"

"Did you know that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Flygon XIV has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Remoraid Reborn AND the award-winning Heavens-Helioptile expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime? Sign up, and enjoy our world today!"

"Listen to this radio station! Sure; we're the only radio station in Orre – but that makes us the BEST radio station!"

"Agggh, just turn it down so I don't have to hear it then!" Valerie suggested. But, after some more beeps and blips from Tommy… The radio got even louder.

"Why is it LOUDER?!" Valerie shouted.

"REMEMBER, NO ONE WANTS TO BE AN OCTILLERY. BUY MANTINE FACE CREAM TODAY."

"Tommy, C'mere! Get down here this instant!" Valerie was now chasing after Tommy around in circles, as the radio continued blasting away.

"EVER HATE THOSE SNEAKY HIDDEN COSTS THAT PEOPLE CHARGE WHEN YOU PAY FOR THOSE COMPUTER REPAIRS?"

"I. Hate. Them. SO. MUCH! But that's not important here!! Tommy! TOMMY!!"

"Activating Phone Mode." suddenly said Valerie's phone, in a softer tone. Valerie could then recognize the melody that played from her phone next - it was her ringtone. She sighed a breath of relief. The shenanigans were over. At least for now. Tommy was finally being cooperative, and hovered closer to Valerie. When she was finally within range, the call was answered, and the screen lit up, showing a woman that Valerie didn't expect.

It was Professor Sonia.

"Hey there, Valerie! Long time no see!" She greeted her. It looked like she was still in her lab, donning her lab coat.

"Is that you, Teach?!" Valerie had asked. A sharp grin on her face was plastered on her. "Omigosh! Looong time! Wazzap?!"

"Ah, I've been watching you and the other grads in your gym matches," Sonia explained. "You've all really come a long way! You, especially, had seriously surprised me! I couldn't be more proud of each one of you. Truly."

"Aww shucks Teach, it was nothing," Valerie blushed. "Yeah I had to like, train almost everyday and stuff, tryna to keep up with everyone, and girl, it is EX-HAAAU-STING. But, it was totes worths! Super, super loooooove adventuring and stuff, and made lots of memories! Mixed it up against some of the mates' too!"

Sonia nodded. "Speaking of memories, I've also noticed that you've all been adding pages to your Pokedex!" she added. "Val, when I saw that your Dex entry had Rayquaza and Jirachi of all things - I almost fell out of my chair! Very impressive work! Getting stronger is important for a trainer, but it's also important, meeting as many Pokemon as you can!"

"Geez, I super can't take all the sudden praise," Valerie smiled with a chuckle. "But, I guess I DID make a lot, huh?! It's been totally AMAZEBALLS!"

"By the way Valerie… there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about," Professor started. "Do you know of a group called Project Mew?"

"Project… Mew?" Valerie repeated, bewildered.

"Yeah. A team whose sole purpose is to search for Mew is being set up, and they're recruiting," Sonia explained. "But to become a member, you'll need to complete all sorts of tasks they create called Trial Missions."

"Huh…"

"Well, what do you think?" Sonia asked. "If you're interested, I can recommend you, and have you participate as well."

Valerie gave it a thought, but promptly shook her head. "Thanks for the offer..." she began. "...But I'm gonna pass."

Sonia blinked. "I… thought you would have jumped at the chance of finding and learning more about Mew, meeting new friends who shared your dream? Why ever not?"

Valerie looked nervously at the ground. "I'm kinda taking a breather, 'specially working on a team with a bunch of people I don't know. And um… th-those missions or whatever kinda don't sound too appealing. I'm gonna find Mew myself," Valerie explained. She then gave Sonia another grin. "I mean, thanks Teach, buuut I don't really need anyone or anything. Val will be fiiiine on her own!"

"Well, okay…" The professor reluctantly accepted. "But, in case you change your mind, let me know, and I'll be sure to refer you. Anyway, it's been great talking with you, Valerie; take good care of yourself, and your Pokemon, okay? Cya!"

The phone's communication broke off. Valerie sighed, looking at the ground once more. "Dang it…" she muttered. She was regretful, but now meeting new people was sure to have some risks involved… even after what happened with LunaBeam. Still, she remained positive on her goal and dream of finding Mew. After all…

...She had plenty of friends already. Right? And… she was over Luna. Right...?

"OUR MANAGER HAS GONE CRAZY! NO, LITERALLY, HE HAS! HE THREW HIS MONEY OFF A CLIFF AND THEN THREW HIMSELF OFF BELIEVING HE WAS A BAGON AND NOW WE NEED TO SELL! ALL STOCK MUST GO!"

Valerie forgot about the radio. "Tommy, GET OVER HERE!"

♡ Hiii! I'm Valerie, a 21 year old streamer who streams all sorts of stuff!
♡ RN, I'm a Pokemon Trainer, participating in the League!

I would like this channel to be a positive space for everyone. I see no problem as long as you follow the general rules and are not mean to each other! You can be mean to me instead. :) ♡

♡ Most of the donations will go towards streaming, and to various LGBTQ+ friendly charities!
Don't feel obligated to donate, but every bit helps!

Songbird · Nov 1, 2021

"Hee-ah—GAH! Damn thing bit me!"

Chloe did not like deserts. She didn't like the feel of the sand. She didn't like the air. She didn't like the unbearable heat or the scorching sun.

"Hahah! Rascal got ya good, look at that mark!"

Froslass felt much the same, for obvious reasons, and refused to leave her ball. Milcery stayed in hers as well. Froslass and Luxio could change the weather for a brief respite, but once the effect wore off they would only feel worse. It would have been a constant battle against something that wasn't meant to be fought.

"Think it's so easy, show us how it's done!"

On the other hand, Luxio was trotting alongside his trainer with a spring in his step, trying to lift her spirits. It was cute enough to keep her smiling for the time they had spent on Route 6 thus far.

"Tch. Slippery bastard."

In truth, Chloe tried to brave this route the other way around once before. While she was much more comfortable in the mountainous half—relatively speaking—as soon as she reached the sands from the other side, she gave up and turned around. Even now, as her stubbornness got the better of her, she wanted to give up again.

That was until she happened upon a number of rock formations protecting one of the scarce oases that dotted the route, presenting her with a distraction from the blistering ball of hate overhead. A small crowd of people were playing like children in the water, campsites not far away. As Chloe neared the pond, one dweller jabbed his hand in. He yelped and leapt back, pulling along a stone-faced Relicanth deepthroating his fist, to the cheers and laughter of the others. Many of them were also drunk.

Ever the curious girl, it didn't take much convincing for Chloe to join the fun. She set aside her belongings and jumped in the water, enjoying the sensation for a little while as the self-proclaimed veterans explained the game.

It wasn't complicated. Dunk your hand in the water, try to catch a Pokemon, and try not to get hurt in the process. Getting hurt was generally the fun part, however, as far as they were concerned. The water wasn't perfectly clear, and the wet sand at the bottom further obscured anything below the surface as the Pokemon and humans kicked it about, so the game ended up being an exciting knee-deep dive that turned into a local pasttime.

Chloe's first attempts filled her hands with nothing but mud, as the more experienced "players" were dragging up various Pokemon. Luxio, in the meantime, was dunking his face in the water to similarly poor results, but at least he was having fun. She was going to have to clean him later. After maybe half an hour, Chloe snatched up a Clamperl herself. She was happy to pet its shell and toss it back in the water.

She took a short break at the water's edge, Luxio having already deterred most of the drunks from chatting her up too much. Taking in the shade of one of the rocky outcroppings, Chloe thought to herself that maybe the desert wasn't all that bad.

Then she remembered the hell that was the rest of the desert and changed her mind.

Rejoining the game a short while later, Chloe failed a few more times. Soon though, as her hand pierced the water, her entire body shuddered uncontrollably, and she knew she had one. It was a familiar sensation to her; Luxio didn't always have the best control over his electricity. She grabbed and yanked with all her might, and out of the water splashed a Stunfisk, angry and still trying to shock her into letting go.

Loud cheers came from the audience at another successful catch, some of them raising bottles and cans of beer in celebration. One other player next to Chloe, however, went to congratulate her personally. Telling her how annoying Stunfisk were to keep a grip on, he plopped a wet hand on her shoulder. Naturally, it didn't go over well.

With a high-pitched squeal, Chloe reflexively twisted herself about and swung the Stunfisk clean into the local's torso. In a stroke of good timing, Stunfisk had flicked its own body at just the right moment, drastically increasing the power of Chloe's maneuver. Not just electrified by the Pokemon, the drunk was sent skipping across the water like a pebble, unceremoniously stopping near the opposite end of the oasis and sinking into the mud.

He was fine, but his friends weren't going to let him live it down for a long time.

Chloe tried to apologize to Stunfisk for the rough treatment, but the flounder seemed oddly elated to have its face used as a blunt weapon. It started panting slightly as it gestured and insisted on Chloe smacking the others with it. It was making Chloe uncomfortable, so Stunfisk didn't join her team at the end of the day. Yet, for some reason, even getting rejected made it a little happy.

gimmepie · Nov 3, 2021

Indra (Male, Swift Swim) - Rain Dance, Hypnosis, Bubblebeam, Double Slap, Earth Power, Refresh

Stampede (Male, Poison Point) - Hydro Pump, Smokescreen, Twister, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Icy Wind

Holo (Female, Lightning Rod) - Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Spark, Howl, Flame Burst, Flash

Vessel (Female, Dry Skin) - Fury Cutter, Absorb, Poison Powder, Spore, Rain Dance, Protect

Lancer (Male, Dry Skin) - Taunt, Revenge, Sucker Punch, Poison Jab, Rain Dance, Toxic

Inventory:

- ATC
- Expensive PokeGear
- Pokedex
- 800 Poke (On ATC)
- TM Icy Wind
- TM Flash
- Wishing Star
- TM Protect
- TM Rain Dance

Badges:

CATHERINE CARLISLE
One Rung at a Time

While the first part of Route Six had been hellish, the flat sandy desert had nothing on what came during the second half of the route. The heat remained, as brutal and unrelenting as ever, but the flat landscape was replaced by craggy mountains.

It was there that Catherine was now reaching. Thankfully, she had managed to avoid any more near fainting spells. Her method of switching to multiple shorter training sessions throughout the day had proven effective. Now they were doing a few hours after waking up and a few before going to bed.

Of course, she still had to travel through the heat in the daytime. She also was still not getting enough sleep really. But without trying to manage training in the midday heat, it had certainly gotten easier. She hadn't run into that aggressive Drapion again either.

That wasn't to say that her problems had run out though. Catherine hadn't gotten far into the mountainous part of the route when she encountered a new difficulty.

The footpaths through this part of Route 6 relied on a network of ladders to climb from different flat segments of elevation to those higher or lower. Otherwise people would have to try to go around the mountains or climb up sheer drops all the time. With the heat in this part of Galar, that was already asking a lot. But here, Catherine could see that many of the ladders were badly damaged.

A set of fold-up gazebos were set up not too far from the first set of ladders. Under the meager shade they provided, Catherine could see a group of workers drinking from water bottles, napping with magazines or newspapers over their faces or otherwise battling the heat. She guessed that they were responsible for repairing the damage.

"Hey!" Catherine called to them as she walked over, a few of them looking up in a heat-induced stupor. "Are you meant to be fixing the ladders?"

"In theory." A bulky woman nearby said, fanning herself with a book. The machop sitting cross-legged at her feet grimaced.

That was a response that didn't bode well for Catherine's travel plans. "What do you mean in theory?"

"It's too hot. Work regulations say we have to wait for the temperature to go down before we're allowed to continue. Unfortunately, the temperature spiked suddenly and the new forecast says that it's not going to actually be cool enough during the day for us to continue working for another few days. Maybe all week. So we're stuck doing little bits and pieces during the early morning and evening before it's too dark."

"This is why they should use metal not wood for this shit!" One of the men who was reading some sort of magazine barked.
One of his coworkers was quick to respond. "People'd melt their hands off trying to climb metal ladders in this heat dumbass."

"Oh. Right," the first man said.

Catherine visibly winced at the stupidity the first guy had displayed before focusing her attention back at the woman. She gave the vibe that she was in charge, or at the very least smart enough to actually have a reasonable conversation with.

"Why don't you have any Pokemon with Rain Dance with you? Couldn't you stay cool while you worked by changing the weather around you?"

The woman smiled wanly. "That would certainly help with the temperature a bit, but then we'd have a different problem. Working on those cliffs in the rain would be too dangerous. Too much risk of slipping and falling."

She had a point, unfortunately. Still, Catherine had to pass. It wasn't just her either, there was bound to be more trainers behind her following the same way through the area. That meant a bunch of other people would also be caught at a standstill.

Catherine reached for Indra's Pokeball, releasing the Poliwhirl to stand at her side. Indra waved happily at those around him, earning a few gruff nods from the workers and their own Pokemon - and a few more raised eyebrows.

"You can't work in the rain," Catherine supplied, "But you can cool off a lot quicker under it if it's kept far enough away from the ladders. Indra, can you go out from under here and whip up a few rain clouds? Just keep close to here so it doesn't rain on the cliffs."

Indra saluted, dashing out from under the gazebo. A moment later, the sunlight around where the workers were camped out was dampening and droplets of rain were peppering the ground and the roofs above them.

"Well thanks," the woman said, "That will help give us a bit of relief at least. I'm Debra, you got a name?"

"Catherine." Catherine looked out at the ladders, more focused on the problem at hand. She noticed that several stacks of different lengths of wood and little cloth bags that likely contained nails and tools were resting at the edges of the cliffs. "Are those your building materials?"

"They are. Why?" Debra asked.

"Because I'm not bound by your company regulations," Catherine said, "I'll go and start work. Once the rain has your thermometers dropped low enough, you can start cycling smaller groups in and out to work too. That way nobody is exposed to the heat too long and you're technically not violating the rules because everything will show a lower temperature."

"You really shouldn't do t-"

Catherine raised a hand, silencing the forewoman's objection. "I have to be in Stow-on-Side soon and there's an entire rush of trainers behind me who are going to get here soon and be cut off because the maintenance on these ladders was ordered way too late. Unless you want to deal with an unreasonable mob of angry gym challengers, I suggest you run with my idea."

Debra looked at Catherine stunned. She moved her mouth to speak a few times, perhaps not liking being told what to do by some stranger. It seemed like she couldn't fault the argument though.

"Right then." Catherine reached for two more Pokeballs, releasing Vessel and Lancer as Indra returned to the inside of the gazebo. "Vessel, you stay here and keep this rain going non-stop. Indra and Lancer, congratulations you've just become my personal construction crew."

Before Debra could register any further complaints, Catherine headed out through the rain to get to work.

Manual labor wasn't easy. Especially when you weren't someone with a lot of experience working with your hands. Catherine was sure she, Indra and Lancer looked utterly ridiculous to the assembled workers.

She wasn't keeping track of the time, but she knew it took her and her team a while to get into the rhythm of the repair work. First step was to identify if the problems were the small rungs, or the larger supporting beams. The small rungs were an easy enough fix, they just had to remove any old remnants from the previous ones - nails or broken wood, then hammer in a new rung. If the supporting beams were damaged, an entirely new ladder had to be built. Luckily, it seemed that the materials for building were specifically made to easily fit together. It was like flatpack furniture.

Catherine had sent Lancer into the rain to make sure his skin didn't get too painfully dry part way through their second ladder. She was on her third ladder now, drenched with sweat with her hair plastered to her face when the first wave of laborers, led by Debora, finally exited their shelter and got to work.

