[PKMN OPEN] The Pokémon Trainer Academy (T) [Best Veteran 4Q '11]

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy made a mental note of Ralts' moves, paying special attention to Teleport and Double Team. There was potential there for an exercise - it would never win Ralts and Conor a real battle, but it could be a good first step. She had a flash of uncertainty - what if she made things worse for them? But she pushed it to one side, Ralts would be able to pick up on things like that if she let them fester inside her, she had to present a calm aura.

Cubone blinked and tilted his head as Ralts poked him, then let out a little laugh at the teleportation. Perfect! She knew that Cubone would be perfect for helping Ralts, despite his new confidence he was more similair to her in nature than any of her other Pokemon.

"Well, I think I can help you both out. But you guys gotta return the favour, y'know? Cubone here is doing a lot better, but he still needs some training. I bet Ralts can help us with that, even if she doesn't feel like battling. Maybe you could use Double Team to make copies of yourself Ralts, and Cubone will have to try and figure out which one is really you. It'll be good for his concentration. Once he thinks he knows which one is the real you he has to try and tap you on the shoulder with his bone club, but if you're quick enough you can Teleport away before he does! That way we can train his speed too, yeah?" Sammy smiled at Ralts. She hoped Conor would realise the exercise was a sort of watered down mock battle, with almost all threat removed.

If Ralts enjoyed the game then hopefully in the future if she had to battle she'd associate it with positive memories and not be so terrified. It wasn't an instant fix, but Sammy felt like it was a good first step, provided Ralts was willing.​

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam Crawford - Indoor Battlefield
​

Liam listened to Sammy's proposal and couldn't hide the grin that appeared on his face as she spoke. It wasn't the exact training he had in mind but Sammy was the one with the experience here so he went along with it. Liam could feel the excitement growing inside him, finally Ralts would be getting some proper guidance. After this Ralts would be well on her way to becoming a fully-fledged member of Liam's team.

Ralts playfully ran around and generally just enjoyed herself until she stopped and looked up at Liam. She could sense the excitement building up inside him. She ran over beside Cubone and stood there beside him until Liamspoke "Yeah okay Sammy, let's do the battle. You help Ralts and Ralts will help your Cubone there". Liam raised himself off the seat and placed Poliwag down on the ground next to his feet before he walked a small bit away from Sammy, creating a small arena of sorts. Ralts soon followed suit and teleported over beside Liam but inside stood slightly in front of him, Ralts definitely knew what was going on.Does Ralts know this is a game of sorts? Why the sudden confidence? thought Liamas he looked down at Ralts.

"Okay then Ralts. Just like Sammy said, use Double Team" said Liam as he watched Ralts with anticipation. Without delay Ralts made several duplicates of herself all in a ring shaped layout. Each one looking exactly the same as the other. "Wow I can't believe that worked!" added Liamas a look of surprise hit his face. It was actually a surprise that Ralts listened to Liam at all, previous attempts had been less than successful. Perhaps it was Sammy? Maybe it was the battle but without the threat of actually getting hurt? So many possibility's but no answers for any of them yet.

"Okay so now you have Cubone try and find out which one is the real Ralts right?"

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy remained seated in the spectators area. For a proper battle she would have stood and faced across from Conor, but this was just a training exercise. Besides, the aches and pains of the day she'd had were starting to make themselves known - getting into bed that night was going to be a special kind of awesome. She held the egg case close and obserbed Conor and Ralts, trying to learn whatever she could about their relationship. It was easy to see that they were responding to each other, Conor's excitement and positivity seemed to be giving Ralts confidence, which was making Conor happier. Maybe that was the key? Ralts couldn't believe in herself if Conor didn't, but he couldn't if his trepidation was making her uncertain... her head swam a little at the complex thought. She'd have to try and remember that and see if the exercise confirmed it.

"Okay Cubone, you ready?" She asked.

The Ground Type trotted onto the 'battlefield' and gave a self-assured nod. The changes in him were fantastic to see, when she'd first encountered Cubone even the idea of this little game would have left him shaking in fear - but now he didn't even need to use Focus Energy to prepare himself. It would be a long time until that was true of real battles, and the day may never come, but she felt good that she'd had such a positive impact on this little Pokemon. If she could do the same for Conor and his Ralts she'd take just as much pride from that as battling Rocket goons.

"Alright buddy, I'm not gonna direct you here, it's pretty straightforward. Just follow your gut and try to pick whichever one you think is real. No problem if you get it wrong a few times, this is how we learn."

Cubone nodded again and turned around, observing the different Ralts copies to try and determine which one was the real Ralts. Unable to figure anything out just from observation he picked one at random and trotted towards it, giving it a tentative poke with his bone club. The Ralts he picked flickered out of existence, Cubone taking a startled step back.

"It's okay buddy. Just pick another one."

Cubone repeated the process with two more copies, becoming more sure of himself with each attempt. On his fourth pick he, unknowingly, selected the real Ralts and padded across to her, reaching out to tap her on the shoulder with his club.​

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Outside Dorms

Shawn stood there and listened to Kayla as she updated him on Holly. She was worried that Holly hated her...seemingly over being told to take her meds. That may be why she liked to run off and be by herself. Holly wanted to be left to her own devices. As to where she went, though...that'd be a different matter altogether.

"Is it possible," he began, "that she may feel uncomfortable with people telling her what to do? I'm trying to see things from her point of view and maybe she wants to do things herself. She wants to be more responsible or independent or something. You know her better than I do, though, but that's a theory from what I was told and what I've seen so far." He looked to Kayla and smiled, "We need to talk to her to find out for sure, I think."

He unclipped a pokeball from his belt and tossed it into the air, releasing Zapper, who glided around their heads in glee. "Zapper, Holly went missing, " he explained, "We need you to find her. We're not sure where she went, so check the grounds first before venturing out to Oak Town." She nodded in understanding before the Emolga glided up into the air to keep a well-trained eye out for the missing girl.

 

[Greiger]

Lucia and Mark: When a day feels like three months have passed...​

Lucia floated about as she managed to cling to Mark's head, "Ooooh, so what now?" She inquired as she let her head lean down to look into his eyes, "Should we go out and party? Ooooh, maybe I find some wicked programs online?" Her pokeballs were back around her sash that clung a bit clumsily to her form, but she was constantly moving her body around to prevent the items from falling off. "Or even better! We can train, this time with me!" She said over eagerly.

"No." Tyro stated again as he followed the two.

"Awwww...." Lucia's head hung down. "No fair." She whined.

Mark stopped walking and blushed a bit when Lucia clung onto his head and got so up to his face. She was really having a blast with this whole Porygon thing... that proobobly wasn't a good thing. "Go out and Party? Heh. Lucia I never took you for a party animal!" Mark teased.

Lucia let out a giggle... but this time it sounded more digital. "Well I just feel so ready to do anything! Go exploring! All of that!" She buzzed out.

"Heh, I dunno if I should be going exploring in my pajamas Lucia! Your starting to sound like Snype now! He's usually the one who loves to have night time adventures!" Mark said. Snype simply gave a snicker at that.

Lucia immediately floated down and got REALLY close to Snpe, so much so that their eyes would almost be touching, "Yes..." She mused. Suddenly her voice lost all emotion as she continued to stare blankly at Snype, "What an interesting specimen, looks to have lived for several years under human care, well fed, possess strength not found in wild Sableye due to having a trainer train him. Sableye, part of the human-like egg group. On average weighs twenty four point three pounds which is equivalent to eleven kilograms. Has an average height of one foot and eight inches which is equivalent to point five meters. Is able to learn the moves Mean Look, Zen Headbutt, Leer, Scratch, Foresight, Night Shade, Astonish, Fury Swipes, Fake Out, Detect, Shadow Sneak, Knock Off, Feint Attack, Punishment, Shadow Claw, Power Gem, Confuse Ray, Foul Play, and Shadow Ball."

Almost instantly the emotionless tone faded as Lucia floated up and giggled, "So you think we could? Please Mark! I would love exploring at night!"

Snype just blinked as Lucia went up to his face. Rather awkward for the Sableye what with his whole moveset and life story being explained like this!

Mark just blinked. "Uh... Lucia? What was that back there?" He asked, feeling rather confused.

"What now?" She asked.

Tyro looked over at Mark and shook his head, indicating he shouldn't bring it up.

Mark nodded to Tyro. "U-uh... never mind I just saw a wild pokemon roam by.. probably a Ratatta or something. So uh... night time adventure? I dunno... I mean, I'm not quite dressed properly for exploring and all but it does sound fun..." Mark rubbed his chin trying to think up something.

Lucia nodded, "Then. We shall rest!" She said as he pointed a fin up dramatically. "I wonder what it'll be like to sleep as a Porygon Z?" She mused to herself as she floated along.

Mark smiled and rubbed Lucia's head. "Heh, hey, next time I think we could get away with some night time adventures! Wouldn't be the first time I've done some mischievous stuff at night! What about you? Ever done any stuff late at night back at your home?" Mark said with a grin.

Lucia shook her head, "Father wouldn't approve." She admitted as they got closer to the building. "I would have been grounded severely if I had!"

Mark laughed a little. "Hehe,sometimes a little risk can be fun though!... oh gosh now I'M starting to sound like Snype. You little creep, your starting to get into all of us!" Mark said playfully as he poked Snype lightly on the head. The two simply laughed together.

Lucia looked on as her head tilted downwards a bit, "Subjects currently experiencing happiness. Synonyms include bliss, contentment, delight, elation, pleasure, prosperity, well-being, glee, joy, jubilation, laughter, optimism. Antonyms include depression, despair, discouragement, dissatisfaction, gloom, misery, pain, sorrow, upset, worry, woe, trouble, unhappiness." With that Lucia kept on floating to their destination.

The group would eventually arrive at their dorm. Mark was actually looking forward to having a nice long nap. "Phew... today was one heck of a day huh?" Mark simply said. He pondered on what else he'd have to take care of. Snype might need a bath himself later with all of the fighting he had gotten involved in. Len usually took care of that stuff at times though.

Lucia floated on down and nodded, "A day cannot be heck." Was his answer as the currently emotionless Porygon-Z titled her head around.

Mark walked up to the Porygon and placed his hand on her fin. "Lucia? Are you feeling alright...?" Mark asked with a frown.

Lucia stared right at Mark, "Subject is experiencing worry. Synonyms include anguish, apprehension, distress, concern, doubt, fear, torment, torture, uneasiness, woe, misery."She paused there as she floated on down to the floor.

Mark reached down and picked Lucia up. "Comon don't do this emotionless stuff on me... Your Lucia! Don't let this body take over you..." Mark said to her, holding onto her sides and looking down at her.

