The Tabi Tournament (IC) Rated T

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

Prolouge - Act 1 - The Drifting Blade In The Crowd

"Huh? Where am I again??" Jack Walker thought to himself as he woke up in a daze, apparently taking a small nap while the announcements were being made regarding the tournament he entered not too long ago. Then again Jack could care less about his competition right now as he stumbled off to the nearest vending machine to get a cup of coffee before noticing some rather well known figures such as Lance and Cynthia of all people to name a few, Jack more focused on his coffee if anything at the time.

"Maybe I should get acquainted with some people here just to pass the time, then again the sooner I get this tournament business over with the better, can't expect many people to know who I am personally on sight so I should be grateful for that at the very least." Jack thought as he finished his coffee and started to pack up for what he predicted would be in store for him before noticing Miharu and Yukimura not too far off from where he was currently at. Paying little attention though he decided to head to the nearest terminal to retrieve his Mandibuzz in exchange for putting his Jellicent in the PC, he figured he could use Mandibuzz to scout out important areas for him and could be discreet about it, unlike Clair his Salamence sadly.

At this point now Jack was simply wandering about waiting to head out, out of impatience though he decided to have Mandibuzz do a quick sweep through the surrounding areas to make sure Jack didn't walk into anything unexpected now, the last thing the boy needed to deal with was an ambush whether it be by wild Pokemon or by foolhardy trainers mistaking Jack for easy prey.

 

[CyBeastSaber]

Act 1.3: From the trio to the crowd of four...

"I'm Pr-Avery. I'm Avery." The quiet man presented himself in a tone of anxiousness. He too, like Marcus, gave off an aura of... similarity in a sense to Primeria, yet she would not say it aloud to either of them. It gave Primeria a more relaxed feel, something she could cope with. In an attempt to say something after her awkward silence, she stopped as she saw Marcus turn his attention to the newcomer.

'Nice to meet you Avery. Sliver is the silver Eevee who seems to really like you and I am Marcus.' Marcus replied to Avery. It seemed to be going smoothly, Primeria assumed. It finally started to feel more natural, though of course there is always a natural feel among other trainers. Primeria still carried a soft smile on her face before a finger began to tap her shoulder.

'... Primeria...' Ester, whom Primeria forgot was still outside her Pokeball, whispered albeit telepathically. '... You've got one more coming...' With that mentioned, Ester subtly pointed in the direction where yet another boy was approaching. Two Pokemon, an Espeon and a Mightyena, were with him, before another one, an Eevee as well, came rushing past the three and collided with Marcus' Sliver. Things sure got out of hand quicker than Primeria could explain and... things would probably spiral out of control for a while longer.

'Sorry about that. This little bugger is just a little hyper today. I'm Jason by the way. Jason Moral.' The fourth person introduced himself. Primeria was taken aback but despite it all, she would reply.

"... A-And I am Primeria... Primeria Sage." She brought her hands behind her and placed them within one another and waited on the others.

 

[ohHeyVaporeon.]

"May the odds be ever in your favor? Interesting..."

Jayden Braelyn was a character, to say the least. A character, a pokemon trainer, a protector of his hometown, and a known spazz... Yes, that was Jayden Braelyn. Since day one of his journey with his pokemon, he had been known to speak up on any and every matter that he was faced with. Of course, this wasn't much of a "matter"... It was just a memorable quote from one his sister's favorite books. Yes, he had a sister. Also, Jayden kind of thought the man to be a little... Interesting-looking. He dressed well, much like Jayden himself, and he had a confident nature. Yes, interesting indeed. Nonetheless, the speech was over, and it was time to find something else to ponder in thought about.

"Vaporeon?"

"Vapor?"

It was just now that Jayden had noticed his faithful Vaporeon was not by his side. "Vapor" as he was called, was usually pretty good about not wandering off... Usually. Any time there was a tournament, especially a new one, Vaporeon was prone to wondering all about and getting into any and any mischief he could. Let it be noted though, that he's not the only one. Along with Vapor, Flareon, Glaceon and Vileplume were also missing. Or... Well, we won't saying missing, but rather "not present". Jayden knew the four of them couldn't be far, but the four of them together was all but a good thing regardless.

"I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with them..."