"Not too bad newbie," Debora said, climbing up to Catherine's level and admiring her handy work. "I think we'll have to redo some of your earlier ones, but these are mostly alright. You should take a break now, go join that grumpy croagunk of yours before he knocks out one of our crew Pokemon or something."
"He doesn't like it when attention is drawn to his weaknesses, but he's going to have to live with his Dry Skin Ability limiting the time he can spend out in the desert heat without rain."

"Fair enough," Debra replied.

"I'll finish this ladder and then go keep him company."

It was grueling work, and Catherine was quickly finding herself extremely tired. Her head was starting to spin ominously again at times, but she pushed through, cycling in and out with the team that followed Debora's - the second of three.

The day was nearly through when they finally had enough of the ladders in that section of the route fixed up enough to make the area traversable. The sun was setting as the third team was just finishing up their ladders before calling it a day.

"You know, I've finally placed who you are." Debora approached Catherine. Of everyone present, Debora had spoken to her the most, but that still wasn't much. People were mostly focused on the task at hand. That suited Catherine fine. "You made it obvious you were one of the gym trainers, I should have realised sooner with all the rain."

"So?" Catherine asked.

"I guess, meeting you in person, you're not quite what I expected. On TV, especially after your Kabu battle, you seemed like the sort who'd give us shit for not doing our jobs and keep badgering us until we asked you to leave. I never would have guessed you'd just up and start doing our jobs for us."

"What are you getting at?" Catherine replied.

"I think you're good people," Debora said, "You're bossy and a hardass, but you've got a good head on your shoulders. Makes me think that when you told Kabu you were going to make things better you actually meant it."

"I did," Catherine said.

Deborah nodded and handed her a small bag, one of the ones that had previously contained nails. "Not exactly gift wrapping, but you've earned a reward."

"I don't want a reward. Doing something for a reward defeats the purpose of doing something good to begin with."

Debora laughed. "Kid, you didn't even know there was a reward for helping us. We didn't either. That's my own Heavy Ball in there and Bobby supplied the TM."

"Maybe but-"

Debora held up a hand to Catherine and silenced her. She bent down and placed the bag into Indra's hands before getting back up to look Catherine in the eyes. "No arguing. Just make good use of that gear somehow. Now you better get going before it gets too dark to climb those ladders. I'll be cheering for your rude ass."

Catherine sighed, but nodded. "I'll be on my way then."

Obtained 1x Heavy Ball
Obtained TM Rock Climb

Aquacorde · Nov 4, 2021

#111 - Ryan Hahn

► Stage 13: Double Trouble

THE LATTER HALF OF ROUTE 6

Ryan was honestly glad to be in the more mountainous half of the route. At least here there was more shelter from the blazing sun, if she skirted the cliffs at an angle, and far less of the energy drain that came with slogging through sand. She would be finding it all over everything she owned for weeks, she was sure- including her Pokémon, which was going to be annoying. Henriette probably shouldn't have been practising by driving psychic force into sand drifts as they walked.

Oh well.

The cliffs were more interesting to climb, too. Ladders both functional and derelict had been subject to her scampering around, though now that Maximilian was walking with her, she could only pass them by. Nidorino weren't exactly great climbers, even if he was becoming a great runner. Once Leonidas' day came in the rotation, though- they wouldn't even need to rely on the ladders for exploring!

For the moment though, Maximilian's day was coming to a close. The sun had retreated low in the sky, casting the cliffs of this side into a deep gloom under the orange sky. Soon, it would be time to make camp. The day's walking had already made Ryan feel rather heavy … Well, something was making Ryan feel heavy. Must have just been the heat, surely, it couldn't have been the case that the air had actually become so dense. Right? She vaguely recalled something about atmospheric pressure being different at high altitudes, but- it couldn't be noticeable all of a sudden, could it? And wait, that wasn't not even the same as gravity- was it?

Whatever the case, it was making her feel like she was dragging her legs over the shifting sands again- each step more effort, draining more of her energy. Even Maximilian was shuffling along, footsteps thudding heavy on the path.

The path which ran straight into a sheer cliff face, decorated by a broken ladder.

"Well that's some bullshit," Ryan observed mildly. She could scale it easily, she knew, but Maximilian wouldn't be able to. And with this weird weight bearing down on them, she didn't really want to go for it.

Maybe they just needed a break. Ryan ventured to the left, toward a little alcove with some angular rock formation. It was curious, actually- the rock didn't quite blend into its surroundings. It was as if it didn't belong to these cliffs, not with its particular coloration and regular shape.

It quickly became apparent that it indeed did not belong here.

The big Stonjourner peered down at Ryan intensely, one plodding footstep cutting her off. The Stonjourner didn't have to say anything to make it apparent that it wouldn't care much to have her walk between its legs as if it were a gateway. It looked between Ryan and Maximilian silently, and didn't seem keen on getting out of the way.

"What, you wanna fight? Let's go, Max!"

Maximilian charged forward toward a solid leg, horn gleaming. The Stonjourner took the hit in perfect stoicism but didn't hit back. It was looking past Ryan now, expectantly.

"Ryan Hahn. Fancy meeting you out here." It was a deep voice from some ways behind, the kind of voice that might drone apathetically over footage of a prey mon being ripped to shreds. Ryan whipped around to see a man- a tall man in a big coat, facing her down with an aura of expectation.

"Look, if you're a fan, there's more normal ways to get an autograph," Ryan huffed, propping her hands on her hips. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The hood of the man's coat was up, despite the heat, and his face was covered by both a handkerchief and a pair of dark sunglasses. "I'm a Trainer like you, Ryan," he said simply. "So what I want is a battle." Ryan felt the Stonjourner looming threateningly behind her. The air was still unusually heavy. "I take it you'll oblige?"

A battle? It was a reasonable request, even if this was a strange way to go about challenging her. Ryan shrugged. "Game on, weird dude! What's your format?"

"I could go for a Double." The man took a ball from his pocket and lobbed it forward to send a stout Rhyhorn into the fray. The Stonjourner, however, didn't step forward to join its presumed companion. Instead, a small black shape zipped between its legs, around Maximilian, and past Ryan. The little Rolycoly took the field to the Rhyhorn's left, its orange eye glowing in the dimness of the cliff's shadow. "Stonjourner won't be participating," the hooded man clarified. "Don't worry, he's not giving out his Power Spot either. That would be cheating."

"No kidding." Ryan motioned Maximilian forward and chose Genevieve to join him- she hadn't tested Leonidas or Henriette in doubles, yet, and for some reason she felt unwilling to lose. This guy's vibes were definitely skeevy. Her eyes darted to the stoic Stonjourner suspiciously. "Does he have to loom like this then?"

"Mons his size don't get to come out and watch all the time, you wouldn't want to begrudge him the show would you?" For its part, the Stonjourner seemed less interested in watching the field than in staring a hole in the back of Ryan's head, but apparently Hood had decided that was the end of the discussion. "You two, Rock Polish," he said quickly. Rhyhorn and Rolycoly shivered in place and glimmered with white sparkles. The sky was stark orange, the rock of the cliff under it coming orange as well in the shade.

"Max, Disable the Rhyhorn's! Vivi, Double Kick!"

Maximilian's eyes flashed blue while Genevieve darted between their opponents, kicking into the Rhyhorn's side and using that force to propel her up to slam a foot into the nearby Rolycoly. The little mon took the hit head-on, skidding back a touch but none the worse for wear. The Rhyhorn hadn't reacted to the kick particularly much at all, but was shaking its head in frustration under the Disable.

"Splitting a multi-hit? Interesting tactic," Hood hummed, "if reckless. Take Nidorina with you! Smokescreen!" Rolycoly revved its wheel and dashed in a smoking blur, dragging a black curtain across the field behind which it, Genevieve, Rhyhorn, and Hood himself disappeared from Ryan's view. Genevieve had seemed to be moving a tiny bit slower than the norm, so the strange weight in the air was affecting her too and wasn't just Ryan's imagination apparently, but why didn't it seem to be doing anything to Hood's mons? "Rhyhorn, take aim at your target!" That Hood neglected to specify a target probably wasn't a good enough reason to think Rhyhorn wasn't following that order somewhere in the smoke cloud.

She had to assume it could see in there, somehow- and hopefully that meant her Nidos could as well. "Double Kick, both at the Rhyhorn!" It seemed like the strongest of the pair, after all- better to get it out of the way before it did too much damage. Ryan stepped toward the cloud as Maximilian disappeared into it as well, the weight in the air slowing his charge just a fraction. Ryan's brow furrowed. Was this something Hood was doing, then, if he and his Pokémon were unaffected?

The audible crack-smack of Double Kick came out of the cloud and then Hood's voice boomed through it like a foghorn. "Drill Run!" Maximilian shot backwards from the cloud where he'd just gone in with a crash of noise, tumbling clumsily away from where he'd been hit so hard that the cloud rippled away from Rhyhorn like a black ring. The smoke dispersed more fully to show Rolycoly standing behind Genevieve, looking up at the back of her head with a baleful orange eye. "Smack Down!" Rolycoly shot a gold stone at the back of Genevieve's head that smacked her face-down to the ground.

Fucking Drill Run?! She should have had Maximilian Disable that- their training to lock down multiple moves wasn't yet reliable- and the danger was obvious in the way that the Nidorino struggled to get his feet back under him and haul himself to standing once more. The Stonjourner loomed close behind her, still, and Ryan grit her teeth against the prickling feeling of being trapped.

"Double-Double Kick!"

Maximilian charged forward to stomp the Rhyhorn's face away with one forefoot and follow through with the other while Genevieve picked herself up and aimed a spinning kick at its flank.

"Horn Attack, push them off!" Rhyhorn took the hits, seeming to be wearing down, but at Hood's order it snorted and scythed its glowing horn around. It spun about, bucking and kicking, backing Genevieve off and then planting its feet to rush at Maximilian, head down. "Smokescreen up." Rolycoly wrapped the scene again, all four mons beginning to disappear as Rhyhorn made contact.

"Brace, Max, brace! Match the Horn Attack!" The scrape and scuff of hooves on the dirt path gave her some hope that the command was being followed. "Vivi, give him a Helping Hand!"

Genevieve got behind Maximilian and braced, shining hands on his rear to give him her weight and her power so his own gleaming horn could cross Rhyhorn's and push back. The impact rang out as the smoke came down and then things grew strangely quiet, with only indistinct grunting to be heard. Shortly, the smoke cleared again to show the Nidos holding their ground against the Rhyhorn, Maximilian's horn held high against Rhyhorn's. The Rhyhorn wasn't that much larger than Maximilian, but all the same the Rock shoved hard, eyes intense, and it was all the Nidos could do to hold their ground. At least until Hood broke the stalemate. "Rapid Spin Nidorina, kick it out."

Rolycoly was circling the scene swiftly, like a nasty little satellite, and it drew close on Genevieve, spinning like a top, orange eye streaking into a ring. It glided along the ground and through the Nidorina's legs. Genevieve was knocked to the ground sideways and Maximilian, without her to brace him, was quickly overcome. Rhyhorn slipped its wide head off the lock and under Maximilian's forequarters before flinging him backwards along its spiny back to tumble to the ground.

Some clouds in the sky moved as dusk came on, and the dim orange grew dimmer. Of a sudden, the weight in the air was gone, as if it had never been there. "Come now, Ryan," Hood chided, "surely that isn't the best you can do?"

"Oh, you wanna ramp it up, weirdo? Let's go!" Ryan barked, grinding a heel into the ground and clenching her fist. "Focus Energy! Vivi, protect him!"

With Genevieve circling around to take up a defensive posture between him and their opponents, Maximilian stamped his way into a grounded, ready stance, scanning the Rock-types with intent and no small amount of rumbling growls.

"Scary Face the protector," Hood said. Rhyhorn's eyes flashed an intense red in the orange light and it sighed a black wave out over Genevieve. "And drop the curtain, Ryan doesn't need to see what's coming up."

Rolycoly started throwing smoke from its wheel again but this time it didn't wrap the other mons or the field at all. It wheeled its way between Ryan and the action, specifically leaving an opaque barrier blocking her view of the battle while the mons themselves—and Hood—retained their visibility. Stonjourner made a low noise behind Ryan: apparently it was a little disappointed that it couldn't see the action either.

Either way, that was fucking ominous.

Not being able to see meant she could do only one thing- command and hope her Pokémon could pull it off. "Shadow Claw, both of you, take out that Rhyhorn!"

The swish of the Nidos' claws being coated in ghostly energy was barely audible from where she stood. The more audible thing was Hood's command of "Juggle the Nidorina!" There was a grunt and a snarl as a raking noise reported a hit from at least one Shadow Claw, and then a thud followed by a growl that seemed to be gaining altitude before being cut short by a crack and a wet flesh-on-stone smack. The smoke cleared off in time to show that Rhyhorn was already tossing a slow-to-respond Genevieve into the air again. Rolycoly was wheeling distracting circles around Maximilian as it followed the Nidorina's flight with its eye.

"If you're gonna do that- Vivi! Twist and Double Kick it every time you come down! Max- get at the Rolycoly, I'm sick of that Smokescreen!"

She wasn't sure what she expected, but with Rolycoly zigzagging around so swiftly and Maximilian unable to keep up with it to hit it, his attempts to stop it inevitably did little. If he could make contact using his powerful back legs- but his aim was terrible. Without Genevieve to back him up, what could they do? And Genevieve… even pushing back against the Rhyhorn's attacks was clearly wearing on her. Maybe it was better to bring her down, support Maximilian, try to keep away and Endure. But then what?

Hood made a sort of grunt and Rhyhorn abruptly backed off to let Genevieve land. "Scary Face Nidorina again, Rolycoly start potshotting Nidorino!" Rhyhorn's eyes flashed and it sighed its black light. Genevieve was noticeably slower than she ought to be. Meanwhile, Rolycoly spun about and started wheeling backwards to throw a golden stone into Maximilian's face where he was trying to catch it. The impact to the skull buckled Maximilian's front legs, and Genevieve's sluggish steps faltered before she could nudge her partner to his feet. She leaned heavily on the Nidorino, and Ryan could finally see the toll the "juggling" took on her.

And the Rhyhorn wasn't even down.

There really wasn't much she could do, was there? She was only ever able to fall back on brute force, the same few moves and strategy. And maybe it was just her own self-doubt, but Hood seemed to know that as well. And with another round of Double Kicks—both of Genevieve's were too slow to land, and only one of Maximilian's hit—Hood decided to lay in.

"Juggle Nidorino now, keep them separate!" The Nidos had come apart a little to try their attacks, and Rhyhorn forced itself between them, shoving Maximilian away from his partner across its wide head before bucking the Nidorino airborne. Rolycoly lined up a Smack Down and brought Maximilian crashing back to the ground in time for Rhyhorn to peel him off the floor again and repeat the trick. Rhyhorn and Rolycoly moved quite quickly, but Genevieve by comparison seemed as if she was walking through molasses: the Rocks were easily playing keep away with Maximilian, as if he were a hapless, purple hackey sack. Stonjourner hummed in approval behind Ryan.

"Shut your mouth," she snapped back at it. "Genevieve! Help him!"

