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

[SelenaStar]

Staring down the side of the boat at the azure waves below, Sel was mesmerised by the white spray of the water slicing past the hull of the ship, noticing that the froth was subsiding somewhat. The ship was slowing; they must be at Vermillion City now. Looking up as if to confirm, Selene looked over the Vermillion Port and noticed various bodies milling around there, faces turned toward the approaching ship.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vince approaching and couldn't help but sigh – well this was going to be awkward...what a stupid idea that had been. What was she thi-...no, she obviously hadn't been thinking. Practically hi-jacking Vince's Charizard and then forcing her face on him...even when he hadn't really responded she carried on. Poor guy probably felt so violated...as much as she liked him it hadn't been the right thing to do. Everything with Valorie had confused her so much, set her completely on edge, so she had sought comfort with the one person who she felt could comfort her, seeing as bridges between herself and Valorie had, if not been burned completely, had been substantially singed.

"I...I'm sorry Vince," she mumbled, her face remaining turned down towards the still water in between the ship and the wall of the dock – the ship had pulled in, but no-one was getting off yet...well, there were many students on board. Must be logistical. "I don't know what I was thinking...well...I mean, I do like you but that was...just...completely uncalled for...and I-I really am sorry..." trailing off lamely, Selene turned and risked meeting Vince in the eye, trying to convey that she really was sorry for it all.

Having turned towards Vince, Sel realised that students had gathered en masse around the front of the ship and were...moving? Like a pack of Tauros being herded, they shuffled forward slowly and were finally making their way off the ship. Shrugging slightly, Sel moved into line and glanced back to see if Vince had made it into line near her or not, before turning her eyes back to the front to avoid the faces of Valorie or Mark should they be nearby.

"ALL TRAINERS MUST SUBMIT TO SEARCHING. ALL POKEMON MUST BE IN THEIR POKEBALLS FOR REGISTRATION BEFORE BEING TRANSPORTED THROUGH TO THE EXPO" a beefy-looking security guard was hollering through a megaphone as the wall of students made their way through a blockade of metal detectors and machines that looked like the healing machines in Pokemon centres. As she made her way to the front of the queue, Selene watched as students put their Pokeballs in the machines for a few moments before removing them and then walking through the metal detector archways themselves. This wasn't a permanent fixture of the Vermillion Port surely...this had to be some de facto customs-like set up financed by the HoTa corp for the Expo-attending students.

"I've told you, he won't GO in his ball!" she heard a protest from the scanner next to her as she placed her PokeBalls in the machine in front of a stern looking guard dressed all in black. The first thought that crossed her mind was that they looked like Team Rocket members, but smarter, with discreet HoTa Security logos stitched onto their jackets. Wow...even their security guards were dressed expensively...

"Well then you'd best get back on that boat, because unless he gets in there to be registered you ain't coming in," growled the guard, standing with arms folded across the metal detector as though expecting the boy to make a break for it. After a moment of silence, the boy had a hushed conversation with the problematic Squirtle in question before with a red flash the water-pokemon was returned, the guard instantly stepping to the side and allowing the boy to check in his Pokemon.
"Through you go," said the guard to Sel, breaking her out of her reverie from watching the commotion next to her, walking through the metal detector briskly, the Guard's eyes on her the whole time. When the alarm didn't sound, the guard nodded briefly before turning his attention back to the next student. Sel dithered, deciding to wait for Vince before making her way onto one of the fleet of large, silver sleek coaches that were humming away, waiting to take the students over to HoTa.

"HEY, WHY DOES SHE NOT HAVE TO GET CHECKED?" came a furious voice from the side of her, and Sel looked round along with students and staff alike to see a blonde girl glaring forward with rage...at a brown haired girl who had strode past the blockade of security without being halted. Of course. Brogan.



Brogan

Finally, Vermillion. Brogan watched as her idiot peers pushed and jostled forwards toward the exit ramp of the ship and raised an eyebrow, making her way down to a cordoned-off side path and pushing open the gate with an expression of distaste – where were her handmaids to do this for her? – ignoring the bemused faces watching her.