Lucia stared up at him silently, "Correction. I am Porygon-Z. Do you wish to name me Lucia?" She asked before suddenly that light returned to her eyes, "Uh... Mark why are you holding me?" She asked, "Are we going outside then?"

Mark raised a brow and gave a small blush as Lucia seemed to regain her senses again, but this was a bad sign of things to come... he didn't want to press the issue onto Lucia and make her worry though. "H-huh? Uh... well we were about to head to bed... it is getting kinda late and all you know?" Mark said

She nodded and gave a small hug to Mark, "Alright, see you in the morning!" She got to her bunk and wiggled amid the sheets and soon was fast asleep, soft digital noises being expelled as she slept on. Tyro went on over to Mark, "Well... it isn't good. We need to bring her to someone tomorrow. One of the professors or something."

Mark turned over to Tyro. "No need to tell me twice... tommorow I'm going to focus on getting Lucia back to normal. I don't want to lose her... I owe her that much." Mark whispered to Tyro as he watched Lucia float up to the top of the bunk bed. Mark walked over to the bottom bunk and layed down. Tucking himself under his sheets, he looked up and started to close his eyes. "Gnite Lucia..." Mark said.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Freakin' Cooper

​

The training session with Conor and his Ralts had gone well, Sammy even felt as though Cubone might have gotten some benefit from being a positive example to another Pokemon. Once they'd finished up everyone had said their goodbyes and Sammy had gone on her way after returning Cubone to his pokeball. All she wanted now was to get back to her dorm, have her third shower of the day and collapse into bed. Today had been even more bizarre than the time she and Mark had gotten lost inside a volcano of all places, and that was saying something. She was crossing the open space between two buildings on campus, holding the egg case and the precious cargo it contained close, when her thoughts of blissful slumber were interrupted.

"Hey, you! I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

She stopped and looked around, trying to figure out who had challenged her - if indeed the challenge was meant for her, when she was a boy running from about sixty yards away... apparently she'd wandered into his field of view. Ugh, she didn't need this right now... The boy trotted up to her, and she was less than impressed by her challenger. He was a mostly ordinary looking kid. Unkempt dark hair, glasses, brown eyes, travelling clothes, a large backpack... wait, what?

"Hold on a second, did you just get here?"
"Yeah, I caught the late ferry, and I challenge YOU to a Pokemon Battle!" He grinned enthusiastically. He seemed maybe a year or two younger than her, and she guessed he was a pretty new Trainer.
"Listen," she sighed, "Normally I'd love to, but I've had the day from hell. It's late, and I really don't need this, okay? Go have your first battle with someone else."
"I've had battles before," he responded, sounding hurt, "I'm not some rookie just because this is my first day on the island. You don't need to be a jerk if you're not up to a battle, you can just forfeit."
"Forfeit? Are you kidding? Just because it isn't a good time doesn't mean you win automatically."
He shrugged. "It's the rules. As an able Trainer you have to accept any challenge."
"Those are League rules punk, don't try and pull that ♥♥♥♥ on me. You got some nerve."
"Hey, don't blame me!" He held his hands up. "I don't mind, but if you refuse to battle then it counts as a victory for me. Do we register victories with teachers or...?"
"No! We don't, this isn't a League! If you go around telling people you beat me I-... you know what? Fine. I accept. The sooner I kick your butt the sooner I can get mine in bed. C'mon."

She turned and stalked away from him, towards the closest outdoor battlefield, the kid doing his best to keep up. Maybe she was being too harsh on him - he didn't know that there weren't official standings at the Academy. But she'd spent most of the day defeating Team Rocket, she wasn't going to let some new kid go around saying he beat her.

"What's your name?" She asked, trying to take some of the sting out of her voice.
"Uh, Slater," he answered as he tried to stop his backpack bouncing around while he jogged after her, "Pewter City. Near Pallet Town? I was going to have to wait six months for Professor Oak to get new starter Pokemon in, so Brock caught me a Geodude instead! Pretty cool, huh? He's our towns Gym Leader.
"I know who Brock is, I'm not a Slowbro. And you shouldn't tell me your Pokemon, we're about to battle." Just how green was this kid?
"I... I know that! I've got two others anyway!"
"Fine. We can have a three on three then. Stand over there."

They'd arrived at a simple battlefield, with the borders marked on the grass in chalk. Sammy stood in her trainers box at one end and directed Slater to the opposite one. He stepped into it uncertainly - he really was a rookie. This was going to be painful.

"I'm Sammy, by the way. I'll send my first Pokemon out first, since you already gave away an advantage by telling me you had a Geodude, okay?"
"Uh, sure," Slater nodded. As intimidated as he seemed by her, he was still clearly excited.
"And... sorry if I'm being mean. I've just had a bad day," she grumbled.

She held the egg case with one hand and pulled the Luxury Ball from her belt, tapping the button to release the Pokemon inside. It was too awkward to throw it while holding the egg case, so she felt a bit lame, but this wasn't going to be a battle for the record books anyway. Shuppet popped out of his Luxury Ball and did his usual thing of floating silently, staring at Slater with his wide eyes.

"Oooohhh cool, a Shuppet! That's a Ghost Type, right? I want to catch one some day, they're really cool, but I hear they can be tough to train if you don-"
"Slater?"
"Uhhh... sorry... okay... WEEDLE I CHOOSE YOU! Let's start this off with Poison Sting!"

Oh come on. A Weedle. A freakin' Weedle. I can't even take it easy on him, how do you not destroy a Weedle?

Slater threw his Pokeball like he was trying to send it into orbit, a spritely looking Weedle landing on the battlefield. She had to admit that Beedrill were pretty cool, but beating a Weedle was like kicking a Lillipup. It was just cruel. The little critter fired a stinger from its head at Shuppet, who didn't react at all when the stinger struck him, bounced off and fell to the ground.

"Shuppet, Nightshade," she sighed. Ending it quickly was probably the most humane thing to do, but she still felt embaressed for the kid. This was a rough way to start your time at the Academy, she just hoped his other two Pokemon were going to be a bit more formidable. Shuppet stared at Weedle, wide eyes flashing red as an aura of the same colour surrounded the Bug type. Weedle tensed up, apparently in pain from the attack, then promptly fell over.

"Come on Weedle," Slater called out, "You can do it!"
"Slater, it's out cold."
"Uh... it is?"
"Yeah."
"Oh... GREAT JOB WEEDLE! TIME FOR A REST!" Slater called Weedle back to his Pokeball and switched it out for another one. "Time for the muscle, I choose you Geodude!"

Geodude came onto the field with its fists clenched, and Sammy hoped it was a sign that there'd be a bit more of a fight from this Pokemon. Shuppet was going to have an advantage in speed, and some of Geodudes attacks might not even work, but she wasn't going to let the Weedle make her underestimate all of Slaters Pokemon. That was a recipe for disaster.

"Okay Shuppet, hit it with a Nightshade, let's see what we're up against."

Shuppet's eyes started to glow again, and that same red aura appeared around Geodude. It flinched in pain, then fell to the ground with a thud, eyes spinning around in its head. Sammy cursed quietly, this was turning into a joke. Slater was staring at his fallen Geodude in disbelief, he'd clearly been baking on it to do something other than faint immediately.

"...Listen, Slater, we can call it there. It's getting late."
"What? No way! Geodude, return!" Slaters Pokeball sucked Geodude back up. She had to hand it to him, he wasn't taking the easy way out. "I still have one Pokemon left!"
"Okay, okay. Just let me change out Shuppet, I might have a Pokemon who's a fairer match."
"Smart move," he nodded, "Shuppet is still weak from that Poison Sting!"
"Uhhhhh sssure he is..." Sammy tried not to roll her eyes and called Shuppet back, clipping his Luxury Ball to her belt again. It was getting hard to see with the darkness increasing, so she could at least light the battlefield up a bit.

She held out Ponyta's Pokeball and held it out, releasing the Fire type. The flames on her body cast a flickering light onto the battlefield, the effect made more dramatic when she reared onto her hind legs and pawed the air, crying out. Sammy smiled, she could always count on Ponyta to put on a show.

"Huh, I should've figured you had a Ponyta," Slater said.
"Why's that?"
"Well, y'know, girls like Ponyta's, right?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Send out your last Pokemon already."
"Alright, this is where we turn it around. Let's go - Spearow!"

Spearow!? Shuppet would have struggled against a Spearow, he didn't have any moves that could affect it yet! Clearly the universe wanted her to win this battle as brutally as possible. Maybe this was a prank, maybe there were hidden camera's set up in the treeline and she was going to feature on some sort of reality tv show... but she thought it was far more likely this kid had just challenged someone way out of his league. She tried to remember that she'd been like that once - but surely she hadn't been this annoying?

The kids Spearow had a scar across its beak, so it actually looked pretty cool as it swooped around waiting for orders, but she didn't have high hopes for it. Spearow evolved reasonably quickly, so the fact that it wasn't a Fearow yet told her all she needed to know about how strong it would be compared to Ponyta.

"Ponyta, Tackle," she said half heartedly. Normally she'd have Ponyta use a more impressive attack, but it seemed like showing off against Slater. Poor kid.
"Spearow, let's open up with a Peck attack!"

All that shouting was really getting to her though.

Ponyta raked a hoof across the earth before charging forward, lowering her head. Spearow dived straight for her, beak first. Sammy wasn't able to see the collision very well from her angle, all she could make out was that Ponyta and Spearow hit each other, and then Ponyta was wheeling around and cantering back towards Sammy. Yup. There it was. Spearow - one hit KO. Battle over. She called Ponyta back - she wouldn't be happy about such a short and easy battle - and started walking towards Slater.

"Listen kid, thanks for the battle I guess, but I think you need to train a li-"
"That - was - awesome! You're so strong Sammy, I can't believe it! I never thought I'd meet someone as strong as you!" Slater bounced around happily, even as he called Spearow back.
"What? Those aren't even my strongest Pokemon."
"NO WAY! I don't believe you, that's crazy!"

Wrong thing to say...

"Slater, really, I'm not th-"
"I, Slater of Pewter City, vow to defeat you one day Sammy!" He declared, pointing right at her. "No matter how long it takes I'll keep challenging you, learning from every defeat, until finally I beat you! Don't forget it!" He nodded firmly, grabbed the straps of his backpack and sprinted off towards the Academy buildings, leaving her standing there looking confused as hell.

"What the &?$! just happened?"