But nothing the sluggish Nidorina did could break the synchronization. Rhyhorn just bashed Maximilian a little to the side each time he came down, and that was enough to keep distance from Genevieve. Rolycoly, for its part, was far and away the fastest mon on the field, so Genevieve had no chance of catching up to it either. Poor Maximilian was so disoriented by the maneuver that he could do little more than moan as he was mercilessly dribbled. Before much longer, Maximilian would be properly out of the fight, incapacitated if not outright unconscious, and the Rocks would just start juggling Genevieve to seal the deal. And then what? They wouldn't juggle Ryan after that, right?

"Running out of time to make something happen, Ryan."

"Why, got somewhere to be?" came immediately, but she had no business being so cocky. He was right. And realistically, Maximilian was down for the count. It wasn't fair to keep putting him through that, especially when she knew she couldn't break through.

The artificial sounds of the PokéBall cut into the fight, rescuing Maximilian from the endless beatdown. "Genevieve, Double Kick!"

Both Rocks backed off from Genevieve as she wound up, and easily ducked away from her slow movements. "Juggle," Hood said. After a moment longer to make sure Genevieve's attempt was up, Rhyhorn darted forward and sent her airborne for Rolycoly to return her down. "Ryan," Hood said dangerously, peering at her with his faceless face instead of at the mons on the field, "you don't want to lose to me."

Ryan kicked at some loose pebbles. "Not really, no. But what can I do, huh?" She watched Genevieve get thrown and bashed down again and again, and when the Nidorina takes a familiar stance, she clicks her PokéBall as well. "You won, weird guy."

Rhyhorn and Rolycoly fixed Ryan with a blank gaze. The orange of the sky had begun to turn blue. Ryan felt Stonjourner staring at her. "If I win," Hood said darkly, "you owe a reward."

He took a heavy step forward and the sound of it was the heaviest thing Ryan had experienced all evening. Rolycoly's eye was like an ember. The air wasn't heavy like it had been, but the weight of the situation was palpable.

"No deal, buddy, we never agreed to anything like that." Ryan's involuntary half step back ran her right into the Stonjourner's solid form. The sensation of being trapped skittered along her spine.

"Ryan, I know you know"—another step forward with another heavy sound—"how battles work among Trainers. The loser"—and another step, he was getting closer and his hands looked like claws, wiry with hooked fingers—"has to pay up!" Hood tilted forward and lunged into a sprint for Ryan, arms out wide like Bouffalant horns. She skipped left, ducking under those long arms and realizing- there was nowhere to run. The broken ladder that had prompted her stop was still broken, and the cliffs would have to be scaled. A starting point, she needed a starting point-

She whirled around toward thudding steps and locked onto the Stonjourner, and this time what she saw was a foothold, a handhold, a flat surface- yes.

"What—?!" was all the more Hood got out as he watched Ryan gain verticality. Stonjourner was so surprised at the maneuver that it teetered clear over as Ryan kicked off of it. In a trice, Ryan had made it to the top of the cliff thanks to Stonjourner's boost. The Rocks looked up at her with various expressions of disbelief, but Hood's face looking up at her was unreadable.

"You know what?" Ryan called down, triumph making her inordinately bold once more. "Take a reward, creepy!" Out of her backpack, she pulled a bar of soap, and with decent aim nailed Hood in the eponymous hood just as he took a step toward her. "Wash your vile self before you come at me next time! Nasty man! Don't follow me!"

And with that, she put her mind to running across the uneven clifftops before Hood got any more ideas. "Ryan! Ryan Hahn!" The man's roar followed in her wake as she made her escape, the night coming on as the shouting grew quieter and quieter, less distinct, the hollow noise of the lonely cliffs.

art & css by me - sprites from the pokémon database ◄
ryan's profile and post log ◄
with Orx as Tim ◄

◄

Foxrally · Nov 5, 2021

Aurora Yan

Gem

Mia

Rio

Spoiler: Memories

Blackspear Office - Motostoke

Aurora stared at her own reflection in the elevator mirror. Was the ride to the upper floors of the Blackspear office always this agonizingly slow? No matter which city she was in; Turffield, Motostoke, Wyndon, all the office buildings were like replicas of each other. She'd memorized the exact position of every gaudy painting, every innocuous security camera, every spearmint-flavoured-air-freshener in the identical, maze-like hallway layouts.

She hated it.

It had been about a month now since the Pinsir incident. Everything had gone back to normal almost immediately; either that, or she hadn't been told anything about a post-mission brief. She didn't expect any less from Blackspear, it would be ridiculous for them to waste a second of precious business time on losing an employee; but it was jarring how quickly she'd been told to return to business as usual. Even Zelkova, who had essentially spent half a year convincing the executives to test his little 'pet project', had barely given a hint of remorse at how things had gone that day. Under all the smiling and nonchalance, was there no ounce of regret?

As the girl continued to look at her own reflection, she clutched the stack of papers in her hands a little tighter; a creeping feeling of dread growing inside her. Here she was, accusing Zelkova of being so emotionless… how hypocritical. All she had to do was look at herself. The perfect, calm, collected look on the outside, never questioning an order, putting the interest of the company above all else; this was the person she had to be in Blackspear. Unwavering, precise, cold. This was what this company did to a person. She'd seen it happen to Simon, and tried to stop it. After working with them for so long… was she even herself anymore?

The doors to the elevator finally opened and the girl breathed a sigh of relief; eager to put those thoughts away. In the end, these moments of self-reflection only served to distract her from what mattered. Aurora stepped into the hallway and headed to her manager's office.

Surprisingly, Zelkova's office door was closed. She took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock, before suddenly hearing his voice beckoning her from inside:

"Come in, miss Yan!"

The young woman froze for a second, startled, before collecting herself - right, the stupid Accelgor. She opened the door.

Clad in his usual white vest and tie, Zelkova was sitting at his desk, casually typing away on his laptop with one hand while the other rested atop his faithful Nincada, caressing its head as it waved its antennae towards the newcomer. The massive black desk looked a little messy and was littered with various folders, all labeled with codes Aurora didn't recognize, and beside them were a few neatly arranged Pokeballs as well as a white coffee mug. One of the balls was open; and as Aurora looked into the room she spotted the other Pokemon standing a few feet from the entrance; an Accelgor. The bug was completely motionless, like a statue keeping guard, but its eyes tailed her as she stepped in.

"I have the reports you requested, sir."

"Ah, wonderful, wonderful." Zelkova took a sip from his mug and ushered her in. "Please place them beside the red folders here."

Aurora walked up and put the stack of papers down on the desk, catching a glimpse of the man's computer. "I take it you've been busy."

"Yes, yes, I've been quite occupied with this latest project. It's only in its beginning stages, but I feel it will be extremely fruitful for our company, if all goes well." he said cheerfully. "Much more than our last project, I'd say."

Aurora paused for a moment. If she was going to ask this, she needed to do it now. "If I may ask, sir... Do you plan on doing anything about Pearburgh?"

Zelkova's eyes looked up from the computer screen and scanned Aurora, and the girl could sense his demeanor shift. "I'm aware he's alive."

As Aurora opened her mouth to say something, Zelkova spoke again. "You're quite good at reserving your emotions, dear, but I can tell you're fond of him. No need to hide your surprise."

The girl furrowed her brow, "He betrayed our organization in a most critical moment, destroyed priceless research and endangered several of our agents' lives, sir."

Zelkova chuckled, "I'm impressed by your display of loyalty. Believe me, that'll get you far in Blackspear." He moved away from his computer and lifted his hand off the Nincada, taking a moment to stretch. "But to answer your question, nothing yet. The board has made it clear that I cannot spend any more resources on this cleanup than I have to- at least for now. He's a barely tolerable nuisance; we aren't worried about him tattling to the authorities or the press, and we've stripped him of any Blackspear resources, after all."

The man smirked, "And we largely have you to thank for that, don't we? If not for your Elgyem's resourceful extraction of Dark Ball 86 on that day, we may very well have been forced to chase after him."

"Only doing my duty, sir." Aurora nodded.

"But…" Zelkova stood up and began pacing slowly, "We'll have to eliminate him eventually. Giving it some time will probably help."

The young woman's expression shifted. "...will that be necessary, sir?"

"Naturally. You know how Blackspear hates leaving loose ends. We can't just leave him alive." he spoke matter-of-factly.

Aurora's mind raced as she thought of what to say. "In... that case, sir, I would like to request that this task be assigned to me. He trusts me the most, and I would be able to eliminate him swiftly and without trace."

Zelkova shook his head, "A good point, but no. As much as I trust you, dear, I won't run the risk of sentimentality ruining such a job, however good you are at repressing it."

"But sir, I would insist that-"

"I've given you my decision, girl." Zelkova cut her off abruptly and approached her. "Now are you asking me or are you telling me?"

"It was not my intent to disrespect your authority, sir." Aurora responded quietly, avoiding the man's stare.

"Miss Yan… were you under the impression that these high-importance missions being assigned to you actually give you any decision-making power? You will follow Blackspear's orders and nothing else." he placed a creeping hand on her shoulder. "Or have you forgotten about your mother's implication in all of this, dear?"

Aurora tensed up. She stayed quiet for a moment, holding her breath. "N-no, sir. I have not."

"As I thought." Zelkova patted her back softly. "That scientist has already done wonders for Blackspear with her technology, and our red shadow experiments have nearly tripled in quantity since her arrival. And to think your family was so reluctant to work with us at first… quite incredible, don't you think?"

Aurora remained silent.

Zelkova chuckled, "I've been keeping an eye on that younger brother of yours, Victor - I believe he'll make quite the successor for your mother when the time comes. And- oh!" He stopped as a loud ringing came from his pocket. He checked his phone. "It seems I have to take this call. You're dismissed, dear." he waved her off. The Accelgor in the corner of the room appeared before Aurora, pointing menacingly at the door.

Without another word, the young woman nodded and exited the office, hearing the door lock behind her, doing her best to remain calm.

Wherever Simon was now, she had to reach him.

LinearAxel · Nov 5, 2021

https://www.pokecommunity.com/showpost.php?p=10221288&postcount=14

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Melody Argent

Nightshot (Doom Noodle)

Spike

Piper

Ren

Celeste

Annabelle

Blue

Bishop

Spoiler: Inventory

Route 6 - Desert

"I take back everything nice I said about the sun," Melody grumbled as she trudged her way through the desert. Nightshot cast a confused glance in her direction, recalling that she already renounced any fondness she once held for the sun.

"Kloak?" he asked.

"--you know what I mean," Melody said with an exasperated sigh. At least the pair of Pokemon she was walking with didn't seem to mind the heat. Spike was even napping, rather peacefully, on Nightshot's head - must be nice to be coldblooded, she thought, at least in instances like this.

Nightshot gave a soft hiss that almost sounded like laughter before floating over Melody's head. It wasn't much, but it did provide a tiny amount of shade from the glowing sky ball of hate.

"Thanks, li'l- oh, I guess you're not a li'l dude anymore, huh?"

Nightshot grinned as his lower body wriggled in response, as he didn't want to shake his head and risk waking the baby. The trio continued their trek through the sands a bit longer before a shrill trill got their attention. Several feet away lay an oasis with some vegetation; shrubs and palm trees, and even a small pond, and next to that oasis were a pair of Yamask who were angrily staring one another down. The Pecha berry between the pair seemed to be the cause of the problem.

Before Nightshot thought to intervene, a third, larger Yamask appeared and pushed the pair away from each other. It then reached out to grasp the fruit and pulled it apart, dividing it in half before giving one half to each of the smaller Yamasks.

At first, Melody believed the third Yamask to be shiny, as its eyes were a different color. That was, until she realized that not only were its eyes different, but it wasn't carrying a slab either. Instead, it was carrying a mask with a haunting face on it. Oh! That was the Unovan variant.

As the Unovan Yamask motioned for the two smaller ghosts to hug and make up, Melody's eyes narrowed. For a few seconds, she'd seen a glimmer of a human woman behind the Unovan Yamask; a matronly woman... Had she been out in the heat for too long? Clearly, the sun disliked her as much as she disliked it. Or… was that her 'third eye' trying to open again, like in the Wild Area, where she'd seen Annabelle as a Jigglypuff? If that was it, why didn't she see anything coming off the two smaller Yamasks?

Melody slowly made her way towards a large, jagged stone that was casting a shadow over the oasis, hoping to get a bit closer. If that face was a mirage created from being out in the sun too long, hunkering down in the shade for a bit might help her sunburned brain.

As she made her way under the rock, she came to realize another figure was there. A familiar figure, wearing a very familiar-looking mask, was standing in the shade and watching the Yamask family. It was one Stow-on-Side's gym leaders! "Isn't that mask kind of hot, Allister?" Melody asked.

The figure bristled slightly in surprise at the sudden voice and quickly spun around. His arms rose up before dropping back to their sides once the shock wore off. "Oh! S-sorry. I didn't see you there." The boy tilted his head just slightly as he looked at Melody and her Drakloak. "Hey, y-you're… Melody Argent, right? You're a challenger..."

"Last I checked," Melody replied with a brief nod. "Are those Yamask yours?"

Allister shook his head. "I'm just… observing," he explained. "See, Unovan Yamask shouldn't be here… i-it's illegal to breed them. They might… mess with the ecosystem." The gym leader turned back to look at the two younger Yamasks, now happily eating their berries. "But they don't… s-seem to be… causing a problem… they look… really h-happy… with our Yamask. Some even… started families."

"What's the big deal with Unovan Yamask?" Melody asked. "They don't look all that different." It's not like throwing a Kantonean Vulpix into a den of Alolan Vulpix, where the Kantonean Vulpix could melt their entire icy ecosystem with minimal effort. They're all ghosts.

"Well… see how the Unovan Yamask is carrying that mask on her tail? That's her face from when she was... alive. Ours carry a cursed slab instead. I don't… think our Yamask were people before they died. N-not all of them, anyway. Ghosts are usually born when-"

The moment of quiet was abruptly cut short as another human figure burst out of the bushes, scaring away the three Yamasks as they floated away in a panic. The trainer was huffing, and looked like he was carrying several other Pokemon on his shoulders; a Vivillon, Mothim and Joltik were all perched on him, as a Snom continuously pelted him with weak blasts of cold.

"Finally… some... WATER!" he called out triumphantly, before shedding off the weight of his cargo and running to the pond, dunking his head in it. The bug-types behind him all groaned in exhaustion and weakly followed, aided by a Larvesta that landed beside them. An Anorith popped out of the sand and grabbed the leftover pecha berry before noticing the other two trainers and giving them a wave.

The sudden cry caused the young gym leader to jump in surprise as Melody's head quickly turned. Red eyes lit up as her serious expression was replaced with a sincere smile. "SIMON!"

Spike slowly sat up atop Nightshot's head, the shouting pulling the Toxel from the peaceful land of sleep. He blinked blearily and looked out to see the human dunking his head in the big pool of water, letting out a small laugh.

"Is he… okay?" Allister asked.

"Yeah, he's totally fine," Melody waved her hand dismissively. Seeing the newcomer, Nightshot wiggled happily and floated over to Anorith to say hello as well. He lowered himself to tap his nose against the smaller creature as Spike returned its wave.

A muffled gurgling sound came from the pool of water before Simon finally pulled his head out, steam practically coming off of it. "Whoa, Melody?!" he called out in surprise, shaking his head as if to double check this wasn't some heatstroke thing. As he looked at the girl again, he also noticed someone standing beside her, and got up to greet the two. "YO MEL!!" Simon exclaimed, running up to them. He hadn't seen the Spikemuth girl in ages since the ceremony, and finding her in this barren desert of all places was a pretty incredible coincidence. The two high-fived excitedly.