As if...as if she had to get on these damn coaches to make her way to her own Father's company. Her Father could quite easily send her an accompanied Pokemon to fly her there...or even a guard with the Alakazam that she knew they all had to Teleport her there. But, for some reason, her Father seemed to think that being with these cretinous creatures was 'character building' for her. The only reason she could think for him doing this to her was that she needed to learn to communicate with these lower classes for her future at HoTa, but that wouldn't be it. Such people didn't have any dealings with her Father's company.

Upon hearing that fool of a girl holler as Brogan walked through the barricade, practically bowed through by security instantly recognised as the youngest Houghton-Taylor, she stopped walking. One wedge heel tapped against the ground as Brogan smirked to herself and sucked her cheek in, releasing it with an abrupt pop. After a successful journey of plotting with her Suicune fellows – who were, in fact, refreshingly upper class compared to others here but still nowhere near entertaining enough for her, now this again.

Turning, Brogan sauntered back over to the girl, brushing the guard to the side and walking through the detector until she was literally a breath away from the girl. She could see her eyes widen in refreshing fear, taking a step back. Good.

"Because I am Brogan Houghton-Taylor, you stupid little girl, and I do not need to be passed through a body scanner like you to visit my own Father's company. Now if you have problems with this, fine, I suggest you take it up with my Father. But otherwise, you would do well to keep your stupid, classless mouth closed. And should you ever use that tone with me in public once more, I will personally make sure your life is hell. Got it?"

The girl nodded quickly, not meeting Brogan's eyes. With an amused snort, Brogan looked her up and down once more before turning on her heel and striding away to one of the coaches, seating herself with a cool expression and ignoring the stares of others. And to think she didn't even have to touch the girl to strike so much fear into her. That truly was a talent.

 

[Nideous]

Brian

Bri had been about to answer when he heard the loud announcement. Oh great, they had to go through metal detectors now? That was going to be a problem.

"Help me up, would you?" Bri asked quietly.Duster looked at him. He returned her to her pokeball. It wasn't worth the agrivation to her. once he was back on his feet with his crutches securely under his arms, he looked at Skye and Rama.

"What are you guys going to do? You don't want to miss this, do you?" Brian asked. As he waited for an answer he could hear Brogan's voice over the din. He choked back a laugh. If she ever tried that on Thyme, the little Snivy would be livid. Thyme was not intimidated by sharp words. Of course, Bri himself was. He would have cringed and stammered something unintelligable at her. He was very easily intimidated, and he knew it. So, he didn't form a protest.

Thyme

Thyme heard the announcement and nearly jumped out of her skin. She got to her feet and walked around. But she calmed down quickly.

"We may want to go find Mark before it's too late. And if they try to protest, I'll just say I'm too injured to go in my pokeball or something. They should buy that... I hope," Thyme said with a smirk on her face. She nodded at Snype before exiting the room, heading for the stairs. She was confident she would not be noticed, so long as she wasn't stepped on that would be fine.

 

[HunterZero]

Vincent:

Vincent was about to say something but he then heard the announcement. At that Shade popped out of his pokeball and started snickering.

"Shade what are you doing?" Vince asked his little fox pokemon. The Zorua just laughed and the shape shifted into a boy around Xack's age that he had seen at the academy. The transformation was flawless, Shade was much better at it the his twin brother. The boy was about Vince's height with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the guy was rather handsome.

<Don't worry Vincey I know what I'm doing plus I can speak> The Zorua said as he walked up to the crowd and waited in a line. Shade then walked after Sel going through the same process. The Zorua's ears perked which looked weird because he had human ears now but they had perked when he heard the name Brogan Houghton- Taylor. Brogan? Was that a girl name? It sounded so strange to Shade and her attitude toward others wasn't in his liking either. He wasn't going to let her talk to someone like that.

"Sel you don't have to apologize for that," He said as he then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Just give a guy a warning before you do something like that," Vince finished as he then looked to Shade.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie's Post​

Valorie looked up at Mark and held up a finger in a somewhat universal sign for 'one moment please'. She then turned her attention back to Cory as she got back up, brushing her clothes off and waving briefly to Cory as he walked off, presumably in the process of getting off the boat like everyone else.

