[PKMN FULL] Hoenn: Square One [IC]

[Aquacorde]

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

Knuckle, Dell
₽33,000
Friday Oct 9, Afternoon
Winstrate Estate

Chapter 6 #6 - Up-And-Coming

Marie's not used to a crowd, no, but the large audience at the edges of the field is somehow easier to tune out than a kids' soccer league, or Jim the nice referee. Maybe because she knows it's not about her; half the people here see this tournament every month. It's a day out, something to do, a way to get out of the city for the weekend without actually leaving the city. They're here to eat snacks and watch low-tier trainers do their best and not worry about the outcome in either direction. Maybe place some friendly bets or cheer on a cool-looking person- who was it that people were chattering about? Jordie, that stylish green-haired trainer, certainly. Some others had caused a flash of interest as well.

But not her- no name for herself but her family's, nothing to show but two badges. An entirely uninteresting competitor, to the crowd.

For now.

Her equally uninteresting opponent produces a Doduo at the same time as she reveals her Xatu. Thankfully, something she knows of, and also thankfully, something that won't be reaching Tuie without significant effort. Tuie soars high, hovering on silent wings to use Cosmic Power well out of reach of Doduo, whose aggressive opening dance and subsequent zooming warmup mean nothing to Marie. She has to assume it's some sort of setup and hope that it's nothing that will defend against Stored- what the shit?!

With all that speed, with all that power, Doduo kicks off the packed-dirt field and jumps, close enough to Tuie that its flailing heads manage to graze her with stabbing beaks. Tuie rolls in midair, ruffling her feathers in mild irritation, and pulls more power into herself as the Doduo hits the ground running once again.

"It's fine, Tuie, one more and-"

Tuie's well ahead of her. The Doduo kicks itself far higher, this time, surely intending to drop directly onto Tuie herself, but a flying bird is far more maneuverable than a jumping one and Tuie banks a harsh left and lets her opponent drop like a stone, sending it tumbling with a clap of purple-pink power.

Easy.

The PokéBall recalls before its assigned Pokémon hits the ground and a new opponent takes the stage- an ugly Piplup, for lack of a better word. Must be the second stage of that line, but its name eludes her for the moment. Whatever, it's probably some water type, as evidenced by the thin swirl of water it surrounds itself with; might have an attack that can reach her bird, but no big deal. Tuie sends her power forth but not before the sky above turns blue-grey and a chunk of ice lands on Marie's toes where they're touching the field's boundary.

Hail?!

Oh that, that's trouble for a Flying-type, the implication of further ice to come from this reeling water-bird; Tuie readies another strike and the Prinplup- yes, there we go, brain, thank you- scoops a flipperful of golfball-esque ice and hurls a spreading shot into the sky, wreathed in a dark glow that also spells danger for a Xatu. The hits are simultaneous- Tuie's wings flinch closed and she plummets, only catching herself again just above the field, and the Prinplup falls fully into the dirt.

Two down.

And what the fuck is that?

The new thing on the field has the body of a slim, monochrome Prinplup, with an unwieldy square head that looks spectacularly like a block of ice. Its blank eyes stare directly into hers as it waddles in place. It's very strange.

She rather likes it.

But she's also battling it, in the buffeting hail, and Tuie hasn't gained her height back, and the cube-headed thing is wildly flailing its flippers to kick up a freezing wind, pushing with it all the giant chunks of hail into Marie's wheeling bird. Tuie, usually so quiet, lets out a brief shriek even as she throws power towards her opponent- not on target, not quite, but a graze is still a hit and they still have time. Cosmic Power does far more than just boost Stored Power, after all. All Tuie has to do is veer away from the rapid-fire balls of icy energy flung her way- even easier to Teleport behind their source and blast it to the ground with a defiant scream.

And that's a wrap.

Spoiler: Team

Pokémon On Hand

Tuie ⟡ Xatu ⟡ Female ⟡ Magic Bounce ⟡
Air Slash // Teleport // Stored Power // Cosmic Power // Ominous Wind // Confuse Ray

Stunnie ⟡ Stunfisk ⟡ Male ⟡ Static ⟡
Sucker Punch // Mud Shot // Thundershock // Discharge // Water Gun // Mud Sport // Charge

Cutie ⟡ Alolan Exeggutor ⟡ Male ⟡ Frisk ⟡
Bullet Seed // Hypnosis // Reflect // Leech Seed // Dragon Hammer // Barrage

Pokie ⟡ Slowpoke ⟡ Male ⟡ Own Tempo ⟡
Disable // Confusion // Yawn // Water Pulse // Growl // Curse

Spoiler: Inventory

Trainers' License [Johto and Hoenn] ⟡

TM Magical Leaf ⟡
Empty PokéBalls x 3 ⟡
5x Chesto Berries ⟡
2x Fluffy Tail ⟡

Sunscreen ⟡
Berry-Print Bikini ⟡
Beach Towel ⟡
Oversized Sunglasses ⟡
Large But Lightweight Backpack ⟡
Rechargeable Battery + Charging Port Housing ⟡
Lidded Pot, Dishes, Chopsticks, Spoon ⟡
Camp Stove ⟡
Soap, Washcloth, Towel ⟡

Spoiler: Contacts

FAMILY
Dad ⟡ Mom ⟡ Alty ⟡ Benny ⟡ Bitty

PEERS
Edison ⟡ Natsuko (via insta) ⟡ Sunny ⟡ Van

OTHER
Brawly ⟡ Brendan ⟡ Wally

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Sophie
Location: Pokemon Center, 24th Level, Mauville City
Wednesday, September 30th
Late Morning

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[tab=stor6-5][/tab] [tab=pok6-5][/tab][tab=inven6-5][/tab]

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Chapter 6 - 5
Old Friends, New Beginning
Part 5​

As I heard Arthur's story after I explained how I came to know about Alice and the stuff she had told me that day. With his explanation, every single piece of the puzzle surrounding Alice's problems was finally able to be assembled as one complete story.

The mystery about why Arthur slept on one of the bathroom stalls was quickly answered as he was trying to avoid Alice's detection. Tragically enough, the reason why Alice almost lost her best friend was the very same reason that I gained mine, and both of them were one and the same person.

"So that's why you didn't want to have a call with me…" Arthur spoke with a weak voice before taking a deep sigh while closing both of his eyes with his palms, as he seemed to be devastated at the situation at hand.

"Arthur, can I be frank?"

"Of course, you can, what's up?"

"I think you have to talk to Alice as soon as possible, and by that I meant face-to-face."

"Thanks for the advice. And yes, I do realize that. But it's quite hard to do so when you know she won't oblige to the request to meet her, so I did plan to confront her at Winstrate Cup. But things are different now…"

"But Sophie, I need your help. Can you help me?"

I nodded with a strong determination to help the two friends I had to make up with each other. And so, as Arthur had asked me, at lunchtime I told Alice that there was an emergency that I needed her help with and that I needed her advice to make the best choice.

She was more than willing to help despite her state of self wasn't that great.

"So, what's going on, Sophie? Are you okay?"

"I… I'm not. Especially not when my friend is suffering like this." I held her arm.

"What do you—

Alice's eyes were covered, but even without a word exchanged between her and the man who had covered her eyes, tears started to flow from her as she recognized the only possible person to do such a thing.

"You know, I missed you a lot…"

"I… Me too…" Alice couldn't hide her emotions as her mouth arced downward while she looked downward.

"Then why are you evading me like I was a plague of some sort? I'm legit scared when I think about you."

"Arthur… I…"

"Let's have a talk. I won't get mad about anything you have to say, so please, tell me honestly," Arthur spoke in a low voice, it was almost like he begged Alice to spill out whatever insecurities were haunting her mind.

Both Alice and Arthur had a long talk about their friendship and their regrets, they shared their own viewpoint about what had happened the day they had a massive argument. And it was clear as I sat down beside the two of them, that both of them really cared about each other, and in their own way expressed their fears about their friendship ending just like that, and that the very same fear was the reason why Alice was trying to put off the issue at hand as she feared that if Arthur managed to get ahold of her for a face-to-face talk, it would do nothing but to cause Arthur's anger to resurface.

I didn't think her opinion was the right one, but it was easy for me to see how fear managed to creep up inside her mind and twisted her judgment, after all, fear had clouded my judgment the same way it did for Alice. But even if that thought had any grounds at all, I sincerely doubt that Arthur as he was at the moment would just toss her away just because of an honest mistake that his friend made. After all, this was the same guy who would risk his life for me just for the simple reason that I was his friend.

And my judgment was proven right, as both of them exchanged a hug while trying to hold back tears. Not even I was spared from the atmosphere as I held back my own tears seeing them rekindle their friendship. It's just so beautiful to see how they cared about each other.

After a bit of talk between the three of us about their early days in the same school. I was quite surprised by how unfriendly and cold Arthur was to Alice during their early days, but at the very least there wasn't even a single trace of the same guy that Alice had told in their story, since Arthur wasn't even shy telling us how he appreciated Alice's persistent attempt at befriending him despite him pushing her away back at those days.

As the sun started to go down, Arthur had to excuse himself as he had booked an appointment with a tailor to remove the tags and marks on his second-hand outfit as he had found out that those sometimes attract unwanted attention. As Alice and I remained at the table as Arthur went out of the Pokemon Center, Alice decided to speak up.

"Hey, Sophie. Thanks."

"Anytime, Alice."

I couldn't help but feel the warmth inside my heart as Alice's charming smile found her way back to her dainty face. I was glad that I tried my best to help both of my friends smooth things over between them. It gave me confidence that I could really do something if I had the will to, I really hoped that one day I could be someone who I and other people I cherished could be proud of.
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Party


Aurora (Alolan Vulpix) (Female) | Ability: Snow Warning | Freeze-Dry, Confuse Ray, Disable, Hex, Aurora Beam, Mist



Garnet (Staryu) (-) | Ability: Illuminate | Magic Coat, Rapid Spin, Camouflage, Recover, Psywave, Bubblebeam



Stolz (Aron) (Male) | Ability: Rock Head | Rock Tomb, Metal Claw, Protect, Roar, Harden, Headbutt



Joy (Lotad) (Male) | Ability: Swift Swim | Astonish, Mega Drain, Water Gun, Synthesis, Mist, Flail

Inventory

Money: ₽16.600

Badges
Knuckle Badge

Mega/Z Items
Key Stone x 1
Aggronite x 1

Evo Items
None

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

King's Rock x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

TM/TR

Detect

Consumables
None

Other Items
None
​

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[WizardOfOdd]

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Pokemon Center, 24th Level, Mauville City
Sunday, October 4th
Morning​

[tab=story6-1][/tab] [tab=poke6-1][/tab][tab=invent6-1][/tab]

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Chapter 6 - 1
Clowning Around
Part 1​

Days had passed since I arrived at the biggest city of Hoenn region both in population and sheer height alone. The giant metropolis was proof that engineering hasn't reached its peak yet, and it's all thanks to the late Gym Leader of the city, Wattson. His ingenuity and persistence were one of the reasons why this giant undertaking was able to be realized. Despite his passing, even now the city council kept trying to improve the city even further despite the multiple awards the city had won.

'It would never be a perfect utopia, but as long as there's something to improve on, it's our job to try and improve this city,' said one of the city planning committee members in the documentary about the city I watched a long time ago with my dad.

It was quite an impressive city with so many things to do and so many things to sightsee as if this city was a giant playground for its inhabitants due to the sheer space it had.

Yet despite the multiple stories it had with numerous places and landmarks to look around, I hadn't spent much time outside the gym or the Pokemon Center due to the fact that Winstrate Cup was coming soon.

It was a tournament for up-and-coming trainers that was held by the Winstrate family which was a family of battle enthusiasts that was quite well-off. One of the members of the said family was Vito Winstrate who was one of the Elite Four of the Hoenn Region. The tournament would be held over three days starting from the 9th of October but the registration itself had already opened since yesterday, and I've already nabbed a spot on the tournament as soon as it was opened for the public to avoid not getting a slot.

After that, it was all about the grind. Even before the registration opened I decided to use the rest of the time I had to test new TMs and learn new moves before the tournament, as the more they used them, the easier time I would have later on when I had to rely on those moves during the battles. And so, I was alternating between learning new moves and battling the trainers at the gym from the morning until afternoon, and then getting my ass kicked by Vincent in one on one battle against his variety of strong Pokemon and lecture time about what I should fix on during afternoon to evening, and last but not least reading about literature I need to either familiarize myself even further with the Pokemon I had in my team or to think about a new strategy that I could leverage in order to maximize my chances at victory.

Was it tiring? Well should've been, but I've been so used to doing this since the Academy days that it wasn't really a problem mental-wise. As long as I was careful with my physical limits and monitor my Pokemon's health condition and properly planned their rest, it wouldn't become a problem.

Entertainment-wise, it's the talk between me, Vincent, Sophie, and Alice during lunches was my source of entertainment for the last few days. Well, Alice was initially surprised about me having a mentor traveling with me and she was also shown skepticism about Vincent's credibility which was not helped by the fact that Vincent had kept all the things he told me like how he used to be famous and how he was the former manager of one of the current top trainers in the world a secret, not to mention well… Sorry, but his attire didn't reflect any hints of that at the slightest, as he looked more like an Alolan fisherman than a grizzled veteran of the competitive scene.

Thankfully, Sophie and I managed to vouch for the mysterious gentleman's credibility as both of us had seen his capability directly, not only that but the fact that Elaine had given me her blessings to be taught by Vincent directly seemed to be able to quell Alice's fears. I knew that Vincent was a unique person, but he wasn't a bad person in the slightest which made me happy that Alice eventually warmed up to his presence.

The grind toward Winstrate Cup had been going on since I'd dealt with what was happening with Alice, and while I did try to convince Alice to train with me, she also said that if she did, I would've analyzed every aspect of her battles and found some sort of way to neutralize them which was granted… Not wrong in the slightest. While Sophie… Well, she wasn't qualified to enter Winstrate Cup due to her lack of badges and so she was having fun helping Alice with her preparation as she was asked by Alice herself because I already had Vincent on my side.

Three days passed and things were going quite smoothly, even more than I hoped as even Tempest who I didn't put a lot of expectations on managed to make some progress despite obviously still trailing behind the rest of the team due to the lack of experience it had. Anyway, there was not even a single red flag during those three days. I wasn't trying to jinx it or anything but, at the same time, it just felt weird that nothing bad had happened considering these last few weeks of my journey had been… Rocky, to say the least.

I was in a hurry, yet, the smell of bread from the bakery near the gym had enticed me to enter it. It's been a while since I've eaten the food of a proper bakery and despite the fine quality of food that Cafes at the Pokemon Center had, you know, it's still just fine. This is pretty much the point of me visiting a bakery to get a proper sandwich, after all, during the grind I was in, I personally thought that it would be better to splurge a little on myself to give myself a little boost in motivation.

I reached the bakery and despite initially struggling to pick a sandwich, I managed to pick an order that I was absolutely delighted to have. Not only what was inside the sandwich was appetizing but also the pricing was very great considering the size of the said sandwich despite the bakery being located in a very strategic site near the Mauville Gym, the price was not that bad in the slightest.

Willing to give such a great place more business, I decided to order a proper tea from the same place. Now holding both my sandwich and tea in both hands, I was happily going to the exit of the store until some jackass swung the door towards me while having a call on his Holo Caster— Or so you would think, but no. Nothing bad happened to me as I happily walked to the bench outside to enjoy my food.

And as I thought, the food was worth the price tag. The juicy and succulent meat, the fresh and crunchy vegetables, the rich and spicy sauce all of the elements blended well together creating a symphony of flavor that roused my spirits even further. After finishing my guilty expense for the day, I sipped some of the tea and left the rest to enjoy later at the gym.

As I entered the gym, I could notice that there was something happening inside. The air that used to be filled with roaring conversations filled with joy and adrenaline discussing their Pokemon or the battle that had just been done was just not there. And it didn't quite take a long time for me to realize what went wrong.

How couldn't I when everyone was gazing at one loud person with a look of disgust, fear, or contempt? From what I could hear from the moment I was inside, apparently, the guy who had caused the ruckus was not happy with the reception that the gym had given as if the gym had any obligation to greet him like he was a VIP in a five-star hotel.

Listening closer to the murmurs of other gymgoers gave me more insight into what was happening. Apparently, the guy claimed that he was William Lafayette's son which I found laughable. Because William Lafayette, one of the higher-ups of the Hoenn branch of PLA was famous for his charitable and kind persona even before he took early retirement from the competitive scene and become one of the chiefs for a department that I couldn't remember by the time I was watching all of this coming down.

I don't know if the gym leader had some urgent stuff that they couldn't be present at the spot, or they were away for some sort of duty that they weren't able to deal with this stupidity.

However, there's in no way the available staffers were equipped to deal with this idiot and the insanity he brought, especially not when he openly threatened to use his father's power to endanger their livelihood in front of everyone without any shame in the slightest.

Watching this going down, I was not willing to jeopardize the good mood I had by staying in the gym for much longer, so, I decided to run from the scene before I get dragged into this stupidity.

Oh, if it was so simple…

"Hey, you! Red shirt! Why did you look at me like that, earlier!? You do that and then you leave!?" A loud scream stopped me from getting out of the gym as my passage to exit hell a.k.a the automatic door had opened wide. All I had to do was to step out and then run as fast as possible toward the tram station, and yet as I looked down at my shirt that was indeed colored red I could only sigh as I realized that the guy that the idiot was yelling at was me. Despite me not even locking eyes with this guy even for a single second, he still had the audacity to accuse me of the thing I wasn't even doing.

Taking a deep sigh, I put up my calm, friendly, harmless guy smile that had weaseled me out of a few troubles I did since childhood, and acted as if I didn't understand what was going on.

"I… Don't understand what you mean, I'm sorry." I bowed before trying to exit the entrance as soon as possible.

"No, I know you knew exactly what you were doing! Get back over here!" He yelled in an unpleasant fashion.

I reluctantly did, and the man started to smirk, perhaps happy that I had to go back because of him.

"Hey you, how many badges do you have?"

"Sadly I just got 3—"

"Hahahaha, and you still dare act like that to me? You know I can end your career before it starts for real, right?" The man interrupted me with an annoying statement that didn't only grind my gears but also other people in the gym who blatantly showed displeasure at the rude guy.

I had dealt with multiple unpleasant situations, but this clown was the worse of the lot. His personality must've been made from blending the worse attribute of multiple people which resulted in a putrid juice that deserved to be thrown away in the garbage bin immediately.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't being considerate of you." I bowed slightly which seemed to stroke his ego as his creepy smile got even wider in the aftermath.

"Hey, you know what! I'll be grateful and teach you what it meant to be an actual trainer. I'll prove to you that you're in the wrong for disrespecting me."

I had to try my hardest to stop myself from shaking my head in disbelief. But there was no choice but to play along with this guy 'less we wanted more trouble. I just hoped that the help would come soon before my head turned bald in frustration.
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Party


Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???



Hunter (Hoothoot) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, ???, ???, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack




Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch




Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse



Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt



Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, ???, Bide, Growth



Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽17.560

Badges
Knuckle Badge
Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

???

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil
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[WizardOfOdd]

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Mauville Gym, Mauville City
Sunday, October 5th
Morning​

[tab=story6-2][/tab] [tab=poke6-2][/tab][tab=invent6-2][/tab]

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Chapter 6 - 2
Clowning Around
Part 2​

I still couldn't understand why he would use the fact that if I lose I was in the wrong, why was this guy acting under playground logic? Has he never graduated from school or something? Cause that would explain a lot about his room temperature IQ.

Not to mention that after he 'gracefully' offered his lesson to me, I sneakily searched about him and while yeah he was actually the son of William Lafayette, junior here actually had a professional record of 1-13. He literally got fewer wins than I got badges and that one win was a forfeit too. He isn't a professional trainer, but a professional rider, and by that, I meant that he's a professional at riding his father's fame and fortune.

Well, fortunately for me, the referee of the match I was having which was one of the staffers had whispered to me that help was on the way and all I needed to do was to stall some time for them to come and sort all of this bullshit so all of us could spend the rest of our day in peace, free from this stupid idiot and his junk spewing mouth.

For the battle itself, I just picked a random Pokeball by counting how many buttons I had on my shirt, and since there were 9 including the ones on my sleeves I picked the 3rd Pokeball on my belt which was Hunter's.

I put out Hunter into the field while Mr. Clown across me choose a Gumshoos to enable his idiocy.

"This is too easy! I'll show you how good I am!" The guy boisterously proclaimed before the referee even started to battle.

"Ahaha, wow I'm impressed. Hey, can I talk with my Pokemon, just for a bit? You know just to stand a chance again you," I laced my statement with a lethal dose of compliment to fuel his ego and allow me to plan things with my poor Pokemon who had no idea what kind of hideous creature was I battling against.

"Sure, sure, not that it's gonna help you beat me, but take your time."

I whispered strategy into Hunter's ears, but the audacity of what I was planning to do made him look at me with wide pupils as if he thought that I had finally lost it. No Hunter, I hadn't gone crazy yet, although for the moment I wished I was, so I didn't have to understand how insane the guy in front of me was.

"Slash!"

"Wing Attack!"

The battle started with an exchange of attacks, and then Hunter decided to fly away and decided to go for long-range attacks. And then, Lafayette Jr. decided to complain to the ref.

"Hey, ref! Isn't this cheating!?"

"E-excuse me?" The referee was shocked to hear the sudden accusation as even everyone there could see that there was nothing remotely worth complaining about. But apparently, junior had a different view of the rules, a dumb view if I must say.

"How could I hit him when he could just fly away? Shouldn't he stay on the ground to make the battle fair?"