"Long time no see- whoa, wait, is that Allister?!" As the boy looked at the gym leader, he realized who it was, especially with the mask being so distinctive. "You two are friends?!"

Melody's eyes quickly cut back to Allister, who, judging by his body posture, was maybe a bit startled by the Ultimate Hope's enthusiasm, but also looked like he was staring directly above Simon rather than at him, for some reason. Melody and the ghost boy weren't friends, they'd met roughly two minutes ago… but that sort of felt rude to say at the moment. Especially about a gym leader… who was also so terribly shy.

"Well, you know, it's… pretty cool to get to hang out with another ghost enthusiast like Allister." The punk teen explained, to which the boy gave a small nod of agreement. Melody dropped her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and looked at Simon. "How've you been, my dude? You dropped off the face of the bloody earth for a bit!"

Simon tried to shake off the feeling of star-struckness and looked at Melody. "Well I know it's been a spell since the academy, but as you can see, me and my team have been pretty busy training. I've got an all-star bug squad now, raring to battle at any moment!" He crossed his arms confidently and pointed to the Pokemon behind him, which let out a collective sigh of exhaustion as the two winged bugs struggled to lift off the ground and the others floated idly on the water. Snom hissed that if he tried to make her battle in this heat again, she'd personally freeze this desert over herself along with him.

Simon rubbed the back of his head. "Well, uh… after a bit of rest, I guess." he noted "And, um, I lost my phone in the Wild Area and only just got a new one, so, uh, sorry if I've been MIA for the past month." he smiled nervously. "How about you? I noticed Doom Noodle's not so noodle-y anymore, huh?" Simon glanced over at the Drakloak chatting away with Anorith. Larvesta had also joined them, and looked particularly interested in the fellow baby mon atop the dragon's head.

Melody considered delivering a light punch to Simon's arm and telling him that training was no excuse not to answer his phone, but the thought was quickly cast aside as she remembered Allister was here. She noticed a couple members of Simon's team were missing; though she didn't think much of it. Maybe Caterpie and Scolipiede were on a job, or just chilling in their Pokeballs away from the heat. Whatever his reason for ignoring everyone's calls in the past were, judging by Simon's bright smile and upbeat, well, Simon-ness, there was no reason to think something was wrong anymore. Rather, she let out a snicker at Snom's hiss. Whatever she'd said to him, that girl was a queen.

"We're still in this! Lil' Dude really surprised me," Melody admitted as she peered over to the group of Pokemon. Nightshot continued to swivel his lower body happily as he talked to Anorith, while Spike, also very interested in the other hatchling, had invited Larvesta to join him atop his draconic mount's head.

"That Kabu battle really was incredible to watch." Simon agreed. "People like to dog on Spikemuth and Ballonlea as gym challengers as being lost causes, but look at us- ready to take on Stow-on-side and conquer the second bracket!" Simon exclaimed, before realizing Allister was right there. "Oh, uhm, no disrespect intended, of course."

The boy in question snapped back to attention, as he'd continued to stare above Simon's head curiously. "N-no, it's… it's okay… I'm excited to see your battles as well." It was hard to tell, but Allister looked like he was smiling under his mask. "Fighting strong challengers is… something Bea and I always look forward to!"

"You bet!" Simon cheered. Then, an idea popped in his mind. Glancing back at his Pokemon, then at Melody and Allister, he tapped his chin as a glint grew in his eye. "Say… how would you feel about a friendly practice match then, Allister?" he asked. "The two of us versus you - hit us with your strongest two Pokemon. That's what I call intense training. How's that sound, Mel?"

Melody's eyes widened at the idea. "Oh, hell yeah!"

"Um…" Allister looked down at his shoes briefly. "I didn't… bring any battling Pokemon with me. I thought they might spook the Yamasks. S-sorry."

"Oh." Simon's shoulders dropped a little.

"Bummer." Melody's eagerness faded to a small frown. A battle against him would have been hype as hell. She had to admit, though, Allister had some incredible survival skills to venture into the desert by himself; spying on ghost Pokemon without any protection.

"B-but…" the gym leader began. "I'd still love to see you two battle. Y-you're both very strong challengers… I'll even toss in a reward for the winner." he added, and in that moment, Simon and Melody could tell he had a devious look in his eye.

"Now you're talking!" the bug catcher piped up again, and looked at his friend tauntingly, "I've been itching to show you just how strong I've gotten since the academy- and even more ready to take you down, ghost girl!"

"Bring it on, Bug Boy!" Melody replied with an enthusiastic smirk. Since their challenge had began, Simon was one of the few people Melody wanted to challenge - there was something about the boy from Ballonlea that always had that effect on her: The desire to battle, to get stronger, to push herself to be stronger as well as him. Somewhere along the way… she realized that she lost that ambition. And it just felt right that Simon was the first person to see that spark come back to her.

Simon looked back at the team of bugs, making a quick mental headcount. Everyone looked exhausted from the heat except for Larvesta, but he still wasn't ready to send the baby bug to battle on its own. As he tapped his chin in thought, a squeak sounded at his feet.

"Oh, Princess!" He hadn't noticed the Joltik skitter up to him. She was saying something about a scary creature in the water - probably another Relicanth, he assumed - and wanted to stay with him for now. "Aw, it's okay." he reassured, allowing her to crawl onto his arm. "How about a proper battle, then? I promise you whatever ghosts Melody's got in store are less scary than some rock fish."

The little joltik looked hesitant, but after a moment of thought, she gave a determined nod, her crown slightly sliding off her head. Simon laughed and pushed the headpiece back with his finger before turning back to Melody, "Looks like I've got my pick. What about yours?"

Melody looked back to see Nightshot still chatting away with Simon's Anorith, and he seemed content to be spending time with Spike and the baby Larvesta. She could send out Blue or Ren; both would have a clear advantage- but for such a long-awaited battle, it felt wrong to lean on just a type advantage; she wanted their battle to be memorable, and pulling out a fire-breathing dog to counter the bug-type didn't really demonstrate any skill or creativity on her part. Princess was pretty small, so… why not use a Pokemon categorized as extra-small?

Melody reached for her belt and gripped onto a Pokeball. "I think I've got a good one," she said as she tossed the ball into the air. "Let's rock, Piper!"

The ball opened to reveal her tiny jack-o-lantern mon. The Gourgeist looked around nervously, briefly surveying her surroundings before determining that everything was fine; they were in an open area, so it was unlikely that anything would get the jump on them, and they appeared to be among friends. In fact, the Pokemon they were facing… she recognized her from back home! She was the daughter of that gigantic Galvantula that controlled the mountain caves- it was both a surprise and a welcome relief to know the Princess had made it out of that horrid, shadow-pokemon-infested place safely, though even more surprising that she was fighting for a trainer now. Piper clasped her vestigial hair together in front of body and bowed respectfully to the royal bug, to which Princess blushed and bowed back. Piper then turned to Melody and nodded. She was, in fact, ready to rock!

Melody saluted the ghostly pumpkin before turning her smirk to Simon. "Ready when you are."

Both trainers put some distance between themselves and made their way to a clearing beside the oasis, deciding this would be their battlefield. Allister made his way to the center as the referee and weakly raised his arm before bringing it down. "Ready… go."

"Let's get this party started! Princess, jump in with Fury Cutter!" Simon began, throwing his arm out. "Full power!" The Joltik squeaked and ran forwards before jumping up at the floating ghost, claws glowing with light green energy.

"Piper, use Leech Seed!"

The Gourgeist opened her mouth and fired a projectile seed at the Joltik, then braced for impact. As claws scratched against her pumpkin-shaped-hide, the seed sprouted, causing vines to tangle around her opponent. Life-sapping thorns dug into the bug's sides and began to drain away at her energy. Once collected, a small portion of that energy returned to its ghostly-summoner.

Princess began to scratch away at the parasitic plant, frantically trying to get it off her side but to no avail. "Ignore the leech seed!" Simon called out, remembering how Milo had used the move too. "Prepare to get out-damaged, Mel- Princess, Fury Cutter again!" The Joltik nodded and jumped at Piper again, swinging her pincers with greater intensity.

Melody realized the glow trailing from Joltik's tiny claws was brighter this time, and remembered that Fury Cutter would grow stronger with every use-- well, every consecutive hit. Luckily, she had a solution for that: "Piper, duck down with Shadow Sneak!"

The ghostly pumpkin squeezed her eyes shut as her body lurched into the ground and seeped into her own shadow, avoiding the attack. In a blink, she shot up on the other side of the arena. "Now, use Seed Bomb!"

Piper opened her mouth once again and spat out a barrage of seeds. Rather than aiming for her opponent, however, she aimed for the area around Princess. The seeds were fired into the sand around the little Joltik before detonating, creating a decently-sized explosion which kicked up a cloud of dust into the air.

Princess sneezed as the sand blew in her face, blocking both the Pokemon's vision and Simon's outside the cloud. "Brace for a ranged attack, just like we practiced!" Simon called out, knowing Melody would take advantage of the distraction.

Melody paused; while her plan had been to use the chaos caused by the stirring sands to launch a Confuse Ray, she didn't want the risk of Simon having a counter for it. It was time for plan B. "Piper, Shadow Sneak again!"

"Nevermind- backflip!" Simon called out. Anticipating the attack, Princess did a short hop in the air, flipping herself backwards as she clutched her crown. Like a sharp helmet, the crown met Piper's ghostly hand as she struck from below, and while Princess was still thrown backwards from the impact, she left her opponent with a nasty scratch from the recoil.

Melody cringed as Piper looked down at the scratch marks on her hands. "Sorry, Piper..." She muttered. So that was a battle item and not just a fancy crown, huh? Fitting.

"And now…" Simon began, throwing his arm out, "We counterattack! Princess, use Beat Up!"

Princess nodded and let out an imposing screech, empowering herself with dark energy as she slammed a claw into the ground with authority and called for her companions to join her.

...to no response.

"Ahem." Simon crossed his arms and yelled out a bit louder for the others to hear, "I said, Beat Up!"

Still nothing. Simon sighed and turned around to see where on earth the rest of his team were… and found them still at the oasis, barely paying attention. A few tired cries came from Vivillon and Mothim, too exhausted to move. Anorith and Larvesta were still chatting away with Nightshot and Spike, and were introducing them to Snom.

Both Simon and Princess sighed, echoing a cry of 'seriously?'

Both Melody and Piper's eyes awkwardly cut to the Pokemon around them. The Gourgeist slowly turned towards her trainer and shrugged in confusion. Well then… best not look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth, Melody thought. This gave them an opening. "Piper, Trick-or-Treat!"

Piper swirled back to face her opponent and let out an otherworldly cry. Ghostly spirits began to pour out from the mouth and eyes of her Jack-O-Lantern body, wailing mournfully as they flew through Princess, one of which looked much larger and darker than the others.

Melody blinked in surprise; she didn't remember the spirits being this vocal last time she'd used this attack- nor did she remember any of the spirits appearing as a black shadowy figure. Was it because Piper had evolved?

Princess squeaked and shivered as the ghostly energy coursed through her. With her opponent momentarily stalled by the rather unique move, Melody prepared for the finishing blow; now that Princess was a ghost-type, Shadow Sneak would do some heavy damage. "Now, use Shadow Sneak one more time, Piper! And watch for the crown!" she called out, hoping that Piper would be able to maneuver around the crown by attacking from the side.

Melody looked at Simon as the Gourgeist dove into the darkness. As soon as Piper's ghosts had gotten close to him they'd naturally dissipated, but the black mass... it was still there. And it was right on top of him.

"SIMON! GET DOWN!" she shouted in a tone so urgent that Piper leaped out of her shadow in shock, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to hit a target.

Simon recoiled momentarily from the shout, ducking and looking around him frantically and nearby jumping out of his shoes himself. A few seconds later, he looked back at Melody, "Is… is it gone?! What happened?!"

"What?! No! It's right there!" Melody shouted as she pointed to the black shadow hovering around Simon's shoulder. Why was he acting like he couldn't see it? It was right in his face!

Simon looked at where the girl was pointing and stood back up, confused. "Yo, Mel… there's nothing there." He sighed, looking slightly annoyed that Mel had used trick-or-treat ghosts as a way to distract him. "Don't scare me like that!"

Piper looked at Melody and then at Simon. Her Jack-o-lantern's eyes began to glow and her expression turned to an incredibly sad one, "Gour-" She began as she turned to her trainer, but before she could even try to explain what her trainer was seeing, the little shadow flitted away from Simon and darted towards Melody. "GOURGEIST!" Piper cried out.

Melody's arms crossed over her stomach as she braced for impact-- one that never came. The black shadow vanished mere inches away from her body, leaving the punk teen to stare blankly at the ground in front of her.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" Simon's expression shifted to concern as he stepped towards her. "You like you've…"

"...seen a ghost." Allister finished the sentence. "A s-spirit, to be precise."

Melody's shoulders relaxed slightly. She nodded as Piper began to float towards her with a worried look. "Y-yeah..." the punk teen stammered. "It was hanging around Simon's head." It wasn't like the glimpses she had seen before: this was a shapeless mass rather than a silhouette of a person or a Pokemon, and it hung around significantly longer than the blink-and-you'll-miss-it Jigglypuff that used to be Annabelle, or the woman that showed up beside that Yamask. "...I don't think it liked the fact I could see it."

"D-don't worry… I could see it too, earlier." Allister reassured Melody, then looked at the trainer in question. "It's… been f-floating around you this whole time, Simon."

"What?!" the bug catcher exclaimed in shock, "You're telling me there's been a ghost near my head this whole time- and you two didn't say anything?!"

"W-well it happens a lot, s-so I didn't think much of it, s-sorry…" Allister replied meekly.

Simon realized he was being a little rude to the gym leader and lowered his voice. "U-um, sorry- how long has it been there? Did it say anything? Ghosts can't hurt people, right?" Simon asked again, a little nervous that this was another Dusknoir and Spiritomb situation.

"It's a spirit, and n-no, it can't really speak or interact with our world. Spirits are the e-essence of ghost-types... but they're bound to the land of the dead. They're attracted to spiritual energy, so s-sometimes they'll latch onto a living spirit they see, like a human. I-if you give it a few days it'll dissipate soon enough." Allister replied.

"Okay…" Simon sighed in relief. Even though he couldn't see the thing, knowing there was some ghost creature tailing him was still freaky to think about.

"Why was it so pissed off?" Melody asked.

Allister titled his head in thought, "M-maybe the spirits from your Gourgeist's attack aggravated it. I t-think we should call off the battle for now."

Simon's shoulders dropped. He wanted to keep going, but since he clearly was the odd one out in this case - not seeing any ghosts - he decided it was best to follow the gym leader's advice. "Alright then, I guess…" he sighed in disappointment.

Melody nodded. "Sorry, Si." she said with an equally crestfallen frown. "Even if the spirit can't come after them us it is, there's no guarantee it won't latch onto something if we keep making it angry. Let's… have a rematch once that thing moves on, yeah?"

"Hm- well I bet you used those weird ghost powers to summon it cause you knew I was on the winning side." Simon teased, crossing his arms. "I'll ask Piper myself."

Melody's frown breaked as she chuckled softly. "So I see dead people and you talk to pokemon, huh? We're one hell uva' pair."

"I-if it's any consolation, I have something for the two of you… It m-might be of use later in the challenge." Allister spoke up. He reached into the small satchel he was carrying and pulled out a TR case. "I've got a few spares, so… I-I'd like you to have these." He pulled out two discs, showing the moves Shadow Ball and Phantom Force.