"See you later during the trip, Cory!"

She then stood up and turned back to Mark. Her expression was friendly, but a bit distant in the sense that her mind was a bit elsewhere. She made an effort to give him a half-hearted smile, though. She didn't want him to pry for more info, and thus she was trying to put on an act of everything being alright, though it honestly wasn't a great act. She could hide everyday emotional stress and problems yes, but holding back depression was just too hard.

"It sounds like it's time to get off the boat. I'll meet you up ahead..?"

Staff Post​

A teacher promptly stepped vaguely between Hailey and Calnith, arms crossed. He then spoke up in an informative and encouraging tone.

Teacher: "This isn't the time for battling. We're moving off the boat. Your pokemon need to be returned so that they can get registered with security. Let's move!"

 

[Megaman765]

Snype

Snype instantly reacted to Thyme leaving the room and pulled her back in. There was another thing he was concerned about.

"Woah there Thyme! Your forgetting one thing. Say if one of Mark's friends notice that he brought you along... Valorie for instance. If she or anyone else sees that your with Mark, he could be falsely accused as a thief or something! Assuming that they know your trainer. He's going to be heading back to the room to look for us anyways so we may as well stay here. We don't even know where in the ship Mark is... if he looks in the room for us and we're gone that could cause some serious confusion." Snype explained to her.

Mark would have to come back to the room for them. After all, Snype was his Partner. Mark wasn't going to forget about him anytime soon and he certainly wasn't going to forget about Thyme. Snype wouldn't let him forget.

Mark

Mark nodded. Meeting up with Valorie later would be the best idea. Considering he still had to get Snype and Thyme back in the room. "Alright then Val. Let's meet up when we get off the ship. I'll be out there in a moment." Mark said giving off a friendly smile. If he lost track of Valorie he could always message her about where to meet up if they ended up being separated. Either way, Mark waved to Valorie and hurried to his room.

Quickly enough, Mark opened up the door and closed it. he noticed Snype and Thyme were sitting pretty close together. At least they were alright. He crouched down and opened up his bag for the two to jump in. "Alright guys lets head on out. they shouldn't spot you if you stay in here Thyme." Mark said

 

[SelenaStar]

Looking around as Vince appeared through the security checks beside her, Selene was somewhat taken aback as he kissed her cheek...huh? So...did that...listening to what he was saying...don't need to apologise? Give a guy warning? That didn't sound like the objection of someone who didn't like what Selene had done...give a guy warning...as in, a next time sense? Was it that Vince liked her too?! Sure, Vince's Zorua had said something of the sort to her...had at least indicated it...but she hadn't really believed the Zorua.

She instantly felt a bizarre pang of guilt as Valorie popped into her mind. Selene frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose between her eyes - why was Valorie in her head?! And why did she feel bad! Oh of course...Valorie had...had kissed...her in the same kind of way. Instantly flushing deeply, Selene hissed through her teeth and shook her head slightly, like a dog trying to rid its' ears of water. Stood with Vince right next to her, now was not the time to be feeling bad about Valorie...although she was upset that she couldn't talk this through with her best friend as she would normally have done. Sel could almost hear her own voice in imaginary conversation with Valorie - "Oh my Arceus Val...you just wouldn't believe what I did! But I think he likes me back which is lovely and lucky!"

Perhaps, given the previous situation with Valorie, that conversation wouldn't have been the best one to have...

"I...thanks Vince," smiled Selene with a quiet laugh as she looked up at him and blushed, her smile somewhat shy as she tentatively reached out and put her hand over his in an attempt to indicate that she would like to hold his hand somewhat. This time not because she was running from anything either, simply because she wanted to. "I'll remember the whole notice thing for n-...future." She nodded ahead of them and let go of Vince's hand, walking over to the fleet of coaches and climbing up the stairs of one and walking toward the middle of the coach, seating herself down next to a window and sighing into the wide seats - very comfortable for a coach, her mind told her.