The referee was struggling to talk despite frantically moving his mouth, and I wouldn't blame him either. The cheating accusation he gave was so frivolous that I couldn't even laugh hearing that, guess the only forfeit win he got in his 'professional' career was due to an opponent that was so fed up with his bullshit.

Sadly, I couldn't just outright quit for the sake of everyone's sanity. Nobody should ever deal with this kind of stupidity, ever. Not even my worse enemy.

And so I nodded at the referee to just go with whatever the boorish guy wanted, and eventually remarked very loosely that flying was against the spirit of competition. It was not even a statement to forbade the act in itself, but nonetheless, as long as that guy was happy it was enough.

After that well, Hunter had to just fly only slightly above the ground so the Gumshoos can reach him and of course, despite trying his best the Gumshoos were naturally more powerful physical-wise.

Well, one, two hits too many, and then Hunter started to refuse to hear my orders to just do a mock battle and decided to go on offense of his own terms as he started to fly high and launch a wave of wind blades from above.

"Hey, what's this!? Didn't the referee tell you to not fly high anymore?"

"I-I don't know my Pokemon suddenly…" I looked left and right rapidly to fake a panicking response. I forgot that Hunter had pride in doing battles the right way, not that he minded about helping my other Pokemon to learn the basics, but a sham battle like this was definitely not a favorite of his, especially not with how the trashy guy in front of me acted.

"Ah, of course… You should ditch this third-rate Pokemon and go for something more obedient."

That single sentence. That one single sentence. It was enough for me to clench my fist so hard that it let out a cracking noise.

He had to make me remember the moment I left Hunter behind just because I thought that I couldn't be a great trainer to take care of his needs for constant battles. It was a dumb thought, and I remembered it as the only time Hunter ever cried in front of me as he feared that he was a third-rate Pokemon that was getting thrown out because I just caught Kaplan the day before we had the conversation.

It was one of my dumbest actions. And hearing the suggestion to do the same thing I regretted the most pushed me over the edge.

"What did you just fucking say about my Pokemon, asshole!?" I screamed loudly without caring about any consequences which shocked the audience who watched the battle.

"Huh!? How dare you—"

"I mean it makes much sense, no? You spew so much shit from your mouth that it fits you to a tee. Even your battling capability is so shit you got to ask the referee to put up a dumb rule." I let out an unrestrained lambasting of the guy.

The guy looked at the referee and ordered him to reinforce the rule. But perhaps seeing my defiance and personally sick at the shit that the guy pulled, decided to reprimand the guy instead.

"It's against the spirit of competition yes, however, I never outright said that it was banned. Please understand the rule better." The referee bowed with a slight smirk on his face.

Feeling angry he ordered his Gumshoos to attack Hunter with a Bite. Gumshoos managed to jump using the wall to help it bounce towards Hunter, but at the same time, it was also bouncing towards a wave of sleeping rays that left it open for Hunter to let out the welling rage inside himself.

And so Wing Attacks roared on, and when the Gumshoos woke up, it couldn't even manage to retaliate at all as another Hypnosis hit its mark, leaving it defenseless against the beatdown.

And so, just like that, one of the easiest battles of my life ended with the guy in front of me fuming harder than a Weezing.

"You… I swear on my family's name, you're so fucked…" The spoiled manchild in front of me proclaimed boldly while frantically pointing his forefinger at me.

"Hey, you got all of it recorded, yeah!?" I screamed towards the general crowd which had spooked the guy.

Few people in the crowd were holding their Holotch out for reasons impossible for me to know. And while perhaps few of them were recording, but I certainly doubt that they recorded everything to properly contextualize the idiocy that had gone down. However, I never intended to use the footage in the slightest, all I cared about at that point was to spook him out of the gym.

"Wonder what would happen to your father's career if people knew that his son harassed other people?"

The nonchalant tone I gave didn't help with his anger making the idiot huffing and puffing while having a face redder than a clown nose.

"Oh please, do you think the PLA would fire my father over this after what he did for the scene? You're the one who's gonna be finished, I'll make sure that you don't have a career in Pokemon training ever."

"Ooh, scary," I mockingly said as I rolled my eyes. Sure, there's a chance PLA would turn a blind eye, but if we give this scoop to a news outlet instead, they wouldn't let this juicy topic slide, and I wonder how the public would react to the news. Perhaps a region-wide outrage and demonstration is the answer? Wonder if your father would survive that."

Of course, I had no way to know that it would be the result of what we would do should he refuse to left the premises, but there was just no way that the public would let this slide without any sort of anger.

So now we give you two options, leave or the footage would spread." I put out an ultimatum.

The crowd was rallying behind me as they were starting to yell words like "That's right!" and "Go away!" which intimidated the infuriated man.

"You… I'll remember this!" The man ran away from the gym which left most of the gymgoers in a cheerful mood as they rejoiced about the spoiled rich guy leaving them alone. As happy as I was about him leaving, I was more worried about something else.

I approached Hunter who didn't seem to be affected by the hurtful words the man imparted even if he didn't know that it meant more to the both of us with what we had gone through.

"You okay, Pal?"

"Thanks as always, Hunter. I know I can always count on you."

As both of us shared a hug, I suddenly felt my arms getting pushed as my Pokemon grew in size while enveloped in white light. Well while it was not wrong to say that he grew, I guess it's more apt to say that it had evolved.

Hunter had evolved into a Noctowl in front of us. Both of us were ecstatic as we realized what just happened, and I couldn't be happier thinking about how hard he had worked to improve so much in battling.

People around me who felt grateful to me for handling the situation asked me if I want to be treated to dinner or something as a thank you, but I said to them that there was something else that I wanted more than that.

"Would any of you mind being my sparring partner?" I said with a huge smile on my face.

Most of the people there laughed in disbelief, but they were more than happy to spar against me which I was glad to know.

With Winstrate Cup looming on the horizon it was paramount that I kept pushing forward with my Pokemon alongside me, and I had no intention at all to let my foot off the gas even in the slightest.

​

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

​

Party


Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???



Hunter (Noctowl) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, ???, Air Slash, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack




Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch




Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse



Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt



Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, ???, Bide, Growth



Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽17.560

Badges
Knuckle Badge
Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

???

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil
​

​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Pokemon Center, 24th Level, Mauville City
Thursday, October 9th
Morning​

[tab=story6-3][/tab] [tab=poke6-3][/tab][tab=invent6-3][/tab]

​

Chapter 6 - 3
Go Big or Go Home
Part 1​

After grinding through the days up to the day, learning new moves, and having a lot of battles against both the trainers of Mauville Gym and my own mentor Vincent, there was nothing else I could do but wish for the best.

No, everything didn't go as well as I hoped it would. There were a few moves I wished my team was able to learn but didn't manage to before the deadline, and I ended up in the red ₽3.000 as I had to battle stronger trainers with more badges than me and some didn't want to unless there was prize money involved, also I didn't win a single time against Vincent who was still able to wipe the floor with me despite the improvements I made. But still, I was happy with what I could achieve under the circumstance I had.

Looking at the mirror in my room, I made sure my presentation was impeccable enough to my standards. I was going to wear semi-formal stuff to this, but I had a second thoughts about how the crimson red shirt and chino pants would do just fine. I didn't have to overdo it like I was going on a date or something.

Jet-black hair, check. Perfume, check. Handkerchief, check. Photochromatic glasses, check. Belt, check. Sneakers, check. Bag, check.

Everything was in order already, so I went to the lobby to have breakfast with the usual suspects since last week, Vincent was already out there with his trademark 'Lost Tourist' attire sipping his coffee, and then Sophie and Alice came out together after the former helped Alice to choose her makeup for the day.

The mood was cheerful for all of us even up until the moment we entered the stadium to prepare for the festivities. Then the nervousness started to get into me, as the opening ceremony started. There was quite a lot of audience watching but that wasn't the thing that made me nervous, it was when the drawing was taking place.

And the result of the draw itself was… So bad that I wanted to cry.

Really? From all people I could've fuckin' drawn against, it had to be Alice in the second round and Ed in the third. Oh my god, they weren't even my finals matchup. Not to say that the other competitors were weak or anything but amongst the people I knew, they were the ones I was dreading drawing early on.

Alice needed no explanation, she was literally the battling queen in the class with her powerful Larvesta. Not to mention that she was probably the one person who knew my battling style the most. While Ed, while he wasn't really the most sociable one, I knew well that he has some of the most analytical brains among our peers, how did I know that? Oh, I don't know, considering I was forced to help several teachers with grading our assignments, I kinda get the gist of how our class was in terms of Pokemon knowledge, and Ed was definitely not a slouch there despite how odd he acted on the surface.

Meanwhile, in the middle of my despair, Alice was looking at me with a huge smile plastered on her dainty face. Oh girl, were you that happy to eliminate me that early?

While I was happy to deal with her bragging about how she planned to beat me, I had bigger fish to fry.

Knowing who my opponent was, I managed to track her down. Her name was Tessa, but she preferred to be called Tess, her hometown was in Sootopolis City, and she became a Pokemon trainer because she wanted to follow in the footsteps of famous trainers of the city such as Wallace. She had two badges, Dell and Cloak and her main partner was a Girafarig.

How did I know all of that? Well of course because we had a conversation like a normal human being, duh.

Well, it was a part of my effort to find information about her, but as soon as I saw her shivering in nervousness, I decided to focus on calming her nerves instead while sniffing out information took a back seat to that. No chance I could let her be like that while everyone else seemed to mind their own business.

Although, if I may be honest. I could do better without the piercing glare coming from Alice. I was not flirting around, I swear! If she had time to glare at me, it would've been better spent doing her own legwork on the opponent she would face in the next round.

And then the battle time came. She agreed to battle me in a straight 2 vs 2 doubles which were my recommendation to prevent our teams from being mostly scouted by other participants. Well, why not just straight-up 1 vs 1? Well, I felt a little guilty that I didn't tell her, but doubles were my best format by far. And with it, both Tempest and Muchorin managed to beat her Girafarig and Eevee without much fuss which I already expected considering how she stuttered when I mentioned some technical terms just to see how good of a trainer she was. She was just a tad bit too green to beat me.

I did, however, tell her what area should she improve on. I even got her contact, much to the chagrin of Alice who gave me the glare once more for some reason I couldn't understand.

The day went without a hitch. Now I had a giant question looming above my head for tomorrow, considering she was one of the strongest trainers I know both in strategizing and execution, my plan to use weaker Pokemon and then use the monster trio much later to keep information limited wouldn't cut it.

As I sighed thinking about what to do against Alice, there was the said girl standing near the exit gate as she waved with a cheerful smile plastered on her face as always next to Vincent and Sophie.

You know what? I'd just plan the best I could later on, and let the fates decide whether I would win or not. But for now, it's time to unwind and have some fun with them.
​

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

​

Party


Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???



Hunter (Noctowl) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, ???, Air Slash, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack




Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch




Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse



Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt



Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, Payback, Bide, Growth



Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽14.560

Badges
Knuckle Badge
Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

???

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil
​

​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Winstrate Stadium, Winstrate Estate
Friday, October 10th
Morning​

[tab=story6-4][/tab] [tab=poke6-4][/tab][tab=invent6-4][/tab]

​

Chapter 6 - 4
Go Big or Go Home
Part 2​

The second day of Winstrate Cup had commenced, and with it came the second and third rounds. As I fixed the cuffs of my dark crimson dress shirt, I couldn't help but turn my head to my left where my friend who was also my next-round opponent was smiling brightly as she usually did. Which made me poke her cheeks in jest.

"Hey what you're doing? You can't do that to a lady, you know."

"A lady? Where? I can't see them."

My response just earned me a kick on the back of the leg from Alice who laughed together with me as we joked around as we used to do back in school, we were quite good at doing it without getting noticed by the teachers too, as my stellar reputation as the teacher's pet had proven.

We had been seeing the two other battles that came before us and quipped at each other about what did we think about their battle. It's what we did back in school too, except less dumb and didn't end in both of us squabbling with each other. Sadly this would probably be the last time it would happen during the tournament, as one of us had to go out on this very round.

But as there were a few minutes left before our turn to take the stage, she suddenly said something that piqued my interest.

"Wanna bet something on the line?" She asked with a huge grin on her face.

Piqued, I decided to entertain her notion.

"Sure. What's in it if I win?

"I don't know… Maybe, a date with me would suffice?" Alice winked at me who couldn't help but smirk as I heard the revelation.

"I asked for a reward, not a punishment." I giggled while answering her frivolous question.

My insolent but 'truthful' words earned me a kick on the back of my leg for the second consecutive time.

"You lack delicacy, you know that?"

"I know, but with you, delicacy is the last thing I needed." I incited her once more, earning myself another kick in a joking manner from the girl who was wearing high heels.

Despite the giggles she had while I refuted her offer, she couldn't hide her expression of disappointment which I found a little cute. She didn't have anything to worry though, as I was only joking around.

"...Well it would be a much better bet if the loser treats the winner during our date," I said while stretching my body.

My casual remark seemed to have been effective, as she couldn't hide the fact that she perked up when I told her that.

"Why, you happy with us going on a date?" I said with a wide grin plastered on my face.

"No, I don't!" She strongly said despite the fact that the pale complexion on her face had long gone replaced with a bright red color.

While I had the thought to tease her further, I decided to answer her truthfully to make her happy.

"Well, I do. It's been a bit since we went somewhere together. As long you don't make me carry too many bags, I'm fine with it." I smiled widely.

"Then prepare your wallet, because there's not gonna be much in it after we're done." She said as she looked away from me.

"That's my line."

As the time of the battle arrived, the crowd cheered for us as we stepped inside the battlefield. The format we have chosen was 2 vs 2, as both of us had the same mind about not using more than 2 Pokemon to keep most of our Pokemon secret from peering eyes before reaching the later stages, yet at the same time 1 vs 1 was too risky of a gambit as the ones with disadvantage would be struggling mightily to turn the tables as there were no other Pokemon to rely upon.

Both of us threw our Pokemon at the same time. And the Pokemon that came out from Alice's side was astounding.

It was Sol and Thorne, her Larvesta and Cacturne that were chosen to battle me. It seemed that my prediction was wrong, she was going all out with her pick against me instead of keeping them secret for later rounds. I was thinking that she would probably be picking Larvesta with newer Pokemon she had like the Froakie she used yesterday to pair with her Cacturne.

On my side, however, I brought out Muchorin and Hunter which was not the best, but far from the worst since both Hunter and Muchorin had type advantages against the pair Alice brought out. But how far would it carry me to victory against a more experienced pair, not to mention the Larvesta was a pain in the ass the last time we fought.

"Sorry Arthur, but I couldn't hold back against you."

"Man, this is rough. But the one's losing is you, go, Muchorin! Hunter!"

I didn't waste any time putting the pressure on both Thorne and Sol with Rollout and Wing Attack respectively. A move that visibly baffled Alice who seemed to expect a more holding and defensive battling style from me. But she of course wouldn't let the act slide as Sol flew away with his flames thrusting him away from the ground while Thorne stood his ground and used Pin Missile to try and hit both Hunter and Muchorin.

"Hunter, Air Slash!"

I ordered Hunter who managed to parry most of the needles with saw-like wind blades letting Muchorin enter Thorne's vicinity without much hindrance. However, Hunter had to stop his momentum to use Air Slash, an opportunity that Sol took advantage of by blowing a powerful torrent of fire against the Noctowl. While Thorne enveloped his thorny palms with dark energy to prevent Muchorin from landing the Rollout.

Well, that would be devastating for me if not for the next occurrence that happened.

"PLAN B!" I screamed as loudly as I could.

As the signal was heard by both of my Pokemon, both of them switched almost immediately. The change of Pokemon caused Thorne to hesitate and miss its punch which allowed Hunter to drop a devastating sleeping wave that caused Thorne to enter the dreamland. While the devastating torrent of flames didn't faze Muchorin that much as he managed to use his typing well to resist the attack until he could get away from it.

Despite this Alice was looking as cold as ice as she looked unfazed despite what had just happened. Well, I was more than happy to try and break that front as Muchorin and Hunter swapped places once more and Muchorin peppered the unconscious Thorne with Fire Punch while Hunter rose towards the air to engage Sol in a battle for air superiority.

As the fire-enveloped fist rained down the unconscious Thorne, Alice was looking as calm as still waters. And to be honest, I knew well the reason why.

As that happened, Sol had no choice but to focus against Hunter who had his eyes locked on the Torch Pokemon, and Alice was focused on that front to salvage what she could of the battle, too focused even, so I decided to take advantage of it.

"PLAN E!" I screamed towards the field.

Alice who heard of this instantly told Sol to use Flamethrower to prevent the plan from coming to fruition, but little she knew that whatever move she used the correct move was to simply dodge, as in actuality… Plan E was no different than Plan B. The word 'Plan' in itself was the code I used to signal a switch between the two.

Hunter swapped his position with Muchorin who not only could at least power through the torrent of flames it was more than ready to swat the Larvesta off the air, and with his Rollout being super effective against Larvesta which was also a Pokemon that was half his weight. The impact sent both of them crashing to the ground, well if it wasn't for Hunter who swapped back to make use of the opportunity to send another wave of sleep-inducing rays this time against Sol who was immediately sent crashing to the ground.

The sudden swap without cue did not leave Muchorin groggy at all due to the week of training it had with the move, but even if it did, Thorne was unable to capitalize anyway due to the state he was in. As Muchorin had nothing stopping him, he used Rollout once more against Sol to help his compatriot who already spammed Wing Attack to knock Larvesta out, with it Alice was not able to hold her calm facade anymore as she screamed for Thorne to wake up. And I knew full well why that happened.

She was initially calm because her Cacturne had Destiny Bond in hand. So if he managed to wake up before Muchorin dealt the finishing blow against him, Muchorin would be gone leaving Hunter against Sol which was actually in Sol's favor due to Morning Sun and the firepower it had. And even if it gets knocked out, Muchorin had no mobility options to deal with the flying Sol, leaving the battle essentially as 1 vs 1 unless Sol went back to the ground.

Losing Sol was the worst-case scenario that she couldn't deal with as that would've left her in a disadvantageous situation as not even Destiny Bond would salvage the bad situation she was in.

How did I know that her Cacturne had Destiny Bond?

While I couldn't get to scan the Pokemon belonging to the trainers who had appeared on the stage before me as my attempt to watch the battles before me from ringside failed due to the strict rule that would disqualify trainers if they were not available during the round call of their block, and with Alice performing earlier than me, it should've been impossible for me to know that fact.

Well, it would be if I didn't have Vincent watching the battle among the audience. Utilizing the fact that he was at the stands, I was able to request his assistance to scan every single Pokemon that had appeared in the tournament including Thorne.

Even if I didn't know that Thorne had Destiny Bond at his disposal, her expression showed me everything I had to know about the situation. She was an expressive and emotional person, there was no chance she would stay unperturbed by what was happening unless she had something in her sleeves.

Some might think a Pokemon battle is just a simple affair of exchanging attacks until one party stands victorious. But I sincerely doubt they would hold the same notion if they realized how many intricacies there were behind such a 'simple' battle. Understanding both your opponent's Pokemon and your opponent itself could be the difference between losing or winning resoundingly.

That's the beauty of Pokemon battling, the complexity hidden beneath what appeared on the surface as a simple sport was what drew me even more inside the world of competitive battling.

And that was the very same reason why it was an uphill climb for Alice the very moment she stepped onto the battlefield. And despite that, she was fighting valiantly to turn the tables without much success.

And as Sol was knocked out, Alice surrendered despite Thorne managing to get back on his feet due to the overwhelming disadvantage she had. After that, I decided to go back to the waiting room while asking Alice to join up with Vincent and Sophie who were already watching from the stands so she didn't feel alone, but as I finished my sentence, I could feel a tug on my sleeves coming from Alice.

"Arthur, can we talk for a bit?" Alice asked me with downcast eyes

Alice's words given what just happened gave shivers down my spine which erased all the elation I felt from my first experience of beating Alice resoundingly. And so, I was unable to resist her as she dragged me by my sleeves towards a rather quiet place near the area where she eventually let go of my sleeve and started sniffling.

She raised her arm, and with it, I was expecting the worse. I wouldn't blame her though, after what I did to her, losing to me like that would probably feel like a punch to the gut for the poor girl. And so, I closed my eyes, ready to accept whatever way she decided to vent out her anger.

But instead of the slap I expected, she hugged me tightly.

"I am so happy you know… I thought we would never be able to battle again… If I lose you that day I wouldn't be able to…"

Ah, of course. Unlike me, she had a heart as pure as a crystal. Of course, she would think about my well-being first rather than thinking about her loss despite overwhelming it was.

"Don't say that…I…" I tried to stop her from remembering the pain she had while having tears flowing down my eyes due to the gesture she gave me.

"I'm sorry… I should've…

"No… Don't… Stop it…" I hugged her even tighter before she could begin to blame herself again.

I couldn't stop crying either, not because I was sad but because of the overwhelming happiness, I had at the moment.

Years of my childhood I spent lamenting the frigid touch of loneliness that grasped me without any end in sight. The shunning and ridicule I had to suffer during the time was not something any children should suffer through, yet I had no choice but to march forward despite my desperate plea for the suffering to stop.

And yet, as I grew up. The warmth of the people precious to me managed to thaw me from the frozen prison I was in.

Elaine's unrelenting devotion.
Dad's strict yet caring advice.
Uncle Kirk's careful nurture.
Vincent's insightful guidance.
And, Alice's warm companionship.

I wouldn't be able to be the way I was without the sacrifice and care they gave to me.

I was happy.

I was so happy to know that I was loved.
​

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

​

Party


Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???



