[PKMN FULL] Z: A Kalos Journey [M] [IC]

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Chris' Museum:

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Avril Morris | Menhir Trail

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It had been a rather restless night for Avril. While the girl had managed to get some sleep, she found that she had difficulties actually managing to drift off to that slumber. The previous day had proved to be rather eventful for the trainer, what with the incident at the beach, the battle with Grant, reuniting with her sister, and then celebrating her birthday with Victoria. With such a busy schedule, one would have thought that Avril would have had quite the easy time drifting off to sleep for a solid eight hours at the very least. However, it was that very last detail that proved to be quite the issue that kept her mind running in overdrive.

Now, it should be well known that Avril did indeed enjoy spending time with Victoria. It was an odd relationship between the two to say the least. Avril had first met her shortly after leaving Lumiose City, and the two had a rather... rough introduction to each other. Of course, most of that had been Avril's fault. Just like now, the girl had a lot weighing on her mind and she was not exactly in a good place. Thankfully, the blonde had managed to overcome such hardships and had in fact come to see Victoria as a friend. She enjoyed being around the girl and some of her more enjoyable moments along her journey had been spent with in her company, such as her shopping spree and makeover back in Ambrette Town and even her birthday lunch from the previous day. In Avril's mind, that should have been more than enough to qualify Victoria as quite a good friend. Maybe the two weren't exactly the best of friends, yet... After all, she and Emma had known each other for over three years at this point and had shared many moments and interests with each other. At the same time though, Avril found herself feeling funny around Victoria.

It wasn't the same way she felt around her best friend, or even others she had come to know (at least in her mind) somewhat well such as Sebastian or Drew. Whenever she was around Victoria, Avril began to feel like she had butterflies in her stomach. She could always feel her heart race whenever the girl was nearby and... as time progressed, Avril found herself wanting to desperately see the girl again only a few hours after they had parted. She had never had feelings like this before and they were definitely more than just a bit troublesome, if only because she didn't know how to properly deal with them.

One thing was for certain. Things didn't get any easier for Avril when her mind drifted towards that kiss. It was the biggest detail from yesterday that still managed to hold in Avril's mind. It was unexpected, yet enjoyable. It was something that Avril found herself desperately wanting to experience again, yet at the same time made her feel confused and possibly even a bit scared.

"Hey, Marble...?" Avril suddenly called out, glancing down at the Flaaffy who was currently trotting happily by her side. The sheep pokémon glanced up curiously at her trainer, her tail swaying back and forth as she walked. "Let's say you... know someone, right? Like, they're a friend obviously... Not your best friend, but... you like... don't feel the same way about them like your other friends. Not that you actually hate them or anything! Far from it, even! It's more like..."

Avril paused, a sigh escaping her lips as she noticed the rather confused look gracing Marble's face. It was quite clear that the Flaaffy hadn't the slightest understanding in what her trainer was actually talking about. Not that that really surprised, Avril. She sometimes found herself forgetting that despite evolving, Marble really wasn't all that mature, at least not as mature in regards to the likes of Shino or Radar. The blonde began to wonder if maybe talking to either one of them would have been a better idea. Then again, maybe talking to an actual human would have been the best idea. The problem was, Avril really didn't know who to turn to.

She had flipped through her contacts on the holocaster late last night when these thoughts were rolling around in her head. Drew was young... Chances are the boy had never had any experience with feelings like these, so it was probably best not to bother him with them. She really didn't know Odette all that well yet. She knew Jackson wasn't a good choice in the matter, but he had difficulty talking about his own sister. Sebastian looked like he had trouble just talking about the weather at times. Laurent tended to be a bit dramatic in his way of speaking and handling things, which really wasn't what she was looking for at the moment either. That left Robin and Emma. Avril really wasn't sure on how comfortable she was on talking about such matters with her sister. She really wouldn't have put it past the brunette, despite the fact that she claimed she wanted to start things fresh, to give her a hard time and tease her about it all. Meanwhile, she was sure Emma wouldn't react in such a way... Instead, she was certain the detective would probably go on and on about how cute it all was.

Avril really began to feel like nothing on this journey was ever going to be truly easy. "You know what...? Never mind..."

Marble gave her trainer a confused look as Avril closed down her holocaster and returned it to her bag. The Flaaffy really didn't understand just what was going through her trainer's mind, but she could at the very least make out something was indeed bothering her. The sheep pokémon slowly reached out, patting Avril gently on the leg as she let out a somewhat concerned sounding mewl. Avril glanced down at Marble, offering the pokémon a small smile. The blonde trainer opened her mouth to say something, when a sight up ahead quickly managed to catch her attention. It wasn't so much as a thing, however. Rather, it was the sight of a person who managed to completely steal her focus.

It was a woman, one with bright red hair that seemed to just scream for people to notice it. However, it wasn't the hair that caught Avril's attention as much as it was the woman's clothing. She was clad in what one would most likely consider a business suit of sorts. A pair of sunglasses graced the woman's face, managing to completely obscure vision of her eyes. While normally Avril wouldn't have thought much about such an outfit, despite the fact that hiking along the various routes of Kalos in a business suit was probably not highly recommended, the colors of the woman's clothing was more than enough to cause a bit of alarm within in the trainer. For starters, the suit was an incredibly vibrant shade of red. It almost reminded Avril of the type color one would see a firetruck painted. The woman's sunglasses also seemed to bare a similar color. The other details which managed to catch the attention of the trainer in particular was that of the woman's belt and her necktie, both of which seemed to bare the ensignia of what looked to be a fire-like symbol. It was the color of the clothing and these symbols that suddenly sent off alarms in Avril's head.

"Wait... Is that a Team Cinder member...?" Avril questioned, watching the woman with mild curiosity. The woman seemed to be doing her best to try and sneak around without anyone noticing her. Every so often, she would glance over her shoulder, before briskly making her way down the route and past the many stones that were more or less used to mark the graves. "What in the world would one of those be doing in a place like this? I mean, I know that they just kinda show up wherever they want... But this isn't a place for those guys to be trying their usual gimmicks!"

Avril's eyes narrowed as she watched the woman sneak further down the route, eventually starting to head off the main trail entirely. Immediately, Avril began to head in the direction the woman was going, Marble following as closely behind her trainer as she could. The blonde girl didn't get too far however, before sudden thoughts began to pop-up in her head. Was going after this woman really the best idea? Her encounters with Team Cinder were proving to be more and more difficult with each passing one, and there was also that little detail that Sebastian had revealed about the organization wanting her and some of the others dead. Also judging from the woman's suit, it was clear that she was not just the average, run-of-the-mill Cinder grunt. Avril really didn't know how the rankings worked within in Team Cinder, but she was at least fairly certain that the color of one's suit had something to do with their placements in the organization.

"Maybe... Maybe I should call Emma or one of the others..." Avril debated aloud. "I mean... she's a detective, so maybe she's already gotten word that Cinder's over here...?"

Avril thought on it for a moment, but soon found herself resuming her pursuit of the mysterious woman. The blonde quickly realized that she couldn't simply rely on Emma to save the day on this one. Right now, she needed to make sure not to lose track of the woman. If things did begin to look shady, she could call the detective and the police for assistance. For now, seeing what the woman was up to was the top priority. Taking hold of Marble's pokéball, Avril quietly recalled the Flaaffy before resuming her chase. While she knew that the sheep pokémon would most likely make for a handy bodyguard, she also realized that stealth was the most needed tool for the time being. With the ball replaced on her bracelet, Avril resumed her tailing of the stranger...