Both trainers looked at each other, then the TRs. Melody considered the two options; both moves could be useful, especially for her upcoming battle against the very person handing them out. Phantom Force would be fantastic on Nightshot, though it was a move he could learn by himself with practice. Likewise, Shadow Ball would be a great move for Piper- that she could also learn on her own. Feeling indecisive, she looked at Simon, "Which one do you want, Si?"

Simon stared at the two options for far too long before realizing none of his Pokemon could learn any ghost-type moves. He looked at both discs again before shrugging, "I guess I'll take Phantom Force. Whatever it does, it's got a hella cooler name."

"Your Pokemon vanishes to another dimension for a few seconds and then comes back to kick ass." Melody explained with a playful grin.

"Whoa, sick!"

"Um…" Allister lifted his head to say something, only to decide against it. He handed the Phantom Force TR to Simon and the Shadow Ball TR to Melody.

"Y-you both… did really well out there," he said as he took a step back.

"Nothing but the best from Professor Sonia's class!" Simon responded proudly. He looked at Melody, "And next time we battle, I'm going all out! You're lucky my team's all knackered from the heat this time."

"Got it. We'll have our next match over an active volcano." Melody teased before turning back to their collection of Pokemon. Nightshot looked like he was trying to make a collection of small bugs to place atop his head and back. He looked like he was having so much fun, it was a shame they'd have to get going. Then, an idea popped in her head. "Hey, Si," she begins as she turns her attention back to her fellow trainer, "We're both going to Stow-on-Side, aren't we? Wanna hang with the ghost gang a little longer?"

"Oh, hell yeah!" Simon nodded excitedly. "It would be a lot nicer suffering in this heat with someone else." He crouched down, allowing Princess to crawl on his arm, then glanced at Allister. "Are you going there too, Allister? You can totally chill with us as well!"

The gym leader shook his head timidly, "U-um, n-not that I wouldn't w-want to, but, uhm, I was planning on staying here a little longer to w-watch the Yamasks… S-sorry…"

"That's okay," Melody said as she waved her hand dismissively. As much as she would love to pick the gym leader's brain a little more, she and Simon had kind of crashed his Yamask-study-party. "We'll see you in town soon." Her eyes then meet Piper's as the ghostly pumpkin gave her a determined nod. "...and I'm challenging your gym, Allister," the punk teen said in a determined tone. "My ghosts versus yours."

While it was hard to tell with the mask on his face, again, Allister looked like he was smiling. "I'm… looking forward to that. Y-you two be careful crossing the desert, okay?"

Simon grinned. "Thanks! It was super nice meeting y-" He suddenly stopped as he saw what was happening behind them. Vivillon and Mothim were desperately holding Snom away from Nightshot as the poor Drakloak had tried to put her on his head, and she was currently hurling large, spiky snowballs at him.

"Oi, OI! SNOM!"

Joint post of LinearAxel and Foxrally

Orx of Twinleaf · Nov 5, 2021

Team:

Rij

Henj

Pelj

Tim T
Trainers fought feral mons all the time. There was nothing wrong with it. Wild mons were used to the rough and tumble. Tim was doing nothing wrong.

A chase was just additional training, some cardio squeezed in before a battle proper. A target might run over all manner of terrain and attempt all sorts of evasive maneuvers. It was good training to catch a fleeing target, to corner it or overtake it and force it to fight. Cornered mons could often be more ferocious in combat, and that was all the better for training. Tim was doing nothing wrong.

Stalking a target helped train the mind. Brutish fighting was only good for so much, but tracking prey down, herding it into a preferable position, these things took cunning to do and helped to flex the mental muscles. Psyching a victim out, striking at its morale, these were skills with much practical use, and they were skills that ought to be trained. Tim was doing nothing wrong.

So why did it feel wrong?

Tim looked over again at the trio of Durants he and his mons had beaten unconscious a few minutes ago. Henj and Pelj had gone out ahead, ranging along the flanks at a distance, coming in to block off the trio's route when Tim and Rij rushed them over the sands. The Durants had stood their ground at first, but quickly decided to try and get away from the Rhyhorn's no-nonsense aggression. As the Bugs had had little want to fight, it had been a simple affair to get them to run up against the cliff face. Durants were not lightweights. Despite their size, they could be remarkably powerful, and they had a Type advantage over Tim's Rocks. It had been a hard battle to put them down, but it had been four on three.

Tim and his mons had then taken the opportunity to rest a moment. Had they been elsewhere, this downtime would have been put to more drills, but in the heat Tim felt that might lead to dehydration too quickly. Tim's Rocks didn't take very much water at all—Tim wasn't actually certain Henj could suffer dehydration—but Tim was only human, and Tim wouldn't have his mons drill unless he could join them.

Pelj was looking closely at the Durants. The little Rolycoly seemed curious about pretty much anything, and she had probably never seen a Durant up close before. Henj and Rij were standing by with their eyes closed, evidently not interested in the dull sandy surroundings and not tired enough to nap. Tim was sitting up against the cliff. Not in the shade—there was no shade on this side of the cliff at this time of day. The heat was strong, but it wasn't unbearable. The sunlight was bright, but not through Tim's shades. Tim and his mons were resting after a battle. Tim was doing nothing wrong.

After all, how many other Trainers would walk off and leave a wild mon lay after a battle? At least Tim had the good grace to stand by so no predators decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Tim wasn't about to do a Heatmor's work for it: if a Heatmor wanted a meal here it would have to earn it while the Durants could defend themselves. Tim owed the Bugs that much for having provided him some training.

But it felt off. Something about chasing down wild animals, cornering them, and beating them senseless didn't quite seem proper.

No. That was mere squeamishness. Tim's stomach was stronger than that. There was nothing wrong with it. Tim would not doubt himself on this matter: he had asked for and received the trust of his mons in such endeavors. Tim's mons didn't doubt Tim. Tim would not doubt Tim. Tim was doing nothing wrong.

"You did nothing wrong," the fat, bald Ranger had said through his purple beard. He had meant it to sound reassuring, of course. Even if it had been a lie.

Tim hadn't been able to say anything in answer. He had just looked at the casket again.

"She will be missed," the man had continued sadly. It had likely seemed like the thing to say, even though there were only about ten people at the service. Even if it had been a lie.

"What about her Rhyhorn?" Tim had finally asked, voice quiet. The Rhyhorn in question had been allowed to attend, and had stared silently at the casket since Tim had arrived.

"S'pose he's goin with you now," the man on Tim's other side had said through his filed teeth, his gravelly voice mirthless. "He's closer to you 'an us, innit?"

Tim had looked at the ground for long moments. Tim couldn't remember now how many things had gone through his mind then. There had been a time when he would have never imagined keeping a mon, but he was graduating from a Trainer academy. There had been a time when he would have scarcely felt to leave Driftveil, but he was in Galar. There had been a time when he had had effectively no real friends and hadn't minded in the least, but he felt now truly alone.

Tim had approached the silent Rhyhorn. Perhaps it had been in shock. Mere days earlier it had made some of the most awful noises Tim had ever heard before or since, and now it was as if it were petrified.

"Rhyhorn," Tim had said to it quietly. "Rij." The Rhyhorn had looked at Tim a moment, gaze blank. "It … It'll be alright, Rij. We'll get through this." The Rhyhorn had looked away, as if it hadn't heard. Perhaps it had heard, though. And knew that had been a lie.

The Durants began to stir, regaining their senses. Pelj wheeled backwards, chittering. Henj and Rij opened their eyes and looked at Tim. It was time to go.

Tim and his mons began walking away across the sand while the Durants made groggy protests but didn't try to follow. The Durants were likely befuddled at the assault and inconvenienced by the distraction. They might even be sore, or possibly wounded. But Tim didn't let himself care too much. It was just training. No hard feelings, no harm done. Tim had done nothing wrong.

Tim would tell himself he was doing nothing wrong.

Even if that was a lie.

So what if it was a lie? Lying was so much easier than facing the truth. Deception was all that allowed Tim the nerve to approach his peers now. Only a day or two ago Tim had found Ryan on the cliffs and jumped her. He had stalked some few of the others as well in the cliffs but hadn't approached: Ryan alone had managed to be cornered when the sun was setting and the heat wasn't so stifling so that Tim could wear his hood without croaking. Tim would not—could not—face the others without his own visage masked, and preferably with the cover of darkness to aid his anonymity. They didn't know who he was. And that made it easier to be someone he wasn't.

Tim hated himself. Better to be someone else.

Now Tim led his trio towards one of the oases he'd scouted out. He had come across it some days earlier, as he ranged up and down the route, and had only once seen another human at it. That veritable ghoul of a woman had been one of the tallest human beings Tim had ever run across and might well have been made out of bamboo for as long as her limbs had been. She hadn't been significantly offended by Tim's appearance and had shown Tim how to catch fish by hand, which she had evidently been doing for the hell of it. It was an interesting activity, if not particularly useful to Tim. She'd gone on her way afterwards and Tim hadn't seen her since. Apparently she only came out to do it once or twice a week. Or maybe she was at other oases most of the time. At this point, Tim was seriously considering that he might have simply imagined seeing her, or that he was mixing up a dream he had had as something that had actually happened.

Whatever the case, the oasis itself was quite real. The water in this one grew strangely deep near the center, as if it were welling up from a deep pit, so Tim and his mons remained at the shore. Tim didn't dunk in the water—he was determined to bear the heat as it came—but did drink deeply from his dusty hands. He could wash them, but he wasn't going to. Ryan had made him a gift of some flowery-smelling soap, but Tim wasn't about to go about wasting it so soon.

Tim sat down to shake sand out of his boots and thought about Ryan's parkour escape. Tim knew about parkour sure, but he'd never actually seen someone pull something like that off. Tim could climb nearly anything given enough time, but there was something to be said of such speed as Ryan had shown. By the time he'd made it up the cliff after her she was very much gone. Tim had thought about training his own agility, but decided his boots were too heavy to allow such a thing. He would just be content with less-outrageous agility training. He couldn't run up Henj's leg while the Stonjourner was standing upright, but he had already gotten the hang of diving into and out of rolls. For all the good that would do, anyway.

Pelj made a frightened noise as something jumped at her where she was wetting her wheel. Rij was close by and jumped in as Tim got his boot back on and Henj approached. Tim hadn't seen what had lunged but wasn't letting it get away. It wasn't trying to retreat back into the deep water, so Tim splashed in after it and grabbed it at the rear before levering back and flinging it from the water onto the shore.

It was a Relicanth, though what a Relicanth was doing in an oasis was something Tim couldn't begin to guess. Tim's mons circled it, blocking it off from the water, and looked to Tim as he waded back to dry land. "What," Tim said to the fish severely, "do you think you're doing?"

Relicanth made several earnest noises in a deep voice and Tim looked at Henj to translate. The Stonjourner thought for a moment and responded in his own stony voice first. When Relicanth gave its confirmation, Henj didn't look at Tim, but at Rij, and with some surprise. Rij, of course, seemed to not be paying attention.

"What does it want?" Tim asked impatiently.

Henj was apparently not sure how to get the message across despite his gift with charades. Henj gestured at Relicanth and then at Rij before making an exaggerated look of surprise and clapping his hands to his face. Pelj made some questioning noises, but everyone ignored her. The little Rolycoly wasn't part of this conversation.

"The Relicanth is … impressed by Rij?" Tim didn't think that made much sense. The Rhyhorn hadn't done anything but graze and drink in the area around the oasis. But Henj waved and shook his hips in the closest approximation he had to shaking his head no. "It … Is it attracted to Rij?" Tim tried again. Henj gave a negative again and tapped his forehead before making the same exaggerated look of surprise and smacking one sideways hand down into the flat of the other. He gestured at Rij, with the same expression.

Tim shook his head. He couldn't understand. "Sorry," he told the fish as it waited patiently, "but I don't know what you want. Return to your pool. We were just leaving."

Tim gestured and his Rocks began moving away, back towards the cliffs, where they had been spending the latter parts of the last few days. Tim tried to walk around Relicanth but it butted his leg as he passed. He looked down at it and it fixed him with a stern look. "Caleri ranth," it said quietly to Tim. Rij didn't seem to know it existed.

Tim stepped back from it. "I don't understand," he told it. "I don't have a ball for you. Goodbye."

"Anthar, caleri. Relicanth ranth." Relicanth moved to bar him again. Tim's mons stopped to turn and watch.

"I warned you," Tim said, agitated. He booted Relicanth in the face, sending the fish backwards. It flopped back upright onto its fins and looked at Tim with a determined expression. "If you have a problem with Rij, you have a problem with me." Tim looked at his mons. "I'll handle this one. You lot still have training later."

Relicanth lunged with its gleaming, stony head in Take Down. Tim dropped to a kneel and caught it on his arms. He felt the impact in his shoulders and threw his arms out to send the fish back away. He noticed there were no little sparks, no crackling, no minor flashes of light, no shuddering to suggest the Take Down had hurt the fish. Relicanth hadn't taken recoil damage, so it likely had Rock Head. So Tim wouldn't let Take Down hit anymore, since it wouldn't hurt Relicanth.

Tim leapt and brought his boots down in a stomp but Relicanth rolled sideways in a dodge. Tim scythed his fist low to catch Relicanth in the side anyway before it could counter. Pelj cheered a moment in excitement before Henj silenced her with a stern look. Relicanth spun its tail about with a long, whirring torrent of water spouting from it. The Aqua Tail caught Tim in his midsection and sent him tumbling, but Tim let his body roll so he came back up on all-fours. He kicked off the ground and managed to close his hands around Relicanth's head. Tim straightened up, lifting Relicanth with him, turned, and dropped the fish into a kick that sent the mon bouncing roughly back into the oasis with a splash.

"Let's go," Tim said, catching his breath. He walked past his Rocks as Henj and Pelj followed. Rij looked at the oasis a little longer so Tim stopped to follow his gaze. Relicanth was crawling out of the water, doggedly approaching. "We don't have time for this," Tim lied. "We're leaving."

Tim took off running and his Rocks picked up the pace to keep with him. After only a moment, Tim heard Rij's skittering gallop fall in behind as well. It was only maybe a twenty minute run to the cliffs from that oasis. Tim climbed the wall to the top and then brought Rij and Henj up with their balls as Pelj improvised her way up what few uneven cracks and outcroppings allowed her wheel purchase. She, at least, seemed to be able to make some use of Ryan's display, despite not having limbs.

Tim sent Rij and Henj back out now at the top of the cliff. As he was starting to walk again, Henj called for his attention. Rij was looking off the cliff. Tim went to look too and saw the flopping shape of the Relicanth in the distance. A fish literally crawling through the desert. It was absurd. Relicanth was not wanted and was out of its element. "Let it kill itself then," Tim said with venom in his voice. Henj looked at him with surprise at the tone, but Tim didn't feel like talking about it. He continued into the cliff paths and his Rocks fell in with him.

Tim could hear Pelj chattering quietly to Henj, who responded now and again with short returns. Maybe they were wondering why Relicanth seemed so determined to follow Rij. Or more likely they were curious what it was about Relicanth that got Tim to act like this.

The Relicanth reminded Tim of himself. Following after someone who had no business interacting with it. Wasn't Tim doing that with the other challengers? Wasn't Tim also a fish out of water among the other Trainers? To see it so plainly irked Tim. How could he pretend he was doing anything but flailing dumbly in the wake of his peers when that stupid fish was doing so right in his face? It reminded Tim of himself. Tim hated himself.