​

***
​

The rest of her night didn't really compare to the bizarre meeting with Slater, it thankfully went exactly the way she'd planned. She got back to her dorm without interruption and promptly locked her door - no way was she dealing with anybody else tonight. She had a quick shower and dressed for bed, flinging herself onto it with glorious abandon. Tomorrow was another day - even if there now was a rookie Trainer whose mental state she had concerns about plotting to challenge her again... and again... and again... and again...​

 

[Dawn]

Valorie Ryder - Valorie's Dorm Room

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

Goodra!Valorie stared at her bed. So... This was it, huh? She'd just have to get used to her new body and make the best of it, starting with a good night's sleep. She had class in the morning, and she had no intention of allowing her grades to slip. Valorie turned and sat upon her bed, laying down and staring off into the distance for a long moment, going over the day's event in her mind.

...

Nope. Valorie got back up, leaving a ruined bed in her wake. This wasn't working for her at all! With a huff, the thoroughly uncomfortable girl made her way back outside. She had a full night's searching in vain ahead of her. What she hadn't anticipated when she left the school and walked off into the darkness was that the wild pokemon would be more territorial than usual. Luckily for her she had a powerful body to rely on! It didn't make the premise of being attacked any less frightening or upsetting however.

It was a bad night.

The next morning...

A thoroughly exhausted Valorie could be found resting against the wall of the school. The former shortcake had never known exhaustion quite as brutally as when she'd personally done all the fighting for one night. At some point or another her body had just refused to go on and she'd been forced to take a rest.

As she awakened she realized she had no clue what time it was! She might be late! A panic filled her and she got up, only to realize her body still hadn't fully recovered. She would also need to make a stop at the pokemon center, perhaps get something to eat.. This was a disaster! Off Valorie went in a mild rush, hoping she hadn't overslept all that much.

Academy Announcement

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

The speakers around the academy click to life 45 minutes before classes start; a woman's voice could be heard being cleared on the other end. "Greetings students! In the spirit of better preparing you to take on real world threats you might encounter on your pokemon journey, such as Team Rocket, we will be hosting a casual pokemon tournament on Battlefield Number 7! We would like to remind you all that a friendly battle with your peers or even your teacher is a great way to better yourself and your pokemon. The tournament will be taking place two hours after class. The winner will receive further training in the form of a battle against Professor Oak himself!" the announcer explained in a rather enthusiastic tone.

"...We will also be offering free snacks and drinks for spectators. Come watch the sun set over the best we have to offer battling it out!" she quickly blurted out after a moment's hesitation, the intercom falling dead.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy's alarm had been going off for a full five minutes before the sound penetrated her slumber. She snorted face down into her pillow and flailed her arm out until she smacked the alarm clock hard enough that it stopped screeching at her. How was anyone supposed to get any sleep with alarms going off all over the place? It took a second for her to put the concept of an alarm going off with the idea that it meant she should be getting up, resulting in another snort. Rolling over she thumped onto the floor and yelped - she'd forgotten she'd gone to bed with her new Egg, giving her less room than she was used to. It was going to be one of those days.

Hauling herself to her feet she looked around the room blearily before turning and staggering into her small bathroom. She leaned heavily on the sink with both hands and stared at her reflection with a great deal of disatisfaction. Her hair was a thick reddish brown birds nest and her eyes were crusted with sleep goop. Not the image of the tough take-no-prisoners Pokemon Trainer she wanted to be seen as. Turning the tap she splashed some cold water onto her face to wake up a bit before turning the shower on and stripping off while she let the water heat up. A quick shower, tie her hair back, get dressed and she'd be ready to go. She didn't have time for all that girly grooming Trubbish after all.

It was then that the announcement came on over the school speakers. There was going to be a tournament! This would finally be her chance to show Mark she was just as good a Trainer as he was - she'd battled alongside Cynthia after all, the first and greatest woman Champion. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror, dragging her fingers through her unkempt medium length hair. Cynthia... Cynthia was admired and respected as a Pokemon Trainer, but she was also something of a... well, she was a bit of a sex symbol. She was seen as beautiful woman with style and confidence and that didn't take away from her validity or strength as a Trainer. As a Champion. Sammy would be the first to admit she wasn't a very feminine girl - she couldn't remember her Mother since she'd died when Sammy was young. So she'd grown up with her Father while he worked on various ships sailing the world - being surrounded by sailors didn't lead to knowing a lot about being ladylike.

Magazines and the occassional passenger on cruise ships had taught her a little about hair, make-up, how to dress... she usually just made sure she was presentable and practical, which tended to be the best way to go when you were at high sea. She'd always thought that putting too much effort into her appearance meant people wouldn't pay as much attention to her substance, but Cynthia didn't seem to have that problem. Maybe she had at first and had fought through it. And there was Lucia, although Sammy had only met her in an actual human body once, she had been especially well groomed. But Mark never spoke about that, just about what a strong Trainer and how smart she was. Was she really a strong woman by refusing to participate in being one? But you didn't have to do all that stuff to be a woman, it was about more than that, wasn't it? She was kind to Pokemon, a good Trainer, she cared about her friends and Father, she didn't put with anyone treating her differently just because of her gender.

But was that what she was doing? She was giving herself special treatment because she was a girl by constantly assuming that other people would be ready to. And if they did, so what? She could fight off any punks that tried something stupid and she was a good enough Pokemon Trainer to prove it in the arena if anyone doubted her. Maybe it would be nice to take a bit more pride in who she was instead of being ready to come to blows over it all the time. Would it be so bad to look.... nice?

She'd spent so long looking at her reflection that she couldn't see it anymore, the steam from the shower had made the mirror useless. She shook her head and stepped into the shower, paying extra attention to making sure her hair wasn't full of its usual knots. Once she was done she turned the water off and stepped out and back into her bedroom, making sure the curtains were closed so no one caught a glimpse. She was getting water everywhere, but she hadn't done the prep work she should have done before getting in the shower. Searching under her bed she finally found what she was looking for, buried away and just about never used. After that she got Ponyta's Pokeball and carefully released the Fire type into the room. It was a tight fit, but her relationship with Ponyta was solid now so the spitfire kept her cool - even if she did give Sammy a funny look for being less than dressed. A few simple instructions and she was able to leave Ponyta to her task while Sammy went back into the bathroom and dried off.

By the time she was done Ponyta had finished her job, so Sammy returned her to her Pokeball with thanks. She gingerly lifted the now Pokemon-heated curlers and took a deep breath before rolling her hair over them. The process took her a while since it wasn't one she was used to, she'd only done it once before for her dads birthday when they were stationed on a luxury cruise liner, but she eventually finished. Once her hair was dry she went back to the mirror and wiped some of the moisture off of it so she could see what she was doing, ruffling and loosening her hair with her fingers, making sure to give herself a back to front partition that didn't adhere to the strictness of a clear line. The results looked pretty good, or at least like what they were supposed to, but she was still filled with Beautifly's at the thought of going out like this. Putting effort into your appearance brought the fear of being ridiculed for it, and maybe that was part of why she normally avoided doing it. She dragged herself away from her reflection before she drove herself mad fixing minor flaws.

The rest of her preparations were comparitively straight forward. Good hiking boots, dark jeans, a white t-shirt that showed just the bottom of her midriff and a dark navy double breasted coat with a high collar. She looped her belt around her waist and attached her Pokeballs to it, pulling the collar of the coat up before grabbing her bag and stepping out of her room. This look was far outside anything she normally sported, and certainly nothing like how she'd looked during her time on the island so far. Hell, most people probably wouldn't even recognise her straight away. But if she wanted to be more like Cynthia then maybe this was the first step.​

 

[Megaman765]

Lucia and Mark: An Awkward System Restore
​

Mark seemed fast asleep... seemingly having some kind of dream. It wasn't too pleasant either as his face showed plenty of worry. Mark was dreaming about Lucia. What if she was stuck as a Porygon? She had asked him out so the dream consisted of him... well... dating Lucia in her Porygon form. It was all sorts of awkward for him. Dancing, going out to eat, sleeping in bed... Mark wasn't sure what to make of it. He was enjoying it due to the fact this was still Lucia at heart but at the same time couldn't help but feel uneasy throughout the whole dream. Mark wasn't waking up on his own.

And then, something slammed into him. Hard. Lucia had been idly staring at him for quite a bit before finally her timer had gone off and she slammed into the human. "Mark. Awaken." She buzzed. "Class begins in 0135 hours. It is best to be prepared and intake appropriate nutrition." She lowered herself to the floor, "I have upgraded to version 2.56436. Memory capacity is functioning with a twenty percent increase and sensors have been improved to scan heart rate and endorphin surges."

Mark jumped awake as he was slammed into! His blanket placed above his lap as he just stared at Lucia. She was talking weird again... not to mention it seemed earlier then usual for Mark! "...Lucia your talking weird again. Comon this isn't funny..."

Lucia stared silently at him, "Version 2.56436 has helped to clear up brain functions. Removed in this update are the emotions of rage, anger, and disappointment. Due to several memories that clashed with my primary function I have sequestered and placed them in a dump file." She turned about and floated past a shocked Tyro, "Class schedules were uploaded approximately a 0530 this morning."

Mark just simply blinked. This wasn't good... Lucia needed to snap out of this. Her behavior wasn't even like a Porygon-Z! Emotion was one of the weirder things about the Pokemon. Porygon-Z was a glitch within itself and all. "Lucia you need to do a system restore or something. I can't have you keep upgrading like this. It isn't doing us any good." Mark said.

Lucia paused as her eyes glowed blue, "System.. restor-" Suddenly the Porygon fell to the ground in a cluttered heap as Tyro sighed, "Just had to force her to system restore, didn't you!?" He said angrily.

Mark frowned. "What'd you want me to do? Keep her like this? If she restores back to an... well, older version then we still have time. We need to get her back to normal today one way or another." Mark said.

Lucia tilted her head as she slowly beagn to get up, "Woah..." She blinked a bit, Oh,
hey Mark! Are we up already? Cool! So... oh, hm... seeing a lot of upgrades here.."

"Don't!" Mark interrupted. "Whatever you do, do NOT upgrade!" He added, followed by an awkward silence.

She tilted her head, "Okay... hm... theses smaller ones seem for porygons. Hehe, i was never one so I guess that it wants me to upgrade through porygon... uh... well, all the way up to version thirty. What's the harm of upgrading?"

Mark shook his head. He had to be bluntly honest if he was going to keep her from trouble. "Lucia you almost lost yourself in that last upgrade. You acted all weird there... like, up to version 2.5 or something. It seriously scared me and Tyro... just trust me. Don't upgrade. If it forces you to do so, restore your systems to an older version." Mark explained.

Lucia tilted her head as she looked back and forth between the two before nodding slowly, "Of course... no worries. Uh.... well, I mean those upgrades are just right THERE... pretty tempting..." She giggled, "Just kidding. OH! I'm... naked." Her Porygon face blushed as she went over and grabbed a pillow and covered her body with it.