Keeping track of the woman while not exposing herself had proven to be somewhat difficult for Avril. She had never really had much experience with this sort of thing before. The last time she tried to follow someone like this was that night back in Lumiose City, which admittedly stirred up bad memories upon her recollection of the night's events. Thankfully, there were several factors that were different during that night. For starters, the trainer had been smart enough to keep all of her pokémon inside their balls. Number two, it was the middle of the day. Lastly, there wasn't anything tricky like trashcans or boxes hidden within the shadows to trip her up. The only thing the blonde had to make sure she did was stay out of sight as best she could. Avril did this by making sure to stay as close to any foliage and trees she could find along the path she traveled, always making sure to only make any sudden movements when it looked like the woman she was following wasn't paying attention.

Eventually, the woman's traveling came to a stop when she arrived at a rather steep hill. There were no signs of civilization anywhere close by, and the vast amounts of stones that lined the route had since disappeared from sight. Only one marker was to be found at the top of the hill, what appeared to be a small, wooden, and rather hastily put together cross of sorts. There was no sign of any other people to be found in the area, nor pokémon for that matter. Avril knelt down, hiding herself behind a nearby stump as she watched the red-clad woman. Watching quietly, Avril saw the woman in red take out a single pokéball from her belt, releasing a Fletchinder out by her side. Both the bird pokémon and the woman stood in silence, their eyes never leaving the sight of the wooden cross.

"Just what in the world is actually going on here...?" Avril questioned.

The girl rose slightly, trying to get a better view, when she felt a sudden tickling deep within her nose. Avril's eyes widened, the girl desperate to suddenly fight off the encroaching sneeze... but there was no hope in stopping it. With a mighty blast, the oncoming sneeze exited the blonde trainer's nose, causing her to fall back on her rump in surprise. Apparently, she wasn't the only one surprised, however. Both the woman in red and Fltechinder were quick to catch the noise. A look of absolute anger graced the woman's face.

"You... You're still haunting me, aren't you?!" the woman snapped, quickly taking a step towards Avril. "You've taken everything from me and you still torment me!"

"W-What...? What are you talking about?" Avril questioned, a look of absolute confusion was on her face.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" the woman shouted in anger. "Fletchinder, take her down! Get her away from me!"

The Fletchinder let out a loud, angry squawk as it took off flying towards Avril. The blonde trainer panicked, and without wasting a single moment she quickly grabbed one of the pokéballs off of her bracelet and tossed it into the air. In a flash of light, the shape of Avril's Shuppet took shape. The ghost pokémon let out a mischevious giggle as she emerged from her pokéball, but that was all she had time to as the Fletchinder quickly flew right past her. Lulu spun around on the spot, her eyes narrowing as she took sight of the Fletchinder herself. Without a moment of delay, the Shuppet quickly flew forward. She managed to catch up to the bird pokémon and quickly flew down into its shadow. With a loud screech, Lulu quickly rose up out of the ground and attacked Fletchinder with a quick swipe of shadowy claws. This caused the Fletchinder to flail in surprise, quickly stopping its incoming assault of Avril.

The blonde trainer sighed in relief as Lulu emerged from the shadow in front of her. "Lulu... good job..."

The Shuppet seemed to be absolutley beside herself with the praise she received from her trainer. Lulu turned her attention to the woman's Fletchinder, blowing the bird pokémon a teasing raspberry in an attempt to taunt it even futher. It seemed to work rather well, going as far as to antagonize the woman as well.

"Fletchinder, Aerial Ace now!" the woman shouted.

The bird screeched in response and began a dive bomb straight towards Lulu. Avril stared at the bird and woman in a mixture of shock and horror. The way the woman battled, it was like she was on a personal vendetta against her. But the blonde had never seen the woman anywhere before in her life. She quickly decided this needed to end, and fast.

"Lulu, blast it with Shadow Ball!" Avril ordered.

Lulu's eyes began to glow a massive ball of ghostly energy began to form in front of her. With a haunting wail, the ghost pokémon launched the massive orb of shadow straight in the direction of the Fletchinder. The Fletchinder let out a pain filled screech as it ended up flying right into the center of Lulu's attack, feathers flying all over the place as it seeming expanded and then exploded. With a massive thud, the bird pokémon crashed on the ground, fainting right on the spot.

"No... No, no no no..." the woman began to mutter, falling to her knees. "Why do you keep haunting me... Why do you remind me everyday...?"

Avril blinked slowly in response. "Remind you...? What in the world are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." the woman cried. "I failed Team Flare... I failed you, James..."

"Team... Flare...?" Avril questioned. "That group from three years ago? I thought they had all disbanded... or got arrested... or some combination of the two..."

"We were supposed to be together... in the new paradise that Lysandre was going to create for us! But no... No... You had those other... MONSTERS had to get in the way... Everything was lost... I never... I never got the chance to say..." the Flare grunt rambled.

Avril watched in a mixture of shock and horror as her body began to twitch and shake with every sob and mumble. Slowly, the blonde began to make her way towards the woman in red. The woman jumped as the sound of Avril's boot snapping a stray twig caught her attention. Her eyes widened in fear, quickly jumping up and away from the trainer.

"No! S-Stay back! Don't you dare take anything else away from me, you monster!" the Flare grunt snapped. Without warning she quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a TM. The woman took aim, tossing it as if it was a frisbee straight at Avril's head. Lulu was quick to float down and catch the TM with her teeth, her eyes glowing as she stared at the Team Flare woman intently. Without a further word, the woman took off running away from the scene... leaving a completely baffled Avril behind.
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To Build a Flower Bed​

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The constant sound of waves and the salty smell of the sea were considered by many to be the greatest charm of Cyllage City. Some people would get sick of having that same kind of ambiance there year round, rain or shine but Laurent never found anything but joy in it. He couldn't believe he'd come into possession of a Mega Stone already...Now he was looking forward even more to Shalor City and meeting Korrina! First, however, he had to take advantage of finally being back home and find some way to enjoy his short time there before he was wrapped up in his journey once again. As if summoned by that thought, a poster up on a nearby wall caught Laurent's eye.

Cyllage City Evening Pokérace!

Who says Cyllage City is all about bicycles? Of course, the people of this town love being fit, but it's not just important to exercise your body or even your mind! You have to exercise your pokémon, too!
Come down this evening with your fastest rideable pokémon and test yourself against others in a race on the very same track where the annual bike race was held earlier today if you're game!
Prizes include:
1st Place: 5000 Poké + 1 TM Extreme Speed + 1 Pro Racers White Jacket
2nd Place: 4500 Poké + 1 TM Sucker Punch
3rd Place: 3500 Poké
4th Place and below: Some good exercise and the determination to try again and do better next time!​

Laurent looked down at the Inferno Ball on his belt and smiled. Looks like it's finally time.

Odette held back her hair to keep it from getting into her eyes. The sea breeze felt good, but it felt stronger than the night before... maybe it was because the wind was forced through the Cyllage city streets rather than the open space at the beach? But it had something familiar as well. Odette's home, Canalave, was similarly situated on the coast, although its much more industrial nature made the air distinctly less crisp, as opposed to this tourist destination. In fact, the city seemed to be particularly bustling today. Odette had heard people in her hotel talking about a cycling race going on today, but she had no particular interest in the sport... rather, she wanted to meet with Grant, the local Gym Leader, and put her newfound friendship with the Rhyhorn to the test.

Thinking about that made her a little nervous, though. She thought they had made good progress thanks to Avril, but she worried if it wasn't too soon to thrust the Pokémon into battle again, and possibly summon its rage. She shuddered to think what might happen, and not least of all how she might embarrass herself in front of another Gym Leader, too. Perhaps there would be another way to ensure a positive interaction with her Rhyhorn beforehand? As she considered her course of action, Odette was lost in thought - and nearly bumped in to someone who stopped walking in front of her.