 

[Fuyu]

Skye sighed and glared at the security. He was going to tear their machines apart later. He reached into his bag and silently encased Pala into a Pokeball. He then reluctantly pulled one out for Rama, who snarled at it. "Damn those things," he snarled miserably. "I hate those brainwashing machines." The Pokemon mumbled. He looked at up at Skye. "Promise to break the ball later?" Skye nodded. He was willing to buy another couple of Pokeballs to keep Pala and Rama happy and free from them.

"I-hi will," he told his Zorua, scowling as he heard Brogan's voice over the din. Inwardly, he was amused though. Arrogant little sod. He dared her to personally make his life hell. What, would she go and talk to his mother? Would she get him expelled? That almost seemed preferable than to hear her talk or deal with this. He dared her to get his mother fired. Lenora was hard to beat down, especially over personal preference.

Cam...

A part of him felt worry while the other was amused at the idea of a snob lik her knowing Cam's name. He oculdn't fear over it. SIghing, he caught Rama in the ball. He could sense his Pokemon's misery and sighed. He waited for Bri as he placed his bag and Pokeballs on the scanner before going through. What, was HoTa afraid that these kids actually understood business politics?

 

[Nideous]

Thyme

Thyme gave Snype a long look. She shook her head and jumped in the bag. She remembered something about metal detectors. She wasn't made of metal, so as long as she stayed here in the bag she should be alright. She shifted things around until she was comfortable and waited.

"Let's go already! You don't want to be late!" Thyme shouted out. She surpressed a laugh. That was exactly the kind of thing she'd say to Brian. Boy, she was impatient.

Brian

Bri put his pokeballs in the thing and got them registered or scanned or whatever the heck they were doing. He made his way through the metal detectors, glad that the nurse had the foresight to give him the plastic crutches. He put his pokemon back on his waist and walked around, milling about with the other students. He waved to Selene and Vince, though they might not have noticed him. Bri walked over to Skye after he got his bag and pokeballs back.

"Well, and now it begins..." Bri said quietly, wondering where to go next.

Quincy

"Why do we need to do this!?" Quin said, his eyes whirling from place to place. This was not good! That machine to 'register his pokemon' was probably some kind of nightmare. He tried to think of a way to get out of this. Maybe he should use his families reputation to get out of this... No! He couldn't! If he did that everyone would know who he was.

"Let me take over. You're too panicky. They'll get suspicious," Zara said serenly. Quin considered this. Maybe he was right. He'd give them away with his fear. Abruptly, the shift occured and Zara looked at the group in front of him. The boy he had terrified earlier had just made his way through. Maybe he should have a little more fun with him.

"Zaraneth! Enough! You've scared that boy too much today!" Quin roared. Zara was shocked. He had never heard Quin use his full name before.

"Eh, whatever Quin," Zara whispered. He waited patiently for his turn. Other students gave him a wide birth at the cold stare he gave them.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie's Post​

Valorie headed on after the other students. Yet, when she reached security there was no place to put her satchel! She just sort of took out her pokeballs and handed them to one of the security guards before trying to walk through the metal detector. It of course went off. She had known it would. She was a bit distressed by having to deal with this. It was a bit embarrassing, but she figured the other students would understand. She was pretty sure she was not the only girl carrying around a handbag of some sort around here.

Regardless, after having her satchel searched and it being determined that none of the metal things in there were in fact dangerous, they sent Valorie back through. This time the metal detector did not pick anything up. Handing her her pokeballs and satchel back, she proceeded on towards a coach. She hesitated for a moment before stepping on. She honestly hadn't been on a train of any sort before.

As she walked up the aisle she abruptly noticed Selene just as she was about to pass by Selene's row. Valorie stopped for a moment, observing Selene for a brief moment and making a motion with her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Yet, she did not. She was a bit too scared of how Selene might react to her right then, and so after that moment had passed she simply looked back ahead nervously. Unless Selene stopped her, she would then walk up a couple of seats and sit down in a window seat, proceeding to lethargically lay her head against the window and sigh. She was back to brooding over what had happened earlier. Cue stress, though a surprisingly low amount of angst was present for once.