Whatever. Let it be food for the birds. Such was all it deserved for that sort of stupid behavior. Such was all he deserved.

"Dooooooore!"

Tim recoiled at the sound of the Boldore as he rounded the corner and it saw Pelj. Or, well, saw her in the way Boldores saw anything. Even Tim knew they were blind, although their hearing was such that they effectively saw things in their vicinity anyway. Tim also knew though that Boldores were mons that lived in deep caves, not usually at high altitudes, so this one was a bit out of place. He also knew Boldores didn't usually carry around flowers, although from the roses this one had found Tim now knew Boldores apparently had enough of a sense of smell to find flowers despite not being able to perceive colors.

Boldore scuttled past Tim to dote on Pelj. The little Rolycoly seemed a touch disturbed by the attention, and when Henj made a sound of protest, Boldore addressed him with a flamboyant air, gesturing with one of its forelegs. Tim felt himself frowning. He was not in the mood for this.

Henj turned to Tim to begin translating, but Tim waved him down. This hardly needed translation. "Leave off," he told Boldore strongly.

"Olbold bol doore, boldore olbold orb!" Boldore posed dramatically for effect, managing despite its inability to emote with its face to exude personality. Tim gathered it wanted to battle.

"Fine," Tim said. "Pelj?" The little Rolycoly looked at Tim expectantly. "This one's yours. Rock Polish up." Pelj shivered with the gleams of increased speed, but then so did Boldore. Did Boldores learn Rock Polish? "Run circles around it, Smack Down until it realizes how badly it's messed up."

Pelj started to circle Boldore, peppering it with golden stones, and Boldore hunkered down, keeping still. Tim wondered if maybe it had already given up, but it spun a ring of glowing pink hearts about its body and launched them forward with careful timing, managing to hit Pelj as she passed in front of it. She wobbled and rolled to a stop, her eye wide under Attract, a Move extremely few mons learned naturally. This Boldore wasn't just any wild animal.

"Steady, Pelj," Tim said. Similarly to being Confused, staying still was about the only thing to be dependably done while under Attract. It wasn't a matter of willpower: Tim had every confidence Pelj could break it otherwise. That was just how the Move worked, whatever discipline Pelj had could only do so much. Attract would still hamstring her offensive ability.

"Doore~!" Boldore cooed. "Drord orb? Doore boldore~!"

Pelj chattered curiously, shivering in place a little. Henj and Rij both made rather insulted snorts. They seemed like they wanted to step in, even though Boldore apparently thought that the battle had ended.

Tim stepped up next to Pelj. She looked up at him shakily, Attract's influence plain. Tim felt himself growing angry. "Pelj, sit this one out. Rij, Henj?" Boldore seemed confused as the other two Rocks approached it on its flanks. "Juggle it."

Henj cracked Boldore upward with a swinging Stomp and Rij sent the Boldore crashing down on its back with Smack Down. The maneuver first bred in the Rotation Battle against Simon and since honed into that which had tumbled Ryan's Nidos was now employed against this most unfortunate Boldore. One of the three roses it had been holding flew free, petals ruined as it was caught between Henj's foot and Boldore's face on the next Stomp.

"She loves me, she loves me not …" the little boy in the field had said, plucking petals from a flower as he did. Tim couldn't remember what his name had been. He'd lost touch with all his old acquaintances.

"That's such a girly thing to do," a young Tim had teased.

"You just don't know romance, Timmy," the first boy had said proudly.

Boldore came down again. It seemed to be trying to say something, but it had apparently offended Henj and Rij too somehow because neither of them stopped and Tim didn't give the order to back off. A second rose came loose and fell gently to the ground, where it was smashed by Boldore's body.

"She loves me, she loves me not …"

"Your mother loved your father very much," Tim's step-father had said quietly. "I know she doesn't act like it, but I believe it strongly, Timereaux."

"You don't have to tell me that, you know," Tim had said gruffly. "It wouldn't matter if she did or didn't. Love doesn't hold the mine shafts open, right?"

"Timereaux," the older man had said, looking back out across the park. "How do you really know that?"

Crack, smack, bang. Crack, smack, bang. Boldore wasn't crying out anymore, only grunting as the blows came. Pelj had apparently shaken off the Attract and was watching the scene with interest. Tim had spaced out for a moment. It had probably been a few minutes. "That's enough," Tim said. He was still angry. But perhaps that wasn't the right word.

Boldore crashed belly-down, the last rose dropping to the ground in front of Tim. Henj and Rij looked at the mon meanly and then moved to Tim's side while he looked down at the rose.

"She loves me …"

Tim looked at himself in the mirror, admiring the sleek black of his fresh jacket and how it paired with his slacks and shades. He chose the red ascot and cap this time. Red for boldness. Red like her hair. Red like her eyes.

Red like her blood.

"She loves me not …"

Tim crushed the rose under his boot, grinding it into the stony ground in Boldore's face. It groaned plaintively, but didn't move. It angered Tim. It reminded him of himself. Tim hated himself.

Henj called for him and Tim turned around. Against all better sense, it was the Relicanth. Somehow it had managed to climb the cliff face, and now had crawled all the way up the paths to catch up to Tim. It was panting a little but looked at Tim with determination on its face.

"Fine," Tim said after a moment. "You want to hang around so badly? I'll fix that wrongheadedness of yours." Relicanth nodded, satisfied. Tim looked at Boldore. "And I'll fix you too," he growled.

Tim hated himself. Because he had dared to hope, to dream, to think there might be anything worth having in life that didn't ultimately boil down to a cosmic kick in the teeth. He hated himself for lying to his own reflection about it. He hated himself because in his ignorance he had missed his chance, the only chance he'd ever have. He hated himself because it was over for him.

But others might yet have their chances. Others might not yet have hit rock bottom. For others, their one chance may yet be on the horizon. Tim would not see anyone else miss their chance the way he had.

These mons were like Tim had been. They were ignorant of just how badly they were setting themselves up to fail. Fate, cruel fate, had put these two in Tim's path. Tim was a Trainer. Trainers helped mons to better themselves. Tim would see these two made better. Made less like him.

"Get up," Tim said. The other mons all looked at Boldore. Boldore shivered, but didn't stand.

"Get. Up."

Boldore shook and whined a little, but planted its three legs and stood up shakily.

"You," Tim said, turning also back to Relicanth to address it as well, "are coming with me to the next town. I'll decide what is to be done with you then."

Relicanth nodded stiffly. Boldore mumbled a little.

Tim walked around behind Boldore.

"March."

Tim hated himself.

Foxrally · Nov 7, 2021

https://www.pokecommunity.com/showpost.php?p=10221288&postcount=14

Simon Pearburgh

Spoiler: Inventory

Spoiler: Memories

Melody Argent

Nightshot (Doom Noodle)

Spike

Piper

Bishop

Ren

Celeste

Annabelle

Blue

Spoiler: Inventory

Route 6 - Mountains

Now that the sun had set and cast the desert into darkness, the temperature had dropped considerably. Melody and Simon had covered a considerable amount of ground on their trek together and now sat atop the Stow-on-side mountain that overlooked the endless sands below.

Melody held a stick out to Blue, allowing the Houndour to ignite the object before setting it atop their collection of firewood. The punk teen then unzipped her jacket where her Toxel had been taking refuge from the chilly weather and placed the reptile beside the campfire. Spike let out a contented sigh as he held his tiny hands to the fire. Melody looked around their camp as she raised her knees to her chest and locked her arms around them. Blue was lying down beside Ren, who seemed to have thoroughly exhausted himself after digging no less than eight massive holes in a hunt for treasure alongside Simon's Anorith. They hadn't found anything of interest, but at least she was fairly certain the energetic pair would be out for a few hours.

Her gaze then fell on Simon. The black ghost-thing floating around his head had dissipated a while ago, but she could still feel something was wrong. However, she shook the feeling off and tilted her head curiously to the side. "Aaaand what do you call this concoction you're making?"

The boy was busy cooking up something on the campfire, an irresistibly enticing aroma of cinnamon and brown sugar wafting from his cooking pot. The fragrant smell had attracted several wild Pokemon in addition to their own, but at least those seemed to keep their distance from the camp.

"This, my friend, is a Pearburgh family recipe - Cinnabun curry!" Simon answered cheerfully. "Great for every meal of the day- trust me, I'd know." He reached into his bag and grabbed a pinch of yellow spice, sprinkling it over the pot. "Should be ready in just a few minutes. Also, thanks for the fire- I usually rely on Larvesta, but the bugger's always asleep by this hour. Where'd you get a Houndour anyway?"

"We met in Motostoke." Melody replied. "This drunk old man led me to the Motostoke adoption agency and told me Blue'd been there for ages and we just… sorta clicked, I guess." What the old man had neglected to tell her was that part of the reason the Houndour had been there so long was because she bared her fangs at anyone that showed interest in her, but Melody had been the exception. "I'd only had her for a few hours when she helped Rosa and I take down this Musharna that had like… six Life Orbs hooked to it."

"Holy shit. That must've be been torture for the poor thing!" Simon shook his head. "Glad you guys were able to overcome it- the way Blue's been yapping about it to the others, she seems pretty proud of herself." The Houndour glanced at him momentarily, seemingly surprised that he'd eavesdropped on Poke-conversations. He chuckled, "I got my fair share of fiesty fire-type, too. Larvesta's not the newest member of the team, but he's technically the youngest, if you don't count Anorith being a revived fossil. He's gotten me in trouble plenty of times because of it- actually, the first battle I ever had him in was against Jasper, of all people."

Melody's expression quickly fell at the mention of the guy she'd admitted to willingly shove in front of a bus given half the chance. The fact that she still owed him for getting her skull necklace back was going to haunt her until the day she died… and probably after. She would probably end up coming back as a Shuppetn or something because of that grudge. "Fuck that guy," she said without hesitation. "I hope you kicked his ass."

"Uhh, it didn't go too well for me…" Simon laughed nervously. "But being an asshole's par for the course for Jasper, anyway. Larvesta's gotten much stronger since then - I even taught him that Leech Life TR you got me!" he added.

Melody gave a small nod and a solemn look. Jasper wasn't exactly known for playing nice, or being a decent human being, obviously. She briefly considered telling him about her last interaction with him, but decided to drop the subject of hooded-jerkasses. "I'm glad that TR came in handy." she said as her small smirk returned.

Simon brought the wooden spoon to his lips and gently tasted the curry. "Hmm, it needs something..." he muttered, trying to channel Isla's teachings, "Yo Mel, could you give this a taste and see what it needs?"

Melody looked at the pot and gives a shrug. She was hardly a food critic; hell, she was semi-sure her taste buds had been nuked by the sheer amount of energy drinks she survived on back in Spikemuth. Nonetheless, the girl took the wooden spoon and tapped it against her lips. She fell silent and pondered for the moment. "The curry powder's a little overpowering… okay, hear me out- what if it had marshmallows?"

---------

As their two trainers chatted, another pair of school friends were catching up as well. Vivillon and Nightshot had been eagerly retelling their own adventures since they'd last met - being among the few Pokemon that weren't directly given by professor Sonia, they'd actually spent quite some time together at the academy before their trainers had graduated. Vivillon had even been there, as a Scatterbug, when Melody, Simon and their friends had rescued the poor Dreepy from the streets. They both told each other of the incredible journeys they'd gone through - from formidable enemies to triumphant victories against gym leaders, and slowly watching their teams grow with more Pokemon friends. Vivillon had omitted anything related to the Black Suits, of course… and she was glad Nightshot hadn't met Caterpie to ask about him.

The pair glanced over as a burst of laughter sounded nearby. It had come from Princess, Piper and Celeste; who were being treated to an exclusive show by none other than Annabelle. Snom was also with them, having been forcibly dragged by the others and content to just stay away from the campfire. The Mimikyu did a little fairy wind spin as her captive audience clapped excitedly. Vivillon giggled and looked around some more, now wondering where Mothim was, since Anorith and Larvesta were with the humans. Nightshot also noticed Bishop was nowhere to be found.

Their question was answered as a yellow blur, followed by a blue one, whooshed past the two Pokemon's heads. Mothim and Bishop were apparently on their third attempt for a flying race, the Corvisquire insisting on a tiebreaker every time the result had been too close to call. Mothim winked and waved at Vivillon as he whirled around in midair, causing the bug to blush.

Nightshot peered up as the two flying-types shot past them again. He was glad Bishop had found someone who would entertain his competitive nature, he said, before looking back to his friend and noting the blush that appeared against her cheeks. His head turned briefly to the blur of yellow and then back once more, and a knowing smile creeped up his face as he wiggled excitedly. He let out a soft rumble from the back of his throat as he lightly tapped Vivillon with his arm. Love was in the air- quite literally. The bug responded with a flustered squeak and pushed his arm away in embarrassment, pouting a little.

---------

"Ooorder up!" Simon exclaimed triumphantly as he placed a steaming plate of curry in front of Melody, before sitting down on the ground himself and looking at her expectantly. "Lemme know what you think."

Melody tucked her hand into her sleeve to use as a makeshift oven mitt before taking the steaming bowl. "Thanks, Si," she said, stirring into the dish with a small spoon. While she'd raised an eyebrow at the combo of cinnamon buns and curry together, there was simply no way something containing this much brown sugar (and now marshmallows) could taste bad. She took a small spoonful of the concoction and popped it into her mouth, red eyes lighting up immediately.

"Well, damn!" she said with a smile. "You're really onto something here."

Simon puffed his chest out proudly. "It'sha pretty popular rechipe." he replied with his mouth full, forking a chunk off his plate and tossing it at the group of wild Skorupi who'd gathered further away from the camp. "And you can call me the Pokemon Masterchef, yo!"

"Explains why I've never heard of it," Melody said as she looked down to find Spike tugging at her pant leg. He was motioning towards himself and the sleeping Larvesta. She took a chunk of her own curry and tossed it in the direction of the Toxel. He let out a soft cry of thanks before crawling over to share the snack with his newest friend, hoping to wake him up. Melody snickered before taking another bite. "I guess I don't eat a lot of curry. My mum never made it, and my gran… I think she takes mushy food as a personal insult."

Simon laughed, "Yeah, that's how my nan and aunties act too. My dad own a pub in Ballonlea, and there's this jar of cookies we have in one of the top shelves - I swear, it's been there longer than I have - and I'm pretty sure I'd chip a tooth if I tried to bite into one of those things, but my nan goes crazy for them every time she passes by. Old people, I swear." he shook his head and took another bite of food. "Say, what's your family like in Spikemuth? Do you guys have crazy big ones like we do?"

"Total opposite. Families - like, mum-dad-two-point-five kids families - don't crop up in Spikemuth much. We get a lotta runaway kids and recently divorced people and stuff, and sorta build a family unit outta that." Melody paused. "So, I guess we're sorta one big family, just not a blood-related one." The thought brought a small, nostalgic smile to her face. "In my case, I don't know who my dad is, guess he was the love 'em and leave 'em type. Before he knocked up my mum, he also knocked up another lady in Alola." Melody pulled out the skull-shaped pendant hanging around her neck and showed it to Simon. "When my half-brother found me on Chatter, and learned my last name means 'silver' in Kalosian, he sent me this. Pretty swell guy." That was quite the understatement, Melody thought to herself; he'd done a hell of a lot for a girl he had no reason to reach out to other than a vague familial tie to a man neither had met. Still, she couldn't come off sounding too sentimental.

"Whoa, must be cool having a sibling you never knew about. Always wondered what it would be like having a brother or sister." Simon said excitedly. "And has your mum been keeping up with your challenge?"

