Showgan -- Standing On Edge (Invitational)

[Light_Azumarill]

OOC: Darn you Alter! Your trip sounds funner!!! >=| /jealousy

Okay, well, I dunno where that came from! *innocent face* Anywhoo, have fun on your trip! I know I will have fun on mine. Although, since you'll be gone for so long, you must promise that you shall think up some super-duper awesome posts to do when you come back! If you don't then... you'll get slapped in the face with your own red herring! XD

I shall help care for teh wittle RPs when I come back. :3 *salutes*


Zachary
=============

Smiling, Zachary nodded in response to Amelia's words, "Why wouldn't I ask? After all, that's what people do when they care for someone." He continued to eat, but looked up when Rai announced he had to go wash up.

Zachary looked down at himself, suddenly feeling dirtier than he had a moment before. Rai always was obsessed with cleanliness; it must have been those manners again. What did it matter if you got a bit of dirt on your food anyway? Would it really harm you that much? These people that thought up manners were really strange. Not that Rai was, he was just an innocent bystander, stuck in the strange world that these rich people created.

OOC: So it's short... I couldn't think of anything! >.>

 

[Charon]

{ooc| Short post just to keep the rp moving; I have SIX essays to write. Bloody hell.}

Once again, Fang translated. It was almost like having a babelfish lodged in your ear, with him whispering away frantically every time to a pokemon spoke. It was certainly interesting, but by no means convininent.

Maixe nodded at the Azumarill's words. "No problem, I'll handle it..." she reached into her bag and pulled out at pokeball. "Azumarill, go stand by the door so she can't escape. Fang, you do the same, mark the windows..." she ordered fiercely, and without even waiting for their replies, she tossed the pokeball.
The Grimer appeared in a burst of crimson light. What-A-Mess stretched appreciatively, her mouth a long, thin, contented smile. {Mmmm...} she mumbled, scumming up the floor. Maxie pretended not to notice. She didn't smell any more, but she still seemed to make a mess.
"What-A-Mess!" Maixe ordering, keeping her voice low, "Go attack that plant pot! Body slam the Murkrow inside!"
The poison-type threw itself towards the plant pot, ready to crush the murkrow behind it.

~+~+~+~+~

Jink jumped about two inches off the ground, slamming into the metal cieling with a clank. He turned around, only to see a meowth sitting behind him. He gave a little sigh of relief.
{Hey, which way to the pokecenter entrance-room-thing?} he asked obliviously

 

[Alter Ego]

{I-umm...I'll try.} Ruru replied as Maxie suddenly started giving off orders, the Azumarill rushing off towards the pokémon center doors and evoking even more confusion from Aniki's side, the boy was not even given the time to ask about this, however, as What-A-Mess proceeded to lunge at a potted plant nearby, causing it to fall down on its side with a loud clunk, although luckily it seemed to remain intact, the damage amounting to a bit of soil spreading across the floor.

The property damage, that is.

{Ackh-ghack! Filthy!} the Murkrow cried out in surprise, struggling to maintain her breath with the addition of a very sticky bulk on her shoulders, {Filthy thing must go!} she declared furiously, suddenly spreading her wings out as wide as her current position would allow her, a thin but clearly visible nimbus of psychic energy surrounding her body before proceeding to slam into the poison type, the power of the Psychic attack knocking the Grimer a fair bit away, which granted the bird pokémon enough time to get airborne, her black wings flapping furiously as she darted about in search of an exit, causing considerable stirr among the pokémon center patrons in the process. Noticing that the main entrance was barred, the Murkrow let out an indignant squawk, performing a u-turn in mid-air as she darted towards the staircase leading up in an attempt to shake Fang off and so manage an escape through one of the upper storey windows.

Things didn't exactly go according to plan, however, as while Aniki might not have been quite clear on what was going on, he certainly knew a fugitive when he saw one, and this particular fugitive was all too familiar.

"Kotetsu! Go!"

With the flick of a wrist and a quick flash of light, a sizeable Scizor materialized among the confused crowd, quickly taking in its surroundings as it awaited orders.

"Stop that Murkrow! Agility and Pursuit!"

The bug pokémon nodded, charging forward with quickly increasing velocity and soon catching up to the bird pokémon, catching her off guard with a quick, albeit none too powerful, jab to the back which was soon followed by the far firmer grip of its large, metal-covered claw.

"The next time you plan to do something like that, would you mind informing me?" Aniki asked Maxie, although the question was more rhetorical than anything else, and the whole question was posed in a completely earnest manner. There were, however, other questions at hand as well, the first one of them soon becoming posed by none other than the resident nurse who, while not quite possessing the intimidating stature of nurse Gwendolyn, certainly seemed to command an air of authority as she walked forward, eyebrows raised.

"What's going on here?" she asked sternly, eyeing the both of them, "Why are you attacking that poor Murkrow? This is a place of healing and sanctuary, not a battlefield. You do know that attempting to capture pokémon in pokémon centers is illegal, don't you?"

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

{Way down the other end.} Kuro replied to Jink's question, still trying to decide what do or not do concerning the Bellsprout, {But I've got to ask you something before I get more specific, you see, my trainer got all over-concerned about you just running off like that, so I need to ask, are you okay?} the tone of his voice conveyed complete and utter disinterest concerning the particular subject, {Just say yes.} the Meowth added, {It will make things a lot easier.}

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

"Right, of course." Amelia replied, blushing slightly at Zachary's comment, "Speaking of caring...I/I wonder if Kuro has found that Bellsrpout yet?" she knew that it was an awkward switch of subject, but getting overly emotional with Zachary just didn't seem like an option right now, not with all these other people about.

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

"Ah, finally..."

Rai's sigh of relief was clearly audbile as he felt the shower water run over him for the second time of this day, the boy shutting his eyes to properly relish the pleasantly warm and cleansing feeling that the water brought, briefly shutting out the rest of the world.

'So dirty...' he thought for himself, shuddering slightly at the mental image of himself in his previous state, 'Mother would surely have scolded me to no end if she had ever caught me looking like that...' the boy took a pause, a slight frown coming upon him at the thought, 'Yes, mother indeed...I wonder...wonder what she's up to...' he sighed, this time in a far more melancholy fashion, as he came to think of what Isabel would say if she saw his new friends. Kayley...well, her father was a big bussinessman, right? He supposed that she would be okay in his mother's book, but Jena...he doubted it, especially with that whole Mareep rearer story she maintained too. Isabel had never been fond of those she considered weak, be it in terms of mind, body, or spirit, and with Jena's lack of confidence...he shook his head. No, she would probably never be accepted, and probably gain some irreparrable trauma to boot. And Zachary...slum child, loud, clumsy, ignorant of ettiquette...not to mention Maxie who didn't even have that even temper that Zach possessed, no...it wouldn't be a pretty sight if those met, that was for sure. In fact, there was only one thing that Rai could imagine Isabel considering a greater sin...a deep-seated loathing which had become clear to the boy only a few years back...

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

"The indignity!"

Isabel's voice cut loud and clear through the silence of the training room, causing the twelve-year old Rai to shudder further, as if the cold in the ice-riddled chamber wasn't bad enough.

"Listen closely, dear." Isabel continued, turning her attention to Rai, her carefully controlled tone trembling with rage "I don't want you associating with those people! Ever!"