 

[HunterZero]

Vincent:

Things were going to be great! Vince looked to the sky and smiled thinking that coming to this academy was a great idea. He then remembered that his crutches were missing. The even more weird then was that his leg wasn't hurting all that much so he decided that he would be fine without them.

As she watched Sel run off Shade and came up beside him with a big grin. "What are you all smiley about?" Vince asked with a annoyed look which was a joke.

<Nothing just to love birds they're a rare breed in other parts of the world but not really here> The Zorua joked as he gestured the two follow after Selene. Vince took the leaded and got into the same coach as Sel, Shade the shoved past Xack to get to sit next to Sel but Vince grabbed hold on his shoulder and pulled him behind him.

"Hey Sel I've been meaning to ask you something," Xack said as he reached Sel's row and sat next to her. "What happened with you and Val when you went after her?" He asked with a curious face. When Shade came in he shape shifted back into a Zorua and leaped onto Vince's shoulder.

 

[Megaman765]

Snype

Snype jumped into the bag with Thyme and adjusted himself to be comfortable enough for the ride. It was gonna be long and fairly bumpy but hopefully Mark wouldn't get into too much trouble. It certainly looked bigger inside of the bag then it did on the outside...

Mark

Mark headed on his way out of the boat. He took out each of his Pokeballs so they could be registered. Snype would thankfully be registered as well, even though he wasn't in the ball, the ID for it would be scanned well enough. To Mark's relief the detector didn't go off either. He was in the clear till he got to the train. Now where was Valorie...

As Mark looked around he got a glimpse of Valorie entering one of the Coaches. Mark immediately followed. Hopefully there would be enough room. When he did get in, it was rather crowded already. Since a ton of students just got off it made sense. After a bit of searching, Mark found Valorie sitting in one of the window seats.

"Hey Val. Finally caught up. Heheh." Mark said, sitting down next to her. He gently placed his bag beside him, still knowing he had a couple Pokemon in there.

 

[Nideous]

Brian

Bri milled about for a moment before he spotted the train. As if to antaganize the guards, now that they were through, Duster came out of her pokeball and stiffly climbed up to his shoulder. He glanced at her a moment. That boy Quincy walked past him without a word and got on the train.

"Err... I suppose we;d better get on then," Bri said quietly. Duster looked happy.

"Yay! I've never been on a train before!" she said happily.Bri shrugged and made his way to the train. It was surprisingly easy for him to haul himself aboard with a the guide rails present. He found an empty place close to the front, as a lot of the students thought it was some how cooler to ride in the back. That suited him just fine, as he really didn't want to shuffle all the way to the back to get a seat. He dropped himself into the space and waited for someone to join him. Anyone really.

Zaraneth

Zara made it through the security checkpoint without incident. He walked past many other students and climbed aboard the train, making his way to the back. A quick glare emptied the farthest seats of the little girls that had claimed them and he tossed his bag in one seat and sat down in another, putting his feet up in yet a third.

"You're such a bully Zara," Quin said.

"Thanks. That means a lot," Zara muttered to himself.

"That wasn't a compliment!" Quin protested. Zara just laughed. It was so easy to push his buttons. He decided to remain in charge until they had gotten inside the place. Then it would be Quin's turn.

Thyme

Thyme was jostled about a bit, and she swore at a slight pausing, thinking they had been discovered. But they started moving soon enough and were gently set on a cushiony surface. Thyme guessed they were in a car or a train or something. Then she heard Mark talking to someone... Val... That name was familiar...

"Snype. Who is Val? Which one is that? Is... Isn't that the human with the Dratini? The one that thinks you're her brother? Hm... What would that make me then, her sister in law? Step sister? Bah, these human terms are too confusing," Thyme said. She realised she had gotten side tracked and didn't care. Humans, other than her own, were not that interesting. So, when one thought had led to another, of course she lost interest in the previous thought.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie's Post​

Valorie was taking the time to think about recent events. She didn't know why she couldn't take them off her mind. Perhaps she simply needed to accept that they were just bothering her too much. She had had some time to think, to mope, to calm down. Her emotions were still at a dangerously persistent low, but she was thinking about how to deal with it. Ultimately, she wanted to stop feeling so messed up inside. She knew this. Yet, she couldn't figure out how to do it.

