Simon Pearburgh

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Sizzlipede joined the team!

Sizzlipede left the team!

That didn't last very long.​

Inside a café Nona sat alongside her iced coffee, beads of sweat running down its plastic container. Beldum had placed itself next to the drink and on the table, partaking in a quick cat nap. And despite just having left her father back home thirty minutes ago, the nostalgia gnawed at her conscious and prompted her to call him.

"...yeah, si, I know apa. But it's new and… kinda scary…?" she confessed over the cell, taking a long, drawn out sip that ended with lip smacking.

More customers entered, causing the bell located at the entrance to ring. "And it's okay if you don't feel comfortable yet, mija mia," her father's hoarse voice comforted her. "Don't force yourself. Take a break, think, and go when you're ready. You're doing more than most."

"Yeah, I know apa, but… uh…"

Laughter erupted from the other end, taking Nona by surprise. "You miss home already?" Nostalgic, she grew flustered and wiped away the single tear, clearing her throat before speaking. "Nona. Nona, it's okay, you can return home-"

"No no no it's okay I'm okay! I just uh… I uh, wanted some advice. I know it's a little hard at first. But I think… I think I got this."

"That's the spirit Nonita! You got this!"

"I got this."

"Asi!"

"I GOT TH-!" The customer sitting right in front of Nona, back in full view, flinched upon her chant, causing her to shriek in return over distraught. "Ah! No no- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"

Autumn brought with it the scent of pumpkin spice, caramel, and burnt sugar. Leaves of various red, orange, and yellow shades cascaded down, at times rewarding Nona with a show upon the sudden appearance of a gust of wind. Scarves, boots, jackets, and hats were dusted and left the confines of their respective closests. Amongst these individuals was Nona Rodriguez; a long-sleeved, cotton, black turtleneck, black stockings, pine green waist skirt, and matching pine green ankle boots were today's pick.

"I mean, I understand why he doesn't want to travel with his sister, haha… I know I can be weird. Like. Very weird," Nona unbottled her emotions on to the indifferent Beldum floating next to her. She held a gigantic cookie in her hand, having been craving a sweet from her mini backpack. The other hand moved with the flow of the conversation, animated and adding to her quirkiness. "I just thought maybe he'd like company. I get lonely easily, so I thought he would too so… haha… yeah- do I sound bad? Am I selfish?"

Beldum was not one to give long responses. Or make conversations, even. Yet he never minded lending his favorite human time out of their day for her. Afterall, she might go insane if not. "...dum."

"Huh… yeah… I need to just think positive. Positive. Everything will be fiiiiine. Perfectly fine. I got you, afterall. Right~?" she asked for reassurance, bringing him joy as she took a small bite during. He nudges her cheek gently, eliciting a giggle out of her, hand covering her mouth as she chewed simultaneously. "Haha I wuv yew tew!"

The two continued their trek towards the train station, far behind the other trainers that did not hesitate to the degree she had. Moises was amongst these trainers that did not make haste; surely he is far ahead of her, perhaps have even taken a ride to The Wild Area.

But that was okay.

The day was clear and calm. A passing bakery released a pleasant aroma that eased Nona's tense nerves, and unlike her curious state Beldum remained cautious, taking note of every Pokémon, human, and object alike; lotads disguised themselves as lily pads in a bird fountain, weedles and caterpies alike danced amidst branches, and a young noctowl failed to catch a trainer's bug-type as they flapped in panic and horrifyingly crashed into a fruit stand. Amongst these creatures was a young nickit that had been tailing Nona. Beldum paid no attention to them, seeing as the distance was not to worry about. That is, until the fox began to sprint towards them.

Beldum let out a metallic hiss while a single bloody red pupil glowed, lowering itself to Nona's thighs to stare the mammal down. The nickit, shocked at the Beldum's sudden hostility, froze in their tracks.

Amused, Nona kneeled and gently placed her hand beneath her Beldum's face, putting their mind at ease. "It's okay, it's okay, Azúl. I'm okay. Look!" The nickit's nervous demeanor switched into that of joy, ready to perform before the human - their victim. "...They're so… oh my god, so adorable!"

Nona's companion threatened the fox, untrusting. "Beldum. Dum-"

"It's okay, it's okay. If you want you can stick riiiight by my side," Nona reminds Beldum, keeping her hand beneath their face as she inches closer to the fox, of which was also stepping closer. Fortunately there was nobody else walking down the large tile walkway that could reach them within the span of five minutes. "Haaai, you're sooo cuuuute… how are you?" This cute, honey-dripping voice gave the nickit the necessary push to initiate their plan.

Without hesitation the fox chased their tail and plopped right before Nona, tail wagging and belly exposed for her to pat. "Kit!" The sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches above them, shadows the shape of clouds landing on the cute fox and surrounding area.

"Aaayyyy, so cute!" The young woman's hand proceeded to do just that, scratching the fur and giggling alongside the nickit's laughter and squirming.

The sound of a disturbed pebble alerted Beldum to the purrloin sneaking from behind.

Caught red-handed, the cat turned into a blur of purple as they leaped and clung on to the hovering metal Pokémon, startling both Nickit and Nona from their fun. "E-eh?!" Nona let out in a single breath, panicking and nearly tripping over the fox before pursuing the two now-rolling Pokémon heading towards the nearby wooden fence. "U-use Iron Head! Tackle!? Azúl!" The conflicting and hesitant orders did not help. Instead the Beldum attempted to fling the cat off via trashing and slamming them against the tree trunks they would come across, yet the Pokémon held on tight, claws and fangs scraping on the metallic surface and releasing unpleasant screeches.

The nickit took off, refusing to quarrel with its nemesis.

In a last ditch effort Nona reached into the squirmish, successfully gripping the purple feline. "Pleaaaase let g-AYE!" But just as quickly as she grabbed it Nona had let go, one hand bleeding from a bite wound. Infuriated, Beldum suddenly charged into a nearby set of bushes, taking the cat with it. "H-hey wait!" When Nona had caught up she gasped as the Purrloin leaped out from the branches and greenery, shrieking and dashing into the safety of the streets beyond. A moment later her Beldum emerged, relieved the enemy was gone.

She took a second to process the events, slowing her breathing as Beldum lay next to her, taking his own break. Her words were just as slow. "Are… are you okay? Are you hurt?" He hummed and rolled until touching Nona's closest knee, now upside down. His scratches, albeit faint, instilled in her a sense of worry and guilt. "Oh I'm sosososo sorry, I didn't know that was gonna happen and that the ca-purrloin would do that and that the fox and and and… uh…"

She paused and allowed a sigh to escape her lips. She takes a good look around, somewhat embarrassed as others walked on past.

Now she remains quiet, waiting for time to pass before opening her mouth, a finger circling around the bite wound her Beldum felt guilty over. "I got so nervous and stuff and… yeah. I really suck. I need to be better." she murmured, eyes glued on to her injury, placing a sleeve over it to soak the leaking drops of blood. "But it's okay, you were amazing! You did better than I ever would! I mean, look at this, hahaha!" she praised, showing her companion the smeared blood on her sleeve. "Guess that means I need to train more, huh?"

"Dum."

She locks the beldum in an embrace. "Aaaaa what would I do without yoouuu!"

Simon Pearburgh

Spewpa ♀ Harden | Tackle | Stun Spore Friend Guard

Caterpie ♂ Tackle | String Shot | Bug Bite Shield Dust

Burmy ♂ Protect | Hidden Power (water) Shed Skin

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

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Video game soundtracks leaked out from Moises' large headphones, his fingers sifting through his device's large array of songs. He sat inside the train station, ignorant to his surroundings… so much so he did not register his sister Nona's voice the first time around.

"Moises! Hey!" Nona had greeted, grinning from ear to ear out of relief of having caught up. Only he and a few others still remained in the train station whilst others had long gone, writing their own chapters. "Oooo, what are you listening to?"

Moises cocked his head back, eyes landing on to his sister's silhouette. While at first his vision seemed to go through her, upon recognizing her he flinched and shot up, hands sliding the headphones down and bursting forth his 8-bit tunes to the surrounding vicinity.

She giggled and sat next to him. "It's been a while since I heard that one. It's on my playlist though."

"Oh, hey Nona."

"Hey! How are you?"

"Bored. Dad had me wait for you," he revealed as he glanced at a speeding train, his own ride close to arriving.

Albeit not surprised, she still felt a twinge of guilt at the notion that he would have been long gone. "Oh no, I'm so sorry I didn't know- you really didn't have toooo... "

"It's okay," he interjects, sending his father a quick text before he receives dozens of the same "is she there?!" texts. "I was tired anyway."

Beldum rests on her lap yet remained vigilant as the one eye darted between every moving object. "Oh, really? Tired already? What did you do that made you so tired? I still have so much energy!" she demonstrated with the sudden upwards movement of her arms, hands now stretching before her. Moises snickered, standing up in anticipation of his train ride.

"I don't know why, I just am." Nona followed suit, jumping out of her seat with Beldum now hovering next to her. Randomly she embraces her Beldum, who reciprocated the act with a low, slow hum of its own. Next to this Moises scoffed, hands scratching his scalp. "Stop being so weird-"

"I can't help it! Azúl is so cute! And so is your ralts!" Nona explains, yearning to see her brother's own companion. "How is he?"

"He's okay."

"Is he? That's good! I bet they're happy to be fighting again, right?"

"Yeah." As the announcer read out Moises and Nona's incoming train ride the young man's eyes widened upon remembering what he wanted to share with her. "Oh, hey, do you remember Watch Tower?"

"Isn't it that creepy tower?"

"Yeah. I heard that it has secrets and cool stuff in it-"

"But it has ghosts, doesn't it?"

Moises slept with arms crossed, legs spread, and hood draped over his face. Meanwhile Nona's fingers rhythmically tapped against Beldum's skull, acting as a massage that eased the robotic Pokémon to sleep.

She was alone with her thoughts.

Gradually her vision drifted into that of a daydream. The image of her father's Drapion and Garchomp -Capi and Chavo respectively- materialized into view. Their sheer strength, obedience, and abilities made her own expertise pale in comparison. In fact, she was jealous of Moises' gift for these Pokémon battles. It should come of no surprise seeing as how Moises begged for their father to teach him what he knows, thus taking him under his wing. Nona, on the other hand, felt that adding her to this mix would only burden her already exhausted father further, thus rejecting his offer to train her as well.

She does not regret the decision. It was her lack of self-discipline to train on her own that is now affecting her progress. Stunting it, even.

Quietly she recites the Pokémon types, their effectiveness, statuses, and more. But this knowledge was of no use if her mind kept blanking out with the sheer idea of trouble.

As per usual she was about to call her father for comfort, but hesitated upon the sight of his icon; her finger hovered above it.

No. This is the third, no, fourth time she has called him on the same day. He needs a break from her long conversations.

Nona kept to herself, reading article after article until they reached their destination: the Wild Area. Here Moises lead the way into the Rolling Fields, every step seemingly heavier than the last for Nona.

"Are you ready?"

"Haha yeaaah… a little new to this so, don't mind me asking a lot of questions," Nona warned her brother, who shrugged.

"That's fine. But let's find a Pokémon you can fight first."

"Okay! Awesome!" But despite her abundance of energy and hope, the pair had no luck in their training; Nona could not react quickly or appropriately. And it was this that frustrated her. As one of the few students at the top of her class, she expected to be proficient in this field. However, it turns out booksmart is all she is.

Hoping to break out of this negativity, Nona opted to switch it up and explore instead of training. "Hey, I wanna see all of the parts of the Wild Area, do you wanna come?"

Moises sighs in defeat. "What? No."

"Oh? Why not? I think it'll be fun!" Nona explained, curious as to her brother's thoughts. But as usual, he would shrug and respond with a short answer.

"I don't know. Boring."

"Awww… that's okay, we can meet up later, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." His short, quick replies come off as disinterested and cold to some, but Nona is well acquainted with the young boy, thus no longer pays any mind to his rare show of emotion.

With a bounce to her step, Nona took off to the closest destination; Dappled Grove. "I'll text you when I'm done exploring everything then!"

Moises hollered in return, continuing his training. "Okay. Bye Nona!" In reality she desperately wished for her dear beloved brother to accompany her; years ago he stuck to her like glue, pouring question after question and conversation after conversation her way. Overtime their interactions diminished as he took a better liking to Pokémon Training as a profession and acquainted himself with like-minded individuals.

Sadly those days are over.

She left the lush greenery of Rolling Fields and traversed through the forested Dappled Grove, where she would make several attempts at battling wild Pokémon. But it was a short visit due to a rampaging Mankey that gave Nona a heart attack upon slamming Beldum against boulders.

Well into the day she huffed and puffed her way to Motostoke, congratulating herself on the exercise for the month she had just embarked on; walking for hours on end is no easy feat. Miraculously Beldum maintained a perfect composure, occasionally nudging and affectionately rubbing against her shoulder blades.

Upon placing her first step in Motostoke Nona placed her palms together, forehead gently landing on the tip of her fingers in relief.

"Here! Isn't it pretty, Azúl?"

"..."

But despite the novelty of traveling as a Pokémon Trainer, her excitement receded and allowed for her burdens to arise; she didn't feel ready.

Was she really cut out for this?

Catherine walked down the noisy Motostoke street, surprised to find that she was actually kind of missing the Wild Area. True, it was hazardous. The weather was also terrible and it had left her tired, sore and perpetually awaiting the next disaster. However, the Wild Area did have the advantage of being wild, which made for a lack of people. That was a pretty big win in Catherine's book and now that she was back in civilization, she felt stifled, uncomfortable and ill-at-ease.

It wasn't all bad though, Motostoke was home to Motostoke Records which - unbeknownst to many - was reported online to have one of the best selections of Johtonese music in Galar. Catherine wasn't really one to have a big physical collection of music, but she felt honour bound to make a pilgrimage to such a holy place, especially with the new KyoKyo album having just dropped. So she had left the egg foisted upon her in a nest of linen in her hotel room with the heat turned up and headed out in search of the store.

Unfortunately for her though, it wasn't to be an easy pilgrimage. She soon found the road to the store blocked by some sort of obnoxious commotion, a crowd of people all yelling and making a bothersome racket.

"Because screw everyone else," Catherine said to nobody in particular, becoming rapidly more irritated as she walked toward the scene. "What the hell is going on there?"

---

Being in Motostoke created multiple emotions inside of Melody. On the one hand, it's a busy city, and busy cities mean people, and people are… annoying. It doesn't help that the people of Motostoke radiate a posh-energy that makes Melody want to bust many, many kneecaps. On the other hand, she finds the sounds of the city to be kind of comforting. Wedgehurst was… too quiet. Motostoke had a more similar feel to Spikemuth, so that was… kind of nice? Motostoke also has something going for it that most places lack: A record store. Most of those went out of business long ago due to the growing popularity of IVtunes. Now, normally, Melody sticks to downloading her music, but when it comes to Piers, she has something of a need to collect physical copies.

While she won't admit it, she's actually feeling a little lucky that she's here of all places when Piers and Marnie's new album is being released. Said feeling is short-lived; however, as the instant she sees the record store in her sights, she also gets an eye-full of… is… is that Team Yell?! What the hell? Didn't they disband when Marnie became gym leader? The closer she gets, the more she can see that the familiar faces are causing a scene. Why aren't they letting anyone else in the store?

Why are they giving Piers and Marnie a bad name?

Melody's hands clench so hard that her nails dig into the beds of her palms. Oh, no, not today. She has never missed her steel pipe as much as she does in this moment. Looks like she'll have to make due with her fists and her legs-- and voice. That's right, she can yell too. Melody pulls off her jacket and ties it around her waist so that her own Spikemuth tee is more on display and marches to the front of the line. "HEY! ASSHOLES!!" She shouts as that fire once more returns to those red eyes. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? You're making Piers and Marnie look bad!"

At last, the day had finally come! Haleigh was positively quivering with excitement as she walked briskly in the direction of Motostoke Records. With the new Marnie and Piers album just about to drop, Haleigh had hardly gotten a wink of sleep the night before in anticipation. Though scarcely able to afford much merch while busy in trainer school and spending her resources towards finishing it, Haleigh was now free to spend her extra cash on whatever she pleased (after taking into account food, lodging and battle supplies for herself and her Pokemon).

As she approached the record shop, Haleigh recognized Melody out of the crowd of people lined up waiting their turn to get the record. She was about to shout and greet her from the street, but Haleigh noticed that Melody was arguing with what appeared to be Team Yell members. While never far removed from them as both a fan of Piers and Marnie and someone who embodied a punk lifestyle, Haleigh nonetheless never joined herself and thought that even for her, they were a bit... much.

Haleigh got closer to the growing spectacle and put herself near Melody, giving the other girl a friendly wave.

"Oi Melody, what's all this? These guys givin' you some trouble?"

" They won't let anyone inside the store-- I don't know why." Melody explains, her voice a bit quieter but her infuriated expression and her knuckle-white fists remain. "They're pissing everyone off, they're making Piers look bad, and they're the ones who're gonna have trouble if they don't move their asses! " Melody shouts that last part to the crowd of painted-face enthusiasts.

"Team Yell're the only true Piers and Marnie fans, so we're gettin' first dibs on the album!" One of the Yell Grunts, an overweight man in a shirt too small for him, decreed.

"Yeah!" One of his female companions added, blowing a horn loudly in the crowd's direction. Several other Team Yell members shouted similar things in agreement.

The purple haired trainer tensed up and clenched her fists as she barked at the Team Yell grunts, "Like hell you are! You're not even half the Piers and Marnie fans Melody and I are, you wannabe tossers!"

The larger male Team Yell grunt started getting closer to Haleigh, his height and size dwarfing her's by a large margin. "You 'ave a lot of nerve, girly. But you and your little friend ain't getting that album, Team Yell are the only ones worthy of it."

Any inkling of an idea that this could be handled without the use of violence flew right out of Melody's brain the instant one of team member's began making his way towards Haleigh. To any onlookers, it likely looks ridiculous to see one teen girl, a full half an inch taller than the purple haired teen, forcefully step between the towering man and said purple haired teen. "One more step and that album's not the only thing you'll walk away without."

Sensing the rising danger, one of the Pokeballs strapped to Melody's belt begins to wiggle. A burst of light bursts forth to give shape to Annabelle-- now wearing black fabric with little drawn gold circles and two red circles drawn on for eyes. Umbreon? Where did she get that fabri-- not the time. The little ghost peers up at the enormous, overweight man before her and lets out the most intimidating hiss she can muster.

"Oh is that right?!" In unison, the lead pair of grunts withdrew pokeballs of their own and prepared to release Pokemon of their own… only to be interrupted again.

"What the hell are you doing?" Catherine snapped, walking up to the group, "You're in everyone's way and making a commotion. All of you shove off."

"What does it look like we're doing? We're making them sod off." Melody says without breaking eye contact from the large man she's still staring down. Wait-- she knows that voice. Her eyes flicker to the source of the griping quickly. Yep, Catherine. Great. Wonderful, even. This just got far more difficult, didn't it?

"You're just adding to the problem," Catherine retorted.

A flash of recognition crossed Haleigh's face as she also remembered who the other girl was. Though not knowing much about her on account of any attempts to be friendly were rebuffed with an apathetic glance, Catherine's current attitude matched what Haleigh remembered of her.

Haleigh wheeled around to face Catherine, her anger now focused on the bespectacled girl, "Well I don't bloody see you trying to stop them. 'Sides, they started it and I'm not gonna stop what hasn't been finished." She put her hand on her belt, getting ready to send out one of her own Pokemon.

"All you're doing is trying to bury your own insecurities under bravado at everyone else's expense." Catherine didn't so much as flinch at Haleigh's glare.

"Are we battlin' or what?!" The female grunt demanded, cutting across the argument.

"I thought I was pretty clear that you should be leaving," Catherine replied.
While she tried to maintain her composure, Haleigh clenched and unclenched her right fist, clearly agitated by what Catherine had said.