''Ah, excuse me,'' she automatically apologized and tried to pass them by, but just managed to catch their gaze... one she actually recognized.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all I don't mi - Odette?" Laurent recognized her right away. How could he not? She easily stood out amongst most people in not just her appearance, but her bearing, her stride, everything. "It's so nice to see you again after all this time! It's such a shame our last meeting was broken up so abruptly."

''Oh, Laurent!'' The girl was surprised to run into him here, but she tried to shrug off her perplexed expression. ''It's been too long... I'm still sorry about leaving you behind like that in Lumiose, that was incredibly rude of me. But I'm glad to see you're doing well, at least. Are you here to take the gym challenge, too?''

Laurent nodded happily. "Indeed I am, I have to make sure Grant knows which of us has grown more over the years. I can't just let him keep treating me like that young boy who followed him around. And don't trouble yourself over Lumiose, it couldn't be helped. The life of a high-class lady is a busy one, one never knows when an important bit of business may arrive and throw all plans into disarray." He smiled that half-lidded smile he seemed so fond of and continued. "I must say you look even more lovely than before. I believe the seabreeze suits you, it brushes your hair just right and seems to light up your face just a tad more than normal. Are you fond of the sea?"

Odette chuckled a little. ''It's good to see despite your hardships, you haven't changed a bit, Laurent. I'm not sure I agree with your comment on the breeze, however... as much as I enjoy the scent, the strong wind to me only seems to blow my hair in wayward directions. But I am fond of the sea. I suppose it comes with a form of nostalgia, having grown up in a port town myself, but as you might expect I'm not much for swimming or sunbathing, unfortunately.'' She paused to give an apologetic smile. ''That must be different for you. I'd nearly forgotten you told me you were originally from Cyllage, to be honest. Isn't it a strange experience to be back at home in the midst of your journey?''

"It's both stranger and...clearer than I expected, at the same time if that makes any sense." Laurent offered, holding up his bandaged arm. "My little sister was so angry about me letting myself get hurt. Told me I'm 'back to my old ways, making trouble and going at every problem headfirst, fists swinging.' It really put it into perspective just what a problem-child I was...I can't believe it took me this long to stop being a burden on my family...and even then I'm still making them worry so much." He looked down for just a moment even through his smile but he shook it off quickly enough. "Regardless, it's so nice to see so many familiar faces. I was able to have the pleasure of seeing you again as well, so I think this has been a wonderful homecoming, all things considered. Enough about me, I hope seeing you here means that whole commotion that canceled our date was dealt with? I was worried about you."

''My, your arm! I suppose our roles have been reversed, as I recall my arm was bandaged upon our first meeting, too... but what happened to you? I hadn't thought you the type to resolve problems with violence, not in the past, either. Sounds like something I'll have to pry out of you when next we have some more time,'' Odette responded, finishing with a slight playfulness in her voice. She intentionally glossed over the comment regarding the 'commotion' before, hoping her being here would be enough to reassure him without needing to go into detail. ''Er, in fact, I'm sorry to have kept you, even... oh, but if you're headed to the gym, we could go there together?''

"I was foolish enough to take on a knife-wielding member of team Cinder with only my bare hands...I'm afraid I wasn't in my right mind at the time." Laurent replied on the topic of his arm, as eager to move on as Odette was. The offer to walk to head to the gym together was very tempting, but he had something else in mind. "Actually, I just found out there's another race going on today and I was thinking of attending, perhaps even participating. Would you like to join me? I'd hate to hold you back from getting to your own battle with Grant, but I'd love the company."

''A... race? You mean the cycling race?'' she questioned, but instantly received an answer when Laurent gestured towards the poster. ''A Pokémon race...'' Odette considered it for a moment as she examined the placard. It might be just what she'd been looking for, an opportunity for light-hearted, cooperative activity to share with her Rhyhorn. ''Mm, that seems perfect, actually. Though the cycling race sounded like quite a big deal, with some famous athletes participating. Will this one be more accessible to, well... first-timers, do you think?'' The girl tried to get excited, but outdoorsy activities were still far from her forte, after all. If the participants were going to have that level of competitiveness, she might be better off finding Rhyhorn a different rider.

Laurent shook his head and offered his reassurances. "I'm sure it's nothing too professional, it certainly wasn't a regular competition when I grew up. If it was I could only assume everyone would have heard of it sooner, it wouldn't feel this 'out of nowhere' as they say." He kept up that signature smile of his as he continued. "I'm glad to know it interests you, why don't we go together? I'd welcome some friendly competition, at the very least we can be novices together, aye?" He finished, eyes widening slightly when he caught himself slipping into speech patterns from his youth momentarily.

Her worried expression gradually softened, and amusement tugged at the edges of her lips. ''Then, 'aye', we should,'' she responded coyly, and followed Laurent to where the races were to be held. It was a short walk, the beginning of the track near the edge of town could easily be seen from fairly far away where buildings were not immediately blocking one's view. It appeared that despite its existence being fairly new, the race was decently anticipated, many trainers and their rideable pokémon were already lined up and ready to go, stretching, chatting with their neighbors or otherwise preparing for the race. A man with a nice suit and a microphone could be seen alongside the track, speaking to some of his fellow staff and admiring the way one of the paved stone streets of the city broke apart into a dirt road, disappearing around a hill to where the bulk of the race surely awaited its competitors.

"An impressive sight." Laurent posited as he admired it all. "The same track as always, yet an entirely different race. Much more exciting in my opinion...but also likely much more expensive and tiring to clean up after."

Odette rested her finger on her cheek contemplatively. ''But this event is much less popular than the bike race, no? Why would they go through with it if it's more trouble than it's worth? Though I suppose if two races are held on the same day, they only have to clean up once. How... economical.'' Her eyes widened a moment when she realised she'd been rambling. ''Ah, excuse me. We should be looking to register,'' she added, before hastily walking away.

Inquiring with some of the other entrants made short work of registering. Both trainers had to list their names and the Pokémon with which they would be entering, which made for some interesting revelations. ''So your Growlithe evolved already? Apollo, was it?'' Odette asked curiously.

"About that..." Laurent responded, a smirk forming on his face. "Would you like to see something wonderful?" Without awaiting a reply he pulled the inferno ball off of his belt and tossed it into the air, releasing Apollo to bark once excitedly and sniff the air. The Growlithe picked up Odette's scent immediately and wasted no time running up to her and snuffling happily at her feet and legs while Laurent dug into his pack. Odette jumped a bit when it ran to her, afraid the dog might start jumping or scratching at her legs, but when it settled to sniffing, she relaxed a little and carefully bent down to pat its head. ''You remember me, do you? I'm impressed, even though our meeting was so brief...'' Slowly moving her hand as to not provoke it, she scratched under its chin a little too.

After a brief period of feeling around in one of his bag's side pockets Laurent pulled out a firestone, causing Apollo to immediately cease his puppy-ish ways and stare straight at the object. "You've grown up so much since I found you, Apollo. All the way from troublesome destructive mutt to full-fledged search and rescue hero...There's no doubting you're an adult by now, and a charming one at that if I may say so. What say you we have that reflect on the outside as strongly as it shines on the inside?" As he finished he knelt down and held the stone in front of him with an outstretched arm. Apollo took a step closer to his trainer and stretched towards his hand slowly, even now hesitant at making such a big decision final, regardless of how much he wanted it. Quickly, Apollo's eyes narrowed in determination and he touched his muzzle to the stone.