Hunter (Noctowl) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, Ally Switch, Air Slash, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack




Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch




Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse



Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt



Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, Payback, Bide, Growth



Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽14.560

Badges
Knuckle Badge
Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

Ally Switch

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil
​

​

 

[budube]

Jordie "Jo" Hughes

Sunday, October 4

Slateport City - Slateport Beach

[tab=one]Chapter[/tab] ‧ [tab=two]Pokémon[/tab] ‧ [tab=three]Inventory[/tab]

​

Chapter 5: Part 1 - Fade Away and Radiate

Tuesday, September 22nd - Briney Port

Neon turns his glance at his trainer, his frown and bad mood not fading at all. It really does seem to Jordie like he is just listening because he has low mobility and can't just go.

"Look, I'm a trainer. Your trainer, y'see? And as a trainer, my idea is to be able to win as many Gym Badges as possible to prove myself," explains Jordie while their Stunfisk keeps staring at them. "My goal is to get every badge possible in Hoenn. But I can't do that if I'm unable to train my Pokémon, y'know? Which is… exactly."

Jordie's last word comes out in a very faint sound as they see the Stunfisk roll his eyes and look away from them, heaving another sigh and leaving the trainer to talk alone. The way he sees it, he was living a calm life at the beach, burrowed under the sand, waiting for the waves to take him back to the water until this green haired person and their friends came to ruin everything, all of a sudden.

"So this is the deal," they finally say after a few things the Stunfisk didn't care to listen to. "Since I have no use for a Pokémon that won't listen to me and you clearly miss Slateport right now, why don't you let me train you to get past these Gyms until we reach the city again?"

Neon's curiosity peaks here, much so that he actually raises part of his body to turn around slightly and try to face his trainer. His expression is still the same, except for his eyes which are a bit more open now, as he puts all of his attention on Jordie now.

"If by the time we reach the beach you still prefer being on your own, then… you go. But I need you to help me out as much as you can right now."

The Stunfisk glares at them with skepticism. If he understood those words correctly and the trainer tries to say they are willing to let him go, could he believe it? Back in that cave, he didn't fully understand the situation they were in, but he knew the kid wasn't supposed to be there with them; in fact, he is pretty sure they weren't supposed to be there either. Can he trust the trainer to commit to this deal if they are willing to break the rules to get something they want?

But if not, what choice does he have? He likes being buried under the sand and having the waves drag him back to the water, not something he can do on this rocky surface. That's the worst part, this is nothing similar to home, so he just has to hope Jordie keeps their promise.

---

13:00 pm - Slateport Beach

They are back home. It's been a while, but the place looks exactly the same. Neon's skepticism regarding his trainer has worn away now that he's able to hear the constant chatter of the tourists being soothed out by the waves.

Jordie has the Ball they caught him in placed on the sand between them both, while the trainer sits on a towel, supporting themselves with their arms.

"So…?"

Neon looks at them with slight confusion. Are they expecting him to make a move? Is he really free to go? His eyes move from staring at the trainer's, to the Dusk Ball, and hesitating a bit mostly because he's still unsure if he's able to really go, he slowly drags himself closer to the water.

Jordie sighs and he sees them put a face of disappointment. Neon prepares himself to jump deeper inside the water the moment he sees them grab the Ball, but calms down once Jordie shows both halves of it in each hand. He really was free to go.

The Stunfisk smiles as the image of his former trainer leaving the beach becomes even blurier with all the water and sand getting inside his eyes. He can't say he didn't enjoy some things about being Neon, but he definitely prefers being at home.

---

Jordie stares at the water for a few seconds after Neon leaves. He's not coming back, they know that for sure.

Gabby bumps her head against their arm in an attempt to comfort them, which barely does anything other than taking Jo's sight away from the ocean for a few seconds. When they get up, they look back again at the water and without any hesitation throw one of the halves of Neon's Dusk Ball to be dragged away by the waves. Jo sees how the Dusk Ball disappears in the water, and then looks at the other half, but instead of tossing that one, they walk away.

The Solosis follows behind Jo, unable to keep up with their pace. Normally, Jordie walks slower, but it's different when they aren't feeling alright. It's up to their Pokémon to make them feel better, always has been like that.

Accelerating a bit, Gabby bumps her head against their back with as much strength as possible, this startles Jordie, who with the speed they were walking at nearly falls down.

"Ow… Gabby, what the hell?" Jordie stares at their Pokémon expecting Gabby to shake her head and apologize like always, but instead the Solosis floats upwards to take their sunglasses from the top of their head and float away, looking back to taunt them by using her psychic powers to hold them as if she was wearing them. "Come on, really? I'm not in the mood for that, y'know? Hand them over."

Gabby shakes her head.

"Gabby!" Jordie walks to where their Pokémon is, and tries to get them back, but Gabby backs off quickly and chirps at them with a burlesque tone. "Hey! You're going to break them, they are too small for your head!"

The Solosis immediately takes off the glasses to see if she did something to them, and Jordie takes that time to try to get them back from her, but Gabby turns around and floats away from them.

"No!" Jordie looks how Gabby slowly floats upwards, still "checking" if the shades are alright. They can't help but to start smiling at that. "You know that I'm much faster than you, right?" they say before running to grab their Pokémon again, but Gabby dodges by floating downward and then moving behind Jordie.

"She's using the dodging techniques I taught her against me!" they think. It is something that makes them both overwhelmed and proud, but they are tired of running, especially with all that sand getting inside their shoes, this is gonna be really annoying for a few days.

After a few seconds of seeing Gabby's cute attempts at taunting them, Jordie finally comes up with a different strategy instead of just uselessly chasing her around. They take their shoes off and put their bag and towel on the ground. Jordie starts stretching their limbs and whispers "now it's serious," with a smirk before they start chasing Gabby again.

The chase goes on for a minute or two with no real attempts of Jordie to catch Gabby at all, not like it would be any possible with Gabby being able to just float over the sand while Jo has to run.

Regardless, Jordie starts acting tired from all the running, walking away from Gabby and sits down close to their bag to get a bottle of water. The Solosis almost immediately stops playing and slowly gets closer to her trainer, but still having her guard up, falling straight into Jo's trap as they toss some water at Gabby's face to distract her and then drop the towel over her.

Gabby shakes her head to take the towel off, dropping the sunglasses while doing so, and Jo can't help but laugh at her until Gabby bashes her head against her trainer's, not too hard, but Jordie lets themselves fall back while still laughing anyways.

Gabby starts floating closer to her trainer's body, seemingly laughing as well, still with the towel covering her, until she finally finds Jo, allowing herself to rest on their chest.

Jo keeps laughing for a small while, feeling much better than a few minutes ago, covering their eyes from the sun with their arm and putting their XT just on their visual. They suddenly start feeling uneasy again.

Jordie knows they don't have to make that call yet. With Neon being released, they don't have to send Star to Unova now. But this is not a matter of when to do it, never has been. It's a matter of why not doing it. And they already know why.

Jordie sits again, putting the towel by their side and wrapping it around Gabby, but the Solosis starts floating by their side, seeing with curiosity how Jordie scrolls through the contact list on their XT. The trainer looks back at her, with the screen of their device showing a picture of Nathaniel, Jordie's brother, and smiles at their Pokémon before hitting the call button.

Nat takes his time to answer the XT, but he makes it before Jordie decides to hang up. He looks well over all, if a bit tired. When they see him with that blue t-shirt uselessly trying to cover the top part of his pajamas, it instantly hits them just how far away they truly are from each other.

"Hi."

"Jo. How are you?"

There's some silence between them both, the kind of awkward silence Jordie knows they must break but they don't know how to. Their brother looks confused as well, but it's definitely for different reasons than they are, Nat just probably doesn't know why Jordie called in the first place. Did something happen? Do they need something? He might be asking himself something like that now.

"Hi," the trainer repeats. "Sorry for… calling so late. Just felt I had to talk to you. How are you, though?"

"I'm doing okay. Things are fine here. A bit tiring lately, but you know how it is at the Battle Subway, it gets a bit monotonous sometimes," he says, nodding with an easy smile. "What about you, though?"

"I… I've been great! Gabby is right here too! Gabby, say hi." Jordie turns the XT to the Solosis who barely manages to react properly and chirp happily at Nat before Jo takes over again, smiling at their brother with the same nod as him, except Jo's smile fades away the moment they look away from the screen. "How's everyone?"

"They are already asleep, but they are fine. Things have calmed down a bit since you sent us that Clobbopus," he says. "Honestly, sending a Pokémon never seen in Unova and a shiny one for that matter was a very Jo way of telling us you were doing well."

Jo is somewhat glad about hearing that, except the last part; it made them feel selfish. They know well they only sent Boo there because they had a full team already and he was misbehaving. However, they follow the game and laugh it out with their brother.

"How's baby Boo?"

"Baby?," Nat chuckles at the use of that word. "It's doing good. Took it a bit of time to get used to the Battle Subway's rigorous training system, but it made it. It likes it. Although… you might want to kill me."

"What?! What happened to him?! Is he okay?!" Jo becomes alert and scared all of a sudden. Both Nat and Gabby get shocked at the reaction they have, as if they were getting ready to jump through the screen of the XT.

"No, no, no it's fine! It's just…," Nat sighs. "We were taking a rest after finishing the training session a few days ago. Since Boo is new to this we usually finish early, around the same time some of the most advanced battle rounds take place. It likes seeing the battle rounds, so I left it there for a while to check how Andrea was doing. When I get back…" their brother drags his palm down his face. "It was picking a fight with a Braviary."

"He what?! Did he get hurt?"

"Not much. Apparently the Braviary just plucked an arm off. One of the trainers got scared by that, but then Boo went to grab the arm to hit the Braviary with it. That's when I got there. Turns out they pop off easily and grow back."

"Oh, thank god!" Jordie relaxes and sits back. "He's gonna get himself killed at some point, I swear."

"Oh, so it's nothing new."

"I mean, it never happened with something as big as a Braviary!," Jo points out. "But my Aron bit his arm off once and then he jumped into the water to pick a fight with a Dewpider. He does that all the time! But yes, the arms grow back in about 2 or 3 days."

"Is that so? Good to know."

There's a small pause in their conversation during which the sound of the waves takes over Jordie's attention. They look back at the sea for a second, and the place they were sitting at earlier remains empty.

"Where are you now?"

"Slateport. Had to come back to do something important. I forgot to get camping gear when I made my first stop here," they lie. "I'm going to Mauville next, though. There's this tournament happening soon, y'know? The Winstrate Cup. I'm going to participate in that."

"Winstrate? That's a huge name!"

"Right. I'm excited. It would be my first official tournament."

"That's so amazing! I wish I could see you," Nathaniel nods. "Let me know how it goes."

"I will," the trainer nods back with a smile. They stop smiling all of a sudden, however, as they feel something tightening in their chest and are forced to look away.

"Are you okay?"

"I…" Jo tries to take the words out of their mouth, completely unable to until a tear rolls down their face. Gabby notices that and instantly goes to their trainer. "I wish you could see me too."

Their brother gasps the moment he sees his sibling starts crying. He is about to say something, but Jordie interrupts him, "I'm sorry for everything!"

Jo closes the call with that, crying on the sand with Gabby by their side. After a minute or two, Jordie finally calms down. They put their shades on and see a message from their brother in their XT.

'I will keep supporting you'

Jordie smiles and sends a quick answer.

'<3'
'I know'

Pokémon

Jordie's Party:

[tab=poke1]

[/tab] ‧ [tab=poke3]

[/tab] ‧ [tab=poke4]

[/tab] ‧ [tab=poke5]

[/tab] ‧ [tab=poke6]

[/tab] ‧ [tab=poke7]

[/tab]

Gabby the Solosis

Female ‧ Magic Guard
Hidden Power (Bug) ‧ Psyshock ‧ Recover ‧ Trick Room ‧ Endeavor ‧ Ally Switch

Maroon the Dhelmise

Genderless ‧ Steelworker
Gyro Ball ‧ Whirlpool ‧ Grass Knot ‧ Astonish ‧ Giga Drain ‧ Iron Defense

Bane the Aron

Male ‧ Rock Head
Iron Head ‧ Take Down ‧ Curse ‧ Mud Slap ‧ Rock Slide ‧ Protect

Dewey the Dewpider

Female ‧ Water Bubble
Spider Web ‧ Aqua Ring ‧ Infestation ‧ Bug Bite ‧ Water Gun ‧ Bite

Quinn the Slowpoke

Female ‧ Oblivious
Curse ‧ Confusion ‧ Growl ‧ Water Gun ‧ Yawn ‧ Disable

Star the Geodude (Alola)

Male ‧ Magnet Pull
Defense Curl ‧ Tackle ‧ Rollout ‧ Spark ‧ Charge ‧ Rock Polish

​

​

---

Battle Subway:

*: to be sent to the Battle Subway

Inventory

Money: ₽1200

PokéBalls:

22 Dusk Balls

Held Items:

Eviolite (

)

Aggronite

TMs/TRs:

Coaching TM

Protect TM

Grass Knot TM


Other:

X-Transceiver

Key Stone
Bait
Camping Gear

CSS Template by Juno
Header CSS Template by Aquacorde
Jo's portrait made with this picrew​

 

[Juno]

[tab=backtostory5-5][/tab] [tab=pokemon5-5][/tab] [tab=diary5-5][/tab] [tab=inv5-5][/tab] [tab=id5-5][/tab]

​

5-5: Recharge

🌲 Route 110 🕙 Mon. Oct. 5th, Night​

Sunday night was not very pleasant.

The short of it: she'd discovered that she forgot to charge the electric air pump for the mattress. More precisely, she forgot it had to be charged.

So, not looking forward to sleeping another night on the thin tent floor, Marcella purposely pushed herself and her Pokémon to travel further and longer all of Monday to see if they could just make it to the northern ranger station. They couldn't.

With a defeated sigh, she now drops her bags and lets them roll to the ground. "We're going to call it here today," she announces to her Pokémon as she begins preparing for the night. The end of Route 110 can't be far off, but the days are getting shorter and shorter now, and she's losing daylight fast. The October air is also getting pretty chilly, especially once the sun sets.

At least I'm getting really good at setting this thing up. Marcella thinks to herself bitterly as she unzips the tent bag and dumps its contents out. She can probably do this almost as quickly as Parker now.

Once inside the spacious tent, the three Pokémon go off to separate corners of it to unwind. They don't stay separated for long, though, at least in the girls' case; the Petilil gets her hands on a box of assorted hairclips she found in Marcella's bag and attempts to 'do' Bijou's hair with them. Her fur is not very long, but at least she has some, unlike the Grass-type. Fascinated by this, she starts adorning her with various claws and clasps. The Purrloin yowls as a bobby pin pinches her tail. "Oh—no, dear," The girl swiftly pulls the hairpins and clips off her and puts them back in the box. Bijou's relief at her intervention quickly goes away as Marcella presents a different container to the eager Petilil. "Here, try these ribbons instead."

She watches them for a few minutes, amused; the Petilil certainly seems to be more interested in ladylike activities than Bijou has ever been, so Marcella hopes some of it will rub off on her if they spend more time together. The Purrloin's ears are flat to her head as Marcella pets her, but she leaves the two to their bonding time.

On the other side of the tent, Midas is lining his treasures from his trash bag out in front of him neatly, for... well, Marcella's not really sure why he's doing that. Admiring his collection, she supposes. With her phone dead, she doesn't have a lot to entertain herself with lately, so she sits down next to him to watch as he continues carefully placing items on the ground.

"Hey, what do we have here—ow!" Marcella gasps in shock as Midas swiftly reaches out to swat her hand away. His claws are retracted, luckily—luckily for him, that is, because she would have thrown him right out of this tent had he actually scratched her, but she still couldn't believe the audacity of this little creature to smack her over the random garbage he'd accumulated on the land bridge. "How dare—" she begins to chastise him, but one of the objects between them catches her eye. She swiftly nabs the little yellow cube before he could protest further and stands up so it's out of his reach.

It looks like you can plug something into it. Maybe this is battery pack of sorts. The device looks pretty shiny and new, too—maybe a traveller had just dropped it and it still works. "Only one way to find out..." She mutters to herself. As she goes to search for her phone cable to try and plug it in, though, the Meowth suddenly leaps through the air and wrestles it back out of her hands.

"Oh—! Come now, what use do you even have for this?" She asks what she thinks is a fairly reasonable question, but the Meowth stamps his feet angrily, gripping it tightly. Marcella sighs. Not getting that away from him through physical force, she laments, but another idea comes to her.

"You know what? Here," Marcella grabs her wallet, pulling out a handful of small change and carefully selects the shiniest ones to give him. He doesn't know the value of coins, after all—he just seems to care about how much light they reflect. "I propose a trade. I'll give you these coins for it." She shakes them around so they jingle in her hand.

He clutches the yellow cube to his chest still, but eyes the coins in her palm. After a moment of consideration, he swiftly snatches them up and places the plug in her hand. He evaluates them briefly before shoving them into his Silk Scarf pouch. Marcella grins. Easy. "Pleasure doing business with you," She nods at him as he bounds back to his collection.

₽250 was exchanged with Midas for a "battery pack".

Free to inspect her new power bank in peace now, Marcella retrieves her cable and eagerly plugs her phone into it. It occurs to her fractions of a second too late that it probably was not wise to start with one of her most important items, given she has no idea what the origin of this device is, but to her surprise, the phone instantly jolts to life.

Woah.

Her phone's warm to the touch, but the battery meter is steadily and swiftly climbing up. In fact, it's charging so fast it freaks her out a little, and she unplugs it at the 40% mark. More than useable, but not at risk of getting fried, probably. As her phone's operating system boots up, she's inundated by a stream of missed calls from her brother, messages from friends and social media notifications that have piled up over the last day or so. Everything appears to be in working order.

Hm. Useful find, she'll give Midas that. Wasn't just garbage, after all. She had never seen a battery pack quite like this before, though—might be wise to get it checked out at an electronics shop in Mauville or something when she gets there.

But for now… I mean, I've already charged my phone with it, what's the worst that could happen?

Fishing out the air mattress pump, she plugs it in and gives it twenty, thirty seconds before the crackling noise frightens her and she quickly disconnects it from the yellow power bank. She flicks the power switch on the pump briefly and it hisses with air.

Her loud "yes!" earns her a few curious glances from around the tent. "We are sleeping on the bed tonight!" She explains, though only the Petilil gives her a positive response; the ribbon-covered Purrloin seems too preoccupied by her own situation to react to this announcement, and Midas... has no preference for where he sleeps, so he gives her a quick nod and goes back to counting his coins.

But regardless of what they think, Marcella is ecstatic to not sleep on the floor tonight, so she gleefully gets ready for bed and prepares to rest up for the remainder of their trek tomorrow, scrolling through her messages as she waits for the air mattress to fill up.

🌲 Route 110, Northern Ranger Station 🕙 Tues. Oct. 6th, Late Morning​

"-could probably do with more signage telling you where to go, too, you know?"

"I-it's... a pretty straight-forward-"

"Not everybody has a working GPS on them. Oh! Speaking of which, that reminds me—maybe, like, a charging station somewhere along the way? Build another one of these little huts for people to charge their phones at and whatnot. I don't know, just a suggestion. That would be helpful. I'm so sorry, dear—what was your question again?"

"...H-how did you find your experience on the land bridge?" The young ranger repeats herself quietly. She's beet-red, looking like she feels personally responsible for all the gripes Marcella had with the path she very much chose to take herself. A combination of not having communicated with another human for a few days and her joy at finally reaching this station has given her a strange kind of energy, which is on full display with the first person she encounters here. Oops, dial it back.

"Oh, yeah. It could have been better, but that's not your fault, is it, M-Meadow?" Marcella squints to make sure she read her name tag right. My, she was born to be a ranger, I guess. Ridiculous name. She transforms her smirk into a warm smile, and the ranger looks relieved.

"Y-yes, Miss MacMillan, thank you. But! I will do my best to get you sorted out here, now that you are- um, here."

"I appreciate that."

The ranger turns to her computer, pushing a few keys. "Okay, let's see what I have for you. It says here you checked in a Clamperl at the southern station, and a few Lux Balls…" She sounds a lot more composed when she's allowed to do her job. "Alright! And while we wait for them to arrive, may I have the canvas bag you were supplied at the southern station as well, please? I can help you take a quick look and pull out any useful items you might have picked up along the way, too."

It takes quite a bit of coaxing to convince the Meowth to let go of the musty bag, but he obliges when they both promise to let him have first pick of what to keep. She hadn't really been looking forward to digging through his trash anyway, but after the item she'd "bought" off him last night proved to be quite useful, it can't hurt to see what else he had picked up.

Naturally, Midas decides to fill his Silk Scarf satchel with stuff like coins, marbles and, much to Marcella's dismay, even some crinkly candy wrappers, but it leaves her with an assortment of actually useful items.

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

TM Toxic

2x Net Balls and

6x Poké Balls added to Marcella's inventory.

"Oh, and is she coming with you?" Marcella looks up from her bag to see Meadow gesturing to the Petilil glued to her side.

"Yes. Not a problem, is it?"

"N-no! Not at all. Just gotta note it down for our census report here," She turns her attention back to the computer.

Rangers and their censuses. "But of course." Marcella nods.

A soft ding! announces the arrival of Pearly and Marcella's Luxury Balls, and Meadow places them on the counter. "Perfect timing. I do have to watch you make the catch, so unless you wanted to use one of the Poke Balls you just got—"

"Oh, absolutely not," Marcella lets out a short laugh before she realizes the ranger wasn't making a joke. Some people do use those garish red-and-white things. "I mean—I prefer to use my own, yes. Thank you." She quickly reaches out for one of the Luxury Balls.

"Okay! As we promised." She kneels down to get as close to eye-level as she can with the little Pokémon, gently pressing the Luxury Ball to the giddy Petilil's cheek. She disappears into it with a flash of red light as it shuts with a click.

Petilil has joined Marcella's party. Officially!