"Tch, big words coming from you, mate. You lookin' for a fight too or what?" She inched closer to Catherine, trying her best to look intimidating despite the large height difference between them - with Catherine by far being the taller of the two.

"Either shove it or be useful." Melody practically snarled. As much as she would like to give Catherine a piece of her mind (and fist) for her snark, she knows that if she takes her eyes off Team Yell, they're going to take the opportunity and strike for an unfair head start.

"Useful?" Catherine laughed humorlessly, "That's rich coming from the wannabe punk. All I have to do is win and then all of you leave though, right?"

Haleigh replied coolly, "I might…if I lose. Melody? Wanna take on those Team Yell wankers while I take on Catherine?"

"Oi oi," the male grunt interjected, "Team Yell was here first, we set the rules. We'll make all of you lot leave so only the real fans can have that sweet merch."

"Only the true fans, huh? I'll drink to that." Melody slides one of her feet back and flashes a quick smirk to Annabelle. "Ready?"

"Kyu!" The Mimikyu answers with an excited hop.

"We've got this side. Kick her ass for us, kay, Hal?"

With Melody's encouragement, Haleigh regained some of her mojo and flashed her a grin. "Can do, Mel!"

Haleigh stepped away from Catherine to give room for their Pokemon to duke it out in their trainers' stead. She reached for the first Pokeball on her belt, tossing it onto the ground and letting Corey materialize from it.

"Bring it on!"

The two Yell grunts only got more energetic and excited at the sight of the Scorbunny.

"Oh ****, now we're talkin!'" The male grunt exclaimed, "Let's go, Fender! Woo!"

The grunt gave an overly-energetic toss of his pokeball. The capsule taking several seconds to actually hit the ground and open with a bright flash, revealing the spiky black and white fur of a Galarian Zigzagoon.

"You too, Gibson. Mess 'em up!" The female joined in, releasing a sunglasses-wearing Nickit to join the fray alongside her fellow.

Both Dark types. As expected, and a great match for Annabelle. Still, she's not throwing her ragdoll into a two-on-one match, even with a type advantage. Melody reaches for another Pokeball and calls out her Rookidee. "Ready to cause some trouble?"

Bishop replies with a very eager caw as he flies to hover above Annabelle.

Melody draws in a deep breath. Their first double battle. Time to see what she's made of. "Annabelle, Fairy Wind! Bishop, Hone Claws!"

The dark-cloaked Mimikyu leaps into the air and spins, summoning a glistening pink wind to swirl its way towards the opposing Pokemon. While behind her, Bishop's talons begin to glow as his wings flap faster.

Catherine looked between her classmates and the pair of Yell grunts and sighed. She selected both Indra and Stampede's balls, damned if she was going to let a bunch of assholes like that lot get the edge based on pure numbers.

She smirked at Haleigh and let both her Poliwag and Horsea out into the fray. "Well, that's unfortunate. We've gotta clear these guys off, get ready."

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

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Haleigh was starting the battle out of the gate at a heavy disadvantage with her ace already facing an uphill battle based on type advantage alone. Coraline and Cornelius wouldn't be at a disadvantage, but couldn't strike a super effective hit either.

However, it was far from game over in Haleigh's mind as she took the situation in stride and smirked back at her opponent as she told her, "Well, looks like I'm a bit of the underdog here. Hardly the first time."

She chucked out her other Pokeball containing Cornelius, who stood at attention next to Corey. Before Catherine could get in another word, Haleigh commanded her Pokemon, "A'ight, Corey, sic the Poliwag with a Quick Attack, Cornelius, get the Horsea with Disarming Voice!"

"Stampede, Twister!"

Overflowing with a determination to see justice done, the Horse hopped forward, swinging his head in a curved motion as he did so. Following the arc of the motion, a strong wind rushed forwards, continuing to spiral until it twisted into a violent tornado. The soundwaves from Cornelius' Disarming Voice dissipated against the roaring winds as the Twister surged forwards.

Indra was less lucky. Corey's Quick Attack allowed him to jet past the Twister before it was fully formed and he rammed into Indra while the Poliwag was still in mid-greeting, knocking him tumbling onto his back.

"Indra, blast him away with Bubblebeam and then use Rain Dance!"

Indra rallied, forcing Corey back with a surge of forceful bubbles before pirouetting into a Rain Dance. Above the battle, a swirl of dark clouds formed and rain began to fall on the assembled battlers.

"The hell?!" the male grunt exclaimed as his female companion groaned. Then both of them simultaneously yelled their order. "Snarl!"

Facing in a "V" shape, the two Dark types let out a savage growl, an ominous dark energy swirling along with the sound waves aimed at every other combatant.

"Annabelle, Shadow Sneak Nickit! Bishop, fly up, then snag those glasses!"

Said Mimikyu is able to dodge the sound waves easily enough by diving into the shadows. Bishop; however, was not so lucky. As he flies up, the edge of the sound wave crashes against his talons, causing a squawk that seems a mixture of pain and agitation. His eyes lock on the Nickit as Annabelle leaps from the shadows right underneath the Nickit and sends it shoved upward. Bishop lunges towards the flying-Nickit and delivers a Hone Claw's-powered-Thief-Strike straight to the fox's face. As Nickit falls to the ground, Bishop lets out a victorious chirp, the stolen Black Glasses held in his talons.

The direct hit from the Bubblebeam and the rain from Rain Dance left Corey reeling, fumbling backwards and soaking wet. Such a direct hit from a water attack was leaving the poor fire type shaken up and looking not too good.

Haleigh took his Pokeball off her belt and before recalling him, she said with an apologetic smile on her face, "You did the best you could, but I don't think you wanna stick around for all this rain."

The Scorbunny shook his head and tried to go back towards his opponents, but it was clear he was straining just to remain standing and ultimately, went back in the ball without much of a struggle.

Focusing back on the battle at hand, Haleigh took out her other Pokeball, bringing out Coraline into the fray.

"Alright Coraline, it's just you and Cornelius now. Show 'em what you're made of, use Astonish on the Horsea!"
The Corsola ran forward towards Stampede, only to be interrupted as it, the Horsea and Indra were all bombarded by the incoming Snarl, sending all the combatants in that area sprawling.

"Irritating." Catherine scoffed, "Indra, Bubble Beam the Zigzagoon. Stampede, Water Gun on the Corsola."

The pair of Water types leapt back up, Indra shooting a Bubble Beam across at Fender the Zigzagoon while Stampede unleashed a Water Gun on Coraline at close range.

As that happened, the Yell grunts were preparing to make their next move against Melody.

"Gibson, get up and use Tail Whip!"

"Help him out with Tackle, Fender!"

The Zigzagoon rushed forward suddenly, leaping after Bishop. Indra's Bubble Beam narrowly missed him as he made his dash, but it did knock Gibson back off his feet before he was able to attack.

It wasn't until Catherine called for her Pokemon to attack the opposing Zigzagoon that Melody registered that the double-snarl had made contact with more than just Bishop. Well, that's irritating. "Get some control, would you?!" Melody scolds the grunts. "Bishop, Fury Attack!"

Bishop charges for the Tackling Zigzagoon with a glowing beak. The attacks collide, though the force of numerous, furious pecks overpower the force of the tackle and send the Zigzagoon heading back to the ground.

"Annabelle--" Melody pauses as she looks at the angle the ragdoll is facing. If she attacks at this trajectory, she won't hit any of the others-- unless they get thrown this way. "Fairy Wind!"

The Mimikyu, having slipped behind its opponents with its Shadow Sneak, sways back and forth, summoning a sparkling breeze towards both the fallen Nickit and the falling Zigzagoon-- and Bishop, though he's aware enough of his partner to know to fly upward.

While Melody was handling the grunts, Haleigh was trying to get her Pokemon reoriented from the Snarl attack, who had been thrown way off trajectory from it and damaged by the Dark attack. Though this meant that their attack missed, neither Catherine's Horsea nor her Poliwag were able to hit them either.

"Bloody grunts…" Haleigh glowered at the Team Yell goons who had interrupted her battle with Catherine.

"Coraline, Cornelius, you all good?"

Though a little bit whipped from the attack, both of her Pokemon nodded and focused their sights back on their opponents.

"Cornelius, try again with a Disarming Voice attack, this time on the Poliwag, Coraline, Tackle the Horsea and knock 'im down!"

"Too slow," Catherine chided, "It's raining you know."

Indra dashed to the side, avoiding the worst of Cornelius' attack - although still having to wince through the edges of the sound-based attack. Stampede had less of a problem, easily hopping over the top of Coraline as she lunged for him.

"Indra, Double Slap! Stampede, Twister."

Indra shot forward, unleashing a flurry of tail strikes against Cornelius while Stampede swung his head in the familiar arcing motion, summoning up another tornado that swept up Coraline and started carrying her towards Bishop on the other side of the battlefield.


Melody groans in frustration when she sees the Twister hurling towards her battle with a spinning Coraline in toe. First she made it rain, now this? Melody is about to leave Yell to their own devices so she can properly throw things at her old classmate's head. Bishop lets out a squawk of distress as the swirling winds speed towards him. Should he fly up? Down? Left, right? He doesn't know where it's going!

"Annabelle, get Bishop out of there!"

The ghostly fairy leaps into the air and uses her fake head to shove Bishop out of the way of the mini-tornado. This leaves her to be caught in the storm herself, but due to her fairy typing, she isn't the least bit scathed. In fact, as she glides through the swirling winds, she extends her shadowy claw and wraps it onto Coraline so she can pull her to the safety of the ground as well. As she glides to the ground she makes an excited trilling sound that Melody can only assume is the Mimikyuian word for weeeeeee!

Coraline was quite relieved that she was saved by Annabelle, ending up right beside Catherine's Horsea. Seeing that there was an opening for a followup attack, Haleigh shouted at the ghost Pokemon

"Coraline, get 'em with an Astonish, now!"

The Corsola rushed towards the sea horse Pokemon, hoping to take him by surprise.

A Corsola flying out of a Twister was not something Stampede had been anticipating. He was smacked back by the sudden attack. However, Coraline was now in the middle of the battle, between both Stampede and Indra.

"Hit the Corsola you two," Catherine said, "Dragon Breath and Bubble Beam!"

As Stampede doused Coraline in violet flames up close, Indra turned his back on his other opponent and spat a flurry of bubbles at the Corsola from behind.

Melody's only occupied Pokeball begins to wriggle relentlessly as the poor ghostly coral is ganged up on. Melody forces herself to focus on her own battle-- until she realizes that the Zigzagoon and Nickit are firing another double-Snarl in the direction of Annabelle-- and by extension Coraline. "Annabelle-- protect Coraline!"

The ghostly fairy leaps between her fellow ghost and the double-Snarl, taking the full brunt of the attack. A painful snapping sound fills the air as the ragdoll's fake head limply flops to the side.

"Would you two PAY ATTENTION? You're not fighting her!" Melody snaps.

"All's fair in love and war! And when you two fake-fans said you love Marnie more than we do, you declared war!" The woman shouts.

Before Melody can retort, her last Pokeball opens and an extremely angered Doom Noodle flies out to hiss accusingly at the pair. "Alright." Melody grits her teeth. "You wanna play dirty? We can play dirty."

"Seriously?!" Catherine objected, "That's what this is about? I thought idiots like you guys didn't even exist outside of the internet. Indra, Stampede - use whatever, just hit the Nickit and Zigzagoon. They just volunteered to leave first."

Catherine's two Pokemon turned away from the Corsola they'd been abusing and focused on the pair of Dark-types, ignoring the Mimikyu between them. An instant later, a Bubble Beam and a Dragon Breath were shooting forward on either side of the Fairy, streaking towards their targets.

Coraline glowered at the two Pokemon that had been ganging up on her, apparently looking ready to attack them while distracted and get some sweet revenge on Catherine's Pokemon. However, Haleigh sensed the opportunity for something even better - revenge against anyone who'd dare call her and Melody fake Marnie fans!

"Woah, lil' Coraline, hold your fire on 'em. Trust me, we can get Catherine later and trounce her but for now, I want you to get those bloody grunts. I'll show you who's the faker 'ere! Coraline, get the Nickit, Cornelius, attack the Zigazgoon from here with Disarming Voice."

Coraline looked at her classmate's Pokemon and back at her trainer, narrowing her eyes at them both before deciding to obey her trainer and execute an Astonish attack to add to the Pokemon piledrive along with Cornelius and a Disarming Voice attack.

"Hold your fire, Bishop. Annabelle, Fairy Wind!" Melody calls out. Despite the crow's aggravated expression, he seems to (begrudgingly) understand that all of his attacks would call for him to fly right into the middle of the onslaught in order to go at the pair of Dark Types with his beak or his talons.

Annabelle sways, her broken head uncomfortably still as she releases an array of sparkly-pink wind that joins forces with the Bubble Beam, Dragon Breath, Echoed Voice, and Astonish all to hit the pair of Pokemon dead on. Was it a bit of overkill? Absolutely. Was it deserved? Oh **** yes.

The combined onslaught of attacks resulted in an explosion of dust, smoke and flashes of colour. The pair of Dark types were completely overwhelmed by the sudden barrage and knocked out instantly, flying past their shocked trainers. Suddenly, there was silence.

"Uh…" the first grunt started.

"Um…" the second joined.

It seemed neither could find any actual words. The pair turned and ran, scooping up their fallen Pokemon as they did so and leaving the rest of their group behind.

"You haven't heard the last of us!" one of the other Yell members declared, before taking off after the two recently defeated combatants. The handful remaining were quick to follow suit.

Catherine watched them go with a scoff before turning back to the other problem she'd been stuck with. Now it was two on one and, naturally, she wouldn't put it past Melody and Hayeigh to gang up on her. "One lot of pests down, one to go."

Haleigh, none too pleased at what Catherine had called her and Melody, glared and barked at her, "Oi, who're you calling pests you wanker?"

"The people who helped start this whole debacle obviously? Taking a fan war to the streets is just ridiculous," Catherine retorted.

"Hey. We stopped them, didn't we? Now you can march your ass in there and buy whatever t--"

"THAT. IS. ENOUGH." Comes the shout of an older man with a rather impressive mustache. He stomps his way over to the trio of young women with a Kricketune trotting along behind him. "Look at this mess! Do you kids think those challenger bands let you get away with anything?"

"Mostly we thought we were doing you a favor." Melody argued, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

There's a brief pause as the older man's face slowly transforms into that shade of red commonly seen in Tamato berries. "A favor!?"

"Team Yell's gone." Melody explains rather bluntly.

The man opens his mouth as if he's about to shout once more, only to stop himself. He does not need the bad publicity that could easily form from Store employee degrades up-and-coming trainers. Most of Motostoke lives for the gym challenge. They'll chase him out of town. "... Okay, look." The suddenly dejected man grumbles as he motions for the Kricketune to come closer. "Will some free TRs be enough for you three to leave quietly?"

"What?" Catherine said flatly.

Kricketune reaches into the pockets of a little apron it's wearing and holds three TRs out to the man. Said man gives a small nod of acknowledgement before holding the three TRs out to the three trainers. "You each take one. You leave. And you stay far, far away from this place between 9 to 5, Monday through Friday."

After all that she and Melody had done to drive out Team Yell, it was irritating that the they were being treated as the problem. She looked between the two other girls and the store owner, twitching her leg and crossing her arms before exhaling and being the first one to take him up on his offer.

"Fine. Kinda sucks it turned out like this but hey, can't say no to free stuff!" Some of her usual cheer had returned as she looked between the three TRs before settling on the one labeled "Sing".

Melody glances between the three TRs before giving her shoulders a small shrug. "I'm good."

There is a long, silent, pointed stare in the punk teen's direction. "Then what do you want?"

Melody tries her best to hide the smirk that grows along with the man's aggravation-- it's not working. "I came for Piers' and Marnie's new album."

While the man cycles through the number of words he wants to-- but can't call this girl, Kricketune reaches into the apron and retrieves one of the aforementioned CDs. "Woooooop!"

"Neat." Melody grins as she holds her hand out for the CD. "Thanks."

Catherine selected a TR at random, doubtful of receiving anything useful either way. "I guess this will do then. I came here for music too, but I suddenly feel like getting it elsewhere."

Catherine gave the other two girls one last scathing look before turning and walking away.











​

Spewpa ♀ Tackle | Stun Spore | String Shot | Bug Bite Friend Guard

Caterpie ♂ Tackle | String Shot | Bug Bite Shield Dust

Burmy ♂ Protect | Hidden Power (water) Shed Skin

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

​

Sachiko Akabane

Tora ♂ Scratch | Ember | Lick | Roar | Bite | Power Trip Blaze

Gex ♂ Pound | Leer | Leafage | Quick Attack Overgrow

Aria ♀ Peck | Growl | Disarming Voice | Mist | Fury Attack Natural Cute

​

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

Joint post of Evily and Foxrally​

Spewpa ♀ Tackle | Stun Spore | String Shot | Harden Friend Guard

Caterpie ♂ Tackle | String Shot | Bug Bite Shield Dust

Burmy ♂ Protect | Hidden Power (water) Shed Skin

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

​

Aeliana Kekoa

Tampa ♀ Scratch / Leer / Water Gun / Aqua Jet / Bite / Dragon Dance Sheer Force

Fiesta ♂ Astonish | Water Gun | Growl | Absorb | Mist Swift Swim

Mahina ♀

Clara ♀ Growl | Disarming Voice | Confusion | Hypnosis | Double Team Trace

​

-------------------------------------------------------------​

Joint post of Stinging Bea and Foxrally​

From inside the café Nona saw the bustling city's residents walk past through her faint reflection. While waiting for her hot chocolate to cool a smidgen she wallowed in self-pity, disappointed yet frustrated she arrived far too late to the ceremony. So much so she shut herself inside a restroom stall and vented to her beloved father during it.

She taps the window before leaning forward and stretching, Beldum emerging from the wooden seat next to her and placed itself next to the hot cocoa, taking a quick cat nap; Nona never failed to disappoint as she began to rub on Beldum's scalp, aiding in the quickness of falling asleep.

"It's very pretty outside, don't you think?" she murmured, her frown slowly dissipating with the passing of time. Soon she'll be back to her cheery self and explore Motostoke. "But! Oh my gosh, here let me tell you," she suddenly shifts gears, unable to let the topic slip by as she leans back, hands now wrapping themselves around the mug, before beginning with a smile.

She proceeds to whisper the next part, prompting Beldum to inch closer. "...I think some of the boys in the ceremony were cuuuute!"

Walking past the stadium was Nona chatting away with her father, who only had an hour of his work break to spare. Beldum hovered around Nona in circles, nearly experiencing a stroke upon Nona almost tripping over her own feet.

Can humans save themselves?! Can I help her?!? Am I strong enough to carry her?! HOW FAST DO THEY FALL? HOW LONG DO I HAVE? CAN I FALL?

In an effort to find a quieter area, Nona went south of the building whose garage door had on it a blue Lapras logo and through a mesmerizing revolving tunnel. Here she stood beneath it and was lost in thought, eyes following the machinery's circular path.

"Learn from the experience. Sometimes you need to learn the hard way-"

"I know apaaaaa. I know," she replied with a giggle opposed to having discussed the ceremony in tears hours prior. "I'm good now."

"Ah that's good!"

Upon the call ending she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, breaking away from the trance. But as she ambled on she flinched at the sight of several flights of metal stairs that would have taken her down.

She made a u-turn. Soon she found herself in the city's south western area approaching a gear-like lift. Here she held on to Beldum as they were swung to the garden below; the scent of flowers and beautiful scenery was a good break from the dull and metal city environment.

"Oh my god this is so beautiful Azúl!" she breathed out in ecstasy, leaning over the bushes to her right. While not busy, some trainers had frolicked to this area with their Pokémin in tow; there was a small pool further ahead crowded by a group of children and their water-type pokémon.