Taking a tanned hand and brushing his (now) purple and black bangs from his eyes, Jayden noticed that the four pokemon weren't far at all. Actually, they were only steps away. That's what happens when you have bangs long enough to cover your eyes...

"Vapor!"

Jayden called out to the lead pokemon, causing both the lead and the three others all to turn around. Jayden wanted to be mad, but seeing them all so happy made the anger ease away. Not just that, but he noticed at that time that there was a peculiar-looking group of people in this tournament, as well as spectators. I mean... Cynthia couldn't possibly be entered in this, right? She was surely a spectator... Surely! And if she wasn't... Well, that was a matter he would find time to deal with later. Again looking around, he noticed that every face besides those of the champions were not familiar.

"Oh boy..."

Making sure his four pokemon were tailing him, he then pulled out a pokeball that was marked with a green "V".

"Vileplume, return..."

Four wasn't a good number. At least, not by Jayden's standards. The power of three? Yus. Much, much better. Now we're just rambling. Giving a small smile to his three Eevee evolutions, he walked over to two, rather strange-looking individuals. Or... Not strange, but they looked strange, considering one looked almost like a child, and the other was a full-sized adult. She looked familiar... Hey! The little girl did, too...

"Bonjour, ladies!

Offering a small smile, he gave a quick bow.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Pressing a few buttons on his purple-lined Portable PC, he shuffled it quickly back into the matching purple bag he had picked earlier when he spoke to the judges. He felt like the odd one out with all the color he was donning, specifically purple. He had ditched all his blue for the day, and was now wearing a purple vest, with a matching purple bow-tie. Fierce. There were too, too many things going through his mind right now, and to top it all off... He still didn't feel like it was time for him to shut up.

"I don't know about y'all, but I picked my Portable PC as my survival item... It's the most useful item I've got these days." He gave a quick sigh, before continuing, "OH! How rude of me... I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jayden... Jayden Braelyn, of Sinnoh and Kanto. It's a pleasure to meet ya'."

(OOC: Maximum suckage... My posts will get better after this, I assure you!)

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Miharu turned around as Jayden walked up to her and Jennifer. She smirked.

"You greet 'hello' in French, yet you don't have a French accent in your voice," said Miharu. "So, either you're trying to sound fancy by saying 'hello' in French, or you can cover up your accent fairly well. Still, because you greeted in French, I believe that I should reply to favor. Bonjour, Jayden-chan. Je m'appelle Miharu Mizushima. Ca va?"

Miharu grinned. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. If you understood that, that's great, though. Considering it's conversational English and all...In case you didn't, my name is Miharu Mizushima from Kanto and this little cutie right here is Bai-chan!"

Miharu ruffled Jennifer's hair. "Her real name is Jennifer, though, so I suggest you call her that if you don't want to die a very painful death!" Miharu said the last sentence quite cheerfully. "She's also a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four."

Miharu scanned the crowd once again. "Where is Cynthia anyways?" Miharu shook her head.

"Like you, I also picked my portable PC as my survival item," stated Miharu. Miharu chuckled suddenly.

"What's gotten you so chipper?"

Miharu turned around to see Cynthia. She grinned. "Just laughing at the ignorance of the judges. Did you already pick your survival item?"

"Yes," said Cynthia, shaking her head. "Hello, Jennifer." Cynthia faced Jayden. "Hello, my name is Cynthia. What is your name?"

 

[Arcaray]

(OOC: It's a poor post, I know. It's late here though!)



The boy introduced himself as Marcus and allowed 'Sliver' the Eevee to nuzzle against Avery's leg. Avery breathed a small sigh of relief as he came to the realisation that he'd just made two allies. Perhaps this socializing thing isn't too difficult after all... As he looked to and from the two faces before him, Avery felt he could relax a little. The three of them seemed to loosen themselves, and Avery felt a comfort familiar to one he associated with trainers back home.

There was a moment of a potentially awkward silence, which Avery tried to summon the courage to break. The pressure was relieved however, by the arrival of another Eevee who came crashing into Sliver. Before Avery could even fathom what had happened, a tall boy with sweeping black hair had appeared and introduced himself as Jason.