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Ability: Prankster

Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough
Torment
Hone Claws

PEARLY
Clamperl, F

Ability: Rattled

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense
Scald
-----

MIDAS
Meowth, M

Ability: Technician

Pay Day
Scratch
Growl
Feint
Fake Out
-----

?
Petilil, F

Ability: Leaf Guard

Magical Leaf
?
?
?
?

​

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge

​

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)

Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf (

)

Safety Goggles (

)

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3

Quick Balls x 2

Net Balls x 5

Poké Balls x 8

Lum Berry x 2

Razz Berry x 2

Sitrus Berry

Oran Berry x 8

Occa Berry x 6

Yache Berry x 10

Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot​

Trainer Info

Badges



​

 

[Groc]

Edison Kintobor, Arthur Weissman A joint post between Groc and WizardOfOdd
Sunday, October 11th
Mauville City, Winstrate Stadium

---

It's the final day of the Tournament, and the excitement in the air is palpable. Despite the murmur and bustle in the crowd, Edison barely registers that he's made it to the final round of his bracket. Whoever wins this match will go on to the semifinals against the winner of the red bracket.

But he's more focused on who he's going up against rather than when they're fighting. While previously they could stay in the stands to observe the other brackets, most of the competitors are gathered here in the lobby to await their own matches. Ed takes this opportunity to seek out his opponent, Jack, who he conveniently finds browsing on his Holotch.

"Ah, another Holotch enthusiast, I see!" Ed attempts small talk as he approaches Jack, taking the seat next to him. "I don't often see those outside of Kinyo, can you believe I had to come all the way to Mauville to find a store that sells them?"

"Well, sadly Pokegear is more of the popular choice there despite Holotch in my humble opinion having the better interface and easier-to-find spare parts in most regions," Jack giggles slightly. "Also you don't have to beat around the bush, Ed. I'm pretty sure you know who I really am by now," says Arthur while pushing back his glasses.

Ed shrugs, conceding the point. "I'll admit, the new hairstyle threw me off. I honestly thought you were someone else, especially using a different name. But it hasn't been that long since we left Mahono, you don't just forget someone you've gone to class with for months. It's good to see another familiar face. I was beginning to think Sunny and I were the only ones to follow the League to Hoenn."

"Well, I'm flattered that you could recognize me. Also, I'm pretty sure that there are quite a few of us that decided to challenge the Hoenn League, although I'm not sure where most of them are since a lot of them were not even active anymore in the group chat," spoke Arthur while shaking his head. "But hey, I'm glad to see you doing well! How's your partner doing?"

"Oh, they're doing fine. We've spent a lot of time on the road and in nature, which has been a bit of an adjustment, but I think they're becoming stronger for it. They don't tend to complain much anyway, you know?" Ed chuckles a bit, doubting that Arthur actually remembers anything about him or Neo. "I've been catching quite a lot of Pokémon, seeing what combinations and match-ups work best for me. How about you, what have you been up to?"

"Me? Well, I've been doing the same as you, sometimes struggling, sometimes riding high, it's been mostly the former for me, but hey, can't win 'em all I guess." Arthur shrugs. "Anyhow, how are you feeling about our battle today? Can't wait to see what you got in store for me."

"Honestly, I'm feeling the same way! I can't say I've seen anything truly groundbreaking, but in general this whole event has been fascinating to watch! It's a little outside my field, but one has to wonder if the amount of similarities and overlap present is due to our relatively close levels of age and experience. I, of course, enjoy seeing the sheer variety of styles and strategies present among us. Makes me wonder what we could do with more time to refine our teams and explore our abilities." Ed is starting to relax a bit more. Maybe he was wrong about Arthur, he seems like a nice guy to talk to. Maybe they could have been friends if Ed had bothered to reach out to his classmate.

"Yeah, I agree! I think it's quite interesting to see how so many people have different kinds of ways to leverage the capability of their Pokemon. Even the same Pokemon can have different use depending on the moves they know and their trainers' battling style." Arthur flashes a bright smile as he explains his viewpoint. "Hey, I know! Wanna do straight doubles? You know, 2 vs 2? I think it's an interesting way to see how certain abilities of Pokemon could synergize with each other to combat the opposing team. I'd say it's more interesting than doing a singles match."

"Two versus two, you say…" Ed ponders, his hand to his chin. "Certainly a mix-up from my prior matches, not to mention a style I rarely employ. And yet, Automaton and Lady Bug used that style almost exclusively prior to my capturing of them. I haven't had much opportunity to test them under those conditions, so to do so here would be most enlightening… I accept! It's good to shake up the formula now and again, see how things react. If you'll pardon the chemistry joke."

"Oh no, it's quite fine really. I'm more of a physics than a chemistry guy, but hey whatever makes you happy." Arthur smiles once more before scratching the back of his head.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with-"

"Jacques Tenenbaum and Edison Kintobor, please head to the field." The voice on the loudspeaker interrupts whatever Ed was about to say. "Jacques Tenenbaum, Edison Kintobor, your match begins in two minutes."

Arthur pulls himself up after closing his Holotch interface. As he stretches his body, he looks back towards Ed. "Welp, guess that's it for our nice chit-chat. Let's go shall we?"

"Indeed. We wouldn't want to be late." Ed rises as well, heading to the opposite door as Arthur to take the field.

After informing the officials of their intent to do a 2 vs 2 doubles battle and having their names announced to the crowd, the two Kinyo boys simultaneously send out their Pokémon. As he implied, Ed chooses Tom and Bug to fight, while Arthur sends out his Metang and Noctowl, Braveheart and Hunter.

Ed vaguely recalls Arthur having a Beldum, but now that it's evolved, it has much more potential and battling ability. Steel types are notoriously tough, as Neo can attest, and he doesn't have a solid counter for it. What's more, its ability to hover implies Ground moves, traditionally a solid option for Steel types, might not be effective if it can fully levitate.

And then there's Hunter. Ed saw some of what the vast, predatory bird could do in Arthur's previous match, and going against it would be trouble. He puts his slightly shaking hand to his chin, trying to think of a strategy. Perhaps I can slow it down with String Shot and Electroweb, set it up for an Electro Ball, while Automaton keeps it in place…

"Taunt!" Arthur yells, which prompts Hunter to wag his wings with a smug expression shown on his face as his wings briefly envelope Bug to prevent her from using status moves.

"Wait, we're starting?!" Ed is wrenched from his thoughts as Arthur takes the initiative.

"Now go!" Both Braveheart and Hunter rush through the field toward Bug and Tom as their trainer orders.

Quickly realizing this won't be as friendly a match as he expected, Ed calls out to his team. "Shadow Punch on Metang! Lady Bug, try to catch them in your Electroweb!"

Bug leaps to the side, shooting out a glob of yellow silk that spreads out in the air, electricity coursing through it. Tom moves to intercept Braveheart, fist raised to strike.

"PLAN A!" Arthur bellows loudly.

"Another plan? Wait, which did he use yesterday?" Ed stops to think about it.

Without missing a beat, both of Arthur's Pokemon switch spots with each other, allowing them to soak the hit each other was intended to take as Shadow Punch is ineffective against Noctowl, while Electroweb doesn't manage to hit the bird as the swap messed up the angle to properly catch both Pokémon.

"Ally Switch, of course. Wait a minute, that's familiar…" Ed desperately thinks back to Arthur's prior matches, and his Pokémon, seeing him lost in thought, ignore his orders and start fighting on their own terms.

Faced with Hunter, Tom curls into his ball form to defend himself, while Bug leaps at Braveheart and tries biting through his metal armor.

"Hypnosis! Zen Headbutt!"

Hunter lets out a sleeping wave that manages to lull Tom to deep sleep while Bug's decision to leap against Braveheart proves to be a bad one, as she isn't able to dodge a point-blank psychic energy tackle as Braveheart shoves Bug all the way to the edge of the battlefield, sending her tiny body crashing against the wall.

"Bug!" Ed snaps back to the present, concerned for his Pokémon, despite her managing to stand. She chirps loudly at Braveheart as electricity crackles around her, the Taunt or her pride not letting her stay down.

"Braveheart, speed up!" While their partner is busy raining saw-like blades made of wind to chip up Tom as best as he can, Braveheart envelops himself in pink energy which makes his body rattle slightly as it gains more speed to add to its already blitzing pace. Soon after Braveheart launched himself with both arms rotating behind his back to propel himself to reach a faster speed than before. As he envelops his head in psychic energy once more, Bug has no time to dodge the incoming Braveheart and ends up hitting the wall for the second time, this time for the last too as she is unable to pick herself back up after getting hit at a high speed by a Pokémon more than 300 times her weight.

It is now a 2 vs 1, and with Tom having been considerably battered by the rain of Air Slashes that Hunter has subjected him to, the odds are stacked against Ed.

Ed grabs Bug's Cherish Ball, recalling her back inside. With only a half second's pause, he grabs Tom's as well, pulling him out of the fight.

"I've seen enough." He calls out to the referee. "There's no point in continuing."

"Edison Kintobor has forfeit! The winner is Jacques Tanenbaum!" the referee declares.

Ed takes a deep breath, fighting down an irrational surge of bitterness. He shouldn't be surprised, Arthur was always the better battler, and he should take this opportunity to improve. Looking across the field, he notices Arthur seems… stunned? Almost in disbelief.

Curious.

After the customary handshake, a display of sportsmanship for the crowd, Ed returns to the lobby. His battles complete, he could take a seat in the stands, but he's already typing on his Holotch as he walks, making notes for review.

"Hey, thanks for the battle, Ed. I appreciate it," says Arthur letting out his right hand for another handshake, this time not as a part of formalities.

"Oh. Of course, my pleasure." Ed returns the handshake a bit stiffly. He has no quarrel with Arthur. "I should thank you, as well. It was quite informative, although not in the way I expected."

"Yeah… Um… Take care alright, see you later Ed."

"Yes, you as well. It was… nice to see you again." Ed waves awkwardly, not making eye contact as Arthur heads off.

Meeting Arthur again is an odd experience for Ed. He would hardly call himself nostalgic for his school days, and Arthur was always on another level, but he'd like to think that he'd made some progress in his training. Perhaps this was a sign. Of what, he can't say, but it warrants investigation.

 

[QueenNothing]

Junko "June" Enomoto

Friday, October 9th
Noon
Mauville City

Sora Hirari is the name of June's first opponent in the Winstrate Cup. The photo of him used on the lobby display couldn't show much aside from his face, having used his ID photo and all. The young man looks rather brooding, judging by the picture. His black hair is swept over one eye, and his grim stare gives the impression he didn't want to be anywhere near the camera. Truth be told, he looks kind of scary- the exact type her dad warned her to stay far away from. But as the old saying goes, it's wise to not judge a book by its cover, and it probably applies here. Surely he's not nearly as intimidating in-person.

Sora's about as tall as June, if not taller, and his sleeveless top exposes all the scratches across his arms. What also stands out is the large leather glove only worn on one hand. Is that a fashion statement? June would be far from the first to know.

"It's very nice to meet you." June bows. "I hope we have a good battle."

Sora, rather than reciprocating the gesture, just snickers under his breath. "Um, sorry for asking, but was there something off about what I was saying?"

"It's nothing." Sora says dismissively. "It's just that you're being awfully formal for a match you're going to lose."

June raises her brows in concern. "Um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean? The match hasn't even begun."

"It's pretty simple, June. It's not hard to figure out when your opponent is using some puny bugs."

June gasps. "How did you-"

"Oh, weren't you aware? Your battle with Benji last week was uploaded to the Benji Fanclub's YouTube channel- though it's not a very popular channel, so I guess that could have flown over your head. I have to say, it was a pretty impressive battle- somehow, you and your pathetic little bug Pokemon were just barely able to get through Benji. But who am I kidding, it was probably just a fluke!" Sora finishes with the most condescending cackle.

"My bugs are… pathetic?" June's brow twitches. Sora's words give her flashbacks to her Elementary school years. She would always eagerly bring up her love of bugs to her classmates and every time would be met with the same handful of reactions. Reactions that usually took the form of teasing her for her interest, either because of how obsessive she was, or because what she was obsessed with happened to be bug-types of all Pokemon! Even some of her teachers weren't too kind about- she specifically remembers one of them telling her "you'd be better off putting your focus on bugs into your grades." That only really started to get better once she started her journey through Hoenn, where she met people her age who actually listened to her without a single hint of judgment. So to hear this person talk about bug Pokemon in such a manner after finally feeling accepted has her blood coming to a boil.

"My… my bugs are NOT pathetic!" June shouts. Her family must be in disbelief watching this.

"Aw, you think you stand a chance?" Sora cackles as he holds up a Pokeball. "Even the most battle-hardy bugs won't stand up to their natural predator- birds!"

Sora sends out his first Pokemon, a Swellow that roosts on his leather glove. Maybe there is some truth to the fact that Sora has an upper-hand here, but that's not enough for June to admit defeat. Part of why she's participating is to display the beauty of bugs, and even if bugs are often a victim of bird Pokemon's hunger, the battlefield is a different story. The type-advantage is a very real threat though, of course, but with enough determination she can make that factor obsolete.

"I've made my decision- go, Sting!"

Once beamed onto the field, Sting flutters about, eyeing Swellow without the slightest hint of fear.

"Kekeke!" Sora cackles as his Swellow sneers. "You've already dug your grave- my birds eat bugs like that for breakfast! Swellow, let's go!"

Swellow nods, and flies up into the air, furiously flapping his wings to create sharp blades of air. Sting swiftly dodges each blade, though not without difficulty.

"Let's see how long you can keep up this dance of yours!" Sora taunts before pointing to signal Swellows next move. The gust comes to a halt, and Swellow's wings flap once to propel himself forward, gradually speeding up by the second. He then disappears, only to reappear behind Sting after a slashing sound is heard. The attack severely damages Sting, causing him to come spiraling to the ground, but at June's cry he flaps his wings and stays airborne. His proboscis rolls outward, and an Electroweb is thrown toward Swellow, though he slashes the web with Air Cutter before it can even hit. June then calls out for Silver Wind, hoping Sting can shed enough wing particles to increase his power and movement, but he's not even granted that as the attack mildly irritates Swellow at best.

June starts to worry she might be in trouble. Why isn't that coming out?- That being that passionate, calculating version of herself that overtakes the rest of her mind in the heat of battle. Given the stakes, it seemed like a logical assumption it'd come out almost instantly. Maybe it was foolish to rely on that happening. Did she really expect to just send out any Pokemon and expect that side of her to come out and win for her?

Looks like it's time to rethink her strategy. Seeing Sting suddenly being swarmed by copies from Swellow's Double Team, June realizes she can't use that side of her as a crutch. She holds her arm out, preparing to hit the return button on Sting's Pokeball, but the exact second before she can do that, Swellow slashes right into him with Aerial Ace, taking him out and making him eat dirt.

"Beautifly is unable to battle!"

June winces, shamefully looking away from Sora and his grating victory laugh. His words aren't just hollow boasts. He's a force to be reckoned with, and it took having one of her Pokemon being taken out to realize. She'll really need to carefully evaluate which Pokemon to send out.

With Swellow's aerial mobility, Joe and Chip aren't worth considering. Kit and Einstein's evasiveness and defense respectively could be useful when dealing with attacks from above, so they'd be pretty safe options. But June recalls her training with Edison and thinks back to some of the techniques she's practiced- it'd be a risk, but it's one worth taking.

"Diya, come on out!"

Once materialized, Diya is immediately taken aback by how large the audience is- she's never seen this many people in one place! Seeing such a large crowd has her energized, and even if Swellow is trying to be as intimidating as possible, Diya still sees him as a playmate more than an opponent.

"Really?" Sora raises a brow while tugging at his lip. "It's impressive how little you've met my already low expectations. Get 'em Swellow!"

June holds her hands to her chest as she tells herself to continue ignoring his rude comments while paying mind to his Pokemon descending claws first, preparing to snatch Diya up. But she has other plans. From her rear, a silk string shoots out and sticks to Swellow's breast. She then swings herself forward, building up momentum to gain enough air to land on his back.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I won't allow it! Agility!"

Swellow prepares to flap his wings but can't- they've locked into place, and now he can't even stay airborne! He's paralyzed- Before he was able to speed up his movements, Diya had released weak electric pulses into his body, leaving him unable to support himself. He crashes into the ground, though Diya leaps off before the impact.

"Excellent work Diya!" June grins. Sora doesn't look the least bit discouraged.

"You must be really stupid if you think that alone can take down my birds! If anything, you've done the opposite!" He says as Swellow gradually stands on his feet, working against the paralysis. "You've just activated Swellow's Guts!"

"Swellow's… guts?" June taps her lip. "You mean his… intestines?"

"Of course you wouldn't even know about Guts." He mocks. "It's Swellow's ability- if he's burned, paralyzed, or poisoned, he only gets stronger! He might not be as quick anymore, but that won't matter when you're hit!"

June frantically checks her Pokedex to see if Sora's words are true, and sure enough, they are. That's defeating to think about, but she can't let his condescension get to her. While he is indeed stronger, he's still paralyzed, and it's in June's best interest to capitalize on that as much as possible.

Diya's rear produces a web that's catapulted forward and falls onto Swellow, further restricting his movement. He breaks through his paralysis to tear the web apart with his wings but that's when Diya Screeches at Swellow to lower his defense. To finish the immobilized bird, Diya throws herself forward with Lunge, hoping to pack a punch to the weakened predator, but somehow she phases right through the bird. When looking back to see what happened, Diya sees dozens of Swellows appearing from nowhere.

"He's using Double Team as a means to dodge while paralyzed? Hm, if only I was able to attack multiple targets at once… for now though attack as many copies as you can Diya!"

Diya throws herself into each copy, one by one, leaving little time between landing and lunging, as a single hit could retire her from battle. While none of the copies really move, more keep appearing in place of those that had poofed into nothingness, creating more labor for the leaping bug. As she continuously attacks as many clones that appear in her way, none of them turn out to be the real thing.

"What is his goal here?" June mumbles to herself. "Is he simply stalling for time? But what would he get from that?" She pays close attention to Diya's movements to see if she can pick up on anything, but nothing strikes her as unusual. It's not until she peeks at her Pokedex that she sees the problem.

"Oh no!" June gasps. "Diya, stop using Lunge! He's trying to drain you of your power points!"

Diya, who was preparing another attack, looks back to her trainer. But almost as if this was a part of Sora's plan, Swellow musters up the energy to propel himself off the ground just enough so that he can strike with a Wing Attack.

"Look out!" June screeches with the utmost urgency, and Diya jumps as high up into the air as her legs will allow to evade the attack. When falling back down to the ground, she powers herself with the strength of Lunge, though rather than the usual motion she instead uses the temporarily gained weight to come crashing down into Swellow's back, forcing a pained squawking noise from the bird before he collapses.

"Swellow is unable to battle!"

"Damnit" Sora grits his teeth. "You just got lucky there, but don't think that'll last!"

Sora's next Pokemon is a Doduo. He's definitely committing to the bird theme. The Doduo wastes no time and speeds forward with Quick Attack, sending Diya flying with a kick. Diya tries mitigating the distance by attaching a thread of silk on Doduo's body, retracting the string to pull herself forward with the hopes of attaching herself to her foe, but is intercepted by one of Doduo's heads flinging forward and striking her with her beak. The head is pulled back, but the second head is thrown forth to also pierce Diya with its beak.

"This isn't good… Fury Attack here is doing neutral damage, though if it continues at this speed Diya won't last very long. Diya, use Screech!"

A harsh hiss is heard from the bug, and both of Doduo's heads are left reeling from the awful noise. Diya, having landed back on the ground, leaps forward again with Lunge to deliver a heavy hit, but is slammed down with the combined power of both of Doduo's heads smashing into Diya, forcing her back to the spot where she started.

"Come on Doduo, no mercy!"

While down, Doduo takes full advantage of her position, and both heads take turns furiously pecking at the small insect, moving so quickly that Diya isn't even given the chance to move. If it weren't for the restrictions of an official tournament battle, June would probably need to look away, based on how much joy Sora seems to take from the sight. Eventually it becomes clear to June that keeping Diya in is cruel and futile and retires her from the battle before the referee is able to call it. Now she's just down to one Pokemon.

How am I supposed to win at such a disadvantage? Oh, why did I have to be paired against a flying-type specialist in my first battle? Though, wait, has Doduo used a single flying-type move? No.. I don't think it has, actually. If anything, Doduo has mostly used its speed to gain an advantage here. Surely a flying-type attack would have been used on Diya if Doduo knew one.

"That's your next choice?" Sora scoffs as June's next Pokemon comes out. "A Heracross? It may be a decent Pokemon when it's not at a four times weakness!"

June, having caught onto Sora's game, dismisses the mockery. She can't let it get to her. "Joe, use Arm Thrust!"

Two forceful hits from both of Joe's palms counter a Fury Attack from each respective head. He then swings his horn downward, straight onto the body to send a shock down its spine. Both heads squawk in unison, and Heracross shoots out a flurry of Arm Thrusts targeting the heads. When the time is right, a single Horn Attack is enough to put the two-headed bird out of commission, and Joe's confidence increases as well as his strength. For a moment, it seems as though nothing can stand in his way, though maybe the fire-type Pokemon Sora sends out next could throw a wrench in that.

"...Combusken?" June blinks rapidly. "But it's…"

"Not a flying-type? Yeah yeah, I've heard that enough times. I'm a bird trainer, not a flying-type specialist. Afterall, it'd be pretty braindead to seriously compete in the Pokemon League with such a common weakness."

While June did literally just tell herself she can't let his bullying get to her, there's no getting around how much that hurt. But she's gotten this far in the battle, having taken out two flying-types with her bugs. What's a single fire-type more?