"Yes, it's nature at its finest," a deep voice emerged from behind, startling Nona. Beldum hovered over to the stranger, only to calm itself upon recognizing the human. "If I am not mistaken, you are… Rodriguez?" Owner to the voice was none other than one of Professor Sonia's aide's. Sadly this was the unfortunate soul who had to help Nona once or twice due to Nona seeking the Professor when she was at her busiest.

"Ah! Yes that's me! I remember you too!" Nona greeted. But she did not recall his name. On the contrary she didn't recognize him at all, her mind returning a blank when gazing upon the pale man's golden eyes behind metallic frames, brown locks tied into a thick bun, and tall stature. His long, white professor's coat flew with the small breeze as he whistled to the Beldum, who responded with a cheery hum of their own.

At least Beldum recognized him, yet the aide figured the student wouldn't recall the two, quick questions he answered out of the two years of studying she had.

"Oh do you now? Hahaha, how lucky of me." He could read through her lie. Fortunately she did not notice, her naive smile still plastered. "How does it feel to be a full fledged Pokémon Trainer, hmm?"

"Oh! Uh… good! So far. I mean, it has its moments but it isn't so bad yet. Yet," she begins to explain. The aide takes his first step forward, causing Nona to follow. Together they walked down the garden and closer to the shimmering, yet dark, waters beneath them. "I'm a little behind everyone right now, but I'm catching up! I didn't meet up with anybody from my class either, but I hope I do soon. I sorta wanna see how everyone is doing, like a class reunion of sorts? Even thoouuugh I know it hasn't been long enough to be like, a reunion of sorts-"

On and on she went. Fortunately for her the aide found it entertaining and amusing, a different change of pace opposed to his quiet walk from work marked by the occasional curious trainer.

"Were you aware Beldum can break machinery when in close proximity?" The fact threw Nona off-guard, peaking her curiosity.

"Like a magnet? Is it like that video where they put this giant magnet near this computer screen and it makes it change colors and all that?"

He proceeds to correct the young woman, finding her thirst for knowledge, and rather quirky and odd nature, amusing. "Yyyy… yes, for the most part. I can be certain that this is the case for older models-"

The river's iridescent surface was surprisingly not as translucent as she had imagined. Magikarps and the like were not visible unless they broke the surface. But whenever they did they were greeted with Beldum's red pupil, curious as to why they needed to see what was occurring above their safe river haven.

Further ahead, past the factory pipes and well down the small brick path next to the river, they encountered a dilemma. The aide sighed in disbelief. "How ironic."

"What is that? It's all rainbow colored and slime-like."

"Quite observant, Rodriguez," remarked the aide, unable to snicker at the obvious fact. Beldum refused to approach, instead hovering in front of Nona as it gazed at the rainbow sludge a meter away. "With that description it's as if… no. Is it?" The possibility of the sludge being an Alolan Muk made his research trip that much more interesting, the very reason he was worried over the polluted waters of Motostoke.

"What is it? Oh, it has little white rocks on it too… is it bad?" Instead of a verbal response the aide carefully approached the puddle, slowing upon its movement. A sticky, amorphous creature began to rise from the vibrant, colored liquid, two small eyes with beady black pupils suddenly revealing themselves.

"Ooooh, a muk!" Nona proudly recognized. "But it's the one from Alola." She kept her distance, recalling its poisonous composition.

"Sh sh shhh, there… I'm not here to hurt you," muttered the aid, hands steadily rising to indicate his vulnerability. "I just need to pass through-"

A quiet rumble sent the aide a few steps back before the muk's spit could land on him, melting small holes into the concrete instead. Nona froze in place, not knowing how to react all the while the aide retrieved his Pokéball… or so he believed.

He let out a grunt of annoyance when recalling he had left his pokéballs in the Pokémon Center to heal, having encountered wild Pokémon in the Wild Areas. Yet he did not expect to fight one within the walls of Motostoke.

He takes another step back and turns to Nona, yet eyes still glued on to Muk. "Do you, by chance, have another Pokémon at your disposal?"

At first she hesitated. With Moises she could not perform, much less a professional such as the aide standing before her.

With regret she shakes her head, wishing to have taken up on her brother's offer to capture a second ally. "I'm really sorry, I don't-"

"Do not be. That's quite alright, we can come back at a different hour," the aide replied, deciding that their best course of action is to wait for his team to heal before initiating anything a student may not be able to handle. "This Alolan Muk is poisonous and therefore not a good idea to have you fight one when still inexperienced." His words, although not meant to demean her in any way, made her feel guilty for being unable to be his answer.

Her brother may have been able to fight his way through. Her father could have easily threatened with the help of his own two Pokémon. But her? With a Beldum?

"Let's go before we agitate it any more. Perhaps within the next hour it will move along, therfore we can avoid any confrontation to begin with." His words began to blur as she debated on rising to the occasion, seeing it as an opportunity to have a veteran help her.

She would make a fool of herself, but the aide is here to help. She could get them in danger, however, but would he be able to get them out without a hitch? Is it even bad she's toying with the idea?

It wasn't until the third time that the aide's voice got through her thick head, startling her. "... Rodriguez, the longer we remain the more likely our guest will be agitated." He gave her shoulder blade a light pat to set her on course away from the muk.

"O-oh I'm sorry! I should've been paying attention," apologizes Nona. With every step taken the further her chance to gain experience in battling became.

Beldum did not part gazes with the muk until the group had turned the corner, where the enemy disappeared behind a brick wall.

The garden approached them, but unlike before, nature's smell did not invigorate bliss and joy. It was here where a small flame of courage ignited inside Nona. And she held on to it, gripping tight, mainly due to the muk no longer in her line of vision. And despite the sinking feeling at the depths of her gut she was determined to overcome the first obstacle of many in this journey.

"W-wait, I can do it," Nona began, but it did not slow their pace as they entered the garden.

"Do what, Miss Rodriguez?"

She raised her voice just a tad bit in a show of courage. "Fight the muk. I can fight the muk with my beldum." Beldum concurred with the suggestion, quickly darting over to the aide's line of sight.

But he did not slow as they entered the lift towards higher ground. "While I admire your enthusiasm and conviction Miss Rodriguez, I believe it is best for me to get my Pokémon first before deciding to face the Alolan Muk. And while I am glad that you are stepping up to the challenge, it does not go unnoticed that perhaps it may be a bad idea to send a trainer who just admitted they cannot fight a wild buneary to face the poisonous fury of this muk." Defeated, Nona did not continue to persist, lamenting on her inexperience as Beldum places himself on her arms to better comfort her.

Soon they reach their destination. In the Pokémon Center he collects his friends and belongings and meets up with Nona outside, calm and having thought her offer through.

The aide leans on the building's wall next to her, inspecting the three Pokéballs back in his possession. "After much consideration, I am willing to lend you a hand in fighting the muk, as long as I have a Pokémon right next to you on stand by."

Nona's calm expression slowly shifts into that of elation. "Really?! I mean, are you sure? It's okay if you don't want to, I know you can probably defeat it faster than I ever could-"

Rosa awoke in the middle of the night, rubbing her eyes as she winced at the grating sound that was drifting in through her window. "What is that?" She whispered, glancing lethargically at the clock before looking back at the open window. "It's three in the morning, why aren't people asleep yet?"

She grumbled as she slipped into a pair of pajama pants and pulled the oversized sweater over her head before grabbing her pokeballs and heading out the door. She looked down the hallway, noticing that one of the doors was slightly ajar and grabbed her boots before closing the door behind her. She walked down to the room and peered inside before knocking gently.

"Hello? Anyone in here? Pardon the intrusion, I'm going to let myself in. Were you woken up by that noise too? I looked out my window but I didn't see anyone and-"

The room was completely empty, but the window was open. The wind blew the curtains away, revealing that the sheets had been knotted together and dropped out through it. Rosa rushed over, watching as the girl pulled herself from the bushes below and began to walk down the street.

"Hey!" Rosa called out, leaning out the window and waving her hands. "You alright? Why'd you climb out anyways?"

At that moment, another female trainer in her pajamas rushed out the front door and began to shake the girl until she woke up, shrieking at the other trainer as she came to before falling to the ground in an uncontrollable sob.

"H-Hey!" She called out again, waving her arms a little less frantically. "What's going on down there?"

"Are you in our room?" The second trainer called back in astonishment. "What do you think you're doing up there? Did you do this to her?"

Rosa's eyes widened quickly as she pulled herself back into the room. That… wasn't the reaction she was hoping for. She quickly exited the room and made her way down the opposite hallway before bumping into another restless trainer.

"Oi, watch where yer goin'." The red-haired boy towered over her a little more than everyone else did. She could tell he was more than just tall to her. The boy nearly touched the ceiling with his head, and his voice was gruff and deep. He had the makings of a moustache, but it hadn't had enough time to grow so he'd only been able to oil and curl the very edge of it.

"S-sorry. I thought I heard something and then-"

"Ah, dat'll be the mysterious disappearin's den. Been happnin more and more oft' it has. Kids and young trainers been sayin' dey hear music of some kind 'fore rushin' off int' the night light. Shame dat. Dey're never seen afta', but the ones dat get stopped 'fore dey hit da sewers always tell da same story."

"How long has this been going on?" Rosa asked, wide-eyed at the idea of trainers and children just going missing with no clues. Motostoke was appearing more and more dangerous by the day. "This place has too much **** going on…"

The man nodded his head in agreement. "Ay', dat she does. Not my favorite place ta be, but den again dat'd be why I got me sponsorship. Long as I perform proper, I won't haf'ta come back 'ere. But 'sides dat, I'd say de disappearin's been goin' on fer… I dunno, two, tree months? Summin' like dat."

"And there's no leads… that seems…" she shook her head. "The family can't be responsible for every weird thing that happens around town. But… I should check it out regardless, I guess. I don't want to wake up one night in the middle of a sleep-walking episode and scream my head off like that other girl."

The man shrugged. "Ey, if you wann' get caught up in da family's business dat's all you. But don't go mentionin' dem in public. Arceus knows where all dey've got ears around here and I'm not try'n ta get caught up in any'a dat. 'Sides dat, I don't tink dey're behind dis. Take it from a resident of the city, sweetie."

"So someone else… or something else? Well, I guess that makes it a little safer if they're not involved…"

"Ay, dat it does. Now nevermind dat, please be on yer way. I've got tings to do and yer hoggin' da hall."

"Oh, right, sorry." She muttered, placing her hand on the railing and pulling herself back up. "If this happens so often, it can't just be one person a night that's getting kidnapped right? If it's consistent then there should be multiple people wandering off around the city… I just need to follow them."

The man had already headed off down the hall and entered another room just out of sight. Rosa nodded to herself and headed off towards the elevator. Her current clothes were warm enough, thanks mostly in part to the sweater. She quickly jabbed at the 'down' button, watching as the arrow above her lit up to indicate the car's movement.

"Come on, come on. I don't have all night." she muttered to herself as she tapped her foot. It was three in the morning after all. The likelihood of any other people being awake was pretty slim, especially with the majority of the rooms being dedicated to the trainers attending the opening ceremony. She took the time waiting to slip on the sandals and tapped her toes against the floor. As the door dinged, denoting its arrival, she let out a sigh and rolled her head around. "Ugh, finally." she whispered as she stepped forward before recoiling. "O-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd see you here."

---

One day we will rise up higher
Until then don't lose your fire
Now to hell with all the liars
It's our time to-- BZZZZZZZZ

"****ING HELL." Melody shouts as she practically springs out of her bed, awakened quite abruptly by the sharp, shrill noise that blasted out of her ear buds. She quickly jerks the small devices out of her ears and makes a quick grab for her phone. It looks fine. Was that hellbound sound just interference messing with the signal? That doesn't seem right, it's never sounded like that before. Melody shuts down the app that was transmitting the music and narrows her eyes when silence doesn't take over. There's something else-- a really grating sound. Is it the guy from the next room over's TV? That's why she had to put her earbuds in to begin with. See, this is what happens when you try to live and let live. Looks like she'll have to go over there and knock until he-- No, wait, that sound isn't coming from the wall. It's coming from the window.

The punk teen grumbles to herself as she makes her way over to the window and forcefully shoves it open. She breathes in deeply, prepared to shout out that whoever is making that sound needs to knock it the **** off, but something catches her eye before she speaks. Um. Is that girl climbing out of her window with knotted bedsheets? What? Is the door too basic? Melody quirks her brow as she watches. She makes it to the ground okay at least. Looks like she's headed somewhere. She can make out someone calling out to her from a window, though the obnoxious, grating sound makes it difficult to make out what's being said. Oh, here comes a friend… shaking her shoulders… and now she's screaming… aaaand now she's crying.

"Th' hell's goin' on?" Melody murmurs, gritting her teeth as that sound continues to drill into her ears. Wait-- that sound can't be what made the girl climb out of her window, can it…? No, wait, that is a thing. It sounds like something straight out of a Dreepypasta yet it's been proven to work to some degree.

Well, mind-control waves or just really annoying waves, she's not going to be able to get back to sleep with that sound creeping through the windows. A very begrudging Melody yanks her jacket off the floor and pulls it on over her pajama shirt. No, she's not bothering to get dressed. It's 3 AM, who's going to see her? She'll just put on her shoes, slide outside, find the source of that noise, kick it until it stops making said noise, and go back to bed. She grabs her bag and slips her three Pokeballs into it before practically stomping towards the elevator.

The elevator rolls in fairly quickly and Melody lets out a deep sigh as she presses the button to take her to the bottom floor. Floor four… floor three… floor-- why is it stopping? Who else in their right mind is using an elevator at three o'clock in the damn morn--

Rosa. Rosa is using the elevator at three o'clock in the damn morning. Melody's aggravation ebs away incredibly quickly, replaced with confusion for a brief second before it clicks. "Hey…" She greets as she steps back so Rosa can step inside. "... You hear that sound too, yeah?"

Rosa nodded, blushing slightly as she hadn't expected to run into anyone else and as such hadn't changed out of the flower-print pajama bottoms. Luckily, the sweater covered most of her body, so Melody hopefully wouldn't notice unless she was actively looking at her legs. "Yeah… I guess it was that and a girl down the hall climbing out her window and getting shouted at that woke me up? I ran into a local a little bit ago that told me about some disappearances they've been having around town. So, since I can't get back to sleep, I supposed I should go and check it out."

Oh, it must have been Rosa that was calling out to the girl that was climbing down the window-- or there's multiple girls climbing out of windows. In which case… why the hell not at this point? "Disappearances?" Two points for the mind-control-sound-wave theory. Melody gives her jacket a small tug in order to cover up the sleeping Vullaby design on her pajama shirt, suddenly feeling just slightly underdressed for the occasion. "... I was gonna go find out what's making that sound. I guess we're… sorta after the same thing." That, and she would much rather Rosa not go looking into mysterious disappearances alone in the dead of night.

Rosa glanced at Melody from the corner of her eye, taking in the girl's attire which was equally as thrown together as her own outfit. Neither of them were dressed for the occasion, but if this was the time of night where people went missing, they couldn't waste any time 'prettying themselves up'. "Yeah, apparently its been going on for a few months. But… the police around here aren't exactly good at doing their jobs it would seem. So people just keep disappearing. No bodies are found, no traces of their disappearance, nothing to go off of. I thought it might have been-" she started, before recalling what the man had said earlier. Best not to bring up the family in public too much. She didn't want to end up dragging Melody down into her mess.

Thankfully, the elevator's door gave her enough of a reason to stop talking. She squeezed out quickly as they peeled apart, seeing the two girls from earlier. She didn't figure it would be any use to question them, as the man earlier had said all the victims they stopped from disappearing gave the same story. She glanced over at the reception desk, noting that the clerk wasn't there. She turned quickly to Melody just as the doors finished opening fully and motioned for her to follow. "We've got to hurry," she called back.

There's not a lot of need for words. Melody only gives a short nod as she quickens her steps to fall in line beside Rosa. She then casts a quick glance towards the pair-- they're the ones from the window. It's probably not worth asking them anything. What could they really say? 'I was asleep and then I woke up and I was outside.' Helpful. The punk teen disregards them in lieu of looking to her smaller companion and giving a small thumbs up. "Right beside you."

As they exited through the front of the building, they found where the clerk had run off to. The man was waving his arms and shouting at a young man that was climbing down from the top floor by knotted bed sheets, the same as the girl from earlier had tried. The sheets were nowhere near long enough, and she was nearing the end of her rope, literally. "Melody we've got to do something or she'll-" she quickly exclaimed as she dug around in her pocket, trying to recall if any of her Pokemon had anything useful for the situation.

But nothing came to her. No flying types, no large pokemon to stop the fall, nothing soft and squishy. As her mind raced, another staff member appeared from the window where the sheets were flowing from and attempted to pull them back in, but as the man started to move back up the wall he quickly released his grip and began to fall to the ground below.

****, ****, ****! Melody quickly dives her hand into her bag to retrieve two of her Pokeballs. "Catch him!"

From the Pokeballs shoot forth three bursts of light that take the form Nightshot, Bishop, and Annabelle. The Rookidee and the Dreepy quickly shoot upward in order to grab the falling kid's sleeves, though due to how small both are, all they can truly do is slow the fall. Melody's Mimikyu hops in desperation before releasing a very delicate Fairy Wind that she hopes will slow the fall all the more.

Rosa watched as the Pokemon sprung into action and did all they could to slow the boy's fall. "Ah," she whispered, pulling a pokeball from her pocket. "Do your part!" she cried out, tossing the ball towards the spot she thought the boy would be landing. Ezra burst free, thankfully still sleeping. The Pokemon yawned as it scratched its stomach, giving a small, but more cushioned place for the boy to land.

The three rushed over as the Pokemon worked together to lay the boy as gently on the Munchlax's gut as they could. The clerk began to shake the boy, calling out his name as he did so in desperation. "Wake up, come on. I can't lose another customer, my job depends on it," he grunted as he started slapping the boy's cheeks lightly.

Rosa recalled Ezra, causing the boy to fall a few inches and startle himself awake. "What! What! I'm up, don't eat without me!"

Melody sighs in relief once the kid is on the ground. "Good job, guys." She compliments as she motions for her three Pokemon to come back to her. It might be best to keep them out-- in case they find another wayward youth trying to become one with the pavement. Bishop quickly flits over and rests atop her shoulder while Nightshot takes his usual place inside Melody's satchel.

The clerk sighed and dropped his head before turning to the two trainers, who most certainly did not currently look the part. "I thank you. With all the trainers gathering up for the ceremony, I was afraid that we'd have at least a few attempted abductions. But I didn't think…" he shook his head. "Thank you. After that girl came down after her friend, I rushed out just to be sure nobody else was being called away. I hate to think what would have happened if you two hadn't slowed this boy's descent."

The boy scratched at his head and let out a massive yawn. "Why am I out of my room? Is this… is this some sort of prank? I really don't have time for this guys," he grumbled as he walked back in the front of the building. "I need all the sleep I can get. I've got a challenge with Kabu tomorrow and I won't have my chances be ruined by a bunch of pranksters butting in on my sleep schedule!" He stuck out his tongue and gave them both the bird before darting back into the building.

"Enjoy getting your ass kicked!" Melody calls while returning the less-than friendly hand gesture.

The clerk shook his head. "I'm sorry. Miss Rosa, you've done us a great service once more. I'll be sure to send some comps to you and your friend's rooms to show appreciation… but if I may ask, why exactly are the two of you out and about at this time of night?"

Rosa looked over at Melody, hoping that she'd take the chance to explain. She didn't want to assume anything about her motives like she had with Jasper before. It was too late into the night to be having an argument and she had at least had a chance of keeping up some semblance of a persona around this girl.

Hey, free stuff. This night's not a total waste. Melody looks between the inn-keeper and Rosa before giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "I came out to find that weird radio signal. Figured I could smash it or turn it off so we could sleep in peace."

Rosa nodded in agreement. "I was woken up by a weird sound, and then I saw the girl walking out of the bushes from my room. After that… I ran into a local who filled me in on what's been happening. It's not like I'm trying to play hero or anything, but…" she couldn't exactly say that it was just so that she wouldn't have to worry about waking up in the middle of some abandoned building three towns over with nothing to her name. Her father had told her stories about things like that happening to people in other regions that he'd visited.