"What people, mother?" the boy asked, completely bevildered, "You don't mean the Leuxleys, do you? Because I promised Marin-"

"No! Not the Leuxleys, fool boy!" Isabel interrupted, "The Minanes! Those dirty, low-born savages in charge of that hapless abomination they so ironically call a 'school'! That-that Zhena woman actually had the nerve to insult my disciples, and she implied that I was-I was old! Past my prime days, even! Why she even insinuated that she could defeat me! The nerve!" Isabel's gaze was now thoroughly hateful, "And that is why, Raistlin LeBlaque, you will never greet, speak to, approach, or in anyway acknowledge the existence of her or that hopeless washout of a daughter of hers. Is that clear?"

"I-" Rai stammered, trying to recover from this sudden assault, even though it hadn't even really been directed at him in the first place, "Yes, mother." he concluded, not seeing any way out of the predicament.

"Good." Isabel replied, a faint smile crossing her features, "Then it is time to start your training again."

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

Rai shuddered slightly as he stepped out of the shower again, proceeding to put on a fresh set of clothes once more. 'Yes, it could be worse...' he added for himself, 'One of them could have been a Minane...'

 

[Ibuberu]

Jena didn't have much to comment on. Zach and Amelia seemed to be talking to themselves, Maxie wasn't around, Kayley and Silver were acting rather quiet, she had to admit, this was a strange feeling. Not as strange as the one she had felt a while back, though. When she was at home, well, you were'nt supposed to talk while meditating and, it would seem weird to talk to yourself when you were training alone. Pokemon didn't count, since you were only allowed to shout them attacks. Since she had met these great trainers, they were all talking, now, the lack of conversation didn't seem right to the girl.

She'd just have to make do with thinking to herself. Again, apparently.

If her mother was to ever see this, what she was doing right now, the explosion caused would have most likely destroyed the Earth. Her mother... Zhena was always prone to losing her cool, but never had she actually caused an uproar, albeit one time...

---

"GAHHH!!!"Zhena's shout of frustration was the first sound Jena heard as she entered her mother's office. She was a little shorter, and her hair covered both her eyes as she stood at a corner of the room. The girl had to be about eleven or twelve at that time, age didn't really matter.

"Eehh! People now these days!! She thinks she's all great and superior! Just because she's a gym leader! I'm just as good! Eh! Even better, much better!!"her mother clenched her fists together tightly, as she continued ranting to herself.

"Eh, thinks she's better just because she managed to become the Champion!! And she says that I'm the barbarian..."she marched around the room while her daughter stared at the floor, arms tucked behind her body.

"I'll show her! Ehh!! Definately!"the woman's voice was full of anger and determination, as she punched the air with one balled fist, her knuckles seemingly whitening due to the fact that she was clenching them a tad too hard.

"..... I-I'm sorry, mama. Eh, but, why'd you call me here..?"Jena managed to pluck up the courage to speak up, lifting the hair covering her face with one hand, so that she was able to see her mother properly.

Zhena's face was as red as a Tomata berry, as she closed her eyes, taking her pent up anger to the wall with a punch. Her daughter resented asking the question immediately, as she saw that there was a small dent in the wall where she had hit. Perhaps, it was made of a cheap something... yes, that was it!

"EH!! Isn't it obvious?! You're here so I can tell you! Next time you see that no good gym leader, give her a good beating!"she told her child, sighing as she received a confused blink for an answer.

"Eh, whatever. Can't remember what her name was. Bet she didn't even bother to tell me, that show-off. All I know, is that she's a leader with a son, both of them think they're the best! With their 'perfect' blonde hair.... and 'captivating' blue eyes, not to mention their proud, arrogant, I-know-I'm-better-than-you act."the mother waved her hands around, explaining to her duaghter.

"Eh.... Don't we have blue eyes?"

"Eehh! That ain't the point! Either change the color of your eyes, or make sure they're better than her son's!! As long as you keep this in that empty head of yours! If you ever meet anyone like that, make sure you beat them till' they say they're sorry for insulting the Minanes! Understand?!"she jabbed the girl's forehead with one forceful finger.

"Eh, Y-Yes!! Yes, Mama!!"Jena rubbed her forehead, nodding to her mother. She was used to this happening, though, this time, instead of it being her, another family was the one in the wrong. Knowing Zhena, she had to be exaggerating again. But, the girl knew much, much, better than to question this. Especially when she looked like she had been pushed to her limit.

"Great,"the woman said, crossing her arms as she grinned,"Now, get your lazy self back to training!!!"

--

The only one who fit the description was Rai. He was blonde, and he did have blue eyes. But, he wasn't proud or arrogant. At least, to Jena. One had to possess the three qualities before she could actually start 'avenging' her family's name. Since the boy lacked the last one, she had to look past this, shouldn't she? Of course. It wasn't like she had to be so unlucky, or that fate had deemed it, that she was to meet that gym leader lady or her son."Not like he's the son, Mama must've drank a bit too much herbal tea that day..."


OOc-

Like, was the post timely enough? XD

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Mmmmyees...it was...suitably timely. Now to arrange a little...flakeyness. xD

IC:

'Now...to get back, I guess.' Rai concluded, casting one last glance at his reflection. He hadn't bothered with anything more elaborate than the usual white shirt and black trousers, but then again, he reasoned, the world was so intent on attacking his attire that anything better wasn't worth the bother. And at any rate, the clothes weren't what his thoughts were on...no, not at all.

'Mother...' the boy thought for himself, 'She already sent Harlan after me...if-if I stay with them, won't he come again? he shuddered, 'I know he would, and mother would never stop hounding us...ever.' the boy's eyes glazed over as his mind came back to the same conclusion he had come to before, the only possible one, the only solution.

"I have to leave..." he mumbled for himself, hastily gathering up the dirty clothes and carefully separating them from the clean sets in his pack.

'Like a coward.' a voice in his mind taunted.

'No!' Rai protested furiously, continuing to stove away his belongings at a rapid but still mindfull pace, 'I have to leave! Not for myself but for them! I'm-I'm not being a coward! This is courage!'

'You mean like last time?' the voice persisted mockingly.

'This is different!'

'How come?'

'These people are my friends! I care about them!'

'So you didn't care about her?'

'I-I never said that!'

'That's what it seemed to imply...or did you mean that she wasn't a friend?'

'I-no, of course she was. But that was different, it was forced-'

'Because you chickened out then like you're chickening out now.'

'It wasn't like that! Mother was so persistent-'

'Really? You asked her, then?'

'Well, no...but-'

'You were too much of a coward to speak up...'

'Look, you don't understand-'

'...or even say it to her face. You're pulling that trick again too, aren't you?'

'Shut up!' Rai growled inwardly, placing a piece of paper on a small desk in the room, the pen already held in his hand.

'You can't shut up your conscience, boy. Isn't that how mother put it?'

'Look, just-just give me a moment at least, okay? I'll-I'll listen to you later.'

'I hope you realize that you're only proving my point here.'

'Everyone, I'm sorry...' Rai began on his letter, trying to block out the persistent little voice, 'but I've come to the conclusion that by staying with you I am jeopardizing both your safety and Maxie's chances of getting help...'

'...and there can not be true happiness without freedom...' the voice pestered in a mocking imitation of the letter he had written so long ago.