Combusken takes a few hops backwards, spitting out three evenly-spaced Embers that Joe swiftly dodges. Using Bulldoze, Joe's crashing weight creates quakes within the field to get rid of Combusken, though Detect negates the would-be crippling damage and sprints forward before moving so quickly he's off the ground, straightening his body out for an Aerial Ace. But a well-timed Counter from Joe allows him to nail Combusken square in the face, sending him flying back- who said they were flightless birds?

Instead of crashing into the arena walls, Combusken is able to land his feet on the surface, using his strong but stubby legs to shoot himself onto the field. Fire engulfs his entire body, and he runs circles around Joe, his speed picking up with every step taken. Joe uses Bulldoze in hopes Combusken will lose his balance, but the fire-type jumps high into the air and arcs downwards with his body still consumed by flames. The blazing bird collides with Joe, and he's swallowed by the flames as well. Sora, cocky as ever, cackles like a madman. There's no way a bug can survive such an attack. And normally that would be a true statement if not for the fact Joe had used Endure to survive the hit. With both Pokemon being so close to each other, the mighty Heracross's bulky arms grab hold of Combusken by the waist and takes on high leap upwards so he can come crashing down with Bulldoze.

"Combusken is unable to battle! This battle's winner is Junko Enomoto, who will be moving onto the next round!"

"Joe! You did it!" June cheers. She runs onto the battlefield to hunch over and throw her arms around the victor, though on the way she nearly tripped over the portions of the ground morphed by Bulldoze. "That was absolutely spectacular! I'm so proud of you!" Overwhelmed by her win, she hardly notices Sora slowly approaching her.

"Hey, uh, I just wanted to say you did pretty good." Sora says, hands in his pockets while his pupils drift away. "I was kinda being a dick… sorry."

June simply responds by giving the boy a smile. It's not the most sincere smile, not after all the mockery she's endured at Sora's hand, but she appreciates and accepts the apology. Off the top of her head she can name at least 5 different sayings her grandma had about not holding grudges. She's mostly just glad she can move onto the next battle- whoever she's facing next has to be more bearable than Sora.

That slot happens to be taken up by another new name, Jordie Hughes. From the trainer's name alone June isn't really sure what this person's gender is, and their picture, while giving her more to work with, still doesn't leave her confident in any assessment. She is confident about one thing though, and that's her ability to come out of her next battle victorious!

🐞 June's Party 🐞

0
Debt remaining:

885,508

Spoiler:

• 
  
  
• Einstein (Orbeetle) M|Telepathy
  Struggle Bug|Super Sonic|Confusion|Light Screen|Reflect|Ally Switch
  
  
• Chip (Wimpod) M|Wimp Out
  Struggle Bug|Sand Attack|Defense Curl|Aqua Jet|Waterfall
  
  
• Sting (Beautifly) M|Swarm
  Attract|Silver Wind|Poison Sting|Bug Bite|Electroweb|Air Cutter
  
  
• Kit (Surskit) F|Swift Swim
  Bubble|Quick Attack|Sweet Scent|Water Sport|Bubble Beam|Agility
  
  
• Joe (Heracross) M|Moxie
  Arm Thrust|Counter|Endure|Horn Attack|Aerial Ace|Bulldoze
  
  
• Diya (Joltik)|F|Swarm
  Spider Web|Thunder Wave|Screech|String Shot|Bug Bite|Lunge

Spoiler:

• 
  Merits
• Knuckle Badge
• Balance Badge
• Dell Badge
• Cloak Badge
• D-Rank Ribbon x1
  Bag
• Contest Pass
• TM Ally Switch
• TM Bulldoze
• TM Dual Wingbeat
• TM Cut
• Green Scarf
• Absorb Bulb x3
• Bug Gem x3
• Cell Batteries x3
• Leaf Stone x2
• Thunder Stone
• Eviolite
• Dragon Fang
• Net Ball x10
• Premier Ball x1
• Friend Ball x5
• Ultra Ball x4
• Combee Egg x3

 

[Groc]

Natsuko Soyokaze
Thursday, October 8th, midday
Mauville City

---

"Come on, at least pretend you like it!" Tsu huffs out her breath in annoyance, dropping her arms to her sides. "Can you try to look happy, please?"

Adagio stares at her, then shakes her head aggressively. The little bells at the end of her hat jingle-jangle as she does, much to her displeasure.

True to her word, Lucy had sent a package to the Pokémon Center with an outfit for Dagi. The outfit was a yellow vest with red buttons and blue trim, plus a hat that was half red and half blue, with yellow bells on the end of the "tails" that Dagi's ears fit into.

It's a clown costume and Adagio knows it, and hates it.

"Okay, sure. The bells are a bit much. But Lucy worked hard on it, and I kinda owe her one photo after Stacy ruined the last outfit she made us. It's not like anyone else will see this!"

Adagio grumbles under her breath, looking around the area to make sure no one sees her. For now, the coast is clear. Tsu made sure of that before she set up this whole photo shoot. After her lunch yesterday, she'd gone out to get a new camera (a really nice one, too), and it was expensive, but by agreeing to pay in installments she could afford it. Then, checking out Sky Park revealed that Ranger John had given her false information: entry was free to Fan Club members, the ₽3000 price tag was just the cost of signing up.

She'll complain about it to him later, but mildly, since he wouldn't be training Stacy if she'd gone there first.

After that she'd just needed a few props and tools to make it artsy, some natural light, and a willing model. That last one is the hardest to get, so she sighs and points her gun at Adagio again.

"Now stop complaining before someone does come along and see you, and I promise you'll never have to wear it again." She pulls the trigger, releasing a stream of soap bubbles that float lazily through the air around Adagio, and holds her camera up with her other hand.

Dagi sighs dramatically, one paw to her forehead, then smiles for the camera, one flipper up and her body tilted as though she were in the middle of a jaunty dance. The sun glints off some of the bubbles, making them shine like rainbows, and Tsu takes the shot. Several, in fact, just to be safe.

"There! See? Not so bad, was it? You little prima donna."

Dagi grumpily knocks her hat off, then spits a jet of water at Tsu to try and knock hers off.

It misses, and Tsu gasps as she ducks out of the way. "Hey! You could have hit my camera!" She points the bubble gun at Dagi, releasing a lazy stream of bubbles that just annoy the Popplio more. Dagi barks and swats at the bubbles, spitting more water at Tsu.

Tsu quickly tucks her camera into her bag, grabbing her backup bubble gun from the side pocket. Now with two guns in hand, she redoubles her assault on her sassy sea lion. "You think a little water scares me? Rip was spraying me in the face long before I met you!"

Adagio growls at Tsu, but Tsu can tell she's having fun. After all, if she was really mad she'd be using her ice breath right now. Instead, she... eats some of the bubbles?

"Hey, spit that out, these aren't food!"

Dagi gags at the taste of the soap, shaking her head in distaste. Tsu lowers her weapons, holstering them back in her bag. "Well, that's what you get. I swear, you act like a dog sometimes."

A bubble pops next to her head, startling her. She laughs as she realizes Dagi probably just pushed it back toward her somehow, grinning as she turns to face her. "Okay, I deserved that. I'm sorry."

Dagi takes a deep breath, and a bubble forms at the tip of her nose. Tsu takes a step back, thoroughly grossed out by this. "Ew, Dagi! What are you doing?"

Adagio exhales forcefully through her nose, the big bubble popping and a barrage of smaller bubbles streaming toward Tsu. Tsu shrieks and holds her hands in front of her face, the bubbles popping and leaving a faintly slimy residue on her arms.

"What? Ah! Stop! How are you even doing this?!" The bubble beam stops, and Tsu pulls out her Pokédex to check. Sure enough, it's a Bubble Beam, which Popplio apparently release from their nose. Fantastic.

"Well, you learned a disgusting new trick. I'm so proud. Just for that, this photo's going on my Instagram." She holds up Dagi's Dive Ball, cutting off her indignant bark before she can dish out further punishment for this abject betrayal. She grins as she tucks Dagi's discarded hat into her bag, legitimately a little proud of her for learning a new move all on her own. It's still gross, but it might prove useful some day, she doesn't know. It'll be a fun party trick to show her friends, at the very least.

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Sophie
Location: Winstrate Stadium, Winstrate Estate
Sunday, October 11th
Morning

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[tab=stor6-6][/tab] [tab=pok6-6][/tab][tab=inven6-6][/tab]

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Chapter 6 - 6
Wish
Part 1​

My jaw almost dropped to the floor as I couldn't believe what I just saw. As I stood there in disbelief, I turned my sight toward the other people in the crowd who were roaring and clapping enthusiastically after the display of combat that had been shown in front of them. Meanwhile, Vincent who sat beside me was smiling proudly while stroking his beard with Cody sitting on his shoulder looking at the battlefield with awe after seeing the sad sight.

I still couldn't believe that Arthur had won so easily in the first three rounds. None of his Pokemon had been knocked out in any of the rounds and the only Pokemon that was even moderately injured in the battle was his Seedot that was purposefully battling that way. I couldn't help but feel so small seeing how he managed to do such a feat.

Arthur did tell me that he was doing all he could to win Winstrate Cup, but I couldn't imagine how much time he spent in order to win the battles the way he did. Considering how he acted, I couldn't help but imagine him spending 10 hours a day to perfect his strategy.

"Sophie, dirt would enter your mouth if you keep it open like that." Vincent gently spoke, derailing my train of thought.

"Ah sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Don't worry, if I didn't see his progress for myself I would've done the same thing," Vincent chuckled. "Ah you're back, that's pretty quick," Vincent said to the amber-haired girl who had returned to our seating carrying a bag of bubble tea.

"I mean considering what just happened, I guess they were too hyped to use the break between rounds to go to the concession stands. Guess despite there being a monitor showing the match there, nothing beats watching closely from the stands," Spoke Alice as she handed the bubble tea inside the bag to me and Vincent.

"Of course, why did you leave knowing that?" Vincent asked as he sipped his share of bubble tea.

"I had enough of viewing up close how Arthur dismantle his opponent, too close even." Alice giggled as she remembered how she lost to Arthur yesterday.

As I turned my gaze from Alice's eyes, I couldn't help but notice there was another bubble tea inside the bag and there was no other person that was tagging along with us. Unless that bubble tea was intended for—

"Alice, is that Arthur's share?"

"He didn't ask me to buy him anything, but seeing the expression he had on his face after he beat Ed. I couldn't help but to buy something, a bit of investment to make sure my loss isn't in vain wouldn't hurt, you know?" Alice shrugged.

"I think he'd be much happier if you're more direct about your concern about him," Vincent smirked as he saw Alice's pale visage immediately fill with life as her face turn crimson red after hearing Vincent's response to her statement.

"Anyway, let's go, shall we? I'm also concerned about him," Vincent raised himself from his seat with a huge smile on his face despite Cody's chirps to make his trainer stay seated, which was responded to by me and Alice with a nod.

While we walked towards the entrance to the waiting room where Vincent had asked Arthur to wait for us there, my mind couldn't help but dart back to Arthur's manner of victory as I took a sip of my share of bubble tea.

I saw how hard Alice was training with my own eyes, it's not like she was someone whose easy to beat. Most of her training opponents lost to her, some even lost to her badly including me. And yet despite it, Arthur managed to wipe the floor with her without even getting hit a single time.

And then he did again, with less resistance than when he beat Alice too. Against someone that Arthur had told us had a good head on his shoulder when it came to Pokemon, and Alice didn't deny that either.

I knew that I only just started my journey, but could I even get good enough for Mira to recognize me on a broadcast? I couldn't help but feel that goal felt more and more like a dream as I saw firsthand what people like Arthur and Alice could achieve with their Pokemon.

Mira, will I ever see you again?
​

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

​

Party


Aurora (Alolan Vulpix) (Female) | Ability: Snow Warning | Freeze-Dry, Confuse Ray, Disable, Hex, Aurora Beam, Mist



Garnet (Staryu) (-) | Ability: Illuminate | Magic Coat, Rapid Spin, Camouflage, Recover, Psywave, Bubblebeam



Stolz (Aron) (Male) | Ability: Rock Head | Rock Tomb, Metal Claw, Protect, Roar, Harden, Headbutt



Joy (Lotad) (Male) | Ability: Swift Swim | Astonish, Mega Drain, Water Gun, Synthesis, Mist, Flail

Inventory

Money: ₽16.600

Badges
Knuckle Badge

Mega/Z Items
Key Stone x 1
Aggronite x 1

Evo Items
None

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

King's Rock x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

TM/TR

Detect

Consumables
None

Other Items
None
​

​

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Arthur Weissmann
Location: Winstrate Stadium, Winstrate Estate
Sunday, October 11th
Morning​

[tab=story6-5][/tab] [tab=poke6-5][/tab][tab=invent6-5][/tab]

​

Chapter 6 - 5
Go Big or Go Home
Part 3​

Just after the battle was done, I somehow couldn't help but lock myself away in the men's bathroom. Not because I ate too much pepper on the sandwich I ordered yesterday, but because I was panicking for an absolute joke of a reason.

I knew winning against Ed and Alice that easily was something that was something worth celebrating, but I couldn't even fathom why I felt so uneasy. I was afraid that I might overthink things and then fail again inches before the finish line like I always did. I just had so many failures in my life that my overwhelming victory against them felt like a small ray of hope that would only make the pain of the inevitable defeat sting even further.

But in the middle of my musings, I suddenly realized that Vincent had messaged me to come to the entrance of the waiting room where he would be waiting with the girls.

Realizing that meeting them would be a much better alternative than moping around thinking about what kind of catastrophic mistake would I do to cost myself in the next round.

With my sunglasses on, I exited the waiting room to meet the people who already waited for me there. I put on a big smile and tried to act like nothing was clouding my mind as I greeted them.

"Hi, guys, what's going on!" I cheerfully greeted them to dispel whatever worries they had. After all, it was easy to understand that there was a reason that they came there to meet me, and hard to imagine if that reason wasn't that there was something that had aroused their concern.

Unfortunately for me, I wasn't the only one that was able to read the room as the expression all of them showed after I did my act literally spelled out that they already see through my ruse.

I deeply sighed as I dropped the facade I had put up and removed my glasses as soon as they showed that they knew about the truth. "Am I that easy to read?" I said in a weak tone.

"I mean, kinda?" Vincent managed to get a giggle out of me who was struggling to keep the negative emotions out of my head. Before they even asked what was happening, I decided to pour out the irrational thought I had inside my head.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I think I couldn't help but think that... You know, again it's crazy I know, but... Did I just get lucky to win my last two wins that—

"So my loss is just because of mere luck?" Alice sharply interjected which turned my face as pale as a sheet.

"N-no, of course not!" I stuttered to give an answer.

"If you know about that, then why do you keep doubting yourself?" Alice painfully spoke before she tenderly hugged me, unfortunately, this only exacerbated my panic.

"I DON'T KNOW! I literally don't know! I know I must be going crazy thinking I'll lose after my performance the last two rounds said otherwise! But I can't… I can't help but be scared that I'll somehow lose by fumbling this badly. I know it's stupid but… I don't know anymore," my pupils widened as I tightly gripped Alice's body in fear which led her to pat my head to calm me down.

"Hey, I believe in you, you know. I've seen for myself how hard you've tried to learn about Pokemon with my own eyes, I know you can do it, so please believe in me when I say that you can do this." Alice gently spoke as she tried to reassure me of my competence.

The next one to speak was Vincent.

"Do you know the story of Jeff McBride?" Vincent asked.

I nodded weakly while taking deep breaths to calm myself down, as I easily recognized the name that was involved in a huge headline internationally last year due to the story behind it. His story of triumph was almost like something that came out of a movie.

"Ironically unlike his name, at one point he was always the bridesmaid and never the bride, as he lost his hometown tournament Hammerlocke Open 14 years in a row, 9 times as the runner-up, yet he never gave up trying, no matter how hard the media lambasted him for his failure. On his 15th try, he finally won, creating one of the most memorable moments in the international circuit 'The Miracle at Hammerlocke Stadium'," Said Vincent reiterating the story.

"Arthur, I've said it before. Winning isn't everything, you've tried your best and there's nothing you can do about it anymore. Now, all you can do is just do whatever you can out there, even if you don't win. Big deal, there's still a lot of competition you can win in the future. Win or not, I'm proud of the fact that you've given it your all," The bearded man said with a huge smile on his face.

After he said his piece, Vincent looked at Sophie as if to tell her to pour out what was in her mind.

"You know, I dreaded my time back in my school. But when you mentioned luck, there was something they said there that resonated with me. 'You can never exclude luck from something you do, but even if you're lucky, you wouldn't be able to make use of the lucky situation you have without skills. So Arthur, please be confident in yourself because—

"Okay! Okay! That's enough, I'm really going to have an ugly cry if you all speak more than this." I desperately interjected while shaking my right hand to stop all of them from saying another word before I cried myself a river.

"Hey, there's something for you. It's my treat," I reached out to the bag that Alice held with his right hand, inside it was a beverage that was pretty familiar to me.

"Bubble tea? Really? I'm pretty sure this is your favorite and not mine," I frankly expressed my displeasure while wiping off the moistness from my eyes.

"Hehe sorry, I forgot," Alice put out her tongue in a mocking manner. I knew well that the girl did this on purpose, so I was more than eager to get some payback later. Probably when we went on a date as she had proposed.

As I waved back at everyone who left to go back to the stands, I took a sip of the bubble tea which returned the smile back to my face despite not liking it as much as Alice did.

I couldn't help but remember the moment I begged Aunt Ingrid to teach me about how to make bubble tea as I lost a bet against Alice who wanted it as my punishment for losing against her in one of the practical exams. It reminded me of happy times during my stay at the trainer school.

Seeing back at what had happened after I left the training school, I couldn't help but feel blessed to have faced adversities with the help of those I cherished dearly. Also, I couldn't believe how much of a crybaby I had become. If my memory was correct, I've cried perhaps every single week since I left the academy. My old self would've been livid if he knew that this was the kind of person he'd be, but I had no regrets about what had happened in my journey.

While the fear of losing badly after dominant performances still lingered inside me, there was no doubt about it. But you know what? Guess even if I lose, I'd accept whatever the result was, as I've given this tournament everything I got. There was no real reason for me to feel scared as I've been through situations like this when I was far weaker than the moment I was in, and yet I still had fear about the moment I was in. I need to change my mindset no matter what.

"Hope you're watching from above gramps, 'cause your grandson is going to rock the entire competition," I murmured before raising my fist to the air to pump myself up for my next match.
​

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

​

Party


Braveheart (Metang) (-) | Ability: Clear Body | Confusion, ???, ???, Metal Claw, Zen Headbutt, ???



Hunter (Noctowl) (Male) | Ability: Insomnia | Hypnosis, Ally Switch, Air Slash, Confusion, Psycho Shift, Wing Attack




Muchorin (Darumaka) (Male) | Ability: Hustle | Rollout, Incinerate, Taunt, Work Up, ???, Fire Punch




Kaplan (Wingull) (Male) | Ability: Hydration | Quick Attack, Air Cutter, Icy Wind, Supersonic, ???, Water Pulse



Nero (Inkay) (Male) | Ability: Contrary | Topsy-Turvy, ???, Swagger, Night Slash, Destiny Bond, Taunt



Tempest (Seedot) (Male) | Ability: Chlorophyll | Harden, Rollout, Absorb, Payback, Bide, Growth



Egg (Cutiefly) (???) | Ability: ??? | ???

Inventory

Money: ₽14.560

Badges
Knuckle Badge
Balance Badge
Dell Badge

Evo Items

Water Stone x 1

Held Item

Eviolite x 1

Safety Goggles x 1

Silk Scarf x 1

Twisted Spoon x 1

TM/TR

Taunt

Bulk Up

Sand Tomb

Attract

Ally Switch

???

Consumables

Ability Capsule

Other Items

Dome Fossil
​

​

 

[Juno]

[tab=backtostory5-6][/tab] [tab=pokemon5-6][/tab] [tab=diary5-6][/tab] [tab=inv5-6][/tab] [tab=id5-6][/tab]

​

5-6: A Quick Detour

🌉 Mauport Bridge 🕙 Tues. Oct. 6th, Evening​

"Jade." She tells the Petilil riding on her shoulder. "Like the pendant you stole from me."

Marcella glances over just in time to see the mortified expression on her Petilil's face before the Pokémon turns away in embarrassment. She laughs. "That's okay, I'm just teasing. It is a pretty name, though. Do you like it?"

The Petilil trills excitedly, bouncing on her shoulder. "Careful, don't pull on my hair." She warns, but takes that as a 'yes'.

A drawn out whine catches her attention and she looks down. "Dear, you are simply much bigger than Jade—I cannot carry you as long." She tells a sullen Bijou, who glares at the Petilil as she pads along next to them. They had been walking for a pretty long time; maybe she should find somewhere for them to sit down at for a bit.

'Just a quick peek' had turned into most of her day spent on Mauport Bridge, but despite walking for hours on end like she'd done the previous days, she doesn't really feel as tired as she did then. The energy here is amazing! All the interesting people around her and the sights and the art and the shops are really reinvigorating, even though she doesn't really have money right now to purchase much at said shops. She'd spent a large chunk of her remaining cash on a cute little bed and breakfast already when she first arrived; mostly so she could take a shower immediately and have a place to put down her gear, but with how large this bridge actually is, she likely will have to spend the night there.

Even now, as nightfall approaches, the bridge is still buzzing with activity. And while she'd love to see everything Mauport has to offer, she should do the responsible thing and consider turning back soon, lest she miss another contest she'd prepared for.

'Soon' being the operative keyword here, though, as yet another interesting-looking building draws her in.

🏛️ The Pokémon Fanclub Center for Visual Arts 🕙 Tues. Oct. 6th, Evening​

Marcella browses all the classes still being run at this hour. A lot of them look very intriguing and fun—there's tons of activities she'd never even thought to seek out before, but definitely would like to try, like glassblowing and pottery. Midas, in particular, really wants to get into the jewelry workshop and it's definitely something that piques her interest as well, though she has her suspicions as to whether he actually wants to make any jewelry, or if something in the display window just caught his eye. But, in the interest of time, she decides to participate in something she already has experience in so that she can actually take something presentable with her tonight. Perhaps she can return another day for some of the other classes.