After a moment, she felt tempted to call her parents back in Iccirus City. Perhaps they would have advice for her. Yet, this was not the time nor the place. Valorie noticed a boy moving to take the seat next to her and looked up. It was Mark. She froze up for a moment. How was she supposed to talk to him? Their feelings for eachother had been way out there in the open. For some reason it felt as if she had wronged him in approaching Selene the way she had. Why did she feel that way? They hadn't even started a relationship of that kind! Then it seemed to click to her. Her feelings had betrayed her. She had already formed a heartfelt attachment to Mark. That was why it felt as if she had wronged him.

"Hey Mark..."

She was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, leaning against the window. She sat up straight when Mark sat down though, looking over at him. She supposed now was as good a time as any. She might not be in a good mood, but that didn't mean she should be mean to her friend. She made an attempt at smiling, though it once again came out half-hearted.

"Something you wanna get off your back..?"

She recalled what he had said on the boat. She was ready to listen, though she couldn't imagine what could be bugging him right then.

MacKenzie's Post​

Meanwhile, MacKenzie was bugging an entei dorm student in line for security about the ironic benefits of a coffee addiction. Seriously, you don't even want to know how the conversation got there. All you need to know is that said entei dorm student looked like he'd had about enough, yet did not say anything. He seemed to be trying to ignore MacKenzie, which ticked her right off, though she made an effort to seem confused and appalled rather than angry.

"Tch!"

She waved her hand dismissively at the student, who was now heading through the metal detector. After he had gotten through, he promptly ran for the trainers, pretty keen on losing the excessively hip girl behind him. Meanwhile, MacKenzie tipped her hat to one of the security guards and promptly started initiating idle conversation rather than going about her business.

"So! How's it going? Enjoying your day?"

The guard just sort of opened his mouth to say something and then felt incredibly, incredibly mocked by this girl who was doing her best just to come off as initiating casual, insignificant conversation. Was she implying he was unhappy? One thing was for sure, he felt screwed with, and so he just grumbled for her to move along, his mood a bit soured. MacKenzie shrugged as if /the guard/ had a problem and promptly handed over her pokeballs before walking through. After clearing security MacKenzie headed off to the coaches, where some student would probably wind up the lucky fellow to sit beside her for the duration of the trip. Who that would be is unknown, and might be bunnied if someone so wishes.

 

[Megaman765]

Mark sighed. He may as well get his thoughts out there. It wasn't about Val... he felt it wasn't time yet. Especially with all of the peering eyes... though something else was bugging him that was for sure.

"Ya know... I kinda go upstaged by my own Pokemon earlier. Able... my Ninjask. She completely disobeyed me... but even without my commands, she was fighting really well. She almost lasted two rounds. While i'm glad she's doing great in battle, it kind of makes me feel like a really crappy trainer... heck I got destroyed by MacKenzie! Better then that Suicune student but still! Geez I'm glad you weren't watching that emberessing battle... I looked like a fool in front of everyone when I sent Able out there." Mark said slightly downed. Losing was one thing, but this was just completely different...

"Your really good with Pokemon. I was thinking maybe you know whats up? Maybe I'm just being over dramatic but I can't get this strange feeling off my back that I failed as a trainer. Len and Commodore took a real beating out there because of my lousy commands..." He added, placing a hand on his forehead.

Snype

Snype was tempted to chuckle at Thymes comment but remembered he was trying to stay hidden. He could at least speak quietly. He doubted sound could travel out of the bag if nobody could hear them.

"Yeah, Val's the girl with the Dratini... whos a Dragonair now. Mark's got his eyes on her if ya haven't noticed. Kinda waiting for him to finally spill the beans and just tell her that he likes her. I think its pretty darn obvious now." Snype whispered.