The clerk nodded his head knowingly. "You're a good person. It seems you're always putting others first." The man smiled and then looked over at Melody and nodded his head. "You've got a good, kind-hearted friend here. Cherish her."

It's probably the fact that it's three AM and she's half convinced she woke up in a Stephen Kingdra mini-series that makes her flash a little smile at Rosa's blush rather than tell the inn-keeper off for telling her what to do. She wouldn't have called them friends before, though she is… way more fond of Rosa than she is the majority of her classmates. Well, guess they're friends now. She raises her hand to give the finger gun motion to the inn keeper. "You got it, man."

Rosa blushed violently as she pulled the extra fabric of the sweater up around her face, hiding the color of her cheeks. "By the way, have you seen anything weird around town since the disappearances began?"

The clerk rubbed his chin for a few seconds and then mumbled something to himself before nodding. "There might be something. Rumor has it, there's been a Mr. Mime - a non-galarian variant that is - running around town at night. Others have said they've seen a yellow Pokemon with a large nose and a white collar of fur, but I'm not well versed enough to know what they're talking about. The Mr. Mime might be something though. They say it hides out in the sewers beneath Motostoke. Nobody's ever seen it go down there, but there have been some sightings of people going in and out of there around this time of night and early in the morning."

Yellow Pokemon. Big nose. Oh, hell no. "You've got to be ****ing kidding me…" Melody mumbles under her breath. Apparently she was onto something when she thought about those old Dreepypastas. Once again her eyes flicker between Rosa and their new inn-keeper pal. "This is bad." She grumbles. Well- it was bad before, now it's… "Really, really bad." And they've gotten themselves involved in it. Oh, joy to the world. "We've got to get down there."

Rosa raised her eyebrow as she brought her head back out of her woolen shell. "Well I don't disagree, but it seems like you've got an idea of what might be going on."

"There's a… myth about the Pokemon Hypno." Yes, myth, that makes this sound slightly less ridiculous. These are stories passed down from generation to generation and totally not something some fifteen year-old wrote to put on the internet. "It's… um." You know what, it might be easier to just recite. Melody clears her throat before relaying the words in a sing-song voice.

"Come little children, come with me
Safe and happy you will be
Away from your homes, now let us run
With Hypno, you'll have so much fun

Oh, little children, please don't cry
Hypno wouldn't hurt a fly
Be free, be free be free to play
Come down in my cave with me to stay

Oh, little children, please don't squirm
Those ropes, I know, will hold you firm
Hypno tells you this is true
But sadly, Hypno lied to you.

… There's more but… you get the picture."

Rosa and the clerk both went as white as a sheet. "I'd heard... " she swallowed hard as she held her own shaky hand. "I'd heard some myths about the rage of legendary Pokemon back in Johto but I never considered... '' she took a few slow, and shaky steps away from the building, chuckling to herself uncomfortably. "Well, if that's what's going on, we should go and do what we can, right?" She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders, pulling her head back into the safety of the sweater's neck. "Before I start actually using my head and realize what a bad idea this is," she whispered to herself.

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

"They're called Dreepypastas. Most of them are bull**** teenagers write to scare each other. Hypno's Lullaby was inspired by a Pokedex entry, so… guess it's not so bull****." Melody explains as she climbs down the rusted ladder down into the darkness of the sewers. Once she and Rosa were away from the Inn-keeper, she decided to elaborate a little more on her legend. Upon reaching the bottom, Melody steps to the side and waits for Rosa to make her way down, prepared to grab her if the ladder decided to give way. It doesn't exactly look reliable. Not that anything about this place screams this is a good idea.

Rosa let out a small sigh as she rejoined Melody at the bottom of the ladder. "That's a bit of a relief. I've heard a lot of scary things about powerful Pokemon in the past… we used to do rituals growing up in hopes of appeasing them, but I hadn't really considered that normal Pokemon could have the same tendencies. I guess… I guess everything does have to eat, so I suppose I was just trying not to realize it."

"Rituals like dances around a fire or rituals like putting berries at an altar?" Melody asks as she holds her phone out into the darkness before them. The flashlight glows and illuminates a few feet in front of them. Revealing… very little, really. Melody can see Nightshot's eyes peeking out of her bag with a very fearful expression. Since this journey began, they have gotten into their fair share of really less-than-safe adventures…. Though she had to admit, this was by far the stupidest thing she had volunteered them to do.

"A bit of both," she said, pulling her pokedex back out to shine the light at her feet. It was all the light that the small device could produce and still be useful. At the very least, she wouldn't be tripping over anything for a while. "It just depends on who or what you're praying to, I guess. I learned like… at least a dozen different ceremonial dances? There's a different dance and ritual for each Pokemon we worshipped, and for each season that we worshipped them in. It's all such a production, but Johto is all about those types of things, y'know?" She cleared her throat as she took a few steps forward, doing her best to not think about what might be awaiting them. "But nevermind that. I wouldn't want to bore you with the specifics. It'd be a shame if you fell asleep down here." She chuckled softly as she reached for Melody's shirt, hoping for something to hold onto to keep from falling behind.

"Ya know… it is pretty quiet down here." Melody jokes. Thanks to the light, she can see the hand reaching for her out of the corner of her eye and slows her stride so Rosa can hold onto her jacket. It's a good idea to stay close. The lights they have aren't fantastic, and really anything could be lurking just a couple of feet away. Anything… anyone. This is so not worth the free food that inn-keeper's going to give them. Not that she can turn back now. Rosa's going to do this whether she's here or not. So… might as well make the best of it and try to lighten the mood. "It's sorta neat though. I thought Johtoans only worshiped Ho-oh and Lugia. Maybe Celebi?" Those are the three big ones Sonia wanted them to know about anyway.

Rosa nodded, bunching up the fabric as she closed her hand around Melody's clothes. The darkness and current situation they were in definitely helped to strengthen the persona that she'd spent so much time working on for Melody. Not having to 'get into character' was certainly a good thing, since the emotions she was feeling would definitely make it through without feeling forced or fake. "Yeah, those are the big ones. We also worshipped deities from other regions though - Arceus, Palkia, Giratina, and then also lesser beings like Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. I never had the chance to finish my training, so I didn't learn the dances for all of them, but they all have rituals that bare minimum are used as a means to offer thanks."

Melody didn't care much for history when they were in class, though Rosa's explanation makes it sound almost interesting. Maybe because it's personal rather than millions of years ago there was an egg, then there was Arceus, then there was a lot of things. Either that or her brain is content to listen to something that serves as a distraction from the fact that they are walking through a sewer to look for a potentially homicidal Pokemon. A homicidal Pokemon she doesn't think will chill out if they're nice to it the way Annabelle did. "Are you gonna do contests? I bet those dances would get you a lot of points."

Rosa shrugged slightly. "I'm… not sure." She felt around in her pocket for the styler before realizing she'd left it in her room. That definitely would have been a useful asset at this point in time. Although, that's not where her thoughts were at the moment. Performing personal or meaningful dances alongside the function of the styler helped to increase its functionality. Whether or not she performed in contests, she'd still be making use of her past experience at some point, it was just a matter of when. "I've thought about it for a few different reasons. But what about you? You've got a nice aesthetic and your Pokemon are really cool. I think you'd be able to perform just as well, if not better."

"You think?" Oh, Rosa. Sweet, sweet, trying so hard to be nice Rosa. Melody shrugs. "I never thought about it. I'm not really flashy." She knows enough about contests to know that coordinators get much higher points if they actually do something along with their Pokemon. She's never tried to dance before, the idea alone makes her feel silly. She's not all that talented in anything besides beating the tar out of other people and playing the guitar. The latter of those talents she never really mentions because it makes her sound so stereotypical. Someone from Spikemuth that's musical? Pretty much a drop in the bucket. After a couple of seconds, she gives a little snicker. "I'd be awful at that kind of thing."

"Even rock stars dance a bit when they're on stage, right? Simon's shown me some of the old videos of bands like Aron Amarth, Cannibal Cursola, and Guns n' Roselia performing. I'm not sure myself that my traditional dance style would exactly be what they're looking for nowadays, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try." She smiled a little and buried her nose into her sweater. "I've actually wondered if I shouldn't study more dance since I've already been exposed to it. I'm not very… well, in with current trends. I haven't ever had a tv of my own, much less a cell phone." She shook her head gently, rubbing her nose against the loose strands of wooloo.

"It depends. It's hard to dance if you're playing an instrument, or if you're using a microphone on a stand instead of one that's clipped to your head." She's seen Piers grab his mic and do a few movements, though that's not enough to impress any judges. And what would her Pokemon be doing? She doesn't have the creativity required to bring out the beauty in her Pokemon, or whatever it is they squeal about contest stars being good at. Not her thing. "I dunno, there's kinda been a resurgence of interest in the classics since that thing with Eternatus a couple years back." She says before glancing over her shoulder to get a better look at Rosa. "When we're done with this, I'll show you some stuff that's in now. You're from Johto… do you like J-rock?" Could be a good place to start.

She raised her shoulders slightly, not really going into a full shrug, but enough that her figure could be seen shifting in the dark. "I can't say. I guess I'm kind of a blank slate in that department. My mom was very strictly traditional, but my dad would always bring back things from his jobs in other regions. Almost anything that he'd bring me would be tossed out the second he left though, so even if I wanted to learn of something beyond what I had, I could only dream."

"Operation get Rosa out of the past is a go then." Melody declares, withholding a soft yikes at the idea of her stuff getting chucked out. Her own mother didn't much care what she took interest in or what kind of gifts she was given as long as she was quiet about it. "I think you'd like--"

crunch.

Melody pauses both her words and her movement when an unnerving-- something cracks underneath her foot. She was focused more on Rosa than the ground beneath her and-- she slowly angles her phone's flashlight to illuminate her feet. Nightshot lets out a short shout. That's. Yep, that's a bone. A very little, brittle bone.

Rosa's face went as white as a sheet as she dropped the pokedex down lower. It wasn't just one bone, but a whole trail of them. As she scanned the nearby walls, there were smaller piles of similar or smaller bones that looked like they'd been tossed about haphazardly. Luckily, there wasn't a smell to them, otherwise she most likely would have gagged. She could feel the churning in her stomach, but it wasn't enough to bring anything up.

"Are these… the people that have gone missing?" She asked as she released Melody's jacket and inched forward, scooting her boots across the ground so that she wouldn't step on any herself. She shivered with her full body as she squatted down beside the wall and picked up a bone that was only a couple of inches long between her fingertips. "Ew, ew, ew." She whispered as she shone the light on it. They were completely cleaned, and had even been somewhat bleached. "I don't-" she started before something else caught her attention. "Is that… music? No, it's more like… like a chant..."

"They're too little to be human bones, aren't they?" Not that human anatomy was anything Melody ever took the time to study. More like she just hoped those were actually the bones of a Rattata or something that got left around after some other Pokemon ate it. Why a Pokemon would take the time to bleach a bone though…

The punk teen glares towards the sound of the chanting as Nightshot slowly wriggles his way out of her satchel to latch onto his trainer's shoulder. In response to the musical chanting, he begins to hum the tune to the Hypno song Melody recited earlier in an attempt to ask if it's a Hypno that's doing the chanting. "Easy, little dude." Melody murmurs as she scans the area for something she can use as a weapon-- just in case. "-- Are you ready to fight our way out if things get uglier, Rosa?"

Rosa held the bone up towards her own finger, trying to see if maybe… a chill ran up her spine as she dropped it back into the pile. "Nope. Nope. Let's do this. Get it over with." She fumbled for the balls in her pockets and produced two of them. She really wished she had thought to take the styler with her now, but was glad she decided to leave Zorro back in the room. She nodded, more to assure herself of her ability than anything else. "I'm not exactly fit for fighting, but I've got Pokemon. I think we should be okay as long as we don't fall for any tricks."

Rosa took a few steps forward, rubbing the balls in her hands against the wall as she clung to it. She continued to shuffle her feet along the floor, hearing the plop of bones as she kicked them, causing them to skitter off the walkway and into the water of the drainage sewers. As they continued along the path, the chanting started getting louder and louder and then- thud!

"What the-" Rosa growled as she rubbed her forehead. "What was that?" she whispered, feeling around the air in front of her. There was something solid there; weirdly vibrating, but solid. She ran her hands along it and followed with a shuffling of her feet until she found the edge of the platform. "That… that just doesn't make any sense!" She hissed quietly as she looked to both sides of her in the dark. "Am I going crazy, or-"

"No, you're not crazy." Melody shakes her head as she steps forward with her hand outstretched to feel the vibrating-- barrier? Oh, ****, that's right. The Inn-Keeper said a Mr. Mime had been seen coming down here. She had been so focused on the Hypno side of the story that the freaky mime thing had slipped her mind. "It's got to be a Mr. Mime's invisible wall." She says, her eyes narrowing into a hateful glare as she rares back and knocks forcefully against the barrier. "Come on out then, you limey ****! We know you're here!"

Rosa felt along the wall as Melody banged and shouted. There had to be a more subtle way in than calling the attention of potentially murderous Pokemon. Whatever a Mr. Mime creates by pinching at the air is supposed to be made real… which should mean… "I found it," she whispered as she twisted the ball in her hand and pushed through the wall. "Look, I guess this is the door."

"-- He made a door?" Either they're working with a really stupid Mr. Mime, or this one's working with others who are coming and going. Melody flashes a small grin. "You're brilliant, you know that?" She never would have thought to look for a door. Her next idea was to create a full-scale assault on the wall with all their Pokemon. Admittedly a lot of energy spent on something that Rosa had managed to solve by thinking logically for a few seconds. The punk teen reaches out to make sure there's not another barrier right behind the first one before giving a small nod and slowly stepping through.

Rosa continued in, following the wall as the chanting continued to grow louder and louder. The echo is really what killed her though. This passage they had gone down to follow the voices was long and narrow, causing the chant to muddle together and turn into more of a monotonous drone than anything else.

Just as Rosa felt as if she were nearing the end of her sanity, she saw a warm glow from around the next turn. "Melody, look." She whispered, creeping up to the corner where the two paths connected. She looked down the path and saw three hooded figures standing around a cauldron which had a massive fire roaring beneath it. The two Pokemon they'd been expecting to encounter were nowhere to be seen though.

"Those… aren't Pokemon." Melody whispers. At least-- the shape doesn't look like any Pokemon she's ever seen. The slightly taller female leans in to get a better look at the scene before them. "Is that a cauldron?" She asks in a low whisper. Suddenly the bones they encountered earlier in their journey flashed to the forefront of her mind and made her stomach tighten. "... You don't think this is a human sacrifice situation, do you?" No, can't be. She's seen some **** since this whole journey started but that's a whole other level of ****ed up.

Rosa shook her head. "I think I was more comfortable with this when I thought it was just wild Pokemon…" Rosa rubbed at her stomach before crawling around the corner. "If they're people though, I think that makes this part a lot easier." The girl put the balls she'd been juggling between the fingers of her off hand into her throwing hand and took aim. "I don't even want to think about what's in that pot."

Yeah, that's probably for the best. Melody nods and opens up the flap of her satchel so a very frightened and very hesitant Nightshot can slowly float out.

Rosa launched the two balls at the hooded figures, ricocheting off of two of the peoples heads and causing them to recoil, losing their hoods in the process. The balls bounced once more against the ground before releasing both Wyatt and Yzma.

"They're… they're just kids?" Rosa said, falling back onto her heels and losing some of the edge in her voice. "But… that doesn't make any sense… I don't understand why they'd-"

Nice shot! Melody thinks to herself as the pokeballs make their mark. She raises her fists towards her face, prepared for the hooded figures to lunge or launch some kind of attack-- only to drop her arms to her sides in shock when their faces are revealed.

"Are you ****ting me?" She asks, only sparing the group of hooded kids from a shout because the confusion of the turn this situation just took baffled her beyond the point of yelling-- for now. "What the hell are you kids doing down here?"

The two kids stared at the pokemon in front of them in horror as the third hooded figure shoved two pokeballs at the kids before bolting off deeper into the sewer system without saying a word or turning to look back at the trainers.

"W-what are you doing down here," the younger looking girl piped up, not wanting to back down. "We were here first! Get out before w-we get you!"

Her hair was black, with streaks of purple and pink, but her natural color was most definitely blonde as her roots were starting to betray her. She was clearly no older than eleven or twelve, and looked to be roughly the same size as Rosa. Her makeup was done up to resemble something tribal, with black eyeliner having been used to paint large circles around her eyes as well as swirling arrows across her face

The older looking boy took a few shuffling steps towards the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder as he crouched down behind her before whispering something into her ear. His appearance was almost completely identical from the color of his hair to the makeup he'd applied, but the fledgling scruff on his chin hinted at him being two or three years older than his cohort.

As he whispered in her ear, the girl nodded and smiled mischievously. "Miss, miss," she pleaded theatrically, clasping her hands together and taking a few steps forward while doing her best to put on an innocent face. "Please help us. We were kidnapped by that man and he threatened us! We had to help him or else he would have hurt us!"

"Uh-huuuh." Melody replies with a raised eyebrow. Things are starting to make sense from the kids' appearances alone. She wants to go tearing off after the bolting hooded figure, but she's certain his victims will release those Pokeballs if she starts running. Instead she rests her hand on her hip and rolls her eyes. "First off, if you're going to try to play that card, be more subtle about it-- and wipe that damn smirk off your face. Second, if you come another step closer, my Rookidee will peck your eyes out."

The girl snickered and lifted the pokeball before starting her chant again. "Come little children, come with me
Safe and happy you will be
Away from your homes, now let us run
With Hypno, you'll have so much fun."

"Yeah we're gonna put a stop to that right now." Rosa said with an annoyed expression on her face. "Wyatt, use Disarming Voice!"

The Pokemon hopped over in front of the girl and raised its ears, inhaling deeply before letting out a deafening cry. "Whiiiis!"

The boy and girl both fell to the ground, clutching at their ears while the Pokemon let out its deafening cry. As Wyatt's voice died down, the boy shakily rose to his feet and kept up the chant that the girl had started, albeit with a little less gusto.

"Oh, little children, please don't cry
Hypno wouldn't hurt a fly
Be free, be free be free to play
Come down in my cave with me to stay."

Melody's eyebrow raises for a second time as the chanting continues. "Alright then." Can't say she didn't warn them. Melody takes two quick steps forward and punches the teen boy square in the nose. If that doesn't snap him out of whatever delusional world he's trapped in… she can aim lower.

The boy stumbled backwards, dabbing his hand against his nose repeatedly as the blood began to trickle down his face. "You- you brokeded my nose!" He whimpered as he pressed his fingers to the sides of the bridge of his nose. "You ****ing *****!" He spat as he pulled his arm back to launch the pokeball at Melody's face.

The younger girl stepped forward, grabbing the boy's arm and gripping it tight enough that he winced and dropped the ball, causing the Mr. Mime contained within to break free.

"Oww, Tessa that hurts!" The boy whimpered as the girl tightened her grip.

"You weren't supposed to show your Pokemon if you didn't have to, Devin. You stupid twat." The girl shook her head and threw the boy's arm. She looked up at Melody and then shrugged. "Guess its out of the bag now then. Come on out, Hypno."

The girl tapped the center of the ball and released the Hypno beside the Mr. Mime. The fire made it possible to see that the teens had marked up their Pokemon in the same way they'd marked themselves. The Pokemon's faces were covered with black painted arrows which extended out from the dark circles around their eyes, and lines made of badly drawn Unown extended from their necks down to the black circles on their hands.

Rosa dug around in her pocket, finding her third pokeball. She didn't want to reveal her full hand to the kids if she didn't have to, but with two psychic Pokemon it might be hard to win. She thought for a second on what kind of strategy she should utilize, but if the kids started their attack before she could figure one out she'd have to-

"Hypno, use Confusion... on the little one."