She finds the right classroom and knocks on its door. There's no answer; it's late, but the center is still open. She pushes the door open and walks in with her little entourage. "Hello?"

The sound of a single sewing machine rhythmically piercing fabric is the only thing she hears, and she looks around for the source of it; rows of sewing machines are neatly arranged at the back of the room, but only one is stationed by a young man in headphones, bopping his head to music as he works away in his seat. He abruptly stops when he notices her, pulling his headphones off so they rest around his neck, before stumbling over heavy-looking black boots to get to the front of the room.

"Hello! Sorry about that, didn't hear you coming in." He pushes his dark brown hair away from his face as he gives her a dimpled smile.

"Oh, that's alright! I apologize for interrupting; I know it's pretty late."

"Nah, not at all—we're still gonna be open for a bit. So! Welcome, welcome."

He introduces himself as Cole, and gives Marcella a quick tour of his little workshop in a jovial and bubbly demeanor that is charmingly incongruent with his exterior and manner of dress. He's alternative, which Marcella's usually not into, but he is pretty cute.

"So, what brings you in tonight?" He asks as he finishes up the tour and brings her back to the large table in the center of the room. He hops up casually to sit cross-legged on top of it, and pats the empty spot next to him. Marcella's not quite as comfortable with just... jumping on a table like a cat, so she politely declines the invitation to do so and pulls out one of the stools under it instead.

"Well, I am participating in a Contest tomorrow, so I kind of want to try my hand at making a costume for one of my Pokémon here."

He whistles. "Ooh, tomorrow, huh? Cutting it real close."

She reddens a little—her time management has been… lacking, to say the least, but he doesn't have to point it out. Her silence does not go unnoticed.

"Sorry, I just have a couple friends who are Contest nuts, and they prepare for, like, days and days ahead of time." He prattles on cheerfully. It seems he has the awareness to detect the direction of this conversation had hit a nerve, but not enough to stop. So Marcella steers the topic back in her interest herself.

"Mhmm. So! The information desk told me about some special items you guys are offering in limited quantities right now, can you tell me a bit about that?"

"Oh, yes!" He hops off the table and makes his way to a cabinet, returning with three plastic containers. "Got some great stuff for Pokémon trainers here—been getting more common to turn items like this into wearables and whatnot."

Marcella is immediately drawn to the container in the middle. The label on it reads 'Bright Powder', and, true to its name, it's very shimmery and eye-catching, more so than regular costume glitter. It almost hurts to look at, especially when it's being moved around and it shifts in its container.

"Oh, that is some bright powder." Marcella comments, shielding her eyes as Cole notices her staring and pushes the tub over to her for a closer look. Light dances off of it as the container slides across the table.

Cole laughs. "Well, that's essentially what it's supposed to do in battle—blind your opponent to lower their accuracy."

"Oh, like Sand Attack!" Marcella blurts out the first equivalent she can think of, Pokémon battle-wise. "Bijou knows that move." She pets the Purrloin, who straightens her back proudly. In her limited experience, Marcella has found not letting the opponent actually hit you is a great way to stay ahead. So this gives her an idea.

"Yeah, exactly like Sand Attack, except it's not sand nor an attack." Cole quips with a cheeky little smirk.

She gives him a playful shove. "You know what I mean. Anyway, I think I know what I want to make—provided you have some good tips on how to incorporate this powder into a functional piece of clothing."

"'Course! Wouldn't have this stuff in here if I couldn't." He gives the Bright Powder container a good shake, prompting Marcella to shield her eyes again. "Oops, sorry. Maybe I shouldn't keep this in a clear container."

✿✿✿✿✿​

"Alright, the magic will happen when she spins," Marcella explains as they pore over her sketches. "I don't want her blinding me on the daily, so there's just going to be a cute smattering of Bright Powder on the outside of the skirt to give it that 'starry night' look. But! Most of it will actually be in this inner mesh layer, so that the full effect of the Bright Powder will be on display when she twirls." She flicks through the sketches, pointing to the little notes and mechanics she'd jotted down in the margins to illustrate her plans for this project.

She'd decided to make a dress, and Jade, being theonly perpetually-bipedal Pokémon on her team, seems like the perfect fit for it. The Petilil sits up on the table next to Cole, and both of them listen to Marcella intently as she shows them the design.

"Okay, I like it! So—" He turns to the cabinet once again and pulls out a small bottle. "For the exterior, we can use this fabric glue; you can just dab it on in spots sparingly and then sprinkle the powder over it so it looks like little twinkling stars you want on the outside. Now, for that inner layer—come, come over here—"

He beckons her over to the back of the room, where the shelf pushes out to reveal rolls of fabric neatly lined up behind it, in every colour and material imaginable. Marcella excitedly walks through with her arm slightly outstretched, feeling the various fabrics under her fingertips as she passes each row.

"We need something that the powder will shine through. PVC's great for that but too stiff, not good for a dress that you want a lot of movement in—you said mesh, but I feel like the weave is not going to be tight enough to keep the powder in." He wheels through a few other rolls, before presenting her with a silky, sheer fabric. "How about organza?"

"Oh, this is lovely." Marcella drawls, feeling the luxurious material. It's perfect—soft and light, and definitely sheer enough for the Bright Powder to shine through. "Love the material, but I think this sheer navy one complements her green more. Still gives off that starry night vibe, but not as stuffy as the black." She picks up Jade and holds her next to both rolls to decide. "Hmm, what do you think, dear? Navy?"

The Petilil glances down, bobbing her head up and down to confirm. Marcella beams as she sets her back down. "Good eye, that's my girl. Alright, let's get to work!"

With all her materials selected, she starts by measuring the Petilil and creating a pattern, with Cole's aid. It's a simple circle skirt with a halter bodice, so they get through that portion relatively quickly together.

Sitting at the sewing machine is oddly reminiscent of her pre-journey days, back when she thought she was going to design school. Even though she wasn't accepted, it turns out all that practice wasn't a complete waste of time. She's sitting next to Cole, who has gone back to working on his own project; for the most part, he supervises silently, partially because the sound of two sewing machines going off simultaneously is a bit loud to talk over, and also because it's probably not the best idea to operate a sewing machine and talk at the same time. He only speaks up again as he notices her sewing pockets into the skirt of the tiny dress, which he seems to find pretty amusing.

"What's she going to carry, a pocket knife?"

Men truly don't know the struggle. She laments, but responds as diplomatically as she could while having her eyes still glued to the needle. "Just a habit I've gotten into when I make dresses and skirts. They never have pockets. And a girl can always use pockets."

Midas saunters over, collecting a silver thimble and adding it to his pouch. "And boys, too, I guess." She adds. "I hope you don't mind, I don't think you'll be seeing that thimble again. Anyway!" With a final snip of the thread, she loosens the pressure foot on her machine and frees the little garment from it. She twirls it in her hand, which shows off the Bright Powder in it a bit, but they're gonna have to really see it in action to see how well her design worked out.

"Okay! Jaaade," Marcella calls out to the Petilil, who is resting by the windowsill with Bijou. "Come here."

Her face lights up as her eyes land on the dress, and she looks even more delighted to slip into it.

Jade has been equipped with the Bright Powder-infused dress.

"Give us a little spin!" Marcella smiles encouragingly, to which the Petilil eagerly obliges.

"Ooh." Both Cole and Marcella clap and cheer as the dazzling dress sparkles under the ceiling lights—Marcella imagines it will look even more amazing under the stage's spotlights. The faster she spins, the brighter she shines, and they actually have to look away when she really gets into it. When she stops, the outer layer falls back over the middle section, giving off just the elegant aesthetic of twinkling stars over a midnight sky.

"Beautiful dress. You should be proud, given it only took you a few hours. Oh, here—" Cole hands her a little pouch and a bottle he'd prepared. "Bit of the Bright Powder and some fabric glue to take with you, so you can touch up before each contest. Or whenever she wears it; I don't think she's going to take it off anytime soon." He laughs, glancing back at the Petilil. She continues to spin in her new dress, twirling all over the room excitedly.

Bright Powder and fabric glue added to Marcella's inventory.

"You are going to get dizzy if you keep doing that," Marcella calls out to her, but she can't help smiling either. She's exhausted, but it was worth it to see her new Pokémon so happy. "And thank you, Cole, for indulging me in your classroom so late in the evening."

The spinning, sparking Petilil catches the attention of Midas and Bijou as well, the latter glancing over from her spot in the windowsill with a peculiar expression Marcella can't quite describe. When she notices Marcella staring, the Purrloin reaches up with one paw to pull down the goggles on top of her head and turns away, tucking both paws under herself. Odd. She's probably just tired, too. Marcella thinks to herself.

"Hey, it's getting kinda late, huh? Do you need a ride somewhere?" Cole's voice pulls her attention away from the windowsill as he helps her finish cleaning up and packs his own bag.

"Ah, contributing to the Cottage Grove peoples' disdain for Mauport, I see." Marcella teases, but she feels relieved and grateful for the offer; the actual walk back would have taken forever. Grateful, at least until Cole clarifies what he meant.

Cole shakes his head with a smile. "I'm not driving. C'mon. And put your little guys back in their Poke Balls - I don't think you want 'em out for this ride."

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Ability: Prankster

Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough
Torment
Hone Claws

PEARLY
Clamperl, F

Ability: Rattled

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense
Scald
-----

MIDAS
Meowth, M

Ability: Technician

Pay Day
Scratch
Growl
Feint
Fake Out
-----

JADE
Petilil, F

Ability: Leaf Guard

Magical Leaf
?
?
?
?

​

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour

​

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)

Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf (

)

Safety Goggles (

)

Bright Powder (

)

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3

Quick Balls x 2

Net Balls x 5

Poké Balls x 8

Lum Berry x 2

Razz Berry x 2

Sitrus Berry

Oran Berry x 8

Occa Berry x 6

Yache Berry x 10

Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue​

Trainer Info

Badges



​

 

[Caesar]

​

Friday, October 9th @ 1500 - Mauville

"You looked sloppy out there," Sergei jeered as he sat down.

Sergei was sitting down to none other than Clint Shaw, who was elated eating popcorn with his feet up in the stands of the stadium where the Winstrate Cup was being held. Clint had just won his matchup for the first day, in the round of thirty-two. A fairly decisive victory, in a one on one fight Clint's Ralts easily dispatched his opponent.

"I thought I did alright," Clint stated, shooting Sergei a smirk.

"The kid had a single psyducking Zigzagoon" Sergei retorted,

"Fact that he was even in the tournament is an indictment on the gym circuit itself."

"Psyduckin' Brawly man, just gives every kid who stumbles into his gym a badge," Sergei added.

"All I can do is battle who's they put in front of me," Clint replied.

"Well at some point in the tourney they'll run out of schmucks, then what happens," Sergei asked.

"I'll figure it out when I get there," Clint said.

"Will you though? You still lack a little umm... what do you call it? Je ne sais quoi? Something like that, you need to work on your finesse, Pokemon battling is an art not a science my friend, your Pokemon are the instruments in the symphony, you're simply the d**khead waving the stick around, don't get focused on the stats and technicalities in this stage of your development, rely on the growing connection between your Pokemon and yourself, they're willing to go to battle for you, place your trust in them," Sergei explained.

"You come up with all that yourself," Clint snarked back.

Sergei gave Clint a soft punch on the arm,

"Of course not, It's a corroboration of things that I've been told along the way, don't forget I've been in this exact spot."

"And how'd that go for you Sergei?"

"Pretty well actually, showed up here ten years ago with my four badges at the time, and won the tournament on my first go around. Well, then I ended up partying a little hard in Mauville, ended up needing money again. So I re-entered the tournament the next month after and won it again ha ha, they weren't too impressed with me when I did that, don't think they let kids pull that maneuver anymore."

"I'll have to go look at the plaques on display here, see if that tale holds any weight," Clint replied.

"Think what ever you want Clint, but it's true, one of only a handful of multiple time Winstrate Cup winners, should put me in the hall of fame just for that."

Clint sat back, took a sip out of his soda, then looked down at the piece of paper with the bracket on it, which Clint had been filling out as the day went along, there was some sort of app for your device of choice that automatically updated the bracket as it went along for you, but Clint could not get that figured out so he was stuck with the old tried and true paper method.

Based on what he had filled out, his first matchup tomorrow was someone named Marie, but due to being in the dressing room preparing for a battle of his own, Clint did not have a chance to watch his next opponent's battle.

"You managed to catch this Marie girl's battle? Happened right before mine," Clint quizzed Sergei, hoping to get some intel out of a pro.

"Bits and pieces of it, I was having a quick chat with a couple of big wigs that sponsor a pro tournament out in Alola, pretty sure she was the one with the Xatu, moved pretty quick that little bird did, see if you can keep up."

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow then."

"Meeting up with bigshots out of Alola, how'd you pull that off," Clint sarcastically asked.

"Those kind of characters flock to this place like Mothim to a bright light. Tournament sponsors, agents, washed up pro-trainers and all sorts of undesirables like to flock to this place, say they're 'interested in the next generation of Pokemon trainers' when they're really here to suck up to the Winstrates and other Mauville elite. Unfortunately, I gotta do the same if I wanna get back in the circuit," Sergei explained, as he checked his PokeGear which just buzzed,

"Speaking of that, I gotta split, got some more schmoozing to do. Best you don't worry about this kinda stuff until your older, you're a kid go have fun out there. Not too much fun though you should get some sleep."

With that, Sergei got up out of his seat, and made his way out of the arena. Clint sat back in his chair, casual watching the match in front of him while thinking a little about the talk he just had.
​

Team & Inventory:

Spoiler:

Blaze|Brave| Moves: Ember|Dragon Breath|Bite|Smokescreen|Fire Fang|Slash

Overgrow|Sassy| Moves: Leaf-age|Detect|Quick Attack|Double Kick|Assurance|Bullet Seed

Water Absorb|Quiet| Moves: Hypnosis|Water Gun|Pound|Mud Shot

Synchronize|Gentle| Moves: Confusion|Double Team|Teleport|Growl|Draining Kiss
Inventory:

$28,500
2x Potions
1x Pokeballs
5x Iapapa Berries
10x Oran Berries
4x Normal Gem
Sceptilite
Gengarite
Thunder Stone
Water Stone
TM Protect
TM Bullet Seed
TM Rock Smash
TM Low Kick
TM Grass Knot
TR Sludge Bomb

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

 

[Juno]

[tab=backtostory5-7][/tab] [tab=pokemon5-7][/tab] [tab=diary5-7][/tab] [tab=inv5-7][/tab] [tab=id5-7][/tab]

​

5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

🌉 Mauport Bridge 🕙 Tues. Oct. 6th, Late Night​

I'm going to die. I am going to die. Oh, Lord, I am going to die. I should have just walked. She tries to think about something else, anything else, but this becomes almost like a mantra—a very bad one—in her head. Only the sound of Cole's laughter breaks the repetition.

"Relax!" He shouts over the wind, glancing back. Marcella's fairly certain she did not say any of that out loud, or verbalize in any way how terrified she is, but perhaps he can just feel her death grip around his waist and infer she's not having the best time up here.

"Just—keep your eyes forward, please!" She shouts back, heart racing.

"Why? Pebble's not a helicopter, I don't have to steer her." Unbothered, he reaches out to stroke the feathers on the nape of his Corviknight's neck. "It's really not so scary once you get used to it. And look! The view is so pretty from up here."

She wouldn't say she generally has a fear of heights, though something about precariously clinging to the back of a large, avian Pokémon with no saddle or anything is quite the harrowing experience. But she cracks open an eye and glances down. 'God, we're so high up,' is her first and only thought, and she quickly shuts her eye again. "I—um, appreciate the ride, of course, but is it necessary to be flying at this altitude?"

Cole sighs, but he gives in. "I guess not." He pats Pebble and Marcella shrieks as the Corviknight sharply dives down. When she opens her eyes again, they are… still quite high up, but soaring just above the tallest buildings of the bridge, which allows her to take in the beauty of it better. People are still out and about, but a bit more sparsely; they fly over a group of teens giggling and chattering away, and a hush falls over them as they are eclipsed by Pebble's shadow. The warm glow of the streetlights illuminates houses and landmarks, and also acts as spotlights to the buskers and artists still performing at this hour.

It is pretty up here, she has to admit.

"Happy?"

She exhales. "I'm no longer unhappy."

But she starts to relax a bit and enjoy herself as she watches the late night activity under her, until she hears a loud squawk, and Pebble angles her body sharply to avoid something.

Marcella's head jerks back up as she scans the skies frantically. "What is it? What's happening?!"

"Ow—loosen your grip, please. And it's uh, wild Taillow. Don't worry about it." Cole nods to a few blue birds that have noisily joined them on their flight. "They're fast, but they don't really bother Pebble. Kinda like bugs in your face. Trade-off to flying at this altitude."

The little white-bellied birds follow along with ease, but as Cole had assured her, when they're flying with her instead of into her, the Corviknight is able to ignore them just fine; they continue soaring steadily over the bridge.

As they finally approach the familiar-looking bed and breakfast, Cole whistles sharply and points to the building, prompting the Corviknight to land on top of it. The roof has a very slight incline to it so that rainwater does not accumulate, but being a more modern building, it is relatively flat and even enough for them to stand on. Cole unmounts first, before helping Marcella down; having her feet touch something solid again feels so nice.

She stretches out her arms and legs, still tense from the flight, as she looks out over the horizon. "This is a view I can enjoy," She muses, admiring the tranquility as she sits down next to Cole. From their vantage point, buildings are layered out in rows ahead, and through them she can see the moonlight reflected on the water.

"Fair enough—the village's pretty on every level. Hey, are you hungry?" Cole asks suddenly. "I'm kinda hungry. Be right back." He stands up before Marcella can answer.

And then he hops back on Pebble and they fly away.

"What—" Marcella is stunned into silence. She finds her words moments too late, as he's already out of earshot when she shouts: "What are you doing?!"

What is the meaning of this?! What kind of sick joke does he think it is, to bring her back safely but strand her on the roof?

She tucks her hair behind her ears as she gingerly looks down each side of the building for... well, she's not sure, maybe a ladder or something, but no such luck. With no way to get down, she has no other choice but to just watch, dumbfounded, as the Corviknight lands on the balcony of an apartment unit just across the vehicle and walking lanes.

Is that Cole's home? She sure hopes so, but after very recent events, it seems common decency and logic escape him, so who knows what this man is capable of?

The giant bird preens her feathers as her trainer goes inside; Marcella notes he does seem to have the keys to the balcony's door, so that's a good sign that she is not currently witnessing a crime. He wasn't kidding when he said he lived close to the B&B, when she'd told him which one she was staying at.

Moments later, to her relief, he exits the unit and they fly back across the bridge.

"Ramen?" He holds out an instant noodle cup as soon as Pebble's great talons graze the shingles. Marcella's relief quickly turns to disbelief—well, disbelief again, and anger.

"...You left me on a roof to grab two cups of ramen?!"

He shrugs. "It was three minutes, tops." He replies, as if that was the issue. "...Also brought some veggies." He holds up a thin, plastic bag holding some cucumbers and bell peppers.

He's kind of insane outside of the classroom.

"You're insane." She doesn't hesitate to let him know this, but she is quite hungry and she accept the cup noodle from him with a huff. He smiles, unfazed, but his expression turns contemplative as he looks down at his own cup.

"Oh, wait—guess we have to cook these, huh? Sorry, be right back."

No, not again— Marcella's arm instinctively shoots out, grabbing him by the sleeve.

"Sit. Down." She commands, a bit more menacingly than she meant to, but she is not in the mood at this hour. "I got this."

Cooking noodles with Pearly's Scald is something she is fairly familiar with at this point, and since they are no longer thousands of feet up in the air, she decides to let all of her Pokémon out to eat with them as well, for a little impromptu rooftop picnic.

Cole seems to have some trouble fending off Midas as the Meowth clambers on him to inspect the chains around his neck; Marcella thought about helping him, but ultimately decides he deserves a little bit of trouble after the little stunt he'd pulled. So she feigns ignorance and checks in on Bijou instead.

The Purrloin is uncharacteristically unenthused for the food being prepared, but she has been eating a lot of cup noodles lately, and vegetables were never her favourite kind of snack; maybe that's what's wrong. "We'll be in Mauville tomorrow, okay? I'll get you some PokéPuffs. One PokéPuff." Marcella hastily corrects herself. She has to be firm with the diet. Tough love, she reminds herself, but the forlorn expression on Bijou's face is breaking her heart a little, and she relents. "...Maybe two. We'll see." Bijou purrs softly but unenergetically curls up next to her, and Marcella eventually decides to just let her sleep.

"How's it going?" She asks Jade, whom she had tasked with chopping the vegetables. It's good Magical Leaf practice, though she should figure out what else she can do, as all they have been practicing is the one move that she knows of.

She leans back and watches her work for a while; the pretty leaves shimmer in the moonlight as they slice the peppers into not-as-pretty chunks (Jade needs to work cutting more evenly) but it still makes for a fairly entertaining late-night show. Far more entertaining than actual cooking shows, in Marcella's opinion. She suddenly sits up straight.

"Wait! I just got a great idea." Marcella exclaims, grabbing Cole's forearm. "Have you seen a Pokémon cooking show before? Like, in a contest?"

"No, but I'm sure it's been done." Cole responds absently as he yanks Midas back down from the earring-snatching level he had climbed up to.

Marcella tsks, letting go of his arm. "Wow, thanks." She says flatly, still ignoring her Meowth's antics.