Immediately a bright flash of light issued forth from the pyro-pooch, irritating the two trainers' eyes and thereafter obscuring Apollo from their view. The immaterial pure white form stretched and contorted, losing and regaining its shape numerous times before it stabilized and grew. Every single part of Apollo's body grew in size, even his tail, and a long noble mane to match the fluffy glory of said tail formed, cresting his forehead like a fur crown and stretching halfway down his back. Just like that, the light burst, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared to leave an Arcanine standing proudly before Laurent and Odette, the canid pokémon so statuesque, regal and majestic it had earned the title 'Legendary Pokémon' within the pokédex.

Odette clasped her hands together in front of her, in awe of the evolution taking place. She had never seen it happen in person before, so to have Apollo go through such a rigorous change right before her eyes made a large impression on her. ''How amazing,'' she mused, very carefully raising her hand to stroke through his mane, eliciting a happy growl. An immense change, and yet she could tell even now, he was still Apollo. A slight smile spread upon her face when he returned her gaze for a moment. ''Stunning, indeed. I suppose I should introduce you.''

Turning her back to Laurent and Apollo, she quickly took the Heavy Ball containing her own Pokémon from her bag and opened it in front of her. The massive Rhyhorn was called forth, and looked around in bewilderment. He was surrounded by humans, threats that had hurt him before... but when the Arcanine, one of the very fire dogs that set fire to his forest caught his eye, he truly bellowed with rage threateningly and assumed a battle stance.
''Ah, Rhyhorn, wait! We're not fighting! Everything's okay!'' Odette quickly opened her hands towards the Pokémon to try and soothe him, but he simply eyeballed her suspiciously, and strongly blew out air from his nostrils.

Apollo's eyes widened in alarm and took a step back. After a moment of hesitation, instead of snarling or barking as he would have only a short while ago, Apollo closed his eyes and lowered his head apologetically. Laurent looked back and forth between the two pokémon, desperately hoping not to ruin the race with a giant rampaging Rhyhorn. He could already hear his little sister yelling at him for how reckless his idea was but that didn't stop him from reaching into his backpack. Before the Rhyhorn could grow any more agitated its attention was pulled away from Apollo by a lilting, rhythmic melody. Its massive head swiveled to eye Laurent slowly approaching it, one hand holding the pokéflute to his mouth to play the music it was hearing while the other stretched out gingerly towards its snout to pat it.

Odette had been facing her Pokémon trying to calm it down still, but looked up in surprise when she heard a melody rise up from behind her. She slowly looked over her shoulder, but her surprise only grew when Laurent was the one to step forward. Rhyhorn grunted, wary of another strange human approaching, but the mesmerizing tune managed to lower his guard, and with another expulsion of air the threatening beast slowly lowered its head to meet Laurent's touch. Odette simultaneously placed her hand on the other side of Rhyhorn's forehead, to avoid alarming it when she stood by its side. She continued to reassuringly pet its head, before facing Laurent with a gentle sigh, followed by a relieved smile. ''That was quite the risk you took, mr. Hessel... but honestly, is there anything you can't do?''

"I discover more and more every day," Laurent replied with a tiny hint of regret buried beneath his tone, but his smile remained as he pat Rhyhorn one last time for good measure, immensely relieved to see it calmed down. "You've truly found yourself an amazing companion and surely a true contender in the race. I can't wait to see how the two of you perform. Shall we?"

As the announcer's voice rang over the speakers around the track, all competitors were called to gather at the start line. The pair and their Pokémon followed suit, and once there, carefully climbed atop their rides' backs. Odette particularly looked uncomfortable - there were enough rocky appendages on the Rhyhorn's body to hold on to, but maybe she should have thought of a way to secure herself on top of it... Due to her Pokémon's size, she was seated much higher off the ground than most riders around her, so falling off would be that much more painful, likely. Not to mention she wasn't exactly suited to rodeo, with her disposition.

Laurent had an easy enough time climbing onto Apollo apart from one or two stumbles thanks to the Arcanine leaning down and trying to accommodate him. He had been worried Apollo would find all this demeaning, but saw only noble determination in his eyes, eager to show off his new strength. "So, what exactly have you...?" Laurent muttered, quickly scanning Apollo with his pokédex and looking at the results. "Oooh~"

''Ready, Set... GO!''

The bang of the announcer's starting pistol boomed throughout the area, and the race took off immediately. Odette looked around her in bewilderment as the Pokémon around her started running without delay, worried that the sudden burst of activity might set off another rage in her Rhyhorn, but somehow the beast stayed utterly focused. Not until the way in front of them was mostly cleared did the Rock-type start moving, slowly at first but quickly picking up in speed as it gave chase to the main pack of riders.

Without a moment's delay Apollo shot out of the starting line amongst the frontrunners of the race, making as much use of his new legs as possible and revelling in every moment of it. They didn't stay near the front for long before Laurent gently tugged on Apollo's mane and had him slow down, pulling back a bit. Laurent hadn't forgotten about the racers being allowed to use attacks and various other tricks to get ahead as long as they weren't directly attacking trainers and sure enough, the forethought paid off. All the competitors at the front of the race realized around then that there was no winner based purely on speed and began to try to unbalance each other, slow each other down and create obstacles for each other. "Yes, that's right, clear the way for the rest of us." He muttered.

Odette and her Rhyhorn were lagging behind the main pack of riders, the trainer still struggling to find the best way to hold on. She tried to see how the Rhyhorn was feeling too - she'd heard before that cavalry could sense fear in their jockey and grow agitated because of it - but the Rock-type gave no semblance of its mood. It grunted quietly with every gallop and seemed to absent-mindedly follow behind the other competitors. Odette was a bit worried, but when she saw the Pokémon in front start to attack each other to get ahead, she couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved that she wasn't closing the gap just yet.

The battle-racing at the forefront heated up quickly enough then, before long, it fizzled up just like that. Several racers slowed down from either fatigue or damage and were passed up by the middle-placers, with the only original frontrunner staying in his place was a sailor riding on a Swampert. Not the fastest pokémon to be sure, but strong and durable enough to have overpowered those that tried to pass it and maintain its lead. Apollo surged forward, growling when several other racers sped up alongside him, apparently having had the same idea Laurent had. They caught up to the Swampert quickly enough and as if it had eyes in the back of its head it casually slammed an Ice Punch into the ground in an attempt to trip up its tailgaters. Apollo jumped over the ice easily enough, only for the Swampert to whip around and shoot a jet of water at him. At a word from his trainer the Arcanine blasted a Flamethrower on the ground briefly to propel himself above the attack and began to spin in the air with flames still flowing from his mouth, pushing past the Swampert in a pyro-acrobatical spiral.

The sailor and the other racers quickly catching up with him forgot about knocking each other out of the race for a moment in indignance at Laurent's maneuver and made a mad dash for Apollo. The pair slowed down as if the attack had tired the Arcanine out a bit. Laurent looked back at the encroaching pokémon in what looked to be fear, then said something quietly to Apollo and covered his ears with his hands, lowering his chest against his pokémon's back to make up for the lost leverage. A Dodrio skirted Apollo on one side, preparing a Tri-Attack, the Swampert flanked the other side with an Aqua Jet and a Rapidash was charging towards Apollo's back with a Horn Attack. Suddenly the Arcanine sped up then jumped again, doing half a somersault to face the racers on his coattails in the air and let out a massive Roar, the pure force of his voice keeping him steady in the air just long enough to complete the rotation and land smoothly to keep running.

The ferocity of the roar caused the Rapidash to stumble while the Swampert and Dodrio both lost control over their attacks and all three crashed into each other, many different elements bursting out at once as the trio tangled together and rolled in a bruised lump back towards the oncoming racers.