 

[chef30]

Hailey was talking to Sparks when all of a sudden she heard this guy shout something. "Fight me, Pikachu!" The voice said. Hailey turned around. It was the idiot she had seen earlier. "Did you not hear the anouncement? We can't battle right now. Lay off. I'll save you for later." Hailey said. "Maybe I was wrong." Sparks said, joking. "This isn't the time for battling," A member of the staff said, "We're moving off the boat. Your pokemon need to be returned so that they can get registered with security. Let's move!" Hailey was happy to see that the guy was gone. Now another thing... "How the heck are we going to get off this boat without you in a pokeball!?" Hailey asked Sparks. "How much room is there in your bag there?" Sparks asked. "Guess you could fit. Let's go." Hailey said. Hailey walked up to a member of the staff with Sparks in Hailey's cramped bag. "Why couldn't you get a bigger bag? It stinks in here." Sparks said. "Shut up!" Hailey whispered. Hailey stood behind a staff member. "Yo. Where's the pokemon security thing?" Hailey said trying to act cool.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie's Post​

Valorie seemed to be listening quietly as Mark went on about his battle with MacKenzie. It helped her take her mind off of other things going on in her life a bit. She tried to imagine MacKenzie beating Mark. She had seen a couple of things from MacKenzie so far and they wound up conflicting. The first thing was that she was in Raikou dorm. This suggested she shouldn't be all that great a battler. Yet, Valorie had watched her Smeargle create a horrifically powerful fire attack, not to mention embarrass a couple of suicune dorm students in the process. In addition, from what she had seen so far MacKenzie was a crafty, witty person despite the fact that she insisted on dressing like a colorblind person straight out of the 80s or something and making quips from the 60s. She also had tact comparable to a matador waving a red flag everywhere he goes in a world where bulls have replaced humans. Valorie hadn't really paid it much mind before, but she was starting to get the impression that MacKenzie might be a lot more dangerous of a battler than she had originally thought. Regardless, that was only half of the problem. Able clearly had some behavioral problems. Valorie wasn't completely sure what to say to that. After a few moments, she spoke up.

"Well..."

It was kind of hard for her to say it, but if Mark wanted training advice, she could think of one thing.

"Do you think maybe you've been spoiling her as a trainer?..."

And that was thrown out there. Was Mark being too nice?

"Sometimes when a pokemon is too out of control, you need to remind them who's the trainer."

Valorie looked away, back out the window, thinking of Charizard, and how she had had a situation like that when Charizard was a charmeleon. Perhaps she had been to vague.

"I guess you need to set rules and enforce them with punishments."

It made sense to Valorie, anyway. Though, all of a sudden something occurred to her. Punishment wouldn't work on certain kinds of pokemon.

"...Unless they're really thick, then you have to train them by rewarding good behavior instead."

Frillish was a perfect example of a pokemon that was flat out too unintelligent to be taught on a punishment for bad behavior basis. That being said, smarter pokemon were often too smart to be taught on a reward basis. They'd find ways to pressure their trainer for more rewards. From Valorie's experience, most pokemon were pretty smart.

"It's hard work, but..."

She then looked back over at Mark.

"To be honest, I don't know why MacKenzie is in Raikou dorm."

Then Valorie proceeded to do something perhaps unexpected of her, all whilst blushing slightly as she admitted it.

"She's... kind of scary, both socially and in battle."

 

[Megaman765]

Mark pondered for a moment... punisment... reminding her who the trainer is... maybe Mark was being too nice... though being harsh to his pokemon wasn't exactly his style. Snype was just fine the way Mark had trained him. He was great at battling, on command or not on command. Mark trusted Snype well enough for that... and surely Snype trusted him. He was afraid if he was going to be more strict to Able, then she would hate him more.

"I suppose... but the way she did it, Able was screaming at me. Kinda seemed like she was saying "Idiot! This is how you battle!" Or something along those lines. Surprised that you didn't hear that screeching sound that she made when I tried to talk to able. I swear I must have made one of the students there go deaf or something." Mark continued.