'...I am certain that mother is still looking for me, and that Harlan is by no means the only person at ther disposal. Therefore, in order to make sure that none of you get into trouble ...' Rai continued stubbornly '...I am leaving, at least for a while...'

'...to determine how I really feel, without mother's shadow hanging over me...'

'...please don't waste your time following me. Remember, Maxie needs your help.'

'It's not your fault, I'm just not ready for this yet.'

'Please take care of yourselves, and hopefully we will meet in the future. My sincerest apologies, Raistlin LeBlaque.'

'I will be back one day, and then I'll know for sure. Love, Raistlin.'

The boy gave a deep sigh, carefully folding the note and placing it neatly on top of his bed so as to make sure that it would get spotted while at the same time forcing the nagging little voice into silence.

"I'm not a coward..." he repeated as he closed the door with his bag slung over his shoulder, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. 'I wish I would at least have stayed and eaten first.' he added as an afterthought, feeling both hunger and fatigue nibble on his determination, 'But no...there would have been no better chance than this...no better chance...'

OOC: Well, this would be my exiting post. Just to be clear, Rai would then sneakily exit through the window and, with an eqal amount of sneakiness, gather up his healed pokémon and left town. So pwhee for that, I guess. Oh, and just to be clear, only every second one of those lines belongs to the current letter, the other ones are from one he wrote a while back for a completely different person. ^.~

 

[Charon]

Her plan, Maxie thought, really couldn't have gone better.
Certainly, Messy had been easily overthrown, as had Ruru and Fang hadn't done anything paticularily helpful at all, but that Aniki boy could certainly think on his feet. Maxie watched, slightly numb, as the scizor lifted up the scrabbling Murkrow with ease in one metallic claw.
Maxie opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden memory had gripped her by the throat.
It seemed like only a few years ago, when she and Fang had stood in a pokemon centre similar to this with her old friend Luna, the girl's own Scizor dangling a spy in the air. That poor Scizor had met a messy end; even now, looking at Aniki's pokemon in this well-lit centre, she could imagine blood pouring from those eye holes, that red-metal sheen crusted with blood and rust -
Stop it! She thought suddenly, furiously. Not the time or the place!

She turned back to Aniki, just as Fang fluttered down to reassert himself on her shoulder. She was about to answer his rhetorical question, when a Nurse approached.
{Hey, at least it's not Gwendolyn,} Fang whispered.
Maxie laughed, and turned to the Nurse. Think of a lie, think of a lie....
"I'm afraid she's actually my cousin's Murkrow, and she had a little habit of escaping and them stealing things...." she began, in an apologetic, almsot disappointed voice, "I'm very sorry for the mess, truly...." she lied, her voice not even faltering.

{ooc| more later}

 

[Alter Ego]

"Yes, yes...that's precisely what happened." Aniki added, quickly catching up with Maxie's story, "I'm afraid that I'm partially to blame for the disturbance." he gestured apologetically towards his Scizor "I was under the misconception that this Murkrow had stolen something from the young lady and here and was trying to escape."

"Oh, I see..." the nurse replied, her voice still sounding a bit suspicious, although apparently she couldn't establish any grounds for this suspicion and seemed to shrug it off,alas, that was precisely when she caught sight of something else.

"Oh my word." she gasped, taking a step towards Aniki and pulling his right sleeve aside, revealing the reddened and slightly swollen hand beneath, "What happened to your hand?"

"Training injury..." the boy muttered, trying to pull his hand away "It will be fine, really..." This answer, however, was apparently far from satisfactory for the nurse and her grip held the limb firmly in place.

"Nonsense." she said, shaking her head as she examined the hand, experimentally pressing a few spots which sent a rather nasty ache down Aniki's nerves, "Just as I thought." the nurse added, "You've gone and bruised it quite badly, haven't you? There could very well be a hairline fracture or similar damage. I'm afraid I can't let you leave until it has been properly examined and treated. Come on."

"But-" Aniki protested as the nurse began to haul him off, "I-I was in the middle of something very important."

"More important than your health?" the nurse retorted sceptically, raising an eyebrow, "I think not, young man, now stop behaving like a child and come on."

"But it's important!" the boy persisted, "That Murkrow stole something from me and-now...now we don't know where she hid it!"

"Well, if it's hidden away then it probably isn't going anywhere." the nurse replied in a tone that suggested that the discussion was finished "I'm sure that the young lady here will be more than happy to return your possessions to you once you've been treated." she turned to Maxie, adding a rhetorical "Isn't that right?"

Aniki bit his lip, watching Ruru hobble over and look completely helpless and unhelpful at the moment while Kotetsu, being his usual silent and stoic self, was just standing where he had been before, still maintaining a firm grip of the Murkrow. This was precisely the kind of situation that the boy would have prefered avoiding, and yet...somehow it seemed like he really didn't have a choice at the moment.

"Can-can I count on you to do that?" he asked, giving Maxie a pleading look, "Finding the guy behind this and what he's done with the emblem, I mean." the boy continued in a low whisper, "It's easily recognized, about the size of a coin, golden-coloured with a sword design in the middle. Please, I know we haven't known each other for long but finding that emblem is really important for me, and if you help me do that I promise I'll return the favour someday. Besides..." he added, quickening the pace of his words slightly as he noticed the nurse getting impatient, "...by the sounds of it he was tailing you too, so you might want to take a look into it anyway." Aniki raised his voice back to normal level, "Kotetsu, would you be so kind as to return the Murkrow to this girl?"

The Scizor nodded, calmly walking over to Maxie and depositing the bird pokémon in her hand.

"Okay, I think...I think I'm ready to go, m'am." the boy concluded, "And I'll recompensate any damage caused. Kotetsu, Ruru, return."

In a pair of red flashes, both pokémon dissapeared from view, and as Aniki was ushered onward to the back room, the crowd that had gathered to watch soon lost interest, returning to whatever they had been doing before the scene.

OOC: And so Aniki hath been evacuated as well. I'll see you guys in about two and a half weeks, then, unless someone makes a post soon. =3

 

[Charon]

{ooc| BLAH.
I will post. I WILL not let this thing die. Maxie's in it...
Aber... kein problem...
I'm getting to a very crucial point in my school career. VERY crucial. I've got exams on Tuesday, and lots of coursework pieces. I break up from school around the 20Th July. From then onwards I will be active!}

 

[Ibuberu]

Ooc-

Charon's Feebas right! >D

Anyways, like, Plushie actually replied to an email I randomly sent her! O.o

-" Plushie says.. I'm sowwy I haven't been on PC lately.. as you have probably noticed. ^^;;;

It's just that.. well, my life has just taken a step way up in busy. There's.. Summer School, Color Guard, Band practice, SUMMER HOMEWORK OMG, required reading, things my parents want me to do, and.. yeah. There's a lot more, believe it or not, but it'll bore you so, whatever.

Everything I do on the computer has to be brief and important so that I don't fall behind on anything, so.. as you can see.. no time for PC anymore.

Sucks.

Of course, I do try to check my e-mail every now and then.. and I saw that you had e-mailed me.. so I decided to reply while I actually had the time. Maybe I'll do that profile thing sometime. ^o^ As in when I'm not

But I still love everybody back at PC! Y'know, you, Titan, Melissa, Charon, Flissie.. Please tell them that.. because I just won't have time to.. WHICH ALSO SUCKS. ;O;

Summer School ends in four weeks, along with most of the other stuff that's taking up all my time. So.. you guys will probably see me then..