The turmoil caused by the Pokémon ahead caused the pack to thin a bit as well. Particularly the ice hazard placed by the Swampert ahead proved an unexpected hurdle, with many inattentive competitors stumbling over the sudden slippery ground... however, for the Rhyhorn and its trainer at the back, this posed no problem. The immense Rock-type simply Stomped over the glaze as if it was nothing, even breaking the layer where its feet hit the ground. Its trainer had finally found the best way to ride too, almost lying down on her chest atop the Pokémon to minimize wind resistance. But even now Rhyhorn seemed to just be trudging along if anything. Odette slowly made to climb forward enough to reach its head.

''Come on, Rhyhorn... it's a race! We're supposed to get ahead of everyone else, and I know you can go faster than this. Let's step up our game already!'' Odette spoke, hoping to motivate her Pokémon, but even now the Rhyhorn barely flinched. It let out an unimpressed roar and picked up the pace a little to break into the main group. The other remaining contestants hastily made way for the Bulldozing colossus racing up behind them, but the intruder was equally swiftly met by attacks from Pokémon around. The trainer on his back took cover as the Pokémon was attacked from all sides with flame and flurry, but the Rhyhorn itself shrugged them all off, continuing over the track with haste, passing by more and more Pokémon in its pursuit of the leader. Slowly it began to dawn on Odette that it wasn't apathy that caused the Rhyhorn's lack of interest. Rather, it was arrogance.

Up ahead Laurent and Apollo had slowed to a more even pace, continuing to move fast and try to keep their lead as long as possible but without expending too much energy. Despite the loud rumbling of Odette's Rhyhorn, they seemed to be racing unthreatened for the moment, that is, until a crackling, chirp-like sound grated at Laurent's ears. The trainer tried to look behind him but was only able to a spy a sparking mass before Apollo reacted on his own, jumping to the side just in time to not be struck by the electric blur that hurtled past them. Shortly after missing them the cloak of electricity dissipated to reveal a Manectric with a young boy on its back. "What amazing control not to electrify the trainer..." Laurent muttered to himself.

"Ahh, I thought we had that, Mannie, your ace Volt Tackle totally woulda gotten rid of that mutt." The boy said in disappointment.

"Make sure you don't hit the boy." Laurent said plainly to Apollo, who growled an affirmative and spewed a gout of flame from his mouth to crash at the Manectric's feet and force it to jump into the air. Apollo sped up and took advantage of the Manectric's loss of momentum from the jump to pass it, only for Thunderbolts to rain down around him. He dodged the flurry of attacks, but by the time he had, the Manectric had caught up. The pair continued the elemental struggle, continually slowing each other down as the thundering march of a certain gargantuan beast drew ever closer.

Odette gingerly raised her head to look over the Rhyhorn's head, and to her surprise saw an open space before her, with only the two canines running in front. Seeing an opportunity, she sat up slightly, about to give her Pokémon a command, but just then it suddenly jumped up and startled her, causing Odette to return to using all her might just to hang on. Rhyhorn had seen it too, apparently, and struck down hard with its front legs. A loud rumbling could be heard from underground, growing in volume threateningly as it seemed to rush forward, until suddenly a number of large, sharp rocks spiked up from the ground underneath the canines. Shock could be heard from the crowd on the side, as the Rhyhorn did not only release a merciless Stone Edge, but it even managed to turn the last part of the track into extremely hazardous territory.

Apollo and 'Mannie' were both forced to stop attacking each other to focus on avoiding the sharp stones assaulting them and attempt to keep their footing well enough to continue racing. Apollo was a much bigger target than the Manectric and had his progress almost halted as he was forced to leap around, twisting and contorting in the air. The Manectric had a much easier time pushing forward, taking the lead and doing its best to keep the gap between it and the bulldozer of a Rhyhorn charging towards it. It seemed as if the Manectric was a lock to pull away and solidify its lead until its rider got impatient. The young boy urged the Manectric on faster and faster and one rushed jump landed in the wrong place, leading to one of the sharp stones rising from the ground to fling the pair off the track. Between the Rhyhorn's impressive strength and the type advantage, it was a one-hit KO.

Laurent and Apollo continued to avoid the Stone Edge assault successfully at the cost of progress. Laurent could do little for the moment other than look on in frustration as the stone beast steadily caught up, effortlessly trudging through the rocky terrain. Odette hung on tight but managed to glance ahead and upon seeing Laurent's expression she couldn't help but grin slightly. The battle wasn't yet won, but this was the final stretch... No more room for error from either side. The girl hesitated, but then spoke to the Rhyhorn under her breath, upon which its eyes went wide. Another immense roar escaped its maw, and its pace quickened further as each of its gallops hit the ground so hard it left indentations even in the rock. The Pokémon came at its opponent with a Bulldoze attack - shaking and even leveling the ground beneath it in an effort to lower Arcanine's speed.

Dodging the last shards of Stone Edge placed Apollo directly in Rhyhorn's path, fighting to keep his balance as the ground rumbled and continued to deform even further around him. The living tank's one-mon stampede approached much faster than one would expect from such a lumbering beast and Apollo was only just barely able to jump out of Rhyhorn's way before he was flattened. Apollo began to follow after Odette and her rampaging mount, but the deformed terrain's uneven footing and lack of traction slowed him down and assured he couldn't jump far enough to simple escape it. Laurent's eyes steeled and he laid closer against Apollo's back and wrapped his arms around the Arcanine's neck, he'd need the extra grip in a moment. "It's all or nothing now, my friend. Can you hold it to the finish line?" The statuesque canine nodded grimly and Laurent took in a deep breath. "Have at it then, Apollo! Extremespeed!"

A shudder ran through Apollo's body, his new, still slightly unfamiliar muscles rippling strongly through his body. The Arcanine made a short hop up onto the largest of the shards from Rhyhorn's Stone Edge and launched off of it with a bright streak of white light tracing his path through the air. Laurent and Apollo's fresh momentum continued when they landed, the pair blazing magnificently down the final stretch of the course towards Odette and her Rhyhorn, closing the gap rapidly. The end of the race course narrowed back into Cyllage city until it was back between buildings, bordered closely on either side by their walls. Apollo's limbs were screaming at him for holding the Extremespeed for so long but he carried on. Laurent held on for dear life, feeling his legs begin to lift off of his Arcanine as Apollo jumped one last time and ping-ponged himself between the walls hemming in the racers in a zigzag pattern, negating the speed hindrance of Rhyhorn's Bulldoze to rocket mere inches past it and through the tape of the finish line.

The last-ditch effort left absolutely no room for grace, both pokémon and trainer tumbled in a heap over the stone road and crashed together into a building just past the finish line, dazed and barely even aware of their surroundings. Rhyhorn let out an angry cry as it too ground to halt just past the finish line, and Odette hastily jumped off its back to inspect the site of the crash, shocked by the sudden speed and consequent force of the impact. At that point they were suddenly surrounded by the clamoring of the crowd to the amazing finish they were presented, and the announcer too was still excitedly narrating how this race had played out.

Laurent and Apollo continued to lay where they crashed, looking around as if confused before shaking their heads simultaneously and standing up with a slight stumble. When his eyes fully focused Laurent immediately clasped one of Odette's hands between both of his and shook it up and down excitedly twice like a hastened prayer. He let go just as quickly and smiled wide. "That was amazing, Odette! You seemed so nervous with your Rhyhorn before we started, but you raced so beautifully and it fought so hard for you!"

Odette's eyes went wide with surprise when he took her hand and she quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment, only to jump even more when her Rhyhorn behind her let out a bellow of agreement. Once the shock had worn off, however, she placed her hand to her Pokémon's forehead as she spoke. ''You're right... This race has been a better exercise of teamwork and competition than I could have hoped, which you had no small part in either. So, I'm glad to see you're unscathed, most of all... but also, thank you, Laurent.'' A slight smile grew upon her face. ''And you too, Apollo. He'd best treat you today after that stellar performance.''