"There's nothing there Lucia." Tyro said but the Porygon shook her head, "You have no idea of that! What if something IS there!?"

Mark rubbed his head and kinda blushed himself. Well, in a sense she was kinda naked... but she was artificial so... "Haha, pretty sure I didn't see anything Lucia" Mark said, kinda glad she was acting like her usual self.

Lucia stared at Mark and then threw him the pillow, "Well then I guess you won't mind if you have it?" She asked. "So... I remember something of a schedule... I think? Hm... her eyes glowed red for a moment, "Ah! The schedule is up! Hm.... Life Skills? Is that a new class?"

Mark crossed his arms. "Hmm... maybe its for students that were turned into Pokemon? Chances are you might see more students that are in your situation there..." Mark said, moreso focused on Lucia's condition. He got up from his bed and tossed his blanket aside. Much to Lucia's displeasure, he wasn't wearing pants. Just his boxers and t-shirt. Mark hadn't even noticed since he didn't remember undressing before going to bed. Snype was just snickering on Mark's bed, sitting conveniently next to his pair of sweatpants while Mark was about to ask what his class was... "So Lucia... what's-"

Lucia gasped and threw another pillow at him, "Barbarian!" She said in a shocked voice, "Is this how ALL boys are!?"

Tyro chuckled, "Well, you should cover up Mark."

Mark was hit by the pillow, looking rather confused by her statement. But Tyro clearly made it clear enough. He looked down at himself and gave off a bright red blush, moving the pillow down to cover himself up. "A-Ah!... S-sorry Lucia! I uh... I didn't realize I didn't have pants! I swear I was dressed..." He said, giving a nervous laugh. He glanced over to Snype. Sneaky little ghost... At least this was without a doubt Lucia talking. Snype gave off a small wolf whistle to further add to the Prank. Maybe that was Snype's plan? Didn't change how embarrassing this was!

Lucia turned away, "W-Well hurry up then!" She snapped, "I will not force myself to watch such... such lewdness."

Mark nodded. "Y-yes Ma'am!" He said as he quickly turned and went over to his bed and wrapped a blanket around him.

Lucia sighed and shook her head as she could hear him bumbling around, "Maybe it's best if I go to class and leave you with your... clothing situation?" She grabbed the belt of pokeballs and slung them around her body as she grabbed the necklace and hung it around her head.

"H-hey! I'm clothed! Sorry sorry! Hang on a sec! We still gotta get ready and all. Um... what's my class anyways? And where should we meet up after class?" Mark said. He didn't really want Lucia going out on her own but then again, Tyro could protect her at least.

Lucia nodded her head, "Sure!" She said. "Oh, there was that announcement you know, some battle tournament. Let's meet there!" With that she opened the door and floated on out with Tyro following after.

Mark just blinked. She was certainly in a hurry today. Oh well... at least she was somewhat back to normal. He recent reactions basically confirmed it 100% Snype was sitting on Mark's bed laughing up a storm and gasping for breath He got off one heck of a prank! "Snype! Comere you!" Mark went to tackle Snype on the bed and started to wrestle and try to grab a hold of the sneaky little ghost, making one heck of a mess on the bed. Lucia was bound to hear it on the way out. This was quite a start! Alot more upbeat at least compared to the previous day. Mark still had to get ready but first he had to deal with this sneaky little Prankster!

"I'll get you back for that Snype! Comon in front of Lucia of all people?!" He shouted from his room as he was starting to make a bit of a ruckus. He was bound to wake up some neighbors.

 

[ShaymieTheShaymin]