I'm sorry if it's affecting anything on PC, I really am.. hold on I have to give you a hug. *hug*

Well, if you really want to, you can pass on the message. But you don't have to, cause you're Yibber. ^o^

Now I have to go to sleep before my schedule kills me tomorrow. Bye for now.. ;.; "-


*hash passed the message because she's Yibber* XD

Anyways, anything you Feebas want to tell her? If not, I'm just going to send Plushie lots and lots of Feebas and luck and love.. and Feebas. ^^

On to posting for now. X3


Ic-


Jena started swaying back and forth, not really having much to do at the moment. She didn't want to take the food Amelia had brought for them, it seemed.. rude. She'd wait until the rest took the ones they wanted to eat, and eat the leftovers, if she was allowed to.

Every now and again, the girl found herself looking to the staircase Rai had left them from. Wondering why so as she tried to turn her gaze back to the floor. Perhaps she was worried about the boy, yes? It wasn't impossible, she was weak like that, always worrying about every single thing. Yet, it seemed different, it felt a bit different too...

"Ehhh.."Jena sighed, brushing it off by shaking her head, the movement rousing the sleeping Tailow on her shoulder.

{Eh? Is zere' sumthing wrong, Z'ena?}Tania blinked, ruffling her feathers as she became fully aware of her surrondings.

"Eh, nothing's wrong."the girl told the bird absent-mindedly, stiffling a surprised yelp as she realised that the small young Tailow who they had met in the morning was still there, on her shoulder.

"One more thing that makes me disgraceful. Can't even see that there's a bird on my shoulder.."she scolded herself, stopping to look at the normal type.

{Oh! Oui! Sumthing must be wrong! I can feel it!}Tania shook her head, contradicting with the coordinator's earlier statement. The girl gave her a small nod of defeat, maybe if she knew she was right, she would stop chirping into her ear.

{Ah-hah! I knew it! I'm 'zo smart! Yes I am!!!!!!!!!}the Tailow called out in victory, trying to get her wings as balled up as they could possibly get.

Jena gave her a weak smile, finding her mind wandering over to the fact that Rai had been gone a bit too long once again.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Like, yaaaaaaaaay for the activity. xD Meh, never mind that, just couldn't help saying that. Tis' my inner crudeness, you see, it's been cooped up for over two weeks and now it wants to frollic. o.O

Anyways, poor Plushie...that much work on a summer vacation. That's...evil. ;_; Nyah, don't forget to send her hugs too, Yibber. By the looks of it, Plushie is seriously in the need of a hug right about now. ^^ Oh, and I've got things to say to her, certainly, but I've got her e-mail adress too, so I'll just send them myself. Twice the e-mails means twice the love, right? Besides, I don't want to overload Yibber's poor neurons. xD

Anywho, many thanks for relaying that message, Yibber. For that, you deserve a reward. *Hands over Feebas egg* Nyah, I so need to breed more of those. ^^

As for an IC...we'll have to see...have to find a suitable phrasing for re-entering Rai into the picture, and that might take a while. So yeah, I just wanted to post something to get my brain working again...been so long.

 

[Ibuberu]

OOc-

WELCOME BACK, TITAN!!!!!!!!!! ^O^

Missed you loads! ^-^ *gives you a Feebas [again]*

We had... class phototaking day in school today[/random]

I was made to sit at the extreme right, cause' I'm the most compact girl in class. XD
NOTE- There's a major difference between being short and compact.
[Atleast I'm taller than a handful of boys in my clas. X3]
Bweh, still wondering if I managed to get into the picture[I should've sat in the center! Right next to the teacher! XDDD]... We had loads of fun though, one of the boys nearly fell off the bench they were standing on. What with pushing each other.. XD

Feebas, better speed this up... <3

Ic-


Jena slowly found herself feeling more and more uneasy of the current situation, her fingers interlocking with each other as she swayed back and forth at a faster speed. Glancing at the staircase before to Zach and the others. She was still unsure of herself, but, what if something had happened?

Even the girl doubted that someone like Rai would take so long just for a measly shower. Right...?

But, what if she was taking things too seriously again?

What if something bad had happened?

Nothing bad would happen... right?

What if it was a mistake again?

She didn't want another mistake...


"Eehh,"Jena grabbed either side of her head with her hands, trying to stop these contradicting thoughts from running through her brain. On her shoulder, the frowning Tailow let out a sharp chirp, immediately jumping off and landing on the floor of the Centre lightly. Using her wings as a sort of parachute. Letting out a sigh of relief as she felt the cold ground against her taloned feet, flashing a triumphant grin.

That part of the job done, Tania began hopping over to the stairs where her the girl was constantly drawn to, wondering what was all so great about it.

With a gulp of air and a forceful jump, the bird pokemon managed to get onto the second step of the staircase, gazing in awe on how far and huge it looked. Well, at least to one of her small build. She had a lot of jumping to do.

-

"Ehh!!"Jena raised a hand to call the Tailow back, but it just wouldn't return, continuing it's ascent on the staircase. Worried for the bird's safety, and, well, for Rai's as well, the Coordinator turning back to the rest of the remaining group.

"E-Eh!! I'll go and check on Rai! He's taking too long..."with the statement finished, she quickly broke into a run towards the stairs. Climbing up them, grabbing Tania by the tail when she was close enough.

{Oi!! Let mee z'own!!}the Tailow snapped, folding her wings as she was placed back onto the girl's shoulder.

"Eh.. Sorry, but the only one who's going to do any walking around here is me."she apologised upon seeing the Tailow's angered face, proceeding to continue up the flight of stairs when the bird gave her a nod.

---

"... Rai..?"Jena finally decided to venture into the room after knocking on the door for more than a few times. The girl blinked, noting that the room had been tidied. Had a nurse come and ready the place for another trainers? How long was their stay supposed to be again? Did they even mention the amount of time they were to stay here..?

She decided to ask these questions later, for now, she had to figure out why the door to the bathroom was open. Where was Rai?

The girl slowly stepped into the afforementioned room, noting that there was water vapour present on the single mirror hanging in the completely white room. Even the white tiles felt cold through her boots...

Rai had bathed, but, where was he now..?

Jena let out a sigh, wondering if the boy had left while she wasted her time getting up here. Starting to leave the room as she pondered over the thought.

"No... Nearly all the steam's evaporated.."she scratched her chin, her teachings kicking in as she stopped herself from opening the door.

Meanwhile the Tailow on her shoulder rolled her eyes, all was boring, she might as well have stayed asleep if this was the case. Spotting a white piece of paper on one of the beds. Tania cocked her head, nipping onto a bit of Jena's hair before pulling it into the direction. Hard.

Jena stiffled the urge to shout out just then, gritting her teeth as the pain escaped from her mouth with a small, 'Eeeh!!!'

The bird couldn't help but giggle at her handiwork, pointing out a feathered wing to the white letter on the bed Rai had slept on yesterday night.

Jena quickly let the pain subside by itself, snatching up the paper for a read.


"Everyone, I'm sorry, but I've come to the conclusion that by staying with you I am jeopardizing both your safety and Maxie's chances of getting help.