"You can wager I most certainly will!" Laurent agreed, vigorously scratching the bases of Apollo's ears while the Arcanine growled happily and tilted his head. "I don't know that I had much to do with your increased coordination with Rhyhorn, but friendly competition is always healthy, I'm glad I was able to at least offer that much! Where do you intend to go next?" He queried. "All I have left to do before I leave is visit the g-"

"Surprise surprise, look who's here." A cool but friendly voice interjected. Both trainer's heads turned to see Grant walking towards them, slowly clapping as he approached. "That was a wonderful race, good job, both of you! I'm impressed, Little-Laurel." He finished, smirking noticeably at Laurent.

Laurent's jubilant expression relaxed back to his normal demeanor as he faced Grant. "Ah, yes, Grant. I hope you'll cease with that nickname when I take your badge. What brings you here?"

Grant smiled and clapped a hand on Laurent's shoulder. "I decided not to join in this race since I was already in the bike race earlier today but I at least thought I'd watch. You guys did great, and while I was watching you some of the staff found me and asked me to give out the prizes." With that he turned his full attention to Odette and smiled warmly at her, extending his hand. "Hello there, young lady. It's always a pleasure to meet another trainer, especially a friend of Little-Laurel. May I ask your name?"

The girl returned with a smile of her own. ''Of course, my name is Odette.'' She made her habitual small curtsy, before sensing the Rhyhorn moving up to Grant as well. ''Oh, and this is my Rhy-- Rhyhorn, stop that!'' she exclaimed when the imposing Pokémon glared into Grant's eye for a moment. Once the Gym Leader met its gaze, however, it somehow seemed to relax, as if recognizing the other's strength. Perhaps this was the power of Rock-type specialists? However, there was something that piqued her interest even more. ''I wasn't aware you were quite this close to the Gym Leader, Laurent,'' she spoke, unable to hide her amusement at his nickname.

Unlike earlier in front of Emma, this time Laurent kept his expression cool and smoothly turned to Odette beside Grant. "Our dear gym leader here has always been a bit of a hero to the youngsters of this town, especially the aspiring athletes and pokémon trainers. As a child, I was both and followed Grant around like a little glory parasite. He wasn't nearly so personable back then as he is now and did his best to avoid being crowded by Cyllage's youth. I was the only one of the town's children that managed to keep up with him back then through sheer determination and stubbornness. I can tell you for certain that the younger me lacked in both sophistication and charm. When I followed Grant on one of his treks up a nearby mountain, making it clear I wouldn't turn back until I fell and cracked my head open from overdoing it, he likened me to a Mountain Laurel. After that I seemed to grow on the young man, and we remained friends from then on."

"Yup, that's how it went," Grant admitted with a nod. "Now I'm waiting till I get to test Little-Laurel here in a proper battle. Enough with the pleasantries for now, though." Without further ado, Grant hefted a pair of drawstring bags and handed one each to Odette and Laurent. Odette's held inside it 4500 poké and a TM. Laurent's held 5000 poké, another TM and a jacket. He pulled the jacket out to admire and smiled. It was white, with a green vertical stripe bordered by yellow going down from the middle of each shoulder to the white-and-red-checkered trim lining the bottom.

"Wonderful!" Laurent exclaimed. "Stylish and sleek, with complimentary colors but not too showy~ Yes, this will do nicely." Odette too, gladly accepted her prize and thanked Grant accordingly.

"Glad you like them," Grant said approvingly. As for those TMs, miss Odette has received Sucker Punch for winning second place, Li-- Laurent has been given the TM for Extremespeed. Both are very tactical moves intended to hit your opponent before they hit you, all-the-while being much more powerful than most other hit-priority moves like Quick Attack, they have a myriad of uses and I hope they'll really improve your arsenals."

''Perfect,'' Odette mused, before placing her prizes in her bag. ''I trust you will be prepared for us to use them against your Pokémon, Mr. Grant,'' she finished with a slight grin.

"Prepared?" Grant said. "I welcome it, please throw everything you've got at me. Nothing makes a Gym Leader happier than a good challenge." He smiled at Odette, then turned to Laurent. The two stared at each other intensely enough to convince one that they were already battling in their minds. Grant's smile tilted to an eager smirk and he turned away, heading back towards his gym. "See you both soon, don't keep me waiting!"

"Don't rush too quickly towards your defeat!" Laurent called after him before facing Odette and returning to his usual demeanor. "I suppose that's that, then. It's getting late, I really hadn't intended to let this much of the day pass me by before my gym battle...As much as I enjoy gazing at you in the moonlight, Odette, I should be off. 'Til we meet again?"

''Ah, yes, of course. Thank you for letting me join you once again.'' She made the slightest bow to show her appreciation and returned her Rhyhorn to his Pokéball before turning away. ''Well then... Safe travels, Little Laurel.''

​

Current Party:

The guard in front of the Cyllage City gym smirked at Laurent when he approached the doors. "That time already, aye?"

"Aye." Laurent confirmed with a nod, matching him smirk for smirk.

"Arright, you gonna be putting on a show too?"

"No, I suppose there's no reason you should keep anyone out on the off chance that anyone actually wishes to spectate, but I don't expect it."

---

Old friends stood atop the raised platforms, staring each other down with confident but friendly smiles. "So, here we are." Grant proclaimed. "You ready for this, Little-Laurel? Will you keep up or are you going to get left at the base of the mountain?"

"I've been ready since the moment I returned." Laurent responded. "I've got a climb more daunting than Mt. Silver ahead of me, I have to keep growing stronger and learning, there's no other choice."

"Well said! Then show me you're still as determined as when you were an uppity brat!" Grant shouted, tossing a pair of pokéballs down into the craggy maze, releasing Tyrantrum and Aurorus. The pair stood at attention, grimly awaiting their opponents.

"So be it. Old friend, it's time you meet my oldest partner and my newest!" Laurent responded heartily tossing out his own pokéballs with a flourish reminiscent of the one he used at contests. The beams of light quickly found their destined shapes and revealed Bernard and Laurent's new Dewpider. The Ivysaur took on a battle stance and crooned happily before feeling a creeping sensation on his back and looking up to smile at the Dewpider atop his head. "I introduce to you, Bernard and Charlotte!"

Grant smirked down approvingly at the pokémon his opponent had released while shaking his head. "You and your names...Alright, show me what you've got!"

"Charlotte, Bubble Beam!" Laurent shouted, wasting no time getting started. Charlotte hopped off of Bernard's head and the water bubble around her head began to rapidly fire off a stream of smaller bubbles that seemed to be flying twice as fast as one would expect.

Grant's smirk remained. "Yeah, that's how they usually start. "Aurorus, Light Screen!" Aurorus shook its head majestically and caused a large wall of transparent light to appear between Grant's team and Laurent's. The bubbles slowed down as they passed through the Light Screen, not even staggering Tyrantrum and only appearing to harm Aurorus slightly. Grant was surprised for a moment, until he remembered Dewpider's ability. "Looks like Light Screen cancels out your Water Bubble. Tyrantrum, Dragon Tail!"

"Bernard, Charlotte, synchronized retreat!" Laurent commanded. Charlotte jumped back onto Bernard's head and the Ivysaur raced away with his partner in tow. Tyrantrum chased after them with its tail aglow and quickly began to gain on them despite its size. "Bernard, Sunny Day!" As he ran, Bernard's bulb began to twitch before spitting out a small sphere of pure light. The sphere shot up above the arena and covered most of it in a perfect facsimile of the sun's radiance, always shifting its position just enough to keep Bernard in its glow while he ran.