"My mom's tryin' to make it as an actress, so she's never been around much." Melody replied. "I mean, good on her for not lettin' a kid stop her from chasin' her dreams, and thanks for… havin' me and shit." She shook her head. "I don't wanna come off like I'm bitter that she's not around or anything, but I just... don't know her. She's not around much." Melody shrugged. "My gran, though, now she's a badass. But not like, an in-your-face badass. She's real nice. She let Haleigh live with us for a while before we set off for the academy."

Simon nodded, "Oh yeah, I remember Haleigh mentioned her back in school! Sucks she couldn't make it to the ceremony."

Melody took another bite before turning to look at Simon. "That was probably more than you wanted to know, huh?"

The young man shook his head vehemently. "What? Not at all! I think it's always super cool to see where trainers start off, you know? Seeing so many incredible people, coming from so many different lives and places, it's super motivating! Like, people might think just cause you're from Spikemuth and had a 'weird' family situation n' all that, you're less likely to get far in the challenge - well look at you! Three gyms and counting! Someone like you is proof of what I say- a champion can come from anywhere, Mel." Simon looked at the girl intensely.

"...not saying that you'd stand a chance against me, of course." His look turned into a taunting smirk.

Melody could feel herself blushing just the slightest bit at Simon's words. Hell, she'd nearly written herself off as a failure after hearing so much of what people would say about Spikemuth challengers. She remembered her conversation with Raphael in Motostoke, and how she'd replied with disheartened agreement: if they were to battle, she wouldn't win. Looking back on that now, with hundreds of literal and figurative miles worth of experience, she wished she could have that conversation over again and accept that declaration of rivalry.

Well, she wasn't going to back down from this one. She matched Simon's intense gaze and smirked. "Is that a challenge, bug boy?"

"You heard me, ghost girl." Simon replied confidently. "I'm gonna take you down- and I'll make sure it'll be in the championship tournament."

"You're on." Melody declared as she held her hand out to her fellow trainer. "You and me are gonna face off in the championship tournament. It's a promise."

---------

Meanwhile, Nightshot and Vivillon had been engaged in a thrilling conversation with the local group of Skorupi, who had decided to take sides in watching Mothim and Bishop's race. The two flying-types whizzed over their heads as the Pokemon all cheered, the race being even closer than expected.

However, as the excited chatter went on, Nightshot noticed another figure in the sky: a strange, shining light. He took note that whatever this thing is was getting bigger and bigger, as if it was something from the stars falling to earth… Nightshot's eyes darted towards the pair of trainers and then to Vivillon. With a small, nervous wiggle, he poked the bug and made a discrete pointing gesture toward the sky. The butterfly Pokemon squeaked curiously and looked up where her friend was pointing. It took a moment to see it, but after a few seconds, what was just a tiny flash of light had grown into a visible projectile- at least to their darkness-adjusted eyesight. They had no time to stare at it, however, as the racing flying-types flew above once more, kicking up dust and sand around them- and when it had cleared, the glimmer was gone.

Vivillon turned to Nightshot; whatever it was must have landed a little further up the mountain! They had to go and explore it. Nightshot nodded nervously. He turned around to collect Spike atop his head, only to see that the baby Toxel had fallen asleep beside Larvesta, food in hand. While his instincts left him uneasy about straying too far from the younger Pokemon, he couldn't just let Vivillon go alone. He shook his head before turning back to the bug and the two began floating towards the mountaintop.

After a few moments of searching in the dark, Vivillon pointed at a shiny mass embedded in the sand; there it was! The two Pokemon approached the shape, which almost looked like it was giving off steam. Upon closer look, it was a couple of strange black rocks with red cracks on them, something that looked quite familiar to the winged bug… Ah! Vivillon turned to her ghostly friend and explained that she'd seen these in the mines before, and that Simon was in possession of one not long ago before losing it! They must be the source of the light from earlier!

Nightshot nodded in understanding. So they were bits of the sky, he asked. The more he looked at them, the more he noticed the stones were quite pretty, and both Pokemon felt an inexplicable attraction to it... Were they safe to pick up? If Simon found one and picked it up, then they must be okay to touch. He croaked and pointed at the stones, then back in the direction of their trainers with his tail. Since there were two, they could give one to Melody and one to Simon to replace his lost one! Vivillon nodded excitedly, and the two Pokemon quickly rushed back to their trainers.

"...and so I told her, 'no Val, we can't start our own Wishiwashi Squad with blackjack and hookers' and she- hm?" Simon paused as Vivillon landed on his shoulder, with Nightshot following behind. "What's up, lassie?"

The two Pokemon squeaked and chirped excitedly, pointing up at the sky then the cliff above them. "Alright, alright, slow down. Are you sure?" Simon asked. "They're saying there's some kind of magic rock that fell from the sky and landed on that cliff, and that we should check it out." he translated to Melody.

Melody raised her eyebrow as Nightshot nodded eagerly. That seems like a long ways to go in the middle of the night just to look at a rock, but who were they to say no when their partner Pokemon look so excited? She shrugged and got up. "Lead the way to the magic rock, then." she declared.

The two trainers followed their Pokemon around the rocky terrain to get to the top of the cliff. It was a little off the path and difficult to navigate - at one point they had to climb up a wall - but eventually the pair made their way to the top, where Vivillon and Nightshot motioned excitedly at the rocks on the floor.

Simon took a moment to catch his breath before looking at the rocks up close. "So you're saying this fell from the sky?" He crouched down in front of them. "Wait… they kind of look like something I've seen before..."

"Like… what exactly?" Melody asks as she rolled her shoulders. She really thought they were done scaling cliffs and climbing mountains for the night.

Vivillon nodded eagerly and squeaked at Simon, mentioning the mines. Simon's eyes grew wide as he realized what they were and who he'd gotten one from, and for a moment was glad that Melody couldn't understand Pokemon. "I think these are called Wishing Stars." he said to Melody. "I… came across one some time ago, and I didn't think much of it until I actually looked it up… these these must've fallen literally from space!"

"Wishing Star? What an obnoxiously cute name for something that fell from the sky." Melody responded. She had half a mind to scoff at the idea, and yet she found herself doing the exact opposite. She smiled as she bent down to pick up the pair of stones, and handed one to Simon. "I guess someone up there heard our wish." she said. Damn it, Simon's optimism and 'ultimate hope'-ness rubbing off on her? Making her put cutesy, positive spins on totally random acts of nature?

Simon took the rock and smiled. "Guess so." Both trainers looked on to the desert horizon before them, the clifftop giving them an even better view of how far they've come so far, and the journey ahead. A journey that would be filled with triumphs, perils and adventures - but one where they would surely meet each other again at the end.

After a moment, Simon broke the silence. "Uhh… so how do we get down from here?"

Joint post of LinearAxel and Foxrally

Foxrally · Nov 8, 2021

.

STAGE 14 - STOW-ON-SIDE

Spoiler:

After crossing the scorching Route 6 desert, our heroes fave finally reached Stow-on-Side, a town sitting in the west-central Galar region. It's a humble, yet vibrant desert town, where people shop in small markets, and travelers replenish themselves before moving on to Glimwood Tangle. The northernmost point of town was once said to have an ancient mural, but around two years ago it was broken apart, revealing that it was hiding statues of the legendary Pokemon, Zacian and Zamazenta, bringing even more research to the area.

And of course, the town is home to the Stow-on-Side stadium, with two powerful Gym Leaders: Bea, the karate prodigy fighting-type specialist, and Alister, the silent boy of mystery, a Ghost-type specialist. Now that the first three Gym Leaders have been beaten, the league will only grow harder for our heroes. Will our heroes rise above the challenge, and defeat them, individually or together?

WILD POKÉMON AVAILABLE THIS STAGE

Pokémon available to those on Mission 4:

Pokémon available to those on Mission 7:

.

GYM LEADERS:

Important Note:
For this stage, as well as any following stages with two gym leaders, you will have the option to take on both gym leaders at once by teaming up with another player. The same rules as a solo battle apply and both gym leaders have the normal amount of Pokemon. You can also take on the gym mission with the other player. You cannot take on both gym leaders at once with a single character.

Gym Mission:
Being a Pokemon Trainer is about more than just becoming strong by yourself - it's about being strong as a team, and the Stow-on-side gym mission aims to test just that! For this challenge, you will have to face off, alongside four Pokemon of your choice, against an opposing team in an extreme tug-of-war battle! Pull the rope far enough into your team's side of the field and you win, but falter for just a second and you'll find yourself on the losing side! What makes this 'extreme', you ask? Pokemon moves are allowed! You'll have to choose between attacking the opposing team and weakening their forces, and having another member help pull the rope and lead you to victory... all while defending attacks from the opposing Pokemon. This challenge will require you to work with your Pokemon more than ever to lead the team to victory.

The opposing team will change depending on the gym trainer you're facing, but your opponents will always consist of two fighting-types and two ghost-types. Some will be focused on pulling the rope, while others may be used for the sole purpose of attacking your Pokemon. Balance defense and offense- and try not to get hit as well!

Battle!
Face off against Bea or Allister (or both) in the Stow-on-side pit! Reminiscent of both Sumo battles and ominous graveyards, this battlefield is unlike any other in Galar: it is much smaller and circular, and it is surrounded by a deep moat. There is a single victory condition: you must push or throw your opponent out of the battlefield in order to win. If any Pokemon moves out of the main battle zone, they are immediately disqualified, whether flying or grounded, and whether conscious or fainted. The format is 1 versus 1 and gym leaders each choose two Pokemon out of their three. Speed and strength are the name of the game in this battle: depending on the gym leader you choose, you will have to outsmart and outpower them, and make sure you push them out before they do the same to you.

[OPEN][GYM] ★1:
One of the two halves of the Stow-on-side gym is run by Bea, the fighting-type specialist! This young martial arts prodigy is known for her ruthless training and is a woman of few words, maintaining a serious exterior for most of the world to see and treating every challenger with the respect of a worthy opponent. However, those who know her well are aware she has a guilty pleasure for eating sweets- don't bring it up to her.

Bea's battling style is ruthless, calculated and overpowering: she makes use of throwing attacks and overwhelming force to get her opponents' Pokemon off the battlefield and quickly end battles before trainers can react. While her Sirfetch'd is focused and relies on precise critical strikes to finish the job quickly, her grapploct specializes in throwing moves and reversals. Finally, her ace, Machamp, is seen in almost every battle; with his no-guard style, Bea employs raw strength to overwhelm weakened opponents and throw them off the pit once overpowered.

Bea's Pokémon:

Seismic Toss | Low Sweep | Vital Throw
Bullet Punch | Thunder Punch | Rock Slide
Ability: No Guard

Octazooka | Octolock | Ice Punch
Reversal | Circle Throw | Brutal Swing
Ability: Limber

Iron Defense | Meteor Assault | Leaf Blade
Steel Wing | Assurance | Dual Wingbeat
Held item: Leek
Ability: Scrappy

[OPEN][GYM] ★2:
The other half of the Stow-on-side gym is run by the ghost-style specialist Allister! This shy, mysterious boy became a gym leader at a very young age, but for good reason: with his clever use of ghost-type trickery and evasion, he can overcome even the most powerful of opponents. It is rumored he can both see and talk to ghosts... This has been hard to confirm in interviews as he freezes up whenever a camera is pointed at him, but once he is given some space, Allister is a kind and determined individual.

Allister uses special attacks and status conditions to weaken and wear opponents down from a distance, before closing in to throw them off the battlefield. The evasiveness and resilience of his Pokemon make him a tricky opponent to KO as well, and challengers often find themselves getting deceived by the ghosts- and before they realize it, lose the battle. Allister's Cursola saps her opponents' energy and uses it back on them for maximum damage, and his Runerigus' defense allows it to withstand attacks all while overwhelming opponents. Finally, his ace, Gengar, packs a punch with its special attacks- and pity those who fall prey to its Hypnosis move...

Allister's Pokémon:

Shadow Ball | Sludge Wave | Venoshock
Hypnosis | Nasty Plot | Dream Eater
Ability: Cursed Body

Strength Sap | Will-o-wisp | Mirror Coat
Leech Life | Shadow Ball | Hex
Ability: Perish Body

Crafty Shield | Shadow Claw | Bulldoze
Disable | Brutal Swing | Trick Room
Ability: Wandering Spirit

Mission 1:
Stow-on-side certainly isn't known for its agriculture, but a young man who recently moved in from Turffield wants to change that. He thinks the mountain air and sun of the city would do wonders for specialty fruit, but unfortunately, the soil around these parts is unforgiving to plant life. However, he's convinced the local diglett and dugtrio population can be convinced to help.
Reward: TR Stone Edge + TM Rototiller + 5 berries of your choice

Mission 2:
Thefts of Pokémon have been reported lately, with multiple accounts of the perpetrator, or perpetrators. But with such a small town, who among the citizens is responsible for these series of crimes? Ace Detective Shirley Holmes is on the case, and might require a trainer's assistance.
Reward: TR Psychic

Mission 3:
Ever since the destruction of the ancient mural that sat west of the town, dozens of researchers from overseas are visiting Stow-on-Side to examine the statues of the legendary Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta. From history buffs to those from the science field, all have come to town research for their own ends. However, there are some of them who are… a little bit more eccentric than the others, who happen to be looking for assistants. Will you help them out?
Reward: An evolution stone of your choice

[CATCH CHANCE!] Mission 4:
There's a group of Pokémon that's known to have been causing trouble around these parts. The Ditto gang. They're known to transform as different Pokémon — even as people, causing confusion and disarray in town. It's time for their trickery to end. The epic showdown begins.
Reward: Ditto capture chance

Mission 5:
Now, this scientist is a piece of work. Recovering the notes of their idol; the late Dr. Kaminko from Orre, Dr. Katharina's goal and dream is to revive the golden era of Dr. Kaminko's work. Along with some help, she was able to finally finish… the rebirth of Robo Groudon. Unfortunately, due to some bugs and problems, the Robo Groudon has gone amok, causing panic and terror in town. Someone needs to stop it!
Reward: TR Earthquake

Mission 6:
[OPEN] The fans have gotten really out of hand. With the challengers now advancing their league progress, the amount of fans in their respective fanbase only keeps increasing, and now… they're at war. The fan wars have begun. Uh oh. Things will only keep escalating if someone doesn't keep them all under control. But what will you do? What can you do?
Reward: x5 Great Balls

Mission 7:
Straight from the Weather Institute of Hoenn, a group of scientists wants to introduce a Pokémon, Castform, that they themselves artificially created to help predict weather conditions. They claim that Castform has the power to change the weather and can change its form based on the current weather. With their own testing of Castform completed, they're looking for a trainer to help guide one through the outside world. Will you be that trainer?
Reward: Castform capture chance

Mission 8:
A shady traveling salesman wearing a Nickit-shaped mask has set up shop near the entrance to the mural, and is peddling various wares to the local tourists. As you pass by he insists that he recognizes you as a cousin, and offers you a lucrative discount on his products. One such item is a tea set, which you've heard may be useful for evolving a certain Pokemon. Will you have an eye for true quality, however?
Reward: Cracked pot (phony) OR Chipped pot (real)

[OPEN] Mission 9:
The same aforementioned salesman is also offering a totally-not-rigged mystery box service: a surprise TR box! Test your luck and see what kind of disc you pull out; will it be Hyper Beam or Mud Slap? Only one way to find out!
Reward: Random TR of power 110+ or Power <25 (message a ZM for your luck!)