Kayla Makihatayama and Holly Amarosa

Kayla smiled at Shawn. She picked up Yuri and sighed. "I... I think that I need to talk to her alone," she said quietly. "I mean, she probably doesn't like feeling ganged up on. I shouldn't have gotten Amy and Chase to double team her. She probably thought that we were the bad guys... I wish that she would know how worried we are about her. We don't want to lose her again..." She smiled weakly at Shawn and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to wait outside of Holly's room until she comes back. I can't live with myself knowing that she probably hates my guts. And... I shouldn't keep getting you involved with my drama," Kayla said as she walked off. Yuri frowned and tried to lick Kayla's face to cheer her up, but the girl shook her head. Holly has to talk to me eventually... She can't hate me forever, can she? That's just not possible... she thought as she walked to Holly's dorm. She sat down outside of Holly's room and petted Yuri absentmindedly, sighing softly.

~~~later that day~~~​

"What are you doing here?" Holly asked. Kayla groaned and opened her eyes. Did I fall asleep? she thought, frowning. She looked up at Holly and winced at the hostile look that her cousin was giving her.

"I go to school here," Kayla joked softly, petting Yuri, who was still sleeping. The look on Holly's face showed that she wasn't amused at all.

"What are you doing outside of my room?" Holly asked. "Do you not know what 'leave me alone' means? For a spoiled genius, you're pretty dumb." Kayla stared at Holly with wide eyes. She had never heard her cousin sound like this ever.

"I-I... I want you to forgive me," she said. Holly glared at her.

"I'll never forgive you," she said as she stormed into her room, slamming the door in Kayla's face. Kayla winced and blew hair from her face. She'd get Holly to forgive her, even if it takes the rest of the school year.

the next morning​

Holly

Holly woke up the next day with a huge headache. She had barely gotten any sleep last night because she was thinking about Kayla. Kayla. Why'd she have to tell Amy and Chase about her not taking her medicine? Those pills. Stupid pills, Holly thought angrily, sitting up. They ruined everything... Molly looked at her nervously from the other side of the room. Holly rolled her eyes. Why was everyone so overly protective? They treated her like she was glass or something.

"Not you too," Holly said to the Munna. Molly looked away awkwardly and sighed. Holly frowned.

"Sorry, Molly," she said, walking over to the Munna and hugging her. "I'm just mad at Kayla... I hope that we don't have the same class or anything. I don't want to see her ever again."

Molly looked up at Holly sheepishly. Holly narrowed her eyes at her. "We have the same class, don't we?" she asked. Molly nodded and floated a few feet away from Holly.

"Self-defense," she said. "I asked Yuri before you woke up. Holly, can't you just forgive her? She did what she did for a reason."

Holly glared at her and grabbed the first pair of clothes that she could find, a light purple dress and white tights with light purple flats, and marched off to the shower. Molly sighed.

Kayla

Kayla tried knocking on Holly's door, but heard the shower turn on. She sighed. Holly was so stubborn... Just like Amy. Kayla gasped. Maybe Amy would know what to do! She turned on her Xtransceiver and called Amy as she walked back to her dorm.

"Hello?" Amy asked as she picked up. Kayla rolled her eyes when she noticed that her older cousin was eating ice cream.

"Really, Amy?" she asked. Amy smiled. "I'm pregnant. I have cravings," she said. Kayla laughed.

"Was this call important, or did you just call to scold me on my eating habits?" Amy said. Kayla bit her lip and sighed.

"Holly hates me," she said. "She refuses to talk to me ever since I told you guys that she wasn't taking her pills. What do I do?" Amy sighed.

"She's so stubborn," she muttered under her breath. "It was hard even getting her to take her medicine to begin with... If she doesn't want to take it, then don't force her." Kayla gasped.

"But Amy, she could hurt herself!" she said. Amy glared at her, which made her flinch.

"It won't help to constantly be on her back, telling her what to do. Just leave her alone. But... Keep a close eye on her, would ya? She's my little sister..." Amy looked down, and Kayla could tell how much this hurt her.

"Okay..." she reluctantly agreed. She walked into her dorm and found her room. "Bye, Amy. Classes are starting soon," she said. Amy smiled weakly.

"Bye, sweetie." The screen went black. Kayla closed the door and flopped onto her bed.

"Holly..." she mumbled. She sighed and checked her schedule. Self-defense again? Maybe she had to retake it since she skipped last time. She stood up and got dressed, not really caring what she wore. As she walked out of her dorm, she couldn't help but worry about Holly.

 

[Nillemi]

Ellie Ward - Entei Dorms
​

"Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz" A loud alarm loudly Blairs in the morning, Potentially loud enough to wake Neighbors if they're light sleepers.

"Ugh, Nooooo... Let be sleep a bit more..." Ellie whine Groggily ass she threw anything within arms reach. Despite the clock being quite a distance from her bed, after a few tries a water bottle manages to strike the snooze button.

"Thank god..." She Mumbles to herself, Quickly falling back into her pillow...

"Greetings students!"

Ellie quickly opens her eye again, More than a little bit frustrated as the announcement Loudly plays all over the school. "Well so much for a little bit more sleep..." She Muttered under her
breath listening to whatever this woman has to say.

"Huh, a Tournament... That's interesting. I was never able to win a Colosseum challenge back home but against other people my age I might actually stand a chance." Ellie thought as she stumbled out of her bed and into the bathroom, splashing water in her face in attempt to wake up.

"Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz" The alarm starts to shout loudly once again, Slowly getting louder with time. "Well, there's the sleep alarm, I got forty minutes till I gotta head out." she quickly figured in her head "If I remember correctly my first class is Self-Defense, I better hurry before I'm late on my first real school day." She Say, Her enthusiasm tarting to break through the grogginess as she dashes out the door with her bag.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy walked through the hallways, more conscious of her appearance than normal. Not only had she put some effort into it, which was uncharacteristic of her, but she was also cradling an egg case against her chest, containing a lilac egg with purple spirals across the surface. Why did the egg have to be so... girly? She sighed and tried to remind herself that she was making an effort not to worry about that so much. She was a girl, so there was nothing wrong with being a bit girly so long as she didn't forget that it was only one part of her. And any feebas jerks who thought it was all she was would get her foot in their face. The mental image made her feel a bit better.

She did get a few looks from boys which was... well, it wasn't like it never happened, but she didn't give it a lot of thought most of the time. People had to look somewhere, right? But now she was sure they were... looking. In that way. Her stomach twisted up, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Wasn't that why she'd done this? She thought it had been about being comfortable with being a girl but now all she could think about were the boys checking her out. She forced herself to keep her pace the same and tried not to glare at everyone who turned their head her way. It felt good to get that sort of attention, in a way, but looking good wasn't high on the list of things she wanted to be known for. But that didn't mean she didn't want to be known for it...

She made a sound of disgust at herself. What the hell was she doing turning everything upside down in her head like this? She'd felt like doing her hair. So she'd done her hair. She felt like dressing a bit nicer. So she had! All that other stuff, how people saw her, that was for them to worry about. She was who she was no matter what she looked like. If she decided to shave her head tomorrow - and she might! - she would and she'd still be the same person. Maybe that was the key to being more like Cynthia, being more like herself and not trying to be more or less of a woman, or anything else, because of how she might be seen.

Once she reached the cafeteria she grabbed a bowl of porridge, a banana, an apple and a glass of orange juice. The smell of coffee wafted towards her and she inhaled deeply, sorely tempted by the java's scent. She'd gained a taste for it on the ships with her old man, but had been trying to kick the habit. She always ended up feeling like she needed it to get her day started or jumpstart her brain. With some serious willpower she passed on it, today was too important to get a caffeine crash in the middle of the tournament. Egg case held to her side with one arm and tray carefully balanced on her other hand she found a free table and slid into a chair, setting the tray down and putting the egg case on the table beside it.

The tournament occupied her mind as she tucked into her porridge. The announcement over the speakers hadn't given too much infortmation other than the battlefield. She was pretty sure number seven was one of the open air ones with no particular elemental advantage, which was a good thing. But the number of Pokemon per Trainer hadn't been given, or if you had to use the same Pokemon from one match to the next. If she had to use the same ones in each match then she had some hard choices ahead of her. Crawdaunt, Cubone, Shuppet, Ponyta, Pancham... they all had their strengths and weaknesses. There was no point thinking it over too much until she knew more about the type of tournament. Besides, she had her class before that.

Advanced Mining. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, it didn't seem like a class that would have any practical benefit to her as a Trainer. She didn't think that a sparkling career as a miner awaited her... maybe it would be best to skip out on class and sneak in some last minute training before the tournament? But then again Clay was the teacher for Advanced Mining and he was a Gym Leader, so maybe she could pick up a pointer or two from him. She decided to go, Cynthia probably hadn't gotten where she was by skipping out on her classes. What was the worst that could happen?​

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam - Raikou Dorm
Early Morning Madness​

The Night Before …

Thanks to Sammy and her Cubone, Ralts now knew the basics to battling, granted it wasn't very much but it was still a start. Certainly more than Liam had ever managed to do. Sammy had left the battlefield before Liam so he now just sat on the benches with his two pokémon staring up at him. The room was dead silent. Liam just stared at the ground and wondered what to do next.

Maybe we should have a real battle. Try and put Sammy's practice into action. thought Liam as a faint smile appeared on his face. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got for a real battle in which he'd use Ralts. Ralts on the other hand was less than enthusiastic about it. The longer the thought lingered in Liam's mind, the more nervous Ralts got. It let out a small nervous cry and looked up at Liam as her eyes started to well up.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't be nervous Ralts. We can do this … together. Remember what Sammy taught you" said Liam is a soft voice as he lowered himself down to Ralts's level. Ralts quickly wiped her eyes and gave a half-hearted nod in order to show her co-operation.

"Alright. Let's go find a real battle then so" added Liam as he and his small team of pokémon exited the battlefield.

To Liam's surprise, the training session with Sammy must have dragged on longer than he thought. Night was fast approaching. This battle would have to be quick if they wanted to get back to the dorms before it became pitch black outside.

"Ok come on. I think I know a decent place where we can find some pokémon" said Liam as he looked down at his team. He proceeded to start jogging and his pokémon soon followed suit. Liam had been jogging down the Oak Town road for about ten minutes before he decided to stop and catch his breath.

"Man … I am really outta shape!" chuckled Liam as he hunched over in an attempt to regain his composure. "Okay this place seems pretty good. Let's have a look around here" he added as he straightened himself back up and took a deep breath. The group left the road and started walking around in the open fields in an attempt to find a wild pokémon to battle. It didn't take long until they found one. It was a small pokémon with a green and brown skin tone as well as small antlers on its head. It was a Skiddo, a pokémon which Liam was only now seeing for the first time.

"Poliwag you sit this one out. Ralts let's do this. Remember what Sammy taught us" whispered Liam as he watched Poliwag step back and Ralts move forward slowly. Thankfully the Skiddo seemed to be preoccupied with trying to grab some berries from a bush so at least they had the element of surprise.

Battle Time:

Spoiler:

"Okay Ralts. I want you to use Confusion. Let's go" whispered Liam once more. Ralts gave a small nod of understanding and the horn on top of Ralts's head started to glow bright. The shining light on the horn disappeared quickly and all off a sudden Skiddo was hit by something. The small pokémon stumbled about and soon lost its balance. Unfortunately the element of surprise was up, now was when the real battle started. Skiddo quickly jumped back onto its feet and locked its sight straight at Ralts. Very quickly, little sharp disc like objects came flying from the grassy area underneath its head and they headed straight for Ralts. It was Razor leaf and it was moving so fast that Liamhad no time to react. Ralts was slashed several times from the leaves and they had pushed her right back to Liam's feet.

Ralts looked up at Liam with worry. She was starting to get scared again. Liam could tell it from the look in her eyes. "Come on Ralts. We can't give up now, we have to try. Please … for me" said Liam as he looked down at Ralts. She paused for a few seconds before hesitantly walking forward to square up against Skiddo once again.