"Well—I just meant there's been so many contests held all over the region, some kid's bound to have figured out how to fry an egg with their Torchic or something, I don't know. But I haven't seen it myself personally, no."

"And you said you're friends with the aforementioned 'contest nuts', right?" Cole nods. "Okay, well, that's good enough for me." She didn't even make it to the third round last time, but ideas for it percolate as she hands Cole his cooked cup of noodles and portion of chopped vegetables.

After they've eaten, Marcella brings out some of the berries Jade had gifted her on Route 110 for dessert. This was not the best idea, apparently, as it seems to have invited the Taillow from earlier back to harass them some more. "Oh, not these guys again." Marcella whines as they circle overhead.

Cole shrugs. "Might not be the same ones, anyway—they're kinda everywhere."

"Should I just—give them some so they leave us alone?" Marcella puts a few berries on the lid of her container, preparing to set it out on the edge of the roof or something for the Taillow, but Cole swiftly puts a hand over hers.

"No. Feeding them is not how you get rid of them."

"Well then, how about you send your bird to beat up the little birds?"

As they discuss how to best deal with the Taillow, one of them finally swoops down and steals the berry Jade is holding. The Petilil jumps up and down futilely to try and reach the birds, but the Tallow just twitter tauntingly as they fly out of reach. "Oh, sweetie, it can't be helped," Marcella sighs, patting her consolingly. "Just let it go, we have a lot more berr—" Marcella begins as she offers her the container, but in a fit of rage, Jade grabs a light blue berry from it and hurls it at the flying Pokémon.

And then it explodes into icicles midair, raining down on the Taillow.

That successfully shut them up, and the shocked Taillow quickly scatter. But none of them are as shocked as Marcella. "What the hell—what is that? What was that?!" She's losing her mind.

Jade looks perplexed at her reaction, and Marcella drops the container like it's holding bombs; for all she knows right now, those berries could be bombs. "Oh, god—did you eat any of the light blue ones? I think I did—what's going to happen to me?!"

"Relax, the berries didn't do that." Cole laughs; he's not as perplexed by her reaction as Jade was, but clearly they both know something she doesn't. "Well, not by themselves, anyway."

"What?"

"I think that's her Natural Gift."

She squints at him, not having the patience or whimsy right now to figure out what that means. "Okay, if that's some vague, spiritual hipster thing—"

"No, it's a Pokémon move, look it up."

"You could just tell me—" She huffs, but pulls out her phone and opens the Dex app to do so. She'd looked up a list of possible moves for Petilil previously, but does not recall anything about turning berries into ice grenades specifically; she feels like she'd remember that. But she finds the entry and reads it out loud. "The user draws power to attack by using its held Berry. The Berry determines the move's type and power…"

Interesting. Very interesting. She must have overlooked this entirely because it was not a conventionally learned move for the Petilil. Jade had to have been born with this. "Is this why you collect so many berries on the land bridge?" The Petilil shrugs like it's obvious, and clearly not a big deal to her.

Well, that's another move of hers unraveled. "Okay. Cool. Natural Gift. I will make a note of that."

Yache Berry x1 unceremoniously hurled at wild Taillow.

🏙️ Mauville City 🕙 Wed. Oct. 7th, Late Morning​

Marcella stifles a yawn as the tram pulls into her station with a shudder. They had a pretty late night on the roof already, but her poor sleep was exacerbated by her forcing herself to stay up even after she'd gotten off the roof and into her rented bed; she'd spent far too long reading about all the different berries and their effects—mostly in relation to this Natural Gift, but she's also learned quite a bit about their medicinal uses and stuff as a byproduct.

They now have a few hours to kill before the contest, so Marcella figures she should probably do some more last-minute practicing and prep work. She had already done her hair and makeup at the bed and breakfast before checking out, so that's taken care of, at least.

Before finding a place to start training, though, they should get some food. Real food.

She'd love to actually sit down at a nice restaurant, but to save time, the food court is probably a better idea. Turning away from all the boutiques on the way there is a challenge, but she makes her way to the cafeteria she has in mind with her wallet unscathed.

She browses the stalls, eager to find something affordable and tasty for the whole crew. There are so many options! Sushi is always a strong contender, but ooh, Corphish Boil2Go has a surf n' turf dish featured today. There's a lovely high tea set on display at Madame Treacle's, but it looks like it just comes with a bunch of dainty pastries and finger foods that aren't particularly filling, and she's looking for sustenance right now. She mentally bookmarks it for maybe an after-contest snack, though—not a bad-looking high tea set for a food court.

After the diet she's been on the last few days, everything here looks and smells amazing.

As she makes her way through the bustling café area trying to lock down an option, her excitement is very quickly extinguished by a familiar voice behind her.

"...Marcella?"

Her heart sinks. She doesn't have to look to know who it is, but she takes a deep breath and turns around. She knew this was coming eventually, but god, why now and here?

There's confusion and hurt in the chestnut-brown eyes staring back at her, the exact same shade of chestnut-brown as her own eyes.

"Avery." She greets her brother with a curt nod.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Ability: Prankster

Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough
Torment
Hone Claws

PEARLY
Clamperl, F

Ability: Rattled

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense
Scald
-----

MIDAS
Meowth, M

Ability: Technician

Pay Day
Scratch
Growl
Feint
Fake Out
-----

JADE
Petilil, F

Ability: Leaf Guard

Magical Leaf
Natural Gift
?
?
?
?

​

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

​

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)

Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf (

)

Safety Goggles (

)

Bright Powder (

)

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3

Quick Balls x 2

Net Balls x 5

Poké Balls x 8

Lum Berry x 2

Razz Berry x 2

Sitrus Berry

Oran Berry x 8

Occa Berry x 6

Yache Berry x 9 (-1)

Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue​

Trainer Info

Badges



​

 

[Juno]

[tab=backtostory6-1][/tab] [tab=pokemon6-1][/tab] [tab=diary6-1][/tab] [tab=inv6-1][/tab] [tab=id6-1][/tab]

​

6-1: Avery

🏙️ Mauville City 🕙 Wed. Oct. 7th, Late Morning​

It's been about two weeks since she's called or texted her brother back. Whoops.

"You've been dodging my calls and messages." Naturally, he wastes no time in pointing this out. No greeting, no pleasantries, nothing. Graceless. Marcella bristles at his accusatory tone.

"Hello, it's good to see you, too." She admits and denies nothing, responding only with a sarcastic greeting to show him she has manners, and she leans forward to give him a hug. He stiffly hugs her back, but she senses he's not ready to let the little 'two weeks with no communication' thing go.

"Where have you been?" He demands, right on cue.

"Come, now, you don't need to track my every move." She waves her hand dismissively as she seats herself at a small cafeteria table. "I'm not a child."

"Are you sure? Because adults are responsible enough to check in with one another, especially if they've been called and texted repeatedly. And I see the phone in your hand—you don't even have the excuse of accidentally smashing your phone on the pavement this time—"

She sighs. Come on, we're in public. "Avery, please. Can we not do this right now?"

"When, then? How do I know if I let you out of my sight again, you won't just disappear, and I won't hear from you for, like, half a month? Two weeks, Marcella! No updates, nothing—if you think you're an adult, act like one."

"I've been busy! It happens." She shoots back in a hushed tone as her face reddens. She would have let him have it and told him to just fuck off, but a few people from neighbouring tables have already turned to look as she's being admonished like a kid, so she tries to deescalate. "I just got too wrapped up with some stuff the last few days, okay? I'm sorry."

"Wrapped up with what? What have you even been doing—I even—I called Wally, right? Wally. Great guy, have a lot of admiration for him. Got his number years ago when I met him, never used it because I never wanted to bother him. I know he's busy." Here we go. Marcella rolls her eyes, but lets him have his cathartic rant since his voice is at a more acceptable volume level now. "Do you know how embarrassing it was to call someone I look up to, for the first time after all these years, because I can't find my little sister? But that was the last place I knew you were at, so fuck it, called Wally. And he said you'd left days ago, never came back for a rematch or anything, so I have no idea where you went from there.

"Then I call dad, know he's not your favourite person to call," He ticks off each point off his fingers as he continues. "But maybe I said something to set you off again the last time we spoke—Lord knows what—and you'd rather check in with him because I figured, 'hey, she probably has the decency to call one of her two living immediate family members to let us know how her travels are going, and that she's okay'. But no, he hadn't heard from you either. I don't know who you're with, I don't know where you are, I don't know what you're doing—"

"Contests." She blurted out, almost as a plea to shut him up. "I'm practicing for a contest. Happy?" He's clearly not, so she keeps going. "And—and then my phone died, and I was doing a lot of camping stuff between here and Littledale—oh, yeah, I was in Littledale for a bit, and no, I didn't fight Merry; that's part of why I didn't want to call you, I know you'd want me to try and fight Merry and I didn't want to tell you I fully passed up the opportunity to challenge a Gym. But I—I rediscovered contests, and I've been working really hard for one! I think I have a good shot this time." She finishes, glancing up to see if his expression had changed. "I wasn't doing it on purpose. I was busy, okay?"

He doesn't look fully appeased, but he relents, taking a deep breath as he puts his hands over his face. "Well, your phone wasn't dead the whole time, was it? You could have sent me one text. One." He finally says, after a sharp exhale. "Look, I'm glad you found something you're passionate about. I just don't know why you felt like you had to ignore me to do it. I mean, you're my sister, I'd support y—"

"Oh, please! You know exactly why." They're both surprised by her outburst, but she can't quite articulate why that struck a nerve, so they just stare at each other for a moment.

"I really don't." He finally says quietly. He looks annoyed. He looks disheartened. But he looks genuinely confused by that statement.

And that makes her angrier.

How does he not know?

"Because," She raises her voice, trying to figure out how to best spell this out for him. "You're a professional trainer and dad was a professional trainer, and now he wants me to be a professional trainer—and yet, at the same point in your journey as I am now, you had, what, three badges? Four? But it's been three weeks and I have nothing to show for it except one badge, and it's—Brawly's." She takes the Knuckle badge out of her purse and slides it across the table so forcefully, it drops to the tiled floor with a soft clink. "A six year old could have 'earned' this. I don't even know what I'd say when you call me for updates," She continues with a short, mirthless laugh. "I mean, what do I even tell you—"

"I don't know, Marcella—that you're having fun training for your contest? That you're having a good time?" He cuts her off, his expression twisting into one of frustration. "Look, it's not a competition between us—"

"Yes. It is!" She springs up to her feet, spitting those three words at him so loudly people are really looking now, but she doesn't care anymore. "It always has been. Maybe not to you—no, I know it isn't for you, because it's always been so easy for you. To be—better than me—" Oh, damn. Fuck. Stop. Marcella desperately tries to wick the tears out from under her eyes without ruining her makeup. She doesn't realize how much her family's expectations—her dad's expectations—had been weighing on her until she verbalizes it just now.

"Oh, Marcie, no..." Avery's face and voice soften as he also stands up to approaches her.

"Go get me some napkins!" She pushes him away as he tries to embrace her, pointing to a dispenser on the counter behind him. She hears herself coming across more petulant and childish than commanding, but it's hard to sound commanding when tears and snot are running down your face.

He returns with a handful of napkins, which she quickly grabs to salvage whatever is left of her mascara. Pulling his chair to her side of the table so they are sitting next to each other, Avery quietly listens as Marcella continues her rant. "I tried so hard to make my own way, to do my own thing. Something that's just mine and I was good at it, and then I turn 18 and dad tells me it's wrong and I can't be a model anymore if I don't get into design school. And I'm here, doing the same thing you did when you were fifteen, only slower and worse and I just keep disappointing dad—"

"Marcie, stop—"

"And I find the—the Pokémon contest thing and I wasn't good at it the first time and maybe I'm still not, yet—I don't know. But it's fun and I can be creative and it feels right again, but I don't think this is what dad wants from me either and I'm guilty and sad every day about it, so when you call, it feels like an extension of—"

"Marcie, stop. Look at me. Listen—" She sniffles grossly as she catches her breath, but she does as he says. "Fuck what dad wants."

Hearing that stated so plainly and calmly from the golden child is incredibly comical. She snorts out a laugh through the tears.

"I'm serious!" But he laughs, too, probably at how ridiculous she looks.

When they both calm down, he continues in a more serious tone. "I mean it—this is your life. Do what makes you happy. Whether it's going back to modeling, or you want to see this Pokémon contest business through." He bends down and picks the Knuckle Badge back off the ground and presses it into the palm of Marcella's hand. "Or maybe in another few weeks, you do want to give this badge journey another go. Try it. Do it. Or maybe you never want to do that again, and that's fine, too. You are just 18." A stark contrast to the 'you are 18 already' that she distinctly remembers her dad saying when she had been told to start her journey. The reframing takes a bit of the load off.

"You don't have to decide right now, what your path is. I don't know what my path is. I just like battling right now. And neither did dad! He's settled up in a nice corporate office now, isn't he? He was good at it, but he didn't stick with the trainer thing forever. It's a good experience to have, but it doesn't mean it has to be the path. So just... do things. See what you like.

"And I will be here for you. I support whatever you want to do. And if dad does too, that's great, but if he doesn't—"

"Fuck what dad wants."

"Exactly."

She smiles, resting her head on her brother's shoulder as she dries her eyes.

"You should talk to him though—I think you've misjudged him and his expectations. And me, and for that I'm sorry—I am—because it means I've not been a good enough brother if you don't know every day how proud I am of you." He continues earnestly, but Marcella lets out a soft 'tch'.

"I mean it, you are doing well for having been thrown into something you have absolutely no experience in, and with minimal instructions, I promise. Like, put me on the runway tomorrow—I'd flounder way worse, you know?"

She laughs at the imagery that evokes. "That can be arranged."

"Please don't."

Moments pass as they sit in silence, her head still on his shoulder.

"I've been so horrible to you," Marcella suddenly blurts out. To her surprise, Avery bursts out laughing.

"Yeah. Yeah... kind of. But now I know why. I'm sorry I didn't pick up on it sooner, but you're good at pretending you don't care. So. I just thought you hated me."

"I didn't hate you." She instinctively responds, but they both know she's not being completely honest. "Okay, I hated you a little. But not really. It's... you know."

"I know." He nods understandingly. "And... I wasn't calling you to harp on you about the badge journey—it was just... something we could talk about. Like... friends. It's the first thing we've had to talk about in a while. I was excited." He shrugs. "But I didn't know I was putting so much pressure on you, you know?"

"I know." She quietly echoes his earlier sentiment. "...I think we can be friends again."

She feels him shift and she finally removes her head from his shoulder to look up at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They smile at each other, and she sees Avery in a different light for the first time in years. Friends. It's been a long time since she'd considered him a friend.

His wholesome smile suddenly twists into a weird kind of grin, like he's trying not to laugh. "Well, Marcella—as your new friend, I have to tell you... okay, don't freak out when you see yourself, but—" He unlocks his phone to open the camera app, then holds up the screen so she could see herself. Marcella gasps.

"Oh, no no no!" She exclaims, ripping the phone from his hands to examine the damage that had been done to her eye makeup in more detail. "My contest—oh, God, I hope I can fix this. This is all your fault. I blame you." She adds, only somewhat jokingly.

He finally bursts out laughing. "Okay, alright, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

Marcella exhales sharply. "Well, I was going to eat and the do some contest practice—so I guess buy me lunch and help me train."

"Done." He responds simply. He stands up and holds out a hand to help her up, which she accepts.

"Oh, one more thing."

"Yeees, what else?"

"Will you come watch my contest later?"

Avery smiles, pulling her in for a hug. "'Course, baby sis. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Ability: Prankster

Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Sand Attack
Play Rough
Torment
Hone Claws

PEARLY
Clamperl, F

Ability: Rattled

Clamp
Water Gun
Whirlpool
Iron Defense
Scald
-----

MIDAS
Meowth, M

Ability: Technician

Pay Day
Scratch
Growl
Feint
Fake Out
-----

JADE
Petilil, F

Ability: Leaf Guard

Magical Leaf
Natural Gift
?
?
?
?

​

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery

​

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)

Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf (

)

Safety Goggles (

)

Bright Powder (

)

Quick Claw

Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3

Quick Balls x 2

Net Balls x 5

Poké Balls x 8

Lum Berry x 2

Razz Berry x 2

Sitrus Berry

Oran Berry x 8

Occa Berry x 6

Yache Berry x 9 (-1)

Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue​

Trainer Info

Badges



​

 

[Caesar]

A JP Featuring Aquacorde as Marie Rachelle Mocinno​

Saturday, October 10th - Mauville

"Marie Rachelle Mocinno." The curly-haired girl introduced herself with confidence and an outstretched hand. "I'd be interested in a doubles match, if you have no preference."

"Clint Shaw," muttered the boy in the cowboy hat, shaking the hand that was placed in front of him, firm grip just as his father always told him to do.

"I'm more of a single battle kind of guy myself."

Marie tilted her head, sharp eyes roving over him. "Singles will do, then. Two each?"

"Two works for me," Clint answered.

A loud voice came on through the intercom, "Marie Mocinno and Clint Shaw please enter the field."

"Sounds like they're looking for us, try and go easy on me out there."

"Only if you extend the same courtesy." Marie threw a quick show of teeth in his direction as they entered the field in stride. "But this is, of course, a tournament."

Places taken on either side of the field, the referee counted down to the reveal of two opposing Pokémon- for Clint, his Charmeleon, and for Marie, the same Xatu Sergei had noted.

"Charge up, Tuie!" Marie called across the battlefield, and the Xatu drew flecks of glowing power into itself and began to lift off on outstretched wings.

"No sense in waiting, Charmeleon start off with a Dragon Breath," Clint called out his first command. Charmeleon stepped back, took a deep breath and forced out a purple gust from his mouth, scoring a hit on Tuie, unable to interrupt her gathering of power, but managed to alter the trajectory of her levitation- mostly back rather than up, sending the bird nearly into her trainer.

"Teleport above, then!" Marie gestured upwards and Tuie vanished- a split second and she reappeared to hover well above Charmeleon, only losing height as the power began to gather into her once more.

"Charmeleon, Smokescreen," Clint exclaimed. Charmeleon, using the flame on the end of his tail started to puff out a cloud of smoke, large enough for Charmeleon to hide in. He didn't have the high ground, but he was still going to make Tuie work if she wanted to land some hits.

Marie stalled once more, though, until Tuie drew power again. Unfortunately the Smokescreen remained, and with it in place Tuie couldn't rely on her powers- line of sight was important, after all. "I think we can wait it out, just hover."

Charmeleon, under Clint's direction kept up the Smokescreen, continuing to obfuscate the Xatu's view of Charmeleon, and that left the two Pokemon, and their trainers in a bit of a holding pattern. One would have to break the pattern, either Tuie would have to come down to earth, or Charmeleon's smoke screen would subside.

Marie was apparently less patient than Clint, but she also seemed to suddenly remember something important. "Ominous Wind!" she exclaimed with a snap of her fingers, and Tuie obliged with a flap of her wings. Eerie energy pushed away bits of the thick smoke, and only by dropping lower could Tuie truly clear a patch in the middle of the field.

As Tuie cleared the smoke away from the field, in doing so she brought herself back into range for Charmeleon, who squatted down, and then leaped up into the air, jaws open wide as flames started to form inside Charmeleon's jaws, which clamped onto one of Tuie's ankles, singeing the ankle, and Charmeleon's weight bringing the Xatu closer to the ground. Xatu flapped her wings intensely in an attempt to shake off her attacker, which eventually worked, dropping Charmeleon a short distance to the ground.

"Okay! Stored Power!"

A spike of pink-purple light stabbed Charmeleon in the chin, sending him reeling, and Tuie tried to gain height back once more.

Charmeleon, after taking a tumble following the stored power attack, managed to regain his footing, and set the escaping Xatu in his sights. "Fire Fang!" Simple enough directions, Charmeleon snarled, then charged at Tuie, once again getting a hold of Tuie with a fire fang, this time Charmeleon was able to ground Tuie, both Pokemon falling to the ground together, smacking down onto the battlefield surface.

"Just- Stored Power again!" Marie lost confidence as Tuie lost height, burning fangs fastened to her leg, but stubbornness yet won out- the same strategy produced a questionably angled hit on Charmeleon's flank. The attack knocked Charmeleon off his center of gravity, and he tumbled back again. Charmeleon was angered after that attack, letting a snort of fire out of his nose as he rose to his feet.

"Charmeleon, Dragon Breath this time," Clint, at this point enjoying the fight he found himself in, directing his Pokemon's next move. Charmeleon braced, and let out a gust of purple fire towards Tuie, who was attempting to gain the aerial advantage once again. The Dragon Breath brought Tuie back down to earth, and the purple flames had caught on to Tuie, who intensely flapped her wings to extinguish the flames.

"Multitask! Ominous Wind!"

The flapping brought to life another pressing, eerie gust that pulled the clinging flames from the Xatu. Her feathers ruffled as new power sunk in and Marie's sharp grin glinted in the afternoon light. One more hit, then Tuie could take out whatever else this cowboy had in one shot.

Charmeleon stood steady in place, weathering the storm surrounding him, shielding the fire on his tail from the gusts. Tuie was unable to get off the ground due to concentrating all of the airflow from her attack in Charmeleon's direction, giving the lizard one good chance to get an attack off.

"Slash," was the move Clint picked, and Charmeleon was off. Quickly closing the gap between the two Pokemon, Charmeleon swung his arm back and forward again, landing a direct hit on Tuie, knocking the bird Pokemon down for good this time. Charmeleon was standing nearby, breathing heavily but still managing to stand upright. One down, one to go, Clint thought to himself.

Marie recalled Tuie with gritted teeth and tightened her fists before unhooking another PokéBall from her necklace. "Stunnie, Water Gun!"