Rosa looked up, locking eyes momentarily with the Pokemon as it followed Tessa's order and turned away from Wyatt and Yzma. The Hypno lifted the pendulum with its off hand and dropped it, the swaying motion focused Rosa's attention and caused her sight to go blurry as her head grew stuffier and stuffier. "I can't… I can't stop watching," she whispered, wincing as she fell to both hands and knees.

"Rosa--" Why do people in this town insist on making her play dirty? If these weirdos are going to attack Rosa instead of their Pokemon, then she doesn't feel bad about out-numbering them. "Annabelle, Shadow Sneak! Nightshot, Assurance!"

The ragdoll Pokemon that had been so quietly slinking along behind the humans suddenly revealed herself by bursting out of the shadows and crashing into the Hypno's face. Her teammate took the time to zip to the psychic type's side and deliver a darkness-infused strike with his tail to smash into Hypno's pendulum-holding hand. While the yellow thing-of-nightmares deals with the Poke-assault, Melody returns to her companion and drops down to a kneel beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Rosa? You with me?"

Rosa looked up at Melody, momentarily confused by the Pokemon's attack. "M-mom?" She whispered, looking up at the girl and seeing in her place, a young asian woman dressed in a yukata with a flower petal design on it in. She shook her head vigorously and rubbed at her eyes. "No, yeah. I'm fine. Just got caught off guard is all."

"Do I look that old? Is it my hair?" Melody makes an attempt at a joke to lighten the mood. It's a low blow to make Rosa see something like that… and offering a little smile and a gentle, reassuring shoulder squeeze is the best thing Melody can do until her Pokemon clear the way for her to deck these two again.

Rosa looked over at the formation attack with hazy eyes, either ignoring or not hearing Melody's words of comforting humor. Wyatt and Yzma had wasted no time in waiting for Rosa's orders and were latched onto the Mr. Mime's spindly appendages. Yzma was attacking repeatedly with an Astonishing bite to the Pokemon's leg, while Wyatt was Pounding on one of its arms with its ears as the Mr. Mime attempted to Tickle it so that he'd loosen his grip.

"If they want to fight dirty, then we'll fight dirty." She wiped away the tears which she felt stinging her eyes, but hadn't yet begun to fall.

The sight of her mother had thrown her off, but she knew that it wasn't real. She'd been there when it happened. There was no way that her mom was coming back after that. All the vision had done was remind her that she was alone in this world. She pulled out Ezra's pokeball and launched it at the ceiling above the Mr. Mime. She'd always had good aim and a strong arm, it just didn't fit in with most of the personalities that she felt were easy to display to people she knew. Now wasn't the time to play around and play the weakling act though. The ball bounced against the ceiling with a light 'clink' before the Munchlax burst free and fell with a gaping Bite aimed at the Mr. Mime's face.

The Pokemon had nary a second to notice the falling sandbag before it was crushed beneath Ezra's weight. The mime Pokemon went to lift its arms, trying to form a Barrier above it for the Munchlax to land on, but the added weight of Wyatt on its arm caused its movements to be sluggish. The Mr. Mime formed a small circle around it's face, but the barrier wasn't large enough to overcome the gaping maw that was Ezra's mouth. The Munchlax snapped down on the Mr. Mime, hitting a critical spot on its head and causing the Pokemon to tumble over from both the attack and the added weight. Yzma covered the fallen Pokemon in a layer of snow and ice, just for good measure before looking for their next opponent.

"You've got a good arm." Melody says, her smirk growing as the carnage around her grows with the addition of Rosa's Munchlax. That freaky ass Mime didn't stand a chance. Melody's eyes lock back onto the Hypno that had regained its footing and had begun swaying its pendulum to use Hypnosis on her Pokemon. The punk teen can feel her Rookidee's talons tighten in anticipation against her shoulder.

"Ready to play?" The trainer asks, earning a determined nod from the bird. "Let's do it. Bishop, use Thief!"

Lunging himself from Melody's shoulder, the small bird flies into the fray and collides with the enemy Hypno, snatching the pendulum from its grasp.

"One more time! Annabelle, Shadow Sneak! Nightshot, Assurance!"

Mimikyu vanishes into the shadows below and appears behind Hypno, smashing into his back while Dreepy delivers a powered-up strike to Hypno's face with his tail. The combined efforts send the Pokemon spiraling towards the water that divides the sewer in two.

Melody's grin grows far more devious as she looks at the goth duo. " Oh, little children, you weren't clever."

Tessa scowled and shuffled around her pocket in a panic. "Its got to be here somewhere… where is it… aha!" She hurriedly retrieved a small dish from her pocket and leapt into the murky water where the hypno had fallen. "There there, breathe in deep." She cooed, wafting the dish directly beneath the pokemons schnoz.

"Hyp-no… the Pokemon replied weakly, leaning in towards the dish with the bit of strength it still had. The Hypno took a few deep breaths and then its eyes widened as it quickly rose back to its feet. The Pokemon began to chant its own name as a psychic aura surrounded it.

Tessa smirked and looked back at Melody as she climbed back up onto the platform. "You're in for it now. This essence powers up psychic types, so don't think that you'll-"

"Dree py py!"

The girl's words are cut off by an excitable cry made by Nightshot. While the group had been watching the girl try to revive her Hypno, the Dreepy had noticed an iron rod laying beside the cauldron. That must be what they used to stir their concoction, and now it's being carried through the air by Nightshot and Bishop to be delivered to their trainer.

Melody holds her arm out for the metallic pipe before rolling her eyes towards the delusional girl. "Dude. Even if Hypno can keep going, it's eight on two. You lost. Bad."

Tessa looked between the two trainers, her own cohort, and then finally the assembly of pokemon that were slowly starting to crowd her. "Hah! As long as-"

Devin tackled the girl back into the water and wrapped his arm around Tessa's face, covering her mouth as he wrestled her to the ground. "Sis, its over. He left us." He added frantically, doing his best to restrain the girl. "There's nothing else we can do on our own."

The girl growled and grunted from behind the suffocating clasp of her brother's hand. She slammed her fists against the ground in defiance before wearing herself out and sighing with a heave of her shoulders. She wiggled her tongue between the boy's fingers, causing him to release his hold.

"Eww, why do you always have to do weird things like that…" the boy shook his hand and then wiped it against his cloak.

Tessa stood up and brushed herself off hurriedly before recalling the Hypno to its ball. She looked at Rosa, and then let her gaze lingering on Melody as she cleared her throat and took a few steps in retreat. "**** YOU! I WON'T BE RESTRAINED YOU *****!" She screamed before running off, leaving her brother behind.

"... That happened." Melody mutters as she watches the girl sprint off. While she's tempted to chase her down-- she's not in this alone. "Want me to chase her down?" She asks after turning to face her companion-- friend. "Or should we interrogate this one?" She asks as she taps the steel pipe against the cold ground.

"I'll make it easy for you," the boy replied without waiting for Rosa to answer, getting down into his knees and offering up his hands. "Just take me with you, and I'll answer your questions. This was really all my little sister's idea… I just didn't want to leave her alone with that man and risk her getting hurt."

Rosa raised her eyebrow and looked over at Melody before shrugging. "If they're siblings it should be easy for him to pick his sister out of a lineup. If he resists or tries to act funny then… well, I'll leave that to your discretion."

"Fair enough." Melody gives a brief nod before stepping back to let the goth teen step out of the water. Bishop flies behind him and gives him a quick peck to the shoulder in order to get him to walk faster. Once he's up and out, the questioning begins. "Who's 'that man'?" Melody asks. Sure, she should leave the questioning to the police, but there's no promise that the police will tell Rosa and Melody what they deserve to know.

The boy shakes his head as he removes the robe and starts rubbing away at the paint on his face. "I don't know. I've not seen his face. My sister is the one who introduced us. He says he's an archeologist, but I'm not sure if that's true." The boy flopped to the ground, recalling the frozen Mr. Mime as he wrung out the sopping wet cloak. "He's had us using that cauldron for cleaning these bones for weeks now, but they're both hiding stuff from me… like why we're doing those stupid dreepypasta chants or what these unown scribbles are supposed to be, or even why any of this has to be done in the sewers of all places."

"Grown ass man getting two teenagers to help do weird **** in the sewers? Totally trustworthy vibes. I bet the unown scribbles are probably a Hurry reference. Ya know, the one with the Cyndaquil named Hurry that dies and the unown spell out 'h e d i e d' ?" Melody says with a small sigh. The picture itself is decently clear: That girl feels like an outcast and this archaeologist comes along and says he understands her. It's, unfortunately, not an uncommon tale… hell, it's how cults get started, isn't it? … Maybe they shouldn't be leaving her alone with him. The mention of bones causes Melody to cinge for a brief second. "What kind of bones are they?" Please say fake. Please say they're laid around here for the aesthetic.

Devin shook his head again. "You might be right about the symbols. As for the bones, I don't know. Tessa and "M'' show up with them every night and we clean them until the sun comes up. I don't even really know the dreepypastas that they're referencing half the time. I stopped reading those stories years ago… but Tessa could never move on from them."

Rosa sighed and shook her head incredulously. "What do you mean you don't know where the bones come from? There's been disappearances occurring around town for months and what, you think it's just a coincidence that these bones keep piling up? How naive can you be?" She questioned, exasperated by how slow the boy seemed to be on the uptake.

He dropped his head and swung it slowly. "I don't think about it. All I'm worried about is my sister. There's apparently a lot more people that work for "M", but I've never seen them… and Tessa and "M" always manage to slip away once the sun comes up, and I get to go home defeated and empty handed. Don't you know how that makes me feel?"

"Not as bad as you'll feel if we find out that those bones are from a bunch of missing kids." Though that (fortunately) seems a lot less likely now that they know this is the work of one creepy dude and one delusional teen. They're probably getting them from the back of a restaurant-- if they're even real. Melody narrows her eyes. "And if you're so worried about your sister, why not tell the police that she's getting brainwashed by some creep? Why enable her?" There's got to be more to this…

"Missing kids…" he bobbed his head a little. "I don't know if these bones are from them, but that fits with "M''s target demographic. Like I said, there's supposed to be a lot more members to our little group, I'm just not trusted enough to have met them. If there aren't actually any other members and it's just us three, then it's entirely possible that it's not me that's protecting her, but really the reverse." He paused for a few seconds, looking at the smudged paint on his arms and the ball in his hand. "And it's not always as easy as just going to the police… the police around here aren't all that trustworthy to begin with… being in a cult isn't the worst thing that can happen to you in Motostoke."

Well that's. Great. Juuuust great. They're not going to get to dump his ass at the police station and go back to bed, are they? It's way too late at night to go around exposing the seedy underbelly of Motostoke city, and yet she's not seeing much of a way around it if the police can't be bothered to arrest a cult leader. Melody groans before glancing towards Rosa. "What do you wanna do?"

Rosa listened to the boy's story and reflected on her own experience within the city. She took a few minutes, watching as the boy looked between the expectant Melody and herself. She sighed and then shook her head. "He attacked us…" she started with a shrug of her shoulders. "Regardless of the current state of the police, there's nothing else we can do. We can either spend the rest of the night tracking down the other two in a place with little to no light where we have no idea of the layout. Or…" she glanced over at Devin and narrowed her eyes at him, wondering... "Or, we can put it in the hands of the family and let them figure this all out."

The boy's eyes widened at the mention of the family and he immediately scooted away. "Wh- what do you mean by that? The family can't know about this. If they found out what was happening down here-"

"So you do know something about what's going on down here." Rosa cut him off and squatted down in front of him. "If you're done playing pretend, we can solve this civilly. Otherwise-" Rosa looked over her shoulder at Melody with the pipe still in her hands.

"Just take me to the police. Please. I beg of you. I'll tell them everything that I can, but I still want to protect my sister if possible."

"Thats a plea you'll have to work out with them," she whispered into his ear before standing up. "We'll take care of you. If the police can't handle this before we come back to Motostoke… I guess I would feel obligated to see it through."

Melody's eyes light up when Rosa draws attention to the pipe in her hand. It's official: Rosa has risen in the ranks to one of her favorite people. A list that now contains roughly five people. "To the police we go." Would it be a bad time to tell the guy that the police are absolutely going to relay this information to the kid's parents? Probably. She'll refrain from saying anything that will make this guy try to bolt like the other two did. Melody steps behind the teen on the off chance he's stupid enough to try anything, the pipe still clutched tightly in her hands. "C'mon. Move it."

Rosa looked around the clearing as Melody made her move on the boy. It seemed that she'd taken up the hobby of picking up other people's junk lately, as the item that Tessa had used to revitalize the Hypno earlier on was still stuck in her head. She'd had it when she leapt into the water, but she couldn't recall seeing it after that. Wyatt made his way over to her and tugged on her sweater.

"Whis?"

Rosa looked down at the Pokemon and then at the water. "Yeah, that'll work." She whispered as she lifted the Pokemon up and then lowered it down into the muk. Several seconds went by before the Pokemon came up with a confused look on its face and held out the item to her.

"Whismur?"

Rosa nodded and lifted the Pokemon out before taking the covered dish from its hands. "Hmm… it looks like some kind of incense stone is in there… it's a good thing then. If it wasn't solid, the grime of the water could have rendered it useless. This may come in handy later on." She whispered as she rubbed the vessel against her pajama pants and then proceeded to hide it - once it was mostly clean - within the pocket on her sweater.

"Good work today, guys." She exclaimed, hoping that Melody wouldn't question what was taking so long before recalling the three Pokemon and proceeding to catch back up with Melody.

"Everything okay?" Melody asks as Rosa catches up to her and the reluctant teen. It really wasn't any of her business what gave Rosa pause as long as she wasn't hurt or hesitating because of a problem.

Rosa nodded. "Yeah. Just ready for this night to be over."

She was upset with herself more than she was irritated over being woken up and dragged down into the sewers. Two people. Since coming to Motostoke, she'd ruined the personas she prepared for two different people. And tonight, she threw away the opportunity to get onto the good side of possibly three more. It wasn't Melody's fault, in fact, without her, Rosa could have wound up as just another face on a missing persons poster.

But even so, she wondered if it wouldn't be better to just not interact with any of her ex-classmates. She still had her entire life ahead of her to let these personas unravel, why was she pushing so hard to interact when she knew that it only expedited the process? The persona she'd prepared for Melody was supposed to work in her benefit, earning her yet another protector on this journey by appearing as the weak, smol bean who was scared and couldn't do anything for themselves. But now… what did Melody think of her now?

The trio makes their way to the ladder that leads back up to the world of the living, and Melody sends Bishop and Nightshot ahead to make sure their hostage doesn't try to make a run for it once he's above ground. As he climbs up, Melody flashes a small smirk towards Rosa. "Ya know, we make a pretty good team."

Rosa was broken from her self-reflection with Melody's words. She smiled weakly, still unsure of how she should act now. She couldn't just go back to how she was, but she was afraid of what giving her this stronger version of herself might lead to in the future. "Yeah. I'm angry with myself that we let the other two get away, but we did what we could with what we had. I don't think either of us really expected things to go this far, otherwise we could have prepared better."

"I'm not hoping we have to go back down here or anything, but if the police can't get their **** together by the time we double back… we'll bring a map next time." … Maybe she should find out how to get a map of a sewer system before they leave for their next destination. It's not that she doesn't trust the police to do their job, it's-- no, it's absolutely that. She assumed the law enforcement outside of Spikemuth was better, though their new pal's words didn't inspire a lot of confidence. Might as well wrap her mind around the idea that they will be dealing with this when they get back.

Pushing that to the back of her mind for now, Melody makes a tiny bowing motion as she gestures towards the ladder so Rosa can head up first. "After you, M'lady."

"Ah," Rosa blushes and returns the curtsy. The girl grabs the ladder and starts climbing, trying her best to not worry about what Melody might think of her pajama pants. Not that they were necessarily as hard to explain as hers, but it was still uncomfortable thinking of any kind of rumors spreading about her nightwear. As she neared the top, she glanced up at the boy who was sitting on the ground, waiting for his captors to join him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, slowly averting her gaze. The boy opened his mouth, wanting to respond but unable to find the words before Melody poked her head through the opening.

"Good job, guys." Melody compliments the two Pokemon that were flying in small circles around their 'hostage.' The teen places her new pipe on the ground and hoists herself out of the hole before picking it back up again. Yep, this is coming with her. Never know when you'll need to bust someone's kneecaps. She caught that the boy quickly shut his mouth when she peeked out but decided not to push him to speak. Kid's probably had enough of her by now, and he's got a long night ahead of him with the police. All she does is give him a little nod before giving Rosa her full attention. "Police station and then back to the hotel to crash, yeah?"

Rosa nodded. "Definitely." She didn't really want to go to the police station if she were to be completely honest. What if she ran into the cops from the other night? What if she ran into the detective? She was… uncertain to say the least, of how she would react if she found herself face to face with people that she now knew were connected to the family. The detective was the one she was worried about most of all. He seemed genuine when they first met, but after his testimony in the papers, she wasn't sure of what to make of him. "I've got a lot still to do tomorrow, so I'd like to get back to sleep as soon as possible. But I won't leave you to deal with the police yourself."

"I think we can manage if you wanna head back." Melody says with a short shrug. While she and law enforcement haven't mixed fantastically well in the past, she doubts the Motostoke police force knows that, and since she's not the one that committed the crime, it should just be a matter of answering a few questions and crashing into bed. Bed… which she's going to stay in until noon. Melody's eyes actually seem to soften just slightly. "Really. We've got this. Get some sleep."

Rosa looked at the pipe and then back at Melody. She didn't really want to chance it, but the longer that she stayed around these two, the more opportunities she had to stumble and trip on the bindings of her unraveling persona. She wished it was as easy as immediately accepting her offer, but she needed to play it up a little more, just so there wouldn't be any questions on her character later. "I don't think it'll be a good idea to approach the police with a weapon on hand. They shouldn't ask any hard questions if you show them your ATC, but… I don't want you to get hurt, Mel."

Oh, yeah, she should maybe stash this thing in an alleyway before they head in. Even if she claims self defense, they'll likely try to take it under the guise of you don't need it anymore. "Now, that's not fair. How can I argue when you say stuff like that?" She says before beginning to make her way towards the station.

Rosa swayed back slightly, realizing that she'd pushed it a little too far. Her mind raced quickly, searching for a way to get out of the situation without seeming rude or like she wanted to leave the girl. "Here, how about this?" She said, stepping up beside Melody and holding out her hand. "If you really want to keep that, how about I hold onto it? Just until you get back to the hotel? Then I can go back without having to worry about you."

Oh, that might have come across a little more aggressive than it was supposed to. She meant for it to come across as something of a teasing tone-- though since that's something she uses so infrequently with anyone who isn't Haleigh, she can't fault Rosa for not seeing it. She gives a very small, though genuine smile as she gently places the pipe in Rosa's hand. "Okay, you wi-- Be careful on your way back, yeah?"

Rosa nodded, taking the pipe in her hands and making the mental note to toss it out when she got back. It'd be easy enough to make up an excuse later, if they even had the chance to meet up in the next few days. Given how late they were bound to be staying up tonight, it just might be that their schedules wouldn't get properly realigned until their time in the city was over. And even then, what were the chances that they'd bump into each other again before Turrfield? "Be safe," she said sweetly with a smile on her face. The girl bowed, watching as Melody walked away before turning and heading in the opposite direction, back to the Inn.


​

Nona's father's advice echoed in her mind during her return from the Pokémon Center. Don't view mistakes as 'failures.' They're a way to learn and give you a chance to improve. How do you think I learned to fix cars, mija?

Now they're confronting the muk. Again.

Beldum stared the sludge Pokémon down, only five feet of distance separating the two. Nona stood behind her metal companion, taking far too long to utter the first command.

She remained indecisive, lacking confidence. "Is Tackle okay? Or should I start with the best move?"