Avery was a little in awe of Jason's confidence, which seemed as much as a surprise to the others – or to Primeria at least. Yet she introduced herself first, and glanced to the other boys as an indication to speak. Avery took this as an opportunity to try out some confidence of his own.

"I'm Avery, and this is Marcus." He said with a smile which barely veiled his nerves. "Great to meet you."

Before Avery could extend his hand, a flash of light burst from his belt. When it dissipated, a Luxray stood in its place. Avery chuckled a little.

"And this is Nox. He must've sensed all the Pokemon out here!" Sure enough, Nox gave a little purr before rubbing his coat against Jason's Mightyena.

Avery was on a role. The next conversation starter was posed by him.
"So. What are you all taking as your survival items?"

 

[ohHeyVaporeon.]

"Oh?"

Jayden gave off a small smirk of his own, glancing over the girl who had identified herself as Miharu once more. She looked tough; not just tough, but brute. Would she be one to cross? Not likely. He then looked to the one who had been identified as "Bai-Chan", or Jennifer. She too, looked tough... He would take notice of Miharu's warning and only refer to her as Jennifer. There were a lot of ways he'd thought of dying, but from pissing off a little girl... That wasn't one of them.

"No, no... I'm just being fancy. I'm from the south; no French in me! I just like the pronunciation of their words and what-not. I know that sounds silly, but in the south... Well the south of Sinnoh, where I was actually born, there's not a lot of "fancy talk". Everyone talks about the same."

Jayden had barely gotten comfortable with the current conversation he was having when he noticed that Cynthia had approached and had addressed Miharu. He gave off a small gulp, trying to avoid eye contact. Cynthia... At least the Cynthia that he knew of, was nothing short of impressive in the world of training and battles. She was... In few words, someone to look up to.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Cynthia. My name is Jayden. Jayden Braelyn."

Jayden eased his way out of the nerves, and offered a smile. Looking down to his trio of Eevee evolutions, he then looked back to Cynthia, again smiling. "This is Vapor, Blade, and Blaze." His eyes danced from Vaporeon, Glaceon, and lastly to Flareon. He knew that he probably looked like an "Eevee hoarder", but for a large part of his "career", he had been. He trained each and every Eevee he'd own like they were his children, and although most would look at a full team of Eevee evolutions as boring or predictable... They were far from that.

"I have three more with me, but I believe they're all resting up in their pokeballs. I have Vileplume, Gothitelle, and Gallade with me as well. Although... Well, I think I'll be making some switches soon... Anywho! Enough about me..."

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Miharu's eyes sparkled. She seemed to smirk a bit. Cynthia, who caught the expression, rolled her eyes, but then smiled at Jayden.

"Do you like the Eeveelutions?" asked Cynthia. "I've only really seen them in action; I haven't trained any quite yet."

"Just a helpful hint," Miharu said to Jayden, "it isn't a good decision to tell other people the pokemon that you have on you. People can use that information against you and plan specifically against your pokemon. Of course, you probably have more in the PC, but it is still relevant. Remember that we are all enemies now, although not in the sense of killing each other, Bai-chan."

Cynthia sighed. "Are we...?"

"Damn straight!" Miharu replied back.

Cynthia smirked. "Good. I hope to see you..."

"I'll be there," Miharu stated firmly. "Make sure that you don't get caught up in a champions' competition."

Cynthia nodded. "We are, actually, using the tournament for the competition."

"Oh, really?" asked Miharu. "Mind if I get in on that action?"

Cynthia sighed. "Well, you've joined last year. I'm sure everyone will be fine with it."

Miharu scowled at the memory from last year. "Lance and his bloody dragon types. Especially that one Dragonite; it's as uber as your Garchomp!"

"I'll take that as a complement considering that Lance has been training longer than me," said Cynthia dryly.

"You should," Miharu assured Cynthia.

Miharu realized that herself and Cynthia had gotten into one of their regular conversations that they just talked to each other with ease. However, Miharu could tell that Jayden admired Cynthia and probably wanted to talk to his, perhaps, idol.