The Stunfisk picked up the command as soon as it appeared, jet of water spitting straight into Charmeleon. The fire type Pokemon was not a fan of the water type attack, dropping to his knees as he was hit by the spray. Clint could see the flame on Charmeleon's tail weakening, but the Pokemon still had a little fight left in it. Considering the water type move last used, Clint figured to deviate from the fire fang's he had relied on so far.

"Slash," was his command, and Charmeleon, dealing with some pain still chased down Stunnie and slashed him. This slash looked less potent than the one that took Tuie out of the fight, both in the slower swing from Charmeleon and the muted reaction from Stunnie, who flipped back but was able to maintain its composure. Charmeleon seemed to get the worst of the attack, as a shock went through Charmeleon following the attack, and after the shock Charmeleon was unable to move, as if he was stuck in time. Clint concluded that Charmeleon must be paralyzed, terrible time for that to happen. Especially since a very angry-looking Stunfisk took advantage of the condition, glowing bright yellow for a moment before releasing a zap of shocking electricity, enough to drop Charmeleon to his knees and then to the ground.

"S***," was all Clint had to say, returning Charmeleon to his Pokeball, then re-attaching that Pokeball to his holster. Clint grabbed the other Pokeball he had on his holster for this match, and released his Ralts onto the battlefield.

"Let's start off with Double Team," was Clint's first request for Ralts. Ralts responded by creating multiple illusions of himself, in attempt to trick Stunnie. From what Clint had heard about Stunfisk, they weren't the rocket scientists of the Pokemon world, so Clint was fairly confident his idea would work.

Neither was Stunnie's trainer exactly a rocket scientist, but Discharge was wide-ranging enough to dispel at least the illusions on the front lines. While the discharge was happening, Clint had the real Ralts Teleport out of range, leaving the copies to take on the shock wave, while Ralts re-appeared behind Stunnie, and used Confusion, sending a shock wave of his own at Stunnie, causing the Stunfisk to wince in pain.

"It's okay! Charge again!"

The electric-yellow once again engulfed the Stunfisk, but this time he didn't have the lenience of paralysis to aid him. Clint noted how both of his opponent's Pokemon relied on techniques to raise their attack's strength. Clint would have to move quickly or risk a potential disadvantage.

"Confusion," Clint commanded again, Ralts taking action and touching his hands to his temple and sending out another attack, causing Stunnie to flop around in pain for a brief moment. His angry eyes widened and darted around the field, and a call for Discharge went unanswered as the flat fish slapped his tail against the ground and jumped high- a perfectly executed dive into solid ground.

Signs of confusion, let's make this problem worse, Clint thought to himself. He told Ralts to use double team, that compounded with Stunnie's confused status should make for an interesting situation. The Stunfisk flinched and jumped, trying to track every movement of every clone, and while he did manage to eventually squeeze his eyes shut and let electricity fly in all directions, those eyes stayed shut well after the move's impact wore off.

Ralts ended up getting hit by that attack, standing there jolted in place as electricity coursed through that tiny body of his. Ralts was able to shake it off after a couple of seconds, and went back on the offensive. Draining Kiss was the next move his trainer picked, the name of the move made Clint cringe a little, it felt weird saying in front of such a large crowd, he felt his tough facade slip away as he said it, but Ralts went to work anyways, Ralts blowing a kiss, and a pink heart floated over to Stunnie, transferring some sort of pink energy from Stunnie into the heart, before the heart returned to Ralts, rejuvenating Ralts slightly. Again, still felt weird for Clint to command. Stunnie's eyes opened and disgust illuminated his fishy features, followed quickly by true illumination from a bolt of electricity that veered wide.

Across the field, Marie clutched at her necklace, not even trying to dispel the harsh frown wrinkling her face. Clint kept up the pressure, calling for Ralts to hit Stunnie with another Confusion, once again inflicting pain on Stunnie's brain. A wild jumping slap with a tail in attempted retaliation did nothing but plant the Stunfisk directly into the ground once more, and a wave of electricity from that spot was weak and uncertain and didn't even reach Ralts.

Clint kept up the offensive, he felt he had his opponent right where he wanted them. He had Ralts used Confusion once again, causing Stunnie to wraith around the battlefield in pain, and Ralts followed that up with another Double Team, making it even harder for the confused Stunfisk to figure out what was going on in the fight.

Marie's commands went alternately unheard and unexecuted and the flustered girl could do nothing but watch her Pokémon struggle. Ralts used Confusion once again, continuing to batter Stunnie with a barrage of psychic energy. Seeing Stunnie essentially floundering around aimlessly, Ralts used confusion again, and that seemed to seal the deal. Stunnie had one eye opening moment of realization, then flopped down onto the battlefield, remaining on the ground. Ralts stood patiently in front of Stunnie, waiting for his trainer's next command. But Clint didn't dial up another attack, he simply waited patiently for his opponent to recall her Pokemon.

It took a moment.

But the referee called it, Marie pulled her Stunfisk back, and the two met in the middle of the field for a handshake. Marie's smile didn't reach her eyes and her congratulations rung hollow.

Clint nodded as he shook her hand, thanked her for the battle and wished her good luck on the rest of her journey. From there Clint made his way to the exit, throwing a tip of his hat at the camera before returning to the dressing room. Sure the hat tip was a little overconfident, especially this early on but Clint was feeling good so far.

The same could not be said for his opponent, who he could see leaving the tournament site entirely.

​

Team & Inventory:

Spoiler:

Blaze|Brave| Moves: Ember|Dragon Breath|Bite|Smokescreen|Fire Fang|Slash

Overgrow|Sassy| Moves: Leaf-age|Detect|Quick Attack|Double Kick|Assurance|Bullet Seed

Water Absorb|Quiet| Moves: Hypnosis|Water Gun|Pound|Mud Shot

Synchronize|Gentle| Moves: Confusion|Double Team|Teleport|Growl|Draining Kiss
Inventory:

$28,500
2x Potions
1x Pokeballs
5x Iapapa Berries
10x Oran Berries
4x Normal Gem
Sceptilite
Gengarite
Thunder Stone
Water Stone
TM Protect
TM Bullet Seed
TM Rock Smash
TM Low Kick
TM Grass Knot
TR Sludge Bomb

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

 

[Groc]

Edison Kintobor
Sunday, October 11th; evening
Mauville City

---

After the Tournament ended, Edison made his way back to the Pokémon Center to rest and review the footage he'd taken. During this time, Tom and Bug forcibly leave their Cherish Balls while Ed is looking over his notes. In particular, he's reviewing his battle with Arthur, both his shortest battle and the one he was least in control of.

Tom gently grabs Ed's wrist, pulling his attention away from his Holotch and over to the Joltik on his shoulder. She wastes no time in laying into him, and her barrage of squeaks and chirps is probably quite colorful, but Ed doesn't understand her language.

"I understand you're upset, but you realize we weren't going to win them all, right? I never took you for such a spirited battler, though."

Bug puffs up her tiny cheeks in frustration, leaping for Ed's hand. He brings his other hand down to swat her before she bites him, having grown accustomed to her usual method of expressing displeasure, but Tom catches his hand before he can make contact with Bug, whom he simultaneously grabs with his Telekinesis.

Ed is surprised by this, as Tom rarely intervenes so directly. The Golett lets go of Bug and Ed, stepping back and slowly putting his hand to his chin, much like Ed is wont to do. He points to Bug, then taps his own head. He points to Ed, then taps his head again. He then gestures to himself, then raises his arms and flexes.

Ed watches, fascinated. This is the most he's ever heard Tom say at once, possibly more than he's ever said in all the time Ed's known him combined. Even Bug is holding still and watching.

Tom goes to pick up a chair, but pretends he can't do it. He moves Bug onto it, then slowly lifts it a little. Finally, he grabs the chair Ed is sitting in and slowly lifts it with Ed still in it. He sets it down gently, then gingerly taps Ed on the forehead. He covers Ed's Holotch with one hand, shaking his head sadly, then moves Ed's hand onto his shoulder, reaching out and putting Ed's other hand on Bug. He looks Ed in the eye and nods once, then steps back and resumes his customary stoic stance.

"...huh." Ed moves his hand to his chin, processing that. "I wish I could understand you better, Automaton."

Bug covers her face with her tiny claws, letting out a long groan.

"Hold on, Lady Bug. I think I understood most of it. He's right. I joined this tournament for selfish reasons, to spectate and obtain data first-hand. I never asked if any of you even wanted to, or how you might feel about it. But you two gave it your all, like you always do. This was your chance to test your might as a team, and I wasn't taking it seriously. I was just holding you back. That's why you acted on your own."

He realizes he's never asked his team what they wanted out of his journey. He'd never even considered it anything but that: his journey. Neo had always gone along with his experiments with enthusiasm, Addie was just a baby who just wanted to spend time with him, and Gremlin just wanted to have fun, although she's started to bond a bit with Ed and his other teammates.

But Tom and Bug had specific goals in mind when they'd joined him. They wanted to leave New Mauville, to go out and explore and get stronger. And Ed was treating this all like a game. Not just the Tournament, but even the Gyms, the Badges. He's more interested in experimenting with moves and seeing what strategies professionals utilized.

Maybe it's time to change that. He owes that to his team. Maybe he owes that to himself.

He looks up from his musings to see Tom and Bug looking at him expectantly. Perhaps they'd come to the same conclusion as he had, and were just waiting for him to catch up. Or maybe he's just easy to read.

"Okay, I think it's time we focus on our mission. Any idea where we should start?"

"Pardon me for intruding, good sir, but I do believe you're a familiar face!" An unfamiliar voice chimes in. Ed looks up to see an older man in a shirt and tie approaching him. Sunglasses hide his eyes, but his gray mustache makes his smile seem more inviting.

He looks like a salesman. Ed doesn't trust him.

"By my stars, you're Edison Kintobor! Saw your matches at the Winstrate Cup! Not many make it to the finals of their bracket, you know!"

"There are four brackets. Eight people make it to the finals each month."

The man pauses at that. "Ah. No pulling the wool over your eyes, eh? A smart man, a man of numbers! I won't beat around the bush. I'm Clyde. Folks call me Clyde the Guide, and I couldn't help but notice your matches out there. If you need an agent, someone to help you get your name out there, I'm your guy."

An agent? Ed looks to Bug and Tom, who are eyeing Clyde with similar distrust. "What are you suggesting?"

"Here, have a gift. Consider it an incentive." Clyde pulls a bottle of water from his bag, tossing it to Ed. "Water's good to hydrate. You gotta stay hydrated. Some guys'll say put stuff in the water, but you gotta just drink the water. They got all these schools teachin' about the pocket monsters but none teachin' about the real monster: dehydration. Drink your water, yo. I hope anyone hearing this goes and gets some water. Drink it up. Yum. Anyway…"

Ed looks at the bottle in confusion. It's one of those name brand mineral waters, Aquafresh, and he thinks he remembers seeing that name on the wall during the tournament. "Was that an ad read? Are you trying to sell me something?"

Clyde shakes his head. "You got a good face. Corporate sponsors are always looking for new faces. All you need is a good suit."

Ed bristles slightly. "Please tell me you aren't suggesting I have poor fashion sense."

"Don't like suits? Fine we nix the suit. You still got a good face. Faces don't need a suit, just a head of hair to go on top. BLAMMO, you got that in SPADES."

"Okay, we're done here." Ed has had quite enough of this man. "You've made your case, but not your point, and I'd like you to leave."

Clyde takes a step back, holding his hands up. "Okay, fine, I know when I'm beat. But take my advice, Champ. You could go places, you put your mind to it. Maybe work on your look. What are you going for, steampunk? Victorian gentleman? Mad scientist? At least pick a vest that doesn't have glitter all over it."

Ed watches him leave, then looks down at his outfit. This isn't the first time he's heard comments about it, but he's fairly certain he doesn't have... oh, no, there it is. There's glitter on him.

He sighs as he returns Tom and Bug, gathering his things. He'll be sure to wash everything twice tonight to remove as much glitter as he can. This is all Miss Virtua's fault, she probably designed the Glitter Dynamo to shed glitter as a prank.

He makes sure to go through all his pockets, making sure there's nothing that he doesn't want washed in there. He still has that scrap paper with numbers and addresses on it, his badges, Marie's bandanna... and some sort of pill in a small case? He looks it over, recognizing it as an Ability Capsule for Pokémon, but doesn't remember picking it up. Another gift from Virtua?

It gives him an idea, though. Forgetting why he was emptying his pockets, he goes through his bag, looking for his TM Case. He has quite a few good ones, and it's giving him some ideas. And with this capsule... he'll need to give June a call. Lady Bug will need some training, and who better to assist than a Bug scientist?

 

[Aquacorde]

Marie Rachelle Mocinno

Knuckle, Dell
₽33,000
Sunday Oct 11, Afternoon
Mauville

Chapter 6 #8 - Called In

Marie spends the morning in bed, vaguely skimming the news and scrolling through Insta and generally doing nothing with her time until it's time to tune into Edison's next battle- well, the last of them, it turns out. Turns out Edison was steamrolled by some intense Kalosian.

Still, he did better than her. Sunny did better than her.

Marie shoves her face into a pillow and screams.

The chime of her phone breaks its way through and she answers diligently, though with a crackling voice and no idea who is calling. "Marie Rachelle Mocinno."

"Hey there, Marie!" The familiar cheer of her dad's favorite assistant is a relief to hear- she doesn't know what she would have done if her mother had been on the line. "You're in Mauville, yeah?"

Taylor rarely asks questions he doesn't know the answers to. Anyone who tries to lie to the man finds themselves very quickly in deep trouble, his friendly demeanor and quick procurement of evidence crowding them into a corner without mercy; Taylor will hold a metaphorical- and probably physical- knife to anyone's throat with a smile. He's always been the best at keeping her absent-minded father accountable; keeping track of Alton's children goes hand in hand.

"Yes. Just resting at the Pokémon Center today. Why?"

Taylor tsks at her. "You haven't been keeping up with your father very well, miss ma'am. You know he worries."

"I've texted him!" Marie protests.

"Briefly, infrequently, and you did in fact promise to be more communicative." She did. She knows. "He'd have told you himself if you were- there's a surprise for you at M2HQ! When will you be stopping by?"

No room for protest; Taylor never leaves any. It's okay, she supposes, because a surprise piques her interest enough to roll her out of bed. "Ah. I suppose I can swing by after lunch?"

"Oh, no, you must be sick of Pokémon Center food. Take advantage of the company lunch, c'mon."

Marie smiles, perhaps for the first time this morning. "Center food isn't so bad, but I'll never say no to variety."

⟡ ⟡ ⟡ ⟡ ⟡​

She hasn't actually been to Mocinno Hoenn Headquarters before, but the hexagonal tower is very much the same as the one she's grown up with in Goldenrod. From the ground up: twenty-seven floors of mixed commercial and residential space, ten more set aside for the company itself, and a public rooftop plaza featuring a high-end restaurant. Marie shows her identification at floor 32's desk and is ushered into the Mocinno Corporation's mixed-use space- that, at least, is different. Goldenrod's is all the way up on 37.

Different, too, is the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling windows and the warm breeze floating through wide balcony doors. The layout, the furnishings, the decor- colorful and open, reflective of tropical pride rather than reserved professionalism. The familiarity that has been bolstering her steps shakes and crumbles- until this moment, in this place, it hadn't particularly struck her that Hoenn truly is a foreign region. She's noticed accents, sure, and tourism, and more coastline, but there's something about something so familiar being shifted that she finds her step faltering, a sudden vast ocean pooling out into oblivion from where she stands. She's suddenly so tired. She hadn't known she was treading water.

A pair of arms catch her and press her into their owner's shoulder and no, she didn't know the surprise was going to be her dad, but she's so grateful that he's here in this moment where she's so tired and so off-balance and so desperate for familiarity and she clings to him, greetings and mild scolding lost in the wash of relief. Alton steers her to a small lounge where food is waiting, a dish seasoned heavily with lime and ginger and it doesn't taste like home but it tastes right and halfway through her meal it's her own tears that interrupt their light conversation.

"Is it that good, or that bad?" Alton teases gently, but frowns when Marie simply shakes her head and sets down her chopsticks.

"I- miss home," she chokes out. "I miss Goldenrod and Alty and Benny and Bitty and Olivine and Johto, it's too hot to be October and everything is hard and I'm not getting better at this- I have four Pokémon and only one is good at battling and only two gym badges and I only got to the second round of the tournament and-"

"I saw," Alton says quietly, and Marie freezes, mouth open. She hadn't wanted him to see, not that, not- "I saw that you have at least two Pokémon that are already good at battling. I saw that you, um, 'steamrolled' your first opponent. I saw that you fell apart when Tuie's primary strategy did. I saw that your Stunfisk nearly won it anyway." Alton sets his own chopsticks down with a neat click. "Tuie is very powerful, even moreso than when I last saw her, and you direct her well, in one difficult to overcome strategy. You've been overly reliant on that combination, I believe."

There is no argument to be had against that. Alton continues in Marie's sullen silence. "I do not know your other Pokémon, so I will comment on what I've seen. Your Stunfisk fights well, but the same strategy you use with Tuie is not as effective with him. Tuie herself is reliant solely on her primary strategy, in any case. Pokémon are only as good as their trainers, Marie. And you are indeed called a trainer for a reason: you must train them to execute effective combinations and adapt to new experiences."

It burns, to hear her father tell her she's a bad trainer, but Alton doesn't allow her to hide her bitten lip and falling tears. A palm tips her jaw up, though Marie still looks everywhere but his eyes. "But you are getting better. You have two badges. You made it past the first round of a tournament- many of whose participants have higher badge counts and more extensive backgrounds in training than you do. You have four Pokémon, and they're all alive and healthy. You have supported yourself and guided yourself through an unfamiliar region. This is what you've accomplished in less than a month."

Perspective. She always does lack it, which her father tells her is a matter of experience and her mother tells her is a matter of sense.

"You have learned enough now to realize how unskilled you are," Alton says, warm tone soothing the observation, "but that does not mean improvement is impossible." He takes his hand from her cheek and picks up his chopsticks once more. "You are, of course, welcome to stop and come home at any point, for any reason. Or perhaps call your brothers, if you miss them. They miss you too."

Marie sniffles. "I don't want Mom to butt in if they're talking to me."

"Is that why you have put off calling them?" Alton pinches the bridge of his prominent nose, as if Marie is giving him a headache. She's done so often enough. "I will speak to her. Or you could possibly bother to keep track of the weeks and call when they are with me."

"I hardly know what day it is half the time," Marie groans.

"That phone has a calender." Alton reminds patiently. "You managed to use it well enough to get to a tournament on time."

Marie grumbles. Alton blinks as if remembering something. "Ah. I would have mentioned, if you'd informed me. Perhaps next time it will be better if you enter under a pseudonym."

A shock ripples through her, and some of the bitter hurt still lingering forces its way though her teeth. "Why? Bringing shame on the family name, am I?"

"What- Marie, it is nothing to do with that. This is for your own peace."

Huh?

"Mauville is the largest city in this region. People from all over Hoenn visit with frequency, and understand how to navigate the unique address system." Marie waves her chopsticks in circles- get on with it. "Our name is not common, and despite this building's name oft being shortened to 'MH2Q', its official name is still ours. Here, in Hoenn, our name is known outside of the industry. And you will be recognized."

"But- that's who I am?" She hadn't considered this. "I can't just be someone else," She'll be recognized? After such a poor performance? "I'm Marie Rachelle Mocinno, that's how I always-" What will people want? What will they say? "- was taught to introduce myself, name and handshake. Business-like!" Marie shakes her head fiercely. "I can't just change that. No, I- I'll deal with recognition. It will be fine."

Alton sits in contemplative silence for a moment. Marie's stiff posture relaxes only when he deigns to say: "It is your choice, of course. I simply wish for you to make an informed one."

"Thank you for the information, then." Marie sighs.

"Your journey is very different than mine." She is hit with a sudden jolt of deja vu- Wally had said something similar, hadn't he? "You are the one who knows it, and yourself, best. Advice is just that- advice. Accept it, contemplate it, and choose what applies based on your own experience."

Spoiler: Team

Pokémon On Hand

Tuie ⟡ Xatu ⟡ Female ⟡ Magic Bounce ⟡
Air Slash // Teleport // Stored Power // Cosmic Power // Ominous Wind // Confuse Ray

Stunnie ⟡ Stunfisk ⟡ Male ⟡ Static ⟡
Sucker Punch // Mud Shot // Thundershock // Discharge // Water Gun // Mud Sport // Charge

Cutie ⟡ Alolan Exeggutor ⟡ Male ⟡ Frisk ⟡
Bullet Seed // Hypnosis // Reflect // Leech Seed // Dragon Hammer // Barrage

Pokie ⟡ Slowpoke ⟡ Male ⟡ Own Tempo ⟡
Disable // Confusion // Yawn // Water Pulse // Growl // Curse

Spoiler: Inventory

Trainers' License [Johto and Hoenn] ⟡

TM Magical Leaf ⟡
Empty PokéBalls x 3 ⟡
5x Chesto Berries ⟡
2x Fluffy Tail ⟡

Sunscreen ⟡
Berry-Print Bikini ⟡
Beach Towel ⟡
Oversized Sunglasses ⟡
Large But Lightweight Backpack ⟡
Rechargeable Battery + Charging Port Housing ⟡
Lidded Pot, Dishes, Chopsticks, Spoon ⟡
Camp Stove ⟡
Soap, Washcloth, Towel ⟡

Spoiler: Contacts

FAMILY
Dad ⟡ Mom ⟡ Alty ⟡ Benny ⟡ Bitty

PEERS
Edison ⟡ Natsuko (via insta) ⟡ Sunny ⟡ Van

OTHER
Brawly ⟡ Brendan ⟡ Wally