"What do you think?" he replies, yet all this does is further worsen her hesitation. "Don't second guess yourself-"

"But I don't want to mess up. I thought maybe… um…"

"Whatever did you think, Miss Rodriguez?"

Ashamed she lowered her head, finger tapping each other nervously. "O-oh…?"

"By holding your hand and making the process easy I am only prolonging the inevitable," he explains arms now crossed. "It would be doing more harm than good, sadly, therefore I must insist that I must stay in the sidelines as an observer. But trust in me that if the need arises, I will certainly-"

Muk's spit landed on the Beldum, causing panic in Nona and surprise from the aide.

The group returned after a quick trip to the Pokémon Center.

"Alright then. Perhaps our second chance will be a fruitful one," began the aide on a happier note, refusing to let one failure bring the plan down.

Nona turns to apologize, again, to her current mentor. "I'll be better, I'm sorry. I should've been paying attention."

"No no do not," the aide then rejects, retrieving the Pokéball from his lab coat's front pocket. "Take what you will from the previous failure. But for now, let's start- what will you do now?"

Nona paused. Her uncertainty caused her to forget her own Pokémon's moves as she watched strands of vibrant ooze connect the muk's jaws together. "Um uh… okay okay… Azúl has tackle and iron head and has that ability that won't let their stats go down… so… "

Agitated yet puzzled, Muk lifted itself a few inches and shut his mouth, cheeks soon ballooning. The aide immediately pointed towards the sludge pokémon, Nona's eyes no longer glazing past the creature.

"Ohno- dodge! Move out of the way!" Nona panicked, hands gripping together at her chest. The muk gushed its contents on to the Beldum, pushed back by the pressure. Swiftly the Beldum rolled out of the way, but not without the edge of the poisonous stream coming in contact with its underside.

"Whatever attack will you use now, Miss Rodriguez?" inquired the aide, inadvertently placing pressure on the young woman. In turn she spouted out what came to mind, fully aware every second counted.

"T-Tackle! Use Tackle!"

"Are you sure?"

Nona, frantic, turned to the aide in bewilderment. "W-wait, was that bad?"

Beldum made a hard dash towards the rainbow sludge, but instead of hitting an amorphous creature the beldum crashed and bounced off the concrete ground, too slow for the sludge that had lowered into nearly a puddle. It then rose and retained its amorphous form, dripping hands clutching on Beldum's rear end, unfazed by the claws.

More preoccupied by the battle at hand, Nona shifted her attention away from the aide and on to the struggling Beldum. "Fly! Fly away!"

But the Beldum was unable to escape the poisonous grip. "Muuu-uUUUK-" With jaws now open wide, he pulled Beldum closer and began to gnaw on its metallic form.

Screeee!

"Try to escape!" Nona hollers out to her struggling companion, who had already begun to wriggle before her suggestion.

She turns to the professor's aide, eyes pleading for aid. "Will Iron Head work? Can he use that magnetism thing on the muk right now? I-I don't know what to do…" Her perplexed and dejected expression prompted the aide to sigh and utilize the "emergency" pokéball; with a click its red contents shot out into the space next to the two battling Pokémon, yet above the river, to form a Tropius.

"O-oh…?! Please help him!" Nona gave in to her panic, unable to concentrate and command any more. She helplessly watched as her Beldum had been slammed to the ground, Muk's bites still scraping against the metal to create a metallic shriek.

The aide points towards the alolan sludge, the other hand fixing his glasses. "Ferrez, use Bullet Seed on the Muk. Spare the Beldum!" As commanded, the sauropod roared before flapping its large, broad green leaves to gain more air. She then partially opened her mouth, releasing a barrage of high-velocity seeds towards the vibrant Alolan Muk.

Nona waited for the Muk to cower and curl upon itself, therefore releasing the injured Beldum. "Azúl! Come here! Get away-"

"Go and attempt to push Muk into the river while the chance is still there," suggested the aid, lifting a hand to signal his Tropius to halt their attack. "Use Iron Head this time."

"O-okay. I will, sir!" she replied with enthusiasm, confidence shooting upwards as she, at last, received orders. "Azúl! Use Iron Head and push the muk towards the water!"

Albeit injured and with scratches engraved at its surface, Beldum rushed towards the wall and roughly landed against it. Muk paid no attention to Beldum as they glared at the flying Tropius, who returned its own glare.

Beldum surrounded itself in a white aura, engulfed by the energy and only able to be seen via its blurry black outline before slamming into the unsuspecting Muk. But in the exhaustion Beldum did not lift itself up, instead plummeting into the river with the Muk.

"Trooo!" Gracefully Tropius scooped Beldum from the descending sludge, saving it from breaking the surface of the river. Muk was not spared however, its toxic sludge mixing and dispersing within the opaque river.

Nona rushed over to her injured comrade, the railings stopping Nona in her tracks as she extended her arms to allow the tropius to release Beldum. Meanwhile the aide motioned for the large grass type to fly his way, feeling as if she had far too much to learn before she could fight any of her own, more proficient colleagues.

With Beldum in her embrace she returned to her mentor, worry melting away into that of content; she's somewhat anxious to deliver her Beldum to the Pokémon Center. "We... we did it! You did it!"

"Well, it would be incorrect of me to say that you are wrong," the aide began, pausing to see if Nona could think back to the scenario and see where she may have failed. But alas, she did not.

Regardless, I suppose she did her best, he thought. And while she has long way to go, despite the small step forward, it is a step nonetheless. "Miss Rodriguez, I thank you for lending me a helping hand. I did not mean to slow down your journey in any way-"

"Oh no no no! It's okay! Actually, I found this helped me a little bit. I didn't freeze up completely like before or stutter a lot… I mean, I know I still sorta suck, but um, I'll get there!" she interjected with her own dose of optimism, giving the aide a thumbs up all the while her arms remained wrapped around the beldum.

Content, the aide proceeded pull out notes and a small, black bag with flasks and sample cups. Nona approached, curious.

"Now, I don't believe I've… re-introduced myself," the aide began, recalling never having heard his name during the entirety of this encounter. "My full name is Hopkins Alistair, but you are free to refer to me as Hop."

"Oh how cute! Hop sounds like a rabbit," comments a happy Nona, of which hits Hopkins in his manhood.

N-no… it is not meant to be cute.

Simon Pearburgh

Spewpa ♀ Harden | Tackle | Stun Spore | String Shot Friend Guard

Caterpie ♂ Tackle | String Shot | Bug Bite Shield Dust

Burmy ♂ Protect | Hidden Power (water) Shed Skin

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

​

Raphael sat alone, beneath a swaying hawthorn tree. His gaze was turned towards the ground, focussing on the floor. In his left hand he lightly tossed Vito's pokéball as his partner slept in his lap. The small pokémon had given his absolute everything in the gym battle, he had held nothing back, but it wasn't enough.

No, Raph hadn't been enough. He cringed and clutched the red pokéball hard in his hand until his knuckles went white. What a joke he was. He had really thought, with a heart as weak as his, that he had had any chance at being a gym trainer. How pathetic. Vito deserved better than him. Vito deserved a trainer that could support him and raise him to new heights. A trainer who would stand by his side forever, until he stood at the top where he deserved to be.

As it was, Raph could only stand by him… for a few short years.

It had been selfish to allow this little pokémon to get so attached to him. It had been selfish to take Carmen from her lake back home in Wedgehurst. A pair of pokémon ripped from their homes to travel alongside a loser.

Just then, Raph felt a tiny flipper padding at his chest. As he looked down, he realized he had been crying, small fallen teardrops were scattered across Vito's head. The small pokémon was smiling up at him brightly, like nothing had happened at all. THe trainer sat in stunned silence at the pokémon, who even now had a cheery disposition.

"Vito…" He forces a smile.

"You sure are something… c'mon, there was something else I wanted to do today."

---

Walking the streets with his little bundle of joy rolling by his side, Raph eventually managed to push himself to action. He was on the city's upper level, ignoring the occasional glance he got from locals who had watched his failure at the gym. He had a specific location in mind.

The Motostoke record shop had been rumored to stock a particular new CD, starting today. A preview of Piers' and Marnie's newest joint album. 'Exile on Route 1'. Even before starting the challenge, Raph had been looking forward to it. He had always been a fan of Piers' work and unlike some naysayers, he thought Marnie's lighter vocals really added to his sound when they worked together. He wasn't quite Team Yell, but he liked her stuff.

As he arrived at the store however, the crowds were in a frenzy. They bounced and bounded around, cameras in hand and crazed mumbling zipping between them. "It's really him?!" "He never said anything on Chatter…" "I-Is it okay to talk to him?"

Raphael was mildly bemused and only slightly irritated, as he tried to peak over the heads of the gathered crowd to no avail. "...just what is going on here..?" He mumbles, to nobody in particular.

Man. Today had been a day. Melody assumed things would wind down after the ceremony the previous day, but no, since they walked out of that arena, everything had been cranked up to eleven. Was frantically running from one place to another a normal part of being a Pokemon trainer? The punk teen shook her head as she made her way to the record store for the second time that day. Due to the… run in that occurred this morning, she wasn't able to look around. Hopefully the man that was working there this morning had clocked out for the day by now.

As she rounds the corner with her faithful Doom Noodle companion latched onto her shoulder, an array of sounds quickly grab her attention. Excited shouts, squeals, cameras flashing. Melody raises an eyebrow as she breaks into a jog to make it those last few feet. It's coming from the Record Store… damn it! Did they come back?! Man, she really needs to find a new pipe. Maybe she can find a construction site or-- hold on. In all that commotion, there's a distinct lack of black and pink. It's not Team Yell causing all that fuss, it's… what is it?

Melody steps onto a bench in order to see over the crowd. A familiar shock of black and white hair grabs her attention and everything becomes immediately clear: Piers. They're losing their minds over Piers. That's acceptable. Melody's resting-*****-face morphs into an actual smile as she hops down from the bench. He's still here! She couldn't really say anything to him during the ceremony, and he vanished so quickly after that she didn't get a chance. She can do it now-- she just has to shove her way through the rest of the crowd. No problem.

She braces her shoulders and takes a few steps towards the crowd, fully prepared to shove her way between two taller girls when a familiar voice hits her ears. Is that-- she turns to the side and blinks in surprise. Raph? Really? What's he doing here? She can't think of a time she saw him somewhere he wasn't forced to be. Hell, he probably would have skipped the ceremony had it not been such a big deal.

"I guess he came by to sign pictures of the album." She answers the question that was in no way addressed to her with a shrug. "Since he was here anyway."

"...?" Raph raised a single eyebrow as he silently turned towards the source of the noise. The petite, yet sassy pose of the one who greeted him wasn't unfamiliar to him. Yet, it was difficult for him to remember his cla-

He furrowed his brow, the events of the past day and a bit still sinking in. It was no use pretending.

"...Melody." He eventually responds, at the very least he could play it off as hearing her name at the awards ceremony. "I assume by 'he', you mean Piers?" He had to put the effort in to stop his eyes from lighting up, but they still did just a little. "Do you think Marnie is with him?" He asks the question nonchalantly as he stands on his toes, trying to get a better view of the Spikemuth Superstar. While he does notice plumes of smoky black and white hair, he doesn't see much more than that. He wasn't too bothered with an autograph, he supposed, surely the crowd would clear enough for him to get what he came here for before too long. Assuming the album wasn't already sold out.

For the meanwhile, he supposed more information on the current goings on wouldn't hurt. He had heard about some commotion in these parts even without Piers' arrival after all. "You're here for the album, right? Don't take this the wrong way, but you definitely got the aesthetic of a Piers' fan." He slowly looks around, worried someone might notice him from earlier that day, but thankfully the attention is elsewhere. "I've heard that the early release has been causing the record shop some problems as is. Isn't it a bit odd then that Piers would make a public appearance here?"

Huh. He remembers her--well, at least he remembers her name. Probably because it was screamed at him during yesterday's ceremony. She was announced shortly after he was, so he might not have had a chance to tune out yet. "Raphael." She says with a small nod. It… feels weird hearing his full name. In her head, he's Raph, though that sounds way too chummy to call him in person, and neither one of them are what anyone would call chummy. If, in the two years they spent together, they ever spoke before this moment, it was a 'can you hand me that?' from a dropped pencil during class.

Now, normally Melody didn't bother to really look at people when they spoke; however, she needed to rely at least a bit on reading his lips so she could understand him over the squealing crowd. It's the only reason she picked up on the very familiar way his eyes lit up just a small margin when he asked about Marnie. Wait… does he like them? She never pegged Raph as liking anything-- not that she asked and not that he ever admitted to. "I didn't see her, but I could'a missed her." Marnie's small, and if she's around, she's probably being encircled by fans.

Melody doesn't even bother trying to gaze over the crowd. Her only hope is to go back to her bench-- or shove her way through to the front and see for herself. That was plan A, though she doubts Raph would follow her, and it's just not good fan-etiquette to leave a guy behind to get swallowed by the mosh pit that will likely soon form. "I got mine this morning." She admits as she studies the crowd, planning the best place to shove her way across. The second part of his statement earns a tiny smirk from the small punk. "I'm glad that comes across. Yeah, I like him a lot." That last part earns a sigh from her. "It was Team Yell. Some of 'em just don't wanna let the old gang go. He probably came to tell them to get a grip."

With that, Melody glances back up to Raphael. "You don't have one yet, do you?" And he's not going to get one hanging back here. There are people that will buy ten or twenty copies just so others cant' have them. Yeah, that's going to work for her. He came out for a CD, he's getting a CD. "C'mon. This way." Without hesitation, Melody grips Raphael's wrist and forcefully shoves her way between a pair of teens, tugging Raph along for the ride. Make way, coming through, move it.
Raph himself seems shocked at first, but quickly regains his composure. "O-Oi, Melody..!" He hisses, just loud enough for her to hear as he has to push aside a number of people stumbling over her and into him. While it was easy for her to fit through small gaps in the crowd, she was dragging him behind like an oversized wrecking ball in comparison.

What was it with his classmates and dragging him into things? He had thought this girl would have a more level head, but no! She was just goth, female Simon at the end of it all. The feathered hat of an excited woman smacks him face first as he's dragged through the over-excited crowd step by step. If nothing else, he was impressed that someone as small as Melody was able to not only drag him, but partially part the crowd like a hot knife through butter.

After a few moments of awkward fumbling, Raph tumbled forward as Melody broke free on the other side of the crowd, he nearly falls on top of her with the sudden halt in momentum and has to grab her shoulders to stop himself from falling over. "I… I could have just waited." He quickly takes his hands off her and brushes himself down, running a thumb over his nose as he looks to the side.

The gesture didn't do much to hide his red cheeks.

Still, it didn't last long enough to matter.

"And then you'd miss out. These guys don't wait." If Melody even noticed the touch to her shoulders, she doesn't react to it. She's fairly used to being in fan-crazed crowds where hands and bodies flail about and crash into others.

Raph's eyes widen just a little again as he spies a man he had only just seen yesterday, but in a totally different context. With a single earbud hanging from his left ear and the right open to the cheers of his fans, ex-gym leader Piers wore a pair of Spikemuth coloured sunglasses and his classic outfit from when he was still the leader of Spikemuth gym, which he now used as his get up during live shows.

It was a lazy choice, taking the old colours rather than designing a new outfit as he started to focus more on music. Raph had immense respect for that.

The man in question finishes signing a small plastic case containing his and Marnie's new single and hands it out to an awestruck older woman. "To Johnny, Rock on, Much love from Piers." He repeats the writing in a monotone voice and gives a small smile. "I'm sure your son will love it Ma'am, keep up the good fight yeah?" With a small smile the mother in question gives a small box and walks away, clearing Piers vision and allowing him to catch a glance at the two intrepid gym challengers now standing (for one of them a little awkwardly) at the front of the crowd. "Well, well, what have we here? You used the front entrance this time." Piers continues in his usual monotone voice, though there is the slightest glint of amusement. "What can I do for you two?" Underneath his sunglasses, he subtly raises an eyebrow at the young man standing (still awkwardly) behind Melody. That's 810, isn't it? The one that Raihan was telling him about. Kabu was taking challengers and this kid actually went for it. He's got guts.

Nightshot sinks down from Melody's shoulder and dives into her bag to retrieve her album while the punk teen motions towards Raphael with her head. "He came to get a copy of the new CD." She says.

"Does he want it signed?" Piers asks as he reaches for one of the CDs on the small stack beside him. When the store owner opens his mouth to question if Raphael has the money to pay for it, he is immediately silenced by a hand motion from Piers. He'll take care of it. Throughout this whole interaction, Raph is just watching dumbstruck. They were talking back and forth about him and what he wanted as if he wasn't there. He was used to that, hell in some cases he preferred it that way, still it seemed a little out of place here.

Melody and Piers spoke to each other with a sort of familiarity that surprised Raph, at that. What was their deal? Raph knew that Melody was from Spikemuth sure and it wasn't the biggest of cities, but talking to a superstar like Piers as if they were old chums? That seemed a bit crazy to him. Still, he couldn't help but admit that it made things easier.

"That… would be cool yeah." He even manages a small awkward smile. He considers approaching the store owner out of politeness, so he could pay for it himself, but not only was that a lot more effort than it was worth, but he really couldn't afford to be spending money willy-nilly. He'd take the kindness of one-way strangers as it was, this time, no looking gift Horsea's in the mouth and all that.

"If you could make it out to-" He begins but Piers shakes a finger lackadaisical to silence him. "Number 810, Mr. Raphael Allard right? I've heard about you already." The monotone voice was different to Kabu's but it stabbed him in the heart all the same, like a hot knife through emotional butter. His expression immediately darkened, though he did his best to hide it, his gaze falling to the ground below. "...I see, that's… convenient."

Piers glances at Raphael above his sunglasses and gives a discrete yet respectable nod. He won't call Raphael out by saying how he knows about him. It's easy to see the young trainer's feeling down on himself for the loss. It's not his place to tell him that he didn't have a prayer of winning or that he earned a ton of respect from the gym circuit for going for it anyway. Rather than say a thing, he uncaps his marker and begins to write.

Melody quirks an eyebrow at the sudden shift in mood. What's so bad about Piers knowing about him? He just remembered his name from the ceremony, right? He was the second challenger to walk into the stadium. She decides against questioning it, only looking over her shoulder to give that quizzical look to Raph as Nightshot slips back out of her bag with her album between his little arms.

"Py?" He asks, making a motion towards Piers as if to ask if he can give him the CD case. Melody will want an autograph too, right?

"It's okay, little du--"

BOOM.

A loud explosion rings out across the city, powerful enough to cause the floor below the group to shake. Melody stumbles forward, using Piers' table to catch herself before she collides with the floor as Raph instinctively grabs his legs to steady himself and avoid crashing into her again. Screams and shrieks of terror echo both within and outside of the store and the crowd immediately begins to disperse in panic as they look towards the site of the panic.

A large plume of smoke rises from a nearby industrial building. Some sort of workplace accident? Something more sinister? Something triggers deep inside Raph seeing the flames and destruction, his eyes glaze over and flashes of his past wash over him. All the stress of the past few days starts to catch up with him and a sharp pain shoots through his chest. "U-urk…" A hand rises up and clenches his shirt desperately as his posture slouches forward, reducing him to deep breaths and pants as he stares at the floor.

"Hey…" The hand of Piers sits on his shoulder, the monotone voice is a little more urgent, but otherwise hasn't changed much. The former leader looks towards the rising smoke and nods to himself gently, before turning to glance at Raph once more. "Take it easy. I'll be back." Without another word to either Raphael nor Melody, Piers takes off. He sprints down the street in the direction of the carnage without a second thought.

"W-wait..!" Raphael reaches after him, but stumbles as he pants, it was taking his heart a little longer than usual to reorient itself. He had to calm down, he had to stop panicking, damn it.