"Ralts let's try and do what Sammy had us doing. I want you to use double team" said Liam as a smirk appeared on his face, obviously confident in the move. Ralts quickly made several duplicates of herself and surrounded Skiddo in a circular pattern. The Skiddo frantically looked around and spun in circles trying to make sense of what just happened. The Skiddo took a shot in the dark and tried using tackle in order to attack one of the copies. Skiddo simply phased through the copy and fell to ground with a crash. "Okay Ralts now use Confusion one more time" shouted Liam as the excitement in his voice reached an all-time high. The horn on Ralts's head once again started to shine bright before it quickly dispersed and Skiddo was hit by an attack which was nowhere to be seen. Skiddo slowly got back onto its feet and staggered around for a few seconds before it fell back to the ground knocked out.

"Oh my god. We won! We won!" shouted Liam as a giant smile on his face appeared. Ralts ran back to Liam's feet and wrapped her arms tightly around his leg. "I knew we could do it Ralts!" he added as the excitement and rush of a won battle filled up inside him. He felt like he could break into a dance at any minute. Poliwag soon joined in and ran over and petted Ralts on the head a few times before he started to roll around on the ground in happiness. Ralts was gripping Liam's leg tight until her gasp loosened and her whole body starting shining a blinding white light color. Liam and Poliwag moved back from Ralts due to shock but more so because of the fact that both of them were nervous as to what was about to happen. The bright silhouette of Ralts suddenly began to change shape. The bright shape grew taller and started to fill out a small bit at the sides. The top of the pokémon changed drastically and just as Liam was about to run in and try and grab Ralts, the white light faded away. Liam just stopped in his tracks and stood with his mouth open in awe of this new pokémon.

"Kiiiirlia" the pokémon cried out before she walked over to Liam and looked up at him with a smile.

"Ralts … you evolved. That's what happened right?" Kirlia nodded her head and started to twirl around in a circle with a big smile on her face. "Wow … that's amazing. I guess I should stop calling you Ralts then so" Liam chuckled as he watched Kirlia spin around and around.

This is amazing! I couldn't have done any of this without Sammy. I need to find her and thank her properly. thought Liam as he smiled at both his pokémon.

"Okay, worst time to do this but I need to return you guys for now. It's getting super dark and we need to get back to the dorms ASAP." Liam pulled out both poke balls from his belt and shot the sharp beams of red light from them, returning both the pokémon. He clipped both of them onto his belt and started to run as fast as he could back towards the dorm rooms.

It didn't take long before he arrived at the dorms. He charged down the hallway and unlocked his room door and threw himself inside. "Phew" said Liam as he looked around his room. The place was an absolute mess, like a bomb had hit it. He pulled out the two poke balls and threw them on the ground, releasing the two pokémon contained inside. He grabbed the bottle of water which sat on his bedside table and took a few mouthfuls which finished it. He closed it up and threw it into his already overflowing bin beside the bed. The bottle simply bounced off the stuffed bin and rolled under the bed. Poliwag and Kirlia had already jumped up onto the bed and were started to doze. Liam let out a little laugh and he himself decided it was time for bed as well. He took off his trousers and threw them on the ground. He switched the lights off and jumped into bed. He pulled the duvet up around his shoulders and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

The Next Morning …

Buzz Buzz Buzz! Liam's alarm rang for a good thirty seconds until Liam lazily stretched out a hand and started to feel around for the alarm. He hit the table several times until he finally managed to hit the alarm. He turned around in the bed and looked up towards the ceiling. Occasionally rubbing his eyes as he did. He looked down and could see Poliwag and Kirlia still fast asleep at the bottom of the bed. He slithered out as carefully as he could and headed into the bathroom for a shower, bringing a new set of clothes along with him. He locked the door behind him and threw off his old clothes before jumping into the shower. While he was in the shower he heard an announcement play over the school speakers. "A pokémon tournament on battlefield 7. Battle against other students or even teachers. Hmm, might be a nice way to improve on my battling. Nice for my pokémon as well. Good training and all" said Liam as continued to wash himself in the shower. Soon he turned off the shower and stepped out. He gave his body a good drying before he began to dress himself. He fixed his wild and unkempt hair by combing it down at the sides and back and using a little hair gel he stylized the front and top a bit. He emerged from the steam filled bathroom and headed towards his bed. Sitting down on the bed, he put on a new pair of socks and placed his white sneakers on his feet. He leaned over on the bed and opened up a window, letting in some nice fresh air. He took in a deep breath and looked around his room. "Man this place is a bloody mess. I should probably get cleaning!" he said with a laugh.

He stood up and was ready to start tidying his bomb site of a room until he heard an ungodly commotion coming from nearby. Kirlia yawned as she opened one of her eyes. Once she too could hear the commotion she jumped off the bed and down onto the floor. Careful to avoid the junk and rubbish all over the place. Liam looked down and could see Kirlia as tired as she was, standing next to him. Looking back he could see that Poliwag was still fast asleep. He let out a small laugh before looking back down at Kirlia.

"Let's go check out what all the ruckus is about Kirlia" said Liam as the two headed towards the door. Liam opened the door and quietly closed it behind him, being sure to lock it at the same time to keep Poliwag as safe as possible. The further down the hall they went, the louder the commotion got. They arrived at one door and deduced that the noise must be coming from inside. Liam knocked on the door a few times and awaited a response.​

 

[Megaman765]

Mark was still chasing Snype around the room. More playfully this time around. He managed to at least put his sweatpants back on during all of the commotion but he made a bit of a mess with his bed! That Sneaky little bugger had gotten one heck of a laugh out of the whole situation. Mark quickly paused when he heard some knocks on the door. Ohh boy. Either this was the staff telling Mark he was too loud or a student trying to catch some sleep, Snype gave off another small snicker, giving an innocent whistle. To be fair, Mark was the one overreacting but how couldn't he? Considering one of his best friends/sorta-girlfriend saw him like that!

Mark walked up to the door, looking a bit like a mess and a blanket draping by his feet. Snype followed suit as well, standing just below him. How was he supposed to explain this?

Mark opened the door and quickly spoke out. "Ahh sorry sorry sorry if I woke you up! I got a bit of a rude awakening and ended up playing around with Snype down there." Mark said, bashfully rubbing his head. Lovely first impression. He just got out of bed but he looked like more of a slob then usual! Snype looked at Kirlia and gave her a small wave, rubbing his head in a similar fashion to Mark.

 

[WooliestSteam]

Mark and Liam- Raikou Dorm
New Friends​

Liam couldn't help but laugh. Mark seemed so worried about the fact that he was about to give out to him about all the noise. "No worries. I just wanted to see what was going on. Sounded pretty intense" said Liam as he smiled.

No offense to him but man this guy is a mess … 'kinda reminds me of myself thought Liam as he smiled once more. Kirlia down at Liam's feet returned the wave which Snype had given her and she proceeded to walk on into the room.

"Wow. Hang on there Kirlia. You can't just barge into this guy's room". Kirlia looked back at Liam and snapped her line of sight between Liam, Mark and Snype, mostly unsure of what to do now.

Snype kept an eye on the Kirlia as she stepped in the room. Not that he had a problem with it. In fact, he welcomed the company! Mark looked down at the two and simply smiled. "Nah it's fine. I'm kinda just getting things together so she can wander around for a little while if she wants to. Snype can keep an eye on her. Right?" Mark said. Snype nodded, seeming about ready to give her a "grand tour" of Mark's currently messy room. Smooth Snype. Smooth.

"Sorry if we woke you up. Uh... I'm Mark. Mark Wilson." Mark said. May as well get introductions out of the way!

"Nice to meet you Mark. I'm Liam Crawford. Oh … don't worry about waking me up. I was already up so it's no problem at all. On another note, you hear about that tournament today?" said Liam as he peeked into the room and saw Kirlia being kept company by Snype. He switched his focus back to Mark and waited to see if he was going to partake in this tournament.

Liam did wonder what kind of trainer was Mark. More specifically how long has he been on the island?

Mark's eyes beamed at the mention of the tournament. "Oh yeah! You can bet that I'm going to be there! I've been waiting for something like this to happen at the academy for a while now! I just gotta get my team prepared and well equipped for the upcoming battles! Items... their moves... what pokémon I might face there... I gotta make sure that none of my plans fall short!" Mark said, suddenly bursting in energy. Mark had been on the island since day one, and had grown to be a strategist of sorts. This tournament would be his chance to show what the Raikou Dorm could do!

"Ha... sorry I was rambling a bit there. Battling is sorta my thing." He said, followed by a small laugh.

Snype meanwhile was walking around the room with Kirlia, hoping up onto Mark's bed and sitting down on the edge. He invited Kirlia to join him as he comfortably looked around the rest of the room.

"Man you sound like you're ready to go. I'll head as well but I don't think I'll be doing very well. Only arrived on the island recently and I'm still getting to grips with the basics. Heck my Ralts evolved just last night and I had no idea what was going on at first. So yeah I'm pretty new to everything" said Liam as he laughed.

Inside the room Kirlia had jumped up on the bed beside Snype. She took a quick look around and focused on Liam for a few seconds. The two small horns on her head glowed faintly before she started twirling around in circles on the bed with a big smile on her face.

Mark crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Oh, new huh? What other pokémon do you have besides Kirlia there? She can turn out to be pretty tough in battle. Can't say I've fought one fully evolved yet but I've done a bit of research on different types." Mark said. The strategist in him was starting to show. He usually loved throwing advice around to newcomers to give them a kick start.

Snype looked over to Kirlia as she sat behind him, giving off a bit of a faint blush and rubbing his ear a bit bashfully. Snype was fairly easy to make friends with but he was a bit of a flirt at the same time. He wasn't as direct with it though.

"Other pokémon? The only other one I have is a Poliwag. He's in my room at the minute actually. Fast asleep. Nothing's waking that guy up. As for both of them though, I've yet to properly learn how good they are in a battle. Heck I don't even know if my Poliwag CAN evolve. I think I need to do some serious research on pokémon Mark" Liam said as he laughed.

"What do you think though, should I head to this tournament today? I just don't want to embarrass myself in front of all you experienced trainers" he added, nervously rubbing the back of his neck while his smile turned to more of a blank expression.

Kirlia continued to spin around, perhaps a little too much and ended up falling down. She laughed it off and sat herself up on the bed beside Snype. She looked around Mark's room once more and started swinging her feet which dangled of the edge as she did.

A Poliwag? Thankfully, Mark had plenty of experience with that pokémon. "Hold on a sec. This should answer your question about Poliwag." Mark said as he went by his bed to reach into his bag and pull out a Pokeball. When he opened it up, a Poliwraith popped right out of the ball! Something for him to look forward to! "Funny enough, Poliwag was my first pokémon, besides Snype here. Took a while, but this is what he evolved into. He's one heck of a fighter I gotta say. Right Len?" Mark said, giving Len a pat on the head.

"And hey, you got nothing to lose joining the tournament right? Even if there's some more experienced trainers there, I'd say that's the best way to learn. Heh, I've embarrassed myself in battle several times but I got a lot out of it in the end." Mark explained.

Snype gave a small laugh as Kirlia fell down and scooted beside her, starting to have a bit of a conversation it seemed! There would still be a faint blush on his face but it wasn't as obvious. "Kehe, sorry if my trainer is coming off as a bit unorganized. Long day yesterday and all. Hope your comfortable here anyways!" Snype said, roughly translated.

"Wow …" Liam whispered as he looked at this big hulking pokémon in the room. "That's what my Poliwag will evolve into? Man that's so awesome. To think that the little Poliwag that I can carry on my shoulder will evolve into that. Soo … cool."

Liam shook his mind free and focused back on Mark once again. "Yeah I suppose I should go to the tournament today. I just hope I can put up a decent fight that's all" he added as he smirked.

Kirlia smiled as Snype spoke to her. She always liked making new friends and Snype was an interesting little guy. "No worries. You should see my trainer's room. It's an absolute tip. So much garbage and junk all over the floor. He's a great guy though, just needs to work on his housekeeping. Oh yeah I'm comfortable here, it's so nice to meet someone new" said Kirlia as she continued to swing her feet in and out on the edge of the bed.

Mark nodded, while Len gave off a small flex, rather proud to be showing off like this. "Hey it can't hurt! You'll probably face some other students that are fresh off the boat too. I dunno how they're organizing the tournament but hopefully they'll be somewhat fair with the pairings." Mark said.

Snype smiled, turning a bit. "Kehe, ah really? Make's Mark sound super organized in comparison then! Haha" Snype joked. "But looks like they're hitting it off pretty easily! Mark is tough to stop when it comes to battling. I maaayyy have taken that trait from him too. Kehe. I can probably throw you some pointers if you like! N-not that I think you can't battle o-or anything!" Snype said a little nervously.