I am certain that mother is still looking for me, and that Harlan is by no means the only person at ther disposal. Therefore, in order to make sure that none of you get into trouble, I am leaving, at least for a while.'

'Please don't waste your time following me. Remember, Maxie needs your help. Take care of yourselves, and hopefully we will meet in the future.

My sincerest apologies,

Raistlin LeBlaque"

The girl felt her body stiffen slightly as she read finish the letter, eyes lingering on the last few words. The piece of paper escaped from her grasp and onto her lap, as she fell back onto the bed. Was it fatigue? Or maybe she was just surprised... Whichever the feeling, it didn't matter.

Rubbing her forehead with one hand, Jena tried to sort out her thoughts in the least amount of time. Now, Rai and Maxie were gone, leaving her- them. Would that happen with Zach, Kayley, Silver? She didn't want it to happen, now having felt what it was like to have company.. she didn't want it to go.

She could just lie there for the rest of the day, maybe it would make her feel better, just a bit more would be enough. But...

'No!'she told herself firmly, she was being selfish! She was always selfish! Hastening to get off the bed, grabbing the Tailow and letter as she charged out of the room.


OOc-

Longest post in a long time. <3


Edit-

Done and done. And, just when I told myself that I didn't need to ask whether the letter was right.. XDDD

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Erm, Yibber...I think you messed up Rai's letter with the stuff from the letter to...a certain other person which he recited in his mind as he wrote. The stuff he actually did write was:

"Everyone, I'm sorry, but I've come to the conclusion that by staying with you I am jeopardizing both your safety and Maxie's chances of getting help.

I am certain that mother is still looking for me, and that Harlan is by no means the only person at ther disposal. Therefore, in order to make sure that none of you get into trouble, I am leaving, at least for a while.'

'Please don't waste your time following me. Remember, Maxie needs your help. Take care of yourselves, and hopefully we will meet in the future.

My sincerest apologies,

Raistlin LeBlaque"

Nyah, please fix that, m'kay?

But that aside...Feebas! Yey! ^0^ *Huggles Feebas* You can never have too many Feebas. =3 And like I said in Ancient Dynasty, it's goood to be back. ^^

Like, EDITNESS

IC:

Escaping...if there was one thing Rai had gotten good at it was escaping, or so he thought. But as it turned out, carefully planned and executed escapes from a manor which he knew like the back of his hand were quite significantly different from rushing off into a foreign city at nighttime with an empty stomach and a nagging conscience for baggage. Collecting his pokémon had been easy enough, but under present circumstances, calling any of them out didn't seem like a good option. His team had certainly grown to like the others in the time they had spent together, even though Ashura might not have admitted it, and he knew for certain that even if the mantis pokémon wouldn't object, she would certainly have a moral lesson in store for him. A lesson which the boy certainly didn't feel like taking at the moment, seeing as how he was so doubtful about his decision already.

'It's the only way...' he tried to assure himself as he bounded out on the rickety forest path out of town. He wasn't certain of how long the trip would be, but it couldn't be that far to the next town, right? Regardless of the distance involved, the path was certainly not working in Rai's favour, the multitude of roots and plants snaking their way across the trail continuously causing him to stumble and trip.

After what felt like an eternity, the boy finally stopped to catch his breath, leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree and turning to survey the path behind him.

"No...way..." he panted in exasperation. For all his efforts he had maybe made some eight meters of progress from the city, the lights still quite clearly visible.

That decided it, if he was ever going to have the chance of a clean getaway Rai would have no choice but to call on assistance.

"Ashura..." he muttered quietly, holding up the pokéball containing his most trusted partner, "I choose-"

"Neco!"

Rai gasped in surprise as a very small, very hard projectile suddenly landed just inches from his head, tumbling back. A fortunate move, perhaps, as the source of the noise suddenly unleashed a small but violent explosion, unleashing a small shockwave of dirt and litter from the forest floor that flung Rai even further back, the boy crashing rather painfully against the trunk of another tree while the pokéball from his hand flew out in a whimsical arc, landing quite a long distance away.

"What-what was that?" the boy mumbled, trying to get upright again. His inquiry got replied to faster than he would have liked, however, as a multitude of little eyes suddenly popped out from all sides of the trees surrounding him. They were Pineco...a whole colony of them, all of them considerably angered by the commotion, and even though Rai hadn't studied - or even heard of - the pinecone pokémon, the reaction of the first specimen had been a quite clear indication of what was about to follow.

OOC: Pwhee! Rai in distress. xD Can't believe it took so long to get this posted.

 

[Charon]

He was gone.
Just like that, Aniki had been whisked away, him and his horrible, lovely little Azumarril as well. Oh, would you look at that, she thought, An oxymoron. A smarter person might have wondered how she had learnt that word, but not Maxie. Her mind was on other things - and it wasn't the Murkrow in her hand.

The others, she thought quietly, the others must be... she trailed off. What? Frightened? Disgusted? That was stupid. They were too nice for that. They'll be concerned. Even if it is only to be polite. No, that wasn't true either. They'd be generally worried. For some odd reason, Aniki's departure made her realise this. Made her realise that...well, she needed them now. She found them mildly annoying, but... well, she liked the annoyance.
She glanced to Fang, who was checking the surrounding area. He wouldn't like it, but maybe....
Still, current matters to attend to!

She shook the Murkrow rather violently. "Well, Birdbrain? Where's the Sigil?" she demanded in a whispered voice.

__________________________

Jink paused for a moment. In all honestly, he didn't like helping people. If it was anyone other than his beloved master, well, he aimed to be a pain.
"No. I'm not okay." he told the meowth, before scrambling off along the vent a bit more.

 

[Ibuberu]

Jena hurried down the stairs as fast as she could manage, one hand on the wooden railing, the other clutching the letter tightly. Tania was once again on her usual place on the girl's shoulder, planting her feet firmly into the fabric of the shirt, wanting anything but to fall off.

"Show them the letter, tell them what happened... then, what?"the Coordinator found herself slowing down, as she realised that no plan was set out. Find Rai? Or concentrate on Maxie? Sleep? Or spend the night losing sleep while thinking what to do..?

Hopeless. She was so hopeless. The girl sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she found herself changing course once she reached the first storey. Quickly exiting through the backdoor found just a small distance away from the staircase, not caring whether or not the group had seen her. She needed fresh air, no matter how dark it was, it'd probably make her feel better.

Again, she placed a hand on her forehead, walking on the dirt road leaving the Pokemon Center. She would return to the rest in due time, she just needed five minutes- ten, tops. The girl knew better than to run away, especially at a time like this. Even though there was a small voice in her heart telling her that it'd clear her conscious if she just obediantly returned to Zhena's side.

A tired sigh escaped her, another heavy load adding onto the building pile called 'stress'.

Instead of helping her, it seemed like it was making her feel worse.

Suddenly, as if it was a diversion that was by coincedence to get her mind off these confusing matters, the girl heard a tiny explosion take place. It wasn't that far, if she ran fast enough, she would've been there in a matter of moments. Her ears almost never failed... but, it could've well been a Pokemon. A Pineco, or a Fortress, they were the only pokemon who were found in a forest that could explode. From what she had studied on, at least. Jena highly doubted it was a Magneton or a Weezing.