"Wait--!" Melody calls after the rushing gym leader. She takes a single step forward before freezing in place. Raph-- ****. She can't charge off after Piers and leave him doubled over. "Hey…" She grits her teeth as she reaches out and grips both of Raphael's shoulders. "Try to stand up straight. You'll get more air that way." Hey, that CPR class Sonia made them take is actually paying off. "Do you need to lay down--?" She can probably haul him behind the counter. That will keep him away from the panicking stampede that's forming around the door. Once he's settled, she can go after Piers, or so she thought, but Raph wasn't having it.

"No, I'm fine… we- we have to go." He breathes heavily, pulling himself upright as the pain slowly subsides. He couldn't stand the thought of being a liability, not now. Without giving Melody time to complain for his sake, he takes her hand from his shoulder and holds it as he starts to move forward, dragging her behind as she did to him mere moments ago. He couldn't allow himself to lose again, to anything, not so soon after what had happened earlier that very day.

Whatever happened, it looks like he's getting over it. Hopefully it was just the shock of the sudden explosion that sent Raph doubling over. It's fine, right? Yeah, totally fine. Not like she really has any right to try to stop him. Melody doesn't fight being tugged along. In fact, he only has to tug her for a couple of steps before she breaks into a short jog so she can stride along beside him instead of behind. That's when she feels a light thump on the top of her head as Nightshot latches on. The tiny reptile looks completely petrified, but he can't let Melody charge into danger alone!

---

As the small group arrives at the scene, soon after Piers, a clear picture is painted of what's going on. A small multi-story business building is in flames, a large hole has been blown into the side of the structure and flames are clinging to the shattered fragments of glass blown out from the structures windows. A nearby pokémon is running riot, a large pokémon easily mistaken for a chandelier, after doing some idle research on his recent catch, Raphael knew this was Litwick's fully evolved form, Chandelure.

Yet it didn't look like any Chandelure he had seen during his searches. It's fires were tinted a red and plumes of black, red crackling smoke seemed to float off of its body. Its fire type attacks were intense and people cried out as they were rushed away from the scene. Standing at the forefront, Piers' Obstagoon was doing its job, standing in the way and blocking most of the enemy pokémons attacks. Yet even for the ex-gym leader this pokémon was proving a challenge worthy of his undivided attention.

Melody grits her teeth as she takes in the scene in front of her. It's easy to see that both Piers and Obstagoon are struggling to take down the… Shiny(?) Chandelure. If they're having this much trouble, she doubts any attacks she or Raphael's Pokemon could hurl would make it so much as blink. There's got to be something they can do, though…

What pokémon rangers were available and in the area were flown in on bird pokémon from Corviknight to Staraptor and they used style captured pokémon to shoot water jets of water at the burning sections of the building. Yet the carnage was intense enough that their efforts were ineffective at best, pointless at worst. Every few moments another ranger would clamber out of the building, guiding one or two individuals out of the fire and to safety. "S-sir... " One of them spluttered to a superior. "The wild pokémon are spent… we can't reach the upper floors."

At his feet, Raphael's spheal did a little roll forward, determination in his eyes, but on instinct the trainer reached out and snatched him from the ground. His gaze was filled with hesitation and worry. Memories of his childhood, memories of Vito's recent defeat at the hands of Centiskorch, the pleading look in Vito's eyes as Raph had called off the match. His breath caught in his throat once again as he took a single step back from the situation unfolding in front of him. Crippling self doubt and worry seeping into his body and holding him back.

Melody's eyes widen at the words before her gaze falls onto Vito. "Raph--" But before she can finish, Raphael has picked up his water type and backed away rather than stepping forward. He was so gung-ho to follow Piers out here, what's with the sudden retreat? "They need more water types. Vito can help." Melody says. There's a clear determination burning to life in her eyes. A more sensible person likely would have realized that seeing the sheer scale of the situation would give anyone pause-- though, unfortunately, Raphael's stuck with Melody and all he could hear were the voices of that jeering crowd. Kabus words to him followed soon after… without a fire in his heart, he could never win. He was useless. He would just be putting Vito in danger. He'd just fail his pokemon, again.

"I-" Raph began, but his words were almost strangled out of him. "- I can't take risks like that." His voice shifted back to a quiet monotone, as if the situation was suddenly boring him or just tiring him out. It was his defense mechanism, something he always fell back on at times like this. He was realizing that now… not that knowing about it mattered once.

"You can't-- then why--" It's not often that Melody comes to a complete loss for words, but seeing the complete 180 that was Raphael dragging both himself and her through a panicked crowd-- while clutching his chest, to… well, the Raph she's come to be aware of these last two years certainly did it. If he looked fearful-- that she could get, charging into a fire isn't something most people do without hesitation. He's not-- scared though (at least he doesn't look like it), he just suddenly decided this wasn't worth his time.

Melody purses her lips as she looks over her shoulder to the burning building and then back to Raphael. "Look-- I get it, getting wrapped up in everyone else's **** and butting your nose into someone else's business is a waste of time-- but sometimes-- Sometimes **** happens and you-- we have to get over ourselves and do something. The punk teen takes a slow step towards the burning building. "Are you really willing to let people and Pokemon die because it's not worth it?" Red eyes stare directly at blue for a hard second before the young woman turns on her heels and bolts towards the inferno.

"...wait-" But before Raph could say anything, Melody was gone, charging into the building away from him. This hadn't been what he expected, why would she go in alone?

Her words sank into him for a few moments, his heart sank with them. Was that what he was doing? Was that what this mechanism of his made him do? The truth was he was frightened, the flames had always scared him, every day of his life they had scared him, ever since that day he faced as a child. They reminded him how fragile he was, how easily he could break and fade away, how easily people could leave him.

Vito shuffled in Raph's arms and turned to look his trainer in the eye.

It was that same pleading look.

"Is this… wrong?"

He asked himself the question despite knowing the answer for a long time already.

Suddenly the air echoed with a loud scream that pierced the air. It caught the attention of all present, the rangers especially. "S-Sir we need that back up now!" They argued back and forth, nobody able to get themselves organized in time to respond, but Raph didn't care about that, that wasn't what was holding his attention now.

That scream, the voice that made it. It was familiar. His eyes widened in realization, this wasn't an everyday skyscraper, it was the league HQ offices for Motostoke.

"...Amélie."

---

Melody! Don't-!

Piers' call was muffled out by the crackling of the fire as Melody rushed in through the bashed in door. No sooner had she stepped inside than the piercing cry of a young woman rang across the entirety of the building. "Upstairs." Melody says as she tugs off her jacket and holds it to her face to block the smoke.

"Dree py py!" Nightshot calls while pointing to the staircase that's deeply obscured by the smoke that surrounds them. He knows this is a bad idea, but he also knows he can't make Melody stop. The most he can do is help so that they can get out of here quickly.

"C'mon. Stay low." Melody instructs before taking off towards the staircase. "Where are you? We're coming to get you!"

"I-I'm- Aaah!" The voice rings out loud and clear, but is cut off by a scream as a cracking and crackling noise is heard from above. At the entrance, Raph pushes through smoke to enter in and sees Melody pushing on ahead, as she moves up the staircase, Raph takes a few steps as if to follow, but before he can even get Melody's attention, a steel beam crashes down, sealing the staircase behind her. Damn it, she was going to get herself killed!

The loud cracking above her is enough of a hint for Meloy to lung over those last few steps. She collides with the second floor and rolls as the sound of the steel beam crashing into the staircase momentarily cancels out the roaring flames. Well… that was a closer call than she would have liked. "You okay?" Melody asks the Dreepy clutched onto her shoulder. In response she is given a rather high-pitch, very nervous, hum.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With panic in his eyes, Raph looks around the room for another way out. A side passage to another staircase is in view at the other side of the building. It's connected to a room where the flames haven't managed to spread yet, but that room had another between it and him. One that was full to bursting with obscene amounts of fire and crackling wood. Raph audibly gulped.

"Water gun! Vito!" Raph calls out, to which his pokémon responds with a jet of water shot precisely at the center of the flames. They sputter and squelch, but only for a moment, before roaring back to life, a nearby piece of roofing collapsing in on top of it all. In response to the impact the fire kicks up and licks Raphael's boots, causing him to stumble a pace or two back.

He was… useless in the face of the flames yet again. How many times in his life would he have to stand helpless on the receiving end of fire? His upset and fear boiled over into anger and he grit his teeth. How… How was he supposed to overcome this? "What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

As he cried out he heard the words echo in his mind again, over and over. Telling him without a doubt, that without a fire in his heart, he would never defeat Kabu. Without a fire of his own, he could never stand up to the flames.

"...a fire of my own..?"

Raph's fear gave way to understanding, his eyes widened with a certain realization. The gym mission, Kabu's words, Raph's answer, it was all pointing to one thing. Sometimes, it was okay, even necessary…

...to fight fire with fire.

His gaze returns to the task at hand, focussed, pushing the fear and the pain in his chest aside for now. Right now, those things were holding him back. "Lumi!" Raph tossed the pokéball in his hand outwards and bursting from the capsule was a small, waxy pokémon with a flame on its head. Confused, the little Litwick looked around in fear and concern at the burning building, before finally catching the eyes of Raphael.

The trainer's eyes were cold, focussed, yet somehow Lumi could see a sort of empathy in them.

"I know we've not really gotten a chance to know each other yet… but I know enough about you to know I need you right now, Lumi." His gaze turned from the Litwick to the flames slowly growing in front of them. "There are people in trouble, Vito and I can't save them without you."

---

-

"Hang on! We're almost there!" The punk teen calls as she reaches for one of her Pokeballs. The higher they get, the harder it's going to be to not asphyxiate from the rising smoke. "Annabelle, keep the smoke away with Fairy Wind!"

The ghostly doll leaps from her Pokeball and hops into the air, spinning in a circle and releasing a gentle, sparkling breeze. It's not much, but too much wind runs the risk of fanning the flames. The Mimikyu floats back to the ground with her eyes locked on her trainer. There's a lot of fire in here!

"Keep the smoke away and we'll be fine." Melody says as she gives her Pokemon a small thumbs up. "Hey!" Melody calls out. "Keep talking! We're nearly there!"

"I-I'm…" The voice is weaker and hoarse, interrupted by fits of coughing. Yet still, Melody could hear it from just the next room. Amélie is lying on her side, struggling to pull herself up as a beam lies across her legs. It had fallen during the initial explosion of fire… and pinned her here. Since then she hadn't been able to feel her legs. She didn't recognize the voice of the one calling out to her, she was young, though. She felt bad, being the damsel to someone younger than her. Her mind drifted back at that thought, to the gym challengers she had witnessed that day. Sachiko, Simon… and Raphael.

She frowned a little. She had really wanted to tell him... that she thought he'd go far. The fires burning around her, was this what it had been like, at Shalour?

The floorboards cracked underneath her, finally the burning to the support beams must have been causing the building to give out. She heard a door burst open and her gaze shot in the direction of the noise. A young girl, maybe four or five years her junior, dressed like a rockstar. She had come so far to save her, but it was too late. She gave a sad, pained smile to the girl for a moment, before the floor caved in beneath her and she began to fall.

Melody leaps forward with her arm outstretched, crashing to the ground a mere half second after the girl begins to fall. A mere half second too late. "NO--!" She shouts as she reaches down into the inferno below, knowing full well her arm isn't nearly long enough to reach the girl as she falls into the inferno. Nightshot flies from Melody's shoulder and zooms after the girl-- though even he has no idea what he'll be able to do if he catches up to her.

Despite any efforts, Amélie falls, as she looks downwards towards her demise, time seems to slow for her. The ground floor below has broken too, leaving a deep, dark, fire rimmed hole to the building's basement. She was going to fall in there… and she was going to die. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned back fruitlessly to the floor above, with one last desperate cry she held her hand outwards knowing the girl could never reach it, shutting her eyes tightly, wincing in preparation for the impact.

Until she feels a hand clenching her lower arm tightly.

Opening her eyes Amélie finds herself dangling over the edge of the hole. Lying in a gap between the fire raging around is a young man she recognizes. Raph's teeth are grit and his eyes are near bulging as his knuckles flair white, gripping Amélie with every ounce of strength he has. Her legs dangled uselessly beneath her and she simply stared up at him, stunned.

"H-Hold on!" He forces out hoarsely, nearly putting half his body in the hole after her as he grabbed her arm with his other as well. Both hands wrapped tightly around his one hold on her he struggles, holding her in place. "I won't… let you… die…!" Raph seems almost animalistic like this, there's something in his eyes that she hadn't seen at the gym battle. It was almost like he wasn't talking to her at all.

Raph's gaze flickered quickly to his side as he felt an uncomfortable heat rapidly growing painful. As he turned to look, he saw the fires around him creeping in, desperate to eat away at him, but this had been something he expected. "Vito! Lumi!" He forces out, still desperately struggling to keep a hold of Amélie in this awkward and painful position.

The two pokémon, Vito rolling beside him and Lumi semi-glued onto his shoulder with wax, leap to action.

Flash fire, that was the ability Raphael had read when checking the pokédex entry for his new Litwick. It allowed a pokémon to absorb flames, even those meant to do them harm, then use that fire to strengthen their own. More importantly, to redirect that heat somewhere else.

Vito spun around to activate powder snow, building up a small pile of flakey white destined to melt, but only needed to last a moment. In the same instance, Lumi threw itself into the encroaching fire, bathing in the flames that were threatening to consume his trainer. Rather than take damage however, Lumi sucked up the fire hungrily, the own little flame atop his head growing larger and larger, until with a hyper charged ember, Lumi releases the absorbed heat away from Raph and into the snow, sending a harmless water vapour dancing through the air.

Fire, meet fire. It wasn't a permanent solution, it would only buy him time… but that was why Raph was relying on another outlying factor, just this once.

"M-Melody! Help!" He calls out at the top of his lungs, best he can, to the trainer on the story above.

"Raph…!" Melody calls as she watches the scene play out, her voice a combination of worry and relief. Nightshot, only inches behind the girl once she was caught, attempts to help Raphael by biting onto his shirt and pulling him back. It's an honest effort on the part of the very small, very meek Doom Noodle.

"Hang on! I'm--" She's cut off by the sound of more cracking. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the floor around the hole is weakening by the second. Melody shoves her hand to the floor and rolls away as it threatens to give way beneath her.

"Mi-mi-ky!" Annabelle hops urgently before leaping over to Melody. The punk's mind is rushing miles per second. She can't get back down the steps, that fallen beam pretty much destroyed them. How can she get down to Raph's level? If she jumps down that hole, every bone in her body will shatter upon impact. Bishop's not big enough to support her, and she can't exactly bank on him evolving right this second.

The night before flashes back in her mind and she quickly pulls Annabelle into her arms. "When I say go, I need you to use a really big Fairy Wind, okay?"

"Mimi!"

Melody gives a determined nod before tucking her knees against her stomach-- and rolling into the hole. "GO!"

Annabelle squeezes her eyes shut and cries out as she summons the pink, glistening wind from her little body. The wind blows out forcefully, sending both Melody and Annabelle falling straight rather than down. Straight into the wall just a few feet away from Raph. The satchel thrown over Melody's back takes the majority of the impact from being blown into the wall, and the duo only have to fall a few feet to hit the ground. Melody winces as the impact with the floor causes her legs to shout out in protest,but the adrenaline numbs it quickly, and she quickly fumbles back to her feet and runs those few feet that separate her from Raphael. "We've got you!" She calls as she grabs Raphael's free hand and begins to pull his body away from the bottomless pit. Nightshot wiggles frantically as he gives Raphael's shirt another tug.

Annabelle glares at the inferno behind them and cries out once more, this time using Copycat to replicate Vito's Powder Snow. To which Vito gives out a delighted thrill of approval, even surrounded by chaos the little Spheal shows positivity. Lumi the Litwick follows suit, leaping into the flames and absorbing them into his body, before launching them out, focussed on the snow where they dissipate. With the fire and ice combo accounted for, Vito turns his efforts to water. To compliment the combo, he begins shooting water gun, after water gun, after water gun. Now with three pokemon on the offensive, working in unison to stop the flames, an area of safety was locked down around the small grouping of people and pokes.

It gave a berth of opportunity that allowed Raph and Melody to hoist Amélie up onto the ground beside them. Even without function of her legs, her arms immediately clung to the male trainer. Fearful tears were falling down her cheeks and her whole body was shaking. "H-Hey…"

A horrific and familiar cracking echoes over the room and all people present shoot their eyes to the ceiling. It's starting to buckle under the pressure. In the next few moments all present risk being buried alive in fire and stone. "Vito! Lumi! Return!" Raph grabs his pokeballs and places his pokemon safely inside before they can protest. Without missing a beat he wraps an arm around the still terrified Amélies back and the other sweeps under her legs, hoisting her up in his arms. His gaze frantically turn towards the exit, thanks to their pokemons combined efforts, there's a semi safe path to freedom. "Quickly, we have to run!"

"Annabelle! Here!" Melody calls out as she opens her arms for the ragdoll Pokemon to leap into. "We'll clear the path!" With another living human in his arms, Raph isn't going to be nearly as quick or as agile as he would be otherwise. The least Melody can do is go ahead of him and make sure the path ahead is clear of flames and that all falling debris is kept away from him. She looks over her shoulder to her starter Pokemon and gives him a small, reassuring nod. "Make sure nothing falls on them."

Nightshot gives a wide-eyed, nervous shudder at the idea of Melody running into the fire without him, but he gives a tiny, determined nod and floats just above Raphael's shoulder.

Melody smiles, an honest to Arceus smile before gripping her Mimikyu tightly and darting back into the exposed hallway. The ghostly fairy uses her Copycat attack to borrow Vito's Water Gun to blow back the flames long enough for them to run through.

As the fire is pushed away, Raph sprints forward. The smoke in his lungs and the claw clutching at his heart threatens to slow him down, pain and trauma, the memories of running through burning buildings. Explosions, screams.

But the warmth of another living person in his arms keeps him running, adrenaline in his legs helps him ignore the pain. Step after step, Melody running alongside him, debris falling behind him, until…

Smoke is replaced by hot air and Raph coughs and splutters for breath as he stumbles back out onto the street. He tumbles a bit, falling to one knee, his vision was hazy and his chest was roaring in pain, but he kept himself upright, just barely… as Amélie clung to him desperately even now.

There they are!

Three people just came out of the building!

Someone get those kids some oxygen!

Multiple voices could be heard shouting as the trio rushed back onto the street. Melody blinked quickly and breathed in deeply as the fading adrenaline made the painful stinging in her eyes and the smoke trapped in her lungs all the more evident. She places Annabelle on the ground before catching Raph drop to his knees from the corner of her eyes. "Woah-- hey. I got'cha." She says, that sincere smile still evident on her face and shining in her eyes as she reaches over and rests her hand on his shoulder to keep him upright. Several people come rushing towards the trio, though Melody pays them little mind until she takes note of the monochrome-haired gym leader coming along behind said group. It's hard to get a read on his expression-- there's a lot going on there: Shock, anger… pride?

Melody takes a small step away from Raph as paramedics swarm both him and the girl in his arms.

"I'd ask what you were thinking, but I bet I know the answer." Piers speaks from several feet away, not wanting to get in the paramedic's way. It seems like even he's struggling to figure out how he feels about this situation. Of course he's angry, these two had no business rushing into a fire, and yet he cannot deny that he's absolutely impressed with the bravery and skill it took for them to get in, rescue someone, and get out with only a cough and some scorch marks to show for it. Piers looks at Melody's expectant eyes and slumps his shoulders in an exhausted fashion. "... You two did great in there. Just… think before you crash another party in a burning building, yeah? You're way too young to be singin' your Swanna songs."

"So... " A small smirk makes its way to Melody's face. "No encores?"

Piers narrows his eyes into a squint. It's easy to see he's trying to look unimpressed while suppressing a small smile of his own. These kids… this is gonna be a gym challenge to remember. "No encores."

A few feet away, the paramedics are around Raph and Amélie in droves, trying to check his condition, trying to get information out of him. He can't let them take him to a hospital, he'd be trapped there for weeks that he didn't have time to waste. Then they'd tell him what he already knows, only for him to resolve to do the same things again. A tiring waste of time.