"...Guess I could try teaching her a few moves. Maybe that would make her happy? Next chance I get I should try talking to her and see just what up..." Mark sighed once again. He had a feeling that training Able wasn't going to be an easy task... but it would be a real accomplishment if he could figure out how to control her. She was fast and packed a bit of power as well... He figured he could ask Bri to see whats up with... no. He wasn't going to do that.

"I agree with you about Mac. I talked to her a little bit after the battle. She's not so bad after a little while. She seemed willing to leave me be afterwards so I guess she has a bit of respect for me. Despite my lousy performance. But still, she deserves a lot better then the Raikou Dorm... though... maybe thats the idea? Get her opponents to underestimate her then completely cream them. I Gotta say... she's clever..." Mark said.

He turned to Valorie and scratched his head a bit nervously. "Um... well thanks for the advice Val. Figured I'd ask an expert before trying anything dumb you know? Haha" Mark laughed playfully. As he stated before, he really did admire Valorie for how well she trained her Pokemon. One of the reasons he really liked her.

 

[Dawn]

Valorie's Post​

Valorie was tempted to ask Mark how one deciphered what an ear piercing screech was supposed to mean. Yet, her mood did not allow her. I mean really, were there different tones of screech? Different syllables? When Valorie thought of a screech, she didn't think of something that could possibly be translated to english, even remotely so. She would be baffled if even Brian, who could flat out talk to pokemon, could translate a screech into english.

Regardless, this was not of high priority at the moment. She continued to listen. Then Mark turned to her. He seemed a bit nervous looking. She turned a bit more, sitting diagonally in her seat towards him. He was... calling her an expert? Her? Really? Valorie didn't consider /herself/ an expert. If anyone were ever to ask her what her secret was, she'd probably tell them hard work. She spent a /huge/ amount of time just thinking about or actively working towards bettering herself. She found herself blushing, a bit flustered.

"Mark, I-..."

She hesitated a moment. She had been about to deny being an expert, but perhaps that was not the right approach. In a way, she vaguely suspected that Mark had exaggerated a mere respect for Valorie's knowledge just to be nice to her. She honestly appreciated that. She honestly still felt very strongly for Selene, but... Selene just wasn't there for her right now. Not that she blamed Selene for not being there. They were... going through a rough time. She silently wanted to believe that things would get better, though she didn't know how much she could possibly hope for.

"It might not be a bad idea to search for an expert on bug pokemon once we get back... and..."

She then scooted over closer to Mark, though the reason for this was left unsaid or shown, as she merely proceeded to continue speaking.

"I really appreciate that..."

 

[Megaman765]

Mark gave off a friendly smile to Valorie as she scooted closer. She seemed to appreciate the whole expert comment which Mark as also happy about. Mark ment what he said. He did see Valorie as an expert in the whole thing. Mark was tempted to ask for a bit of tutoring sometime in the future... that could be fun... Mark looked into her eyes.

"Not a problem Val. Honestly, I think your the best trainer that I know. And I know alot of people. Heh..." Mark complimented. She seemed to be getting into a better mood. That was good... Mark just hoped she would keep this up for the rest of the day...

 

[Nideous]

Thyme

Thyme silently listened to the conversation above her. She shook with laughter and turned to Snype.

"God, those two are so clueless! They're acting worse than you do under Attract!" she whispered. She chuckled to herself as quietly as was possible. This was way better than whatever stupid TV show they would have on in the pokemon center. Then she got an idea. What if her Attract would work on a human? What if there were a way to make the recipient of the Attraction Valorie.

"Hm... I may be able to help with that Snype. Heh, me playing cupid, who'd have thought... Heheheh," she said quietly. She had an idea. What if she were standing close to Val and did it. Mark might make his natural like of the girl cross with the effect and become infatuated with Val... Hm... She looked at Snype, trying to figure out how to work it out. To think, she was considering doing something that had nothing to do with her... For someone else. Normally, she wouldn't even be interested in helping. So why did she care now? That was simple. Snype had said something about it. And she wanted to make him happy. That may make him happy, even if she just ended up making Mark act like a fool.