It could've well been a pokemon. It could've also been someone reckless enough to trudge around in the forest at this time of the night. [No, she wasn't counted as the reckless one.]

"Rai?!"she found herself saying the name, stuffing the letter into her bag before bolting off in the direction of the explosion, leaving the Tailow on her shoulder to cry out in surprise.

{Whaat iz' the meanin' of z'ese?!}

--

"Pineco.. Pineco,"Jena repeated the pokemon name in her head, trying her best to remember them to her fullest extent as she doubled up by avoiding trees she was usually liable to crash into.

Up ahead, there they were, little black specs in the night, surronding a taller figure. The girl blinked, torn between the lightening fact that she had gotten something right, and that.. the colony wouldn't hesitate to explode if they were startled, Rai in the midst.

"Rock type? No... Bug, if I remember. Eh!! What're bugs weak against??"she wanted to rip off the branch of tree she was leaning against, possibly taking out the anger and the stress building up in her would make her think clearer.

Flying types!

Jena stared at the Tailow on her shoulder.

{Eeh? Why're yoo starin' at mee like z'hat?!}the bird sweatdropped at the invasion of personal space, jumping out of the way as Jena tried to grab her.

The girl tripped over the root of a tree, falling face first infront of the colony, the Tailow landing next to her as she tilted her head, looking at the numerous pinecones assembled.

"Ehh.. Hi, Rai..."Jena laughed nervously, smiling weakly, her voice almost a whisper.


Ooc-

Zachary=contagious! <D

 

[Alter Ego]

{Not okay?} Kuro echoed tersely, pulling out his claws as the Bellsprout turned around and began heading off, {Well I'm so sorry to hear that you've been...hurt.}

Without further explanation, the Meowth pounced forward, striking the grass type from behind with a Fake Out attack.

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

Meanwhile, Rai had been considering his options. Strangely enough, the other Pineco had yet to make a move, merely staring at him intently from all sides. 'Could it be...' he wondered for himself, '...that they can't detect me without motion?'

Well, it seemed prudent enough as ideas went, and so, the youth spent another minute or so concentrating on moving as little as possible while at the same time trying to study his opponents in search of a weak spot. "Forest dwellers..." he said for himself, his voice barely a whisper out of fear that this too would upset the volatile creatures, 'Living in the dark, probably.' the boy continued in his mind, believeing that the thoughts that followed weren't ones that the pokémon around him would like to hear, if they even had hearing that is. 'I bet Kaika could beat and trap them with a Fire Spin, but...' he cast a glance at the plentiful vegetation around him, 'That would probably cause a forest fire. If only I had Ashu...'

Rai glanced sideways at the pokéball, noting that it was quite securely out of his arm's reach, bolting for it probably wouldn't let him get the mantis pokémon out in time, if he could even get there.

'So much for my freedom, then...' he thought for himself, 'I have to get out of here. I have to do something.' with this in mind, Rai slowly edged his way a small bit in the direction of the pokéball before quickly freezing again. If these creatures didn't have too sharp senses, he might pass unnoticed. It certainly seemed to work at the time, the Pineco continuing to watch him but none of them, thankfully, blowing up. And so, with newfound determination, the boy continued edging his way towards his target, step by step.

'Almost there...' the boy thought for himself, 'Almost...'

He never quite got to finish that thought as hurried footsteps heading his way suddenly became audible, the Pineco colony's gathered attention shifting in their direction just in time for Jena to trip over and fall down in their midst with a painfully loud thud.

"Erm...yes, hi." Rai replied, attempting to quel the growing panic inside him. Jena...she had come here, she had caught him...probably read the letter too. The boy felt ashamed, what was he going to do? What should he say? His glorious escape had really gone and lost its appeal by now. Still, there were far more pressing matters to attend to, as the now very much aggitated Pineco were quick to remind him.

{Intruders!} rumbled a far more gruff voice from the tree overhead, the red face and thick, purple shell of the forretress just barely visible from between the leaves, {First squad, charge! Standard formation!}

Rai might not have understood a word of what the creature said, or even known what it was, but he was bright enough to realize where this was going, and had the reflexes to act on it.

"Jena, watch out!"

He quickly grabbed a hold of the co-ordinator, pulling her away from the immediate line of fire as he made his own retreat while a total of four Pinecos landed in a disturbingly organized square formation around the spot where Jena had been a moment before, another four landing around the spot he had been on and a final two dropping down to block escape.

"I'm sorry I got you into this." Rai sighed, reaching for Kaika's pokéball. He seriously doubted that Chupon would have the strength, after all, and Ashura was still out of reach, so the Vulpix was his only option. Well, except for...he cast a glance at the girl beside him. But no, he couldn't go and shove his problems on her now, could he? "I'll protect you." he addd in a slightly lower voice, "Just stay out of harm's way, okay?" it was all foolish bravado and he knew it, but Rai just couldn't help himself.

"Kaika! Go!"

 

[Ibuberu]

Jena stared at the four Pineco which had taken the spot she had landed on just moments before, glad that Rai had managed to pull her out of the way in time. She didn't scream or anything, no, she wasn't like that. And yet, she wasn't emotionless either, deciding to gape her mouth in shock rather than produce a cry.

"I'll protect you."

She turned away from the Bug types to the boy standing beside her, trying to make use of her tougue. Wanting to tell him that she didn't need protection of any sort, but... The girl knew better than to get in the way of anything like this, she'd just mess it up. She'd leave the conversation for later, when they weren't going to get blasted by Pineco and their Forretress leader, perhaps. Holding her breath as Rai called out Kaika, she couldn't help but wonder, why hadn't he used his Scyther? It was the most logical pokemon to use at a time like this, a Vulpix would have done greatly, if not for the immense amount of forest surronding them. Hesitating to call out her own pokemon, for all she knew, she'd give them wrong commands and they would all be doomed.

{Ooh~!! Shiny!}Tania squealed delightfully, her Tailow instinct kicking in, breaking Jena's thoughts as she noticed a pokeball standing not too far away. The bird knew better than to go over there, what with the scary exploding pinecones and all.

Shifting her gaze over to the pokeball, no matter how dense Jena supposed she was, she could put two and two together.

"Eh, Orjen..."the girl found her voice, whispering the name as the bug type's pokeball rolled from her wristband into her grasp. In a matter of seconds, the caterpillar appeared, only to have Jena's back as scenery.

Before he had so much as squeaked, he was given the order to silence himself by the look in his trainer's eyes.

"We're... going to play a game. Eh, it's called, the Quiet Game. See that shiny looking thing over there..? I want you to get it over here without making a sound, make sure the Pineco don't catch you, or else you lose."Jena hissed, using her head to point the way to Ashura's pokeball. Phrasing it in such simple terms, even someone like Orjen could understand without having to ask any questions. Letting the Wurmple process this, she turned back to Rai.

"Ehh, no need to apologise, it was my mistake. As long as Kaika tries his best not to use fire, I'm fine. For now, I'll.. try to get your Scyther's pokeball back. Even though it's highly likely I'll fail... Can't trust me. But, I can trust you."the girl cut herself off, talking at a moment like this. Great. Looking at her feet, voice as low as it could possibly go, trying her best to encourage the boy, no matter how much she failed in that catergory too.