"Hopefully so. This'll be my first big sort of event so I don't want to make a hash of it. I want to at least TRY and give it my all. By the way Mark. How long have you been here? On the Island I mean" said Liam. He couldn't help but notice Snype and Kirlia chatting away over on the bed. If only he knew what they were talking about.

"Yeah looks like the two of them are getting on pretty well. First time I've seen Liam open up like this in a long time" said Kirlia as she smiled over at Liam. The horns on the top of her head glowed faintly once more before she continued to speak. "Yeah Mark is pretty serious alright. I can sense the excitement and passion for battle that's building inside him now. All this talk of battling must have him really excited. Liam on the other hand … not so much. He's not the best battler, to be honest I don't see him pursuing battling much at all. I'm not sure what he wants to do. I just know it won't be battling. I'm almost certain of that" added Kirlia.

With all her rambling she had totally forgotten about Snype's proposal, to give her some advice on battling. "Sorry … I ramble sometimes. Sure you can give me advice. I'm actually not very good at battling at all" added Kirlia as she laughed.

Mark leaned up against the door. "Oh me? Good question... well... I'd say I've been here since Day one. I was one of the first group of students brought over to the island." Mark simply said.

Snype meanwhile chuckled at her rambling. He didn't mind it at all. The Sableye turned around to face the Kirlia, cross legged. "Kehe, sure sure! Hmm... I guess the first thing would be your moves! What stuff do ya know? Also do you have any held items for battling?" Snype began, starting to sound more like a tutor of sorts now!

"Since day 1? Wow ... you must be the best trainer in this dorm then so." Liam said as he laughed. "So like have you seen much of the island or any cool things happen here? I've barely explored the island at all. There's so much for me to still see and do"

"My moves? … Well I know, Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport aaaaand … Lucky Chant. And as for held items. Never heard of such a thing" said Kirlia as she nervously laughed, unsure of what Snype would make of her in-experience.

Mark laughed a bit nervously at that. Best trainer in the dorm? Well... he considered himself to be pretty good but not exactly the best. Guess he'd just find out in the tournament! "Haha, yeah I've been pretty much all over the place. There's a whole lot of adventure if you know where to look. It sometimes gets pretty dangerous but that just comes with being a trainer!" Mark explained.

"Hmm... not a bad set of moves to start off with. If you can though, it'd be good to learn another type of attack in the future. If you end up fighting a Dark Type you'd be pretty boned with just confusion! But still, Double Team is a great move to avoid attacks like that and I'm sure Liam's Poliwag can cover Dark Types!" Snype explained. He scooted over to Mark's bag and pulled out what seemed to be a small ball of red yarn.

"As for hold items, this is something I tend to carry around. It's a destiny knot! I'm sure you're familiar with the move Attract. If I were to be hit by that, not only would I fall in love with the user, but the pokémon who used it would also fall in love with me! Kehehe. It's a fun, sneaky little trick! Kehe." Snype added.

"I just hope I don't get into any real danger" said Liamas he let out a small laugh. "But as you said, part of being a trainer I suppose. Actually something I've been meaning to ask you. What kind of pokémon is that on the bed? I've never seen one before. What region does it come from even?" added Liam, his interest in Snype growing by the second. "The two of them seem to be getting on well anyway."

Kirlia listened to Snype's explanation of the item. She even blushed a small bit during the end, tilting her head downwards a bit to try and hide it. She raised her head back up and took the item from Snype. "A Destiny Knot … huh" Kirlia said as she received the item from Snype. "Any particular reason you're giving me this sort of item?" added Kirlia as she looked at Snype and smiled.

Mark looked over to Snype. "Oh him? That's a Sableye. Also known as my right hand man, Snype! We've been together ever since I became a trainer." Mark said.

Snype smiled to Kirlia and picked up a bit of string from the Destiny Knot. It was kinda difficult to carry the entire ball of string so he'd usually cut off a piece of it and wrap it around his arm if he needed to make use of the item. Normally when the item was activated, the string would link the two together while the end of the string would make a knot on both of their fingers. Snype placed the long string in her hand.

"Kehe, I just have a feeling it might be handy in case you're dealing with that kinda situation. Best to have something to hang onto after all right? Kehe." Snype said

"A Sableye … huh. Well he's a strange little guy that's for sure. One minute he's running all over the room and now he's quietly sitting on the bed. Like a totally different pokémon" smiled Liam as he continued to watch Snype before bringing his attention back towards Mark again.

Kirlia watched carefully as Sableye placed the string into her hand. She giggled before blushing once more. "Thanks. That's really sweet of you. I didn't expect to meet someone here today" said Kirlia as she smiled before looking down at the string in her hand once more. "So how exactly does this become useful in battles again?" she quizzed as she rose her head back up towards Snype's.

Kirlia didn't know why but she had a strange connection towards Snype. He was being so kind to her and that made her extremely happy. After the rough patch that she went through with Liam, things were finally looking up for her. She could try and sense how Snype's emotions were, maybe she could pick up on why the two of them were getting along so well. Although it'd be fairly rude to do it to another pokémon she thought. Plus she didn't know much about Snype, maybe he could pick up on her reading his emotions. She opted to leave it be and just enjoy the moment that her and Snype were having.

Mark shrugged. "Well that's ghost type pokémon for ya. They're fairly unpredictable. Or maybe he's just taken a liking to your pokémon and is just trying to make a good impression. Heheh." Mark said with a snicker. Mark wasn't keeping track of time but he'd have to get himself ready for the day. He hadn't even showered yet and all.

Snype quickly began to explain to the Kirlia. "Hehe, think of it as insurance. If something decided to use attract, then it'd quickly backfire! Although, there's other items out there, such as berries and all. Mark's still looking into what'll work for our team. Kehe. Who knows? Maybe it'll be a useful item for ya." Snype said, patting her hand and getting himself comfortable on his seat.

"A ghost pokémon. That's awesome. Guess that explains then why he's ... ". Liam's sentence was cut short by some fairly loud thumping coming from just a few doors down. It sounded like something banging on a door. "That'll more than likely be Poliwag awake. I should probably head on back and check on the little guy … and YOU gotta get ready and you know ... clean yourself up. No offense "said Liam as he let out a small laugh.

Kirlia adjusted herself and sat a bit closer to Snype. She was still unsure why she was feeling such an affinity towards him. "Thank you" she said as she smiled over at him. She was unsure what to do now, she had never been in a situation like this so she was a bit alien to it all. Unfortunately her time was cut short as Liam had said for her to join him outside so they could let Mark get ready for the big day ahead. Kirlia let out a little sigh and jumped down from the bed. "Goodbye. I hope I see you again soon" said Kirlia as she smiled. After she had said her goodbyes, she lazily moped along the floor and joined Liam outside.

"Well then. Guess we should let you get on with it then so Mark. I suppose I'll see you at the tournament later. Oh also … good luck today. I'll catch you later" said Liam as he smiled.

Mark laughed at Liam's mention of him cleaning up. "Ha, yeah I still need to get myself prepared. Hoping to see you at the tournament Liam!" Mark said. Snype was a bit flustered himself when Kirlia sat closer to him but their time of course was cut short. He waved goodbye to Kirlia and jumped back onto the floor. Once everyone was out the door, Mark gathered up a new pair of clothes to get himself set up. Afterwards he'd walk into the bathroom, strip down, and begin his shower.​

 

[Megaman765]

Mark didn't take too long washing himself off. After all, he had a shower last night after getting covered up in Goodra Goop. His next class was Advanced Mining huh? That oughta be fun! He hadn't taken the previous mining class but he wasn't gonna argue with his placement! Clay was also a specialist in Ground and Rock Types so it was likely he'd be going over that as well. Maybe he could learn a bit more about Kara and how to raise her better. Giving off a small sigh, Mark stepped out of the shower and got himself dressed up in his usual signature outfit! He had a good feeling about today. He wasn't sure what it was, but something amazing was bound to happen!

Slinging his bag behind him, Mark set out the door and was off to get some breakfast! He could go for a big meal to start the day off. He walked on into the cafeteria and went to the counter to order himself a bagel with cream cheese, some bacon, and a bit of orange juice to top it off. A simple meal to start off. As he searched around for a seat something quickly caught his eye. There was a girl rather well dressed in a Dark Navy coat. But something was familiar about her... after getting a good look at her face, Mark figured it out.

"...Sammy?" Mark simple said to her.

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Outside with Kayla

As Kayla was explaining why she felt that she had to talk to Holly alone, Shawn simply nodded in understanding. However, he felt a little hurt when she told him she didn't mean to drag him into all this drama between the two. He didn't address it, of course, and when she walked away after kissing his cheek he thought, "Like it or not, I DID get involved...and it feels disappointing not being able to help a friend when you know they need it." He knew it was against his better judgment, but he decided to let it go. The thought kept plaguing his mind and decided to retreat to his make-shift training area in the forest clearing. Since Zapper was flying about, it would be as good a time as any to get some more training in.

He called out his whole team and explained this next exercise. Rocky would use his Rock Blast to fire out rocks at various speeds and times. The rest, standing to the side of the volleys, would use their attacks to smash the projectiles. He hoped this would improve their accuracy, reaction time, and the ability to hit a fast-moving target. After an hour or two, he (along with his pokemon) was getting tired. Shawn congratulated everyone for their hard work and their willingness to improve before recalling them into their pokeballs. He also noted Shiva's new move, Clamp. With that done, he went inside the dorm and headed straight to bed.

He woke up early the next morning and started feeling like nothing ever happened yesterday. He wondered why this was, but quickly lost his train of thought as the announcements clicked on. At the news of a tournament today after class, Shawn smiled and started to anticipate it. He had only faced a couple of trainers and one teacher who wiped the floor with him, but he decided not just to fight but to take notes of others' techniques and see if he can incorporate them into his own style. His mind swimming, he quickly got cleaned up and decided to dress a little differently this time. He wore a pair of faded denim jeans, a black shirt, and his tennis shoes. He also decided to spike up his short hair, just for the sake of the change. It didn't seem like much, but it felt more comfortable to him now and he walked to the cafeteria.

He saw the board for the classes and searched for his name, finally finding it under Advanced Mining. "Looks like this is gonna be some hot, dirty work," he thought to himself, "but I'm sure I can handle it." As he walked into the cafeteria, he felt something wash over him. A new-found confidence he never felt before took hold of him. He didn't undertand it, he couldn't explain it, but he didn't care. This was a new day...a new start for him. Maybe being in the tournament will bring something new out of him...

Smiling to himself as he thought of the possibilities, Shawn grabbed a couple of bacon-and-egg sandwiches and sat down alone to eat and daydream before class.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Having finished off her porridge Sammy was giving some serious thoughts to the egg she'd been given to care for. It certainly didn't look like something impressive was going to hatch from it, the patterns across the shell made her think more of a Munna than a Pawniard. And although she was doing her best with it what did she know about being maternal? She couldn't remember her own mother, no keepsakes beside a creased and fading photograph. And what would happen if the original owner was turned back into a human? Who knew how long that could take, what if she'd raised the Pokemon by then? Would she be able to give it up - would it want to go? Again she found herself devoting energy to a problem she couldn't solve.

"...Sammy?"

Aw crap.

Sammy looked up, her face framed by her new hairstyle, and saw that it was Mark speaking to her just like she'd thought. She hadn't seen him since they'd all gotten back from the raid on Team Rockets not-so-secret secret base. It was a relief to see that Lucia wasn't with him, she didn't feel ready to deal with that much weird on top of everything else. There was so much that Mark didn't know about - her Pancham, the egg sitting on the table in front of her, how she'd battled off more Rocket grunts with Cynthia - and now here he was, seeing her looking like this. Her best friend at the Academy, the moron that had led her into an active volcano, then left her behind when he was running from a Magmortar. The guy she had ditched in the old power plant the second the cops had shown up, the friend she had lied to. The person who had watched her back - probably saved her life - in the base raid, and the person she'd done the same for.

...And he'd been wearing the same clothes every time. Ew. Suddenly she felt pretty good about her new outfit.