A different issue altogether was Amélie who was still clinging to him, arms around his neck, body shivering with adrenaline and fear as the paramedics brought a stretcher and gestured in the bewildered Raph's direction. Seems they were more focussed on her than him. His expression, which was one of fear and pain, slowly softened, he did his breathing exercises, tried to slow his heart rate, it was difficult, but slowly, very slowly, he started to get himself back under control.

He stood up straight again and waved the paramedics away from him, assuring them that he was fine, before listing the girl in his arms onto the stretcher.

Slowly, Amélie opened her eyes again, for the first time since Raph had started to carry her. They were outside and she lay on a stretcher set to carry her to a hospital no doubt. Standing over her was a familiar face, albeit one covered in soot and with hair frazzled in all sorts of directions. Raphael Allard, the trainer from Shalour, the trainer from the city that burned. For her, someone he barely knew, he ran into that burning building. Her eyes watered, then tears streamed down her face openly. "D-Does it hurt?" Raph's face contorted from a forced disinterest to worry and in just a moment she understood more about him.

"I'm sorry…" She sobs quietly, watching his expression drip with mild confusion. "...I made you… for me you had to… face fire again."

Raph suddenly understood, to another Kalosian, one who had lived in Kalos at the time of the Z incident, someone who knew what happened at Shalour… she understood his plight far better than most. Even with broken legs and a near death experience, this girl was crying for him. Even for Raph, it was a little too much. His face drifts back to disinterested, to a facade of uncaring. It's a strange sight to see, a bored, lazy and tired expression… with tears welling in its eyes. He places a hand lightly on her shoulder, in solidarity. "...you did nothing wrong. You were in trouble, that's all. You seemed like you needed help, so I-" He freezes a little as Amélie takes his hand and holds it gently to her cheek instead. A light rose colour fills his cheeks, but it's too covered in soot to be noticed.

"I knew… that you were a special kind of trainer." She smiles, laughing a little through her tears. He doesn't know what to say, even as he opens his mouth to speak, no words come out. "Raphael… Raph." She starts again, that smile still soft and present as she gazes into his eyes. "I truly believe… that you will succeed. I think Leader Kabu does too, so please, don't give up. I'll be watching, so, please keep fighting."

The words send a shiver down his spine and that disinterested expression cracks, a single tear rolls down his cheek."...Amélie, I-"

Before he can form his point, the paramedics move back in, starting to roll the stretcher towards a nearby ambulance as Raph's hand is pulled from Amélie's gently. He watches her go, still smiling at him. Still unsure of what to say, this was the kind of moment, he thought, where he should have said something brave and gallant.

Yet as the doors on the vehicle closed and the girl was taken away, Raph still stood there silently, watching the space where she had been.

Piers sidesteps the paramedics as they begin rushing back and forth from the pair, to the ambulance, and back again. "Let's give them some room." He states before walking away from the scene, fully expecting Melody to follow. The punk teen slides her hands into her pockets and has to do something akin to a half-jog to keep up with his long strides. They're far enough away not to be a burden, though they're still within ear shot. Hearing the girl speak paints a much clearer picture of why 810 went charging into the flames. Young love, it makes you do some crazy things. His tired eyes glance back to the female trainer standing beside him. "... So why'd you do it?"

As the adrenaline fades, as does the warmth in Melody's eyes and the smile on her face, melting right back to the less-than-impressed, apathetic expression she was known for wearing. She glances from Raphael to her idol and raises her shoulders in a small shrug. "You did it."

"I'm a--" Piers sighs as his posture lowers back to his traditional slouch. He was a teenager once, he knows that anything he could finish that sentence with, I'm an adult or former gym leader isn't going to do anything but annoy the up-and-coming trainer. "... I didn't go into the fire."

Whatever argument Melody could have thrown back would have to wait. As the doors to the ambulance close, taking the girl with them and leaving Raphael alone, Melody's focus falls elsewhere. As the smoke clears (both literally and figuratively) she can see the last thirty or so minutes in a clearer light. It… wasn't her place to insist that Raphael, someone she barely knows, risk his life by rushing into a burning, collapsing building. The expression he's wearing now is almost identical to the expression he was wearing when he backed away-- with some additional tears. He looks so bored and disinterested, but his tears give him away. Maybe… maybe it's better to look disinterested than it is to look scared… just like it's better to be angry than it is to be sad or frightened.

Piers looks between the two trainers with a curious raise to his eyebrow. There's a lot going on behind those two sets of disinterested faces. Both of these kids could go so far if they would just… try, and yet he gets the feeling they both have roadblocks that are keeping them from seeing that within themselves. Looks like they both need a push. Hopefully Raphael just got his. As for Melody…

A pale hand gently nudges Melody's shoulder forward. "Go see your friend. When you're done… come back to the record store with me. I've got something for ya."

"Me?" Melody asks, pointing to herself with a perplexed expression-- only to realize how stupid she looks and quickly dropping her hand back to her side. Of course he's talking to her, who else is around?

Instead of answering, Piers raises his hand in a pushing motion towards Raphael, as if to say go on.

A very tiny smile twitches on the side of Melody's mouth before she jogs back to Raphael's side. "Geez, how much smoke did you get in your eyes?" She asks casually. He's not crying, of course not, he's just so tall that he got way more smoke in his eyes than she did. That's all it is. No one's crying. Crying implies caring, and neither of them do that. Of course not.

Her words snapped him out of the semi-trance he found himself in. His gaze turns to her slowly, mild confusion mixing into his lazy expression. Was she serious..? Or was she giving him an out..?

No, it wasn't an out for him.

The situation was weirdly familiar, there was something to the way she was speaking, the way she was carrying herself now. He recognized her expression, it was one he wore too, sometimes. Though his variation looked a little less… empty. He considers what she said and what to say for a good few moments, no doubt leaving her seeking a response. Eventually, she gets one, though perhaps not what she expects.

He lightly places a hand to her head, accentuating their height difference. As she turns to gaze at him in response, his expression has shifted slightly. His soot covered face is now doused in a murky stain of tears and his lips are curled into just the smallest of smiles. "...these tears aren't from smoke, sorry."

All Melody can think to do when he touches her head is raise her eyebrow. Now, normally, someone reaching for her uninvited would get their wrist twisted and their groin kneed… but… it's kind of hard to be angry at a guy that did just run after her into a burning building… and did just save someone's life by risking his own. He… gets a pass. This time. Maybe next time too. Why… is he calling himself out though? She gave him an out. It's absolutely believable that his eyes are teary because of smoke. Two slow, confused blinks later, she arches her shoulders in another shrug. "She'll be fine. Moto's got a good hospital." She keeps the tiny smile on the corner of her mouth for encouragement, though that smile doesn't quite reach those red eyes.

"They weren't for her." It's a cold, curt honesty laced with a warm voice and a sad smile. "I don't know why either, I mean." He mumbles soon after, taking his hand away slowly and gazing down the road the ambulance followed. "Why I'm being so honest about it, with you, right now… maybe because we both almost died, maybe because it's been a rough day for me and I need to be honest with someone, anyone, right now, but…" He shakes his head and turns to look skyward instead.

Eh, fair enough. Having a near death experience should be a pretty emotional experience, and as she thinks back to the line in front of the record store, Raph didn't look like he was having a great day before that. It's supposed to be good to cry every now and then, right? It's therapeutic or something. Not that she would know. She can't honestly remember the last time she cried. Melody crams her hands into her jacket pockets and gives yet another shrug. It seems the more genuine he becomes, the more guarded she gets. They can't both get sappy, the world isn't ready for that. "Secret's safe with me, man." She says in an easy-going, dismissive manner.

"This isn't going to be as easy as I thought, none of it is. So I needed to let it out a little after today, to cry, just for a second. I think that's okay, to show a bit of vulnerability to you." He looks back down to the ground and lets that smile fade away, his lazy expression returns and a tired look takes his eyes. "...but all this sappy stuff sure does get tiring." He takes a few steps forward and takes a deep breath of air. "I overheard Piers wanting to talk to you, right? I won't keep you too much longer." Another step away. "Back when this just started, Melody, I was on a train with some of our classmates. A girl named Pia asked me what I wanted to do and I told her something that I thought would get her to leave me alone, but… Even if it's a road destined to failure, what we just experienced taught me something important. That I can't just lay down and die, not yet, not when there's still a little time left to make a change."

His remark about sappy things being exhausting causes her smile to grow for a split second. That's sort of what she said when this all started, wasn't it? That giving a **** and butting into other people's business is draining. That last line causes her bored expression to falter for a second. Lay down and die? Not yet? Sure, that's a common expression, but… memories of the explosion play back in her mind. Raphael clutching his chest and nearly falling over. That… doesn't seem like it's totally disconnected. She's going to keep her mouth shut and those thoughts to herself; however, it's super not her place to ask if he's sick or anything like that.

He stops moving. "So, I think it's fair that in return for venting at you, I warn you too, as a fellow gym challenger and all. I meant what I said on the train that day." He turns his head back and for the briefest of moments, Melody sees something else in those lazy eyes, a spark. The embers of a flame.

"I will become the Champion of Galar... " Though his gaze quickly softens and he chuckles out an extra line. "...or die trying, I suppose."

Melody keeps her eyes on Raph as he talks, though it's a bit of a distant gaze. She doesn't quite meet his eyes until that last line. Her own eyes widened just slightly. There's… something there that wasn't there before. Something…

♪ I saw the
Fire in your eyes burn
Stronger inside you now ♪

Her eyes soften for a brief second before she quickly turns her head away. Her hand reaches out of her pocket and she brushes her hand across her hair to expose her ear. She responds with something best described as a cold laugh. "You're the second person to warn me not to even try to aim for the championship. Don't worry. I get the idea." Her hand goes back into her pocket and she glances back towards him. "... You're from Kalos, right?" She asks, her shoulders slouching. "... Your on-again-off-again champion's way more broken than you are, right?" Her smile is still there, though it's grown into more of a smirk. She gives a small wink. "I bet you'll make it. You'll be our new champion."

At her mention of being the second to tell her, he feels a pang of guilt. Perhaps his attempt to show rivalry had been a bit too forward, it hadn't been the response he had expected from her. Yet what followed was even more of a surprise.

"You'll be our new champion."

The words rang in his head for a second like a fire alarm. Ever since he had been young, ever since he had been diagnosed, people had been telling Raphael that his dream of being a trainer, let alone anything more, was just that, a dream, a pipe dream at that. He would never have even begun to guess that Melody, even in jest, would show some sort of affirmation to his words. He didn't know anything profound to say, so he simply nods. "If you're so sure, then I won't let you down." His voice is back to a dull monotone, his eyes tired and his expression matching. He yawns and stretches a little before turning away from her again. "For now, I've earned a nap… or four." A nonchalant wave is given over his shoulder as he starts to walk away. "One last thing, a pretty wise bloke told me recently, that strength is something you earn, not something you take. So do me a favour, keep fighting and dragging me into stupid situations the next time we meet, things like that will only make us stronger, right?" His voice is lazy, yet even though she can't see it, Raphael is smiling. "I'll see you later then, Mel."

That… was really the last thing she expected him to say. A slow blink is followed by a small snicker, and she raises her hand to make a small finger-gun motion towards him. "You got it." Someone to drag into dangerous situations with her? Not a bad guy to have around. "See ya around, Raph." Back her hand goes into her pocket as she watches him go. She waits until he's completely out of sight before looking back to where she left Piers. Once again, her eyes light up for a brief second as she trots back towards him. "Record store?"

"Record store." Piers says with a dull nod.

The two make their way back, the sounds of the chaos and ambulance sirens fading into the distance with every step.

"You know how rockers feel about the man tellin' 'em what to do, yeah?" Piers asks, breaking the silence.

"-- Yeah?" Melody half-answers, half-questions.

Piers managers a half-smile. "So don't let anyone talk you outta' goin' for the gold. You've got all'a Spikemuth backin' you." He's never been great at cheering people up, but it's an attempt.

Oh. He heard what Raph said about being champion, didn't he? Melody glances to the ground and then to the sky, letting out a small sigh as she tries to think of something to say. Fortunately, she doesn't have to. An unfamiliar voice calling out to Piers breaks her train of scrambled thoughts.

"There you are! Is everything alright?" The record store owner asks.

"All good. You mind if we step back inside? Left some stuff behind." Piers explains in his typical, monotone voice.

"Of course, of course!" The man exclaims before reaching for a group of keys and unlocking the store. Huh. It must be later than Melody thought.

The little bell rings as the door is opened, and Melody quickly follows Piers inside. The former gym leader walks back to the table where he had been signing albums and kneels down to pull out a large black and pink bag. He sets it on the table before looking back to a perplexed Melody.

"I know how it goes. Pretty words are just pretty words, right? Someone tells you they believe in you 'cause what else are they supposed to say?" He explains. "So I'm backin' up my words with this. I think you could go places, and I'm givin' you this to prove it."

Melody's eyes widen slightly. "-- Are… you sure?"

"Wouldn't be doin' it if I wasn't." He says as he motions for her to unzip the bag.

The look of confusion doesn't fade as Melody steps forward and unzips the (very padded) bag. What's inside almost causes her let go and take a large step back: A vibrantly purple egg with a jagged, white bolt across the top. Once again, the punk teen looks to the former gym leader for conformation. He replies with a simple nod. "Take it."

There's a stunned silence as Melody eases the bag off of the table and holds it tightly to her chest.

Piers gives that vague smile as he collects his own bag and walks back to Melody's side. "C'mon. Let's let the guy close."

Still stunned into silence, Melody only nods and turns to follow. Once they're outside and Piers has said his goodbyes to the store owner, Piers' looks back down to the small gym challenger, still clutching onto the bag rather tightly. "Raise him to rock." He says with just a hint of encouragement slipping through his monotone voice. "But no encores."

Those last three words seem to snap Melody out of whatever trance seeing the egg placed her in. A smolder of a fire returns to her eyes when she looks up to him, and she gives a strong nod. "No encores."

"Good." Piers returns the nod before his shoulders slump and he returns to his usual slouched position. "Now, let's both take a page out of 810's book and get some sleep. It's wicked late."
Melody has a feeling she won't be sleeping any time soon, not after everything that's happened in the last hour. Still, she gives an agreeable nod.

"And no more burning buildings." Piers says as a final note before he turns to make his way back to the hotel where his band was staying. He'll pretend he didn't hear Raphael and Melody promise each other they would do something crazy the next time they met up.

"No promises there." Melody whispers to herself as she watches her idol turn the corner and vanish from her sights. The punk teen turns on her heels and begins walking back to the Budew drop in, only to stop just a few steps into the walk to take a seat on the bench by the record store so she could take another minute or two to stare at the egg she had been given. It's… really hard to believe that just happened. Any of it, really. Maybe this is a dream? Maybe she fell over when she stood up on this very bench to look through the crowd and into the record store.

"Pyyyy?" A soft voice calls out. Melody turns her head to see Annabelle and Nightshot standing beside the bench. They had been so quiet, she nearly forgot she never put them back in their Pokeballs. "... We got a new friend." She says with a gentle squeeze of the padded bag.
Nightshot floats up to take a better look. His own eyes shine with excitement as he lets out a pleased cry and gives the bag the best hug he can with his little nubbed arms.

"Heh… you're too cute sometimes." Melody says before giving the tiny dragon a gentle pat on the head. "Let's zip it up so the little guy doesn't get cold, okay?" Melody asks and Nightshot gives an eager nod.

Melody zips the bag and then slides her satchel off of her shoulder. If she moves some things around, she should be able to slide the egg-bag inside the satchel for some added protection-- and because she'll look absolutely ridiculous walking around with a little backpack on one shoulder and a satchel on the other. She unbuckles said satchel and begins shoving her trial clothes and small bags of Pokemon food aside. "-- Huh."

"Py?"

"Mimi?" Both Pokemon look up to their trainer.

"I thought I left this with grams at graduation." Melody explains as she pulls out a small object, about the size of her palm, and sets it on the bench. She then slides the small packback into her larger satchel and buckles it back. "Guess she slid it back in."

Melody rests her satchel at her side and looks up to the sky above. The ash and smoke have finally begun to clear, and she can see the stars beginning to shine through once again. She breathes in deeply before looking back down at the little object she had said aside and slowly picks it back up. Silence comfortably settles in as she looks down at the small object in her hands-- and the once black and white High Top shoes that are now covered completely in soot.

It's kind of poetic to think that she saw the fire burn in the eyes of two of her classmates while they were in the city of fire. Fire and gears. It's grown so quiet that when Melody closes her eyes, she can hear the subtle turning of gears that keep the city moving. Her eyes open slowly, a tiny spark igniting within them as she slowly rises to stand up on the bench. "The gears of fate are turning too." She says in a barely audible whisper. "I feel like… everything's about to change… for all of us."

That tiny smile returns as she grasps the object tightly in her hands and closes her eyes.

"... First graduates of Wedgehurst academy… this one goes out to you."

Her eyes open once again as she presses a tiny switch on the device in her hands. A flash of electricity courses through it before it bursts back into its full size: A Rotom Brand electric guitar. Melody slides the strap of the guitar over her shoulder and reaches into the guitar pick from her back pocket. She raises the hand holding the pick up high before striking it across the guitar's strings, the silence of the street quickly taken over by music.



♪"A light unto my darkening
Illuminate the path
Of old familiar days
Now I stay content living a dream
Am I becoming lazy
Living careless and free?"♪

As the music blasts through her system and her heart begins to pound excitedly in her chest, that little smile begins to grow and finally shines in her eyes. Going through these lyrics… it's really no surprise it was Raphael that made her think of this song again.

♪ "It's a light unto my darkening
What happened to the comfort
Of the streets that we walked?
Now the cold at time is
Worse than it seems
But we can light a fire
And we'll fight it!" ♪

♪ "Now we can find a way
Through the fire and the flames
Now it's burning in my heart
Just like a me-lo-dy! " ♪

♪ "Now there is no forever
I've been told we'll fade away
So laugh in every day you get
Don't let it go to waste
So if your light is fading
From the shadow of a doubt
We'll light the sky
With our
Inferno
We'll keep marching right until
Our fire's burning out!" ♪

♪ "Now at what point did we stop it all?
And now that you're not moving
You feel like you can't fall
But a still flame doesn't burn at all
We gotta keep the fire burning
Hotter, hotter!
I can taste it it's so close to me
But in the end you take your time
Then it'll soon rot
Though it might feel like
It's burning down
The scars you wear
Remind you that you made it~" ♪

♪ "Then we'll evaporate
As we rise up to the sky
In my hands I will protect
These precious memories
As we're walking down this road
We'll look up and start to fly
You will never be alone
We work in harmony~" ♪

♪ "Now there is no forever
I've been told we'll fade away
So laugh in every day you get
Don't let it go to waste~
So if your light is fading
From the shadow of a doubt
We'll light the sky
With our
Inferno
We'll keep marching right until
Our fire's burning out!" ♪

♪ "I'm not afraid
To keep the fight going
Sometimes you keep on
Feeling your pain
I saw the
Fire in your eyes burn
Stronger inside you now
Burning brighter
Every single day!" ♪

She saw Aeliana's eyes catch fire when they battled that Greedent in the wild area. She saw Valerie's eyes catch fire when she spoke of meeting Rayquaza. She saw Haleigh's eyes catch fire when they challenged Team Yell. She saw Rosa's eyes catch fire when they took on Hypno and Mr. Mime… and she saw Raphael's eyes find their fire while facing down a fire. More often than not, Melody finds herself annoyed by the things she can't forget; however, this time… she might just grow attached to the photographic memories of what she's seen since taking that first step on this journey.

♪ "There might be no forever now
So what we're bound
To burn and fade away?
So treasure every day
Don't let it go to waste!" ♪

♪ "So if your light is fading from
The shadow of a doubt
We'll light the sky
With our
Inferno
We'll keep marching right until our
Fire's burning out!" ♪

​