 

[Nideous]

Jen had stood to her feet and was fading herself into the background, as she really didn't want to deal with Cynthia. She was certain that the champion was mocking her somehow, as she had lost a battle with her so long ago. Granted, the champion had also made her an elite four member, the third one to be faced, in fact, second only to the leader of the E4 and the champion herself. And that had been because Jen didn't want the duty of running the Elite Four and the like. But that was the past. She scowled at Miharu, who was not going to stop, and picked up Dusk.

"first, leave Dusk alone. You know he's STILL afraid of you. And I'll kill whoever I damn well please, and you'd better be glad it's not you, yet. In addition, stop calling me Bai-chan, you moron!" she said angrily, dusting herself off. She wasn't really angry, as she had grown used to this behavior from Miharu, but the point remained. She glared at Jayden as if daring him to call her Bai-chan.

"And you are...?" she said slowly. She had matured over the years, but was still the same arrogant, rude trainer she was when she moved from Johto to Hoenn.

 

[Tuxedo Clank]

Marcus was just beginning to relax when something crashed into Sliver. The small Eevee was knocked over. For a moment Marcus fears Sliver, an untrained Pokémon, would faint from the blow. Thankfully the Pokémon shakily stood up, looking unhappy. Marcus knelt down and opened the bag of food he was still carrying. Taking out a few pieces he held his hand out for Sliver. The Eevee sniffed them, then realising what they were, ate them quickly.


"Well, at least he isn't badly hurt," Marcus said with relief. "Give him an hour and he will back to normal." Marcus turned to look at what had collided with his Eevee. It was another Eevee. This one had a darker pelt than usual. It was slightly disconcerting. Then there was the trainer. He looked far too comfortable with the situation. The trainer introduced himself cheerily as Jason. Marcus hesitated, not sure whether to introduce himself first or say something about Sliver. The problem was solved by Avery who introduced Marcus for him.


"Don't worry about it. All Eevee tend to be hyper. I was worried for a moment. Sliver isn't exactly battle trained." Marcus replied to Jason. He looked at his Eevee again, then picked Sliver up and placed him on his shoulders. Before Marcus could decide on somewhere to take the conversation, a Luxray appeared. Did everyone's Pokémon have a habit of releasing themselves? It wasn't like any of his ever did that. Admittedly Sliver never went into a Pokéball, but that's because Sliver wasn't exactly a captured Pokémon.


"I don't really know about my survival items. It's not like my Pokémon food keeps all that well and I don't carry a PC around with me." Marcus said in response to Avery's question. He looked at the bag of Pokémon food he was carrying. Each bag was enough to feed a Pokémon a couple meals. The only Pokémon that ate more was Chunky. A single bag wouldn't feed his entire team for one meal.


"By the way, does anyone want some Pokémon food? Its homemade and I have an excess which I can't take through the teleporter." Marcus really did have too much. Because of his bag Marcus had expected to carry 20 or so bags of food for a few days until he found enough ingredients to make more. It appeared he would have to acquire ingredients as fast as possible.

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Jen had stood to her feet and was fading herself into the background, as she really didn't want to deal with Cynthia. She was certain that the champion was mocking her somehow, as she had lost a battle with her so long ago. Granted, the champion had also made her an elite four member, the third one to be faced, in fact, second only to the leader of the E4 and the champion herself. And that had been because Jen didn't want the duty of running the Elite Four and the like. But that was the past. She scowled at Miharu, who was not going to stop, and picked up Dusk.

"first, leave Dusk alone. You know he's STILL afraid of you. And I'll kill whoever I damn well please, and you'd better be glad it's not you, yet. In addition, stop calling me Bai-chan, you moron!" she said angrily, dusting herself off. She wasn't really angry, as she had grown used to this behavior from Miharu, but the point remained. She glared at Jayden as if daring him to call her Bai-chan.

"And you are...?" she said slowly. She had matured over the years, but was still the same arrogant, rude trainer she was when she moved from Johto to Hoenn.

Miharu pouted. "I'm sure that Dusk isn't that afraid of me. Perhaps more of Nightmare instead...And what do you mean 'yet'? My heart is breaking, Bai-chan!" Miharu mock-sniffled.

"And, also, weren't you paying attention?" Miharu teased. "This is Jayden, number one fan of Cynthia."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "I thought you were my number one fan."

"That doesn't work when you're best friends with the champion," Miharu replied easily. "Could you be the number one fan and a best friend?"