Laurent's pokémon managed to dart around the corner of one of the stone walls just ahead of Grant's Tyrantrum. The saurian terror snorted in frustration but would not be deterred and slammed his Dragon Tail into the corner Bernard had just passed, breaking it into pieces and sending a blast of large rocks towards its opponents. One or two of the rocks struck Bernard and sent him sprawling, giving Tyrantrum time to close most of the gap before he hopped upright. "Charlotte, Aurora Beam!" The Dewpider blasted chilly prismatic energy at her hulking opponent. The Aurora Beam flew true but after having to pass through the Light Screen it did little to deter Tyrantrum.

Tyrantrum's tail slammed down mercilessly, missing Bernard by mere inches as he rolled aside. The Ivysaur darted away in an attempt to run Tyrantrum around more, but didn't make it far before glowing rocks and boulders rained down on him. Aurorus had managed to loop around and cut them off; even with a speed advantage Laurent would find it no easy task to outmaneuver Grant in his own arena. Bernard was sent sprawling back towards Tyrantrum just in time to be scooped up into its mouth, bathed in flames. "A good move, Grant. But this isn't even check yet! Charlotte, stealth time! Bernard, Poison Powder!" Before Grant could give his pokémon any further orders Bernard shot Tyrantrum right in the face with a burst of purple powder, causing the angry dinosaur to spit its prey out and stomp around in frustration, coughing and snorting. Bernard landed bruised and unsteady, but began to glow bright green under his faux-sun's light.

"We'll see about that, Laurent!" Grant countered. "Aurorus, more Ancient Power before that Dewpider can pull some sort of sneak attack!" Aurorus roared an affirmative and sent more glowing rocks flying towards Bernard. Laurent simply smirked and watched as Bernard moved in a blur, deftly avoiding every single rock without so much as a scratch. "Alright, try dodging this! Aurorus, Hail!" The imperius Tundra pokémon raised its head and shook its neck majestically, clouds spreading over the battlefield and beginning to rain down pearls of ice upon all the combatants. The fake sun from Bernard's Sunny Day, however, remained.

"Synthesis!" Laurent shouted. Bernard soaked up the light from his Sunny Day even while the Hail battered him, quickly healing not only from the Hail but from the earlier attacks he'd suffered. Tyrantrum had regained its senses and was about to clamp its jaws down on Bernard again when a blur shot off of a nearby wall and onto its forehead. "Charlotte, Infestation!" The brave Dewpider raised her abdomen and released a small cloud of miniscule organisms to scatter around Tyrantrum's head and even into its mouth. Tyrantrum reared back in fury, roaring and shaking its head in an attempt to dislodge Charlotte or disperse her attack. She refused to relent and continued to crawl about Tyrantrum's body as it flailed, spreading the Infestation continuously despite how abysmal its damage was.

Grant grit his teeth but wouldn't let Laurent see his frustration. "Aurorus, Hyper Beam!" Aurorus stomped the ground resolutely and took a deep breath, an amber sphere of pure chaotic energy forming in front of its mouth before frosty mist coiled around the orb and it became an icy blue. Aurorus fired off the now-ice-type Hyper Beam straight at Bernard.

The Ivysaur stared straight at the attack and didn't move. "Solar Beam!" Laurent yelled. Bernard angled his bulb towards the oncoming attack and spent a few moments gathering light from the Sunny Day then fired it straight into the oncoming Hyper Beam. The attacks struggled against each other only a few seconds before the Hyper Beam began to push through thanks to its higher power and type advantage. "Charlotte, Aurora beam!" Charlotte leaped dramatically off of Tyrantrum's head and left it to deal with the Infestation while she fired her Aurora Beam into Aurorus' Hyper Beam, stagnating its advance. "An excellent gambit, Grant!" Laurent congratulated his opponent. "But..." The now-evenly-matched attacks sputtered out anticlimactically, leaving all three pokémon breathing heavily. The fake sun continued to shine brilliantly down on Bernard even through the hail and he recovered far faster than the other combatants. "Bernard's ready for more already. Solar Beam!"

Bernard fired off another Solar Beam straight into his opponent, doing massive damage even through the Light Screen thanks to its type advantage. "Charlotte, Extremespeed and Leech Life!" The Solar Beam left Aurorus staggered just long enough for Charlotte to dash in a blur and cling to its neck, then bite into it, fangs glowing as both energy and blood were siphoned away from it. Tyrantrum finally shook off its Infestation and charged straight at Bernard in a blind rage, making the ground shake with its strength.

"Fire Fang!" Grant's commanding voice kept Tyrantrum's fury in check and it sprinted after Bernard with much better precision, mouth aflame all the while. Bernard bolted and easily outpaced it thanks to Chlorophyll. Aurorus physical defense was significantly weaker than its special defense and after taking a direct hit from Solar Beam it could only struggle against Charlotte's Leech Life for so long. Its movements grew weaker and weaker while Bernard lead Tyrantrum around until finally, it collapsed, the Light Screen shattering simultaneously.

"Check." Laurent smirked and pointed down into the arena despite the obvious fact that nobody could see it. "Bernard, Leech Seed!" Bernard continued to stay just out of Tyrantrum's reach and popped a seed up into the air, leaving Tyrantrum to run straight through it, finally gaining on the Ivysaur while the seed on its chest sprouted and spread parasitic tendrils around it. There was little left for Grant to do even after he saw Bernard's Sunny Day dissipate. Tyrantrum wasn't fast enough to catch either of its targets without Dragon Dance but it couldn't take the time to use it without getting hit by brutal attacks now that Aurorus wasn't supporting it. Tyrantrum continued to chase Bernard and Charlotte around impotently while the poison and Leech Seed sucked away at its strength, leading to it not even quite understanding what it had run into when it turned a corner and found Bernard and Charlotte both finally standing its ground. Particles of light were being sucked into Bernard's bulb but Tyrantrum thought only of how it had finally caught its prey and ran straight for them with its mouth open.

"SolAurora Beam!" Laurents order rang out across the battlefield as clearly as church bells tolling in Grant's ears. Bernard and Charlotte arched their bulb and abdomen towards Tyrantrum and a pair of beams fired straight into its gaping maw, forcing it backwards. Tyrantrum staggered back, mouth closed and fought to keep its balance until its stomach seemed to fill up explosively before deflating just as quickly. The massive beast fell to the ground in a deafening crash and belched out a puff of smoke, defeated.

---

The walk back to the entrance was surprisingly solemn for the two old friends. Laurent had only spent a few moments congratulating his pokémon on a job well done before returning them, and neither he nor Grant had spoken much along the way. When they reached the Gym's doors both Leader and Challenger turned to face one another. Grant raised up his hand, palm vertically flat and smirked at Laurent. "Good work!" Laurent high-fived Grant heartily with his right hand and spun around with his left hand poised palm-up underneath his right elbow. Grant met the low-five happily, but confused Laurent by lingering. After a brief delay, Grant closed his hand over Laurent's for a moment then pulled it away to reveal a Cliff Badge sitting proudly in the trainer's palm. "I really hoped I'd take out at least one of your pokémon...but I suppose a home-field advantage and experience isn't quite enough to beat hours of planning ahead and knowledge of your opponent."

"I haven't lacked for training in my short time as a trainer..." Laurent explained wistfully. "I've even had to fight for my life several times already."

"I heard..." Silence followed for a while after, neither friend exactly sure of what to say next as they both contemplated the journey that lay ahead of Laurent. Finally Grant smiled wide again and clapped Laurent on the shoulder. "Alright, get back out there and dazzle the world, Little-Laurel! Tkae care of yourself and more importantly, take care of those friends of yours. Especially those cute girls...Emma and Odette?"

Laurent cleared his throat and turned towards the doors. "Right, I should be off. Keep growing stronger Grant, we'll have a rematch when I return. Keep a close eye on the city too. Don't let Team Cinder do anything else to hurt Cyllage, aye?"