The thought made her crack a smile, even laugh a little bit, and she waved her hand at the empty seat across from her. "Don't stand there with your mouth hanging open like an Exploud, doofus. Grab a seat. I know I look good and everything, but I don't think I'll be too embaressed if I'm seen with you."

And it was as easy as that, after all of her stress and worry. She was still who she was, even if she did look a little... dolled up. It was nice to confirm it for herself, and if Mark decided to treat her any differently she'd just have to hand his ass to him in the tournament. That brought another smile to her face while she waited for Mark to sit down.​

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam - Raikou Dorm
Deep in Thought​

Liam closed his room door behind him and relaxed himself a bit. "Ah … home sweet home" said Liam as he surveyed around his room. Down on the ground amidst the discarded clothes and empty wrappers sat Poliwag looking up at Liam with a disgruntled look on his face. "Yeah sorry about that buddy. I was only down the hall. I came as soon as I heard you knocking" added Liam as he leaned down at petted Poliwag on the head. The small little tadpole pokémon couldn't keep up the act for long and his once angry expression soon turned back to his usual happy and cheery look. The two pokémon ran over and jumped on the bed, playing and messing around while Liam started to rummage around in his bag.

"Have to make sure that I have everything with me today. Six poke balls just in case we run into any wild that I might want to catch. Some potions, light snacks and a bottle of water. Alright, seems good" whispered Liam before looping the bag over his head and draping it diagonally across his body.

"Alright. Play time is over for now. I'll let you guys out later on when I get the chance" said Liam smiling towards the two pokémon on the bed. He pulled out two poke balls and returned them both. Without the two playing on the bed the room was now dead silent. Liam's stomach started to rumble, he didn't have anything to eat since yesterday. Liam made the decision to grab some breakfast before class, after all, probably wasn't the best idea to partake in the tournament with an empty stomach. He walked over to the door and headed out into the hall, locking the door behind him. He walked slowly down the hall while staring at the ground, mostly thinking about what the day might have in store.

He eventually reached the cafeteria where the smell of food filled the air. He inhaled deeply and beamed a big smile. For once Liam actually felt somewhat comfortable being around other students. The shameful battle with Ralts a while back was now behind him. It's like Mark said I've embarrassed myself in battle several times but I got a lot out of it in the end. Liam smiled when he thought of this and then proceeded to walk over and get some breakfast. A toasted ham and cheese sandwich, some scrambled eggs on the side as well as a cup of tea. Just like home … thought Liam as he smiled once more. He looked around the cafeteria for a seat and it was then that he spotted Mark and … Sammy? She looked different, in a good way of course. "Wow … " whispered Liam quietly. He decided to sit by himself and think about the day ahead. Perhaps try and devise a simply plan of attack for the tournament later?

Liam thought about the simple set up that Sammy had taught him while he dug into his breakfast. Double team and then Confusion. It wasn't the hardest hitting move in the world but it worked, that was the main thing to Liam. Of course he couldn't just solely relay on Kirlia for this tournament, he would have to bring Poliwag in as well. Problem was, Liam didn't have any sort of plan for Poliwag. He placed his half eaten sandwich back down onto the plate, took a drink of tea and started rooting in his bag for something. He pulled out a pen and a notebook. He plopped it down on the table, flew it open and found the small section he had scribbled down not that long ago relating to his Poliwag's current move set. He picked up his sandwich once more and scanned over the moves, looking for any sort of combo he could use. Hypnosis and Body Slam was the main combo that stood out at him. Send the pokémon to sleep and then slam down on top of them. Liam couldn't help but smile, proud of his little dabble in pokémon research … however brief it may have been. He finished one of the sandwiches and now decided to write down in his notebook about evolution. He made a few notes as well as listing the forms he had witnessed so far. He now knows that Ralts evolves into Kirlia and Poliwag evolves into Poliwrath. He did wonder about that one though. It seemed like an awful big jump from a small Poliwag to a big Poliwrath. Could there be an evolution form between them two? thought Liam as he picked up the other half of the sandwich and began to start eating once more. He also now started to make notes about his pokémon's behavior. The way that Poliwag acts, the way that Kirlia acts. The change from Ralts to Kirlia personality wise. He was starting to enjoy himself quite a bit. Who knew that doing work on pokémon could be so interesting thought Liam as he smiled.

He decided to close his notebook for now and continue finishing the rest of his breakfast in peace.

Hmm, Self Defense class. I wonder what's that gonna be like? Who's the teacher even? Last time I went to class here the teacher was less than impressed with me. Just gotta get this over and done with and then it's on to the battling. ​

 

[Megaman765]

Mark and Sammy: Rivalry Intensifies
​

Mark was just taking in Sammy's new look for awhile. She looked... well... really good! She looked fine before but Mark hadn't expected Sammy of all people to look so pampered! "S-sorry it just kinda surprised me." Mark said as he sat in a seat across from her. He wasn't totally flustered. This was his friend and all. Just a tad shocked if anything. "But you do look really good today if you don't mind me saying. Are you looking to impress a certain someone at the tournament? Hehe" Mark joked with a teasing smirk as he took a sip from his glass of O.

Sammy snorted and shook her head at Mark. Trust a boy to think she'd dressed nice because of boys. It was nice of him to say she looked good though, even if he didn't seem to be taking her as a serious threat in the tournament. She would just have to prove to him how far she had come as a Trainer since their last battle. After all, Cubone hadn't even been willing to battle back then.

"You should spend less time worrying about how I look at the tournament and more time worrying about how embaressed you'll be when I beat you. I know all your Pokemon, and you're not exactly Mr. Catch-Em-All." She grinned, lifting her apple. "I've got the perfect strategy for all of your Pokemon."

Okay. So that was a lie. But he didn't know that.

Mark took a chomp of his bagel and raised a brow at Sammy. "Oh really? I take you've been busy yesterday. And since your here after that text yesterday, you've had a hell of a day yesterday." Mark said with a small grin. "Well Sammy, I've been pretty busy yesterday myself! For one... I got myself a new Pokemon. My new team member is going to rock the tournament once I bring him out!" He simply said, leaving it at that. Not quite Mr. Catch-Em-All but he was trying! Mark seemed awful confident too! Just what was this new Pokemon of his?

Awww crap. Of course he had to go and get a new Pokemon. Even if she'd been bluffing about perfect strategies for all of his Pokemon she at least knew what to expect from them. Now he had a wild card up his sleeve, and chances were it'd be a freakin' Darkrai or something. She still had a tactical advantage, he wasn't too familair with Crawdaunt since his evolution and Mark had never battled her Ponyta. Plus he was completely unaware of her Pancham. But when it came right down to it Mark was still more experienced than she was, and his Pokemon were probably still going to be a lot stronger. If her inability to beat Mark was any indication she probably wouldn't win the tournament without some kind of miracle.

"I'm still going to beat you," she shrugged, "Just because you've caught a Wurmple or something doesn't mean you've had any time to actually train it. But we might not even face each other, you'll probably get knocked out early on." She grinned, teasing him, and took a big chomp out of her apple.

Sammy was sure confident today! He wasn't sure if she was bluffing or really had him all figured out. Mark did have a little bit of time to train Xerox to get him used to taking on big foes and figuring out its opponents. Nobody would possibly expect a Ditto! Mark leaned forward a bit. "Haha, me? Hey well what if you end up getting knocked out early? I hope not because I really wanna battle you there." Mark teased back, taking another bite of his bagel. The rivalry was intensifying. It was like the whole table would burst into flames with how competitive the two were getting. Something quickly caught Mark's eye though. A Pinkish egg sitting on the table. How on earth did he miss that?

"Hey I didn't know you had an egg!" Mark said.

"All women have eggs Mark," she snarked around a mouthful of apple, "I didn't realize no one had given you 'the talk' yet."

Mark blinked, and just backed up in his seat, giving off a huge blush. "W-what? N-no! T-that's not-!" Mark paused, really unsure of how to reply to that comment! Way to get back at him for that "Impressing someone" comment.

Sammy started to laugh at Marks reaction and choked on her apple, coughing and spluttering as she pounded herself on the chest. When she managed to clear her throat she just kept on cackling, easily drawing the attention of other students in the cafeteria.

"Holy crap th-you-sssnnnk-" She descended into another fit of laughter, rocking back and forth in her chair. It sort of spoiled the sophisticated look she'd given herself, but at least she was still Sammy. She managed to get enough self control, and breath, back that she could wipe the tears away from her eyes. "Aaaahhh Arceus, sorry Mark, that was too funny. I totally know you're talking about the Pokemon Egg, doofus."

Mark had nearly fallen off his chair from that comment! Heck the chair would have gone down with him! Mark sat up straight and leaned forward to give Sammy a hard poke on the nose. "You jerk! I'll get you back for that!" Mark said with a playful laugh. "But uh... yeah! The Pokemon Egg. I didn't know you were raising one!" Mark said, taking another sip of his drink. "So who's the father?" He joked back. Well however she'd take it, maybe it'd confirm what's in the egg in the first place.

She scowled as he poked her nose, but didn't bother trying to deflect his hand or move out of the way. They both knew that Mark was the stronger Trainer, but if Sammy felt like it she could stomp him flat in a regular fight. Pushing the point or drawing attention to her training would just make her look like a jerk.

"Dunno," she frowned, "I got wasted last night and woke up with this Egg and six guys phone numbers. I think one of them is Wattsons." She shrugged and looked to the Egg, sitting in its protective case. "Seriously though, I've got no idea. Nurse Joy asked me to look after it, it's actual Trainer got turned into a Pokemon in the raid yesterday. Kinda hard to say no, y'know? So now I'm stuck with the thing until its owner gets turned normal again."

Woah. Mark thought she was serious for a minute there but of course, he was just being his gullible self. "Sounds like a heck of a responsibility. But looks like you've got the whole thing under control. Wonder what'll hatch from it?" Mark wondered aloud as he started to finish up his food and drink. "So what class do ya have today? Advanced Mining for me."

"Ditto," she said unwittingly. "Advanced Mining for me too, guess we get to get on each others nerves until the big tournament. You can carry all the rocks away while I polish the jewels I find. And then I can feed them to Snype to lure him away from you," she grinned, pulling the stalk out of the top of the apple core before biting into the core itself. "And who knows what'll hatch from this thing?" She mumbled around a mouthful of apple like a proper lady. "It doesn't look like it's gonna be anything badass does it?"

"heheh, carry the rocks... sure." Mark said with a small chuckle. "And hey you never know. Remember, Poliwag evolved into the Powerhouse that;s Poliwraith. It could surprise you!" Mark said, placing all of his trash on the plate. A class with Sammy huh? Well, a familiar face at least! These kinds of classes were more fun with a buddy after all.

Sammy finished munching on her apple and drained the last of her orange juice. "How many powerhouses do you think came from pink eggs with purple spirals on them? I'm gonna bet on none," She grumbled, getting to her feet and slinging her bag across one shoulder. "And I'm glad you're in this class anyway, it was gonna be a snooze otherwise. It's not even as if it'll help me in the tournament - it's mining. The only reason I'm not ditching it to train is because I'm pretty sure Clay teaches this class, so maybe I can get him to throw out a few pointers in between shovelling dirt."

"Well, he is a ground and rock type specialist. I'm sure he's going to go over all of that during class as well. Maybe I can get some advise for raising Kara." Mark replied, getting up from his seat and readjusting his backpack. "I'm just curious what we'll find while mining. Maybe another evolution stone? Or something valuable? If its advanced mining then I'm sure there's going to be more to it. I mean... I hear Clay dug out an entire tunnel going through the Unova Region." Mark said.

"I've been to his Gym," Sammy admitted as she picked up the egg case, "The outside of it anyway. It's in a port town, so me and my pops visited it a few times. It looked kinda dirty to be honest, but I guess it is a Ground Gym. Mud and dust and stuff come with the territory, I know Cubone somehow gets dirty sitting in the bath tub. And even if we do find anything, what're we gonna do with it? Neither of us have any Pokemon that evolve by stone. But yeah, money would be nice I guess. Finding some gold or diamonds would go a long way toward some TM's."

Sammy's comment on evolution reminded him about Kara. He figured that she could evolve but so far, there hasn't been any sign of how she could possibly evolve. Maybe there was a stone or some sort of item that did it? He'd have to ask Clay about that no doubt. Chances are though he wasn't going to get her to evolve before the tournament though. "Well, I guess we'll just have to find out when we get there huh? I dunno why but I have a good feeling about this class! We got nothing else to do. Wanna head over right now?" Mark asked

"We might as well. The sooner we start digging around in the muck for some fat rich guy the sooner we finish, right?"