Looking behind her, the Wurmple gave a smile and a simple nod, turning away so that he could get a proper start in climbing the tree, taking each step with caution as he made his way up the trunk. His light feet aiding him in keeping unwanted attention away from himself. Within seconds, the bug had scooted up the tree and into position. For now, Rai's Vulpix had to try his best not to use fire attacks... and everything else was relied on a Wurmple who thought he was playing a simple game.


"Oh no...."

 

[Alter Ego]

"Allright." Rai replied quietly as Jena explained her plan, unable to restrain a small rush of warmth as the girl said she trusted him. Still, as much as he had wanted to talk further, this was the completely wrong time for such things, and he knew it, "I'm counting on you."

'Great...' he added in his mind, 'What a bad choice of words.'. His meaning had been to encourage, to say that he did trust her, but the words had sounded all too much like extra pressure. Then again, he didn't really have the time to correct himself or elaborate at the moment, did he?

"Kaika..." Rai whispered to the Vulpix who seemed to be far from pleased with the current circumstances, "I know this looks scary, but I need you to distract these pokémon for a while, okay?"

The fox pokémon nodded in a surprisingly firm manner, trying his best to appear brave and confident even though he was visibly shivering, and it most probably wasn't out of cold.

"Allright, Confuse Ray at that big one in the back then Quick Attack!"

The Vulpix nodded, channeling his powers once again and unleashing an orb of spectral energy towards the Forretress who seemed to be in charge, the blob of light circling about in a dizzying manner as it homed in on its target. Kaika didn't waste time on following it, however, setting off in a fast dash attack towards the first line of Pineco - as the ones at the front had now reorganized into two lines of four - in the hopes of at least throwing them off balance.

{HAH!} the Forretress rumbled, letting out a scornfull laugh, {NICE TRY, LILLYWHITES! BUT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN THAT TO TAKE ON THE SARGE! FIRST LINE! DEFENSE POSITION!}

The Forretress took on his first attack as well, emitting a wide field of shimmering light around the Pineco cluster which stopped the Confuse Ray cold, while the entire first line of Pinecos unleashed a completely synchronized set of Protects, the combined barriers deflecting Kaika's attack with ease and forcing the fox pokémon to bound back a bit.

"Safeguard and Protect..." Rai thought out loud, "They're very...organized."

{SECOND LINE!} the Forretress who was apparently named Sarge boomed, {OPEN FIRE!}

With precision easily equal to that of the first group, the back-row Pineco suddenly unleashed a veritable rain of tiny little needles towards Kaika. Pin Missile...hardly a powerful attack, especially with the type disadvantage, but the sheer amount made it quite lethal.

"Kaika!" the boy called out, "Try to hang in there! Faint Attack!"

Hopefully, the speed of the technique would help the Vulpix dodge the brunt of the assault, but still, Rai knew that it would take a completely deluded optimist to think that Kaika would actually have a chance of winning on his own. Well, without torching half the forest in the process, anyway. Ashura...she was their only chance of victory under present circumstances, and hopefully the mantis pokémon would get into play soon. Rai prefered not to think about what would happen if she didn't, watching nervously as Kaika darted back and forth between the incoming pins, delivering light baps to the more unfortunate Pineco now and again. At least he was serving as a very efficient distraction, and hopefully that was all that would be needed.

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

{The-the shiny thing?!} Akari asked as Maxie trottled her, {I won't tell you, you big meanie bully! Everybody bullies poor Akari! Everybody! You better not hurt me more or you'll never no where I took the shiny thing!} the Murkrow smirked triumphantly - well, as good as she could manage while being throttled - {What do you have to say to that, meanie human musclebrain?} she concluded defiantly, {You better be nice to me and maaaaybe...just maybe I'll show you where I brought the shiny thing.} her eyes glinted greedily, {Depends on how nice you are to poor bullied Akari.}

'That's right...' the bird pokémon thought for herself, 'She can't hurt me as long as I know what she wants to know. And maybe...just maybe I'll even get something for myself out of this.' the girl was carrying something precious somewhere beneath those filthy dungerees, this much the Murkrow's limited psychic powers had told her, and how could she resist something nice and shiny like...a locket?

EDITNESS OOC: D'oh, can't believe I forgot to add this part. Sowwee, Charon.

 

[Ibuberu]

OOc-


Feebas! I finished the post, and what does the mouse do? Close the page! ;;.;;
*stabs her mouse*


Ic-

Jena nodded, wincing slightly when she was told that Rai was counting on her. Yet, she didn't find it taking it's toll on her like it should have. Instead on tripping over something else, she felt.. well.. something else. Like warmth of some sort, no matter how much it was adding onto her pressure. The girl had never been counted on, by anyone.

She had to get this right! She couldn't afford another mistake!

Shifting her weight slightly, Jena turned so that she could see Orjen clearly, at least, what 'clearly' meant when there was a limit of movement before exploding Pineco.

The Wurmple was standing firmly on the branch of the tree, Ashura's pokeball directly below, give or take a few inches. A white sticky substance of some sort flowed out of his rear stinger, the bug hastening to secure it on the branch as quietly as he could manage. Once that was done, he looked down at his trainer, who gave him a reassuring nod. That was all it took to motivate him as he slowly descended from the tree, the length of his string shot increasing little by little to allow him to slide down. He paused now and again, very well aware of his surrondings. If the Pineco was to so much as blink an eye, he'd lose. He didn't like losing games.

Orjen struggled to reach out his hands, with them being so short, it was hard to grab a firm hold of the pokeball.

{Orjen, I, me, Orjen, doesn't like this game...}the Wurmple said to himself, starting to move his body back and forth, the momentum causing the bug to swing on the single thin string he was attached to, as he aimed for the pokeball. White paws outstretched as he swung forwards.

He missed.

The Wurmple mumbled something under his breath, while his trainer frowned, she didn't know how much longer Kaika would be a distraction.

Orjen had another go at red and white sphere, closer the second time, brushing against his paws. {One more times, just a single time, not two, one. One, one, one!}the Wurmple told himself, failing to realise that he was talking a tad too loud. He just had to heave his body a bit more, he'd be able to get that shiny object for sure.

This idea in mind, the Wurmple waited for the web to bring him as close to Ashura's pokeball before urging his body forward, a surge of delight zinged through his body as he felt the orb in his arms.

Of course, he had to let this happy emotion out, somehow..

{I.... WON!!!!!!!!!! ORJEN HAS TRIUMPHANTED!!!! YAY FOR ORJEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!}the Wurmple released himself from his string shot, landing on the ground, lifting the pokeball above his head, making such a loud noise, that it was highly unbelievable that he was the one who had produced it.

Jena wanted to punch the tree, instead, deciding to take a chance by leaving her spot beside Rai, rushing past the Pineco to pick her Wurmple up. Freezing for a moment as she realised the predicament they were in.

"Eh-heheh... You've seen... nothing..?"the girl told the Pineco colony hoping that they would be confused long enough. She pryed the pokeball from Orjen's grasp like what a mother would do when her child ate a cookie before dinner to spoil his appetite, the girl slowly eased her way back to the tree.

"... I- Here you go..."she passed the pokeball to the boy, wondering what the colony would make of the act. Trying to draw attention away from the crying Wurmple in her arms.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Pfiffle, forgot to klick the post button before logging off yesterday. Pwhee for having to write it up all over again... =_=

Oh, and just in case someone here doesn't read the OOCs over at Ancient Dynasty. *Pokes Charon* I'll be gone (Again >.<) for a couple of days, starting next Monday. Joy...-_-

Aaaanyhow...