"Aye."

Chris' Museum:

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Scars for Fresh Wounds​

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Chris' Museum:

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Avril Morris | Geosenge Town

The Team

Badges

Inventory

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly," the Pok?mon Ranger replied, looking up from his notebook with a rather calm expression gracing his features. "You encountered a woman while walking towards town. Out of curiosity over the fact that you believed her to be a member of Team Cinder, you followed her at a distance to see where she was going and if she happened to be up to no good. Eventually, you followed her to a lone hill with a wooden cross, where she apparently had a meltdown, challenged you to a battle, assaulted you with a TM, and then fled from the scene?"

Avril nodded slowly in response. She believed that she may have picked up on a slight hint of skepticism in the ranger's tone as he recounted the events, not that the blonde could blame him. It was only now that she was listening to the recollection of the day's events did the trainer realize just how awkward and down right unbelievable the story sounded.

"Look, I know it sounds weird, but... I swear it did happen," Avril began to reason. "I battled her with my Shuppet and... the weirdest part, I haven't even told you. Turns out that she wasn't from Team Cinder after all. She kept going on and on about Team Flare, but I was fairly certain that that whole organization collapsed about three years ago."

"Team Flare, huh...?" the ranger questioned back. A knowing, yet sad smile suddenly took over his features. A small sigh escaped his lips as the ranger closed his notepad and replaced it and the pen he had been using to jot down notes on Avril's encounter away. "That settles it... It was definitely Lauren..."

"Lauren...?" Avril questioned. "I don't think you understand the situation, sir. Team Flare is running around still, all the while Cinder is on the loose as well. Doesn't this qualify as a pretty big emergency?"

"I really wouldn't sweat it kid. Team Flare isn't coming back, this much I can assure you," the ranger began to explain. "The woman you encountered, her name is Lauren. As you said, she did have an affiliation with Team Flare. The truth of the matter is that she was one of the sole survivors of the incident that occurred in this very town... well, of those who were affiliated with Team Flare, anyways. The truth of the matter is that one of the group's main hideouts was in fact located here. Two trainers... probably just a year or two younger than yourself, took them on and... well, essentially brought Team Flare's existence to an end. A lot of lives were lost in that explosion. The woman you met almost lost her own, but..."

"But...?" Avril inquired.

"She was saved by another Team Flare grunt. The grave she was visiting? It belonged to her lover... or at least, future lover." the ranger sighed, slowly rising up from the table as he spoke. "We get a lot of reports about her shuffling around out there. She's more or less gone mentally. All that's left is an emotional shell that's on the verge of self destruct. From rumors I heard the two were very close to each other, but neither one had the courage to actually confess their feelings. It's a pity, really. Perhaps if they had had that moment, things could have turned out different for them... Well, if you'll excuse me."

Avril remained silent as she watched the ranger leave the Pok?mon Center. Suddenly, her whole encounter with the Team Flare grunt seemed to take on a completely different light. Despite the fact that the woman had been under the employment of the organization which caused Kalos to be plunged into chaos, Avril found the entire revelation to be downright depressing. Before she had too much longer to dwell on the matter, the gentle clearing of a throat managed to grab her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss Morris?" a woman called out. Avril turned to see the nurse of the Pok?mon Center smiling softly in her direction. "We've finished treating your team and they're ready to go."

Avril made her way to the counter with a small smile of her own. "Thank you for working so quickly. We should be able to get back on the road pretty quickly now." Avril collected her Pok?mon team and began to place their Pok? Balls back in their respective places on her bracelet. As she did this, the blonde could feel the eyes of the Pok?mon Center nurse watching her intently. Slowly, Avril shifted her focus from her bracelet and back to the woman behind the counter. "Um... Is there something I can help you with?"

The nurse gasped at the sudden question from the trainer, as if she had been caught day dreaming and was just now snapping back to reality. A small blush was quick to grace her cheeks as a weak giggle escaped her lips. "O-Oh, it's nothing really... It's just... Um..."

Avril noticed the hesitation coming from the Pok?mon Center nurse. "Go on...?"

The nurse sighed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, it's just... we're having a bit of a Pok?mon issue here... I know it's not your problem, and you're probably eager to get back to your journey, but... If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if you might be capable of lending us a hand?"

Avril raised a curious eyebrow in the direction of the nurse. "Well... I guess I'd need to know what was the actual problem before I could agree or decline."

The nurse nodded and motioned for Avril to join her behind the counter. The older woman led the blonde trainer into a door which led further back into the Pok?mon Center. It had been a while since Avril had ventured deeper into a Pok?mon Center. The last time she had been permitted behind a counter at one of the establishments was back at Lumiose City, shortly after Shino had been wounded by Gabriel Artece. Having that experience be revived in the corners of her memory was not really a pleasant experience, but at the very least Avril did take solace in the fact that Shino was not laying in a bed and fighting for his life.

"You see, even though this town has been mostly reduced to just a... passby town, with more or less nothing to offer but a Pok?mon Center, things have been a little... hectic here. Truth be told, we've actually been a bit short-handed here," the nurse explained. As she spoke, Avril watched an Audino waddle by with another nurse, a cute little hat and apron gracing the Pok?mon's features. "While we have nurses and doctors, we usually receive help from various Pok?mon as well. We usually use those such as Audino and Chansey, Pok?mon who specialize in helping those and healing with their unique abilities and moves."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Avril answered quickly. "My mother works at the Pok?mon Center in Laverre City. I've gotten a few sneak peeks of what goes on behind the scenes at these places."

The nurse smiled. "Well, I guess that makes this easier to explain then. As you know, none of these Pok?mon are actually caught. Rather they're more or less... recruited to assist. That's where our current problem comes in. We recently recruited a new aid... and well..."

Avril watched as the nurse opened a door at the end of a hallway. It looked to be some sort of office, most likely one where various medical records were kept. Several filing cabinets were situated about the room, many with drawers sitting open. Many folders and papers were scattered about the room, sitting on a desk or in chairs or even on the floor. Clearly, someone was supposed to be in charge of helping out with the filing of information, but whoever it was was not doing too great of a job. Avril did not have to wonder about just who this employee was for too much longer, however. A small, rather bored sounding sigh was soon heard in the room and managed to catch her attention rather quickly. The Pok?mon trainer turned to see a rather bored looking Jigglypuff standing on a stool in the room, her emerald green eyes staring up and out of a nearby window.

"I guess it's kinda pointless to ask, but... Is this that new aid you guys recruited?" Avril asked.

"That's right," the nurse replied. "We brought her in about a week or so ago. At first she seemed to be quite enthusiastic about being here, but... Something changed. I really don't know what or how, but I think she's... bored. Maybe she thought she was being taken on some grand adventure or something of the sort, but that's just... not in the cards, at least, not with us here."

"So how am I supposed to help?" Avril questioned.

"Well... You seem to be a fairly adept Pok?mon trainer. At least, that was the impression I got while treating your team," the nurse explained. "I also happened to notice that you still had an empty spot on your team..."

"So, long story short... you want me to take her with me?"

"That's right."

Avril turned her attention away from the nurse and placed her focus back onto the Jigglypuff. In all honesty, it really didn't seem like too bad of an idea. Jigglypuff could prove to be a rather versatile pok?mon and they did tend to be quite resilient. She remembered that much from her battle against the Wigglytuff back at the Battle Chateau. Plus, it's unique typing would help balance out her team even more.

"Alright then," Avril concluded with a nod. "I'll take her with me."

The nurse sighed in relief before offering Avril a small smile. "Thank you very much, I'm sure you won't regret this."

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Red or the Blue Pill​

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