Mission 10:
Hoodlem Callum is looking to put his mark on the world, and what better place to put that mark than the legendary statues! It's just a little graffiti, right? Who's it going to hurt, really? Maybe you should step in and stop him before he does something that could get him chased out of town… or Galar. There's better ways to showcase your art than ruining a historic monument, right?
Reward: Gunk shot TR

Turnip · Nov 11, 2021

Now THIS Is Pod Racing It Isn't Actually But The Reference Sort Of Makes Sense Don't Worry About It
Featuring Xan, Kass, Jerry and Sphinx

The word 'catatonic' would be an exaggeration. Xan would still use it, and it wasn't far from the truth, but it really didn't quite reach that extent and it was fully over with by the time they were set to depart for Route 6. It's true that, following their departure from the contest, it was almost 48 hours before Xan did anything much more strenuous than getting up from bed to get dressed and then sitting down on the bed again. Kass of course gave them space, and with effortless heroism ensured that Jerry and Sphinx would give the human space, too.

Unwinding was a little odd in their current circumstances. It was just a little hotel room and ideally Xan wouldn't even have Kass there, yet the human remained half-distantly in the company of not just Kass, but two other Pokémon as well. Two… well, effectively they were work acquaintances. Not exactly a recipe for relaxation, but Sphinx and Jerry were well in their rights to be there and Xan was hardly going to turn them away. It wasn't a perfect setup but the psychic would take what they could get, especially seeing as Jerry seemed to be accommodating and even Sphinx was being mindful under Kass' watchful eyes.

Rest was… sleep. Sleep was important. Lots of thinking, planning. Research. Stuff like that. But research kept on the lighter subjects, and plans for the more enjoyable parts of their future. Training had to be present, still. Couldn't stay away from that for long. Too tired for the activity of autokinesis, again the theme was keeping it light or enjoyable. A bit of gaming with telekinesis. Shopping for resources they'd need for an upcoming route. Immersing themselves in the psychoconjurative mysteries of a kindly donated Reflect. The energy they saved now would certainly be needed in the next leg of their journey.

Kass seemed very pleased with themselves, Xan noticed. The human knew it must have had something to do with the letter that their handwriting skills were procured for. The psychic knew that if it was important what it was, the Kadabra would tell them, and with that in mind they couldn't say they were curious beyond that. They settled for being quietly happy for their research partner at a reasonable distance. Over the course of their remaining days in Hammerlocke Xan managed to pick up on a good deal of what went on around them in the room, and some of what happened outside. What they didn't personally experience was relayed through Kass' telepathy - a little clearer now than it was when they were an Abra. Xan could even get something of a grasp on Jerry's and Sphinx's mental states, as much as it was possible to through telepathic-broken-telephone.

Jerry was in a very good place, which was excellent to discover. Looking over the Odd Incense again after hearing Ryan mention it, Xan had recalled that burning was a function of incense, as much as the incenses typically given for Pokémon to hold tended to work well enough without the addition of fire. The effect of having the room filled with the exotic fragrance was interesting, like a psychic focus spread out thin, permeating the air. Presumably because particles of it actually were in the air; Xan wondered to themselves if this was what Psychic Terrain was like. They couldn't say they were fond of the smell, though it wasn't awful. Regardless, Xan didn't really think much of it one way or the other as far as they were concerned - it was how Jerry responded to an incensed-up room that was important. From what the human could gather via Kass, the Psyduck's headaches were significantly assuaged. His comfort was through the roof. Excellent news. Unfortunately, burning incense was bound to be inconvenient during travel or battle, and the fact that this was a small-ish enclosed space was certainly helping it out a lot. Probably not something that could translate into a permanent solution. Even still, knowing that they could do something to give Jerry some means of relief, so long as they were stationary and could control air-flow, was a welcome feeling. The Psyduck, certainly, would sleep better at night from now on.

Sphinx was a mixed bag leaning on the unfortunate side. What she considered to be a lack of battling was making the Vulpix increasingly agitated - and honestly, Xan's sympathies were with her. Battling was for sure on the table as far as they had agreed, and the time the group had spent after Sphinx joined could be considered low on the battling side compared to the rest of their journey. Not much had jumped out at them in the Wild Area, besides mostly-friendly Froakie. There wasn't much in Hammerlocke, either; the Vulpix was allowed to go outside to seek a mutual challenge, but she wasn't able to find much out in the streets without a trainer with her to initiate something. Thankfully there was some kind of solution to tide her over; Jerry, more comfortable and active than usual, made for a… well, he made for a sparring partner. It being indoors, any mock-battles had to be kept under close supervision and couldn't really be 'rough' at all by most any standard. In spite of being light, though, it definitely helped get some of the tension out. It was good for Jerry, who could certainly use a positive and comfortable battle experience, and Sphinx even seemed to be getting some psychic inspiration from the drills. Nothing ready for battle use per se, or even really home use, but promising tidbits. Little telekinetic movements of loose objects. Telepathic utterances of no real clarity nor much substance - but something nonetheless. Something to be happy about, for sure, and Xan was hopeful that a slightly more intense Route 6 would improve the Vulpix's mood a little.

Kass' situation was a complex one, though Xan had more of a direct line to understanding it. Even outside of supervising Sphinx and Jerry's sparring, donating Reflects for study and whatever else it was that the Kadabra was momentarily busy with that required written notes about Simon's personal information, there was a large amount going on in the Psychic-type's head. A few times Xan had looked up after noticing Kass laughing or pointing or waving in their peripheral vision. Supposedly, there were still several Froakie following the group - though Xan had never noticed any of them personally. Kadabra senses must be one hell of a drug, the human mused. But although ninja frogs were occasionally distracting and another thing garnering the Kadabra's attention, they were far from the main thing that weighed on Kass' mind. No, the main thing was a real doozy, and it required that Kass and Xan both gave it the attention it deserved.

Evolution was undoubtedly a step forward, and yet it seemed like it had thrown something of a spanner in the works. After Xan had managed a good deal of rest, the Kadabra and human set about working through this newfound blockade of progress together. It quickly became clear that ability wasn't the issue, but rather mindset. Relearning the basics was the first suggestion, not so much to check that Kass was still capable of the basics, but rather to re-assert them as the baseline that the Kadabra had to work with - and indeed, had been working with for years now. Stabilising after a stumble, as it were. From a stable point, they'd be able to sort out the new things and see where they fit in around that - but that was something that would take time, and although Xan was more than happy to offer support and guidance along the way, the human insisted that it was something that Kass would need to rationalise for themselves. The move-set that the Pokédex displayed was a useful indicator to loosely guide direction, but it wasn't something that Xan felt would foster true understanding. By all means, check the guide if you end up lost, but learning for oneself - and avoiding the complacency and potential restrictions of following a static set of instructions - would always be more valuable. Self-knowledge. By the time the group was ready to move on, Kass was a little more comfortable in their own power once again. Psychokinesis and psychoportation were their baseline for offense, utility and defense - though their usage of it was more potent now, and could still be expanded upon. One kick practiced a thousand times and all that. What the Pokédex identified as Psybeam and not-confusingly-at-all Kinesis were extensions of that psychokinetic power. Psychoconjurative powers and the more auxiliary Disable were other 'kicks' as it were. Being more versatile with the moves that Kass had may well be far more valuable than being a relative novice with a wider range of moves. Still, Xan's advice was: keep it simple, but try not to hesitate if inspiration strikes for something a little more complex. The Kadabra had already been practicing a little with Reflect for the sake of making subjects for research, so their hope was that psychoconjuration might end up coming under 'simple' sooner rather than later...

The desert was an unpleasant place, that was for sure. Fraught with dangers by most metrics, though few remained relevant enough to slow the group down. Sand getting everywhere was admittedly still a bit of a problem, but a psychic's personal awareness at least made them capable of getting sand back out of everywhere. The extreme heat of day and bitter cold of night was cushioned by the temperate power of Cloud Nine. Jerry's power dampened the otherwise malicious sunrays, leaving a dry heat that was surprisingly manageable with psychokinetic ventilation and a handy bottle of water. The nights could still be chilly, but a good set of sleeping gear and the presence of Sphinx were more than enough to deter a frigid atmosphere. Reasonable planning ensured ample food and water supplies. Most rockfalls were small, enhanced senses and telekinetic power rendering them trivial. Narrow walkways on cliff edges weren't much of an issue when psychic force could keep you pressed tightly against the rock face, like an absurdly convenient gust of wind. And indeed, if any physical obstacle was all that troublesome, a bit of group psychoportation could usually bypass that trouble in its entirety. Busted ladders? Teleport. Old rockfall blocking off a pass? Teleport. Banana peel on the road? Teleport. Sphinx was adamant that there was no banana peel. Very much opposed to finding that one funny. As it turned out Kass' jokes, along with constant references to the second episode of a certain sci-fi franchise, seemed to be the most inescapable thing about their trek.

Wild battles were Xan's favourite. No holds barred, no restrictive rules. Lots of options became open; it really challenged the mind to work with what was around. Of course, Xan knew better than most that psychics were extremely capable of fighting dirty. Indeed, there wasn't much way for a human to do anything directly relevant in a Pokémon battle besides resorting to combative action in an unclean manner. So perhaps it was just being included that made it their favourite. Unfortunately, wild battles also tended to come with the highest stakes. Life-or-death and all that, as some wilds were out to maim and/or kill and/or eat. Not exactly a haven for experimentation, which was another great source of enjoyment. Experimentation could be encouraged so long as they were absolutely sure the danger was minimal. Hard to be totally sure of that, though. Gym battles held their own consequences too, and required a little more dedication. Not places for experimentation either, sadly. Maybe more trainer battles - outside of gym ones - would be useful for experimentation's sake, but the problem really was that Xan just couldn't stomach too much of that. So on balance, wild battles all the way. Dangerous ones they'd take. More amiable ones were a rare treat.

Another rowdy Silicobra slithered away after a short scuffle. Sphinx had accepted with mild resistance that she shouldn't continue to attack someone who was fleeing or had surrendered. Xan, with their ability to read Pokémon being slightly less than ideal, couldn't quite figure out the Vulpix's mood. Regular day-to-day she seemed… more relaxed? Contented would be the psychic's guess, but relaxed was what they saw. There was a noticeable confusion in the fox's features around when battles happened - a bit during fights themselves, but apparently more so in the immediate aftermath? Battle-confusion would be worrying, but her performance was fine and it didn't seem like… negative confusion. If anything the Fire-type was more attentive than usual. For now it seemed like it might be a positive - though Xan kept a mental note to bring it up if it continued for a long enough time.

Being up-close to a Dark-type Pokémon - much less three at once - wasn't an experience that Xan had been privy to all that much. They'd read up on the nature of Dark type and why Psychic effects couldn't directly influence creatures who possessed it, but sensing it in person here was more raw detail than they'd ever grasped before. Scrambled psychic signatures was how they'd rationalised it previously, but really it wasn't that the Pokémon just had scrambled signatures so much as they were the scrambling, if that made sense. Even still it wasn't so much of a problem for Xan specifically - Kass would be the one who had their work cut out for them. Direct psychic effects didn't hold much use for the human offensively anyway, and being Dark-type wouldn't stop a hurled pebble from being irritating regardless of the kind of force that propelled it.

A rough-looking group of Scraggy were the instigators today. With the Dex's useful information relayed, Kass was relegated to evasive action, with rocky pot-shots and make-do pseudo-sand-attacks. Much like Xan's strategy of evasion and general disruption, just scaled up by a fair margin. After a while of brawling, the Kadabra slipped a communal Reflect in there, too. Jerry was enthusiastic enough to start letting pulses fly the moment the human had mentioned that 'water' was viable, along with 'fire' that Sphinx was more than happy to resort to. Incinerate wreaked havoc on the group of aggressors; Water Pulses weren't taken happily, exactly, but once the attack was done it seemed to provide some kind of relief to the Scraggy group. Relief that Sphinx's hungry fire dried up with agonising ease, leaving their shed skin brittle and the Pokémon it belonged to noticeably disheartened. Kass, unburdened by most of the complexities that came with a melee, was the first to catch the specifics of one Scraggy's surrender as the other two fled behind a rock.

Xan caught a message in their mind as they made sure everyone was standing down: desperation, liqui- water. So the Scraggy were thirsty. The psychic had packed plenty - hesitantly in cupped hands, the one who surrendered took the water that was offered by bottle. The human wasn't quick about it, and made sure not to give the precious liquid away too easily - especially as the two who fled returned, trying as they might to maintain their dignity as they did so. Xan advised a cautious appeal to strangers, rather than assault and - they could only assume - theft. The group of miscreants had been lucky that Kass was an ample enough interpreter. Xan didn't suppose the wild 'mon took the sentiment all that well. Still, even with mediocre understanding of Scraggy expressions, both the shame the Scraggy expressed and their attempts to hide it were extremely obvious. The psychic's suspicion was that their advice may well be heeded.

Did any of the Scraggy want to tag along? A Dark-type contributor to their research would be useful. The water wasn't by any means a bribe and the group were free to have more water and leave regardless of their answer- oookay, every one of those heads are shaking. Couldn't hurt to ask. Xan and the others had come from… that way. And there wasn't an oasis that way, so if that's what they were after, they should look in any direction but there.

Scraggy weren't the only Pokémon out in Route 6 in need of water. A couple of Froakie approached the group, less violent and more dejected. This, Xan was happy to note, was why they packed an absolute shit-load of water. Bless Kass for helping them carry this much. Oddly, the two Water-types headed back the way they came after they were done, toward Hammerlocke. An odd choice as far as Xan was aware, but the Froakie seemed set on it. Kass was almost equally confused on the matter, though they did have one tidbit of information to share - apparently the Bubble Frogs had failed some kind of challenge. Whatever that meant, the psychic and Psychic-type could only speculate. Oh, apparently they changed direction once out of sight. Hmm.

Kass shrugged; some kind of ninja thing, they guessed.

Stow-on-Side! Here they were at long last. Honestly, the trek through Route 6 hadn't actually felt that long. Perhaps they were well-prepared, perhaps their skillset was just really good for this leg of the journey, perhaps the seemingly arduous conditions had them taking more breaks to the point where they were actually better off, perhaps they were just actually getting a little bit more stamina from all the walking they'd been doing thus far. Maybe it just seemed shorter because they hadn't really been bothered by anyone during the journey; any outside interaction had been blissfully short or had been combat, which was straightforward enough that honestly they might even be fond of it. Either way there were too many variables to say for sure exactly why it hadn't been so bad. Whatever the reason, it had passed as if it were a vague montage of loosely connected events. And now, they were ready for what was in front of them.

Directly in front of them, that was. The Gym and everything could wait a bit. What lay ahead of them right now was finding the hotel and getting comfortable. And even if this part of the journey had been more pleasant than they had expected, boy were they still more than ready for that.

[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Spear [M] [IC]

Don't let me disappear

[img]http://i.imgur.com/omi0jS3.gif[/img]

lover of milotics

lover of milotics

[I]Only thorns left on this rose.[/I]

[I]Only thorns left on this rose.[/I]

[I]Only thorns left on this rose.[/I]

Me but more fabulous

Miss Communication

Don't let me disappear

lover of milotics

Tonight, the marigolds bloom for her.

⟡ dig down, dig down ⟡

[img]http://i.imgur.com/omi0jS3.gif[/img]

That Dream...Make it Come True!

Branch into Psyche

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Magnificent Turnip