"I've seen it," Cynthia stated dryly.

"Your opinion doesn't matter in this regard," said Miharu.

"When does it ever?" asked Cynthia.

Miharu smirked and patted Cynthia's cheek. "You're learning."

 

[ohHeyVaporeon.]

Jayden listened to Miharu talk and offered a smile of his own.

"Fair enough. However..." Jayden looked down to Vapor, who was steady wagging his mermaid-like tail. "Who says I was telling the truth? Who says... Oh I don't know, that I could've been telling a casual lie to weed my way in? People do... Do that nowadays. Admittedly, I was being truthful... I still could've been lying, though..."

Jayden then turned to Cynthia, smiling wide.

"You could say that I'm a fan, yes. I've always loved the Eevee evolutions... They are predictable at times, yes, but without training them then you don't know the mystery and talent they can truly possess. Of course, I won't diverge those secrets... Miharu has warned me well. Just give it some thought. Predictable? Yes. Lethal? Oh, if you only knew..."

It was then time to turn to Jen.

"Well I wouldn't quite call myself her #1 fan, but yes... I idolize the way that Cynthia trains. Also... Yes. My name is Jayden. I'm from the south of Sinnoh, but trained most of my days in Kanto." He tried to offer her a grin, although wary that she didn't seem to be the friendliest of the three trainers in front of him. "But really, that is enough about me... I feel like I've been talking too much, and diverging way too many secrets... I'm going to be weeded out first if I'm not careful! Oh boy, that's another thought..."

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Miharu smirked. "Yes, you could have been lying, but there are several ways in catching someone in a lie. Plus, I have a, pretty much, living lie detector on me at all times, so...And I'm glad that you took my advice to heart. See, I am a good teacher, Cynthia!"

Cynthia snorted. "Barely." Cynthia smiled at Jayden. "Well, I'm glad that you like the way that I train. Of course, there are quite a lot of training techniques I don't disclose to the public, out of the very few that I have disclosed. As for lethality, every pokemon has a chance to be lethal."

Miharu winced. "Especially those in the wild and especially if they are being mind-controlled or really really mad at the human race."

Cynthia glanced at Miharu in confusion. "Mind-controlled?"

"I'll tell you later," stated Miharu.

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. For Cynthia, and perhaps observant people, she was able to easily see the faint, yellow bruise marks on Miharu's neck, but those were obviously from a human...Yet, it was hard to think that someone could distract Bishamon, or even Nightmare who has "bullying Miharu rights", long enough in order to choke her to leave bruises that seem to be a few weeks old. "I can still see the bruises."

Miharu rubbed her neck, exactly where the bruises were. "This isn't something I would like to get around."

Cynthia grabbed Miharu's wrist. "We'll be right back." Cynthia then dragged Miharu to a private place near the wall.

"So, what happened?" asked Cynthia.

Miharu glanced around and then sighed. "Remember that team I took down a few months ago?" Cynthia nodded. "Well, an assassin came after me. I was able to beat her easily enough until, well, I know what they were doing with those jewels. They were using the jewels to control Mewtwo and Mew and, when the assassin's regular pokemon fainted, she sent out Mewtwo and Mew. The assassin managed to pin me down and started to choke me and Nightmare defeated Mew and we managed to destroy the jewels that were controlling Mew and Mewtwo. Mewtwo killed the assassin, thanked me for the help, and then we were teleported off Mt. Silver."

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "There's something you aren't telling me."

Miharu winced. "Well, I got hit in the crossfire between my pokemon, Mewtwo, and Mew loads."

"How bad?"

"I was on very good painkillers," said Miharu easily enough.

Cynthia sighed, before smirking. "You know, in all of my years of Pokemon battling, no one has gotten mad enough at me to send an assassin with two legendary pokemon on them."

Miharu rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

With that done, they walked back to the group. Cynthia smiled. "Sorry about that; I just wanted the story before we got started. After all, who knows when we'll see each other again?"

Miharu sighed. "You are one of the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"'One of'?" asked Cynthia.

"Nightmare," was Miharu's answer.

Cynthia nodded. "Ah."