IC:

Kaika lunged back and forth fervently, dodging volley after volley of pin missiles only to land right on the path of the next one, beads of sweat beginning to form on the Vulpix's brow as the exhaustion began to take its toll.

{HAH! KEEP HAMMERING EM', BOYS!} Sarge boomed triumphantly {WE'VE GOT THIS RUNT FOE ON THE-}

{I.... WON!!!!!!!!!! ORJEN HAS TRIUMPHANTED!!!! YAY FOR ORJEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

Even the commanding voice of the Forretress was dwarfed in comparison to Orjen's cry of triumph, the entire formation of Pineco following suit and staring at the bug pokémon.

Rai knew that even with the Forretress' intellect - which he assumed to be quite small - it wouldn't take too long to figure out this equation, and he prefered to be prepared when they did.

"Thanks..." Rai replied quietly as he accepted the pokéball, "I knew you could do it. Kaika, come back here." he gestured to the Vulpix who was quite happy to leap back and settle on his head, "Ashura! I choose you!"

The Pineco colony had just recovered from the initial shock, but for some reason or the other, picking on a fierce-looking mantis four times your size wasn't quite as appealing a prospect as firing at a small, rather cute fox, the entire front line sweatdropping on que.

"Ashura..." Rai continued with a newfound calm, "If you would be so kind?"

{I don't know how you got into this...} the Scyther muttered, shaking her head, {But fine.}

With that, she sprang forward, leaping straight over the first line of Pineco and delivering a pair of powerful Aerial Ace attacks to the two central ones behind it, knocking them out.

{DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE A BUNCH OF PANSIES!} Sarge fumed {FIRST LINE, PROTECT! SECOND LINE SELFDESTRUCT! BACK-UP TEAM, GET THEIR GENERALS! FIRE!}

"Ashura!" Rai called, feeling the pressure grow again "Dodge back with Agility! Then Swords Dance and go again! Kaika, Roar away those two!" he pointed towards the pinecone pokémon behind them who were now preparing to attack.

Kaika grinned at the thought, taking a deep breath before unleashing a thunderous cry in the direction of the bug pokémon, both of them exchanging looks before proceeding to jump off in the opposite direction. It seemed that, despite common belief, Pineco could actually move on their own when need be, quite fast, in fact.

{LOUSY DESERTERS!} Sarge bellowed after them, completely forgetting to watch the situation as Ashura leapt backwards, evading the two explosions coming in from her sides with little more than a bit of dirtying before spinning around elegantly in the air and taking on a complicated series of motions; all of which would increase the damage she dealt.

With the whole back row gone, the remaining four Pineco were now a good bit confused and, lacking new orders, did what they had been doing all along; a synchronized Protect technique. Unfortunately, such tricks didn't work too well in repeat.

"That's it, Ashu!" Rai called out as the Scyther managed to pick off another two, "Keep hammering at them!"

{INCOMPETENT COWARDLY BOTTOMFEEDERS!} Sarge growled furiously, {WORTHLESS PANSY-ARSED WET-EARS! LOOKS LIKE THE SARGE HAS TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING AROUND HERE!}

With that, the sizeable bug type suddenly began spinning violently, dropping down from the tree with surprising speed and slamming straight into Ashura, forcing the bug type to back off a bit in order to regain her balance.

"Ashu! Aerial Ace!" Rai commanded, not that this was by any means necessary, seeing as how the bug type had come to the same conclusion for herself, charging forward blades raised and delivering a powerful cross-slash to Forretress.

{HAH!} the bug type belowed triumphantly, apparently completely unbothered by the veritable deathblow, {YOU'LL HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT, LASSIE! LEMME' SHOW YA' HOW!}

Sarge let out another rumbling laugh, firing off a total of three sharp spikes from one of the cannon-like appendages on his sides, the payload sending Ashura reeling back once again.

{He's...pretty tough...} the mantis pokémon addmitted bitterly, trembling slightly under the wounds.

'Well there's an understatement if I ever heard one...' Rai thought for himself, shaking his head. This looked bad, despite all of Ashura's hammering, the Forretress didn't look any worse for the wear, but the mantis pokémon definitely was. If this kept up, Rai seriously doubted the Scyther's chances of victory.

"If only I could use fire..." he muttered in frustration, "If only the vegetation wasn't so-" he paused, an idea suddenly dawning to him as he whispered a quick series of commands to Ashura, the Scyther grinning slightly as she nodded in acknowledgement before charging towards the Forretress again.

{HAH! HAVEN'T YOU HAD YOUR FILL YET, LASSIE?!} the bug pokémon mocked as the mantis unleashed another series of deadly slashes, saturating the area with sliced debris and cut grass straws, {YOU'RE NOT EVEN HITTING!}

{I am...} Ashura replied quietly with a hint of amusement in her voice, {But who ever said that I was aiming at you? Raistlin, now!}

The scyther suddenly leapt back, landing gracefully behind her trainer.

Rai nodded, "Kaika! Fire Spin on that pokémon, now!"

The Vulpix nodded, unleashing a powerful stream of fire straight at the Forretress, the bug pokémon quickly becoming engulfed in the flames and letting out a roar of pain. Whatever that shell was made off, it certainly wasn't very resistant towards fire.

"I think that's enough." the boy remarked after a while, allowing Kaika to cease the attack, and as the flames died down, the strategy became quite obvious, a charred, steaming and unconscious forretress located in a small, isolated patch of thoroughly burned grass.

"Cut." Rai explained simply, looking pleased for the first time since his whole grand escape plan, "I figured that the fire wouldn't spread if I isolated it. Are you okay?"

 

[Charon]

{ooc| Alter, I am gonna have to super glue you to that pc chair o' yours! Blah! I'm going away too, for two seperate weeks in July - One week to Dublin, one week back to Italy. So I guess I can't really talk... xP
Also, for some odd reason Sarge reminds me of Blaine the Mono from 'The Waste Lands'. Go read it, it's a good book.

Btw, she also has a shiny necklace around her neck =3}

Fang had finally jerked himself back to reality. Satisfied that there was in fact no immediate danger in the victiny, he turned back to Maxie. {What are you doing?} he squeaked suddenly, taken aback, {Why're you helping that boy?}
Maxie's brow furrowed furiously. A deep crease of concern marred her forehead now, but she didn't care.
"Because... Oh, I don't know."
{He's a STRANGER, we don't need to help him.}
"But he was nice... and it was our fault he got thrown out." she said finally. "Now c'mere, Mess." she said suddenly, turning her attention back to her Slimer. The little pokemon squelched over, and Maxie handed the Murkrow over. Clutched as the bird now was, in Messy's sticky hands, Maxie settled down in her seat.

"Tell me where it is, Akari. Or things will get smelly." she said simply.
She was very much aware of Fang next to her, swelling with indignation, but for now she was going to ignore him. He could sulk forever, but Maxie... well, she had a sudden urge to be nice

----------

"OWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Jink yelled, and began to writhe on the spot. Of course, he had flinched, and missed his turn to counter attack. He stood there, quivering in the narrow ventilation, crying loudly.

{ooc| btw, where's mel?}