 

[Nideous]

Jen frowned slightly. She had noticed the bruising on Miharu's neck and wondered who had put them there. So, she set Dusk down gently and told him to follow the girl and the champion, then turned her gaze to Jayden, who was still talking with her.

"You idolize the way Cynthia trains, huh? Tell me something... How many times have you trained with her? Seen her train? Heard her talk about training? Hm? What do you pretend to know about Cynthia and her style of training that I, one of the Sinnoh Elite Four do not? I'm dying to know." she said in a mocking tone of voice. She wasn't worried about Dusk. He was getting bolder, in fact, and his illusions were so perfect that even Miharu and Cynthia wouldn't know he was there, unless he wanted them to. And as a Dark Type, Bishamon couldn't sense him either. Of course, it was common knowledge that she favored Dark Types, but still.

"Anyways, that is enough about you. As for me, I'm not going to tell you my life story. I was born in Johto, I think, and moved to Hoenn, where I became a trainer. I trained with Miharu over there un til we were about ready to kill each other, and then I left for Sinnoh. That's where I became a member of the Elite Four. The end." she said sourly. She would give off the impression that she was not telling the whole story, but she wasn't going to spill now. Dusk cam running back to her and leapt into her arms.

"Mama, Ms. Miharu got attacked by an assassin!" Dusk said in her mind. An assassin? Who the heck was sending assassins after Miharu, and why hadn't they asked Jen first? If anyone was going to kill that bimbo, it would be her! Not some assassin that couldn't do it right! Despite her dislike of Miharu, she still wanted to get to the bottom of this, so she closed her eyes, ignoring Cynthia for a moment and let Dusk tell her what he had overheard. Then she began to think. There was only one thing to do, find these people and destroy them.

"Bishamon, I know you're over there reading my thoughts, because you can't read Dusk's. And I know that yoou're going to tell Miharu too. Now, what the hell is going on? I need to teach someone a lesson for thinking they can override my right to kill Miharu first. So, tell me who it was, because I get the feeling you and Miharu know." Jen said. Well, she didn't say it, as she didn't have a Telepathic link with Bishamon, only with Dusk, but she thought it really loudly. Bishamon would have to be deaf or ignoring her completely not to hear it, and she knew he was not deaf, nor was he foolish enough to ignore her. So she knew her messae got through.

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

"Despite the fact that you think that I cannot sense dark types, you are quite wrong," said Bishamon to Jennifer. "When there is a dark-type around, I can sense the darkness that comes from them. I may not be able to read their minds, but I can sense them. I didn't, and am not, going to tell Miharu because, really, you are one of her friends and she does need to get over some of her trust issues.

"As for the assassin, I suppose Dusk did not tell you everything as Miharu told Cynthia that Mewtwo killed the assassin. Quite brutally, in fact. It was...enjoyable."

Bishamon didn't like seeing death in front of him, but after seeing Miharu being choked by the assassin and unable to help her, he felt that the assassin deserved the death that she had gotten.

"I suppose Bai-chan told you about her story," stated Miharu to Jayden, unaware of Bishamon and Jen's conversation. "Well, I was born in Kanto, started in Unova, went to Sinnoh and met Cynthia, joined a tournament, went to Hoenn and met Bai-chan until she was ready to kill me, went to Johto, then went back to Kanto, then I went to Mt. Silver, and then I got invited to the tournament. Yeah, I have a long history..."

 

[Nideous]

"Whatever. Dusk did tell me that, but if someone is going to send one assassin, they will try again. I want to be able to strike before that happens, or you may not get that chance. Keep that in mind." the white haired girl said to the Gallade. She pet Dusk and slowly slipped away from Miharu and Jayden, seeking some peace and quiet for the moment.

"Dusk what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" she said, shaking her head. Dusk had a look of fear, and a slightly accusitory look.

"I know it's my fault! This has nothing to do with us, and if Miharu dies, it gets her out of my hair? So... Why do I want to help?" the girl said, cocking her head at her Zorua, who had an equally confused look on his face. For that was the question neither of them had an answer to right now.

 

[ohHeyVaporeon.]

Jayden smiled to Cynthia. Terrifying she had been, but friendly she was... Definitely not what he was expecting. "Yeah, I understand. I don't think many of us like to diverge or secrets, and I'm sure that there is much to you that I don't know... From what I have seen though, I definitely enjoy watching you battle. I never want to face you, that's for sure..."

Or maybe he did?

Oh, she is quite feisty...

Jayden listened to the younger girl ripping into him, trying not to smile as she went to every length to belittle him. She was, in truth, quite feisty and even a bit terrifying... Surely she didn't see Jayden as a threat? That definitely wasn't it... Was she putting Jayden in his place? That was the more likely of the two, but it still didn't make sense. He had merely just made a statement... Oh well. He had hope he would never see her again, after this...

"What?"

Before Jayden even know much of what was going on, all the people he had been speaking to where off and chattering about something else. Trying not to pry, he just waited for someone to come back... If they did. Turning his focus again to his pokemon, he noticed that Vaporeon had tackled Glareon to the ground and was giving his a whipping to the face with his mermaid-like tail. Flareon, meanwhile was dancing around in circles and trying to gain the attention of any and everyone who would look his way. "They're so innocent...", Jayden thought to himself as he picked Vaporeon off of Glaceon. What had he gotten them all into? Something much deeper, darker was going on here... Could his team really handle that?

"Vapor... You're a mess!"

It was then that Jayden noticed Miharu had made her way back.

"Oh? Well... All of your stories are very interesting. Mine's a bit boring, but I've definitely had some good adventures. Something tells me though, this journey will be my best. And maybe my most fearful. Definitely my most fearful..."

 

[Arcaray]

Avery couldn't help but smile, pleased with his apparent success at starting a conversation. However, he hadn't given his survival item much thought until he'd asked. As Marcus verbalised his doubts as to what to bring, Avery visualised all the possessions he had on his person, trying to wager which ones he could live without.

His pocket knife. The mkII PokeDex from Professor Oak. A box of Matches. His broken PC. His medic kit. They all seemed so important. But were they, really?

The knife. When would he use it? In what situation would a knife be useful where Pokemon claws would not? The same goes for the box of matches, when you consider that Avery had Aidan on his side.
The PokeDex hadn't been updated past entries native to Kanto or Johto. And Avery knew all he needed to about those, really. A PokeDex is better for recording information, not giving it. No, it wasn't really 'survival' material.
The Medic kit. It had all the potions, revives, elixirs, the lot. But there was bound to be somewhere to buy all that, surely? And the packs given by the Tournament holders, who said they wouldn't contain medicines? It was a wager, but Avery was sure he'd find medicine elsewhere. Even if there were no Marts, there's still berries and PokeCentres.
So that leaves the PC. It would be anyone's first choice, if it wasn't broken. It had been so high-tech when Avery got it, well worth the money. But the trek to the top of Mt. Silver was a harsh one, and the computer barely made it back. It was a wonder it was even in one piece. It was faulty, unreliable, and so frustrating. Avery and Enoch had spent days trying to fix it, but it seemed beyond repair. If the Alakazam couldn't fix it, it was beyond help.
But still, when it worked it was amazing. The best technology Silph had to offer, even if it was about as hard-wearing as a Caterpie. Avery weighed the good with the bad, trying to find the benefits of each item. In the end, the computer won.

Avery blinked rapidly as he returned to the conversation, smiling a little vacantly. The conversation had seemed to move on, and Marcus was handing out Pokemon food. With a nod of thanks, Avery accepted a bag. Nox sniffed at the bag, pawing at it eagerly.

"Thanks, Marcus. How much time do you suppose they have to eat this before we go?"

 

[Quest]

Prolouge: Part 2
On with the Conversation​

Soon after introducing himself, the others did the same. It started with the girl who called herself Primeria Sage and moved on to the boy on the ground who introduced himself as Avery as well as naming the owner of the silver Eevee Marcus.

Marcus seemed to be a little thrown off guard at the beginning, worrying about his own Pokemon before replying to Jace. He simply reassured him that the Eevee was perfectly fine and how every Eevee was a bit hyper at times.

Reasonable, Jace thought to himself. After all, he is right about them all being hyper. He looked towards Harmony and smirked, she had been just like this when she was younger. The Pokemon looked at him for a second, knowing that Jace was thinking about her, though she turned as soon as a flash of light appeared.

A Luxray stood in front of them, Nox as Avery called him. The Pokemon soon followed with with rubbing against Bliss's flank, purring as he did so. Bliss simply did the same as Nox and pressed closer against him. Yep, Bliss is already making more friends... Jace grew jealous for a second, but changed his attitude as Avery once again started talking. For all he knew, he could have three new friends by the end of the conversation.

"So," the Avery kid started. "What are you all taking as your survival items?"

Marcus was the first to reply, simply stating how he had no idea as of yet. The teen offered everyone a bag of homemade Pokefood just seconds after, saying how he had a bit too much.

Jace accepted a bag graciously, giving him a thank you in reply. He ended up being the second to answer Avery's question and being as he had just thought about it before walking over, he had his answer. "I was actually planning on bringing my PC. It's likely the best thing I have besides my Pokemon themselves..." He trailed off as his three Pokemon walked closer to him to sniff at the contents of the newly received bag, each of them looking at Jace as if to tell him to hurry up and give them some.

Jace smiled at them and opened the bag, giving another thanks to Marcus, before giving each of them a little bit to curb their hungers for now.

"How much time do you suppose they have to eat this before we go?"

The question again came from Avery. Jace looked at the boy, surprised by his inquisitiveness. In the beginning, Jace had thought all the others seemed to be a bit shy but now it seemed like their common personality pulled them together. Jace couldn't help but feel a bit different for being so forward.

"I'd guess we're probably going to be leaving as soon as everyone turns in their items," he answered. He turned to the other two, waiting for their opinion on the matter.

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Miharu sighed, looking at Bai-chan. "I'll grab her," said Miharu as she walked off.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but Miharu and Jennifer like to do their own thing. As for having a fearful journey, without fear, there is no balance within ourselves. Having no fear doesn't make anyone brave, so it's good to have a 'fearful' journey. Of course, as long as anyone doesn't die, it will be fine."

Miharu was close to Bai-chan when she heard, "if Miharu dies, it gets her out of my hair? So... Why do I want to help?" Miharu froze and then immediately blended into the crowd in order to get away from Bai-chan and back to Cynthia and Jayden. Why would Bai-chan want to help her? And what did she mean by-

Miharu growned internally. "Bishamon..."

"Yes, master?" asked Bishamon innocently.

"Dusk was listening into my conversation with Cynthia and you didn't tell me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Probably in some misguided way to show that I have more friends than Cynthia. And that I should trust someone. Bishamon, trusting someone with my secrets is different than trusting people with my life. I don't divulge secrets, but I do trust people with my life."

"Who, exactly? Your pokemon and Cynthia, who are, 'coinidentally', the only ones who share many secrets with."

Miharu sighed. "Bishamon, just...stop."

"I will promise no such thing."

Miharu rolled her eyes and made it back to the group. "I don't think Bai-chan is going to join us anymore."

 

[Nideous]

Jen sighed and leaned her head back, unaware that Miharu had even approached. But Dusk sure was. He cocked his head and looked around, then leapt to the ground.

"Mama, I'll be right back!" he said as he wagged his tail Jen raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

"Whatever Dusk, so long as you come back before we have to go." she said distantly, still grappling with her own issues. She still couldn't believe that she even wanted to do something that didn't benifit her in the slightest, for Miharu, the most annoying person she knew no less! Was she coming down with something? Was the heated desert air getting to her? Had Bishamon or Mewtwo messed with her mind? Well, no, at least, no on the last part. She had good enough psychic defenses to keep the gallade out of her head if she wanted, and she still would have felt Mewtwo. In anycase, Dusk would have raised an alarm, as he was generally in tune with her mind. With a sigh, she watched Dusk walk away towards where Miharu had gone, a bit proud that her Zorua was even bold enough now to go off on his own.

Dusk

Dusk was shivering as he walked after Miharu. He blinked and cocked his head at her when he heard her talk about Mama, but his understanding of the human language was limited at best.

"Why would Mama not Miss Miharu?" he asked with his own telepathy. With the mind, language didn't matter. Everyone sounded the same when your ears weren';t listening.

"Did we do something wrong that you don't like us anymore?" he asked again, shivering slightly.

((Dusk is so daww... x3))